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He was a model to me of artistic labor and discipline, even if those early paintings were painfully amateurish. IT WASN’T MY intention to start an essay about artistic beginnings with a story of artistic death. No one captured the massive cultural and economic disparities of my life in Delhi (and his in Lahore) like Toor. But quite unbeknown to me, Toor’s life in New York had opened up a new vein of material. Not everyone who sees a Michelangelo can go off and paint a Michelangelo.”THERE ARE SO many ways to begin.

Persons: Naipaul, Neil Shah, James Wood —, Zack, who’d, ”, Artemisia Gentileschi, Susanna, Elders ”, I’m, ” Gustave Flaubert, “, ” Zack, it’s, Bruce Chatwin, Paul Gauguin, Salman Rushdie, Somerset Maugham, Kathryn Bigelow, Philip Glass, Arundhati Roy, Booker, Joseph Conrad, Conrad, Jacques, ” Conrad, brimming, ’, ’ ”, Clarice Lispector, Benjamin Moser, ” Lispector, Maugham, eludes, Jan van Kessel, Elder, — Pieter Bruegel, —, Rebecca West —, “ Black Lamb, J.R, Hammond, Wells, Rebecca West ”, sloughed, Henrik Ibsen’s, Rosmersholm ”, Karan Mahajan, Salman Toor, what’s, ” Hemingway, Anoushka Shankar, Ravi Shankar, Harold Bloom, Ravi, Uday, René Daumal, Rasa ”, ” Anoushka, Norah Jones, Norah, I’ve, “ Raphael, Rachel Cusk, Italy ”, Perugino, Raphael, Cusk, J.M, Samuel Beckett, Gabriel García Márquez, Thomas Pynchon’s, James Joyce, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Marcel Proust’s, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Read, Emma Kehlbeck, Quinton Kamara Organizations: Amherst College, Elders, Fayerweather, ”, Google, Sunday Times, Somerset, Yugoslavia, The, “, . Locations: Delhi, ”, Massachusetts, Italian, Topeka, Kan, Amherst, New York, London, Patagonia, New Delhi, Torrens, Cambridge, Polish, Ukrainian, Brazil, Flemish, Victorian England, “ H.G, Fairfield, United States, “, East, Lahore, Europe, America, Texas, Side, Manhattan, India, Italy

He was a model to me of artistic labor and discipline, even if those early paintings were painfully amateurish. The painting followed me from Amherst to my first job in New York, and on to London and Delhi. IT WASN’T MY intention to start an essay about artistic beginnings with a story of artistic death. I’m especially moved by those first moments of validation by which an artist comes out to himself, as it were. It’s this, the inexorability of the correspondence between an artist and the world, that gives those first steps their magical quality.

☆ Pakistan court grants Imran Khan appeal of graft conviction, sentence suspended
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan, gestures as he speaks to the members of the media at his residence in Lahore, Pakistan May 18, 2023. A Pakistani court on Monday granted former Prime Minister Imran Khan an appeal of his conviction for graft and suspended his 14-year jail sentence, his party said. Just a week ahead of Feb. 8 elections, Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were both handed a 14-year sentence on charges of unlawfully selling state gifts. Khan remains in jail after multiple other sentences were imposed on the ex-cricket star ahead of the national polls, which also disqualified him from holding any public office for 10 years. Islamabad High Court said that the couple's sentence will remain suspended until a final decision on the conviction which will be taken up for arguments and evidence as a main petition after Eid holidays, the party said in a statement.

Persons: Imran Khan, Khan, Bushra Bibi Organizations: Court Locations: Lahore, Pakistan, Islamabad

☆ World’s worst polluted cities are in Asia - India’s Begusarai topping IQAir report
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“We see that in every part of our lives that air pollution has an impact,” said IQAir Global CEO Frank Hammes. “And it typically, in some of the most polluted countries, is likely shaving off anywhere between three to six years of people’s lives. Central and South Asia were the worst performing regions globally, home to all four of the most polluted countries last year: Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Tajikistan. South Asia is of particular concern, with 29 of the 30 most polluted cities in India, Pakistan or Bangladesh. One bright spot is increasing pressure and civic engagement from communities, NGOs, companies, and scientists to monitor air quality.

