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  • Speaker opens investigation into arrests of opposition MPs from inside Pakistan parliament 


Speaker opens investigation into arrests of opposition MPs from inside Pakistan parliament 

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Updated 10 September 2024
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Speaker opens investigation into arrests of opposition MPs from inside Pakistan parliament 

  • Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf says 13 MNAs arrested on Monday night in connection with rally held on Sunday
  • Speaker asks for video footage to ascertain responsibility, says will not take the reports of arrests “lightly”
Updated 10 September 2024
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, the speaker of the Pakistan National Assembly, on Tuesday opened an investigation into the arrests of opposition lawmakers from inside the parliament building on Monday evening. 

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan has confirmed the arrests of Gohar Khan, who is the party chairman, as well as 12 other lawmakers, though it was unclear if all of them were arrested from the parliament building. Police told Arab News three MPs including Gohar Khan has been arrested from the National Assembly over charges of violating a new law to regulate public gatherings in the Pakistani capital. 

The PTI had held a rally on Sunday to demand Khan’s release. The gathering was mostly peaceful, but there were clashes between some PTI supporters and police en route to the rally venue, in which one police officer was injured. The rally also went on longer than the 7pm deadline given by the district administration.

Under Pakistani law, the concerned judge or magistrate needs to inform the speaker of reasons for the arrest of an MNA, while lawmakers cannot be arrested from within the precincts of parliament without the speaker’s permission.

“Whatever is being said about what happened in parliament last night, definitely, a stand must be taken on this,” Sadiq told parliament after opposition lawmakers raised the issue of the arrests on the floor of the house. 

“I have not only requested videos of all the gates [but also] I want video footage from inside [the parliament] so we can put responsibility on the concerned.”

Sadiq said he would file a report with police against officers responsible for entering parliament and arresting MNAs and urged lawmakers from the treasury and opposition benches to meet him in his chamber and discuss the way forward.

“We have to take this up seriously,” Sadiq said. “This is not going to be something taken lightly.”

Local media widely reported that Sadiq had summoned senior police officials, including the Islamabad Inspector General of Police, to his chamber to provide an explanation for Monday evening’s events. 

Defense minister Khawaja Asif, a key member of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet, said the speaker’s suggestion on the way forward was “acceptable” and his ruling PML-N party would agree with whatever course of action was decided by other political parties and the house. 

Before the speaker’s remarks, PTI lawmaker Ali Muhammad delivered a fiery speech in parliament, calling the arrests an “attack on democracy and on Pakistan’s constitution.”

In a video released on social media, PTI leader Asad Qaiser said the party had launched a “campaign to uphold the law and constitution of Pakistan.” 

“The way they arrested [PTI] chairman Barrister Gohar [Khan] from inside parliament, I am extremely disappointed by the weakness shown by the Speaker [National Assembly],” he said. “We won’t back down from this. We won’t be frightened or suppressed.”

The chief minister of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which is ruled by the PTI, was also “missing” since he arrived in Islamabad for meetings on Monday night, the PTI said, but his family said on Tuesday morning that he was back in contact and had returned to Peshawar, the provincial capital. 

“DANGEROUS PRECEDENT”

The government last week passed the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act, 2024, to “regulate” holding public gatherings in Islamabad, including by specifying timings for rallies and designating specific areas. The law has set three-year jail terms for participants of ‘illegal’ assemblies, with ten-year imprisonment for repeat offenders.

The Islamabad administration had allowed the PTI to hold Sunday’s rally from 4pm till 7pm but the gathering went on until nearly 11pm. 

“They were arrested due to the violation of the new law, the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act, in the PTI gathering on September 8,” Islamabad police spokesperson Taqi Jawad told Arab News on Monday evening, confirming three arrests.

Police did not respond to phone calls seeking comment on the three additional arrests claimed by the PTI.

In a statement on Tuesday, Amnesty International said the new law passed on public gatherings in the federal capital threatened the “right to protest” and had set a “dangerous precedent” that could be replicated elsewhere in the country. 

