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☆ Pakistan suicide car bombing kills one police official, injures others
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Police officers and rescue workers gather at the site of a suicide car bombing in Islamabad, Pakistan December 23, 2022. "Our initial information says that there was a man and a woman in the car," Islamabad operations police chief, Sohail Zafar, told reporters. "Had the car reached its target, it would have caused heavy losses," Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah told Geo News TV. Pakistani Taliban claimed the car bombing, saying it was revenge for the killing of one of their leaders. The bombing came two days after a Pakistani military operation killed 25 TTP militants after a standoff at a counter-terrorism facility.

☆ Pakistan's Imran Khan says his party to dissolve two local assemblies on Dec. 23
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Mubasher Bukhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LAHORE, Pakistan, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan announced on Saturday that his party would dissolve two provincial assemblies next week, earlier than scheduled, in an attempt to build pressure on the federal government to hold early general elections. Khan's party controls two of the country's four provincial assemblies. "Next Friday (Dec. 23), we will dissolve the Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assemblies," Khan said while addressing a gathering of his supporters in the eastern city of Lahore. If the two provincial assemblies are dissolved earlier, separate polls would have to be held for them within 90 days, which could throw up legal problems. He added that elections in the two provinces would mean holding polls in 66% of the country, and so the government might as well hold general elections.

☆ Pakistani journalist's killing in Kenya a pre-meditated murder -report
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

TV journalist Arshad Sharif, who had fled Pakistan citing threats to his life, was shot dead in Nairobi in October. The fact-finding team highlighted one wound in particular on Sharif's back, saying it appeared to have been inflicted from relatively close range. The fact-finding team's report also pointed out apparent contradictions in the autopsy reports in Kenya and Pakistan. The post-mortem report in Pakistan identified 12 injuries on Sharif's body whereas the Kenyan report identified just two injuries pertaining to gunshot wounds. The fact-finding team report said doctors believed the injures may be the result of torture or a struggle, but it could not be established until verified by the doctor who conducted the post mortem in Kenya.

☆ Pakistani embassy in Kabul attacked, one injured
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A spokesperson for Kabul police said the embassy compound was targeted by gunfire from a nearby building. Pakistan's Foreign Office said the attack had been aimed at the head of mission, Ubaid-ur-Rehman Nizamani. It said Nizamani was safe, but a Pakistani security guard, Sepoy Israr Mohammad, was critically wounded in the attack while protecting the ambassador. A spokesperson for Pakistan's foreign office said they had no plans to evacuate the embassy after the incident. "(The) Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan strongly condemns the attempted shooting and failed attack on the Pakistani embassy in Kabul," spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi said on Twitter, adding that Taliban security agencies would investigate.

☆ Former Pakistan PM Khan calls off protest march to avoid creating 'havoc'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Khan has been holding country-wide protests to push the government for early elections since being ousted from power in April. He named Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and a senior military official of plotting his assassination, but both the government and military have denied involvement. On Saturday, Khan arrived on stage using a walking frame and addressed the crowd from behind bulletproof glass. He said he had been told by various security sources there was still a threat to his life. PTI has already resigned from the federal parliament, but remains in power in two provinces and two administrative units.

☆ Explainer: Why Pakistan's army chief matters far beyond its borders
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Even when a civilian government holds power, Pakistan's generals retain a dominant influence over security matters and foreign affairs. He later headed Pakistan's two most influential intelligence agencies - Military Intelligence (MI) in 2017 and then the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in 2018. WHY IT MATTERS GLOBALLYPakistan's army chief will play a key role in managing risks of conflict with nuclear-armed rival India on its eastern border, while dealing with potential instability and friction with Afghanistan on its western frontier. The incoming army chief could potentially play a key role in lowering the political temperature as Pakistan attempts to survive an economic crisis and recover from historic floods. He even summoned Pakistan's top industrialists to a meeting at army headquarters to encourage them to pay more tax.