Persons: ”, Frank Hammes, Hammes, “ What’s, IQAir, Chiang Mai, that’s, ” Hammes Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Health, IQAir, WHO, Dhaka, CNN, America, Reuters Locations: Hong Kong, Asia, India, India’s Bihar, Guwahati, Assam, Delhi, Mullanpur, Punjab, South Asia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Lahore, New Delhi, Finland, Estonia, Puerto Rico, Australia, New Zealand, Bermuda, Grenada, Iceland, Mauritius, French Polynesia, Canada, Alberta, United States, Minneapolis, Detroit, Columbus , Ohio, Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, China, Beijing, Hotan, Southeast Asia, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Bangkok, Africa, South America, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Chad

☆ Shehbaz Sharif Set for Pakistan's Top Job as Elder Brother Steps Aside
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +5 min

Before his stint as prime minister, the younger Sharif was known more as a good administrator than a politician, having served as chief minister thrice in the country's largest province, Punjab. The deal was signed after Sharif personally called on IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva last June. Although defence and key foreign policy decisions are largely influenced by the military, Sharif will have to juggle relations with the U.S. and China, both major allies. He started his political career as the chief minister of Punjab in 1997 with a signature "can-do" administrative style. As chief minister, the younger Sharif planned and executed a number of ambitious infrastructure mega-projects, including Pakistan's first modern mass transport system in Lahore.

Persons: Asif Shahzad, Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam, Sharif, Nawaz Sharif, Nawaz Sharif's, Maryam, Imran Khan, Shehbaz Sharif, Khan, Shehbaz, Kristalina Georgieva, Tehmina Durrani, Ariba Shahid, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Pakistan Muslim League, Nawaz, Monetary Fund, IMF, U.S Locations: Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam ISLAMABAD, Sharif, London, country's, Punjab, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, China, India, Iran, Afghanistan, Lahore, Panama, Karachi

☆ Coalition government deal in Pakistan leaves Imran Khan’s party out of power
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Sophia Saifi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Islamabad, Pakistan CNN —Two of Pakistan’s major political parties - the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) - say they will form a coalition government after last week’s inconclusive elections. The move means the party of former Prime Minister Imran Khan will not be in power, despite independent candidates affiliated with it gaining the most votes. The PMLN also released a statement that Shahbaz Sharif would be the party’s candidate for prime minister. Earlier on Tuesday, the PPP’s chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had said his party would support the PLMN candidate for prime minister. The party would also field its candidates for the National Assembly speaker, chairman of the Senate, and president, he said.

Persons: Imran Khan, Shahbaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Imran Khan’s, Nawaz Sharif, Khan, ” Zardari, Sharif, “, ” Bhutto Zardari Organizations: Pakistan CNN —, Pakistan Muslim League, Nawaz, Pakistan People’s Party, PPP, PTI, National Assembly, Senate Locations: Islamabad, Pakistan, Lahore, Wahdat

☆ Analysis: Pakistan’s youth deliver stinging rebuke to military elite by backing jailed leader Khan
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Sophia Saifi | Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Islamabad, Pakistan CNN —His political party is effectively banned, his speeches are barred from television, and he faces at least 14 years in prison. But as the Pakistan election results show, Imran Khan cannot be suppressed. Independent candidates affiliated with the former prime minister’s Pakistan Tehereek-e-Insaf (PTI) party secured the most parliamentary seats in last week’s nationwide election, the election commission announced Sunday. “Now show the strength of protecting your vote.” Khan’s team has previously used AI to deliver his speeches from behind bars. Akhtar Soomro/Reuters/FileWhen he rose to power in 2018, it was, according to analysts, with the backing of the military.

Persons: Pakistan CNN —, Imran Khan, Khan, “, ”, Khan’s, –, Hashim Ali Dogar, Shayan Bashir Nawaz, Raoof Hassam, Madiha Afzal, Akhtar Soomro, Rabiya Arooj, Nawaz Sharif, Husain Haqqani, Anwar Gargash, Manahil Ahmed, Sharif, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Sundas Kalsoom, Insaaf, Gohar Ali Khan, Hasham Ahmed, Fahd Humayun Organizations: Pakistan CNN, Independent, PTI, CNN, Foreign, Brookings Institution, Pakistani, United, Hudson Institute, Washington D.C, Getty, Haqqani, Political, Neubauer, Tufts University, “ Locations: Islamabad, Pakistan, Lahore, “, Punjab, Washington, Imran Khan Pakistan, British India, It’s, United States, Pakistani, Abu Dhabi, Peshawar, Buner, AFP, Egypt

While election winners were celebrating victory, PTI and other parties refused to accept their defeat in dozens of constituencies. Dozens of Khan’s supporters were briefly detained in the eastern city of Lahore over the weekend while protesting alleged vote-rigging. Khan could not run in the election because of the criminal convictions against him that he says are politically motivated. No party won a majority, however, so the parties will have to hold talks on forming a coalition government. The Pakistan Muslim League-N party led by three-time premier and ex-felon Nawaz Sharif secured 75.

