Ex-PM Khan sentenced to 14 years in state gifts case, party says its offices ‘sealed’ 

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Updated 31 January 2024
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Ex-PM Khan sentenced to 14 years in state gifts case, party says its offices ‘sealed’ 

  • This is Khan’s third conviction in as many cases, comes a day after ten-year jail term for leaking state secrets
  • Khan’s party vows to appeal ‘flawed’ verdict, says offices in Islamabad and Quetta encircled by police

ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife were sentenced to 14 years in jail on Wednesday, his party said, in a case that relates to accusations the ex-premier undervalued gifts from a state repository and gained profits from selling them while he held the country’s top office.
Sentencing in the case, which was filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), comes a day after Khan was handed a 10-year jail term in another case for his role in publicizing a classified diplomatic cable and leaking state secrets. In August, Khan was sentenced to three-years in prison by the election commission for failing to declare assets gained from selling gifts received in his tenure as PM from 2018-2022 and worth more than 140 million rupees ($501,000).
Khan says all cases against him are politically motivated and meant to end his political career amid a groundswell of popularity for his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party since he was ousted from the PM’s office in April 2022 in a parliamentary no-trust vote. Khan alleges his removal was orchestrated by the country’s all-powerful military and his political rivals with the backing of Washington. All three deny the charge.
The new sentences for Khan come just a week before national elections are scheduled to be held on Feb. 8, which Khan’s PTI party is contesting amid what it calls a military-led crackdown. The army denies this.
Wednesday’s ruling also includes a 10-year disqualification for Khan from holding public office, the PTI said. Independent observers and voters are widely raising questions about the legitimacy of the upcoming polls if the country’s most popular politician and arguably its biggest political party are sidelined.
Senior PTI leader Syed Zulfikar Bokhari said the party would “immediately” appeal Wednesday’s verdict by the National Accountability Bureau court.
“First a half broken democracy was dismantled and now the judicial system has been shattered,” he said.
In a statement sent to the media, the PTI called the judgment flawed and a “decision reached in a haste only a few days before elections.”
“We believe it’s an attempt to provoke supporters to stage protests paving way to sabotage the electoral process,” the PTI said.
“However, please note, all PTI leadership has repeatedly asked support base to stay focused on the electoral campaign while the legal team fights it out in the higher courts.”
In its Dec. 23 reference against Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi, who surrendered to police after Wednesday’s sentencing, NAB had accused them of undervaluing state gifts during assessments and selling them for profits of Rs1573.72 million ($5.6 million). NAB said the duo had received 108 gifts, out of which they “retained 58 x • gift boxes/sets against an undervalued amount of Rs.142,123,100 as assessed by appraisers.”
“That it established from the record and statements of witnesses/ approver that the accused No. 1 Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi & accused No.2 Bushra Imran, by way of dishonest, corrupt and illegal means, misused the power; vested in the office of the Prime Minister and got involved in financial shenanigan thus obtained monetary gain amounting to Rs. 1573.72 million and caused huge loss to the national exchequer for their personal gain,” the NAB case file reads.
The gifts include perfumes, diamond jewelry, dinner sets and seven watches, six of them Rolexes — the most expensive being a “Master Graff limited edition” valued at Rs85 million ($304,000).
“DOZENS OF CASES”
Wednesday’s ruling in the state gifts case is Khan’s third conviction in as many cases while he has been in jail since August last year. He also faces dozens of other cases on charges ranging from terrorism and blasphemy to attempted murder and treason.
Khan was also previously arrested for four days in May last year in another case that he and Bushra Bibi received land as a bribe through the Al-Qadir Trust, a charitable trust they set up in 2018 when Khan was still in office. Pakistani authorities have accused Khan and his wife of receiving the land, worth up to 7 billion rupees ($25 million), from a property developer charged in Britain with money laundering. The bribe, authorities say, was in exchange for a favor to the property developer by using 190 million pounds repatriated by Britain in the money laundering probe to pay fines levied by a court against the developer.
Khan’s aides say the land was donated to the trust for charitable purposes. The real estate developer has also denied any wrongdoing.
Khan and most senior leaders of his party have been rejected as candidates for the Feb. 8 vote in what they say is a state-backed campaign to thwart their participation.
Khan, 71, was ousted in April 2022 after falling out with Pakistan’s powerful military leaders who are widely believed to have backed him into power in 2018. 
In opposition, he waged an unprecedented campaign of defiance against the military establishment which has directly ruled the nation for almost half of its history but says it no longer interferes in politics. 
“OFFICES SEALED”
In a separate development, the PTI said it had called a General Body Meeting in Islamabad and multiple cities of the four provinces as part of election planning but police had encircled the offices in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, as well as Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan.
“Our party members are being denied access to the premises by the police,” PTI General Secretary Omar Ayub Khan said on X, calling on the senior judiciary to take action.
“Every obstacle is being placed in PTI’s path to prevent us from functioning as a political party, but we shall endure and persevere ... The people of Pakistan are with PM Imran Khan and PTI. This fact alone terrifies our opponents.”


