Pakistan’s commercial capital shuts down on religious party’s call for strike over Gaza

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Updated 26 April 2025
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Pakistan’s commercial capital shuts down on religious party’s call for strike over Gaza

Pakistan’s commercial capital shuts down on religious party’s call for strike over Gaza
  • The strike was widely supported by organizations representing traders, lawyers and people from different walks of life
  • Pakistan has consistently demanded Israel’s accountability and called for uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza

KARACHI: Markets and businesses remained shut in Pakistan’s commercial capital of Karachi on Saturday in response to a nationwide strike called by Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) religious party to express solidarity with the people of Gaza, amid renewed Israeli military strikes in the Palestinian enclave.
The strike was widely supported by various organizations representing traders, lawyers and people from different walks of life, and there was no major commercial activity in the southern Pakistani port city.
It followed massive Gaza solidarity marches in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad this month, which were attended by tens of thousands of Pakistanis who demanded the world stop Israeli military actions.
“Today, there is a strike throughout Karachi,” JI Karachi chief Monem Zafar Khan said, noting the strike was not only supported by Karachi’s business community but also by professionals and civil society groups.
“It is a shutter-down strike, and the entire business community of Karachi, the lawyers of Karachi, the students of Karachi, the scholars of Karachi, the civil society of Karachi — all of them are supporting this.”




Police patrol on streets during a nationwide strike called by a Pakistani political party and supported by trade organizations against the Israeli military aggression in Gaza, in Karachi, Pakistan on April 26, 2025. (AN Photo)

The strike was largely observed in Karachi and it could only partially take hold elsewhere in Pakistan.
Pakistan, which does not have diplomatic ties with Israel, has consistently condemned Israeli military actions and called for the uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory.
The South Asian country has stressed the urgent need to revive negotiations aimed at a two-state solution to the Palestine Issue, with East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.




Commuters make their way through a partially deserted street during a nationwide strike called by a Pakistani political party and supported by trade organizations against the Israeli military aggression in Gaza, in Karachi, Pakistan on April 26, 2025. (AN Photo)

Muhammad Aslam Khan, general-secretary of the Cooperative Market Association, condemned Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed over 50,000 Palestinians since Oct. 2023, and demanded stronger international action over it.
“It is now 12 o’clock and the city is completely silent and shut down,” Aslam told Arab News, surrounded by closed shops in the Saddar business district.
“We are sending them [Palestinians] a clear message that the hearts of the people are beating for the Palestinian Muslims, and we are deeply pained by the genocide happening to them, the oppression they are facing, and the fact that their basic needs like food and water have been completely cut off.”




Police stand guard during a nationwide strike called by a Pakistani political party and supported by trade organizations against the Israeli military aggression in Gaza, in Karachi, Pakistan on April 26, 2025. (AN Photo)

Usman Sharif, a representative of the All-Pakistan Cottage Industry Association in Karachi, said the Pakistani trader fraternity wanted to contribute to the Palestinian cause.
“Every trader says that they want to contribute in some way, whether it be through prayers, funds, participating in the strike, joining a rally, or through a boycott,” he said.
“The strike is happening across Pakistan, and here in Karachi as well, people have participated in the strike.”


Pakistan says won’t escalate tensions with India, vows to defend itself in case of any ‘adventure’

Pakistan says won’t escalate tensions with India, vows to defend itself in case of any ‘adventure’
Updated 6 sec ago
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Pakistan says won’t escalate tensions with India, vows to defend itself in case of any ‘adventure’

Pakistan says won’t escalate tensions with India, vows to defend itself in case of any ‘adventure’
  • The statement comes amid fears that India may carry out limited strikes against Pakistan over an attack in Kashmir that 26 tourists
  • New Delhi accused Pakistan of backing the attack, Islamabad has rejected the charge and called for a credible investigation into it

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, said on Monday his country would not make any move that could escalate prevailing tensions with India, but it would give a “befitting reply” in case of any “adventure” by New Delhi.
Relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors have plummeted after India accused Pakistan of backing an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 tourists on April 22. Islamabad has rejected the charge and both countries have since exchanged gunfire in Kashmir, taken diplomatic measures against each other, expelled citizens and ordered the border shut.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to pursue the attackers “to the ends of the earth” and there have been fears that India may carry out limited airstrikes or special forces raids near the border with Pakistan. A Pakistani minister last week said Islamabad had “credible intelligence” India was planning to attack Pakistan.
Speaking to journalists alongside Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Dar said Pakistan had nothing to do with the Pahalgam incident and its offer to participate in a credible international probe was still there, adding that Islamabad would demonstrate “full restraint.”
“We will demonstrate patience, we will exercise full restraint and we will not be the first one to take any escalatory move,” he told reporters in Islamabad, following his meeting with the Iranian FM.
“However, if India takes any adventure, any escalatory move, then we will give a befitting reply. So, that’s where we stand.”
FM Araghchi said he discussed the current regional situation, particularly Pakistan-India tensions after the Pahalgam attack and Pakistan’s stance on it as well as the Tehran-United States nuclear talks with his Pakistani counterpart.
The diplomatic flare-up and exchanges of small arms fire between India and Pakistan across their de facto border in Kashmir has alarmed world and regional powers, who have called for restraint and urged the two neighbors to resolve the crisis through dialogue.
Iran has offered to mediate the crisis between Pakistan and India, with Araghchi saying his country was “ready to use its good offices” to resolve the standoff.
Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations. They have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, a region split between them, since gaining independence from the former British colonial rule in 1947.
Dar said Pakistan had assured foreign capitals and friendly nations that it would not be the first one to strike, reiterating PM Shehbaz Sharif’s offer for a credible probe into the April 22 attack.
“Our offer is very much there,” he added.