Khan, jailed since last August, was ousted from the PM’s office in 2022 in a parliamentary vote of no confidence after what is widely believed to be a falling out with Pakistan’s powerful military, which denies being involved in politics. Since his removal, Khan and his party have waged an unprecedented campaign of defiance against the military. 

The ex-PM faces a slew of legal charges and was convicted in four cases since he was first taken into custody, all of which have been either suspended or overturned by the courts. He remains in jail, however, on new charges brought by Pakistan’s national accountability watchdog regarding the illegal sale of gifts from a state repository while he was prime minister from 2018 till 2022.

The PTI says it has faced an over year-long crackdown since protesters allegedly linked to the party attacked and damaged government and military installations on May 9, 2023, after Khan’s brief arrest that day in a land graft case. Hundreds of PTI followers and leaders were arrested following the riots and many remain behind bars as they await trial. The military, which says Khan and his party were behind the attacks, has also initiated army court trials of at least 103 people accused of involvement in the violence.

The party says it was not allowed to campaign freely ahead of the Feb. 9 general election, a vote marred by a mobile Internet shutdown on election day and unusually delayed results, leading to accusations that it was rigged and drawing concern from rights groups and foreign governments.

The PTI says it won the most seats but its mandate was “stolen” by PM Shebaz Sharif’s coalition government which formed the government with the backing of the all-powerful military. Both deny the claim.

Police did not respond to phone calls seeking comment on the 10 additional arrests claimed by the PTI.

Topics: Ayaz Sadiq Pakistan National Assembly of Pakistan

Karachi’s Peetal Gali, once a buzzing market for brass wares, dies slow death

Updated 6 sec ago
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Karachi’s Peetal Gali, once a buzzing market for brass wares, dies slow death

  • Peetal Gali used to have around 70 handicrafts shops but now only houses seven 
  • Craftsmen blame low demand, inflation, frequent power outages for market’s decline
Updated 6 sec ago
NAIMAT KHAN

 KARACHI: Brass, silver and copper animal figurines, plates and vases were on display earlier this month on the side of a narrow, sequestered alley in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi. 

The slender winding street, not visible from the main road, is known as ‘Peetal Gali,’ or Brass Market, once a go-to area for anyone looking for utensils and decoration pieces made from brass and copper. 

A bustling home for decades to over 70 shops and run by artisans who had originally migrated from Moradabad in India after the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947, today Peetal Gali in the Gulbahar area of Karachi is dying a slow death. Only seven or eight shops remain, while the others have shut down due to dwindling demand for brass wares, inflation and frequent power outages.

“We have been working for 22–23 years, but in these 22–23 years, this craft has been completely ruined,” brass artisan Sharjeel Khan, 38, told Arab News as he carved a floral design on a vase. “There used to be a high demand for this work. Tourists from abroad, the British and Chinese used to come.”

Khan’s Khan’s family migrated from Moradabad after the 1947 partition and set up a brass shop at Peetal Gali.

“Whatever style you ask for [in brass] we can make it in that style. Even if you want figurines made, like an animal or a bird, we can craft it for you by hand,” he boasted.

But now there are no customers. 

“There are neither shops nor customers, and only about 50 to 60 craftsmen remain here,” Khan lamented, saying he made less than $5 a day and would not encourage others to take up this line of work.

Wilayat Shah, a shopkeeper who has been in the brass business since 1993, also blamed unreliable power supply for the decline of the industry. 

An energy network desperately in need of an upgrade can lead to frequent blackouts and electricity rationing in Pakistan. Millions of Pakistanis suffer partial blackouts almost daily, including scheduled “load shedding” power cuts aimed at conserving electricity.

“The main reason is electricity, there is no power here,” Shah told Arab News. “From morning till evening, we only get electricity for about 4.5 hours. How can work be done in such conditions?“

The lack of “fair” wages for brass craftsmen and inflation had also forced many to leave the profession. 

Pakistan’s annual inflation rate slowed to 1.5 percent in February, the lowest in nearly a decade, below the finance ministry’s estimates and down from a multi-decade high of around 40 percent in May 2023.

“Some started working in factories, some became rickshaw drivers, and others started selling fruits,” Shah said of artisans leaving the profession.

