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‘Shocking and traumatic’: Women protest rape at gunpoint at Islamabad's largest park

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Updated 06 February 2023
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‘Shocking and traumatic’: Women protest rape at gunpoint at Islamabad's largest park

  • Two men allegedly gang-raped woman at Islamabad's Fatima Jinnah Park on February 2
  • Protestors demand greater security, accountability for crimes against women in Pakistan
Updated 06 February 2023
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Members of Pakistan's civil society, rights activists, and women on Monday gathered at Islamabad's Fatima Jinnah Park or F-9 park to protest against the alleged gang rape of a woman at the same venue last week, demanding the immediate arrest of the culprits and safer public spaces for women.

According to a police report, two armed men took turns raping a woman at Islamabad's F-9 park. The victim, who filed a first information report (FIR) under Section 376 (punishment for rape) at the Margalla Police Station, said the incident took place on February 2.

As per a copy of the FIR seen by Arab News, the complainant says she was walking in the park with her colleague when two armed men took them at gunpoint to a nearby forest. There, they beat the woman and took turns raping her. Before leaving, the suspects threatened to call more of their friends to sexually assault her if she spoke of the incident, the report said.




Citizens and activists protest on February 6, 2023, in Islamabad's F-9 Park where a woman was allegedly raped on gunpoint on February 2. (AN photo)

The episode triggered widespread anger on social media when the incident came to light a few days ago. Rights activists, members of the civil society, and women from different walks of life attended the protest arranged by the Women Democratic Front (WDF), a socialist-feminist movement.

Participants walked in solidarity with the victim, demanding the police take swift action against the culprits.

Nageen Hayat, a filmmaker and member of the Women's Action Forum (WAF), a Pakistani women's rights organization, said women were feeling helpless as the capital did not feel safe for them anymore.

“It is an extremely shocking and traumatic incident,” she told Arab News, adding that Islamabad used to be a safe city once but recently, cases of violence against women and children had increased in the city.

Human rights activist Farzani Bari called for the rapists to be caught as soon as possible, adding that when police and authorities want to arrest criminals, they do so "right away."

She said it was unfortunate that in the cases where women were involved, police did not work efficiently. “The conviction rate is also very low in cases of sexual violence against women,” Bari added.

She said the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the city's local administration were responsible for making public spaces safer for women.

“Normally women come out for a walk at night after work, so there should be proper lighting, surveillance cameras, and guards all around the park,” she added.




Citizens and activists protest on February 6, 2023, in Islamabad's F-9 Park where a woman was allegedly raped on gunpoint on February 2. (AN photo)

Islamabad Police Spokesperson Jawad Taqi said police, along with the district administration, was improving security arrangements of the capital's parks.

“Visitors to the park during evening hours are requested to limit themselves to [well-lit] areas and in case of any emergency, immediately call 15 for assistance,” he told Arab News.

He said the incident is being investigated by the Special Gender Protection Unit under the supervision of CPO Operations Sohail Zafar Chatta. Taqi said people who were present in the park at the time as well as its management were being questioned.

“The police has also issued a sketch of one of the suspects which was prepared with the help of the details provided by the victim," Taqi said. He said the sketch would be matched with the CCTV footage of the park premises, adding that police were investigating the incident on a scientific basis.

“The DNA of the suspects in the incident is also being taken and evidence is being collected based on [help from] cameras and intelligence,” he said, adding that the culprits would be brought to book soon.

WDF President, Ismat Raza Shahjahan, who was also the chief organizer of the event, said the state had failed to provide peace and security to the people.

“This state is only taking from the public and failed to provide security and peace,” she told Arab News. “The patriarchy is promoted by the state as it is a strategic asset for them and this is the reason that every other man puts a gun on women,” Shahjahan added.

Muhammad Anwaar, a member of the left-wing socialist Awami Workers Party, said he came to the protest to support women and demand a safe environment for them.

“I am here to protest and support women, and if this can happen with this woman, tomorrow it can happen with my sister [too]," Anwaar added.