☆ Pakistan Chooses New Army Chief Amid Confrontation With Imran Khan
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Saeed Shah | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Lt. Gen. Asim Munir will be Pakistan’s next chief of army staff, a position widely considered to be the country’s most powerful office. ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—A general who was removed from leadership of Pakistan’s spy agency by former Prime Minister Imran Khan will take over as the country’s next army chief. Lt. Gen. Asim Munir will succeed Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa , who will retire next week, the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced Thursday. The chief of army staff position is widely thought to be the most powerful office in a country that has seen multiple coups, and where the military exerts massive influence over the government and policy even when not formally in power.

☆ Pakistan army chief takes on ousted PM Khan over alleged US conspiracy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ISLAMABAD, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Pakistan's outgoing army chief rejected on Wednesday as "fake and false" claims by ousted prime minister Imran Khan that a U.S.-backed conspiracy had toppled his government, and also said the military would play no role in national politics in future. The former premier has also alleged that the military played a role in his ousting, a charge the army has denied. "A state of hysteria was created in the country on the pretext of a fake and false narrative," the army chief said about Khan's main accusation that Washington supported his removal with the help of a local handler. Over the weekend, Khan said that even if the military had not been involved it could still have saved his government. Khan's party spokesman Fawad Chaudhry told Reuters he had no comment on the army chief's remarks.

☆ Explainer: Who Pakistan picks as army chief matters far beyond its borders
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Even when a civilian government holds power, Pakistan's generals retain a dominant influence over security matters and foreign affairs. BAJWA'S LEGACYAppointed chief in 2016, Bajwa sought to balance ties with China and the United States. He even summoned Pakistan's top industrialists to a meeting at army headquarters to encourage them to pay more tax. WHY IT MATTERS GLOBALLYPakistan's army chief will play a key role in managing risks of conflict with nuclear-armed rival India on its eastern border, while dealing with potential instability and friction with Afghanistan on its western frontier. The incoming army chief could potentially play a key role in lowering the political temperature as Pakistan attempts to survive an economic crisis and recover from historic floods.

☆ At COP27, a young climate activist from India demands historical dues
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Yashraj Sharma | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Growing up in India, Licypriya Kangujam has already felt the impact of climate change. The 11-year-old, known as Licy, is one of India’s most vocal climate activists as well as one of the youngest people at the United Nations climate talks in Egypt this month. “They keep blaming each other for climate change and fail to take up collective efforts.”About one billion children around the world are at “extremely high risk” of exposure to climate and environmental hazards, according to Unicef. Prakash Singh / AFP via Getty Images fileOf the world’s 50 most polluted cities, 42 of them are in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, according to Swiss technology company IQAir. Speaking at the climate summit on Monday, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said his crisis-hit country needed debt relief and climate compensation after the floods, which caused $30 billion in damage.

☆ Pakistan at COP27 demands climate aid, says 'dystopia' already here
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Valerie Volcovici | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Pakistan will not be satisfied unless U.N. climate summit negotiators unlock emergency cash for the country to rebuild after this year's devastating floods, its climate minister said Thursday. "The dystopia has already come to our doorstep," the country's climate minister, Sherry Rehman, told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the COP27 summit in Egypt. Pakistan is playing a high-profile role at the COP27 summit in Egypt this year, serving as one of two co-chairs invited by conference host Egypt, with the other being Norway. Pakistan also represents the G77 umbrella group of developing countries, pushing for a doubling in finance to help poor nations adapt to climate impacts. "There is a recognition [at COP27] that we are facing a new climate normal for the world," she said.

☆ Pakistan's Imran Khan relaunches political march after surviving gun attack
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Our march wouldn't stop," Khan said, adding the protest will instead gather strength as it closes on the capital Islamabad. His successor Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has rejected the demand, saying the election will be held as scheduled later next year. Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has said the shooter was a "self motivated and committed person" who carried out the attack on religious basis. The former premier instead alleges that Sanaullah, the prime minister and a Pakistan military general from the country's spy agency, Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), were involved in the assassination attempt. The police have the suspected shooter in custody after he was intercepted by a Khan supporter who threw off his aim.

