Pakistanis, Afghans among 119 migrants deported on US flight to Panama
Pakistanis, Afghans among 119 migrants deported on US flight to Panama/node/2590179/pakistan
Pakistanis, Afghans among 119 migrants deported on US flight to Panama
Colombian migrants deported from Panama arrive at the Jose Maria Cordova International Airport in Rionegro, Antioquia department, Colombia, on February 13, 2025. (AFP)
Pakistanis, Afghans among 119 migrants deported on US flight to Panama
Migrants from China, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan, among others, were aboard
Trump administration taking Panama up on offer to act as stopover for expelled migrants
Updated 14 February 2025
AP
PANAMA CITY: Panama has received the first US flight carrying deportees from other nations as the Trump administration takes Panama up on its offer to act as a stopover for expelled migrants, the Central American nation’s president said Thursday.
“Yesterday a flight from the United States Air Force arrived with 119 people from diverse nationalities of the world,” President José Raúl Mulino said Thursday in his weekly press briefing. He said there were migrants from China, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan, among others, aboard.
The president said it was the first of three planned flights that were expected to total about 360 people. “It’s not something massive,” he said.
The migrants were expected to be moved to a shelter in Panama’s Darien region before being returned to their countries, Mulino said.
Asked later Thursday why Panama was acting as a stopover for these deportations, Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Ruiz Hernández said that it was something the US government had requested. He also said the US government was paying for the repatriations through UN immigration agencies.
The migrants who arrived Wednesday, had been detained after crossing the US border and did not have criminal records, he said.
Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Mulino in Panama. While US President Donald Trump’s demands to retake control of the Panama Canal dominated the visit, Mulino also discussed Panama’s efforts to slow migration through the Darien Gap and he offered Panama as a bridge to send US deportees back to their countries.
Rubio secured agreements on the trip with Guatemala and El Salvador as well, to accept migrants from other nations in what was seen as the laying groundwork for expanding US capacity to speedily deport migrants.
Migration through the Darien Gap connecting Panama and Colombia was down about 90 percent in January compared to the same month a year earlier.
Since Mulino entered office last year, Panama has made dozens of deportation flights, most funded by the US government.
Ruiz said Thursday that Panama “has been completely willing to participate and cooperate in this request they have made of us.”
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday stamped their authority on the global snooker stage as Mohammad Asif and Muhammad Hasnain clinched both the Masters and Under-17 titles after a thrilling finale at the IBSF World Snooker Championship 2025 in Bahrain.
Asif faced a stern test in the World Masters final, going toe-to-toe with India’s Brijesh Damani in a nail-biting encounter. After six fiercely contested frames, the Pakistani star cueist held his nerve in the decider to edge Damani 4-3, clinching yet another major title.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz congratulated Asif on his brilliant win in the Masters category.
“Mohammad Asif has brought pride to Pakistan on the global stage by defeating his Indian opponent through sheer hard work, skill, and determination,” she was quoted as saying by her Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) party.
Muhammad Asif of Pakistan receives the Masters title award at the IBSF World Snooker Championship in Manama, Bahrain, on July 18, 2025. (Handout/IBSF)
Asif advanced to the final with an impressive 4-2 win over India’s Manan Chandra in the semifinal on Thursday at the Crowne Plaza, Bahrain.
Meanwhile, Hasnain produced a clinical display of cue mastery, sweeping past Riley Powell of Wales 4-0 to seize the World Under-17 Snooker crown.
“The young prodigy remained unshaken throughout, showcasing composure beyond his years to secure the gold,” the IBSF said on its website.
Pakistan’s Muhammad Hasnain receives the Under-17 title award at the IBSF World Snooker Championship in Manama, Bahrain, on July 18, 2025. (Handout/IBSF)
KARACHI: Pakistan is planning to build Rs3 billion ($10.5 million) aquaculture park in the southern port city of Karachi, Maritime Affairs Minister Junaid Anwar Chaudhry announced on Saturday, amid efforts to strengthen the country’s blue economy.
According to the World Bank, the blue economy is defined as sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improving livelihoods and creating jobs, while preserving the ocean ecosystem health.
Pakistan has been pushing to modernize its port infrastructure and expand its role in regional trade by improving cargo handling, digitalizing port operations and encouraging public-private partnerships.