Topics: Pakistan Islamabad f 9 park gang rape

Pakistan external account posts record monthly surplus, buoying investor confidence

Updated 17 April 2025
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Pakistan external account posts record monthly surplus, buoying investor confidence

  • Current account posts a record and one of the highest monthly surpluses in March 2025 with $1.19 billion, up 229% year-on-year
  • Pakistan stocks concluded Thursday’s session on bullish note, with KSE-100 Index advancing by 881 points to close at 116,901 level
Updated 17 April 2025
Ismail Dilawar

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan said on Thursday the country’s current account, which comprises external trade and transfers, had posted a record and one of the highest monthly surpluses in March 2025 with $1.19 billion, up 229% year-on-year.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange also concluded Thursday’s session on a bullish note, with the KSE-100 Index advancing by 881 points, or 0.76%, to close at 116,901 level. 
“Investor sentiment was buoyed by record-high remittances, which contributed to a historic current account surplus in March 2025. The surplus for the first nine months of FY25 reached $1.9 billion,” Topline securities said in a statement. 
The surplus in March 2024 stood at $363 million, the latest central bank data showed. 
On Monday, Central Bank governor Jameel Ahmad had said the current account would show a “substantial” surplus this year through June mainly on the back of a record inflow of remittances which crossed the $4 billion mark in March, with Saudi Arabia once again topping the list of biggest contributors.
“With record monthly surplus in March 2025, cumulative surplus in country’s Current Account for 9MFY25 (Jul-Mar25) now stands at $1.86 billion, which was in a deficit of $1.65 billion in the same period last year,” SBP said. 
In March 2025, Pakistan’s exports recorded at $3.51 billion, growing 8.7% YoY and 6.0% MoM. Imports also rose 8.0% YoY to $5.92 billion in March but fell 1.9% MoM.
“Resultantly, while Trade Deficit (Goods+Services) went up 7% YoY, it narrowed 11.5% MoM in March 2025,” the data showed. 
For 9MFY25 (Jul-Mar25), total exports now stand at $30.9 billion, up 8.1% YoY, while total imports stand at $51.9 billion, up 10.7% YoY, with the cumulative trade deficit at $21.1 billion, up 14.7% YoY. 
“With oil prices down, and remittances continuing to make a record mark, Pakistan’s current account is expected to be in deep surplus by June FY25 and may also continue in FY26, thereby resulting in further scale-up in overall investor confidence,” the central bank said. 
Pakistan received a record-high $4.1 billion in remittances in March 2025, which bodes well for the government’s efforts to revive an economy that it expects will expand three percent this year, SBP governor Ahmad said at an event at the Pakistan Stock Exchange in Karachi on Monday.
The central bank had earlier projected economic growth to range from 2.5% to 3.5%.
“With this level of remittances, we are hoping that for the current fiscal year our current account will stay in surplus,” the governor said. “There will be a substantial surplus and this surplus is the best performance, I will say, on the external account during the last two decades.”
The country broke its own record in February when overseas Pakistanis remitted $3.1 billion.

Topics: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Pakistan economy

Pakistan foreign minister to visit Kabul ‘within days’

Updated 37 min 29 sec ago
AFP
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Pakistan foreign minister to visit Kabul ‘within days’

  • Relationship has soured as militancy in Pakistan’s border regions has soared since the Taliban regained power in Kabul in 2021
  • Mohammad Sadiq, Pakistan’s special envoy for Afghanistan, has said Pakistani Taliban militant group was top issue straining ties
Updated 37 min 29 sec ago
AFP

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign minister said Thursday that he will visit Kabul in the coming days, as Islamabad’s campaign to expel Afghans has forced nearly 60,000 into Afghanistan.
Islamabad has previously said it will deport more than 800,000 Afghans because they are linked to “terrorist” and narcotics activities, but analysts say the move is politically motivated.
“Preparatory meetings have been ongoing and hopefully, within days, I will be visiting Kabul for a day to break this logjam which is there for the last few years,” said Mohammad Ishaq Dar, the foreign minister, who also serves as deputy prime minister.
Pakistan was one of just three countries that recognized the Taliban’s first government in the 1990s and was accused of covertly supporting their insurgency against NATO forces.
But their relationship has soured as militancy in Pakistan’s border regions has soared since the Taliban regained power in Kabul in 2021.
Last year was the deadliest year in Pakistan for a decade, with Islamabad accusing Kabul of allowing militants to take shelter in Afghanistan from where they plan attacks.
The Taliban government denies the charge.
On Tuesday, the International Organization for Migration said Pakistan has expelled nearly 60,000 Afghans since the start of April.
The UN says nearly three million Afghans live in Pakistan, many who have been there for decades or were born there, after fleeing successive conflicts.
The Pakistan government has canceled the residence permits of more than 800,000 Afghans and warned those who are in Pakistan awaiting relocation to other countries that they must leave by the end of April.
More than 1.3 million who hold Proof of Registration cards issued by the UN refugee agency have been told to leave the capital and the neighboring city of Rawalpindi.
Mohammad Sadiq, Pakistan’s special envoy for Afghanistan, this month said the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) militant group was the top issue straining ties.
“TTP is a big challenge that can’t be tolerated. Afghanistan has to work with us on this. If they are not working on this, then all deals are off,” said Sadiq, who is currently visiting Afghanistan.
The TTP is a separate but closely linked group to the Afghan Taliban that carries out frequent attacks on Pakistani security officials.