“Tehreek-e-Insaaf is being prevented from meeting even inside its office. Is it a level playing field?” the PTI said in another X post as it posted visuals of police outside its Islamabad secretariat.0

 

 

 


Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem reigns supreme with javelin gold at Asian Athletics Championships

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Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem reigns supreme with javelin gold at Asian Athletics Championships

  • India’s Sachin Yadav won silver with an 85.16m throw, while Japan’s Yuta Sakiyama took bronze by throwing 83.75m
  • Nadeem made history at 2024 Paris Olympics by winning Pakistan’s first athletics gold with a record throw of 92.97m

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem on Saturday won gold with a massive 86.4-meter throw in the men’s javelin final at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea, Pakistani state media reported.

Nadeem is the first Pakistani in over 50 years to win a gold medal at the Asian Athletics Championships. Pakistan’s Allah Daad last topped the podium in javelin throw and Muhammad Younis won the 800-meter event in 1973.

“Arshad Nadeem has once again made the nation proud by making a massive 86.40 meter throw and led the field in the men’s Javelin final at the Asian Athletics Championship in Gumi,” the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.

In Saturday’s event, India’s Sachin Yadav won silver with an 85.16m throw, while Japan’s Yuta Sakiyama took bronze with an 83.75m throw. Both threw their personal best.

Nadeem advanced to the final with a powerful throw of 86.34 meters on his first and only attempt in the A qualification round on Friday.

He made history at the 2024 Paris Olympics by winning Pakistan’s first-ever athletics gold with a record-breaking javelin throw of 92.97 meters. His throw not only set a new Olympic and Asian record but also ended Pakistan’s 32-year Olympic medal drought.

Nadeem has since become a national hero, inspiring millions with his journey from humble beginnings in smalltown Mian Channu to the top of the Olympic podium.


Pakistan voices concern over rise in Islamophobic incidents in India

Updated 31 May 2025
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Pakistan voices concern over rise in Islamophobic incidents in India

  • The reports of increasing attacks against Muslims in India emerged after an April 22 attack on Hindu tourists in disputed Kashmir
  • Pakistan’s foreign office urges the Indian government to uphold the rights and safety of all its citizens, regardless of their faith

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan expresses grave concern over a rise in Islamophobic incidents across India, the Pakistani foreign office said on Saturday, following reports of attacks against Muslims.

The reports of increasing attacks against Muslims and Kashmiris in India emerged after an April 22 attack on Hindu tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam town that killed 26 people.

New Delhi blamed the assault on Pakistan, a charge denied by Islamabad. The attack triggered a four-day standoff between the neighbors this month that killed 70 people on both sides before a truce was announced on May 10.

At least 184 anti-Muslim hate incidents, including murders, assaults, threats and vandalism, have been recorded countrywide in India, Indian media outlets quoted New Delhi-based Association for Protection of Civil Rights as saying this month.

“Pakistan calls upon the Government of India to uphold the rights and safety of all its citizens, regardless of faith,” Pakistani foreign office spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan said, adding that such incidents violate international human rights obligations and vitiate the prospects for communal harmony and regional stability.