Muhammad Shamim, 67, a veteran trader born in Karachi to a family of Moradabad craftsmen, remembered when exports of brassware was thriving and locals and foreigners alike flocked to Peetal Gali.

He blamed multiple factors for the decline of Peetal Gali, mainly the fall of brass exports to Europe due to the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan, and an increase in the costs of materials due to inflation. 

After the 9/11 terror attacks on the United States and the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan which borders Pakistan, NATO assumed command of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan in 2003, initially focused on securing Kabul, but later expanded its role and troop presence to cover the entire country, culminating in a peak of over 130,000 troops. NATO troops withdrew with US forces after the Afghan Taliban took Kabul in 2021. 

 “When NATO forces were here, they used to buy a lot of our products, and the business thrived,” Shamim explained. “But ever since the Afghan Taliban took over, demand has dropped significantly.”

But the trader was hopeful that the market could be revived if craftsmen were provided with the necessary infrastructure and power supply was ensured. 

Khan, the brass worker, however, was less optimistic.

“If someone comes and asks us to teach this craft to their children, we refuse,” he said. “Why should such an art form not disappear when it cannot help a person sustain his household?” 

Topics: brass craftsmen

Pakistan central bank surprises with hold on key policy rate

Updated 22 min 11 sec ago
Reuters
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Pakistan central bank surprises with hold on key policy rate

  • In widely unexpected move, Pakistan’s central bank held key policy rate at 12 percent 
  • Central bank has slashed rates by 1000 bps from all time high of 22 percent in June 2024
Updated 22 min 11 sec ago
Reuters

KARACHI: Pakistan’s central bank held its key policy rate at 12 percent on Monday, it said in a statement, a widely unexpected move which halted an easing cycle that witnessed six straight reductions since June.
The central bank has slashed rates by 1000 bps from an all time high of 22 percent in June 2024, to revive economic sentiment and growth, while navigating reforms under a $7 billion facility from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in September.
“On balance, the MPC (monetary policy committee) assessed the current real interest rate to be adequately positive on forward-looking basis to sustain the ongoing macroeconomic stability,” the bank statement said.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), despite the halt in cuts, is one of the most aggressive central banks among central banks of emerging markets during the current easing cycle and has topped the 625 bps in rate cuts it did in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
At its last policy meeting, SBP kept its forecast of full-year GDP growth at 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent, and predicted faster growth would help boost foreign exchange reserves that had been lacklustre.
Pakistan’s economy grew by 0.92 percent in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2024-25 which ends in June.
Ten of 14 analysts surveyed by Reuters expected the central bank to cut its key rate, while four expected it to hold the rate. Analysts surveyed said they expect inflation may pick up in May as the base year effect wears off.
Pakistan’s consumer inflation rate slowed to a near decade low of 1.5 percent in February, largely due to a high year-ago base. That was below the government’s forecast and significantly lower than a multi-decade high of around 40 percent in May 2023. 

Topics: State Bank of Pakistan

PM calls for improving awareness of digital wallet use for full utilization of Ramadan package 

Updated 25 min 58 sec ago
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PM calls for improving awareness of digital wallet use for full utilization of Ramadan package 

  • Previously, annual Ramadan package used to be administered by utility stories that sold essential food items at reduced rates
  • Under new system, government has deposited Rs5,000 in digital wallets for four million families to make withdrawals from 
Updated 25 min 58 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday directed relevant ministries, the central bank, and private partners to improve awareness of using digital wallets so that poor families could fully utilize a Rs20 billion ($71.4 million) Ramadan relief package.

Announcing the package at the start of this month, the government said it would credit Rs5,000 ($17.87) into digital wallets for around 4 million families across the country to support them in the holy month of Ramadan.

During a visit on Monday to the National Telecommunication Corporation Headquarters to monitor the execution of the Ramadan program, Sharif was informed that around 2.8 million entitled accounts had been credited with Rs5,000 each but money had only been withdrawn from 683,000 accounts. 

“As 94 percent of accounts have been established, the withdrawal ratio is just 22 percent,” the PM was quoted as saying by state-run APP news agency.

