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But on Saturday, for the first time in seven years, these two rivals will play each other on Indian soil in the opening stages of Cricket World Cup, which India is hosting. As Pakistan’s cricket team arrived in India’s southern city of Hyderabad last month, they were met with rapturous applause from Indians waiting at the airport for the star players. Even the Pakistan cricket team were only able to obtain visas at the eleventh hour, after complaints of a delay in the process which the Pakistan Cricket Board said disrupted the team’s preparation for the event. Chaudhry Abdul Jalil, popularly known as Chacha Cricket, waves after crossing the India-Pakistan border in Wagah on March 29, 2011, on the eve of the India-Pakistan Cricket World Cup semi-final match. “The World Cup is the one with the history and the legacy, it’s the one you want to win,” Shah said.

Persons: Farees Shah, ”, Vijay Hazare, Pakistan's Amir Eliah, Babar Azam, Azam, Abdul Jalil, Chaudhry Abdul Jalil, Narinder Nanu, “, ” Hadeel Obaid, Asif Hassan, Punit Paranjpe, Mukerji, Imran Khan, “ Ajay Jadeja, Waqar Younis, Venkatesh Prasad, Amir Sohail, Divya Bakhshi Bhatnagar, It’s, Narendra Modi, Money Sharma, Modi, Modi –, Shah, ” Shah Organizations: Islamabad CNN —, Indian, Pakistan cricket, Cricket, Keystone, Hulton, Sri, Pakistan Cricket Board, CNN, India’s Sports Ministry, Ministry, Pakistan Cricket, Getty, Gaddafi, Pakistan, Pakistan …, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Western, India, Pakistani, team, – Locations: Delhi, Islamabad, Pakistan, Republic of India, Lahore, Amritsar, Hindu, India, New Delhi, India’s, Hyderabad, Sri Lanka, Wagah, AFP, Australia, Chennai, Gurgaon, Kashmir, UAE, Ahmedabad, India's, Gujarat, China

The chief minister said the gang lured patients from hospitals and performed the operations privately in the region of Taxila, the city of Lahore and in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Three deaths have so far been confirmed, according to the chief minister, but authorities were still confirming the data. Fawad had previously been arrested five times but was released on each occasion and was able to resume his operations, Naqvi said. Later, when he went to another doctor for further treatment, he was told he didn’t have a kidney, according to the chief minister. But the practice has continued and local media have reported that illegal kidney transplants have made a comeback in recent years.

Persons: Fawad, ”, Mohsin Naqvi, Naqvi, ” Naqvi, didn’t Organizations: Pakistan CNN — Police, Police Locations: Islamabad, Pakistan, Pakistan’s Punjab, Fawad, Taxila, Lahore, Kashmir, “, Punjab

☆ Unfamiliar Indian conditions not a worry for Pakistan, says Babar
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LAHORE, Pakistan, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Pakistan captain Babar Azam does not think lack of familiarity with Indian conditions would hurt their bid for a second 50-overs World Cup title as they embark on a rare tour of the neighbouring country on Tuesday. Bilateral cricket remains suspended between the neighbours, thanks to their soured political relations, and the last time Pakistan toured India was for the T20 World Cup in 2016. It's a big honour for me and our effort would be to perform well and bring home the World Cup." The difficulty in securing visa for India tour means Pakistan would not get much support from the stands either but Babar was not perturbed. Pakistan will play two warmup matches in Hyderabad before beginning their World Cup campaign with an Oct. 6 match against the Netherlands.

Persons: Babar Azam, Babar, Amlan Chakraborty, Christian Radnedge Organizations: Bilateral, Indian Premier League, Thomson Locations: LAHORE, Pakistan, India, Dubai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Netherlands, New Delhi

☆ Pakistan probes distributors of Roche cancer drug after patients go blind
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Mubasher Bukhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLAHORE, Pakistan, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Pakistan said on Monday it was investigating two local distributors of Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche's (ROG.S) Avastin cancer drug after 12 diabetic patients injected with the drug went blind. The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) said the health authorities in Punjab, the most populous province, had launched the investigation into local use of the drug Avastin, which is licensed for use in Pakistan. On its website, Roche said Avastin was approved in more than 130 countries, including the United States, to treat several types of cancer. Cancer drug Avastin, when used at much lower doses, is similar to eye drug Lucentis and is used in many countries as a low-cost option to treat certain blindness-causing conditions. In its statement, Roche said: "Avastin is not approved for any use in the eye.