Bitter rivals India and Pakistan have fought three wars, including two over the disputed region of Kashmir, since gaining independence from British rule in 1947. Both claim the Himalayan territory in its entirety but rule it in part.

While a conflict between the neighbors feeding minority hatred on either side is not a new phenomenon, critics and rights bodies say Hindu right-wing groups have become emboldened in recent years due to a “culture of impunity.”

“Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi likes to boast of India’s democratic traditions, but it’s become increasingly hard for him to hide his government’s deepening crackdown on minorities and critics,” Meenakshi Ganguly, the deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in January this year.

“A decade of discriminatory policies and repression has weakened the rule of law and has restricted the economic and social rights of marginalized communities.”


India lost fighter jets in recent conflict with Pakistan, Indian defense chief confirms

Updated 40 min 47 sec ago
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India lost fighter jets in recent conflict with Pakistan, Indian defense chief confirms

  • On May 7, Indian jets bombed what New Delhi called ‘terrorist infrastructure’ sites across the border
  • Pakistan has said it downed six Indian planes, including at least three Rafale fighters, in initial clashes

SINGAPORE: India switched tactics after suffering losses in the air on the first day of conflict with Pakistan earlier this month and established a decisive advantage before the neighbors announced a ceasefire three days later, India’s highest ranking general said on Saturday.

The heaviest fighting in decades between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan was sparked by an April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people, most of them tourists. New Delhi blamed the incident on “terrorists” backed by Pakistan, a charge denied by Islamabad.

On May 7, Indian jets bombed what New Delhi called “terrorist infrastructure” sites across the border. Pakistan has said it downed six Indian planes, including at least three Rafale fighters, in the initial clashes.

The ceasefire was announced on May 10 after bitter fighting in which both sides used fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery.

General Anil Chauhan, India’s chief of defense staff, said in an interview that India suffered initial losses in the air, but declined to give details.

“What was important is, why did these losses occur, and what we’ll do after that,” he told Reuters on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore, referring to the Pakistani claim of downing jets.

“So we rectified tactics and then went back on the 7th, 8th and 10th in large numbers to hit air bases deep inside Pakistan, penetrated all their air defenses with impunity, carried out precision strikes.”

The Indian air force “flew all types of aircraft with all types of ordinances on the 10th,” he said.

India has previously said its missiles and drones struck at least eight Pakistani air bases across the country that day, including one near the capital Islamabad.

The Pakistan military says that India did not fly its fighter jets again in the conflict after suffering losses on May 7.

India’s director general of air operations, Air Marshal A.K. Bharti, had told a press conference earlier in the month that “losses are a part of combat” and that India had downed some Pakistani jets.

Islamabad has denied it suffered any losses of planes but has acknowledged its air bases suffered some hits although losses were minimal.

NO NUCLEAR WORRIES

Some of the attacks were on bases near Pakistan’s nuclear facilities, but they themselves were not targeted, media reports have said.

“Most of the strikes were delivered with pinpoint accuracy, some even to a meter, to whatever was our selected mean point of impact,” Chauhan said.

Chauhan, and Pakistan’s chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen. Sahir Shamshad Mirza, have both said there was no danger at any time during the conflict that nuclear weapons were considered.

“I think there’s a lot of space before that nuclear threshold is crossed, a lot of signalling before that, I think nothing like that happened,” Chauhan said. “There’s a lot of space for conventional operations which has been created, and this will be the new norm.

“It’s my personal view that the most rational people are people in uniform when conflict takes place,” he added. “During this operation, I found both sides displaying a lot of rationality in their thoughts as well as actions. So why should we assume that in the nuclear domain there will be irrationality on someone else’s part?“

Chauhan also said that although Pakistan is closely allied with China, which borders India in the north and east, there was no sign of any actual help from Beijing during the conflict.

“While this was unfolding from (April) 22nd onwards, we didn’t find any unusual activity in the operational or tactical depth of our northern borders, and things were generally all right.”

Asked whether China may have provided any satellite imagery or other real-time intelligence to Pakistan during the conflict, Chauhan said such imagery was commercially available and could have been procured from China as well as other sources.