Topics: Pakistan Afghanistan Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar Afghan Refugees in pakistan

Dr. Mahrang Baloch: A child of resistance for Pakistan’s ethnic minority

Updated 17 April 2025
AFP
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Dr. Mahrang Baloch: A child of resistance for Pakistan’s ethnic minority

  • 32-year-old, arrested last month, is one of Pakistan’s most recognizable protest leaders representing ethnic Baloch minority
  • Security forces are fighting a decades-long insurgency by Baloch separatist militants, led by Balochistan Liberation Army
Updated 17 April 2025
AFP

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Dr. Mahrang Baloch has risen to become the young face of a decades-old movement against rights abuses since she discovered her father’s tortured body when she was a teenager.
The 32-year-old, who was arrested last month, is now one of the country’s most recognizable protest leaders representing the ethnic Baloch minority.
“Our father made the decision for us when he dedicated himself to Baloch rights. And after him, we all embraced his philosophy and committed ourselves to this struggle,” Mahrang wrote to her family from the cell where she is being held in the provincial capital Quetta.
She was charged in March with terrorism, sedition and murder, according to the police charge sheet seen by AFP.
Balochistan province, a sparsely populated, rugged region that borders Iran and Afghanistan, is the poorest in the country despite being rich in untapped hydrocarbons and minerals.
Security forces are fighting a decades-long insurgency by Baloch separatist militants, led by the Balochistan Liberation Army, which accuses authorities and outsiders, including Chinese investors, of exploiting the region.
Rights groups say the violence has been countered with a severe crackdown by authorities that has swept up innocent people. State authorities deny involvement in rights abuses in the province. 
According to Voice for Baloch Missing Persons, an NGO, 18,000 people have disappeared in the province since 2000, figures disputed by the authorities.
Mahrang founded the Baloch Unity Committee (BYC) after her brother disappeared for four months in 2018 to mobilize the relatives of victims of alleged extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, and other arbitrary arrests.
“Mahrang is the child of resistance against brutal state oppression,” former senator Afrasiab Khattak told AFP.
A spokesperson for the Balochistan government told AFP that “activists are making claims without any grounds” about rights abuses and enforced disappearances.

“SHE CARRIES THEIR PAIN”

Mahrang first began campaigning after the disappearance of her father, defying tribal tradition in a region where less than one in three women can read and write to leave home and demand answers from the authorities.
“We could see her blocking the roads crying and pleading for her father, even when there was a police vehicle coming, she was still standing bravely in front of every obstacle,” said Naseem Baloch, president of the Baloch National Movement, who has been in exile in Europe since 2011.
The bullet-riddled body of Mahrang’s father was finally identified one July night in 2011, scarred by torture and wearing the same clothes he was kidnapped in.
“My brother fainted when he saw him,” her 26-year-old sister Nadia told AFP. “Mahrang then replaced our father. She helped our mother feed us with her medical scholarships and continued her fight for the Baluchi cause.”
Not only did she carry on the struggle, she radically changed the Baloch movement, according to her classmates.
“Before, everyone was afraid to speak to the media, but Mahrang led the way and succeeded in having her brother released, so now families dare to denounce these kidnappings,” Naseem Baloch said.
Above all, Mahrang and Nadia Baloch did not hesitate to voice their accusations that the security services were behind her brother’s kidnapping.
Mahrang broke taboos as a student, too. She led protests against her Quetta university after staff were caught secretly filming women on campus to blackmail them.
 With a father killed, a brother kidnapped and a childhood spent in poverty, Mahrang’s story resonates with families in rural Balochistan.
“People identify with Mahrang because she carries their pain,” her sister said.
Mohammad Gul, a 55-year-old relative, said: “Baloch people see her as a ray of hope — a true leader challenging those who are responsible.”
Baloch armed groups demand independence, sometimes with spectacular attacks such as a deadly train hostage-taking in March, but the BYC advocates non-violence and a negotiated solution within the framework of the federal state.
Mahrang gained international attention after leading a “Long Baloch March” of more than 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) from Balochistan to the national capital Islamabad to denounce the alleged extrajudicial execution of a young Baloch man.
Her activism earned her a place among Time Magazine’s 100 Most Promising People of 2024 — an award she was unable to receive because authorities prevented her from leaving the country.
Her marches are attended by thousands, almost exclusively women, who stage days-long sit-ins.
“They are less likely to be beaten, arrested, or kidnapped,” explained Ayesha Siddiqa, a political scientist now based in London.
However, many women protesters have been imprisoned in recent weeks.
Mahrang has already “prepared the family” to continue the fight, said her sister Nadia.
“Perhaps one day, she will be kidnapped or killed,” she said.
 

