QUETTA: The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), an ethnic Baloch rights group, on Friday called off its two-week-long protests after having reached another deal with the government in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, following days of clashes in Gwadar and other districts.
The BYC, which advocates for the rights of the ethnic Baloch people, summoned a ‘Baloch Raji Muchi,’ or Baloch National Gathering, in Balochistan’s Gwadar port city on July 28 against alleged human rights abuses, extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances in Balochistan that rights activists and the families of victims blame on Pakistani security forces. The government and security agencies deny involvement.
Over the last two weeks, several districts in Balochistan witnessed clashes between ethnic Baloch protesters and Pakistani paramilitary forces that killed three people, including a Pakistani soldier, after the authorities blocked highways in Quetta, Mastung, Hub, Kech and Gwadar districts to stop hundreds of people from participating in the BYC sit-in in the Gwadar port city.
But thousands of people managed to gather in Gwadar, home to a key Chinese-built deep seaport central to the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), despite the road closures and a complete Internet shutdown that cut off the city from the rest of the country for two weeks.
In a statement on Friday, the BYC said the government had accepted its demands after which it had called off the protests, while its head, Dr. Mahrang Baloch, and other members had left the port city of Gwadar and were en route to the provincial capital of Quetta via Turbat.
“The government has started releasing our detained members in Quetta and other cities of Balochistan,” Beberg Baloch, a senior BYC member who had been leading protests in Quetta, told Arab News. “We are collecting details of our people who are still in police custody.”
The BYC had demanded the government release all detained members, quash cases, grant compensation for damages, lift the Internet ban, open all blocked highways and agree to register no further cases against BYC members.
An earlier agreement, reached between the two sides last week, collapsed as government officials accused the protesters of not honoring it, while the BYC said the government had intensified its crackdown on protesters in Quetta, Nushki, Gwadar and Karachi despite the deal.
“If the government didn’t respect the new deal, we will again take to the streets,” said Sadia Baloch, another BYC member.
Shahid Rind, a provincial government spokesman, also confirmed reaching an agreement with the protesters.
“Normalcy has returned to Gwadar and the protest has been called off by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee,” he said at a news conference in Quetta on Friday. “The provincial government is ready to accept every single demand which is framed under the constitution of Pakistan.”
Zahoor Buledi, the Balochistan planning minister who led the talks with the BYC, told Arab News that cellular and Internet services as well as roads would be opened in Gwadar later today.
The agreement between the Balochistan government and the protesters comes days after a Pakistani military spokesman called the ethnic rights movement a “proxy” for militant groups.
Pakistan’s Balochistan province, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, is the site of a low-level insurgency for the last two decades by separatists, who say they are fighting what they see as unfair exploitation of the province’s wealth by the federation. The Pakistani state denies the allegation.
Baloch rights group calls off protests in Pakistan’s Gwadar after ‘deal’ with government
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Baloch rights group calls off protests in Pakistan’s Gwadar after ‘deal’ with government
- Baloch Yakjehti Committee announces calling off protests in Pakistan’s Balochistan province after second round of talks with government succeeds
- Three people, including an army soldier, were killed in two-week-long clashes that had brought life to a standstill in many parts of Balochistan province
European states back Pakistan’s proposal for Kashmir inquiry following Pahalgam attack
- Foreign office says Switzerland’s FM offered assistance with the probe during a call with Ishaq Dar
- Greek foreign minister urges restraint to prevent escalation between the two South Asian neighbors
ISLAMABAD: Switzerland and Greece welcomed Pakistan’s proposal for an independent investigation into last month’s gun attack on a tourist hub in Indian-administered Kashmir, with the Swiss government offering to assist in facilitating a transparent probe, said the foreign office on Saturday.
The April 22 assault in Pahalgam, a popular destination in the disputed Himalayan region, killed 26 people. India blamed Pakistan for the attack, an allegation Islamabad has repeatedly denied. Tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors have surged in the wake of the attack, with India imposing trade and shipping restrictions and suspending its participation in the Indus Waters Treaty.
Pakistan has responded by calling for a neutral and transparent international investigation into the incident while warning that any military action would trigger a strong response despite Islamabad’s desire to avoid escalation.