☆ Pakistan police name lone shooter in gun attack on Imran Khan
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

ISLAMABAD — Pakistani police on Tuesday opened a criminal investigation into a failed assassination attempt on former Prime Minister Imran Khan and said just one shooter was involved. Police said the suspected shooter was arrested after Khan supporter Ibtesam Hasan overpowered him and threw off his aim. Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Tuesday the suspect was self-motivated. Police confirmed to Reuters on Tuesday this was the same man as the suspect Mohammad Naveed named in the case. Khan said on Twitter on Tuesday that the police case was “farcical.”He has accused Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and intelligence official Major-General Faisal Nasser of planning to assassinate him.

☆ What to watch on Tuesday at COP27
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 8 (Reuters) - World leaders will take the stage again on Tuesday as the COP27 climate summit enters its second full day. Among the expected speakers are outspoken advocates for measures to compensate poor, climate-vulnerable countries for damage already being wrought by global warming. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, will also speak on Tuesday, along with European Council President Charles Michel, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and dozens of others. U.S. President Joe Biden won't arrive until next week, but his delegation will open its pavilion at the COP27 venue on Tuesday and Special Envoy John Kerry and John Podesta, Biden's senior adviser on clean energy innovation will be there. Reporting by Valerie Volcovici and Sarah McFarlane, editing by Deepa BabingtonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Supporters of Pakistan's Imran Khan block roads in new protest
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] People react as police use tear gas to disperse them during a protest to condemn the shooting incident on a long march held by Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan in Wazirabad, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan November 4, 2022. The former cricket star, who has been pressing for a general election since he was ousted as prime minister after losing a confidence vote in parliament in April, was shot at the rally last Thursday. Khan's successor as prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has rejected his demand for new polls and the deadlock has stoked instability in the nuclear-armed country of 220 million people. Television footage showed Khan's supporters burning tyres as they set up protest camps across roads. Khan, 70, launched what is known as a long-march protest rally from Lahore to the capital on Oct. 28.

Police said the suspected shooter was arrested after Khan supporter Ibtesam Hasan overpowered him and threw off his aim, possibly saving the ex-premier from more serious gunshot wounds. Khan has accused three people of devising a plan to assassinate him, naming Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and intelligence official Major-General Faisal Nasser. Khan launched what is known as a long-march protest rally from Lahore to the capital on Oct. 28. He was waving to the crowd from a container mounted on a truck in Wazirabad when a man fired several shots at him. Reporting by Asif Shahzad in Islamabad and Mubasher Bukhari in Lahore, Pakistan; Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Reeling from floods, Pakistan seeks climate compensation, debt relief
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Valerie Volcovici | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Pakistan's prime minister said his country would need debt relief and would seek compensation for climate damage as it recovers from catastrophic floods that cost the country some $30 billion. Speaking on Monday at the COP27 climate conference alongside U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that Pakistan's escalating public debt was hampering its recovery. "Millions of people are going into winter without shelter or livelihood," Sharif said. "Women and children are still looking to us to protect their basics needs." "There should be a way to have a (debt) swap exchanging the payments of the debt to investments in the rehabilitation and recovery and reconstruction from natural disasters," the secretary general said.

☆ Imran Khan welcomes probe into shooting
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Mubasher Bukhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LAHORE, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Sunday he welcomed the government's offer to launch a judicial commission to investigate the attack in which he was shot in the leg on Thursday. Former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will lead the rally in coming weeks in the eastern province of Punjab, Khan said. Khan has accused three people of devising a plan to assassinate him, naming Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and intelligence official Major-General Faisal Nasser. Sharif on Saturday said that Khan was making "baseless allegations" but that the government had requested the country's chief justice to form a judicial commission to investigate the claims. Reporting by Gibran Peshimam and Mubasher Bukhari; Writing by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] A truck is seen at a crime scene after a shooting incident on a long march by Pakistan former Prime Minister Imran Khan, in Wazirabad, Pakistan November 4, 2022. REUTERS/Akhtar SoomroWAZIRABAD, Pakistan, Nov 4 (Reuters) - The party of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was shot and injured in an apparent assassination attempt, said country-wide protests would be held on Friday as tensions remained high in the South Asian nation. "Today, after Friday prayers, there will be protests across the country, which will continue until Imran Khan's demand is met," Asad Umar, a close Khan aide, said on Twitter. Khan's supporters began gathering again early on Friday at the spot of the apparent assassination attempt and called on the former prime minister to restart his march on Islamabad. Sharif has also called for a transparent inquiry into the shooting, which occurred in an area where Khan's party is in government.

