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Major upset as opposition candidate wins Peshawar mayor seat in ruling PTI heartland

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl's candidate, Zubair Ali (center) who has won the mayor’s seat in Peshawar, addresses an election rally in Peshawar, Pakistan, on December 17, 2021. (Photo courtesy: Zubair Ali/Facebook)
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Updated 20 December 2021
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Major upset as opposition candidate wins Peshawar mayor seat in ruling PTI heartland

  • Ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party of PM Khan has been in power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since 2013
  • Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl candidate Zubair Ali won the mayor’s seat, defeating PTI’s Rizwan Bangash
Updated 20 December 2021
REHMAT MEHSUD

PESHAWAR: A ruling party candidate for the coveted seat of mayor of Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said on Monday he would file a review of the vote count, unofficial results of which showed he had lost to an opposition party member.
Local bodies elections were held in 17 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday, in what is the first time such polls have been held in areas that used to be part of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), which were merged with KP in 2018. In a second phase, local elections will be held in the remaining 18 districts on January 16.
Unofficial results of the polls, reported by media and local election officials, showed that Zubair Ali, the candidate from the religious political party, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), had won the mayor’s seat, defeating Rizwan Bangash from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of Prime Minister Imran Khan. The PTI has been in power in KP since 2013.
Bangash told Arab News his party would request a recount of both the overall votes as well as those that were rejected due to irregularities.
“We’re optimistic to secure victory because we’re going for a review of 16,000 rejected votes and a recount of overall votes cast in favor of myself and my rival,” Bangash sai
KP spokesman for the JUI-F, Jalil Jan, congratulated the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for having confidence in the party, saying the results “clearly depicted that people are fed up with the way the PTI is ruling the province.”
Dawn reported that PTI leaders attributed the party’s performance to rising inflation in the country.
“Inflation has increased, which in turn has affected the people,” KP Minister for Labor and Human Rights Shaukat Yousafzai was quoted by the news outlet as saying.
Unofficial results reported by media showed opposition parties had a combined lead over the ruling PTI for the post of mayor and chairman of 63 tehsil councils.
Sohail Ahmad, a spokesman for the provincial Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), said the body would announce official results of the ballot on December 25.
According to a statement issued by the deputy commissioner officer of Peshawar, the results of all polling stations of Peshawar Tehsil Council had been received, but official results had to be withheld because the polling process was suspended in six polling stations over security reasons.
According to unofficial results, JUI-F’s Zubai Ali received 62,388 votes, Rizwan Bangash of the ruling PTI got 50,659 votes while Arbab Zarak Khan from the Pakistan People’s Party won 45,958 votes.
Ali had therefore won with a margin of around 11,500 votes.
A day before, over 550 women contested local government elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the election commission said.




Women stand in a queue inside a polling station during a local body election in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Peshawar, Pakistan, on December 19, 2020. (AFP)

Elections were held in Charsadda, Nowshera, Mardan, Peshawar as well as in Khyber, Mohmand Agency, Swabi, Kohat, Karak, Hangu, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Tank, Haripur, Buner, Bajaur, and DI Khan, with more than 35,700 candidates in the run for tehsil council, village council and neighborhood councils.
About 3,900 women candidates were in the contest, including from FATA.
Strict security arrangements were in place as over 12.6 million voters went to the polls in the 17 districts. Nearly 80,000 law enforcers were deployed in areas where polling took place.
However, reports of violence and armed attacks related to the election left five people dead and several wounded, according to police and locals.
On Saturday, a day before the polls, mayoral candidate Umar Khitab was gunned down outside his home in Dera Ismail Khan, District Police Officer (DPO) Najamul Hasnain told media.
Additionally, the polling process had to be suspended in several polling stations in Bannu and Dara Adamkhel, a town in the Khyber tribal district, due to an attack on Federal Minister for Science Shibli Faraz in Kohat. The minister escaped unhurt.
A roadside bomb also hit the vehicle of a Awami National Party (ANP) leader in Bajaur tribal district on election day, leaving two people dead and three wounded.
People also set a polling station and ballot boxes on fire in the Darra Adam Khel area of Khyber tribal district.

Topics: KP elections Local body elections

Over 300 Pakistani students evacuated from Kyrgyzstan following mob violence against foreigners

Updated 15 sec ago
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Over 300 Pakistani students evacuated from Kyrgyzstan following mob violence against foreigners

  • Separate flights carrying 140, 175 Pakistani students arrived in Islamabad, Lahore respectively on Sunday night
  • Pakistan has started evacuating students from Bishkek after violent attacks last week against foreigners 
Updated 15 sec ago
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Two separate flights carrying over 300 Pakistani students from Kyrgyzstan arrived in Lahore and Islamabad on Sunday night, days after violent clashes in the central Asian country forced Islamabad to evacuate its nationals and arrange for their safe return. 