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar spoke over the phone with the foreign minister’s of Switzerland and Greece, presenting his country’s perspective on the situation.
“FM @ignaziocassis appreciated Pakistan’s commitment to peace, and endorsed its proposal for an investigation,” the foreign office said in a social media post, referring to Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, following a call between the two officials. “He expressed Switzerland’s readiness to offer its good offices and explore appropriate mechanisms to facilitate an impartial investigation.”
Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis also welcomed Pakistan’s proposal for an impartial inquiry and stressed the importance of restraint to prevent escalation and preserve regional stability, according to another post.
A day earlier, Dar spoke with European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas, who emphasized the need for dialogue between the two South Asian nuclear rivals to maintain regional peace and stability.
The Pakistani deputy prime minister told all three European officials that Islamabad rejects India’s allegations and unilateral actions like the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty.
He described the Indian decision to hold the treaty “in abeyance” as a violation of international law.
Pakistan and India have fought multiple wars over Kashmir, which both countries claim in full but control in part. The latest diplomatic exchanges come as concerns rise over the potential for further escalation following the Pahalgam attack.
Pakistan’s cement exports jump 29 percent but domestic demand remains weak
- Cement industry has struggled due to economic headwinds, high construction costs in Pakistan
- APCMA has asked the government to announce industry-friendly measures in the upcoming budget
KARACHI: Pakistan’s cement exports rose nearly 29 percent to 7.4 million tons in the first ten months of the current fiscal year, but overall despatches remained flat due to sluggish domestic demand, industry data showed on Saturday.
Total cement despatches, domestic and exports combined, reached 37.336 million tons during the July 2024 to April 2025 period, just 0.32 percent lower than the same stretch last year, according to the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA).
Domestic sales, however, dropped 5.55 percent to 29.978 million tons, while exports surged 28.77 percent from 5.714 million tons to 7.359 million tons.
“A healthy rise in exports this year is a good omen,” an APCMA statement said. “However, the industry’s resurgence was limited due to low domestic demand, leaving about one third of the industry capacity idle.”
April 2025 data showed total cement despatches increased by 13.24 percent year-on-year to 3.342 million tons, driven by a 34.56 percent jump in exports and a modest 7.64 percent rise in local sales.
The APCMA statement urged the government to announce industry-friendly measures in the upcoming budget to boost domestic construction activity and enhance the global competitiveness of Pakistani cement.
Pakistan’s cement industry has struggled in recent years with subdued domestic consumption due to economic headwinds and high construction costs, forcing manufacturers to increasingly rely on exports.
India blocks Pakistani celebrities on social media
- Last month, India banned more than a dozen Pakistani YouTube channels for spreading ‘provocative’ content
- Fawad Khan, Babar Azam, and Arshad Nadeem among celebrities whose accounts have been blocked
NEW DELHI: New Delhi widened measures against Islamabad on Saturday, blocking access to the social media accounts of Pakistani actors and cricketers, as well as extending trade blocks and stopping postal services.
India blames Pakistan of backing the deadliest attack in years on civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22, in which 26 men were killed.
Islamabad has rejected the charge, and both countries have since exchanged gunfire across their contested de facto border in Kashmir.
Pakistan’s military said it carried out a “training launch” of a surface-to-surface missile weapons system on Saturday, further heightening tensions.
On Saturday, India’s communications ministry issued a statement saying it had “decided to suspend the exchange of all categories of inbound mail and parcels from Pakistan through air and surface routes.”
The arch-rivals had already expelled each other’s citizens and closed the main border crossing, and barred aircraft from each other’s airspace.
Indian media on Saturday, citing a Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) order, said that Pakistani-flagged ships are barred from any Indian port — and Indian ships are banned from Pakistan.
The move, however, is seen as largely symbolic, as regular diplomatic flare-ups between the neighbors over decades have prevented close economic ties.
But cultural ties remain far stronger. The nations were only divided by the 1947 colonial creation at the violent end of British rule, partitioning the sub-continent into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan.
On social media, India banned on April 28 more than a dozen Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly spreading “provocative” content, including Pakistani news outlets.
On Saturday, further restrictions blocked access in India to the Instagram account of Pakistan’s ex-prime minister and cricket captain Imran Khan.