Thursday's activities began at around 8 a.m. when supporters of Khan's PTI party gathered in the streets, with crowds swelling into the thousands throughout the day. "Imran Khan arrived and we welcomed him, we never thought about any attack; people were chanting, workers were dancing,” said PTI supporter and witness Qadir Khan. "I heard a burst of shots after which I saw Imran Khan and his aides fall down on the truck," witness Qazzafi Butt said. In the chaos and confusion touched off by the gunfire, supporters clamoured to know what had happened to Khan. "People chanted that they would lay down their lives for Imran Khan," he added.

☆ Former Pakistan PM Khan wounded in shooting at convoy - aide
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] Ousted Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan gestures as he addresses supporters during a rally, in Lahore, Pakistan April 21, 2022. REUTERS/Mohsin Raza//File PhotoISLAMABAD, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was wounded in the shin on Thursday when his convoy was shot at in the country's east on Thursday, an aide said. Imran Khan is also injured," Asad Umar told Reuters. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the shooting and ordered the interior minister to seek an immediate investigation. Reporting by Gibran Pehismam and Asif Shahzad; editing by John Stonestreet and Nick MacfieOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

There was a lot of bleeding," Fawad Chaudhry, a spokesperson for Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, told Reuters. "I heard a burst of bullet shots after which I saw Imran Khan and his aides fall down on the truck," witness Qazzafi Butt told Reuters. "Later, a gunman shot a single shot but was grabbed by an activist of Khan's party." [1/7] Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is helped after he was shot in the shin in Wazirabad, Pakistan November 3, 2022 in this still image obtained from video. Her father and former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was hanged in the same city in 1979 after being deposed in a military coup.

☆ Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan shot in the leg in apparent assassination attempt at political march
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Sinéad Baker | Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Imran Khan, until recently the leader of Pakistan, was shot on Thursday. His political party said he was shot in the leg, and he was stable while he was taken to hospital. Khan's political party, PTI, said Khan "was shot in the leg but was stable while being taken to hospital." PTI shared a video that it said shows Khan, who is 70, waving to supporters after he was shot. Sky News reported that Khan was shot in the leg while speaking to supporters.

☆ China will support Pakistan in stabilising its financial situation - Xi
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, Nov 2 (Reuters) - China will continue to support Pakistan as it tries to stabilise its financial situation, state media quoted President Xi Jinping as saying on Wednesday, during a visit by Pakistan's prime minister to Beijing. Pakistan was expected to seek debt relief from China, particularly the rolling over of bilateral debt of around $23 billion. China has been involved in major mining and infrastructure projects in Pakistan, including the deep-water Gwadar port, all part of the $65 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). China will also export technology for a 160 km/h high-speed railway train to Pakistan, state broadcaster CCTV said on Wednesday. China welcomes Pakistan to expand high-quality agricultural exports to the country, and is willing to deepen cooperation in areas including the digital economy, e-commerce, photovoltaic and other new energy sources, Xi said.

☆ Pakistan's Sharif lands in Beijing to discuss economy, debt
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Islamabad and Beijing are considered longtime close allies, and Sharif is also expected to discuss security issues while on his visit. On his two-day maiden visit to Beijing since taking office in April, Sharif will also seek some debt relief from China, in particular the rolling over of bilateral debt, an aide travelling with the prime minister told Reuters. Chinese loans - around $23 billion - make up the largest chunk of Pakistan's $27 billion of bilateral debt. Sharif will be one of the first leaders to meet President Xi since he secured a third term in power. Pakistan has indicated previously that it will seek bilateral debt relief to lessen its balance of payment problems, but it hasn't made any official announcement on whether it will formally ask Beijing for such help.

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