Persons: drugmaker Roche, Arnd, Javed Akram, Akram, Roche, Avastin, Alam, Mubasher Bukhari, Ariba Shahid, Ludwig Burger, Miral Fahmy, Alex Richardson Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, Reuters, U.S ., Thomson Locations: Basel, Switzerland, Rights LAHORE, Pakistan, Swiss, Punjab, United States, counterfeits, Avastin, Lahore, Karachi, Frankfurt

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan's health minister said Sunday that an injectable medicine that was causing a severe eye infection and sight loss in diabetic patients in the province of Punjab has been recalled and an investigation ordered while police are looking for the suppliers. Federal Health Minister Nadeem Jan said in Islamabad that a case has been lodged against the two absconding suppliers of locally manufactured injection Avastin. The Punjab government has formed a five-member committee of experts to look into the matter and report in three days. In a televised news conference along with Jan, provincial Health Minister Jamal Nasir said diabetic patients in Lahore, Kasur and other districts were administered Avastin injections to address retinal damage. However, the injections led to severe infections, ultimately resulting in the loss of sight of a dozen patients.

Persons: Nadeem Jan, Jamal Nasir, Jan Organizations: Federal, Associated Press Locations: ISLAMABAD, Punjab, Islamabad, Lahore, Kasur

Tens of millions of dollars have poured back into Pakistan's interbank and openmarkets, dealers say, since raids on black market operators began on Sept. 6. Ninety percent were going to black market dealers, cutting our supply of foreign exchange," Bostan explained. While a crackdown on the black market was needed to stabilise the rupee, it "is a temporary fix," said Fahad Rauf, Head of Research at Ismail Iqbal Securities. High inflation and chronic external deficits lie at the heart of the currency's problem, and closing off people's access to black market dollars risks storing up pent-up demand. "There is an unprecedented demand for the dollar," Hanifullah Mohmand, a trader in the Peshawar market, said.

Persons: Akhtar Soomro, Asim Munir, Malik Bostan, Bostan, General Munir, Haji Luqman Khan, Sheikh Allauddin, ECAP, Fahad Rauf, Ismail Iqbal, Ariba Shahid, Mushtaq Ali, Gibran Peshimam, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, Pakistan, Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan, Reuters, Federal Investigation Agency, FIA, Inter, Services Intelligence, ISI, Locals, International Monetary Fund, IMF, Research, Ismail, Ismail Iqbal Securities, Thomson Locations: Karachi, Pakistan, KARACHI, PESHAWAR, Peshawar, Islamabad, Lahore, Quetta, Afghanistan

"I was literally living under the poverty line for like four years, but it was a good experience," he says. Hassam Sheikh, 33, earns about $250,000 per year as an AI research scientist. In May 2020, Sheikh began an internship at Intel Labs that would, about seven months later, turn into a full-time gig as a research scientist. In addition to his $187,000 annual base salary, Sheikh receives bonuses and stock compensation which, in 2023, have him on track to earn about $250,000. When he's not working on machine learning, he's likely working around the house.

Persons: Hassam Sheikh's, didn't, Sheikh, —, Hassam Sheikh, Clint Boland, I've, hasn't, Deborah Donatella, Diana Wintour —, Sheikh stashes, he's, it's, there's Organizations: CNBC, University of Central, Intel Labs, University of Lahore, University of Manchester, Intel, UCF, Amazon Music, Walmart, Home, Michelin Locations: Orlando , Florida, University of Central Florida, That's, Lahore, Pakistan, Orlando, United States

☆ Extreme weather may cost the global fashion industry $65 billion by 2030
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Together, they account for 18% of global apparel exports, roughly 10,000 clothing and footwear factories and more than 10.6 million manufacturing workers. Pakistan, especially, is no stranger to extreme weather, with more than one third of the country underwater last year during its worst floods in history. The first scenario includes the assumption that heat stress will cause considerable changes in worker productivity. For example, output may decline by about 1.5% for each 1°C increase in the “wet-bulb globe temperature,” a measure of heat stress, according to the report. “Workers need these investments now because extreme heat standards and flood protections are non-existent.”

