Pakistan mulls tit-for-tat action after two officials expelled over ‘espionage’
Pakistan mulls tit-for-tat action after two officials expelled over ‘espionage’/node/1683036/pakistan
Pakistan mulls tit-for-tat action after two officials expelled over ‘espionage’
A vehicle carrying an Indian diplomat leaves the foreign ministry following a meeting with Kulbhushan Jadhav, an imprisoned Indian convicted of spying, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Monday, Sept. 2, 2019. (AP Photo)
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Monday it is working on reciprocatory measures a day after India expelled two diplomats on “espionage” charges, with the two on their way to Islamabad from New Delhi this morning, senior officials told Arab News.
“Both our officials are on the way to Pakistan, as they are coming by road from New Delhi, so they will reach Wagah border by evening. Reciprocity in such acts is a normal procedure, and it is in the process,” Khawaja Maaz, spokesperson of Pakistan’s High Commission to India, told Arab News on the phone from New Delhi.
It follows a statement by India’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday which said that the officials had been apprehended and asked to leave the country within 24 hours for “indulging in activities incompatible with their status as members of a diplomatic mission.”
Pakistan slammed New Delhi’s statement and said that the charges were “false and unsubstantiated.”
“Pakistan has always followed the diplomatic norms and conventions that govern diplomatic relations between any two countries. We are a law-abiding country. We will take whatever step required to reciprocate and ensure the safety of our officers and diplomates in India,” Aisha Farooqui, Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokeswoman, told Arab News.
She added that the atmosphere of bilateral relations with India was already taut and that “this step of expelling Pakistani diplomats on false allegations will add to it.”
“There are a series of actions India has taken unilaterally like sending spy drones, maligning Pakistan on fake accusations and harassing high commission officials,” she said, adding that the latest move was “unacceptable.”
“Now they (India) went to a new low by detaining officials of our high commission, torturing them and pressurizing them to own up to false allegations. It is completely unacceptable,” Farooqui said.
Detailing the procedural steps that would follow, she said that India’s action was in clear violation of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations and norms.
“In this regard, the Indian Charge d’Affaires was summoned to the Foreign Office last night for a strong demarche, conveying Pakistan’s condemnation of the Indian decision to declare two officials of the High Commission for Pakistan in New Delhi persona non grata and rejection of all baseless Indian allegations against the High Commission officials,” Farooqui said.
Pakistan and India downgraded their diplomatic relations in August last year when New Delhi revoked the special legal status of Indian-administered Kashmir.
The countries have fought two wars over the region and their forces regularly trade fire across the de facto border between the two countries, which is the 740-km long Line of Control.
Indian army says three men killed after firefight in Indian Kashmir
Men are suspected to be behind April 22 attack on Hindu tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir, say Indian news channels
India and Pakistan engaged in days-long military conflict in May after New Delhi accused Islamabad was involved in the attack
Updated 4 sec ago
Reuters
NEW DELHI, INDIA: The Indian army said on Monday that it had killed three men after an intense firefight in Indian Kashmir, according to a post by the army on X.
The men are suspected to be behind the April 22 attack on Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir that sparked a deadly military conflict with neighbor Pakistan, two Indian TV news channels said.
Reuters could not immediately verify the involvement of the men in the attack.
KARACHI: Pakistani police said on Monday it had gunned down three militants during an intelligence-based operation in the southern port city of Karachi last night, among them the mastermind of an attack that targeted Chinese nationals last year.
Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Deputy Superintendent of Police Raja Umar Khattab told Arab News police carried out a raid at a house in Karachi’s Manghopir area on Sunday night, in coordination with intelligence agencies, where the militants were hiding. He said the three militants were shot dead after a shootout ensued with police.
The CTD official said the militants were part of the “Khawarij” group, a term the Pakistan military regularly uses for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant outfit. The militants have been identified as Zafran, Qudratullah and Matiullah alias Abu Nasir, Khattab said.
“Among those killed, Zafran was the mastermind behind last year’s attack on Liberty Textile Mill in the SITE area of Karachi which targeted Chinese nationals,” Khattab said. “He had recruited the attacker, Sharifullah, as a security guard, provided him with weapons, and later facilitated his escape to Afghanistan.”
Khattab was referring to the incident which took place in Karachi in November 2024. A security guard, Sharifullah, had injured two Chinese nationals working on installing a machinery in Liberty Textile Mill by firing at them.
Khattab said the government had announced a bounty of Rs20 million [$71,942] on Zafran’s head. The CTD official said hand grenades, a suicide vest and a diary were recovered from the slain militants’ possession.
He added that the diary contained details of several potential targets the militants wanted to attack, among them the Police Training Center in Karachi’s Baldia Town.
Militant groups have previously carried out attacks against Chinese nationals in the country. In October 2024, two Chinese nationals were killed in a suicide bombing near the Karachi airport, which was claimed by the separatist outfit Baloch Liberation Army. In March 2024, another suicide bombing killed five Chinese engineers and a Pakistani driver in northwestern Pakistan as they were traveling to the Dasu Dam. This attack was claimed by the TTP.