Persons: Pakistan's, Imran Khan, Khan, Jan Achakzai, Nawaz Sharif, Sharif, Bilawal Bhutto, Zardari, establishment’s Organizations: National Assembly, Pakistan Muslim League, Pakistan People’s Party, PML Locations: QUETTA, Pakistan, Lahore, Baluchistan

If no party wins a majority of 169 seats, the one with the biggest share can form a coalition government. The vote was overshadowed by violence, an unprecedented national shutdown of all mobile phone services and allegations of vote rigging. Pakistan’s national human rights body said there was no excuse for the hold-up and expressed concern about the lack of transparency. DEALS, DEALS, DEALSNo party won a majority of National Assembly seats. She accompanied her father at rallies, giving fiery and uncompromising speeches, and escorted him on polling day when he went to cast his vote.

Persons: hadn't, Imran Khan's, Salman Akram Raja, hasn’t, Nawaz Sharif, kingmaker, Asif Ali Zardari, Bilawal Bhutto, Zardari, Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif’s, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Benazir Bhutto, Benazir’s, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Maryam Nawaz, Bilawal, Maryam, Shehbaz, Hamza Organizations: —, National Assembly, U.S, Union, Court, Fair, PTI, Pakistan People’s Party, Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League Locations: LAHORE, Pakistan, — Pakistan, Lahore, Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan, Punjab province

☆ Pakistan's ex-PM Nawaz Sharif declares victory in fraught election as opponents claim vote rigging
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Campaign posters for Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan's former prime minister, along a street ahead of Pakistan's national election in Lahore, Pakistan, on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif declared victory on Friday in the country's 2024 General Election, one that many Pakistanis and human rights groups are decrying as neither free nor fair. Sharif, 74, cited the Election Commission of Pakistan in saying that his party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), had won the largest share of the national vote. "Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will almost certainly win," Chaudhuri said as the polls opened. A lifetime ban from partaking in politics and multiple corruption convictions for Sharif were overturned by Pakistani courts last year.

Persons: Nawaz Sharif, Imran Khan, Pramit Pal Chaudhuri, Chaudhuri, Sharif, mending Organizations: Pakistan Muslim League, Nawaz, Eurasia Group, CNBC Locations: Lahore, Pakistan, Sharif, South Asia, U.K

☆ Pakistan election 2024: Millions will head to the polls in an election mired in controversy
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Rhea Mogul | Sophia Saifi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Islamabad, Pakistan CNN —Millions in Pakistan will head to the polls on Thursday for a general election in which old dynasties are vying for power while the country’s widely popular former leader languishes behind bars unable to stand and militants ramp up deadly attacks. Mobile internet has been suspended in various districts of the province, leading to concerns of a nationwide blackout. A street is festooned with posters of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Lahore on February 4, 2024. Sharif remains widely popular in Pakistan’s Punjab province – the country’s most populous and a key electoral battleground – where his Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) party has been lauded for advancing mega infrastructural projects. Standing against him is Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the 35-year-old son of slain former leader Benazir Bhutto, seeking to reestablish his Pakistan People’s Party as a major political force.

