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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

[1/2] Afghan nationals rest at a camp after returning from Pakistan at the Torkham border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan, November 14, 2023. Islamabad last month announced it would expel over a million undocumented refugees, mostly Afghans, amid a row with Kabul over charges that it harbours anti-Pakistan militants. Over 370,000 Afghans have fled Pakistan since Oct. 1. The agency has said the Afghans' return should be voluntary and that Pakistan should identify vulnerable individuals who need international protection. Pakistan is home to over 4 million Afghan migrants and refugees, about 1.7 million of whom are undocumented.

Persons: Abdul Khaliq Sediqi, Afghanis, Babar Baloch, Asif Shahzad, Bernadette Baum Organizations: REUTERS, UNHCR, UNHCR Police, Wednesday, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Pakistan, Afghanistan, ISLAMABAD, Islamabad, Kabul, Karachi, Taliban, U.S

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

☆ Son bags double for South Korea as top sides win in Asian qualifiers
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Michael Church | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Japan, Australia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia all won, while Kuwait and North Korea scored a flurry of goals en route to victories. Australia and Palestine players stood for a minute's silence ahead of their game, which was played in Kuwait due to the Israel-Hamas conflict. Son was in top form as South Korea completed back-to-back wins at the start of their challenge for a place at the 2026 finals. Players held a minute's silence ahead of kickoff before Souttar scored the game's only goal with an 18th-minute header. Kuwait, meanwhile, thrashed Afghanistan 4-0 away to move into second place in Group A behind Qatar.

Persons: Korea's Son Heung, Min, Tingshu Wang, Ueda, Heung, Son, Yan Junling, Lee Kang, Jung Seung, Yan, Thais, Suphanat Mueanta, Mano Polking's, Ayase Ueda, Hajime Moriyasu's, Jong Il Gwan, Harry Souttar, Kuwait's Jaber Al, Souttar, Oston Orunov, Igor Sergeev, Mohanad Ali, Jesus Casas, Darren Lok, Amadoni Kamolov, Saudi Arabia's Saleh Al Shehri, Jordan, Abdalla, Ali Mabkhout, Michael Church, Angelica Medina, Toby Davis Organizations: Soccer Football, AFC, Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre, REUTERS, China, Japan, North Korea, Thailand, Singapore, North, Syrians, Syria, Palestine, Ahmad, Iraq, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar, United, Bahrain, Thomson Locations: China, Republic of Korea, Shenzhen, Republic, Korea's, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Qatar, Korea, Myanmar, Syria Australia, Palestine, HONG KONG, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, North, Israel, Syria, Jeddah, North Korea, Yangon, Australia's, Gaza, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, Iran, Hong Kong, Turkmenistan, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Manila, Oman, India, Yemen, Nepal, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Islamabad, Saudi, Afghanistan

☆ Deportation drive sparks 'sense of panic' among Afghan refugees in Pakistan: UNHCR
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Islamabad last month announced it would expel over a million undocumented refugees, mostly Afghans, amid a row with Kabul over charges it harbours anti-Pakistan militants. Pakistan says documented refugees are exempt, but the U.N. High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) said even those with the right documents were being targeted. She reiterated that the return of Afghans should be voluntary and that Pakistan should identify vulnerable individuals who need international protection. Pakistan says harassment of documented refugees is rare and it is taking action against perpetrators. "With over six million people already internally displaced throughout the country, Afghans returning from Pakistan face a precarious, uncertain future," IOM said.