Videos of a brawl between Kyrgyz and Egyptian students went viral on social media last week, prompting frenzied mobs to target hostels of medical universities and private lodgings of international students, including Pakistanis, in the city. 

Pakistan has since then ramped efforts to repatriate its students from the city, dispatching commercial and special flights to the country. According to official statistics, around 10,000 Pakistani students are enrolled in various educational institutions in Kyrgyzstan, with nearly 6,000 residing and studying in Bishkek. Foreign Minister Dar on Sunday confirmed no Pakistani had died in the clashes. 

The first batch of around 130 Pakistani students from Kyrgyzstan arrived in the eastern city of Lahore late Saturday night. On Sunday, another flight carrying 140 Pakistani students from Kyrgyzstan arrived in Islamabad and was received by Federal Minister of Petroleum Musadik Malik. 

“I have no words to describe your situation but I feel the pain and suffering that you and your parents have gone through,” Malik told the students upon their arrival in the country. He said some students did not want to return to Pakistan on account of their exams. 

“Any student who wants to come, we will bring them,” he vowed. 

Separately, another flight arrived at the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore on Sunday night with 175 Pakistani students from Bishkek. Information Minister Ataullah Tarar welcomed the students, saying that Islamabad was in touch with Bishkek over the current situation. 

“Our ambassador in Kyrgyzstan is in contact with students,” Tarar was quoted as saying by the information ministry. “On Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s instructions, special arrangements have made to shift the Pakistani students from the airports [to their homes.]“

Pakistan’s ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Hasan Zaigham said on Saturday that five Pakistani medical students had been injured in the mob attack. One student was admitted to a local hospital with a jaw injury, while the other four were released after receiving first aid.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry said on Saturday it had summoned and handed a note of protest to Kyrgyzstan’s top diplomat in the country in response to violence against Pakistani students in Bishkek.

Topics: Pakistan Kyrgyzstan Pakistanis students in Kyrgyzstan

Fresh floods kill 66 in northern Afghanistan

Updated 19 May 2024
AFP
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Fresh floods kill 66 in northern Afghanistan

  • Hundreds of people have died in flash floods this month that have also swamped agricultural lands in Afghainstan
  • The latest heavy floods hit multiple districts of Faryab province Saturday, resulting in human and financial losses
Updated 19 May 2024
AFP

KABUL: Fresh floods killed 66 people in northern Afghanistan, a provincial official said Sunday, after weeks of flooding that has inundated farms and villages and swept away swathes of communities.

Hundreds of people have died in flash floods this month that have also swamped agricultural lands in a country where 80 percent of the population depends on farming to survive.

The latest heavy floods hit multiple districts of Faryab province on Saturday night and “resulted in human and financial losses,” said Asmatullah Muradi, spokesman for the Faryab governor, in a statement.

“Due to the floods 66 people were killed,” he said, adding that at least five people were injured and others were still missing.

The flooding damaged more than 1,500 houses, swamped more than 1,000 acres of agricultural land and killed hundreds of livestock, he said.

The floods came a day after provincial police said more than 50 people were killed in flash flooding in the western province of Ghor.

Just over a week ago, more than 300 people were killed by torrents in northern Baghlan province, according to the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and Taliban officials.

Taliban officials have warned the tolls would go up in regions impacted by flooding, as destroyed infrastructure hampered aid delivery and efforts to find the missing.

The death toll from the Ghor flooding rose from 50 to 55 on Sunday, according to Abdul Wahid Hamas, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

“More than 3,000 homes were totally destroyed due to the floods” in Ghor, he added.

Videos shared on social media platform X by the WFP showed currents of brown water crashing through walls of homes and churning through streets in Ghor.

Residents in Baghlan, Ghor, Faryab and other affected provinces found themselves without shelter, stripped of their homes and livelihoods.

“We were inside our home when rain started and all of a sudden, a flash flood came, we were trying to get things out but it washed away our home, our life, everything,” Ghor resident Jawan Gul told AFP on Saturday.

The flooding also sparked concern for the revered 12th-century Jam minaret, located in a remote part of Ghor, provincial officials said.

Images circulated to media showed brown torrents crashing around the base of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

“The situation of Jam was very concerning,” Abdul Hai Zaeem, information and culture director in Ghor, told AFP, adding that mud was still piled high around the brick minaret.

The WFP warned that the recent floods have compounded an already dire humanitarian situation in the impoverished country.

Spring floods are not uncommon in Afghanistan, a country of more than 40 million people, but above-average rainfall this year has sparked devastating flash flooding.

Even before the most recent spate of floods, about 100 people had been killed from mid-April to early May as a result of flooding in 10 of Afghanistan’s provinces, authorities said.

The rains come after a prolonged drought in Afghanistan, which is one of the least prepared nations to tackle climate change impacts, according to experts.