Speaking at a meeting to review progress on blue economy, Chaudhry said this new aquaculture park will be built on 120 acres and directed the Qur'angi Fish Harbor Authority to submit its report within 10 days.
“Pakistani coastal waters are very suitable for aquaculture,” he said in a statement shared by the maritime affairs ministry. “The project will be built under a public-private partnership and the park will boost seafood exports.
Pakistan’s fish and fish preparation exports reached $465.4 million in the outgoing fiscal year that ended in June, according to official data. The exports were up 13.4 percent from $410.3 million in the previous year.
Authorities are currently trying to enhance the potential of Pakistan’s fisheries, logistics and marine services while reducing environmental harm.
“Investment in aquaculture and port infrastructure is essential for national development,” Chaudhry told representatives of Gwadar Port, Qur'angi Fish Harbor, Marine Fisheries and Balochistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry at the meeting.
“The same aquaculture model will be implemented in Balochistan as well.”
In May, the Pakistani government announced the creation of a new Maritime Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), saying it would serve as a specialized platform for uniting stakeholders from across the maritime spectrum to pursue greener policies and long-term economic resilience.
“This chamber will not only support investment and innovation in the maritime sector but also prioritize sustainability at ports, promote green technologies and foster carbon reduction strategies,” Chaudhry said at the time.
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday reassured Pakistan’s continued diplomatic, moral and political support to Kashmiris for the achievement of their right to self-determination, Sharif’s office said, as the Kashmiri people marked ‘Accession to Pakistan Day.’
The Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir has been divided between Pakistan and India since their independence from British rule in 1947. Both countries rule parts of the Himalayan territory but claim it in full and have fought multiple wars over the disputed region.
The Accession to Pakistan Day is annually observed to commemorate unanimous adoption of a resolution on July 19, 1947 by All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference in Srinagar, which called for Kashmir’s accession in view of aspirations of the Kashmiri people and their religious, geographical, cultural and economic proximity to Pakistan.
“On that day, the brave people of Kashmir passed a resolution for the accession of the state of Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan,” Sharif said a statement issued from his office.
“A peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions is the only guarantee of the rights of the Kashmiris and peace in the region. The government and people of Pakistan will continue to extend diplomatic, moral and political support to the Kashmiris.”
Most Kashmiris in the world observe the day to renew their pledge to complete the merger. In Azad Kashmir, wide-scale programs are organized to highlight the Kashmiri struggle and to demand their right to self-determination under UN resolutions.
This year, the Accession to Pakistan Day is being observed at a time of heightened tensions between Pakistan and India over an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in April.
New Delhi blamed the assault, which killed 26 people, on Pakistan, an allegation denied by Islamabad. The attacked sparked four days of hostilities between the neighbors, with both sides attacking each other with jets, drones, missiles and artillery before agreeing to a United States-brokered ceasefire on May 10.
The conflict, the deadly between the neighbors in more than two decades, killed dozens of people on both sides.
ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: In a bustling corner of Islamabad’s F-10 Markaz, the scent of sizzling oil and green chili chutney once signaled the presence of Afghan street food.
Today, the aroma is gone and so are the stalls that created it — the hum of grills and laughter and life.
“There used to be a few [Afghan fries stalls] around my neighborhood and then one morning, they just upped and left,” said Hamza Nofil, 28, who used to daily have the crinkle-cut, ridged, and golden chips, always served with the signature green chutney.
“So, you know, it breaks my heart.”
This combination of photos shows two Afghan-run food stalls in Islamabad. (AN Photo)
The heartbreak is shared by many in Pakistan’s urban centers where those fries, and the people who served them, were part of a larger story — of exile, adaptation and community — that is now vanishing as a result of a sweeping deportation drive targeting Afghan nationals.
Since November 2023, Pakistan has expelled nearly one million Afghans as part of a crackdown on undocumented foreigners. The government has also not renewed Proof of Registration (PoR) cards for 1.4 million Afghan refugees, allowing their legal stay to lapse in June 2024.
While the policy has drawn criticism from rights groups and international powers, it is the quieter losses, of flavor, memory, and a sense of belonging, that now echo through city markets and street corners.
