‘Freedom struggle’: Thousands rally across Pakistan to protest ex-PM Khan’s ouster

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Updated 11 April 2022
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‘Freedom struggle’: Thousands rally across Pakistan to protest ex-PM Khan’s ouster

  • Khan was removed through a no-confidence vote which he described as part of a foreign conspiracy
  • His party supporters chanted anti-American, anti-opposition slogans during protest demonstrations

KARACHI: Thousands of people rallied across Pakistan on Sunday night to protest the ouster of Imran Khan after he lost a no-confidence vote in the National Assembly which his party described as part of an elaborate foreign conspiracy to bring down his administration.
Earlier in the day, the former prime minister told people it was time to launch another “freedom struggle” against foreign-sponsored “regime change” in the country, adding only the people of Pakistan could have defended its sovereignty and democracy. As Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers and supporters gathered in different cities, he applauded the “amazing outpouring of support” in a Twitter post.
Khan lost majority in the lower house of parliament in recent weeks after defections by dozens of his party’s lawmakers and abandonment by his coalition partners. Subsequently, he became the first prime minister in the country who could not survive the no-confidence resolution after some of his close aides tried to delay the vote in the National Assembly as much as possible.
“Never have such crowds come out so spontaneously and in such numbers in our history, rejecting the imported [government] led by crooks,” Khan said while sharing a video of his supporters in Lahore on Twitter which was shared by his followers.


Tens of thousands of people also gathered near Karachi’s Millennium Mall in an unprecedented show of power by the PTI party which had won a majority of seats from the city during the last general elections.
More recently, however, analysts believed Khan’s popularity had dwindled, though the number of participants in the protest demonstration in Karachi stunned both the organizers and the PTI rivals.
The rally was addressed by Governor Sindh Imran Ismail and a PTI provincial leader Haleem Adil Sheikh along with others for several hours. Most of them said that Khan’s was a result of an international conspiracy since he was trying to pursue an independent foreign policy and raised his voice for the Muslim world.
The crowd chanted anti-American and anti-opposition slogans in response.
In Islamabad, former federal ministers Asad Umar, Murad Saeed and Shibli Faraz led a rally at the capital’s F-9 Park where thousands, including women and children, gathered in response to Khan’s call. The women were holding placards that read: “Imported government is not acceptable.”
A senior PTI leader in the province of Punjab, Mian Mehmood-ur-Rasheed, also addressed a huge rally at the Liberty Market roundabout.
Similar demonstration was also organized in Rawalpindi which was addressed by former interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed near Lal Haveli.
PTI workers and supporter came out in large numbers in various districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province which has remained a major stronghold for the political party for nearly a decade. Apart from protests in Peshawar, Noshehra, Malakand and Mardan, Pakistanis living abroad also came out in Khan’s support in Dubai, London and other cities of the world.
Khan did not participate or address any of the rallies in Pakistan, though he thanked the protesters in a social media post for supporting him.
“Thank you to all Pakistanis for their amazing outpouring of support & emotions to protest against US-backed regime change abetted by local Mir Jafars to bring into power a coterie of pliable crooks all out on bail,” he wrote while making a reference to a local commander who betrayed an 18th century Muslim ruler Tipu Sultan by siding with the British. “Shows Pakistanis at home & abroad have emphatically rejected this.”

The former Pakistani prime minister and his party have accused the opposition leaders of plundering the country, saying that they have corruption references pending against them.
The opposition has always denied these allegations while claiming that the accountability drive launched by Khan’s administration was politically motivated.


Afghan envoy, UN official discuss refugee deportation mechanism amid expulsions from Pakistan

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Afghan envoy, UN official discuss refugee deportation mechanism amid expulsions from Pakistan

  • Afghanistan’s embassy has said its nationals are subjected to searches and arrests in Islamabad, Rawalpindi
  • Foreign office denies any mistreatment of refugees, asks Kabul to create conducive conditions for returnees

