ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s anti-graft body Thursday ordered the arrest of the owner and editor-in-chief of Pakistan’s largest independent group of newspapers and TV stations in a decades-old case related to allegations of tax evasion in a real estate purchase.
Mir Shakilur Rehman’s Jang Group of Newspapers, which includes Geo TV, has been critical of the government. He was arrested in the eastern city of Lahore, the National Accountability Bureau said, without giving additional details.
Rehman’s arrest drew condemnation from the country’s journalistic community, with Geo News calling the arrest a “political victimization.”
“This is an attack on the freedom of expression,” said Rana Jawad, Geo News’ news director.
Pakistan, one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists to work, has witnessed an intensified crackdown on journalists, human rights workers, activists and members of civil society in recent years.
Rehman, whose media house has been critical of the government, had been facing questions from the anti-graft body for the past several months.
Jawad accused the National Accountability Bureau of abusing its authority, saying no valid reason was given to Rehman for being taken into custody.
The Geo TV station said Rehman was arrested in a 34-year-old case pertaining to the purchase of land for construction of a house in Lahore, the capital of eastern Punjab province.
Rehman’s arrest comes amid increasing pressure on journalists in Pakistan by state institutions and security agencies. Being a dissident — or even raising a critical voice — in Pakistan has grown more dangerous, regardless of whether the target is a political party, the judiciary or the powerful military and security agencies.
Human rights groups say the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan, elected in 2018, has failed to protect freedom of speech in Pakistan. Before becoming prime minister, Khan often publicly said that he would have Rehman arrested if he came into power.
Khan considers Rehman’s media house to be one of his main critics.
The latest arrest came weeks after Pakistani journalist Aziz Memon disappeared on the way to his work at a small newspaper in southern Sindh province. He was found dead just hours later. A few months earlier, Memon tweeted that he had been threatened by local police and a prominent political party over his reporting.
Pakistan anti-graft body arrests newspaper, TV mogul
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Pakistan anti-graft body arrests newspaper, TV mogul
- Mir Shakilur Rehman’s arrest has drew condemnation from the country’s journalistic community
- The development was described as an act of ‘political victimization’ by Geo News
3 Pakistani security personnel killed in raid on a militant hideout
- Pakistan police say insurgents were “Khawarij,” a term government uses for Pakistani Taliban
- Last week Pakistani forces killed 71 militants attempting to enter through Afghanistan, says military
PESHAWAR: Pakistani security forces overnight raided a militant hideout in northwest Pakistan, sparking a shootout in which three officers and one suspect were killed, police said Thursday.
The raid occurred in Bannu, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police Arshad Khan said. Other insurgents fled the scene. Khan said the insurgents were “Khwarij” — a phrase the government uses for the Pakistani Taliban.
The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, have launched some of the deadliest attacks against Pakistani law enforcers and civilians since 2007.
Last week, Pakistani security forces killed 71 militants when they attempted to cross into the country from Afghanistan, according to the military.
Pakistani Kashmir closes seminaries fearing Indian military strikes
- Islamabad says has credible intelligence India intends to launch military action soon
- Muslim-majority Kashmir is claimed in full but ruled in parts by both India and Pakistan
MUZAFFARABAD: The government of Pakistan-administered Kashmir has closed all religious seminaries in the region for 10 days, officials said on Thursday, citing fears they would be targeted by Indian strikes following a deadly attack on tourists in Indian Kashmir.
Islamabad says it has credible intelligence that India intends to launch military action soon, with New Delhi alleging that the attack on tourists was carried out by Pakistani nationals with ties to militant organizations based there.
The director of Pakistani Kashmir’s Department of Religious Affairs, Hafiz Nazir Ahmad, told Reuters that security officials feared Indian forces may target seminaries and label them as militant training centers.
The notification seen by Reuters, dated April 30, only cited a heatwave as the reason for the closure.
“Right now, we are facing two kinds of heat — one from the weather and the other from (Indian Prime Minister) Modi,” Ahmad said of the notification, saying they did not mention the risk of attacks in a bid to avoid panic.
India’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. India has previously targeted sites in Pakistan alleging they were bases of militants close to the Kashmir border.
“We held a meeting yesterday in which it was unanimously decided not to put innocent children at risk,” Ahmad said. The President’s Office of Pakistani Kashmir also said the closure was due to “precautionary reasons.”
There are 445 registered seminaries with over 26,000 students enrolled in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, according to the religious affairs department.
The seminaries — locally known as madrasas — are Islamic educational institutions run by religious organizations, providing cheap, often free, alternatives to regular schools.
Pakistan has said it will respond “assuredly and decisively” to any military action from India, raising the specter of war between the two nuclear-armed countries.
Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is claimed in full but ruled in parts by both India and Pakistan, and has been the site of two wars and multiple skirmishes.
Many Muslims in Indian Kashmir have long resented what they see as heavy-handed rule by India. In 1989, an insurgency by Muslim separatists began. India poured troops into the region and tens of thousands of people have been killed.
India accuses Pakistan of arming and training militants, which Islamabad denies, saying it offers only moral and diplomatic support. Seminaries have been criticized for radicalizing youth toward extremism.
Pakistan says rainfall in upper, central parts likely to ease ongoing heatwave
- Pakistan’s southern cities have recorded high temperatures this week due to an ongoing heatwave across country
- Disaster management authority warns of thunderstorm, isolated hailstorm in upper/central parts of Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said this week that rainfall in the upper and central parts of the country this week would likely cause the ongoing heatwave to subside.
