Aid group reports surging numbers in child abuse in Pakistan

In this picture taken on March 25, 2021, children play at Subhani Shar village near Rato Dero, in southern Sindh province. (AFP/FILE)
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Updated 30 April 2022
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Aid group reports surging numbers in child abuse in Pakistan

  • Number of child abuse cases in Pakistan increased 30 percent in 2021, compared to the year before
  • According to the Sahil group's data, 54 percent of the victims were girls and 46 percent were boys

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani aid group dedicated to child protection said Friday its data shows assaults and sexual abuse of children have surged by nearly a third in the country last year.

The organization’s director said she fears an increase in “dark web” gangs trading in child pornography and buying and selling children are to blame for the increase, along with lockdowns imposed during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Sahil organization said the number of cases increased 30% in 2021, compared to the year before. The group has been tracking child sexual abuse and working on child protection programs for more than 25 years.

In its annual report entitled “Cruel Numbers,” the group says there were 3,852 cases of child sexual abuse in 2021 in Pakistan, including child marriages — or over 10 assaults per day.

Sahil records cases reported daily in more than 80 national and regional publications across Pakistan. Roughly 80% of those cases result in charges, the report said, noting that the vast majority of abuse cases rarely get reported.

According to the data, 54% of the victims were girls and 46% were boys. The sexual abuse of boys mostly took place between the ages of 6 and 16, girls were abused at an even younger age.

Munizae Bano, the organization's executive director, expressed surprise at the dramatic surge and while she blamed pandemic lockdowns for some of the increase in child abuse, she said criminal activity perpetrated by gangs trading in children is on the rise.

“Absolutely, it is more is active here,” she told The Associated Press, speaking over the phone from Islamabad, the Pakistani capital.

During pandemic measures such as lockdowns and school closures, child abuse rose in many places, in part because with children being out of school, there was less supervision, increasing their vulnerability.

The majority of those committing the assaults were family acquaintances or otherwise known to the children, the report said.

“Acquaintances are still the most involved in child sexual abuse, as well as service providers, family members, strangers, and women abettors," it noted.


Pakistan PM to discuss economic, regional issues with UAE president during Abu Dhabi visit

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Pakistan PM to discuss economic, regional issues with UAE president during Abu Dhabi visit

  • Shehbaz Sharif will meet Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed during an official trip to the Gulf state tomorrow
  • Last month, the Pakistan PM sought deeper economic partnership with the UAE in a call with the president

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will meet United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during an official visit to the Gulf state tomorrow, with discussions expected to focus on economic cooperation and recent regional developments, the Pakistani foreign office said on Wednesday.

Sharif’s trip comes amid Pakistan’s deepening ties with Gulf nations, including the UAE, as it strives to revive its economy through export-led growth and foreign investment.

The UAE is Islamabad’s third-largest trading partner and a major investor. It is also home to over a million Pakistani expatriates and has been a critical ally during Islamabad’s recent financial crisis, depositing funds in Pakistan’s central bank to help unlock International Monetary Fund (IMF) assistance.

“Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will undertake an official visit to the United Arab Emirates on 12 June 2025,” the foreign office said in a statement.

“Prime Minister Sharif will hold high-level meetings with the UAE leadership, including a bilateral meeting with the President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan,” it added. “A wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest and concern will be discussed during the high-level interactions.”

The foreign office said the visit reflected the “deep-rooted fraternal ties” between the two countries, marked by “mutual trust, shared values and close cooperation across multiple sectors.”

In January 2024, Pakistan and the UAE signed agreements exceeding $3 billion for cooperation in railways, economic zones and infrastructure.

Last month, Sharif held a phone call with the UAE president in which he expressed satisfaction over growing ties and pledged to transform the relationship into a “mutually beneficial economic partnership.”

During the call, the two leaders also discussed tensions between Pakistan and India that recently escalated into cross-border hostilities involving missile strikes, drones and artillery fire.

Sharif thanked the UAE for its “constructive diplomatic role” in defusing the crisis and said the Gulf nation had “always stood by Pakistan, through thick and thin.”

The UAE is also a strategically favorable destination for Pakistan due to its proximity, minimizing freight costs. The prime minister’s visit is expected to reinforce ongoing economic cooperation and explore new areas of strategic partnership.


Pakistan urges political inclusion in Iraq ahead of elections, warns UN of regional volatility

Updated 11 June 2025
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Pakistan urges political inclusion in Iraq ahead of elections, warns UN of regional volatility

  • Pakistan reaffirms support for Iraq’s sovereignty, says it should not be pulled into regional confrontations
  • It seeks an inclusive, coordinated transition aligned with Iraq’s priorities as the UN mission nears its end

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday called for greater political inclusion in Iraq ahead of national elections later this year, warning the United Nations that rising regional tensions could undermine the stability of the Arab country.