Bollywood movie regulars Fawad Khan and Atif Aslam were also off limits, as well as a wide range of cricketers — including star batters Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan and retired players Shahid Afridi and Wasim Akram.
Olympic gold medallist Arshad Nadeem’s Instagram account was also no longer accessible to Indian users, reflecting the broad scope of the clampdown beyond just cricket.
Users in India attempting to access these accounts are shown a message indicating that they are unavailable due to compliance with a legal request.
Pakistan envoy urges Trump administration to help resolve Kashmir amid tensions with India
- Pakistan envoy tells Fox News world must address root causes of India-Pakistan tensions
- He says President Trump can build a peacemaker legacy by resolving the Kashmir dispute
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s envoy to the United States has urged Washington to move beyond crisis management and support efforts to resolve the Kashmir dispute, saying President Donald Trump came build a legacy by addressing the issue following last month’s deadly attack in the region.
The April 22 gun attack at a tourist hotspot in Indian-administered Kashmir left 26 people dead, prompting New Delhi to blame Pakistan, though Islamabad denied the charge forcefully.
India expelled Pakistani nationals and diplomats in the wake of the incident, closed a major border crossing, suspended a decades-old river water sharing treaty and imposed trade and shipping restrictions. Pakistan took reciprocal steps but also sought a neutral and impartial international investigation. Islamabad also warned that any military action by India would elicit a major response despite its desire to avoid escalation.
In an interview with Fox News on Friday, Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh said the risk of such crises would persist unless the global community moved beyond “band-aid solutions” and tackled the root cause of tensions.
“What we would urge the US leadership is to not only afford de-escalatory support in this situation but also to look at the broader issue of the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
India and Pakistan have fought several wars over the disputed Himalayan region, which both countries claim in full but rule in part.
“This is one nuclear flash point. There’s nothing flashier than this in terms of the impact on a large chunk of humanity that any misadventure, any miscalculation, any war here can cause. So, it would be an important part, it could be an important part of President Trump’s legacy to attend to this situation,” Sheikh added.
The Pakistani envoy noted that in previous crises, the international community had often intervened only to pull back before tensions were fully defused.
“This time ... it would be reasonable and perhaps even timely ... to perhaps not afford a band-aid solution, but to address the broader problem, the major disease that is there, and try and have a durable solution to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute,” he said.
Sheikh emphasized what he described as the “disproportionate responsibility” of the United States, as a preeminent global power, to help maintain and establish international peace and security.
He warned that the current crisis should not be allowed to fade without meaningful diplomatic solution.
“There is an opportunity in this situation, which we believe should not be squandered by the international community,” he added.
Over 8,800 Pakistani pilgrims in Madinah with 3,300 more expected today — state media
- The first groups of Pakistani pilgrims are scheduled to depart for Makkah on May 7
- Pilgrims going directly to Makkah will visit Madinah after performing Hajj rituals
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Hajj mission in Saudi Arabia has received nearly 8,890 pilgrims in Madinah, state media reported on Saturday, adding that 3,300 more were expected to arrive by the end of the day.
Pakistan launched its Hajj flights on April 29. For the first 15 days of the operation, pilgrims will continue to arrive in Madinah. Afterward, incoming pilgrims will land in Jeddah and travel directly to Makkah.
“The Pakistan Hajj Mission has so far received approximately 8,890 intending Pakistani pilgrims in Madinah by Saturday, who arrived through 35 flights operated by various airlines from major cities of Pakistan to perform their religious obligation under the government scheme,” the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported.
“As many as 12 flights, carrying 3,300 more pilgrims, are scheduled to arrive in the holy City Madinah on Saturday,” it added.
Pilgrims from across the world are converging in Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj, which begins on the 8th of Dhu Al-Hijjah, the final month of the Islamic calendar.
The first groups of Pakistani pilgrims are scheduled to depart for Makkah on May 7 after completing their eight-day stay in Madinah. Departures will follow the sequence of their arrival in the city, according to the religious affairs ministry.
Under the single-route system, all Pakistani pilgrims arriving in Madinah will proceed to Makkah for Hajj before returning to Pakistan via Jeddah.
Pilgrims flying directly to Makkah will later visit Madinah before departing for home.
Upon reaching Makkah, pilgrims will perform their first obligatory Umrah, according to the ministry.
