ISLAMABAD: Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) opposition party has said a task force set up by the federal government this month to counter online ‘propaganda’ against the state was meant to target the party and its supporters, with digital rights activists warning that it set a “dangerous and chilling” precedent.
Thousands of supporters of the PTI stormed Islamabad last month, demanding Khan’s release from prison. The government said protesters killed four security officers in clashes.
The PTI says 12 supporters died and “hundreds” were injured as security agencies used live ammunition rounds to disperse protesters, which authorities deny. Party leaders have described the raid on the protest site as a “massacre,” with social media platforms awash with pictures and video footage that the government has called “fake propaganda” by PTI followers. The government also says there were no civilian casualties.
On Dec. 1, the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced a 10-member joint task force to identify and bring to justice suspects behind a “malicious campaign” to spread “concocted, baseless and inciting” online news, images and video content in the aftermath of the protests.
“The task force is just another sham committee to basically violate all human rights of PTI workers and leaders,” Khan’s close aide and PTI spokesperson Sayed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari told Arab News.
“It is further an attempt to increase scrutiny and torture of PTI workers, using the recent massacre as an excuse to try to eliminate the party.”
Bukhari said the party had evidence, including burial records and death certificates, of at least 12 protesters killed, proving that the government’s claim there were no civilian casualties was false.
“We do believe that the government is doing a huge cover-up about the total deaths,” Bukhari added. “The death toll will only continue creeping further up as the government is doing all they can to cover this up.”
Speaking to the media last week, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal asked the PTI to share the names of its supporters who had been killed, saying the government had exercised “utmost restraint” to prevent bloodshed at the hands of what he described as a “violent mob.”
Last week, Pakistani journalist Mattiullah Jan was arrested after investigating claims of casualties in the PTI protest march, his lawyers said. He was released on bail on Sunday.
Arab News could not reach members of the task force or a government spokesperson for comment.
In Pakistan, a country of 240 million people, Internet use has risen at staggering rates recently owing to cheap 4G mobile Internet. Around 110 million Pakistanis were online this January, 24 million more than at the beginning of 2023, according to monitoring site DataReportal. In this environment, social media has become a hotbed of unverified news, pictures and video clips, according to fact checkers.
But digital rights also warn of the perils of deploying measures like task forces against online spaces.
Nighat Dad, executive director of the non-profit Digital Rights Foundation, said nothing could be “more dangerous and chilling” than setting up a task force without accountability mechanisms like parliamentary oversight.
“This move further entrenches a culture of impunity and raises serious concerns about transparency,” she told Arab News.
Instead of resorting to “draconian measures,” the government should have focused on building a “robust and responsive narrative” to counter disinformation and fake news.
“Establishing a task force without clearly outlining its own accountability in decision-making is a massive question mark on the government’s intent and process,” Dad added.
“Such measures not only stifle dissent but also undermine fundamental rights and democratic principles in Pakistan.”
Usama Khilji, a director at Bolo Bhi, an advocacy forum for digital rights, also said the announcement of the task force reflected shrinking democratic space in Pakistan:
“It shows the intolerance of the regime to accept any criticism from those who do not support them.”
Imran Khan’s party denounces Pakistan government task force against anti-state online campaigns
https://arab.news/rj634
Imran Khan’s party denounces Pakistan government task force against anti-state online campaigns
- Body announced to identify suspects involved in “malicious campaign” against the state following opposition protests last month
- In Pakistan, with 110 million people online, social media has become a hotbed of unverified news, pictures and video clips
Pakistan to set up maritime chamber to boost blue economy, promote greener ports
- Maritime minister says new chamber will unite industry to drive sustainable growth and long-term economic resilience
- Pakistan aims to grow its blue economy through sustainable use of ocean resources for jobs and ecosystem health
KARACHI: The Pakistan government on Saturday announced the creation of a new Maritime Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) to promote sustainable development in the country’s coastal and marine sectors, saying the initiative would help strengthen the country’s blue economy while addressing rising climate risks at its ports.
Addressing the Pakistan Business Council Forum, Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Junaid Anwar Chaudhry said Pakistan’s coastal zones were increasingly exposed to environmental challenges such as rising sea levels, extreme weather events and marine degradation.
The new chamber, he noted, 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,” he told the participants of the forum.
Pakistan is striving to strengthen blue economy by ensuring the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, jobs and ecosystem health.
This requires the authorities to enhance the potential of its ports, fisheries, logistics and marine services while reducing environmental harm.
The new chamber is expected to provide a unified institutional voice for sectors ranging from shipping to coastal tourism, helping to align business incentives with climate adaptation goals.
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.
The country has also invited landlocked Central Asian states to use its ports to access global markets, aiming to position itself as a regional trade hub.
The Pakistan Business Council welcomed the announcement, calling the new chamber a critical step toward building a climate-resilient and economically vibrant maritime economy.
Pakistan PM says Indian bid to set ‘new norm’ thwarted, vows focus on economy and governance
- Shehbaz Sharif tells military officials in Quetta India suffered setbacks on battlefield and in diplomatic realm
- He reiterates that New Delhi will not be allowed to ‘weaponize water,’ calling IWT suspension a ‘red line’
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday highlighted a range of security threats facing Pakistan days after a military standoff with India, saying New Delhi’s attempt to establish a “new norm” by targeting his country at will had been thwarted, though Pakistan must now focus on strengthening economy and governance.
The remarks came during a televised address to senior military officers at the Command and Staff College in Quetta, where the premier recounted the recent escalation between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
The flare-up followed an April attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir, which New Delhi blamed on a Pakistan. Islamabad denied the allegation and called for an impartial probe, but tensions rapidly escalated into four days of cross-border hostilities, ending after a US-brokered ceasefire on May 10.
“The threats we face are no longer limited to conventional battlefields,” Sharif said during his address. “They are multifaceted, ranging from kinetic warfare to cyberattacks, economic coercion to disinformation campaigns and hybrid threats that challenge both our borders and our ideological frontiers.”
“The recent Indian aggression against Pakistan, violating our territorial integrity and targeting our innocent civilians, was not merely countered successfully, but instead we succeeded in turning the tables on those who were dreaming of establishing a new norm,” he said.
Sharif added that Pakistan accepted the ceasefire offer “in the interest of peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia,” asserting that India’s claim of a new strategic precedent “was buried for all times to come by our brave armed forces.”
“In fact, it was Pakistan that established the new norm in its relations with India,” he said. “Henceforth, we will not allow her to behave in an arrogant and haughty manner.”
The prime minister said India had suffered “serious setbacks in both warfare and finest diplomacy” during the episode.
Turning to domestic matters, Sharif said while the military had fulfilled its responsibility, Pakistan still faced “major challenges in the field of economy and governance.”
He cited the dire financial situation when his administration took office, saying it compelled Pakistan to seek external assistance from lenders such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
However, he maintained the economy had since stabilized and was now on a positive trajectory.
The prime minister also criticized India’s recent move to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), a World Bank-brokered water-sharing agreement signed in 1960, reiterating it was unacceptable to his country.
“We will not allow India to weaponize water by holding the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance,” he said. “This is an absolute red line for us.”
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
- 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
- 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.”