Persons: Mohammad Ponir Hossain, Schroders, Jason Judd Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Cornell University, Schroders, Fashion, Cornell’s Global Labor Institute, Reuters, Cornell, “ Workers Locations: Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Schroders, Dhaka, Phnom Penh, Karachi, Lahore, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, South, Southeast Asia

[1/4] View of partial traffic with the Karachi Port Trust building, in the background, during a shutter down and wheel-jam strike called by the traders and the religious and political party Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), against the hikes in power billings, during a protest in Karachi, Pakistan September 2, 2023. Acquire Licensing Rights Read moreLAHORE, Pakistan, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Public markets across Pakistan stayed closed on Saturday due to a strike by retail associations over rising electricity prices and brisk inflation, as the country embarks on a tricky path to economic recovery. "Today, traders are observing a shutter down strike across Pakistan against the over charging electricity tariff and unjustified taxes," Ashraf Bhatti, president of the All Pakistan Traders Association, told Reuters. Major markets in Lahore and Karachi, Pakistan's two largest cities, remained shut on Saturday though grocery shops in populated neighbourhoods and medical stores stayed open. "It is the matter of the entire country as the common man is being badly affected," said Abdul Rehim Kakar, leader of a traders' association of Balochistan.

Persons: Ashraf Bhatti, Abdul Rehim Kakar, Mubasher Bukhari, Saleem Ahmed, Mushtaq Ali, Akhtar Soomro, Gibran Peshimam, Helen Popper Our Organizations: Trust, Islami, International Monetary Fund, All Pakistan Traders Association, Reuters, Jamaat, Thomson Locations: Karachi, billings, Pakistan, LAHORE, Lahore, Pakistan's, Quetta, Balochistan province, Balochistan, Peshawar

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, gestures as he speaks with Reuters during an interview, in Lahore, Pakistan March 17, 2023. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsISLAMABAD, Aug 30 (Reuters) - A Pakistani court on Wednesday extended the jail custody of former prime minister Imran Khan for 14 days to investigate him on charges of leaking state secrets, his lawyer said. A court suspended that sentence on Tuesday and said Khan could be released on bail, but he was barred from leaving as he was still under remand in the official secrets case. His top aide, former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, has already been arrested and questioned in the case. Reporting by Asif Shahzad; Editing by Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Imran Khan, Akhtar Soomro, Naeem Panjutha, Khan, Khan's, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Asif Shahzad, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Pakistani, Reuters, REUTERS, Rights, Federal Investigation Agency, FIA, Thomson Locations: Lahore, Pakistan, Rights ISLAMABAD, Attock, United States, Russia, Ukraine, Washington

"We feel that the applicant is entitled to the suspension of sentence and be released on bail," it said. Khan's lawyer Naeem Panjutha also announced the suspension on social media, saying "God be praised." Nor will the suspension of the corruption sentence undo the ban on Khan's contesting elections as long as the conviction remains. STATE SECRETSPakistan'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. The possible overturning of Khan's graft conviction is pending a detailed hearing in the court, according to a lawyer Abdul Moiz Jaferii.

Persons: Khan, Imran, Khan's, Naeem Panjutha, Imran Khan, Mohsin Raza, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Abdul Moiz Jaferii, Jaferii, abetment, Zulfikar Bukhari, Asif Shahzad, Gibran Peshimam, Ariba Shahid, Simon Cameron, Moore, Alex Richardson, Angus MacSwan Organizations: ISLAMABAD, Reuters, REUTERS, Federal Investigation Agency, FIA, Thomson Locations: Pakistan, Lahore, United States, Russia, Ukraine, Washington, Islamabad, Karachi

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan pauses as he speaks with Reuters during an interview, in Lahore, Pakistan March 17, 2023. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsISLAMABAD, Aug 28 (Reuters) - A Pakistani court dismissed murder abetment charges against former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday, his lawyer said, providing some relief for the cricket hero turned politician who was jailed on corruption charges earlier this month. Khan had been charged in June with abetting the murder of Supreme Court lawyer Abdul Razzaq, who was killed in a drive-by shooting in the southwestern city of Quetta in the same month. Razzaq's son had accused Khan of being behind his father's murder. The political turmoil has caught Pakistan while the country has been struggling through one of its worst economic crises.

