ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Institute of Health (NIH) said on Monday the first cases of the coronavirus omicron sub-variant BA.2.12.1 had been detected in samples collected at airports from foreign travelers.
BA.2.12.1 is accounting for a growing share of United States cases — about 36 percent of samples sequenced during the week ending April 30, according to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It has also been found in other countries and is believed to be 27 percent more contagious than the BA.2 variant.
“We have reported this case to the media and public after this sub-variant was detected in some samples recently collected at our airports,” NIH focal person Dr. Mumtaz Ali Khan told Arab News.
“We aren’t recommending any new coronavirus-related restrictions at the moment, but have enhanced our monitoring and screening of all incoming travelers at airports.”
“We cannot disclose the name of the particular country from which this sub-variant was brought in Pakistan,” Khan said, adding that the variant had been found in more than one sample, and the news was being made public so citizens would understand the urgency of taking precautions and getting vaccines.
“This is more transmissible than previous variants with mild symptoms and less severity,” Khan said, saying the best preventive measure was to wear masks in crowded places and get vaccinated.
“We strongly recommended getting vaccinated and all those due for booster must get the shots immediately,” he said, saying the NIH was recommending a fourth shot to build immunity against the virus.
Khan said the coronavirus would keep mutating as long as it spread through the population: “The omicron variant will continue to evolve, and it is good in a way that the virus may weaken too.”
Pakistan lifted all coronavirus-related restrictions in March following a significant decline in daily infections across the country.
In the last 24 hours, Pakistan reported 100 new infections with zero deaths. Around 122 million people in Pakistan, out of a population of 220 million, are fully vaccinated.
No new COVID-19 restrictions as Pakistan detects omicron sub-variant in incoming travelers
https://arab.news/vg5u9
No new COVID-19 restrictions as Pakistan detects omicron sub-variant in incoming travelers
- Authorities do not disclose name of country from where variant brought to Pakistan
- BA.2.12.1 believed to be 27 percent more contagious than previous BA.2 variant
‘This is a culture’: TikTok murder highlights Pakistan’s unease with women online
- Sana Yousaf was shot dead outside her house in the capital Islamabad by a man whose advances she had repeatedly rejected
- Violence against women is pervasive in Pakistan, according to the country’s Human Rights Commission
ISLAMABAD: Since seeing thousands of comments justifying the recent murder of a teenage TikTok star in Pakistan, Sunaina Bukhari is considering abandoning her 88,000 followers.
“In my family, it wasn’t an accepted profession at all, but I’d managed to convince them, and even ended up setting up my own business,” she said.
Then last week, Sana Yousaf was shot dead outside her house in the capital Islamabad by a man whose advances she had repeatedly rejected, police said.
News of the murder led to an outpouring of comments under her final post — her 17th birthday celebration where she blew out the candles on a cake.
In between condolence messages, some blamed her for her own death: “You reap what you sow” or “it’s deserved, she was tarnishing Islam.”
Yousaf had racked up more than a million followers on social media, where she shared her favorite cafes, skincare products and traditional shalwar kameez outfits.
TikTok is wildly popular in Pakistan, in part because of its accessibility to a population with low literacy levels. On it, women have found both audience and income, rare in a country where fewer than a quarter of the women participate in the formal economy.
But as TikTok’s views have surged, so have efforts to police the platform.
Pakistani telecommunications authorities have repeatedly blocked or threatened to block the app over what it calls “immoral behavior,” amid backlash against LGBTQ and sexual content.
TikTok has pledged to better moderate content and blocked millions of videos that do not meet its community guidelines as well as at the request of Pakistan authorities.
After Yousaf’s murder, Bukhari, 28, said her family no longer backs her involvement in the industry.
“I’m the first influencer in my family, and maybe the last,” she said.
Only 30 percent of women in Pakistan own a smartphone compared to twice as many men (58 percent), the largest gap in the world, according to the Mobile Gender Gap Report of 2025.
“Friends and family often discourage them from using social media for fear of being judged,” said a statement from the Digital Rights Foundation (DRF).
In southwestern Balochistan, where tribal law governs many rural areas, a man confessed to orchestrating the murder of his 14-year-old daughter earlier this year over TikTok videos that he said compromised her honor.
In October, police in Karachi, in the south, announced the arrest of a man who had killed four women relatives over “indecent” TikTok videos.
These murders each revive memories of Qandeel Baloch, dubbed Pakistan’s Kim Kardashian and one of the country’s first breakout social media stars whose videos shot her to fame.
After years in the spotlight, she was suffocated by her brother.
Violence against women is pervasive in Pakistan, according to the country’s Human Rights Commission, and cases of women being attacked after rejecting men are not uncommon.
“This isn’t one crazy man, this is a culture,” said Kanwal Ahmed, who leads a closed Facebook group of 300,000 women to share advice.