Topics: Pakistan Dr. Mahrang Baloch Baloch Yakjehti Committee

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Pakistan Stock Exchange seeks Islamic finance expertise from Malaysia

Updated 17 April 2025
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Pakistan Stock Exchange seeks Islamic finance expertise from Malaysia

  • PSX welcomes delegation of Malaysian scholars to foster collaboration between Shariah-compliant capital markets
  • Since launching first Ijarah-based sukuk in 2008, Pakistan has issued Ijarah sukuk worth over Rs6.5 trillion as of August 2024
Updated 17 April 2025
Ismail Dilawar

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday welcomed a delegation of Malaysian Shariah scholars and professionals as the country seeks to advance its Islamic finance sector and foster cross-border collaboration between Shariah-compliant capital markets.
PSX and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) have been striving in recent years to promote an Islamic capital market and create the enabling environment for the growth of Shariah-compliant investment.
Shariah lays down certain principles with regard to financial contracts and the conduct of business and trading in general. In particular, Shariah prohibits any transaction that involves an element of interest (riba). In order to ensure Shariah compliance of a product or service, it must be free from such prohibited elements and conform to other requirements of Shariah. Various stock exchanges, including PSX, have designed and launched products and services that cater to the specific requirements of Shariah.
PSX lists Shariah-compliant shares, sukuk (Islamic bonds), Islamic Exchange Traded Funds (Islamic ETFs), and Islamic Real Estate Investment Trusts (Islamic REITs). It is also deemed permissible as per Shariah for investors to subscribe to the Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) of Shariah-compliant securities. In addition, PSX offers Shariah-compliant indices comprised of shares of listed companies that meet certain predefined Shariah and technical screening criteria. A Shariah compliant facility to finance the purchase of shares is also available, through the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL), called Murabahah Share Finance.
Welcoming the visiting delegation from Malaysia, PSX Chairperson Dr. Shamshad Akhtar expressed hope for greater collaboration between the Islamic finance sectors of the two countries.
“Pakistan is also witnessing a growing demand for Shariah-compliant investment avenues,” PSX quoted Akhtar as telling the delegation. “With over 50% of listed companies on the exchange being Shariah-compliant, PSX offers a compelling platform for faith-based investments, including equities, sukuk, Islamic mutual funds, and ETFs.”
Since launching its first Ijarah-based Sukuk in 2008, Pakistan has issued Ijarah sukuk worth over Rs6.5 trillion as of August 2024.%
“The continued expansion of Islamic finance institutions, diversified asset classes, and investor-friendly regulatory frameworks are contributing to the sector’s momentum,” the PSX statement added.
Tariq Naseem, Head of Islamic Finance at SECP, provided an in-depth briefing to the visiting dignitaries regarding the progress and advancements in Islamic finance within Pakistan’s capital markets and non-banking financial sectors, particularly regulatory reforms and developments in the Islamic financial services industry undertaken to cater to both local and international market needs. The discussion also addressed the potential for enhanced collaboration between Malaysia and Pakistan in promoting Islamic finance on a global platform.
Farrukh H. Sabzwari, Managing Director and CEO of the Pakistan Stock Exchange, expressed his aspiration to benefit from Malaysia’s expertise in Islamic finance for the advancement of Pakistan’s capital market.
Sabzwari said only 0.14% of Pakistan’s population constituted the investor base, compared to 1% in Bangladesh, underscoring the significant potential for growth. He said approximately 80% of daily transactions at PSX were Sharia-compliant.
“Concluding the event, PSX management reaffirmed the Exchange’s dedication to building a robust Shariah-compliant capital market while highlighting the efforts of the PSX Shariah Focus Group — a multi-stakeholder platform comprising industry leaders, Shariah scholars, and financial experts — working collectively to foster an inclusive, faith-based financial system,” the PSX statement added. 
Pakistan’s government has failed to achieve a target set by the central bank to increase the share of Islamic banking deposits in the country by 50% by January this year, according to official documents seen by Arab News this week, as Islamabad attempts to rid the country’s banking system of interest.
Pakistan’s Federal Shariat Court (FSC) directed the government in April 2022 to eliminate interest by 2027. Following the order, the government and the State Bank of Pakistan have taken several measures ranging from changing laws in October 2024 to issuing sukuk bonds to replace interest-based treasury bills and investment bonds.
According to a presentation shared by the SBP with bankers in August 2024, a copy of which Arab News has seen, the central bank set an “indicative target” for the government to increase the share of Islamic banking deposits to 50% by January 2025, 65% by January 2026, 80% by January 2027 and 100% by December 2027. 
Pakistan, however, missed this target and was able to increase the market share of its Shariah-compliant banking deposits to only 24.9% by December 2024, the document stated.