Persons: Philippa Candler, Philippa Candler's, Gibran Peshimam, Akhtar Soomro, Nick Macfie Organizations: National Database, Commission, Refugees, Organization for Migration, Thomson Locations: Karachi, Pakistan, KARACHI, Islamabad, Kabul, Geneva, Afghanistan, U.S

☆ Taliban Minister Raises Return of Deported Afghans' Assets in Pakistan Visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

By Charlotte GreenfieldISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The Taliban's acting commerce minister said he had asked Pakistan to help return the assets of expelled Afghans and discussed ways to overcome Afghanistan's stalled banking sector transactions during a four-day visit to Islamabad this week. Acting minister Nooruddin Azizi's arrival in the Pakistani capital marked the first public visit by a senior Taliban official since Pakistan announced its policy to deport thousands of undocumented Afghans and other foreign citizens after Nov. 1. The Taliban have said the security issues are a domestic matter for Islamabad and called on Pakistan to stop deportations. Azizi said a major focus of the visit had been raising the problem of Afghan deportees being unable to return their assets from Pakistan. Pakistan's commerce minister and a spokesman for the commerce ministry did not respond to request for comment.

Persons: Charlotte Greenfield, Nooruddin, Azizi, Asif Shahzad, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, William Maclean Organizations: Taliban, Pakistan, Reuters Locations: Charlotte Greenfield ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Islamabad, Afghanistan, Islamic Emirate, Uzbekistan, China, Kabul

☆ UN Human Rights Chief ‘alarmed’ by reported abuse of Afghan refugees in Pakistan
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Akanksha Sharma | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Türk said he is “alarmed” by reports that Afghan refugees are being abused in Pakistan as the country carries out its policy of forced mass deportation. Pakistan, which is home to more than a million registered Afghan refugees, launched a mass deportation drive asking them to voluntarily leave the country by November 1. “Arbitrary arrests and detentions are contrary to Pakistan’s obligations under international law,” Türk added. As of the end of 2022, Pakistan hosted more than 1.3 million registered Afghan refugees and 427,000 people in “refugee-like situations” from Afghanistan, according to the United Nations’ refugee agency. But their presence in Pakistan has long been controversial, with police crackdowns and threats of deportation in previous years.

Persons: Volker Türk, ”, Türk, ” Türk Organizations: CNN — United Nations Human, ” CNN, UN, Pakistan police, UN Human, Taliban, United Nations ’ Locations: Pakistan, Islamabad, Afghanistan, Soviet, Kabul, United States

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Officials from Afghanistan's ruling Taliban on Wednesday welcomed the resumption of FlyDubai flights to Kabul's international airport two years after stopping service following the collapse of the Western-backed government. All international airlines halted flights to Afghanistan after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in mid-August 2021 as U.S. and NATO forces departed after two decades of war. FlyDubai, the sister carrier of long-haul airline Emirates, now will make two flights a day to Kabul. In May last year, the Taliban signed a deal allowing an Emirati company to manage three airports in Afghanistan. Two Afghan airlines, Kam Air and Ariana Afghan Airlines, operate from Kabul to destinations such as Dubai, Moscow, Islamabad and Istanbul.

Persons: FlyDubai, Abdul Ghani Baradar, ”, Abu, Ashraf Ghani, Jon Gambrell Organizations: —, Wednesday, NATO, United, Emirates, Taliban, Solutions, Kam, Ariana Afghan Airlines, Associated Press, Badruddin Haqqani, Airbus, Dubai Air, UAE . The Emirates, U.S, ___ Associated Press Locations: ISLAMABAD, Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Kabul, Abu Dhabi, Herat, Kandahar, Dubai, Moscow, Islamabad, Istanbul, UAE

☆ Taliban minister raises issue of refugee assets during Pakistan visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Charlotte Greenfield | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Naseer Ahmed/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsISLAMABAD, Nov 14 (Reuters) - The Taliban's acting commerce minister met Pakistan's foreign minister in Islamabad this week, an Afghan embassy statement said on Tuesday, discussing trade and how the thousands of Afghan citizens Pakistan is expelling could take cash and other assets back to their homeland. Taliban officials say militancy is an internal matter for Pakistan and have called on Islamabad to halt its deportation of Afghan citizens. Afghan citizens returning to Afghanistan have said there are restrictions on the transfer of cash and property to Afghanistan from Pakistan, where many had built businesses and homes for decades. Last month, Pakistan set a Nov. 1 start date for the expulsion of all undocumented immigrants, including hundreds of thousands of Afghans. Pakistan's foreign office said the Taliban acting commerce minister would also undertake a trilateral meeting with representatives from Pakistan and Uzbekistan on Tuesday.