The ongoing heatwave across Pakistan is expected to intensify this week, with temperatures in central and southern Pakistan likely to surge to 50°C this week, a report in American newspaper The Washington Post said on Wednesday.
Pakistanis have been sweltering from an ongoing heatwave that has troubled citizens in several parts of the country, especially its southern cities. Pakistan ranks among the top ten countries most vulnerable to climate change, grappling with increasingly frequent extreme weather events from deadly heatwaves to devastating floods. The 2015 heatwave claimed over 2,000 lives in Karachi alone while the 2022 floods left more than 1,700 dead and over 33 million displaced nationwide.
“Wind, thunderstorm (isolated hailstorm) predicted in upper/central parts from May 1-4, 2025,” the NDMA said in a weather advisory on Tuesday. “Heatwave conditions are likely to subside.”
It added that in Punjab and Islamabad, rainfall could trigger landslides in hilly areas, while hailstorms might damage infrastructure and vehicles.
“A westerly wave is likely to approach the upper parts of the country on April 30,” NDMA said. “Moist currents are likely to penetrate Northeast Punjab from May 1.”
The NDMA said that heavy downpours could cause urban flooding in low-lying areas of the southwestern and northwestern provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, respectively, as well as in the Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan regions.
Warning of the possibility of hailstorms, the NDMA urged citizens to remain safe by seeking shelter, staying away from windows, covering vehicles and equipment and avoiding open fields and hilltops.
NDMA also advised people to exercise precautionary measures, especially tourists visiting mountainous areas.
In April, an intense hailstorm and heavy rainfall battered Pakistan’s capital and its surrounding areas, leaving several vehicles damaged and house windows smashed.
Footage on social media showed hailstones falling from the sky in Islamabad, with several residents posting videos of their car windscreens smashed and others sharing images of house windows damaged by the hail.
Saudi Arabia’s digital Hajj system ‘highly stable, foolproof’ — Pakistan Hajj organizers’ association
- Association says Hajj organizers have been transferring funds to Office of Pilgrims Affairs Pakistan account since 2024
- Saudi Arabia’s digital Hajj system has been operating transparently and securely for a long time, says association
KARACHI: The Hajj Organizers Association of Pakistan (HOAP) this week described Saudi Arabia’s digital Hajj system as “highly stable” and “foolproof,” crediting the Kingdom for operating it transparently for a long time.
Local news outlets this month published reports stating Pakistani pilgrims could face delays in their Hajj journey as millions of Saudi Riyals meant for their expenses were mistakenly sent to an account linked to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). An official at Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah on Tuesday rejected the reports, reiterating the Kingdom’s electronic Hajj system operated with the “highest standards of transparency.”
HOAP clarified that local media reports had misreported the briefing its representatives had given to the Senate and National Assembly Standing Committee on Religious Affairs on Apr. 23. HOAP said its representatives had referred to the Office of the Pilgrims Affairs Pakistan (OPAP) account, not OPEC. It further said Hajj organizers have been transferring their funds to OPAP’s account since last year.
“The Hajj Organizers Association of Pakistan would like to clarify that the digital system of Saudi Arabia is highly stable and foolproof, leaving no room for any kind of ambiguity,” the association said on Wednesday. “The Hajj system of Saudi Arabia has been operating transparently and securely for a long time, and we continue to benefit from it.”
The association clarified it has never been a part of any “political campaign,” alleging that local media’s misreporting is the “outcome of a conspiracy, which is equivalent to harming the long-standing relations between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.”
“We have religious harmony and heartfelt affiliation with Saudi Arabia. We and our Government of Pakistan have longstanding relations with Saudi Arabia, of which we are proud,” it added.
This year’s annual pilgrimage will take place in June, with nearly 89,000 Pakistanis expected to travel to Saudi Arabia under the government scheme and 23,620 Pakistanis through private tour operators. The total quota granted to Pakistan was 179,210, which could not be met.
Pakistan kicked off its Hajj flight operations on Tuesday morning with the first batch of 442 pilgrims departing from Islamabad for Madinah.
Pakistan slashes petrol, diesel prices by Rs2 per liter till next fortnight
- Price of petrol after reduction is Rs252.63 per liter, high-speed diesel Rs256.64 per liter
- Fuel prices in Pakistan are reviewed fortnightly owing to fluctuations in global oil prices
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government has reduced the price of petrol and high-speed diesel by Rs2 per liter each for the next fortnight, state media reported on Thursday.
Fuel prices in Pakistan are reviewed and adjusted on a fortnightly basis. This mechanism ensures that changes in import costs are reflected in consumer prices, helping to sustain the country’s fuel supply chain.
The latest price reductions were undertaken due to the fluctuations in global oil prices. After the latest revision, a liter of petrol will now cost Rs252.63 while high-speed diesel will be sold at Rs256.64 per liter, according to a notification from the Ministry of Finance.
“The government has reduced prices of petroleum products for next fortnight,” Radio Pakistan said. “New prices are effective from today (Thursday).”
Petrol is primarily used in Pakistan for private transportation, including small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers. Diesel, on the other hand, powers heavy vehicles used for transporting goods across the country.
Pakistan significantly increased fuel prices after securing a short-term, $3 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2023. The rising rates also led to spiraling inflation in the country, though the government started offering relief to the people by gradually bringing down the petroleum prices subsequently.
Since then the government has undertaken financial reforms and registered some economic gains in its quest to ensure Pakistan achieves sustainable economic growth.