ISLAMABAD: The Afghan embassy in Pakistan announced on Friday the envoy met with the top official of the United Nations refugee agency in the country to deliberate on the required mechanism for refugee deportation, including their tripartite meeting with Pakistani authorities.
The development comes as Pakistan has expelled over 800,000 Afghan nationals since 2023. The government launched a deportation drive against “illegal immigrants,” primarily targeting Afghans, amid a spike in suicide bombings, most of which it attributed to Afghan nationals without providing evidence.
Earlier this week, the embassy issued a strongly worded statement, saying Afghan citizens in Islamabad and the nearby garrison city of Rawalpindi had been subjected to arrests, searches and orders from the police to leave the twin cities and relocate to other parts of Pakistan.
However, the foreign office in Islamabad swiftly responded, saying any allegations related to the mistreatment of Afghan refugees in the country were “misplaced” while calling on Kabul to ensure its nationals’ smooth repatriation.
“H.E. Sardar Ahmad Shakeeb, the Acting Ambassador of Afghanistan to Pakistan, met with Ms. Philippa Candler, the Head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Pakistan,” the Afghan embassy said in a social media post on X.
“Their discussions focused on Pakistan’s recent decision to expel Afghan refugees from Islamabad and Rawalpindi, along with their broader deportation across the country after June this year,” it continued. “They also deliberated on the necessary mechanisms and facilities required for this process, the importance of a tripartite meeting involving Afghanistan, Pakistan and UNHCR, and other relevant matters.”
Until the government initiated the expulsion drive in 2023, Pakistan was home to over four million Afghan migrants and refugees, of which around 1.7 million were undocumented, according to government figures.
Afghans constitute the largest portion of migrants in the country, many of whom arrived after the Taliban took over Kabul in 2021, but a significant number have been present since the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Islamabad insists the deportation drive is not aimed specifically at Afghans but at all those living illegally in Pakistan.
Last year, however, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi announced that Afghans would need permission to stay in the federal capital, Islamabad, after December, alleging their involvement in an opposition protest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party that led to clashes with police.
UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) also voiced concern over the situation of Afghan nationals in Islamabad and Rawalpindi in a joint statement earlier this month, informing Pakistan had arrested over 800 Afghan nationals from Islamabad and Rawalpindi since the beginning of the year.
Last month, Amnesty International expressed concern over reports of arbitrary detention and harassment of Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers by law enforcement agencies in Islamabad.
However, the foreign office maintained this week that Pakistan had done what it could for these refugees.
“We expect interim Afghan authorities to create conducive conditions in Afghanistan so that these returnees are fully integrated into Afghan society,” the foreign office said.


Pakistan, Bahrain information ministers vow to strengthen media ties

Updated 21 February 2025
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Pakistan, Bahrain information ministers vow to strengthen media ties

  • Bahrain is an important Gulf Cooperation Council member and a favorite destination for Pakistani workforce since the 1970s
  • Attaullah Tarar says Pakistan’s economy is moving in the right direction and offers excellent opportunities for global investors

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Bahrain information minister have resolved to strengthen state media ties between the two countries, Pakistani state media reported on Friday.
The development came during Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar’s meeting with his Bahraini counterpart, Ramadan bin Abdullah Al-Noaimi, in Riyadh, on the sidelines of the Saudi Media Forum.
The two figures discussed relations between Pakistan and Bahrain, which were rooted in common faith, history and culture, the state-run Pakistan Television (PTV) broadcaster reported.
“Attaullah Tarar said exchange of media delegations is crucial for further strengthening cooperation in the field of media,” the report read.
“He suggested the sharing of news between Bahrain News Agency (BNA) and Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).”
Bahrain is one of the important countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and a favorite destination for the Pakistani workforce since the early 1970s, according to the Pakistani foreign ministry.
Both countries have established Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) at the level of the foreign ministers, and the Pakistan-Bahrain trade volume has ranged between $500 million and $1 billion in recent years.
Tarar told his Bahraini counterpart that Pakistan’s economy, bolstered by a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program, was moving in the right direction, saying there were excellent opportunities for global investors to invest in Pakistan.
“Bahrain’s Minister for Information said they value their relationship with Pakistan,” the PTV report read. “He reiterated Bahrain’s commitment to further strengthening cooperation in the media.”