“There is a big gap between disbursement and withdrawal, which shows a lack of awareness among the people,” the PM added, calling on the governor central bank to join the campaign to ensure that maximum people benefitted from the program.

In the past, the annual Ramadan relief package would be implemented through state-run utility stores, from where low-income households could buy essential commodities such as wheat, sugar, oil, and pulses, among other items, at reduced prices. However, each year, consumers complain of long queues at the stores, limited stock availability, substandard food items, and difficulties with the process of identification verification needed to receive the discounted package at utility stores, which led the government to announce it would no longer utilize utility stores to administer its Ramadan program. 

Other than in Ramadan also, utility stores have been plagued by reports of corruption and mismanagement for years, with consumers complaining of substandard merchandise being sold and staff accused of vending subsidized products in the open market.

During Ramadan in Pakistan, there is a significant increase in the demand for essential food items at subsidized prices, which overwhelms the capacity of utility stores, causing long lines and potential shortages. 

Ensuring equitable distribution of the package across different regions and demographics can also be difficult in a country of 241 million people, sometimes leading to some areas receiving less benefits than others. To prevent abuse, the government implements strict verification processes like CNIC checks, which also leads to delays and inconvenience for customers. 

The allocated stock of subsidized items at utility stores is also often not sufficient to meet the high demand during Ramadan, leading to disappointment for customers who cannot purchase everything they need. 

“This [digital wallets] was a new concept to say goodbye to the utility stores forever due to the massive complaints of worst corruption of public money, which was also an injustice to the common man,” Sharif said. “The issue of poor quality and corruption have been done away with through a new modern digital wallet.”

The PM also urged people to call the program helpline at 9999 to get their financial support without any delay.

Topics: Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif

Global rights watchdog classifies Pakistan as ‘repressed’ in civic freedom report

Updated 10 March 2025
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Global rights watchdog classifies Pakistan as ‘repressed’ in civic freedom report

  • Online platform CIVICUS blames Pakistan for stifling protests, criminalizing activists and restricting digital spaces
  • Includes Pakistan with Congo, Serbia, Italy and US among countries “experiencing rapid declines in civic freedoms“
Updated 10 March 2025
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: International rights watchdog CIVICUS classified Pakistan as “repressed” in its latest report on civic freedom on Monday, accusing authorities of placing restrictions on social media platforms, stifling protests from opposition parties and criminalizing activists. 

Pakistan’s rights groups and opposition parties have highlighted what they say is growing suppression of their fundamental rights over the past few years. They point to legislations in recent months that recommend hefty fines and jail terms for those spreading “fake news” online, a ban on social media platform X that has been in place since February last year, arrests of opposition leaders and their supporters, and alleged harassment of journalists. 

Pakistan’s government denies the allegations, saying that its legislations ensure data privacy on social media platforms, and it only takes action against violent protesters who take the law into their hands. 

According to the latest report compiled by CIVICUS, an online platform that tracks the latest developments to civic freedoms worldwide, Pakistan joins Congo, Serbia, Italy and the US in this year’s watchlist which “lists countries experiencing rapid declines in civic freedoms.”

“Pakistan’s recent criminalization of activists, stifling of opposition and minority protests, and digital space restrictions have resulted in the county being added to the CIVICUS Monitor watchlist,” the rights body said in a press release. 

CIVICUS classified Pakistan in the “repressed” section, where it said countries where civic spaces are significantly constrained are included. CIVICUS said individuals and civil society members who criticize power holders risk surveillance, harassment, intimidation, imprisonment, injury and death in countries categorized as repressed. 

The press release mentioned the government’s move to ban the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) last year under it anti-terror laws. The PTM is a pro-Pashtun rights group that is known for its criticism of Pakistan’s powerful military. The online platform also mentioned the charges that prominent ethnic Baloch rights activist Dr. Mahrang Baloch, a fierce critic of Pakistan’s military who blames it for enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in southwestern Balochistan province, faces. 

The army says many of Balochistan’s so-called disappeared have links to separatists while military spokespersons have also variously accused the rights movement led by Baloch of being “terrorist proxies.”

