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☆ In photos: Banksy exhibit opens in Mexico City
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Dave Lucas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Pakistani police and supporters of Imran Khan fought pitched battles on Tuesday outside the former prime minister's home in the eastern city of Lahore, injuring several on both sides, ahead of his possible arrest.

☆ Clashes in Pakistan as former PM Imran Khan faces arrest
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Jeremy Schultz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Smoke is seen at former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's residence, after security forces had fired tear gas and water cannons at hundreds of Khan's supporters who had cordoned off his home in an effort to prevent his arrest, in Lahore,...moreSmoke is seen at former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's residence, after security forces had fired tear gas and water cannons at hundreds of Khan's supporters who had cordoned off his home in an effort to prevent his arrest, in Lahore, Pakistan, March 15. Musa Virk Via TwitterClose

☆ Fires burn outside Imran Khan's home following clashes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Reuters Editorial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PoliticsFires burn outside Imran Khan's home following clashesPostedPakistani police and supporters of Imran Khan fought pitched battles on Tuesday outside the former prime minister's home in the eastern city of Lahore, injuring several on both sides, ahead of his possible arrest, a government spokesman and witnesses said.

☆ Factbox: Fresh turmoil in Pakistan as former PM Imran Khan faces arrest
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 15 (Reuters) - Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan faces a court-ordered arrest by police in the eastern city of Lahore on Wednesday amid clashes between his supporters and law enforcement personnel. Here are key details of the situation:- Court orders to arrest Khan came in a case pertaining to his selling state gifts given by foreign leaders while he was prime minister. - Police say a court in Islamabad ordered Khan's arrest for not appearing before it despite repeated summons. - If convicted, Khan faces being barred from holding public office, which would be a setback for the cricketer-turned-politician with a national election scheduled for November. Reporting by Islamabad bureau; Editing by Alison Williams and Raju GopalakrishnanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Imran Khan says to attend court hearing in bid to end Pakistan clashes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Mubasher Bukhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Former Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan addresses a news conference after he was wounded following a shooting incident during a long march in Wazirabad, at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre in Lahore, Pakistan November 4, 2022. "We have asked the police to wait until the court decision on the matter," added Chaudhry, a former information minister. Current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has rejected Khan's demands, saying the election would be held as scheduled later this year. "If anything happens to me, or I go to prison, or they kill me, you have to prove that this nation will continue to struggle even without Imran Khan," he said. "Instead of cooperating with law enforcement officials, Imran Khan is breaking the law, defying court orders and using his party workers... as human shields to evade arrest and stoke unrest," she added.

☆ Lahore is most polluted city, Chad worst among countries - survey
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Lahore's air quality worsened to 97.4 micrograms of PM2.5 particles per cubic meter from 86.5 in 2021, making it the most polluted city globally. Hotan, the only Chinese city in the top 20, followed Lahore with PM2.5 levels of 94.3, an improvement from 101.5 in 2021. While Chad had an average level of 89.7, Iraq, which had the second most polluted air for a country, averaged 80.1. Bangladesh's air quality improved from 2021, when it was tagged as the country with the worst air. The index was prepared using data from more than 30,000 air quality monitors in more than 7,300 locations in 131 countries, territories and regions.

☆ Clashes between Pakistan police, former PM Khan's supporters injure several
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Mubasher Bukhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A few hundred Khan supporters gathered outside his house after a police team arrived from Islamabad to arrest him on a court order, government spokesman Amir Mir told Reuters. Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers started the violence, which injured several police officials, Mir said, adding, "If Imran Khan ensures his presence in the court, it will be good, otherwise the law will take its course." "If something happens to me, or sent to jail, or they kill me, you've to prove that this nation will continue to struggle even without Imran Khan." Several of Khan's supporters were injured when the police resorted to teargas shelling, witnesses said. The workers started pelting the police with stones and bricks, and in response police directed a water cannon at them and in some cases baton charged them, he said.

☆ Pakistan police and ex-PM Khan's supporters clash, injuring several
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Mubasher Bukhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The clashes erupted in the eastern city of Lahore ahead of a Khan's planned rally to kick-start his election campaign, but which the government then banned. The former premier has been demanding snap polls since he was ousted in a parliament vote of confidence last year. Twelve workers of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party were arrested, he added. Khan's aide Shafqat Mahmood said several of the workers were injured in the clashes, which, he termed, "fascist tactics." Live TV footage showed the police using extensive teargas shelling on several spots around Khan's Lahore home, with a couple of the workers seen bleeding.

☆ Pakistani police serve arrest warrants to former PM Imran Khan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Mubasher Bukhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LAHORE, Pakistan, March 5 (Reuters) - Pakistani police on Sunday served arrest warrants to former prime minister Imran Khan to ensure his appearance in court on charges of misusing his office to sell state gifts, authorities said, after Khan's supporters tried to prevent police entry into his home. The Federal Investigation Agency then filed charges against him in an anti-graft court, which last week issued the arrest warrants after Khan failed to appear in court despite repeated summons. He led countrywide protest campaigns to press for an early vote last year and was shot at and wounded at one of the rallies. Chaudhry said the government wanted to sow political chaos and avoid an early election by arresting the former premier, who was still popular among the country's youth and urban voters. Islamabad police said in a statement that when Khan wasn't found at his residence in Lahore, they served the arrest warrants.