In rare development, ex-PM Khan aides hold meeting with Pakistan chief justice

Updated 21 February 2025
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In rare development, ex-PM Khan aides hold meeting with Pakistan chief justice

  • Imran Khan’s aides say top judge asked for their input on draft National Judicial Policy
  • Move part of reform agenda aimed to reduce pendency of cases, provide speedy justice

ISLAMABAD: Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s top aides said on Friday they had held a meeting with Pakistan Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, in a rare development to discuss drafting a National Judicial Policy.
The move comes days after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Afridi at his residence, with the top judge sharing the agenda of an upcoming meeting of the National Judicial Policy Making Committee and seeking the input of the government on the draft, according to the Supreme Court. The chief justice’s reforms agenda aims to reduce the pendency of cases and provide speedy justice to litigants. 
Afridi had informed PM Sharif during their meeting that he would also be taking the opposition’s input and wanted bi-partisan support for his reforms. 
Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, Gohar Khan, the chairman of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, said the party had met the chief justice on his request to discuss the new National Judicial Policy.
“The chief justice of Pakistan had shared an agenda with us regarding National Judicial Policy and asked for our inputs on ten points,” Gohar said.
Last year, ex-PM Khan had written a letter to then Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, who retired in October, seeking judicial intervention into alleged rigging in the Feb. 8, 2024 national election and the subsequent allocation of reserved seats in the national and provincial assemblies, which the PTI says were unfairly allocated to their opponents. 
After the election, the Election Commission of Pakistan had denied the PTI its share of 70 reserved seats in parliament, contending that Khan-backed independent candidates could not claim them. PTI candidates contested the polls independently after the party lost its election symbol in the run-up to election for not holding intra-party elections.
The Supreme Court later struck down the Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision on the reserved seats, calling it “unconstitutional” and ordering that reserved seats be allocated to the PTI.
“We also told him [Chief Justice Afridi] that no one regards SC order as a court order these days. SC orders are not being implemented be it senate elections or reserved seats,” Gohar said.
The PTI chairman added that the chief justice had assured the party of taking “certain measures” to address its issues.
Pakistan, currently bolstered by a $7 billion IMF facility granted in September, is navigating an economic recovery path even as it faces prolonged political crisis. Imran Khan, arguably the country’s most popular politician, has been behind bars since August 2023 in a slew of cases he says are politically motivated. His party has been leading a movement, including through street protests and sit-ins, to demand his release.


Pakistan arrests 30 suspects over attacks in northwest Kurram

Updated 21 February 2025
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Pakistan arrests 30 suspects over attacks in northwest Kurram

  • At least 130 people have died in sectarian clashes in Kurram since November 
  • Road closures around Kurram have caused shortage of food and medicines 

PARACHINAR: Pakistani security forces raided several villages Thursday in a troubled northwestern region, arresting at least 30 suspects accused of deadly attacks on the country’s troops, police said. 
In the restive southwestern province of Balochistan, separatists attacked a police post, killing two officers.
The arrests were made during a search operation in Kurram, a district in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where at least 130 people have died in recent months there in clashes between rival Shiite and Sunni tribes since November. 
The district has been cut off from the rest of the country since November after authorities blocked roads following clashes between heavily armed tribes. Road closures around Kurram have caused a shortage of food and medicines there.
The operation was launched days after insurgents attacked aid trucks and killed five soldiers and a truck driver, according to Abbas Majid, a senior police official. He said officers also recovered some of the supplies looted by the suspects during recent attacks on aid trucks.
In the attack Thursday night in Balochistan, militants targeted a police post on the outskirts of Quetta, the provincial capital, triggering a shootout in which two officers were killed, local police chief Qasim Rodini said. He said an exchange of fire was still ongoing.
Earlier in the day, the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the killing of seven passengers in an attack on buses in Balochistan on Tuesday.
The group said in a statement that its fighters attacked the buses in the town of Rakhni and claimed those killed were affiliated with the military and intelligence services. Local authorities dismissed the claim, saying the victims were civilians with no ties to security forces.
The Baloch Liberation Army, which operates mostly in Balochistan, has also targeted Chinese nationals working on multi-billion-dollar projects in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Last year, the group killed dozens of people in three separate attacks on vehicles.
Balochistan has been the scene of a long-running insurgency with the separatists seeking independence from the central government in Islamabad. Although Pakistani authorities say they have quelled the insurgency, violence has persisted.