Persons: Imran Khan, Akhtar Soomro, Khan, Abdul Razzaq, Razzaq's, Naeem Panjutha, wasn't, Razzaq, Asif Shahzad, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Pakistani, Reuters, REUTERS, Rights, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Lahore, Pakistan, Rights ISLAMABAD, Quetta, Islamabad

CNN —One year after catastrophic floods devastated swathes of Pakistan, some 4 million children in the South Asian nation remain without access to safe water, the United Nations children’s agency has warned. “Vulnerable children living in flood-affected areas have endured a horrific year,” Abdullah Fadil, UNICEF Representative in Pakistan, said in the statement. “The climate-related disaster deepened pre-existing inequities for children and families in affected districts,” UNICEF said in the statement. Children pick vegetables from water at a flooded market after heavy rainfall in Lahore on June 26, 2023. Fadil from UNICEF said the agency has called on the government of Pakistan and its partners to “increase and sustain investment in basic social services for children and families.”He added: “We cannot forget the children of Pakistan.

Persons: ” Abdullah Fadil, “, Asim Hafeez, Dera Allah Yar, Fida Hussain, Imran Khan, Khan, ”, Stephen Innes, Arif Ali, Fadil Organizations: CNN, United Nations, UNICEF, UNICEF Representative, Bloomberg, Getty, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Capital Economics, Analysts Locations: Pakistan, Karachi Division, Sindh province, Pakistan’s, Dera, Jaffarabad district, Balochistan, AFP, Asia, Lahore, South Asia, Afghanistan, India

☆ Wildfire-hit British Columbia blanketed with hazardous smoke pollution
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Nia Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] A boat passes under the Lions Gate bridge to enter Vancouver Harbour, shrouded in a haze of wildfire smoke, as seen from Cypress Mountain in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, August 21, 2023. REUTERS/Chris Helgren Acquire Licensing RightsREVELSTOKE, British Columbia, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Millions of people in the western Canadian province of British Columbia were under air quality warnings on Monday as hundreds of wildfires filled the skies with smoke and turned the sun orange. In the cities of Kelowna and Kamloops, the air quality index (AQI) was above 350, a "hazardous" level, real-time air quality information platform IQAir showed. Wildfire smoke is a seasonal occurrence for much of heavily-forested British Columbia, but the number of wildfires and amount of land burned is trending higher as a result of climate change, increasing concerns about the impact on human health. "This type of extreme smoke event covering all of our province does not happen every year," said Jalena Bennett, smoke information specialist with BlueSky Canada, adding 2018 was the last time wildfire smoke was so widespread.

Persons: Chris Helgren, Jalena Bennett, Ash, Marie, Eve Hervieux, Bobby Sekhon, Nia Williams, Denny Thomas, Josie Kao Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, British Columbia, BlueSky, Environment, Thomson Locations: Lions, Vancouver, Cypress Mountain, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Rights REVELSTOKE, Canadian, British, Kelowna, Kamloops, Lahore, Pakistan, BlueSky Canada, Shuswap Lake, Environment Canada, Metro Vancouver, Revelstoke

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks with Reuters during an interview, in Lahore, Pakistan March 17, 2023. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsISLAMABAD, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Pakistani authorities have opened a criminal investigation against jailed former prime minister Imran Khan on charges of leaking state secrets, after naming him and three aides in a fresh case, a top security source said on Monday. Khan is currently serving a three-year sentence in a graft case and has been barred from politics for five years. "Our investigation is collecting evidence to stand a case in a court to indict Imran Khan on charges of leaking official secrets," a security source, who is directly responsible for the investigation, told Reuters. Khan has formally been arrested in connection with the charges, which the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is probing, the source said.