“Every woman in Pakistan knows this fear. Whether she’s on TikTok or has a private Instagram with 50 followers, men show up. In her DMs. In her comments. On her street,” she wrote in a post.
In the fifth-most-populous country in the world, where 60 percent of the population is under the age of 30, the director of digital rights organization Bolo Bhi, Usama Khilji, says “many women don’t post their profile picture, but a flower, an object, very rarely their face.”
“The misogyny and the patriarchy that is prevalent in this society is reflected on the online spaces,” he added.
A 22-year-old man was arrested over Yousaf’s murder and is due to appear in court next week.
At a vigil in the capital last week, around 80 men and women gathered, holding placards that read “no means no.”
“Social media has given us a voice, but the opposing voices are louder,” said Hira, a young woman who joined the gathering.
The capital’s police chief, Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi, used a press conference to send a “clear message” to the public.
“If our sisters or daughters want to become influencers, professionally or as amateurs, we must encourage them,” he said.
Pakistan says 450 pilgrims evacuated from Iran amid ongoing Israeli attacks
- Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar says arrangements being made for safe evacuation of 145 Pakistani students in Iran
- Pakistani embassy in Iraq in contact with Pakistani pilgrims stranded in Iraq due to closure of its airspace, says Dar
ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Sunday that Islamabad has facilitated the evacuation of 450 pilgrims from Iran and is making further arrangements to evacuate Pakistani students in the neighboring country, amid ongoing attacks by Israel.
Thousands of Pakistani “Zaireen” or Shia Muslim pilgrims travel to Iran and Iraq to visit sacred religious sites, particularly in Mashhad, Qom, Najaf and Karbala at different times of the year.
Pakistan’s government on Friday advised its citizens planning religious travel to Iran and Iraq to reconsider their plans, citing security concerns as Israel attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities and targeted its military leadership. Both countries have attacked each other for three continuous days since with missiles and air strikes, escalating fears of a wider conflict breaking out in the Middle East.
“Evacuation of 450 Pakistani Zaireen from Iran has been facilitated as of yesterday,” Dar wrote on social media platform X.
https://x.com/MIshaqDar50/status/1934180833637658668?t=w1DAAR8LZPRgohlFvGMC_A&s=08
“Arrangements are being made for the safe evacuation of Pakistani students (154 in the first batch) currently residing in Iran,” he added.
Dar said Pakistan’s embassy in Iraq is in contact with Pakistani pilgrims who are stranded there due to the closure of the country’s airspace.
“Measures are underway to ensure their safe stay in Iraq and possible evacuation,” he said.
The minister said the Crisis Management Unit at Pakistan’s foreign ministry was operational throughout the 24 hours of the day to ensure the safety and security of Pakistanis in Iran.
“Our embassies in the region are closely coordinating all necessary efforts to support Pakistani nationals & Zaireens,” he concluded.
Pakistan’s government on Saturday issued a travel advisory, urging its citizens to avoid traveling to Iran for “a limited period” due to the recent Israeli attacks.
Pakistan has condemned Israel’s strikes against Iran and said Tehran has the right to defend itself. Islamabad has also called on world powers to intervene through dialogue and diplomacy to resolve surging Middle East tensions.
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Saturday vowed Islamabad would extend diplomatic support to Israel at international forums.
Pakistani religiopolitical party to organize anti-Israel ‘million march’ in Hyderabad today
- Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam Pakistan party says caravans of supporters arriving in Hyderabad from all over Sindh
- Protest takes place in backdrop of surging tensions Middle East tensions amid Iran-Israel military conflict
KARACHI: A leading religiopolitical party, Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam Pakistan, (JUI-F) announced it would organize a “million march” in the southern city of Hyderabad against Israel today, Sunday, to express solidarity with the people of Palestine.
The march will take place as tensions in the Middle East surged late Friday night after Israel attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities and military leadership. Iran’s prominent nuclear scientists and the chief of its Revolutionary Guards paramilitary force were killed in the attack, which Tehran said claimed 78 lives and injured over 300.
Iran has since then conducted retaliatory strikes against Israel. So far, at least nine people in Israel have been killed and over 300 others injured since Friday, as per media reports.
In a statement released to the media, a JUI-F spokesperson said the party’s caravans from all over the southern Sindh province are gathering at Hyderabad’s Qasim Chowk venue for the protest.
“A strong protest will be held against Israel and solidarity will be expressed with the Palestinians,” the statement said.
Israel has killed over 55,000 Palestinians in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, as per the Gaza Health Ministry. Israeli forces have destroyed vast areas of the territory and displaced about 90 percent of Gazans.
In recent weeks, more than half of Gaza has been transformed into a military buffer zone that includes the now mostly uninhabited southern city of Rafah.
Israel’s war on Gaza has incited anger in various countries across the world, including Pakistan. Various civil rights organizations and political parties such as the Jamaat-e-Islami, have held large gatherings in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and other parts of the country to denounce Israel’s military campaigns in the Middle East.