Speaking at a UN Security Council briefing on the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, praised Iraq’s efforts to strengthen democratic institutions and improve governance.

The UN mission was established in 2003 following the US-led invasion, with a mandate to support Iraq’s political transition, humanitarian coordination and national reconciliation. The mission is set to conclude by the end of 2025, as part of a structured drawdown approved by the Security Council last year.

Ahmed said Islamabad supported Iraq’s progress but remained concerned about the broader security situation in the Middle East, including ongoing conflicts in neighboring states and the risk of Iraq being drawn into regional confrontations.

“Pakistan remains concerned about the volatile regional security environment, which poses a risk to Iraq’s stability,” Ahmad told the Council. “We reiterate our firm support for Iraq’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity. It is imperative that Iraq not be drawn into regional confrontations.”

The ambassador encouraged all political stakeholders in Iraq to maintain dialogue and inclusivity as the country prepares for national elections in November, urging them to address institutional gaps and reinforce democratic processes.

He also welcomed Iraq’s recent reforms, including the implementation of the federal budget and successful provincial council elections.

Pakistan also highlighted the need for sustained humanitarian attention, particularly for internally displaced persons (IDPs), and acknowledged Iraq’s progress in enabling voluntary returns and reintegration.

As the UNAMI mission approaches the end of its mandate, Pakistan welcomed transition planning but emphasized that the process must remain “inclusive, coordinated and responsive to Iraq’s national priorities.”


Taliban hang up Kalashnikovs to pen memoirs of Afghan war

Updated 11 June 2025
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Taliban hang up Kalashnikovs to pen memoirs of Afghan war

  • Most Afghan war accounts are from a Western perspective, covering 9/11 to the Taliban’s 2021 return
  • Taliban-authored books praising the group’s ‘victories’ now shape the dominant narrative within Afghanistan

KABUL: Since trading the battlefield for Afghanistan’s halls of power, some Taliban members have also swapped their weapons for pens to tell their version of the 20-year conflict with Western forces, who they accuse of distorting “reality.”

A flood of books has been written, mostly from a Western perspective, about the war between the US-led forces that invaded Afghanistan in the wake of the September 11 attacks until the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.

But in the years since, a proliferation of writings by Taliban figures — praising their exploits and the achievements of the “Islamic Emirate” — is now the reigning narrative in Afghanistan.

“No matter what foreigners have written... they have largely ignored the reality of what happened to us and why we were forced to fight,” author Khalid Zadran told AFP.

A member of the Haqqani network — long viewed as one of the most dangerous militant factions in Afghanistan — he now serves as the spokesman for the capital’s police force.

In his 600-page tome in Pashto published in April, he recounts US incursions in his home province of Khost, his childhood steeped in stories of soldiers’ “atrocities,” and his desire to join the Taliban in the name of his country’s “freedom.”

“I witnessed horrific stories every day — mangled bodies on the roadside,” he writes in “15 Minutes,” a title inspired by a US drone strike he narrowly escaped.

Muhajer Farahi, now a deputy information and culture minister, penned his “Memories of Jihad: 20 Years in Occupation” to “state the facts,” he said.

“America, contrary to its claims, has committed cruel and barbaric acts, destroyed our country with bombs, destroyed infrastructure and has sown discord and cynicism between nations and tribes,” he told AFP from his office in central Kabul.

Little attention is paid in either book to the thousands of civilians killed in Taliban attacks — many of them suicide bombings that entrenched fear across the country for nearly two decades.

Farahi insists the Taliban “were cautious in saving civilians and innocent” lives, while criticising fellow Afghans who collaborated with the pro-Western police as a “stain” on the country.

Rights groups accuse the current Taliban authorities of widespread abuses — particularly against women and girls, who the United Nations say are victims of what amounts to “gender apartheid.”

In his book published in 2023, Farahi claims the Taliban attempted to negotiate — in vain, he insists — with the United States over the fate of Osama bin Laden, whose capture or death Washington demanded after his plane hijackers killed around 3,000 people in the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda, who had been based in Afghanistan, was killed by US forces in Pakistan in 2011.

“It was clear... that the Americans had already planned the occupation of Afghanistan,” writes Farahi in the English version of his book, which has been translated into five languages.