Persons: Imran Khan, Akhtar Soomro, Khan, Rauf Hasan, Zulfi Bukhari, Arif Alvi, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Intazar Panjutha, Asif Shahzad, Devika Organizations: Pakistani, Reuters, REUTERS, Rights, Both Washington, Federal Investigation Agency, FIA, Thomson Locations: Lahore, Pakistan, Rights ISLAMABAD, Islamabad, Washington, U.S, Moscow, Ukraine, Both

☆ Bus crash in eastern Pakistan kills 18 people
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( Mubasher Bukhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LAHORE, Aug 20 (Reuters) - At least 18 people were killed after a bus crashed and caught on fire in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province on Sunday, authorities said. The bus collided with another vehicle in the early hours of the morning while carrying 33 passengers from the southern port city of Karachi to the capital, Islamabad. "The unfortunate bus ... collided with a mini-truck loaded with three small tanks of petrol at around 4.30 am," said Fahad Ahmad, the police chief of Punjab's Hafizabad district. "The bus and the truck caught fire immediately, the result of which 18 people including the mini-truck driver died on the spot." More than 40 people were killed in January after a bus fell into a ravine and caught fire in the southern Pakistani province of Balochistan on Sunday.

Persons: Fahad Ahmad, Mubasher Bukhari, Charlotte Greenfield, Kim Coghill Organizations: Thomson Locations: LAHORE, Pakistan's, Punjab, Karachi, Islamabad, Punjab's Hafizabad, Pakistan, Pakistani, Balochistan

☆ Pakistani police arrest two Christians accused of blasphemy
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Mubasher Bukhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Members of the Christian community chant slogans as they hold banner to condemn the attacks on churches and houses in Jaranwala town of Faisalabad, during a protest in Peshawar, Pakistan August 17, 2023. REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz Acquire Licensing RightsLahore, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Police have arrested two Christians accused of blasphemy in eastern Pakistan, a spokesperson said on Friday, two days after a Muslim mob burnt churches and houses in a Christian settlement, accusing the two men of desecrating the Koran. Blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan and though no one has ever been executed, numerous accused people have been lynched by outraged mobs. The police said it has so far rounded up 128 people involved in the attack on the Christian community in Jaranwala in the industrial district of the city of Faisalabad on Wednesday. Reporting by Mubasher Bukhari; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Fayaz Aziz, Mubasher Bukhari, Kim Coghill Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Police, Thomson Locations: Jaranwala, Faisalabad, Peshawar, Pakistan

☆ Troops deployed to guard Pakistani Christians after mob torches churches
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Mubasher Bukhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The rioters were demanding that the two accused, who had fled their homes, be handed over to them. The residents said thousands of Muslims led by local clerics were carrying iron rods, sticks, knives and daggers during the rioting. A provincial government statement said paramilitary troops were deployed to aid the police to control the situation. The troops have cordoned off the Christian colony, blocking all entry and exit points with barbed wire, according to a Reuters TV cameraman. The United States was "deeply concerned that churches and homes were targeted," State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said on Wednesday.

Persons: Vedant Patel, Asif Shahzad, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Police, Reuters, State Department, Thomson Locations: LAHORE, Pakistan, desecrating, Jaranwala, Faisalabad, United States

The rioters were demanding that the two accused men, who had fled their homes, be handed over to them. The troops have cordoned off the Christian colony, blocking all entry and exit points with barbed wire, according to a Reuters TV cameraman. Hundreds of Christians took refuge in a nearby district, a community leader Akmal Bhatti told Reuters, adding that four pastors had returned to the churches, which were still smouldering. "It is the government's responsibility to compensate for the loss of property of the Christian community," he told reporters, adding the government was estimating the losses. The United States was "deeply concerned that churches and homes were targeted," State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said on Wednesday.

Persons: Christian, Akmal Bhatti, Bhatti, Mohsi Naqvi, Vedant Patel, Asif Shahzad, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Simon Cameron, Moore, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Police, Reuters, Amnesty, State Department, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: LAHORE, Pakistan, Jaranwala, Faisalabad, United States, Islamabad

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

CNN —A crowd vandalized eight churches and several homes following accusations of blasphemy against Islam in Pakistan’s most populated province of Punjab on Wednesday, according to government authorities and residents, stoking tensions between local Muslim and minority Christian communities. Multiple churches including the town’s Catholic Church, the Salvation Army Church and the Pentecostal Church, as well as the local Christian colony, were also vandalized and set on fire, Talib told CNN. Religious minorities in Pakistan are vulnerable to persecution under the country's strict blasphemy laws. Pakistan is among the countries where blasphemy is a crime punishable by the death sentence. Three years earlier, a mother of five from Punjab was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to hang, after she was accused of defiling the name of the Prophet Mohammed.