Persons: Naseer Ahmed, Haji Nooruddin Azizi's, Jalil Abbas Jilani, Jilani, Charlotte Greenfield, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Balochistan Province, Chaman, Rights ISLAMABAD, Islamabad, Afghan, Karachi, Western, Uzbekistan, South, Central Asia

☆ Pakistan Opens New Border Crossings to Expedite Afghans' Repatriation
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Saleem AhmedQUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistan on Monday opened three new border crossings to accelerate the repatriation of undocumented Afghan nationals who have been ordered to leave the country or face expulsion, officials said. Many Afghans have opted to go home voluntarily to avoid deportation under a government push for undocumented migrants to be expelled. The new crossings were set up at the Afghan border in southwestern Balochistan province in addition to the main crossing in Chaman district, said Jan Achakzai, information minister for the provincial caretaker government. More than 280,000 Afghan nationals have left Pakistan since the new policy was announced in early October, according to the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees (UNHCR). Kabul has also asked Islamabad to give Afghan nationals ample time to leave.

Persons: Saleem Ahmed, Pakistan's, Jan Achakzai, Asif Shahzad, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Reuters, Monday, United Nations, Refugees Locations: Saleem Ahmed QUETTA, Pakistan, Islamabad, Kabul, Afghan, Balochistan, Chaman, UNHCR

☆ Pakistan opens new border crossings to expedite Afghans' repatriation
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Saleem Ahmed | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Afghan nationals with belongings sit atop a truck as they head back with their families to Afghanistan from Pakistan, at the Chaman Border Crossing along the Pakistan-Afghanistan Border in Balochistan Province, in Chaman, Pakistan November 10, 2023. REUTERS/Naseer Ahmed/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsQUETTA, Pakistan, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Pakistan on Monday opened three new border crossings to accelerate the repatriation of undocumented Afghan nationals who have been ordered to leave the country or face expulsion, officials said. The new crossings were set up at the Afghan border in southwestern Balochistan province in addition to the main crossing in Chaman district, said Jan Achakzai, information minister for the provincial caretaker government. More than 280,000 Afghan nationals have left Pakistan since the new policy was announced in early October, according to the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees (UNHCR). Kabul has also asked Islamabad to give Afghan nationals ample time to leave.

Persons: Naseer Ahmed, Pakistan's, Jan Achakzai, Asif Shahzad, Hugh Lawson Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Monday, United Nations, Refugees, Thomson Locations: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Balochistan Province, Chaman, Rights QUETTA, Islamabad, Kabul, Afghan, Balochistan, UNHCR

☆ 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.