Persons: languishes, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Nawaz Sharif, ARIF, Volker Türk, ”, Liz Throssell, Imran Khan’s, Khan, Sharif, Nawaz, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Benazir Bhutto Organizations: Pakistan CNN —, Islamic State, Mobile, Foreign, ARIF ALI, AFP, Getty, United Nations, Human Rights, “, Cricket, PTI, Pakistan Muslim League, Pakistan People’s Party Locations: Islamabad, Pakistan, country’s, Balochistan, Islamic State Pakistan Province, Iran, Afghanistan, Lahore, Imran Khan’s Pakistan, Punjab

☆ Analysis: At this general election in Pakistan, old dynasties vie for power and populist Imran Khan languishes in prison
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Sophia Saifi | Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

That sets the stage for a difficult road to recovery for whoever wins in a nation where no democratically elected prime minister has ever completed a full term in office. Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan attends a lawyers' convention in Lahore on September 21, 2022. Veteran Sharif will face a strong challenge, however, from first-time candidate for Prime Minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, 35, son of slain former leader Benazir Bhutto. Manahil Ahmed, 23, called Pakistan’s political environment “particularly hostile” right now. For Pakistan’s military and police forces, the last year was the bloodiest in a decade.

Persons: Imran Khan, –, Arif Ali, Nawaz Sharif, Sharif, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Benazir Bhutto, Khan –, Khan, Fareed Khan, ”, Rabiya Arooj, Khan’s, Bushra Bibi, Imran Khan's, Asad Zaidi, Pakistan’s, Farzana Shaikh, “, ’, Murtaza Solang, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Mohsin Raza, he’s, Raja Ikram, Ameer Hamza, Manahil Ahmed, Shaikh, Hussain Nadim, Maurice R, Greenberg, ‘, Aamir Qureshi, Shoaib Tanveer, Baou Nadeem, ” Shaikh, Farooq Naeem, “ Sharif, He’s, Tim Willasey Organizations: Pakistan CNN —, Getty, PTI, World Bank, Pakistan, Bloomberg, The Royal Institute of International Affairs, CNN, for Research, Security Studies, Pakistan’s People’s Party, Pakistan Muslim League, Baloch Liberation Army, Yale University, Pakistan Army –, Workers, King’s College London Locations: Islamabad, Pakistan, Pakistan CNN — Pakistan, Lahore, AFP, Karachi, “, Rawalpindi, Asia, Hafizabad, Khan’s, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, India, Afghanistan, Iran, State Khorasan, restive Balochistan, Balochistan, Punjab, Sharif, States, China, British

☆ It Was Once Pakistan’s Military Stronghold. Now Even It Has Had Enough.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Christina Goldbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

As they head to the polls this week, residents in Pakistan’s most populous and affluent province are fed up. Just look around, they say: The economy is in free fall and inflation has soared. Everyone from young laborers to prominent influencers in the province, Punjab, have been jailed alongside him. And it’s become clear, many say, that a group once widely supported in Punjab is to blame: the country’s military. “We aren’t faulting the politicians anymore — now we know who to blame,” said Sibghat Butt, 29, a customer service representative in Lahore, the province’s capital.

Persons: —, ”, Sibghat Butt Locations: Pakistan’s, Punjab, Lahore, “

The highway is the most politically charged slice of a politically turbulent country. It winds 180 miles from Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, through the fertile plains of Punjab Province to Lahore, the nation’s cultural and political heart. For centuries, it was known only as a sliver of the Grand Trunk Road, Asia’s longest and oldest thoroughfare, linking traders in Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. As Pakistan heads into national elections on Thursday, the road is buzzing. Politics dominates the chatter between its vendors and rickshaw drivers, their conversations seeped in a culture of conspiracy, cults of political personality and the problems of entrenched military control.

Locations: Pakistan’s, Islamabad, Punjab Province, Lahore, Central Asia, Pakistan

☆ Costs, Crackdown Put a Damper on Pakistan's Election Campaigns
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

By Ariba ShahidKARACHI (Reuters) - Higher living costs and political uncertainty have muted Pakistan's once boisterous election campaigns, with both candidates and those who supply them with materials bemoaning the need to do more with much less. Syed Arsalan Haider, a Karachi printer, said the cost of a square foot of banner was up by 130% since the last election. Khan, whose party won the last election, says the military wants to keep him from power, which the military denies. Meherbano Qureshi, a PTI candidate and daughter of the party's jailed vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, said people were scared to show their support and hang campaign material. (Reporting by Ariba Shahid in Karachi and Mubasher Bukhari in Lahore; Editing by YP Rajesh and Miral Fahmy)

Persons: Shahid, Imran Khan, Jawad Jiwani, Syed Arsalan Haider, Abdul Aziz, Taj Haider, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Faisal Subzwari, Khan, Meherbano Qureshi, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Khurram Sher Zaman, They're, Ariba Shahid, Mubasher Bukhari, YP Rajesh, Miral Organizations: Monetary Fund, Pakistan People's Party, PTI, Mubasher, YP Locations: Shahid KARACHI, Pakistan, Karachi, festooned, Lahore