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman will address participants of the rally, the party said.
“Strict security arrangements are in place in Hyderabad,” the statement said. “Supporters gathered at the Qasim Chowk venue are highly enthusiastic.”
Israel says it attacked Iran in a bid to discourage the Islamic country from developing nuclear weapons. Israel sees Iran’s nuclear program as a threat to its existence. It said the bombardment was designed to avert the last steps to the production of a nuclear weapon.
Tehran insists the program is entirely civilian and that it does not seek an atomic bomb. The UN nuclear watchdog, however, reported Iran this week as violating obligations under the global non-proliferation treaty.
Pakistan has criticized Israel in strong words and repeatedly said Iran has the right to retaliate under the United Nations Charter. Islamabad has also vowed to offer diplomatic support to Iran at international forums.
Over 11,410 Pakistani Hajj pilgrims return from Saudi Arabia
- Another 4,995 Pakistani Hajj pilgrims to return via 20 flights on Sunday, says religion ministry
- Pakistan sent over 115,000 pilgrims under both government, private schemes for Hajj this year
ISLAMABAD: A total of 11,418 Pakistani pilgrims have returned in the post-Hajj flight operation so far, the country’s religion ministry said on Sunday.
Pakistan began its post-Hajj flight operation with the arrival of PIA flight PK-732 in Islamabad on June 11, carrying 307 pilgrims. The country is expected to conclude the operation on July 10, with the last flight carrying Hajj pilgrims to land in Islamabad.
This year’s Hajj took place from June 4 to June 9, drawing millions of pilgrims to the holy cities. Pakistan sent over 115,000 pilgrims under both the government and private schemes.
“As of Saturday, June 14, a total of 11,418 pilgrims have returned home,” a spokesperson of Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony said in a statement. “On Sunday, June 15, another 4,995 pilgrims will arrive in the country through 20 flights.”
The spokesperson said six flights carrying Hajj pilgrims will each land in both Islamabad and Lahore, while four will arrive in Karachi, three in Multan and one in Quetta on Sunday.
Of the 20 flights, eight will be operated by the state-run Pakistan International Airlines, five by Saudia, four by Airblue, two by AirSial and one by Serene Air.
“Despite global air traffic disruptions, Pakistan’s post-Hajj flight operation is successfully going on,” the ministry said, referring to the recent diversion of flights due to the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict.
The spokesperson advised Pakistani pilgrims to ensure their return journey remained a “smooth” one by maintaining discipline.
“Pilgrims should ensure their baggage weight complies with the limit stated on their air tickets,” he said, advising pilgrims to reach their respective airports in Saudi Arabia six to eight hours before departure.
Pakistan says FATF ignored India’s attempts to place Islamabad on ‘grey list’
- China, Turkiye and Japan supported move to not place Islamabad on FATF’s grey list, says Pakistani state media
- India and Pakistan engaged in worst fighting in decades last month before agreeing to a ceasefire on May 10
ISLAMABAD: The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has ignored India’s attempts to have Islamabad placed on the anti-money laundering watchdog’s “grey list,” Pakistani state media reported this week as tensions simmer between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
Various media outlets had reported that India was likely to push the FATF, a global financial crime watchdog, to add Pakistan back to its grey list during the watchdog’s plenary meeting in June. These reports came following India and Pakistan’s days-long military confrontation in May before both agreed to a ceasefire brokered by Washington.
The FATF’s grey list places a country under increased monitoring until it has rectified identified flaws in its financial system. Pakistan was taken off the FATF grey list in 2022, boosting its reputation among lenders which was essential for the country’s fragile economy.
“The Financial Action Task Force has decided not to place Pakistan in the grey list at its meeting held on Saturday,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Saturday.
“After the FATF decision, India has completely failed to achieve its objectives as the Indian diplomatic delegation made a strong effort to get Pakistan included in the grey list once again in the FATF meeting.”
Neither the FATF nor the Indian government have so far commented on the development. The FATF’s plenary year begins in July and ends in June. The watchdog holds its plenary meetings usually in October, February and June of each year.
Radio Pakistan reported that China took “a clear stance” in Islamabad’s favor at the FATF meeting while Turkiye and Japan also “fully supported” Pakistan in not having it placed on the grey list.
“India was trying hard to use FATF against Pakistan with the help of Israel,” the state broadcaster said, describing it as a victory for Pakistan’s diplomatic mission.
Tensions spiked between the two countries after India blamed Pakistan for an April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 tourists. Pakistan denied involvement and called for an independent probe.
The two countries pounded each other with artillery fire, fighter jets, drones and missiles before the ceasefire on May 10.
While the ceasefire between the two countries continues to persist, tensions between the neighbors remain high as India says it is holding in abeyance a decades-old water-sharing treaty with Pakistan.
Islamabad had said after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty that it considered any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan to be an “act of war.”