Persons: Eduardo Quintela Gonzáles, ” Quintela, JAN, “, ”, Quintela, Victor, Edith Turner, Chaucer, ferne, sondry londes, Vaishno Devi, Lyra Skinner, Lyra, Victoria Preston’s, —, Prophet Muhammad, Virgin Mary, Bath, Naipaul, Augustus, Ryan, garret, Virgin, Monica Machicao, Nicholas Casey, ” Monica, Casey, Evo Morales, sloughing, Columbus, Cortés, Francisco Pizarro, Monica, glitzy cholets, Peru —, Viracocha, it’s, Pablo Quisbert, Leandro Chitarroni, Eichmann, Father Chitarroni, Father Chitarroni’s, Conquistadores ”, Fernando Cervantes, Bernabé Cobo, Quisbert, Edgar Quispe, Tatiana Huayhua, Francisco Tito Yupanqui, Mary, Yupanqui’s, su, Yupanqui, Chitarroni, she’s, Friar Abelino Yeguaori, Friar Yeguaori, Friar Yeguaori’s, Irene, Juana, hajji, Waka, Aracely Alcón, Santiago, Alcón, ‘, don’t, ” Alcón, Tito Yupanqui, Uma Marka, Pachamama, haggard, Amaru Fiorilo Barrios, he’d, ” Fiorilo, Fiorilo, who’d, Valeria Alcón, Laureano Jose Quisbert, Elena Ticona Flores, Eduardo Quintela’s, Ensamble, pang, padre, consolations, Sincrético, El, Rodrigo Paz Pereira, Axel, amauta, strode, La, Aatish Taseer, Saint Helena —, Constantine I, La Paz, Orgilbaatar Tsolmon, Orgil, Genghis Khan, Edward Gibbon, ” Orgil, Araniko’s, Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan’s, Kubla Khan, Coleridge, Kublai, Stalin, sybarite, Khamar, Dalai Lama, Lama, Christopher Kaplonski, ger, I’d, banshtai tsai, Prim, Egi, Munkhdul, Gandantegchinlen, Haidav, herder, “ Um sain, boltugai, Danzanravjaa, Zanabazar’s, Erdene, Mandakhtsog Monkhbaatar, Monkhbaatar’s, Dalai Lamas, prostrated, He’d, Zuu, she’d, Santiago de, L.K, Advani, Emperor Babur, Ram, kar sevaks, Ayodhya, Narendra Modi, Munkhbaatar Batchuluun, Henry Wallace, Franklin D, Potemkin, Munkhbaatar, Gerelmaa, Giimaa, She’d, Eduardo Quintela, Aracely, Santiago’s, Joseph Brodsky’s, Muhammad’s, Hussein, William Keo, ” Khuder, pillion, Labaik, Hussein ”, O Hussein, hearkened, Prophet, Ali —, Ali, Yazid, Imam, crackling, chickpeas, Imam Ali, Imam Hussein, Saddam Hussein, Tusi, Qasim, Imam Hussein’s, Khuder, “ Will, Najaf, prestes, — I, Yasir Yaseen, Ashura, Ali Akbar, Abbas, Ali Asghar, “ We’re, Francisco Goya’s, Hussein’s, Groom, Joseph, ” Wissam, Turfi, Saddam —, Arbaeen, Saddam, “ Imam Hussein, WE, Muhammad, Barnaby Rogerson, Prophet Muhammad ”, ” Ali, Muhammad — Muhammad, formlessness, Muqtada al, Abrams, chiding, Abu Musab Al, Zarqawi, Al Qaeda, William, “ They’re, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, flagellants, ruddy, stylishly, Hussein — shahid —, Farman Ahsan, Syed Salman Raza —, Saddam’s, ” Raza, William “, Ali Zayn al, Abidin, Labaik ya Hussein, thrall —, Lloyd, Susanne Rudolph — Organizations: CITY LA, LA, LA PAZ, Virgin, Crusaders, Dolorosa, Sun, The New York Times, Bolivian, Spain, La, Cordillera, Universidad Mayor de, Catholic, Good, La Paz, Dominican, Pakistan, Caesars, Nissan, Coke, Communists, Communism, ardor, Communist, Hyundai, flails, sacra, Apache, Mahdi Army, Al, ISIS, Karachi —, Princeton Locations: Bolivia, Mongolia, Iraq, Aatish Taseer Bolivia Mongolia Iraq, CITY LA PAZ, BOLIVIA, NAJAF, IRAQ, ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA, LA PAZ, La Paz, Bolivian, Copacabana, Lake Titicaca, New York, Christian, British, sondry, India, Delhi, Varanasi, Europe, American, Mecca, Arabia, Long, Vino Tinto, Chile, Peru, Monica, Plurinational State, Bolivia —, Americas, Spain, Columbian, Aztec Mexico, Inca Peru, Calvary Hill, Virgen del Cerro, South America, Puerto Rico, Huatajata, ”, Argentine, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, Mexican, revelry, Spanish, “, morena, La, “ India, multilayered, Potosí, Argentina, Warisata, Scotch, Santiago de Compostela, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Nations, El Alto, Buenos Aires, Bombay, Tibet, Bolivia’s, Yamuna Rivers, United States, Buddhist Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolian, Istanbul, Asia, Islam, China, Beijing, Dadu, Erdene Zuu, Soviet, Gobi, Los Angeles, gers, Qing China, Karnataka, Töv Province, Karakorum, Khamar, Erdene, Ukraine, Korea, Golden, Bayankhongor, Lhasa, Dalai, Inner Mongolia, Mongol, Nalaikh, Santiago, Santiago de Compostela and Canterbury, Bulgan Province, Somnath, Gujarat, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, ger, East German, Uvs Province, Pakistani, Indian, Tennessee, Najaf, Baghdad, Khuder, —, abayas, KARBALA, Kufa, Medina, Saudi Arabia, Karbala, Imam Ali, Bab, Kuwaiti, Bohras, South Asia, Tajikistan, Zaydis, Yemen, Alawites, Anatolia, Syria, Iran, Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Sadr, U.S, Jordanian, Al Qaeda, Mesopotamia, Al, Multan, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan’s, Islamabad, Lahore, Kuwait, Karachi, Doha, Qatar

