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☆ 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

CNN —Unidentified gunmen killed nine Pakistani workers in the restive southeastern border region of Iran, Pakistani officials say, just over a week after Iran and Pakistan carried out military strikes on each other’s territory. No group or individuals have taken responsibility for the attack, in the city of Saravan, according to Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency. “Embassy will extend full support to bereaved families.”“We called upon [Iran] to extend full cooperation in the matter,” he added. Last week, Pakistan and Iran carried out tit-for-tat strikes on militants on each other’s soil in a major escalation of tension between the two sides. Both nations have long fought militants in the restive Baloch region along the border.

Persons: “, ”, Muhammad Mudassir Tipi, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs “, Nasser Kanani, Kanani, Pakistan “ Organizations: CNN, Mehr News Agency, Pakistan’s, “, Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Locations: Iran, Pakistan, Saravan, Balochistan, Sistan, Baluchestan, restive Baloch

☆ Afghans Return to Taliban Rule as Pakistan Moves to Expel 1.7 Million
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +9 min

Pakistan is home to over 4 million Afghan migrants and refugees, about 1.7 million of whom are undocumented, according to Islamabad. Cash-strapped Pakistan, navigating record inflation and a tough International Monetary Fund bailout program, also said undocumented migrants have drained its resources for decades. The information minister for Balochistan province, which borders Afghanistan, told Reuters it is opening three more border crossings. Pakistani citizens who help undocumented migrants obtain false identities or employment will face legal action, Bugti warned. There are more than 2.2 million Afghan migrants in Pakistan with some form of documentation recognized by the government that conveys temporary residence rights.

Persons: Shahid, Muhammad Rahim, Abdul Mutaleb Haqqani, Azizullah, Sohrab Goth, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Cash, Samar Abbas, Sarfaraz Bugti, Bugti, Abbas, Uzair Ahmed, Majida, we've, Muhammad, Ariba Shahid, Charlotte, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Saleem Shahid, Katerina Ang Organizations: Reuters, Pakistani Interior Ministry, Foreign, Monetary Fund, Sindh Human Rights Defenders Network, Islamabad, Federal, UNHCR, International Organization for Migration, Karachi East Police, Afghan Ministry, Refugees, World Bank, U.N Locations: Shahid KARACHI, Pakistan, Karachi, Pakistani, Afghanistan, Islamabad, Sindh, Balochistan, AFGHANISTAN, Charlotte Greenfield, Kabul, Quetta

Persons: Akhtar Soomro, Muhammad Rahim, Abdul Mutaleb Haqqani, Azizullah, Sohrab Goth, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Cash, Samar Abbas, Sarfaraz Bugti, Bugti, Abbas, Uzair Ahmed, Majida, we've, Muhammad, Ariba Shahid, Charlotte, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Saleem Shahid, Katerina Ang Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Pakistani Interior Ministry, Foreign, Monetary Fund, Sindh Human Rights Defenders Network, Islamabad, Federal, UNHCR, International Organization for Migration, Karachi East Police, Afghan Ministry, Refugees, World Bank, U.N, Thomson Locations: Pakistan, Karachi, Rights KARACHI, Pakistani, Afghanistan, Islamabad, Sindh, Balochistan, AFGHANISTAN, Charlotte Greenfield, Kabul, Quetta

REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsISLAMABAD, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Pakistan said on Friday that it would repatriate all illegal immigrants including hundreds of thousands of Afghan nationals in orderly phases rather than in one go. She did not have exact data on the total number of illegal immigrants, including Afghans. Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti said on Tuesday some 1.73 million Afghans in Pakistan had no legal documents and the number of Afghan refugees in Pakistan totalled 4.4 million. Pakistan has hosted the largest number of Afghan refugees since the Soviet invasion of Kabul in 1979. Pakistan's foreign minister Jalil Abbas Jilani defended the order for the departure of illegal immigrants, saying no other country allowed illegal immigrants to stay and live.

Persons: Fayaz Aziz, frayed, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Sarfraz Bugti, Bugti, Jalil Abbas Jilani, Hong, Albee Zhang, Ryan Woo, Robert Birsel, William Maclean Organizations: United Nations, Refugees, REUTERS, Rights, Aid, Phoenix TV, Thomson Locations: Pakistan, Peshawar, Rights ISLAMABAD, Islamabad, Kabul, Afghanistan, U.S, Tibet, Beijing

☆ Pakistan says Taliban forces building 'unlawful' structure in border dispute
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Trucks loaded with supplies to leave for Afghanistan are seen stranded at the Michni checkpost, after the main Pakistan-Afghan border crossing closed after clashes, in Torkham, Pakistan September 7, 2023. The Torkham border crossing between the neighbouring nations has been closed since Wednesday after forces from both sides exchanged fire, stranding hundreds of trucks laden with goods and thousands of travellers. The Taliban administration foreign ministry at the weekend criticised the closure of the border and said Pakistan security forces had fired on its troops when they were fixing an old security outpost near the border. Disputes linked to the 2,600 km (1,615 mile) border have been a bone of contention between the neighbours for decades. The Taliban administration denies it allows the use of Afghan soil for militancy and says Pakistan's security is an internal matter for the Pakistani government.