Five controversial India-Pakistan moments in ODI cricket

Updated 21 February 2025
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Five controversial India-Pakistan moments in ODI cricket

  • Pakistan’s Javed Miandad always found a way of unsettling his opponents with his batting or sledging
  • The two heavyweights clash in a blockbuster group match at the Champions Trophy in Dubai on Sunday

DUBAI: Pakistan and India clash in a blockbuster group match at the Champions Trophy on Sunday in Dubai.
AFP Sport looks at five controversial moments on the pitch between the arch-rivals in one-day cricket.
Pakistan’s Javed Miandad always found a way of unsettling his opponents with his batting or sledging, and a match against India at the 1992 World Cup was no different.
Excessive appealing by Indian wicketkeeper Kiran More seemed to have irked Miandad during Pakistan’s chase in Sydney.
The batter had a word with More, who was constantly chatting behind the stumps, before taking guard on a delivery.
Later, after completing a cheeky run, Miandad hopped like a kangaroo in a bid to imitate the glovesman in his appeals.

Pakistan’s Javed Miandad acrobatically imitates the over-enthusiastic Kiran More (left) during an ICC World Cup match played between India and Pakistan at Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney, Australia, on March 4, 1992. (X@cricketworldcup)

Commentators and fans saw the funny side but not Indian skipper Mohammad Azharuddin, who looked visibly furious at Miandad’s antics.
Opener Aamer Sohail was steering Pakistan’s chase in the 1996 World Cup quarter-final when a moment of rashness from the left-handed batter cost his team the game.
Chasing 289 for victory in Bengaluru, Sohail and fellow opener Saeed Anwar made the team race to 84 in 10 overs before Anwar departed.
Sohail kept up the charge as he hit Indian medium-pacer Venkatesh Prasad for a boundary and sledged the bowler with a finger pointed in the direction of the shot.

The screengrab taken from a video shows Pakistan’s Aamir Sohail gestures after hitting a boundary against Indian medium-pacer Venkatesh Prasad in the second-quarter final match between India and Pakistan in Bengaluru on March 9, 1996. (Screengrab/Social Media)

Prasad hit back, bowling Sohail next ball to a huge roar from the crowd and a send-off gesture from the bowler to derail Pakistan’s chase.
Pakistan’s usually cool Inzamam-ul-Haq infamously confronted an India fan in the stands at a match in 1997 at Toronto and the incident became a talking point for years to come.
Inzamam was standing at the boundary when an India supporter heckled the batter with chants of “Aloo” (Potato in Hindi), referring to the cricketer’s bulky frame.
When the calls became louder on a megaphone, Inzamam directed one of his players to bring a bat from the dressing room and was soon inside the stands to go after the heckler before security intervened.

Security officials hold back Pakistan’s Inzamam-ul-Haq (second right) after a heated exchange with a spectator during the second match of the Sahara Cup between India and Pakistan in Toronto, Canada, on September 14, 1997. (Espncricinfo)

Inzamam was reprimanded for the act and years later said the chants were personal and abusive.
India batsman Gautam Gambhir — now their coach — smacked Pakistan spinner Shahid Afridi for a boundary in a match in 2007 and words were exchanged before the two nearly came to blows.
Gambhir and Afridi refused to back down after some verbal volleys and the batter and bowler collided — seemingly on purpose — in between a run.
The two again had a go at each other with expletives clearly visible in dramatic TV images, before the on-field umpire intervened to douse the fire.
Gambhir and Afridi have kept up the rivalry even after retiring and indulge in ugly exchanges on social media on cricket and politics.
Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar never backed down from a fight but in a duel with Harbhajan Singh at the 2010 Asia Cup the Indian spinner had the last laugh.

Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh and Shoaib Akhtar engage in a heated exchange during the India vs Pakistan match of Asia Cup in Dambulla, Sri Lanka, on June 19, 2010. (AP)

Akhtar bowled a dot ball to tailender Harbhajan in India’s chase and threw a few sledges, but that only triggered the batter to hit a six for an India victory in the final over off Mohammad Amir.
HarbHajjan celebrated wildly in front of Akhtar, who told him where to go.
Akhtar and HarbHajjan recently playfully re-enacted the moment on TV in a promotion video for the Champions Trophy.