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‘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
Updated 11 April 2022
NAIMAT KHAN

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.

Topics: Pakistan politics Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)

Pakistan army chief vows separatist militants will not succeed in disintegrating country

Updated 7 sec ago
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Pakistan army chief vows separatist militants will not succeed in disintegrating country

  • General Syed Asim Munir says military will “beat the hell out of these terrorists very soon”
  • Balochistan has suffered a rise in militant attacks recently, including a train hijacking in March
Updated 7 sec ago
Fatimah Amjad

ISLAMABAD: Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir recently vowed to defeat separatist militants in southwestern Pakistan for good, warning them that they would never succeed in their mission to gain independence for the country’s southwestern Balochistan province. 
Balochistan has long grappled with a separatist insurgency led by groups like the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which was designated a terrorist organization by the United States in 2019. These groups frequently attack Pakistani law enforcers and Chinese interests in the southwestern province. 
Separatist militants accuse Islamabad and Pakistan’s powerful military of exploiting Balochistan and denying its locals a share in its natural resources. The army and government vehemently reject these accusations and say they are undertaking various projects in the province for its development and progress. 
Speaking at an Overseas Pakistanis Convention on Tuesday, Munir addressed the recent surge in militancy in Balochistan. He pointed out that India, with its 1.3-million-strong armed forces could not “intimidate or coerce” Pakistan hence it was not possible for a small group of militants to do the same. 
“Balochistan is Pakistan’s destiny,” Munir said during a passionate speech. “You 1,500 people are saying that you will take it away? Even your next ten generations cannot take it.”
The army chief praised the Pakistani fathers and mothers who readily sacrifice their sons for the sake of the country, reiterating that “Pakistan will not fall” to loud cheers and applause from the audience. 
He vowed that Pakistan’s military would overcome militants in the country “very soon.”
“God willing, you will see that we will beat the hell out of these terrorists very soon,” he said. 
His address comes amid a surge in attacks in Balochistan in recent months, the most prominent of which was the March train hijacking. Armed fighters of the separatist BLA stormed the Jaffar Express train in the mountainous Balochistan region last month, holding hundreds of passengers hostage. 
The military launched a rescue operation in which 354 passengers were freed and 33 militants were killed. The army said that the hijacking killed 31 soldiers, staff and civilians. 
Violence has persisted in the province since then, with three officials of the Balochistan Constabulary police force killed in an IED blast on Tuesday in its Mastung district.

Topics: Army Chief General Asim Munir Pakistan Army Balochistan Attacks Pakistan India Overseas Pakistanis Convention

Pakistan, China to develop aquaculture industry in Gwadar to boost seafood production, export

Updated 50 min 44 sec ago
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Pakistan, China to develop aquaculture industry in Gwadar to boost seafood production, export

  • Chinese port company presents plan to develop high-tech aquaculture industry in Pakistan’s coast city of Gwadar
  • Developing aquaculture key to enhancing exports, ensuring food security, says Pakistan’s maritime affairs minister
Updated 50 min 44 sec ago
Ismail Dilawar

KARACHI: China’s Overseas Ports Holding Company (COPHC) on Wednesday presented a detailed plan to develop a high-tech aquaculture industry in Pakistan’s coastal city of Gwadar, the maritime affairs ministry said, describing the plan as a “transformative opportunity” for the country’s coastal development. 
Gwadar is in Pakistan’s impoverished southwestern province of Balochistan, a sparsely populated, mountainous, desert region where China is involved in the development of a deep-sea port on the Arabian Sea as part of a $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
The aquaculture industry involves the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, shrimps, crabs, oysters, seaweed, and other marine or freshwater species. In a meeting with Pakistan’s Maritime Affairs Minister Junaid Anwar Chaudhry, COPHC Chairman Yu Bo outlined his organization’s vision to develop a sustainable, technologically advanced aquaculture sector in the port city.
“This project will harness Gwadar’s rich marine resources and transform the city into a key hub for seafood production, processing, and export,” Chaudhry was quoted as saying by the ministry. He highlighted the project’s potential to generate employment, attract investment and strengthen the local economy.
The Pakistani minister assured full government support for all investors and companies aiming to establish operations in the country toward unlocking Pakistan’s blue economy.
“We strongly support initiatives that bring investment, technology, and jobs to our coastal regions,” he said.
Chaudhry noted that Gwadar’s coastline offers immense potential for aquaculture ventures due to its favorable sea conditions and proximity to international markets. He emphasized the importance of developing hatcheries, seafood processing facilities and sustainable aquaculture farms to meet global quality standards and boost exports. The minister said developing aquaculture was key to enhancing exports and ensuring food security in Pakistan.
Both sides agreed to continue coordination through relevant government departments and technical experts to develop viable models and policy frameworks for smooth project implementation.