"High spot LNG prices and dwindling domestic production will mean that Pakistan will continue facing issues with ramping up gas-fired power generation," said Poorna Rajendran, LNG consultant at FGE. Despite LNG prices having fallen from last year's record highs, the superchilled fuel is still expensive for South Asian buyers as their currencies have weakened sharply, making it hard for them to boost LNG imports this year. Ship tracking data from Kpler shows Pakistan's LNG imports in 2022 fell 17% from the previous year to a five-year low. Bangladesh's LNG imports in 2022 fell 14% from the previous year, according to Kpler, which drove down power output while demand was rising. LNG prices are unlikely to ease enough to help Bangladesh and Pakistan, with analysts expecting a rebound in Chinese purchases to push prices up in 2023.

☆ Former Pakistan PM Khan gets court protection against arrest
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Mubasher Bukhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/7] Pakistan's former Prime Minister, Imran Khan, along with his supporters walks as he leaves the district High Court in Lahore, Pakistan February 20, 2023. Khan has had a number of cases registered against him since a parliamentary vote ousted him from power last year. Khan appeared before the Lahore High Court late on Monday along with hundreds of supporters, witnesses said. The case pertained to alleged violence by his supporters during protests last year, which Khan is charged with inciting. The government denies cracking down on Khan and his party, and says it is not interfering in various cases against him.

[1/5] Police officers stand in the aftermath of an attack on a police station in Karachi, Pakistan February 17, 2023. REUTERS/Akhtar SoomroKARACHI, Pakistan, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Islamists stormed a police station in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi on Friday, killing two people in a hail of gunfire and a series of loud explosions before they themselves were killed, officials said. Security forces retook the building after several hours and killed three militants, a government spokesman said. A huge explosion was heard inside the station after a series of blasts when it was first attacked. The Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), took responsibility for the attack in a message sent by their spokesman to journalists.

☆ Coffee trumps economic crisis as Tim Hortons opens in Pakistan
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LAHORE, Pakistan Feb 14 (Reuters) - Pakistanis are queuing for hours to grab coffee and pastries from Canadian chain Tim Hortons, which opened its first outlet in the South Asian country this week just as its economic crisis took a turn for the worse. Tim Hortons is owned by Restaurant Brands International Inc (RBI) (QSR.TO), , a Toronto-based company that also owns other fast food brands including Burger King and Popeyes. McDonald's (MCD.N), Retail Food Group (RFG.AX)-owned Gloria Jean's Coffee and Yum Brands Inc (YUM.N)-owned Pizza Hut are among the international brands with outlets in Pakistan. Tim Hortons is set to open another two outlets in Lahore, RBI said in a statement. For students such as Pareeshay Khan, the brand's social media traction trumps the cost of the coffee.

☆ Mob storms Pakistani police station, lynches man accused of blasphemy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Mubasher Bukhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LAHORE, Pakistan, Feb 11 (Reuters) - A mob in eastern Pakistan stormed a police station on Saturday and lynched a man under custody and accused of blasphemy, police said, in the latest incident of religion-linked violence in the Islamic republic. However, the mob stormed the station, located in the city of Nankana Sahib, took Waris out of the premises, beat him to death and attempted to set his body on fire, Waqas added. Blasphemy is also a crime under Pakistani law, which can carry the death sentence. A number of police officials have been suspended because of their inability to stop the mob, a statement from the police said. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has taken notice of the incident and ordered an inquiry, the government said.

☆ Pakistani minister says fuel supplies adequate, warns against hoarding
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Ariba Shahid | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KARACHI, Pakistan, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Pakistan's government said on Wednesday it was not planning to hike fuel prices and warned oil companies against stockpiling petrol after some consumers complained they had been unable to purchase fuel at pumps. A member of Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC) in Pakistan told Reuters that only a few of the licensed companies are selling fuel while the others are not either due to financial issues or due to hoarding. Some consumers in Pakistan's most populous province of Punjab reported petrol stations were closed and others were limiting the amount people could buy. "I went to Sialkot where I found the majority of petrol stations closed. "Consumers think we're not giving them fuel and they blame us - but we aren't being supplied enough," he said.

☆ Tens of millions without power after Pakistan suffers major outage
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Much of Pakistan was left without power for several hours on Monday morning as an energy-saving measure by the government backfired. The outage was reminiscent of a massive blackout in January 2021, attributed at the time to a technical fault in the country’s power generation and distribution system. According to the minister, during winter, electricity usage typically goes down overnight. A Metro station is closed after major power outage in Lahore, Pakistan on Monday. Pakistan is grappling with one of the country’s worst economic crisis in recent years amid dwindling foreign exchange reserves.

☆ Pakistan suffers major power outage after grid failure
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ISLAMABAD, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Pakistan suffered country-wide power cuts early on Monday due to a major breakdown in its national grid, the federal energy ministry said. "According to initial information, at about 7:34 AM (local time) today, the National Grid experienced a loss of frequency, that caused a major breakdown. Power was out in all major cities, including Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar. This is not a major crisis," Dastagir said. Reporting by Asif Shahazad, writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; editing by Sudipto GangulyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 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.

☆ Pakistan to approach UN after blaming India for bombing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Mohsin RazaISLAMABAD, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Pakistan will take a dossier to the United Nations alleging its neighbour India has backed incidents of terrorism, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday, a day after Islamabad said India was behind a high-profile bombing. "We will call it information based evidence," Rabbani Khar said about the dossier. Khar said the facilitators and mastermind of the bombing that killed four people in eastern city of Lahore were based in India. "We would want India to hand them over, and as responsible nations do... and if India is a responsible nation, they will cooperate," she said. Arch-rivals Pakistan and India have fought three wars since 1947, when British colonial ended and the two independent nations were created in a blood-drenched process known as partition.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

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.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

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