“She faces multiple criminal charges including under Anti-Terrorism Act, for organizing sit-in across the country and attending gatherings,” Rajavelu Karunanithi, CIVICUS Advocacy and Campaign Officer for Asia, said. “CIVICUS calls on the government to drop these fabricated charges immediately and to revoke the ban against the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement.”

It also mentioned the government’s amendments to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) in January, saying that they aim to tighten control on online speech and target journalists. 

“The crackdown on protests by the opposition and ethnic minority groups and targeting of journalists and digital restrictions are inconsistent with Pakistan’s international human rights obligations,” Karunanithi said. 

“The authorities must take steps to reverse course and protect the rights to peaceful assembly and expression and bring perpetrators to justice,” Karunanithi added. 

CIVICUS said it assigns ratings as either “closed,” “repressed,” “obstructed,” “narrowed” or “open,” based on a methodology that combines several data sources on the freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression.

Over 20 organizations collaborated to provide an evidence base for action to improve civic space on all continents, the platform said in its press release.

Topics: Pakistan freedom of speech PECA law Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) Dr. Mahrang Baloch

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Pakistan declares Mar. 15 as ‘Day of Protection of Sanctity of Prophethood’

Updated 10 March 2025
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Pakistan declares Mar. 15 as ‘Day of Protection of Sanctity of Prophethood’

  • Religion ministry spokesperson says initiative to curb rising incidents of blasphemy, sacrilegious content on social media
  • Prominent religious scholars urged to devise comprehensive strategy against blasphemous content, says state media
Updated 10 March 2025
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s religion ministry has officially declared Mar. 15, 2025, as the “Day of Protection of the Sanctity of Prophethood” to address rising incidents of blasphemy and sacrilegious content online, state-run media reported on Monday.

Every year on Mar. 15 the world commemorates the “International Day to Combat Islamophobia” to stress the right to freedom of religion and belief and condemn incidents of blasphemy. Mar. 15 also marks the day when a gunman entered two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 51 people and injuring 40 others in a hate crime against Muslims.

“The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony has officially declared March 15, 2025, as the Day of Protection of the Sanctity of Prophethood (Yum-e-Tahaffuz-e-Namoos-e-Risalat Peace Be Upon Him),” the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported on Sunday. 

As per the report, religious affairs ministry’s spokesperson Muhammad Umar Butt said the initiative will curb rising incidents of blasphemy and sacrilegious content on social media. Butt said the ministry has issued directives to provincial secretaries of the religious affairs and Auqaf departments in all four provinces, Islamabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan to launch an awareness campaign against blasphemous content. 

He said the ministry has also urged prominent religious scholars to devise a comprehensive strategy for public awareness against blasphemous content.

Blasphemy, punishable by death in Muslim-majority Pakistan is an incendiary charge, where even unsubstantiated accusations can incite public outrage and lead to lynchings. Human rights groups say Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are often misused to settle personal scores.

Pakistan has seen a sharp rise in the prosecution of “online blasphemy” cases recently, with private groups accusing hundreds of young individuals of blasphemy, according to AFP.

A report published by the government-run National Commission for Human Rights in October last year said there were 767 people, mostly young men, in jail awaiting trial over blasphemy allegations.

Meanwhile, Sardar Muhammad Yousaf of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) party assumed charge as the new Minister of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, according to a statement from the religion ministry. 

“Federal Minister Sardar Muhammad Yousuf assumed the portfolio of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony,” the ministry said. “He was given a detailed briefing on the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the ministry’s subordinate institutions and Hajj preparations.”

Yousaf said prioritizing the welfare of pilgrims and visitors was essential, emphasizing that all necessary steps would be taken to address their issues and improve Hajj facilities.

Topics: Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry Islamophobia

Latest updates

Karachi’s Peetal Gali, once a buzzing market for brass wares, dies slow death
Pakistan central bank surprises with hold on key policy rate
PM calls for improving awareness of digital wallet use for full utilization of Ramadan package 
Global rights watchdog classifies Pakistan as ‘repressed’ in civic freedom report
Bangladesh denies UN pressure in PM’s ouster last year

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