Topics: Gwadar Port Gwadar Pakistan China Ties Pakistan China trade

Pakistan party ends weeks-long protest over arrest of Baloch rights activists 

Updated 16 April 2025
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Pakistan party ends weeks-long protest over arrest of Baloch rights activists 

  • BNP party is protesting arrest of Dr. Mahrang Baloch, others after so-called violent protests
  • Dr. Baloch and others were arrested last month and charged with sedition, murder and terrorism
Updated 16 April 2025
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: The Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) on Wednesday called off a weeks-long sit-in in southwest Pakistan against the arrest last month of Baloch ethnic rights activists, the chief of the party said in a press conference. 

BNP chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal and his supporters have been leading a protest since Mar. 28, days after Dr. Mahrang Baloch, the most prominent rights activist from Balochistan, and others were arrested after they took part in a protest outside the University of Balochistan in the provincial capital of Quetta. Baloch and other activists had been demanding the release of other members of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee rights group, whom they allege have been detained by security agencies. 

That demonstration ended in the death of three protesters, according to police documents, and Baloch and others were charged with terrorism, sedition, and murder. The Pakistan army and government have in the past variously referred to Baloch and her BYC as ‘terrorist proxies’ who are allied with militant separatist groups like the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). The group denies the charge and says it leads peaceful protests for the rights of the Baloch. 

“Keeping in mind everything, giving importance to the difficulties of the people, the Balochistan National Party has decided that if the government does not allow us to go to Quetta, we will continue our protest, if not this way, then any other way we deem fit,” Mengal Said at a press conference in Mastung where his party had been holding the sit-in. 

He did not elaborate on a future course of action. 

The crackdown on BYC leaders followed a deadly train attack in Balochistan last month, in which BLA separatist militants took hundreds of passengers hostage. The army said 23 soldiers, three railway employees and five passengers had died in the attack and rescue mission, which lasted over a day. 

Last year, Baloch was barred from traveling to the United States to attend a TIME magazine awards gala after being named on the 2024 TIME100 Next list of “rising leaders.” 

She began her activist career at the age of 16 in 2009 when her father went missing in an alleged “enforced disappearance.” His body was found two years later. Her BYC says it campaigns against such extrajudicial killings, abductions and other rights abuses against the ethnic Baloch people. The state denies official complicity. 

Protests and advocacy among the Baloch are often led by women, who say their male counterparts have suffered the worst in a decades-long state crackdown.

Pakistan has been battling a separatist insurgency in Balochistan for decades, where militants target state forces and foreign nationals in the mineral-rich southwestern province bordering Afghanistan and Iran.

Topics: BNP Pakistan Balochistan National Party-Mengal

Daesh claims Pakistan bomb blast killing three policemen

Updated 16 April 2025
AFP
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Daesh claims Pakistan bomb blast killing three policemen

  • The incident occurred in the country’s restive southwestern Baochistan, wounding more than a dozen
  • Daesh has also carried out attacks on civilians and security forces in Pakistan and Afghanistan in the past
Updated 16 April 2025
AFP

ISLAMABAD: Daesh has claimed a bomb explosion targeting police in Pakistan’s turbulent southwest that killed three policemen and wounded more than a dozen.
A bomb planted on a parked motorcycle on Tuesday targeted a passing bus carrying 40 policemen in Mastung city of impoverished Balochistan province, where security forces have been battling sectarian, ethnic and separatist violence for decades.
In a statement late Tuesday, Daesh’s regional Khorasan chapter, which often carries out attacks on security forces in Pakistan and Afghanistan, claimed its “soldiers” targeted the “apostate” police.
Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in violence in its regions bordering Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021, with Islamabad accusing its western neighbor of allowing its soil to be used for attacks against Pakistan — a claim the Taliban denies.
In Balochistan, separatist violence has intensified, including an attack last month by ethnic Baloch militants on a train carrying 450 passengers, which sparked a two-day siege and left dozens dead.
Daesh is also active.
The group has claimed responsibility for attacks on religious minorities, targeted killings of religious scholars, and assaults on security officials.
In July 2023, the group claimed a suicide bombing at a political party gathering that killed more than 54 people, including 23 children.
More than 200 people, mostly security officials, have been killed in attacks since the start of the year by armed groups fighting the government in both Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, according to an AFP tally.