Persons: “, Prophet Mohammed, ”, Yasir Talib, Talib, Ghazanfar Majidi, ” Pakistan’s, Anwaar, Haq Kakar, Bishop, Church of Pakistan Azad Marshall, ” Marshall, ” Riina Kionka, Asia Bibi Organizations: CNN, National Commission for Human Rights, Centre for Social Justice, Catholic Church, Salvation Army Church, Pentecostal Church, Police, . District Police, AP People, Getty, Church of, European Union Locations: Pakistan’s, Punjab, Jaranwala, Pakistani, Faisalabad, Wednesday, Pakistan, AFP, Church of Pakistan, EU, Lahore’s Badami Bagh

The two Christians were accused of blasphemy, he said, adding they and family members had fled their homes. Blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan and though no one has ever been executed for it, numerous accused people have been lynched by outraged crowds. A Christian leader, Akmal Bhatti, said the crowd had "torched" at least five churches and looted valuables from houses that had been abandoned by their owners. Several social media posts showed some churches, houses and belongings on fire as police stood by. The mob was made up of thousands of people led by local clerics, mainly from an Islamist political party called Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), a government source said.

Persons: Naveed Ahmad, Shakil Masih, Usman Anwar, Anwar ul Haq Kakar, Akmal Bhatti, Asif Shahzad, Angus MacSwan, Nick Macfie Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, REUTERS Acquire, Caretaker, Thomson Locations: LAHORE, Pakistan, Jaranwala, Faisalabad, Islamabad

[1/3] 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 PhotoISLAMABAD, Aug 9 (Reuters) - A Pakistani high court on Wednesday turned down an appeal by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan that his conviction on corruption charges be suspended, his lawyer said, suggesting it was unlikely he would be released on bail anytime soon. The case was adjourned for an indefinite time, Panjutha said, adding; "Our request to suspend the conviction wasn't accepted." Khan, who has denied any wrongdoing, was arrested at his Lahore house and is currently in a prison near Islamabad. Reporting by Asif Shahzad, Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan, Nick Macfie and Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Imran Khan, Mohsin Raza, Khan, Naeem Panjutha, Panjutha, wasn't, Asif Shahzad, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Nick Macfie, Bernadette Baum Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Lahore, Pakistan, ISLAMABAD, Rawalpindi, Islamabad

Yet the final days of Imran Khan’s political career tell a contrasting tale. Khan’s supporters – some armed with sticks and stones – marched through cities, chanting slogans against the ruling dispensation. To his supporters, Khan was seen as a political martyr, someone they had vowed to defend till the very end. Analysts say Khan’s arrest following a yearlong showdown with the military sends a pointed message to the former prime minister and his supporters. “Imran Khan’s political will wasn’t strong enough to begin with from what we saw.

Persons: Imran Khan’s, Khan, Khan’s, –, ”, Arifa Noor, “, Imran Khan, Jemima Goldsmith, Patrick Durand, Sygma, Pervez Musharraf, Arif Ali, Noor, “ Imran Khan’s, Shehbaz Sharif, Aamir Qureshi, Mr, Syed Zulfiqar Bukhari, Salaar Khan, Khawaja Asif, Khan won’t, “ Imran, ” Noor Organizations: CNN, Cricket, Getty, Oxford University, Movement for Justice, PML, AP, Pakistan’s, PTI, CNN Monday Locations: Pakistan, Lahore, Islamabad, British India, It’s, Melbourne, Australia, Khan, British, AFP, India, Afghanistan, United States, Gujranwala

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan pauses as he speaks with Reuters during an interview, in Lahore, Pakistan March 17, 2023. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro/File PhotoISLAMABAD, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan challenged his conviction on graft charges in a high court on Tuesday, his lawyer said. Naeem Panjutha said the petition to challenge the weekend conviction had been filed in the Islamabad High court. Khan has been jailed for three years on charges of selling state gifts unlawfully during his tenure as premier from 2018 to 2022. The former premier has been detained at a distant prison which according to his lawyers lacks facilities entitled to political prisoners.

Persons: Imran Khan, Akhtar Soomro, Naeem Panjutha, Khan, Khan's, Asif Shahzad, Kim Coghill Organizations: Pakistani, Reuters, REUTERS, Police, Thomson Locations: Lahore, Pakistan, ISLAMABAD, Islamabad, Attock district

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