Chinese nationals have been in the crosshairs of separatist militants who believe Beijing is helping Pakistan exploit minerals in the underdeveloped southwestern province of Balochistan, where China has a strategic port and mining interests. China and Pakistan have both denied the allegations.
Beijing has been pushing Islamabad to provide foolproof security to Chinese citizens working in Pakistan , frustrated by the string of attacks on its nationals. Pakistan has repeatedly assured China it will provide safety to its citizens in the country.
ISLAMABAD: Former captain and ex-Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Saurav Ganguly has backed India playing Pakistan in the upcoming Asia Cup tournament in the UAE, saying that “sports must go on” despite surging tensions between the two countries.
Pakistan and India are set to lock horns in the upcoming Asia Cup tournament to be played from September 9-28. The two traditional archrivals are expected to meet each other on the cricket field on September 14 in a high-stakes group clash to be held in the UAE.
India and Pakistan have not hosted each other for a bilateral series in over a decade, with political and security concerns consistently spilling over into cricketing ties. Former Indian cricketers, including Head Coach Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan, have publicly called for India to boycott matches against Pakistan after the two countries engaged in a brief military conflict in May.
“Yeah, I’m okay, I’m okay. Sport must go on,” Ganguly told Asian News International on Sunday. “At the same time Pahalgam must not happen but sports must go on.”
The former BCCI president was talking about an attack on April 22 at Pahalgam, a tourist resort in Indian-administered Kashmir, where gunmen killed 26 people.
The incident sparked an armed conflict between the two countries, with New Delhi blaming Islamabad for supporting the attack. Pakistan denied the allegations and called for an international, transparent inquiry into the incident.
India and Pakistan enjoy one of the fiercest sports rivalries when it comes to cricket. Separated after partition in 1947, both nuclear-armed countries have fought three wars against each other over the past seven decades, with diplomatic ties between them remaining mostly bitter.
The political tensions make for an enthralling contest every time the two teams compete against each other. India and Pakistan clashes have been the biggest, quickest-selling and most anticipated matches of every multilateral cricket tournament, drawing thousands to stadiums across the globe and millions to TV sets worldwide.
ISLAMABAD: A senior official of Pakistan’s Meteorological Department warned that a “more intense” monsoon spell is likely to affect several parts of the country from today, Monday, as the death toll from rain-related incidents since late June surged to 279.
The Met Office warned last week that monsoon currents penetrating into Pakistan’s upper and central parts are likely to intensify from Monday while a westerly wave is also expected to approach the country on Tuesday. The Met Office had also warned that heavy rains may generate flash floods in local nullahs and streams across the country.
Monsoon rains in Pakistan have wreaked havoc since June 26, killing 279 people and injuring 676 across the country, according to data by the National Disaster Management Authority’s (NDMA) latest situation report. Punjab has reported the highest number of deaths, 151, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) with 64, Sindh with 25, Balochistan with 20, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) nine, Islamabad eight and Azad Kashmir two casualties.
“Another monsoon spell will affect the country’s northern areas from today,” PMD Deputy Director Anjum Nazir Zaigham told Geo News, a private news channel, on Monday morning. “And this spell will be more intense than the previous one.”
Zaigham said the fresh monsoon spell is expected to trigger rainfall in almost all parts of Punjab, GB, KP, Azad Kashmir and the northern areas of Balochistan province.
“This spell will begin today while tomorrow and the day after will be very important,” he said.
FLOODS, LANDSLIDE ALERTS
Separately, the NDMA issued flood alerts for various areas of GB and Azad Kashmir from July 28 to 31.
According to the disaster management authority, it said rain is expected in Gilgit, Skardu, Hunza, and Shigar areas of GB as well as in Muzaffarabad, Neelum Valley, and Bagh in Azad Kashmir during the forecast period.
“These rains may lead to flooding, while heavy showers in hilly regions may also trigger landslides,” it said.
It said In Chitral Valley, Buni and Reshun areas, rainfall combined with melting glaciers may result rise in the water flow of River Chitral while urban flooding is also likely in Azad Kashmir’s Muzaffarabad and Bagh areas due to heavy downpours.
“NDMA has directed all relevant departments and agencies to take proactive measures, ensure the readiness of personnel, machinery, and rescue teams, and remain vigilant to deal with any emergency situation,” the statement said.
“Provincial Disaster Management Authorities (PDMAs) and local administrations have been instructed to take timely preventive actions.”
Pakistan, which ranks among the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations, has witnessed increasingly erratic weather events in recent years.
In May, at least 32 people were killed in severe storms, while a third of the country was submerged by devastating floods in 2022 that killed more than 1,700 people, affected over 30 million and caused an estimated $35 billion in damages.