☆ Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan sentenced to 10-year jail term
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan, gestures as he speaks to the members of the media at his residence in Lahore, Pakistan May 18, 2023. Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan has been sentenced to 10 years in jail on charges of leaking state secrets, his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) confirmed in a post on social media site X on Tuesday. The former national cricket captain became Pakistan's prime minister in 2018. What can be more ridiculous than that Pakistan has imprisoned its Prime Minister and Foreign Minister for exposing the foreign conspiracy! One month later, he was removed from power in a vote of no-confidence by opposition lawmakers alleging corruption and unconstitutional actions.

Persons: Imran Khan, Pakistan Imran Khan, Khan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Khan's Organizations: Former, PTI Locations: Lahore, Pakistan, Islamabad, Washington

☆ Pakistan court overturns ex-PM Nawaz Sharif's graft conviction - lawyer
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif addresses supporters upon his arrival from a self-imposed exile in London, ahead of the 2024 Pakistani general election, in Lahore, Pakistan October 21, 2023. REUTERS/Mohsin Raza/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsISLAMABAD, Nov 29 (Reuters) - A Pakistan court overturned the conviction of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a corruption case on Wednesday, his lawyer said. The Islamabad High Court announced its decision after the national anti-graft body did not contest Sharif's appeal for his acquittal, lawyer Azam Nazeer Tarar said. "I had left it to the mercy of God," the former premier said in comments broadcast live on local TV after he left the court. Sharif had been out on bail pending the appeal and had always denied any wrongdoing, saying the charges were politically motivated.

Persons: Nawaz Sharif, Mohsin Raza, Sharif, Azam Nazeer Tarar, Asif Shahzad, Shivam Patel, Andrew Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Islamabad High Court, Thomson Locations: London, Lahore, Pakistan, Rights ISLAMABAD, Islamabad

[1/3] Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan pauses as he speaks with Reuters during an interview, in Lahore, Pakistan March 17, 2023. It has been conducting the trial in prison since Khan was indicted on the charges last month. The Islamabad High Court had ruled last week that holding Khan's trial inside jail premises on security concerns was illegal, and ordered it restarted in an open court. The 71-year-old former cricket star has been embroiled in a tangle of political and legal battles since he was ousted as prime minister. The election is shaping as a fight between Khan's party and that of another ousted former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif.

Persons: Imran Khan, Akhtar Soomro, Khan, Naeem Panjutha, Nawaz Sharif, Asif Shahzad, Kim Coghill, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Pakistani, Reuters, REUTERS, Court, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Lahore, Pakistan, ISLAMABAD, Islamabad, United States

☆ Cricket World Cup 2023: Polluted air the common opponent
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Vijdan Mohammad Kawoosa | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +12 min

Air quality during 2023 Cricket World Cup matchesChart categorises the 2023 cricket World Cup matches held in 10 Indian cities by the air quality observed during the matches they hosted. Twenty matches were held in ‘unhealthy’ air quality, 11 in air that was ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, 12 in ‘moderate’ air quality and only two in ‘good’ air quality. Average 24-hour PM 2.5 levels on all cricket World Cup match days between 1983 and 2019Chart shows average PM 2.5 concentration on match days at places that hosted a cricket World Cup match between 1983 and 2019. Of all the regions that have ever hosted a cricket World Cup match, the Indian subcontinent has seen the most polluted air. Map shows average annual PM 2.5 levels in 2019 across the world and locations that have ever hosted a cricket World Cup match.

Persons: Delhi’s Arun, Arun Jaitley, ITO, Chandika Hathurusinghe, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Suranga Lakmal, Mohammad Shami vomited Organizations: Sri Lankan, teams, Arun, ITO, Labs Inc, . Environmental Protection Agency, Delhi, United States Environment Protection Agency, U.S . Environmental Protection Agency, World Health Organization, Indian, Matches, Daily, International Cricket Council, Endurance Locations: New Delhi, Delhi, Lahore, Pakistan, Australia, Netherlands, India, ITO, Sri Lanka, England, Indian, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Sri Lankan, U.S, Canberra, United States, China, Bangladesh

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan, gestures as he speaks to the members of the media at his residence in Lahore, Pakistan May 18, 2023. REUTERS/Mohsin Raza/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsISLAMABAD, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Pakistan's Supreme Court accepted on Wednesday a bail application from detained former Prime Minister Imran Khan, his lawyer said, a day after another court declared illegal his trial on charges of leaking state secrets. The 71-year-old was jailed on Aug. 5 for three years jail for unlawfully selling state gifts during his tenure as prime minister from 2018 to 2022. His lawyer said the Supreme Court had accepted the bid for bail. No date had been set for the hearing, he said, adding that the Supreme Court would seek input from the government on the application.