Pakistan detects poliovirus in sewage samples from 18 districts including major cities

Pakistan detects poliovirus in sewage samples from 18 districts including major cities
Updated 27 min 20 sec ago
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Pakistan detects poliovirus in sewage samples from 18 districts including major cities

Pakistan detects poliovirus in sewage samples from 18 districts including major cities
  • Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Islamabad, Peshawar, Rawalpindi among cities where samples positive
  • Pakistan has reported seven polio cases so far this year, 74 cases were confirmed last year

PESHAWAR: The poliovirus has been detected in sewage samples from 18 districts of Pakistan, including major urban cities like Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, the national polio eradication program said on Monday.

Polio is a paralyzing disease that has no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of 5 is essential to provide children high immunity against the disease.

Pakistan has reported seven polio cases so far this year and has planned three major vaccination campaigns in the first half of 2025. Last year, 74 polio cases were confirmed in Pakistan.

“As robust poliovirus surveillance continues in Pakistan, 38 environmental samples collected from 31 districts between Apr. 7-17 were tested at the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication,” the lab said in a statement. 

“The lab confirmed detection of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in sewage samples of Loralai, Quetta, Zhob, Islamabad, Abbottabad, Bannu, DI Khan, Peshawar, Tank, North Waziristan, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Badin, Jamshoro, Hyderabad, Kashmore, Karachi, and Sukkur.”

A third nationwide campaign to vaccinate children under the age of five is scheduled from May. 26 to June 1.

In the early 1990s, Pakistan reported around 20,000 polio cases annually but in 2018 the number dropped to eight cases. Six cases were reported in 2023 and only one in 2021. 

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the last two countries in the world where polio remains endemic.

Pakistan’s polio program began in 1994 but efforts to eradicate the virus have since been undermined by vaccine misinformation and opposition from some religious hard-liners who say immunization is a foreign ploy to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western spies. 

Militant groups also frequently attack and kill members of polio vaccine teams and security guards protecting them.


19 killed after fuel tanker blast in Pakistan

19 killed after fuel tanker blast in Pakistan
Updated 05 May 2025
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19 killed after fuel tanker blast in Pakistan

19 killed after fuel tanker blast in Pakistan
  • Oil tanker caught fire in southwestern Nushki district on April 28
  • Police say investigating possibility of negligence in oil tanker blast 

QUETTA, Pakistan: The death toll from an oil tanker blast in southwest Pakistan jumped to 19, officials said Monday, a week after the incident.

Crowds had gathered to douse the flames of the burning tanker after it pulled over near a market, when it exploded.More than 40 people were injured, many of them transported to the mega city of Karachi for treatment.

“The death toll climbs to 19,” local police official Muhammad Hasan Mengal told AFP.

The incident happened on April 28 in Nushki, a district of Balochistan province. 

He said police were investigating the possibility of negligence.


Pakistan calls on international partners to restrain ‘spoilers’ as Moody’s concerned over India standoff

Pakistan calls on international partners to restrain ‘spoilers’ as Moody’s concerned over India standoff
Updated 05 May 2025
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Pakistan calls on international partners to restrain ‘spoilers’ as Moody’s concerned over India standoff

Pakistan calls on international partners to restrain ‘spoilers’ as Moody’s concerned over India standoff
  • Moody’s Ratings said escalating frictions with India would weigh on Pakistan’s economic growth, impair access to external financing
  • Last week, according to media reports, India raised concerns with the IMF on its loans to Pakistan, asking for a review of bailout

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday urged the international community to prevent ‘spoilers’ from obstructing its path to economic growth as Moody’s Ratings said escalating frictions between New Delhi and Islamabad could weigh on Pakistan’s economic growth and impair access to external financing.