In the wake of the September 11 attacks, Afghans thought it would “have nothing to do with our country,” he continues, but soon realized that Afghanistan would face “punishment.”

For 20 years, the war pitted Taliban militants against a US-led coalition of 38 countries supporting the Afghan Republic and its forces.

Tens of thousands of Afghans died in the fighting and in Taliban attacks, as did nearly 6,000 foreign soldiers, including 2,400 Americans.

For Farahi, the war reflects the West’s desire to “impose its culture and ideology on other nations.”

His disjointed journal mixes battlefield memories with polemical chapters railing against the American “bloodthirsty dragon.”

The book “reveals the truths that were not told before because the media, especially the Western media, presented a different picture of the war,” he said.

According to him, the mujahideen, or holy warriors, despite being far less equipped, were able to rely on their unity and God’s aid to achieve victory.

Only a few of the new wave of Taliban books have been autobiographies, which appeal to an audience seeking to understand the war “from the inside,” according to Zadran.

His book, initially 2,000 copies in Pashto, sold out quickly and another 1,000 are in the works — along with a Dari-language version, he said.

Many chapters mention Bowe Bergdahl, the US soldier held hostage for five years by the Haqqani network.

He recounts treks through the mountains along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border to move him between hideouts, efforts to convert him to Islam and conversations about his girlfriend back in the US.

Both accounts end in 2021, before the transformation of the fighters who moved from remote mountain hideouts to the carpeted offices of the capital.

There, their battle has turned diplomatic: the Taliban are now fighting for international recognition of their government.

“The war is over now,” Farahi said, “and we want good relations with everyone” — even with the “bloodthirsty dragon.”


Sadiq Khan, son of Pakistani immigrants, receives knighthood from King Charles

Updated 11 June 2025
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Sadiq Khan, son of Pakistani immigrants, receives knighthood from King Charles

  • Khan, who grew up in south London, is the son of a bus driver and a seamstress
  • He is London’s first Muslim mayor and has won three consecutive terms in office

ISLAMABAD: London Mayor Sadiq Khan, the son of Pakistani immigrants, was awarded a knighthood by King Charles III for public service, a recognition he described on Tuesday as a “truly humbling moment” for himself and his family.
Khan, who grew up on a council estate in Tooting, south London, is the son of a bus driver and a seamstress.

A trained human rights lawyer, he made history in 2016 by becoming the first Muslim mayor of London, and was re-elected for a third term last year, a rare feat in British politics.

His trajectory from modest beginnings to high office has often been cited as emblematic of London’s multiculturalism and opportunity.

“The London promise: if you work hard, and get a helping hand, you can achieve anything,” Khan posted on X. “Immensely proud to receive a knighthood from His Majesty The King. Growing up on a council estate in Tooting, I never imagined I’d one day receive this great honor while serving as Mayor.”

“It’s a truly humbling moment for myself & my family, & one I hope inspires others to believe in the opportunities our great capital offers,” he added. “I’ll forever be honored to serve the city I love – & will continue to do all I can to build a fairer, safer, greener London for everyone.”

53-year-old Khan has built a reputation as an outspoken advocate for progressive causes, including climate action, affordable housing and inclusivity, often clashing with national-level Conservative leaders.

Despite political headwinds, he remains broadly popular in one of the world’s most diverse cities.

In 2018, Pakistan awarded him the Sitara-e-Pakistan, the country’s third-highest civilian award, in recognition of his efforts to strengthen UK-Pakistan relations and promote community cohesion.


Pakistani man who allegedly plotted US attack extradited from Canada

Updated 11 June 2025
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Pakistani man who allegedly plotted US attack extradited from Canada

  • Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, was arrested in Canada last year in September
  • Officials say he was planning a mass shooting at a Jewish center in New York

NEW YORK: A Pakistani man was extradited from Canada to the United States on Tuesday to face charges of plotting to carry out an attack on Jews in New York City, the Justice Department said.
Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, was arrested in Canada in September.
According to a criminal complaint, Khan planned to travel to New York and carry out a mass shooting in support of Daesh, also known as the Islamic State (IS), at a Jewish center in Brooklyn on the October 7 anniversary of the deadly 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
“He planned to use automatic weapons to kill as many members of our Jewish community as possible, all in support of IS,” US Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement.
Khan allegedly revealed his plans in conversations with conspirators who were actually undercover law enforcement officers, the Justice Department said.
He was taken into custody by Canadian authorities in the municipality of Ormstown some 12 miles (19 kilometers) from the US-Canada border.
Khan is charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization and attempting to commit acts of terrorism.
He could face a maximum of life in prison if convicted.