Persons: Imran Khan, Mohsin Raza, Naeem Panjutha, Khan, Nawaz Sharif, Sharif, Asif Shahzad, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Twitter, Court, Thomson Locations: Lahore, Pakistan, Rights ISLAMABAD, Islamabad, United States

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks with Reuters during an interview, in Lahore, Pakistan March 17, 2023. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro Acquire Licensing RightsISLAMABAD, Nov 21 (Reuters) - A Pakistani court on Tuesday declared the trial in jail of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on charges of leaking state secrets illegal, his lawyer said. "Islamabad High Court has declared illegal the notification for jail trial," said Naeem Panjutha, the lawyer, in a post on social media platform X. An order declared all proceedings of the trial conducted since Aug. 29 as void. "The proceedings and the trial conducted in jail premises in a manner that cannot be termed as an open trial stand vitiated," said the court order.

Persons: Imran Khan, Akhtar Soomro, Khan, Naeem Panjutha, Nawaz Sharif, Asif Shahzad, Ed Osmond, Nick Macfie Organizations: Pakistani, Reuters, REUTERS, Rights, Court, Thomson Locations: Lahore, Pakistan, Rights ISLAMABAD, Islamabad, United States

☆ Fact Check: Video of Muslim cleric purported assault is from Pakistan in 2021
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Accounts sharing the clip on social media falsely link it to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) were operating deep in Gaza City since entering on Oct. 27, Israel said on Nov. 7. It purportedly shows a Muslim cleric forcing himself on a student at a religious school in Lahore, Pakistan, in 2021. The video went viral on social media, Reuters reported on June 21, 2023, with posts on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in June 2021 (archived). Cleric Aziz-ur-Rehman was arrested, and local reports later said he confessed to assault.

Persons: Israel, Aziz, Rehman, Read Organizations: Israeli Defense Forces, Facebook, Al, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Pakistan, Gaza, Israel, Gaza City, Beit Hanoun, Nusra, Lahore

☆ Pakistan’s Lahore is the latest megacity to shut down as pollution chokes swathes of South Asia
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Lahore has become the latest megacity to shut down as pollution chokes swathes of South Asia, where nearly 50 million people have been breathing toxic air for nearly a week. Commuters make their way through a busy street amid smoggy conditions in Lahore on November 7, 2023. The PM2.5 levels in all these cities far exceed the World Health Organization’s limit and illustrate a growing concern for South Asian countries as they experience rapid industrializations and population booms that are fueling pollution levels. Commuters make their way along the Signature Bridge amid heavy smog conditions in New Delhi on November 9, 2023. The study also found that every single one of India’s 1.4 billion residents endures annual average pollution levels that exceed guidelines set by the World Health Organization.

Persons: Mohsin Naqvi, Arif Ali, Arun Sankar Organizations: CNN, Authorities, Lahore –, Getty, Getty Images Dhaka, Energy, Institute, University of Chicago, World Health Organization, Doctors Locations: Lahore, South Asia, Swiss, Pakistan’s Punjab, Gujranwala, Hafizabad, AFP, Pakistan, India, New Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, India’s, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangladesh, Delhi

☆ An Epic Pilgrimage Across Three Great Religions
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Aatish Taseer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +111 min

Before there was tourism, there was pilgrimage: a trip of endurance, hardship and ecstasy in celebration of one’s faith. On an epic pilgrimage of his own, one writer ventures into the heart of three great religions in Bolivia, Mongolia and Iraq. The Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala the day after Ashura. “They’re poor, but they come thousands of kilometers for the love of Imam Hussein.” PILGRIMAGE WAS A great equalizer. “Labaik ya Hussein,” came the solemn chorus of surrounding voices.

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