Dar’s comments came in the wake of New Delhi blaming Islamabad for a deadly attack on domestic tourists in Indian Kashmir last month. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to punish the backers of the attack “beyond their imagination” and fears have been rising that India might carry our surgical strikes or special forces raids along the de facto border that divides the disputed Kashmir valley between the two nations. Pakistan has denied involvement in last Tuesday’s attack but has warned it will hit back if it is targeted.

Speaking at the 4th Annual Regional Dialogue 2025 organized by the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) in Islamabad, Dar, who is also the foreign minister, said Pakistan was endowed with rich natural and human resources and an enormous economic potential, located at the crossroads of South Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East, and wanted to “capitalize on these inherent advantages for the prosperity and betterment of our people and that of the region.”

“We have prioritized geo-economics as one of the cardinal pillars of our engagement with our international partners. We are determined to enhance regional connectivity, and increase bilateral and multilateral developmental partnerships for socio-economic uplift,” the foreign minister said.

“To achieve these goals, we are desirous of peace in the region and beyond. At a time when we are headed on the path of economic stability, we do not want any distractions from our people-centric development agenda.”

He said he hoped the international community would help Islamabad achieve its goals, and prevent any spoilers in the region “from obstructing our path to peace and prosperity.”

The recent standoff with India has come as Pakistan treads a tricky and narrow path to economic recovery. 

On Monday, Moody’s Ratings said tensions between India and Pakistan would impair Pakistan’s economic growth and access to external financing. The ratings agency said persistent tensions could pressure Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves, though it did not expect a full-scale military conflict.

Pakistan secured a $7 billion bailout program from the IMF last year and was granted a new $1.3 billion climate resilience loan in March.

The program is critical to the $350 billion economy and Pakistan said it has stabilized under the bailout that helped it stave off a default threat.

Last week, according to media reports, India raised concerns with the IMF on its loans to Pakistan, asking for a review. 

The adviser to Pakistan’s finance minister has said the IMF program is “well on track.”

“The latest review has been done well and we are completely on track,” adviser Khurram Schehzad, told Reuters last week, adding that Pakistan had very productive spring meetings with financial institutions in Washington.

“We did about 70 meetings ... interest has been very high for investing and supporting Pakistan as the economy turns around,” Schehzad said.

The soaring tensions between the two countries have drawn global attention and calls for cooling tempers.

US Vice President JD Vance said on Thursday Washington hoped Pakistan would cooperate with India to hunt down Pakistan-based assailants.

Kashmir is claimed in full by both Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan, but each rules it in part.

-With input from Reuters


Family struggles to raise toddler after India expels mother to Pakistan

Family struggles to raise toddler after India expels mother to Pakistan
Updated 05 May 2025
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Family struggles to raise toddler after India expels mother to Pakistan

Family struggles to raise toddler after India expels mother to Pakistan
  • India canceled Pakistanis’ visas after attack in Indian-administered Kashmir last week
  • Special NORI visas were granted to Pakistani or Bangladeshi nationals married to Indians

RAJOURI, Indian-administered Kashmir: Ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan have left one family struggling and worried after the mother of a toddler was expelled by India.

Two-year-old Ayiza Anjum’s father said his daughter had fallen ill since her mother was made to leave the country when India canceled visas of Pakistani nationals in the wake of an attack on tourists in Pahalgam that left 26 dead last week. 

Athiya Aslam lived in India on a long-term visa with her in-laws in Kashmir’s Rajouri district. 

Ayiza’s father, Anjum Tanweer, condemned the situation as a “dire injustice.”

“This [expulsion of Pakistani nationals] by the government according to us is very wrong,” he said. “Those living illegally [in India] it makes sense for them. But those who have families here, they have been wronged.”

Tanweer said it was the third day that his child had been crying and refusing to drink milk. 

“She is sick. It has become very difficult for me. I’m very worried,” the father said. 

Tanweer’s father appealed to the Indian government to bring back his daughter-in-law and reunite her with Ayiza.

“My small child who is left here is in a lot of distress. She hasn’t been able to eat for the last three days,” Tanweer Hussain Khan, the toddler’s grandfather, said. 

“We are all in a state of shock. I request the prime minister to [bring back] my daughter-in-law who has gone there [to Pakistan], whose child was snatched from her. I have complete hope that you will reunite them.”

On April 22, militants unleashed a deadly carnage in Baisaran valley, a tourist spot in Indian Kashmir, known for its lush green meadows. 25 tourists and a local pony handler were killed in the attack. India has alleged Pakistani involvement, without providing evidence. Islamabad denies the charge but fears continue to rise that New Delhi could carry out retaliatory strikes.

In response, among other measures, New Delhi canceled the visas of Pakistani nationals. However, it reportedly announced NORI (No Obligation to Return to India) visa holders as an exception.

NORI visas are provided to such Pakistani or Bangladeshi nationals who are married to Indian citizens or have close relatives in India.

Kashmir has been disputed between India and Pakistan for decades, with both claiming the valley in full but ruling it in part.