Viral video of ‘honor’ killing in southwest Pakistan triggers national outrage
Video shows woman and man accused of adultery being taken to a desert where they are killed
Activists and analysts say temporary outrage against viral video of killing is likely to fade over time
Updated 28 July 2025
Reuters
KARACHI: A viral video of the “honor killing” of a woman and her lover in a remote part of Pakistan has ignited national outrage, prompting scrutiny of long-standing tribal codes and calls for justice in a country where such killings often pass in silence.
While hundreds of so-called honor killings are reported in Pakistan each year, often with little public or legal response, the video of a woman and man accused of adultery being taken to the desert by a group of men to be killed has struck a nerve.
The video shows the woman, Bano Bibi, being handed a Qur’an by a man identified by police as her brother. “Come walk seven steps with me, after that you can shoot me,” she says, and she walks forward a few feet and stops with her back to the men.
Policemen escort tribal chief Sher Baz Satakzai, accused of ordering deaths of a couple accused of having an affair, in a so-called honour killing after a video showing the couple being shot went viral on social media, at a local court in Quetta, Pakistan July 21, 2025. (Reuters)
The brother, Jalal Satakzai, then shoots her three times and she collapses. Seconds later he shoots and kills the man, Ehsan Ullah Samalani, whom Bano was accused of having an affair with.
Once the video of the killings in Pakistan’s Balochistan province went viral, it brought swift government action and condemnation from politicians, rights groups and clerics.
The screengrab taken from a video on July 20, 2025 shows a moment before a couple was shot by armed men in Balochistan for marrying by choice. (Screengrab/Social Media)
Civil rights lawyer Jibran Nasir said, though, the government’s response was more about performance than justice.
“The crime occurred months ago, not in secrecy but near a provincial capital, yet no one acted until 240 million witnessed the killing on camera,” he said.
“This isn’t a response to a crime. It’s a response to a viral moment.”
Police have arrested 16 people in Balochistan’s Nasirabad district, including a tribal chief and the woman’s mother.
The mother, Gul Jan Bibi, said the killings were carried out by family and local elders based on “centuries-old Baloch traditions,” and not on the orders of the tribal chief.
“We did not commit any sin,” she said in a video statement that also went viral. “Bano and Ehsan were killed according to our customs.”
She said her daughter, who had three sons and two daughters, had run away with Ehsan and returned after 25 days.
Police said Bano’s younger brother, who shot the couple, remains at large.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said it was a “test” case and vowed to dismantle the illegal tribal courts operating outside the law.
Police had earlier said a jirga, an informal tribal council that issues extrajudicial rulings, had ordered the killings.
#JusticeForCouple
The video sparked online condemnation, with hashtags like #JusticeForCouple and #HonourKilling trending. The Pakistan Ulema Council, a body of religious scholars, called the killings “un-Islamic” and urged terrorism charges against those involved.
Dozens of civil society members and rights activists staged a protest on Saturday in the provincial capital Quetta, demanding justice and an end to parallel justice systems.
Human rights activists shout slogans during a protest in Quetta on July 26, 2025, against the alleged honour killing of a couple last month in Margat near Quetta in Balochistan, after eloping. (AFP)
“Virality is a double-edged sword,” said Arsalan Khan, a cultural anthropologist and professor who studies gender and masculinity.
“It can pressure the state into action, but public spectacle can also serve as a strategy to restore ghairat, or perceived family honor, in the eyes of the community.”
Pakistan outlawed honor killings in 2016 after the murder of social media star Qandeel Baloch, closing a loophole that allowed perpetrators to go free if they were pardoned by family members. Rights groups say enforcement remains weak, especially in rural areas where tribal councils still hold sway.
“In a country where conviction rates often fall to single digits, visibility — and the uproar it brings — has its advantages,” said constitutional lawyer Asad Rahim Khan.
“It jolts a complacent state that continues to tolerate jirgas in areas beyond its writ.”
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reported at least 405 honor killings in 2024. Most victims are women, often killed by relatives claiming to defend family honor.
Khan said rather than enforcing the law, the government has spent the past year weakening the judiciary and even considering reviving jirgas in former tribal areas.
“It’s executive inaction, most shamefully toward women in Balochistan,” Khan said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in recent months has asked senior ministers to evaluate proposals to revive jirgas in Pakistan’s former tribal districts, including potential engagement with tribal elders and Afghan authorities.
The Prime Minister’s Office and Pakistan’s information minister did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
VIRAL AND THEN FORGOTTEN?
The Balochistan killings were raised in Pakistan’s Senate, where the human rights committee condemned the murders and called for action against those who convened the jirga. Lawmakers also warned that impunity for parallel justice systems risked encouraging similar violence.
Activists and analysts, however, say the outrage is unlikely to be sustained.
“There’s noise now, but like every time, it will fade,” said Jalila Haider, a human rights lawyer in Quetta.
“In many areas, there is no writ of law, no enforcement. Only silence.”
Haider said the killings underscore the state’s failure to protect citizens in under-governed regions like Balochistan, where tribal power structures fill the vacuum left by absent courts and police.
“It’s not enough to just condemn jirgas,” Haider said.
“The real question is: why does the state allow them to exist in the first place?“