Among the casualties are the street food stalls, modest, smoky kitchens on wheels, where generations of Afghan refugees introduced Pakistanis to flavors from across the border: the fries dunked in secret chutney, paratha-wrapped burgers and mounds of Kabuli Pulao rice heaped with raisins, nuts and slow-cooked beef.
Shahid Ali, 22, a Pakistani vendor in F-10, said he remembered when there were six or seven Afghan fries stalls in the area, as well as those selling Afghan burgers wraps packed with shredded chicken or kebab, slathered with sauces and served in paratha.
“You won’t see any Afghans around here because the government sent them back to Afghanistan,” Ali said.
As Afghan families depart, Pakistani vendors have tried to mimic the recipes but something vital has been lost.
“We are missing them [Afghan food stalls],” said Iqra, 29, a banker who only gave her first name. “I will definitely miss them, especially their green chutney. I loved that.”
“A WORLD IS GOING”
In Karachi’s Al-Asif Square, nicknamed “Small Kabul” for its long-settled Afghan community, the losses are not just culinary. They are existential.
“The craftsmen are going, the shopkeepers are leaving,” said Sayed Abdul Wali, a 27-year-old shopkeeper. “A world is going to Afghanistan.”
This combination of photos shows Afghan dresses in Karachi. (AN Photo)
Abdul Kabir, a Pakistani who sells traditional Afghan naan flatbreads, said demand had plummeted.
“Where once three sacks of flour would be used, now we only use one,” he said. “Even the morning batch is still lying here.”
Anthropologist Saeed Husain warned of cultural erasure, saying more than flavor was being lost. He described Afghan food culture as a form of lived knowledge, passed down from generation to generation, evolving with each retelling.
“All these traditions will be lost,” Husain said. “And then we’ll just have copies, really cheap copies… all of that will be lost too now.”
Afghans began arriving in Pakistan in large numbers after the Soviet invasion of 1979, with successive waves fleeing war, drought, and political instability. In urban Pakistan, cities like Karachi and Islamabad, they became traders, laborers, mechanics, and cooks, helping build the very urban fabric from which they are now being erased.
This combination of photos shows populare Afghan Boti (left) and Kabuli Pulao (right) in Karachi. (AN Photo)
“Pakistan is a country founded in 1947 and made by refugees,” said Dr. Sanaa Alimia, author of Refugee Cities: How Afghans Changed Urban Pakistan.
The professor said Afghans were deeply woven into the economic and cultural fabric of urban centers and played a foundational role in shaping the cities of Pakistan, building homes, laying roads, running businesses — and serving food.
“There are many examples, from agricultural production and farming techniques, to mechanics, to doctors… artists, tandoor wallas, and so much more,” Dr. Alimai said.
But she cautioned against reducing the worth of Afghans to their economic value.
“Human and political rights are about protecting and valuing people irrespective of if they contribute to the economy or not.”
Back in Karachi, Mohsin, a local customer, feared not just the loss of food but of taste, tradition, and togetherness.
“If our Afghan brothers leave,” he said, “then perhaps the taste and flavor will leave too.”
KARACHI: Pakistan has extended for the third time its airspace ban on Indian aircraft until August 24, the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said late Friday, amid continued tensions between the two countries.
The restriction was first imposed on Apr. 24 as part of a series of tit-for-tat measures announced by both India and Pakistan, days after an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir.
India blamed Pakistan for the assault that killed 26 tourists, Islamabad denied the allegation and called for a credible international probe into the incident. Both countries later engaged in a four-day military conflict in May.
“All aircraft operated by Indian airlines will not be able to use Pakistani airspace,” the PAA said in a statement. “The ban will remain in effect until 4:59am on August 24, Pakistan time.”
The authority said Indian-owned or -leased military and civil aircraft will also not be allowed into Pakistani airspace.
Pakistan previously extended the one-month restriction in May and June.
The restriction has forced Indian airlines to reroute their flights, resulting in increased fuel consumption, longer travel times and higher operational costs.
Air India, which operates numerous flights to Europe and North America, estimated in May that the airspace ban could lead to approximately $600 million in additional expenses over the course of a year and requested compensation from the Indian government.