☆ China has a sweeping vision to reshape the world — and countries are listening
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +23 min

All this coincides with longstanding calls from countries across the developing world for an international system where they have more say. Beijing, he added, sees the US as merely “paying lip service” to the “liberal order” to hurt other countries. Sergei Savostyanov/Sputnik/ReutersIn recent years, even some countries that have for decades embraced a close partnership with the US have drawn closer to China and its vision. “Is China really trying to promote multipolarity — or does China just want to (become a) substitute (for) US influence over the world?” he asked. They also raise questions about how a more militarily and economically powerful China would behave globally, if left unchecked.

Persons: Xi Jinping, —, Xi, Vladimir Putin, General Antonio Guterres, ” Xi, , Shen Hong, they’d, ”, Yun Sun, liberalize, Sanjit Das, Shen Dingli, ‘, ’ ”, Russia’s Putin, Bashar al, Assad —, Assad’s, Sergei Savostyanov, Ali Sarwar Naqvi, “ We’ve, James Marape, ’, Rubens Duarte, Li Zhiquan, “, Tong Zhao, Zhao, Ted Aljibe, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Zhang Youxia, Beijing’s, Gilberto Teodoro Jr, BRICS, Weeks, Joe Biden, Sergio Lima, ” — Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, United Nations, Forum, China, Communist, CNN, Beijing, Washington, Getty, Stimson, Bank, World Trade Organization, . Riot, Bloomberg, Initiative, Asian, Global, Sputnik, Reuters, Center for International Strategic Studies, Papua New Guinea, multipolarity, China News Service, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, Global Security Initiative, NATO, Russia, Philippine Defense, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, United, New, Seven, Ministry, Global Security, Group, UN, Communist Party Locations: China, Hong Kong, Beijing, United States, Ukraine, Gaza, Russian, Xinhua, Washington, South, Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang, America, Shanghai, West, Hangzhou, Israel, Pakistan, Pakistani, Islamabad, Papua New, Brazil, Indonesia, Europe, Asia, Scarborough, South China, AFP, Moscow, Russia, “, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Palestine, India, South Africa, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, United Arab Emirates, New Delhi, Southeast Asia, Latin America, Caribbean, ” Beijing

She is one of thousands believed by rights activists to be in hiding in Pakistan to avoid deportation under a government push for undocumented migrants to leave the country. That includes over one million Afghans, many of whom the Pakistan government says have been involved in militant attacks and crime. 'WORSE THAN PRISON'Reuters spoke to a dozen undocumented migrants trying to stay under the radar of the nationwide sweep. "This is worse than prison," said a 22-year-old Afghan man who said he ensured the lights remained off at night. Some locals who are helping the Afghans arrange for food and water to be secretly smuggled into the shelter under the cover of night.