Persons: Fayaz Aziz, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Charlotte Greenfield, William Maclean Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Afghan, Torkham, Rights ISLAMABAD, Taliban

CNN —Authorities in Pakistan’s Punjab province have arrested more than 100 people after crowds descended on churches and set them on fire on Wednesday, raising concerns over the discrimination faced by religious minorities in the country. At least 17 churches have been vandalized since Wednesday, according to the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), a Pakistani government body. The attacks took place after a Christian man was accused of committing blasphemy and desecrating the Quran. “According to NCHR inquiry, 17 Churches in #Jaranwala have been targeted. 12 registered churches and 5 smaller, unregistered churches,” NCHR posted on X, previously known as Twitter, on Thursday.

Persons: ” NCHR, Anwaar, Haq Kakar, “, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, ” Baloch, Riina Kionka, Prophet Mohammed, Asia Bibi Organizations: CNN, Authorities, National Commission for Human Rights, ” Ministry of Foreign, ” Police, PM, European Union Locations: Pakistan’s Punjab, Pakistani, Jaranwala, Punjab, Islamabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan, EU, Lahore’s Badami Bagh

☆ Hague court rejects India's objections over water treaty arbitration
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

AMSTERDAM/NEW DELHI, July 6 (Reuters) - The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in the Hague rejected on Thursday India's objections to a Pakistan-initiated procedure over water use in the Indus River basin, reopening a procedure that had been blocked for many years. India called the arbitration proceeding illegal as a neutral expert was also looking at the issue and the World Bank-brokered treaty prohibits parallel proceedings. India has boycotted The Hague court proceedings and questioned the competence of the court. A spokesperson for India's foreign ministry, Arindam Bagchi, said India's "consistent and principled position has been that the constitution of this so-called court of arbitration is in contravention of the clear letter and spirit of the Indus Water Treaty". Pakistan's Foreign Office said that it remained fully committed to the implementation of the Indus Water Treaty and its settlement mechanism, which it termed a "foundational agreement" between the two countries.

Persons: Hague, Arindam Bagchi, Bagchi, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Krishn Kaushik, Gibran Peshimam, Richard Chang, Kim Coghill Organizations: AMSTERDAM, World Bank, Ratle Hydro, GV De, Thomson Locations: DELHI, Pakistan, India, Hague, Pakistan's, Amsterdam, New Delhi, Karachi

☆ Families of missing in Greece migrant boat disaster plead for recovery of bodies
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Karolina Tagaris | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/4] Adil Hussain, 44, from Pakistan, whose brother Matloob, 43, went missing after a deadly migrant shipwreck off the coast of Greece last month, cries during an interview with Reuters in Athens, Greece, July 4, 2023. If they are dead, take them out," Adil Hussain said, urging Greece to hire a vessel to recover them. Lawyers representing families of the missing plan on Thursday to ask judicial authorities investigating the case for the boat to be retrieved. Survivors have said that the ship capsized after a disastrous towing attempt by the Greek coast guard, which Greece denies. A spokeswoman for Pakistan's Foreign Office, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, said bodies would be transported to Pakistan upon verification and release by the Greek authorities.

Persons: Adil Hussain, Matloob, Stelios Misinas, Matloob Hussain, Adil, Hussain, we'll, Takis Zotos, Zotos, Alam Shinwari, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Muhammad Ayub, Muhammad Yasin, Lefteris Papadimas, Renee Maltezou, Gibran Peshimam, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, Titanic, Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency, FIA, Pakistan's Foreign, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Pakistan, Greece, Athens, Stelios Misinas ATHENS, Syria, Egypt, Libya, Italy, Pylos, Turkey, Islamabad

☆ Greece boat disaster: 12 Pakistanis among survivors
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KARACHI, Pakistan, June 17 (Reuters) - Twelve Pakistanis were among survivors from a boat packed with migrants that capsized off the coast of Greece this week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday. Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said the government was unable so far to verify the number of Pakistanis who died, or their identities. People seeking missing relatives were urged to share with the ministry identity documents and DNA reports from authenticated laboratories, she said. Greek authorities have said 104 survivors and 78 bodies of the dead were brought ashore in the immediate aftermath. Most of the people on board were from Egypt, Syria and Pakistan, Greek government officials have said.

Persons: Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Ariba Shahid, Frances Kerry Organizations: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thomson Locations: KARACHI, Pakistan, Greece, Pylos, Egypt, Syria, Karachi

☆ Akhand Bharat: Why a map in India's new Parliament is making its neighbors nervous
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Akhand Bharat,” tweeted Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi alongside a photograph of the map. “Akhand Bharat in (the) New Parliament. It also took place on the birthday of the late Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the man widely considered to have developed the Hindutva ideology and one of the first proponents of Akhand Bharat. “We have to see the dream of Akhand Bharat in this lifetime and it has started with (this),” said deputy chief minister of the state of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis. Faisal Khan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images/FileExperts say such rhetoric has made India’s neighbors nervous.

Persons: Arindam Bagchi, Ashoka, Akhand Bharat, Bharat, ”, Pralhad Joshi, Akhand, Manoj Kotak, Bharat ”, Bharat ’, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, –, KP Sharma Oli, Baburam Bhattarai, Shahriar Alam, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, “, Salil Tripathi, Narendra Modi, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Savarkar, Modi, Amit Shah, Praful, Sushant Singh, Manjunath Kiran, Critics, Devendra Fadnavis, Faisal Khan, Ayesha Jalal, Fahd Humayun Organizations: CNN, India’s Ministry, External Affairs, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Parliamentary, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, stoke, Mahasabha, Hindustan Times, Centre for Policy Research, Getty, India’s, Anadolu Agency, Tufts University Locations: Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, New Delhi, India, Afghanistan, Myanmar, “, Kathmandu, New York, Mumbai, ” India, Indian, Kashmir, Karnataka, Bangalore, Maharashtra, Srinagar

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