He added that while hostilities had ceased, the Indian government had made it clear it would “respond precisely and decisively should there be any further terror attacks emanating from Pakistan.”

“So that has its own dynamics as far the armed forces are concerned. It will require us to be prepared 24/7.”


Pakistan national airline resumes direct flights from Dubai to Skardu to boost tourism

Updated 31 May 2025
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Pakistan national airline resumes direct flights from Dubai to Skardu to boost tourism

  • Skardu lies in the heart of Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region, home to five of the world’s 14 tallest peaks and a major tourist destination
  • The development comes days after PIA announced the launch of direct flights from Lahore to Paris, with the first flight taking off on June 18

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has resumed direct flights between Dubai and Pakistan’s mountainous Skardu district, the Pakistani consulate in Dubai said on Friday, in a bid to boost tourism.

The Skardu district lies in Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, which is home to five of the world’s 14 peaks above 8,000 meters and a major tourist destination. In Jan., CNN declared the scenic region among top 25 destinations in the world that are particularly worth visiting in 2025.

To mark the resumption of PIA’s Dubai-Skardu flights, initially launched in Aug. 2023, a ceremony was held at the airline’s office in Dubai, which was attended by Pakistani Consul General Hussain Muhammad and other officials.

“PIA Regional Manager Mr. Sarmad Aizaz and his team hosted the event, celebrating this significant step toward boosting tourism and strengthening people-to-people ties between the UAE and Pakistan,” the Pakistani consulate said.

“The event also welcomed members of a foreign tourist group traveling on the inaugural flight, underscoring the growing interest in Pakistan’s scenic northern areas.”

The development comes days after PIA announced the launch of direct flights from Lahore to Paris, with the first flight taking off on June 18.

In January, PIA resumed flights to Europe after a four-and-a-half-year ban was lifted by EU regulators, becoming the only carrier to offer a direct route to and from the European Union.


Kabul, Islamabad to appoint envoys after apparent thaw in relations

Updated 58 min 5 sec ago
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Kabul, Islamabad to appoint envoys after apparent thaw in relations

  • Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have long been restrained over a surge in militancy in Pakistan’s border regions
  • The decision to appoint envoys comes days after trilateral talks in China where both countries agreed to upgrade relations

ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan’s foreign ministry said on Saturday it would appoint an ambassador to Pakistan after Islamabad announced its decision to upgrade diplomatic relations by appointing an envoy to Kabul, in an apparent warming of ties between the two neighbors.

The development comes amid prolonged tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with Islamabad repeatedly accusing the Afghan Taliban administration of “facilitating” cross-border attacks by militant groups such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA).

Kabul has denied the allegations and insisted that Pakistan’s security challenges are its internal issue. Relations further deteriorated after Islamabad launched in late 2023 a nationwide deportation drive targeting undocumented foreigners, the majority of whom are Afghan nationals. Pakistani authorities maintained that some of them were linked to a spate of militant attacks in the country.

Both countries have sought to improve their strained relations in recent months and Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar in April led a delegation to Kabul and later participated in trilateral talks with Chinese and Afghan foreign ministers in Beijing earlier this month.

“This elevation in diplomatic representation between Afghanistan & Pakistan paves the way for enhanced bilateral cooperation in multiple domains,” the Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement.

It came hours after Dar said on X that Pakistan-Afghanistan relations were on a positive trajectory after his “very productive visit” to Kabul last month.

“I am confident this step would further contribute toward enhanced engagement, deepen Pak-Afghan cooperation in economic, security, CT [counterterrorism] & trade areas and promote further exchanges between two fraternal countries,” he said, referring to Pakistan’s appointment of an ambassador to Kabul.

Both Pakistan and Afghanistan have yet to announce names of their respective envoys.

Earlier this month, Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to the expansion of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), to Afghanistan after the recent trilateral meeting in Beijing, where Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said both Pakistan and Afghanistan had “clearly expressed” a willingness to elevate their diplomatic ties.

The BRI — China’s multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure plan — aims to build land and maritime trade routes linking Asia with Africa and Europe. CPEC, considered the flagship of the initiative, includes over $60 billion in Chinese investments in Pakistan’s energy, transport, and industrial sectors.