Topics: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) Pakistan Malaysia ties Shariah Banking

Refugee brothers worry about future in unknown Afghanistan after expulsion from Pakistan

Updated 17 April 2025
Reuters
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Refugee brothers worry about future in unknown Afghanistan after expulsion from Pakistan

  • Mir Ali and Asal Mir expect Afghan government to provide them with land, homes and employment
  • Over 63,000 undocumented or refugee Afghans have returned from Pakistan in the first 12 days of April
Updated 17 April 2025
Reuters

ISLAMABAD: Many Afghans refugees are returning to a homeland that is completely unknown to them, as neighboring Pakistan launched a large-scale crackdown on undocumented Afghan nationals.
Earlier this year, Pakistan’s interior ministry asked all “illegal foreigners” and holders of Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC) — a document launched in 2017 to grant temporary legal status to Afghan refugees — to leave the country before Mar. 31, warning they would otherwise be deported from April.
But for many of these refugees, this means uprooting from the only homes they’ve ever known.
Mir Ali was born in Murree, a mountain resort city in Pakistan’s Punjab region, where he spent his childhood and formative years. But he has no official Pakistani identity.
Standing at Pakistan’s Torkham border crossing point with Afghanistan, Mir Ali was reluctant to leave.
“I was not willing to come here (to the checkpoint) and leave but it was mandatory. My brother persuaded me to go back there (Afghanistan) and get the documents for my nationality. It will be a problem if I lose both nationalities,” the 23-year-old said, as he loaded his boxed-up-life into the back of a government-paid truck.
Over 63,000 undocumented or refugee Afghans had returned from Pakistan in the first 12 days of April, according to a joint UNHCR and International Organization for Migration (IOM) report published on Thursday.
It added that fear of arrest was the most common reason to return. Ali and his elder brother Asal Mir said they were leaving voluntarily.
“We were born in Pakistan, so why didn’t we get citizenship? So, maybe there is welfare in this (being expelled to Afghanistan) too,” said the younger brother.
The brothers were just two of hundreds of thousands of refugees who spent decades in Pakistan and were never granted citizenship, despite raising families and contributing to local communities.
Asal lived all four decades of his life in Pakistan and he said the way the government’s deportation order was issued affected him deeply.
With nowhere else to go, he could only now look toward Afghanistan for support — a country still reeling from economic collapse and political instability.
“The situation is worrying,” Asal said, uncertain about the future and his children’s education. “We’ll try to ensure they complete their education there (in Afghanistan).”
The brothers’ decision to relocate to Afghanistan comes as Pakistan resumed its deportation campaign targeting “illegal foreigners,” primarily Afghans, after a March 31 deadline passed, according to the UNHCR.
Islamabad said the expulsions were due to past militant attacks and crimes that it blamed on Afghan citizens, who form the largest portion of migrants in the country.
Afghanistan has rejected the accusations and has termed the repatriation as forced deportation.
Now with both brothers in Afghanistan, they can only remain hopeful despite an uncertain future.
“They have set up a program for us in Kabul and they will help us there,” Mir Ali said, switching to Pashto from Urdu language after arriving in Nangarhar. “We have nothing and ask for the government to provide us with land, houses and employment.”

Topics: expulsion of Illegal Immigrants Afghan refugee repatriation

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