Persons: Saleh Zada, Akhtar Soomro, Sijal Shafiq, Shafiq, Wafa, I'm, Gibran Peshimam, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, Rights, Authorities, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Badakhshan province, Kabul, Karachi, Pakistan, Rights KARACHI, Afghanistan, United States, Hazara, Islamabad, France, Canada

☆ Keeping Lights Off: Undocumented Afghans Go Underground in Pakistan
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +5 min

Persons: Ariba Shahid, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Sijal Shafiq, Shafiq, Wafa, I'm, Saleh Zada, Gibran Peshimam, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Reuters, Authorities, United Nations Locations: Mohammad Yunus Yawar KARACHI, Pakistan, Kabul, Afghanistan, Karachi, United States, Hazara, Islamabad, France, Canada

☆ Pakistan PM says expulsion of Afghans a response to Taliban non-cooperation
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Last month, Pakistan set a Nov. 1 start date for the expulsion of all undocumented immigrants, including hundreds of thousands of Afghans. Kakar said 15 suicide bombings in recent months had been carried out by Afghans, and dozens of Afghans had been killed in clashes with Pakistani security forces. A spokesman for the Taliban administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment. There has been a resurgence of attacks by Islamist militants in Pakistan since talks between Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Pakistani state broke down in 2022. Kakar said that Pakistan had communicated to the Taliban administration that it had to "choose between Pakistan and the TTP".

Persons: Anwar ul Haq Kakar, Kakar, Gibran Peshimam, Alex Richardson Organizations: United Nations, Caretaker, Taliban, Thomson Locations: Afghan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Balochistan Province, Chaman, ISLAMABAD, Western, Islamabad, U.S, Tehreek, Taliban Pakistan, Pakistani

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Afghans fleeing Pakistan to avoid arrest and deportation are sleeping in the open, without proper shelter, food, drinking water and toilets once they cross the border to their homeland, aid agencies said Sunday. Pakistan set Oct.31 as a deadline to leave the country or else they'd be arrested as part of a new anti-migrant crackdown. Afghans leave Pakistan from two main border crossings, Torkham and Chaman. The Taliban say they have committees working “around the clock” to help Afghans by distributing food, water and blankets. Concerns have risen among the humanitarian community about the impoverished country being unable to support or integrate those currently forced to leave Pakistan.

Persons: Torkham, Kayal Mohammad, Hawa, ”, “, ” Thamindri Da Silva, Arshad Malik, ” Malik, Pope Francis Organizations: Associated Press, “ Locations: ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Peshawar

☆ Militants attack air force base in central Pakistan, says military
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-04 | by ( Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ISLAMABAD, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Nine Islamist militants attacked an air force training base in the central Pakistani area of Mianwali on Saturday damaging three "non-operational" aircraft, the military said, adding that all assailants had been killed by security forces. Three militants were killed before they entered the base while the others had been cornered before the clearance operation began, the military said in a statement. The military said nine militants had been killed in the attack on the Pakistan Air Force Training Airbase Mianwali. "No damage has been done to any of the Pakistan Air Force's functional operational assets, while only some damage was done to three already phased out non-operational aircraft during the attack," the military statement said. Islamist militant group Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan (TJP) claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement sent to journalists by its spokesperson.

Persons: Zeeshan Niazi, TJP, Gibran Peshimam, Saud Mehsud, Dera Ismail Khan, Mubasher Bukhari, William Mallard, Jamie Freed Organizations: Nine, Reuters, Pakistan Air Force Training, Pakistan Air, Jihad, Thomson Locations: ISLAMABAD, Mianwali, Jihad Pakistan, Balochistan, Lahore

☆ Pakistan Begins Deporting Afghans Who Fled Taliban
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Saeed Shah | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—Pakistan started rounding up tens of thousands of undocumented Afghans for deportation back to the country they fled, prompting fears that some awaiting resettlement to the U.S. could be swept up. Police raids took place across the country on Wednesday, the deadline for undocumented Afghans to leave. “By midnight tonight return to your homeland,” warned a police officer speaking into a mic in one neighborhood in the port city of Karachi, television footage showed. Mosque loudspeakers repeated similar messages across the country.