Topics: Afghanistan flash floods

Anti-microbial resistance causing 1 million deaths in Pakistan annually — health experts

Updated 19 May 2024
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Anti-microbial resistance causing 1 million deaths in Pakistan annually — health experts

  • Self-medication, unjustified prescription, taking antibiotics for shorter duration major reasons of antimicrobial resistance
  • Officials and public health experts urge people not to use antibiotics without the advice of trained and qualified physicians
Updated 19 May 2024
KHURSHID AHMED   

KARACHI: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the third leading cause of deaths in Pakistan that directly or indirectly results in 1 million deaths in the South Asian country annually, officials and public health experts said on Sunday.

They said this at a press conference in Karachi in connection with the National Antimicrobial Stewardship Summit 2024, organized by Getz Pharma drug manufacturer in collaboration with the National Health Services Ministry, Health Services Academy (HSA) and the National Institute of Health (NIH).

Around 300,000 people die annually due to drug-resistant bacteria, while AMR contributes to 700,000 deaths because of complications following treatment of diseases, according to the experts.

The deaths are linked with “irrational use” of antibiotics as Pakistan is the third largest consumer of antibiotics in the world, after China and India, and consumed antibiotics worth Rs126 billion in 2023 alone.

“Antimicrobial resistance is now the third leading cause of death after cardiovascular disease and maternal and neonatal disorders in Pakistan because we now have infections caused by bacteria that are not responding to third- and fourth-generation antibiotics,” said Prof. Shahzad Ali Khan, vice-chancellor of the Health Services Academy in Islamabad.

“Abuse of antibiotics by doctors, quacks, and people themselves is making these important medicines highly ineffective,” he said, urging people not to use antibiotics without the advice of trained and qualified physicians.

The summit was attended by over 1,400 health care professionals, including health secretaries and directors-general from federal and provincial governments, officials from the NIH, Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, medical societies and health care regulatory authorities, senior physicians and policymakers.

Khan maintained that antibiotics were “wonder drugs” that saved millions of lives during world wars and pandemics, but their “irrational use or abuse” had led to AMR, which was now becoming a global public health concern.

“Self-medication, unjustified prescription of antibiotics by quacks and physicians, taking antibiotics for a shorter duration, and the production of substandard antibiotics by some companies are some of the major causes of antimicrobial resistance,” he said.

Prof. Javed Akram, former Punjab health minister and president of the Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine (PSIM), said AMR was the third major challenge facing Pakistan after population growth and non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

“People are now dying due to infections that are extremely hard to treat due to the resistance developed by bacteria against these medicines,” Akram said.

“On one hand, Pakistan has become the world capital of diabetes and other non-communicable diseases, and on the other, we have developed Extremely Drug-Resistant (XDR) typhoid, Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) TB, and various other infections that are extremely hard to treat with most of the available antibiotics. This is because we have been using antibiotics like candies.”

He urged people not to consume antibiotics on their own, saying antibiotics have similar side effects as cancer treatment therapies.

Dr. Afreenish Amir, an NIH representative and senior microbiologist, said AMR had spread to almost all countries and regions, including Pakistan, owing to the “misuse and overuse” of antibiotics.

“This contributes to the increasing burden of infections due to resistant bacteria while limiting treatment options for managing such infections,” she said.

The experts also highlighted the “overuse and abuse” of antibiotics for livestock and said it was responsible for 80 percent of AMR in the veterinary sector. They called for creating awareness among the masses regarding the irrational use of antibiotics in humans, livestock and poultry.

In his keynote address, Prof. Zulfiqar Bhutta, a renowned pediatrician and public health scientist, urged people to get their children vaccinated against typhoid, saying Pakistan was the only country in the world where the Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV) was being administered to children to prevent the drug-resistant, water-borne disease.

Dr. Wajiha Javed, an associate director of public health at Getz Pharma, said over-the-counter availability of antibiotics, use of these medicines for a shorter duration, and unnecessary prescription of antibiotics by quacks and doctors should be looked into by the authorities.

She said substandard antibiotics containing less or low-grade raw materials were also responsible for AMR and announced that her firm was working work with the government to develop a national action plan on AMR.

On the occasion, a declaration was also signed between the Health Services Academy, NIH and Getz Pharma for the implementation of Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS), while Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were also signed with 13 medical societies in this regard.

Topics: Anti-microbial resistance

Deputy PM Dar, Saudi FM discuss Crown Prince’s visit to Pakistan, bilateral cooperation

Updated 19 May 2024
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Deputy PM Dar, Saudi FM discuss Crown Prince’s visit to Pakistan, bilateral cooperation

  • Deputy PM Ishaq Dar this month said the much-awaited visit was ‘on the cards,’ but neither side has confirmed any dates
  • The statement came amid Pakistan and Saudi Arabia’s efforts to increase bilateral trade and reach investment agreements
Updated 19 May 2024
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday held a telephonic conversation with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and discussed with him Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s proposed visit to Pakistan as well as bilateral cooperation between the two countries, the Pakistani foreign ministry said.