Topics: Daesh

‘Monkey Business’ thrives on stage, but Yasir Hussain warns survival through theater is no joke

Updated 16 April 2025
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‘Monkey Business’ thrives on stage, but Yasir Hussain warns survival through theater is no joke

  • The Pakistani actor rose to fame through Anwar Maqsood’s plays before moving into TV and film
  • Back on stage after years, Hussain says he wants big-screen productions under his LO IQ Films
Updated 16 April 2025
BURAQ SHABBIR

KARACHI: Pakistani actor Yasir Hussain has returned to his theater roots with “Monkey Business,” a farcical comedy currently drawing crowds to the Arts Council of Pakistan in Karachi, though he says it remains nearly impossible for artists to survive on theater alone in the country.
The actor, who rose to prominence through iconic roles in Anwar Maqsood’s plays before moving into television and film, is now back on stage after years. His return comes at a time when Pakistan’s theater scene continues to struggle with limited commercial viability, high production costs and little state support.
“I don’t think an artist should solely rely on theater [in Pakistan]. They should do TV and film too,” Hussain told Arab News on Tuesday.
“Even today if I am offered a project like ‘Badshah Begum,’ ‘Baandi,’ ‘Jhooti’ or ‘Aik Thi Laila,’ which were all great scripts, I’d still do it,” he added, naming some of the television productions.
Hussain stars as Wasim in Monkey Business, a satire about aspiring actors who get involved in phishing scams. The play opened on April 5 and runs through April 21 in Karachi, before heading to Lahore and Islamabad.

“He is a fraud,” he said while describing his character in the play. “It’s all about actors, new actors and they are into some kind of phishing business. It’s a farce comedy.”

Actor Yasir Hussain (right) poses infront of the poster of his theatre play "Monkey Business" in a picture uploaded by himself on April 4, 2025. (Yasr Hussain 131/ Instagram)

Known for his early work in Anwar Maqsood’s “Pawnay 14 August” and “Half Playt,” Hussain transitioned to television and film over the past decade, also producing and directing for screen.
His latest TV drama “Paradise,” which he produced under his banner LO IQ Films, premiered earlier this week, starring Iqra Aziz, his wife, and Shuja Asad.
“I really want to pitch good scripts to my wife,” he said, adding: “In Paradise, if you see the first episode, you’ll see that it’s a custom-made character for Iqra.”
Hussain and Aziz, a renowned actress in her own right, previously appeared together in Jhooti and later in the mini-series Aik Thi Laila. But Hussain said he avoids working opposite her in lead roles post-marriage.
“Marriage is a very personal thing and I don’t want to show that chemistry onscreen in a TV drama at least,” he explained. “I don’t want her screen age to increase for no reason because of me. And I don’t want to share the small screen with her just because she is a famous actress. I have no interest in appearing in dramas nor sharing the small screen with my wife.”

Yasir Hussain (center) poses with actors from the set of drama Paradise directed by him. (Photo courtesy: Instagram/@Yasir Hussain131)

Though he’s focused on stage shows and direction at the moment, Hussain doubts theater can thrive in Pakistan without institutional support.
“How will theater in Pakistan rise? This place where we are performing theater, the rent is 1.5 to 2 lakhs rupees [$357 to $713] in addition to lights, sounds and other expenses. Theater [setup] for a day costs a lot, equal to the amount it generates,” he said.
“Unless the government plays a part in [promoting] theater or film, no one can do it. It cannot flourish.”
Hussain also drew a distinction between commercial theater like Monkey Business and the work staged at institutions like the National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA).
“It’s good for NAPA but it’s not commercially viable,” he said. “There is no hype around the city for such kind of theater.”
Asked about his future plans, Hussain said he wanted to venture into film production under LO IQ Films.
“I am enjoying production. LO IQ Films is producing theater as well as TV so now I want to produce films,” he said.
 

Topics: yasir hussain Monkey Business Theatre in Pakistan

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