Persons: ” Organizations: Pakistan —, Police Locations: ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Pakistan — Pakistan, U.S, Karachi

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani security forces on Wednesday rounded up, detained and deported dozens of Afghans who were living in the country illegally, after a government-set deadline for them to leave expired, authorities said. According to the U.N. agencies, there are more than 2 million undocumented Afghans in Pakistan, at least 600,000 of whom fled after the Taliban takeover in 2021. Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban-led administration have become strained over the past two years because of stepped-up attacks by the Pakistani Taliban, a separate militant group that is allied with the Afghan Taliban. Since the government deadline was announced on October 3, more than 200,000 Afghans have returned home from Pakistan. Associated Press writers Rahim Faiez in Islamabad and Abdul Sattar in Quetta, Pakistan, contributed to this report.

Persons: Sarfraz Bugti, ”, Zabihullah Mujahid, ” Mujahid, “, Ahmad Banwari, Banwari, ___ Khan, Rahim Faiez, Abdul Sattar Organizations: ” Interim, Taliban, Afghanistan’s, Pakistani Taliban, Associated Press Locations: ISLAMABAD, Islamabad, Pakistan, Afghanistan, “, ”, Karachi, Rawalpindi, Baluchistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, The New York, Kabul, Nangarhar, Pakistani, Taliban Pakistan, United States, Peshawar, Quetta

☆ 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

☆ Pakistan Court Declines Bail to Imran Khan in State Secret Case
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Asif ShahzadISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A Pakistani court declined bail on Friday to detained former Prime Minister Imran Khan in a case in which he has been indicted on charges of leaking state secrets, his lawyer said. The charge is related to a classified cable sent to Islamabad by Pakistan's ambassador in the United States last year, which Khan is accused of making public. Former cricket star Khan denies that and said the contents of the cable appeared in the media from other sources. Lawyer Naeem Panjutha said the Islamabad High Court declined Khan's application for bail and for the case to be dismissed. Both the United States and the Pakistani military denied that.

Persons: Asif Shahzad, Imran Khan, Khan, Lawyer Naeem Panjutha, Robert Birsel Organizations: Twitter Locations: Asif Shahzad ISLAMABAD, Islamabad, United States, Pakistan, U.S, Moscow, Ukraine

☆ Pakistan finalises plan to extradite illegal immigrants as Nov 1 deadline nears
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Afghan women who are living in Pakistan wait to get registered during a proof of registration drive at United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Peshawar, Pakistan September 30, 2021. REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsISLAMABAD, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Pakistan has finalised a plan to extradite all illegal immigrants, including hundreds of thousands of Afghan nationals, as the Nov. 1 deadline approaches, the caretaker interior minister said on Thursday. "It is a challenging task," interim Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti told a news conference in Islamabad, adding Pakistan was determined to remove all illegal immigrants. The illegal immigrants, many of whom have lived in Pakistan for years, will be processed at temporary centres being set up by the government, while those leaving voluntarily will be helped to leave Pakistan. Islamabad announced the removal of the illegal immigrants in October, saying they would not be allowed to stay after Nov 1.

Persons: Fayaz Aziz, Sarfraz Bugti, Asif Shahzad, Sakshi Dayal, Sonali Paul, Michael Perry Organizations: United Nations, Refugees, REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Pakistan, Peshawar, Rights ISLAMABAD, Islamabad

☆ Pakistan's Imran Khan indicted in official secrets case - party
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

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, Oct 23 (Reuters) - A Pakistani court indicted former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his deputy in an official secrets acts case on Monday, his party said, in another blow for the jailed former cricket star ahead of a general election expected in January. Both the United States and the Pakistani military deny that. The sentence was suspended but he remains in prison in connection with other cases, including instigating violence and the official secrets case. A guilty verdict under the Official Secrets Act could bring up to 14 years in prison or even a death sentence, lawyers say.

Persons: Imran Khan, Akhtar Soomro, Khan, Shah Mahmood Quershi, Nawaz Sharif, Gibran Peshimam, Jacqueline Wong, Robert Birsel Organizations: Pakistani, Reuters, REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Lahore, Pakistan, Rights ISLAMABAD, Islamabad, Washington, U.S, Moscow, Ukraine, United States, Adyala

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