Dar this month said the much-awaited visit of the Saudi Crown Prince to Islamabad was “on the cards” and could materialize “any time” during May. But neither of the two sides has confirmed any dates.

His statement followed a series of high-level engagements between the two countries, including the visits of Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif to the Kingdom and a visit of the Saudi foreign minister to Islamabad.

On Sunday, Dar and the Saudi foreign minister discussed bilateral relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, exploring various avenues for further strengthening cooperation across multiple sectors.

“They reviewed preparations for the visit of the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Al-Saud to Pakistan,” the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a statement.

“Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar underlined that people of Pakistan are eagerly looking forward to the visit of His Royal Highness at a mutually agreed date.”

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have lately been working to increase bilateral trade and investment, with the Crown Prince last month reaffirming the Kingdom’s commitment to expedite an investment package of $5 billion.

A high-level Saudi business delegation, led by the Kingdom’s Assistant Minister of Investment Ibrahim Al-Mubarak, this month visited Pakistan to explore investment opportunities in various sectors, including mineral, energy, agriculture and petroleum.

The visit by the Saudi Crown Prince would mark his first trip to Pakistan in the last five years. His previous visit took place in February 2019 during the tenure of former prime minister Imran Khan.

On Saturday, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the proposed visit would prove to be a “game changer” in bilateral ties between both countries.

“The historic brotherly friendship of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan is turning into a beneficial economic relationship,” Naqvi was quoted as saying by his ministry. “The people of Pakistan are looking forward to the visit of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.”

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong trade, defense, and cultural ties. The Kingdom is home to over 2.7 million Pakistani expatriates and serves as a top source of remittances to the cash-strapped South Asian country.

Saudi Arabia has also often come to cash-strapped Pakistan’s aid by regularly providing it oil on deferred payment and offering direct financial support to help stabilize its economy and shore up its forex reserves.

Topics: Pakistan Saudi Ties

Prayers from top Pakistani leaders as Iranian president’s helicopter crashes

Updated 19 May 2024
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Prayers from top Pakistani leaders as Iranian president’s helicopter crashes

  • Iranian media says the helicopter landed roughly while crossing a mountainous area on way back from Azerbaijan
  • In April, President Raisi visited Pakistan as the two neighbors sought to mend ties after tit-for-tat strikes this year
Updated 19 May 2024
KASHIF IMRAN

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday expressed concerns about the crash landing of a helicopter carrying President Ebrahim Raisi in Iran’s northwest and extended their wishes and prayers for his well-being.

The helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian landed roughly when it was crossing a mountainous area in heavy fog on the way back from a visit to Azerbaijan, according to Iranian media.

The bad weather was complicating rescue efforts, the IRNA state news agency reported. Interior Minister Ahmed Vahidi told state TV that one of the helicopters in a group of three had “come down hard,” and that authorities were awaiting further details.

“Heard the distressing news from Iran regarding Hon. President Seyed Ibrahim Raisi’s helicopter. Waiting with great anxiety for good news that all is well,” PM Sharif said on Twitter.

“Our prayers and best wishes are with Hon. President Raisi and the entire Iranian nation.”

President Asif Ali Zardari said he was “deeply concerned” after hearing news about the helicopter incident.

“My heartfelt prayers & good wishes for the well-being & safety of President Raisi so that he may continue to serve the Iranian nation,” he said on X.

Reacting to the development, former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said their thoughts were with President Raisi, FM Amirabdollahian and the brotherly people of Iran during this critical time.

“We earnestly pray for their safety and swift recovery,” he said in a post on X.

Raisi, 63, was elected president at the second attempt in 2021, and since taking office has ordered a tightening of morality laws, overseen a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests and pushed hard in nuclear talks with world powers.

In Iran’s dual political system, split between the clerical establishment and the government, it is the supreme leader rather than the president who has the final say on all major policies.

But many see Raisi as a strong contender to succeed his mentor, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has strongly endorsed Raisi’s main policies.

In April, Raisi arrived in Islamabad on a three-day official visit to Pakistan as the two Muslim neighbors sought to mend ties after unprecedented tit-for-tat military strikes earlier this year.

The Iranian president had held delegation-level meetings in the Pakistani capital as well as one-on-one discussions with Pakistan’s prime minister, president, army chief, Senate chairman and National Assembly speaker.

During the visit, Raisi had also overseen the signing of eight agreements between the two countries that covered different fields, including trade, science technology, agriculture, health, culture, and judicial matters.

Topics: Iran President Ebrahim Raisi

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