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Security officers escort Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan, as he appeared in Islamabad High Court, Islamabad, Pakistan May 12, 2023. The former cricket star has been embroiled in a tangle of political and legal battles since he was ousted as prime minister in a vote on no-confidence in 2022, which he denounced as unfair. "The court has ordered that Imran Khan be produced on Nov. 28," Khan's lawyer, Naeem Panjutha, said in a post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. A spokesperson for the law ministry, which will decide if Khan is to appear, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The 71-year-old was jailed on Aug. 5 for three years for unlawfully selling state gifts during his tenure as prime minister from 2018 to 2022.

Persons: Imran Khan, Akhtar Soomro, Naeem Panjutha, Khan, Nawaz Sharif, Asif Shahzad, Kim Coghill, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Court, Thomson Locations: Islamabad, Court, Pakistan, Rights ISLAMABAD

[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

☆ 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

☆ How an Indian startup hacked the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +41 min

The Indian company hacked on an industrial scale, stealing data from political leaders, international executives, prominent attorneys and more. Run by a pair of brothers, Rajat and Anuj Khare, the company began as a small Indian educational startup. The Indian company hacked on an industrial scale, stealing data from political leaders, international executives, sports figures and more. Back in 2012, Kristi Rogers was an executive at Aegis, a London-based security company. Canadian security company GardaWorld, which acquired Aegis in 2015, said it had no information on the incident.

Persons: Chuck Randall, Randall, “, ” Randall, ”, Randall’s inbox, Appin, Rajat, Anuj Khare, Rajat Khare’s, Clare Locke, Khare “, Khare, ” Clare Locke, Ted Kaczynski, Anuj, who’ve, SentinelOne, Tom Hegel, Appin “, Hegel, Mandiant, ” Hegel, Shane Huntley, ” Huntley, Google’s Huntley, ‘, Jochi Gómez, Gómez, Halevi, Tamir Mor, Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, Mohamed Azmin Ali, ” Mor, Berezovsky, Azmin, Mor, Roman Abramovich, Mark Hastings, Hastings, didn’t, Jim H, ” Jim H, Jim H’s, Kristi Rogers, Mike Rogers, he’s, Global’s, sully, Rogers, Damian Perl, – “, Steven Santarpia, ” Santarpia, Santarpia, Leonel Fernández, ” Fernández, Rajat Khare, “ Let’s, Ministry of Home Affairs didn’t, Peter Hargitay, Stevie, Billing, ” Stevie, ’, ” Peter Hargitay, Mookhey, Norman Shark, Jonathan Camp, Shark, Camp, Norman, Dominican Republic –, Dan Brady, Sandra Schweingruber, ” Schweingruber, Schweingruber, Brady, ” Gómez, –, ” –, Anna Carter, Mark Califano, ” Rajat Khare’s, India’s, Educomp, Karen Hunter, Hunter, Bryan, Rajat’s, Vijay Kumar, Deepak Kumar, Kumar, ACSG, Jay Solomon, Solomon, ” Rebsec’s, Vishavdeep Singh, Rebsec, CyberRoot, Sumit Gupta, Gupta, Raphael Satter, Zeba Siddiqui, Christopher Bing, Ryan McNeill, Corinne Perkins, John Emerson, Marla Dickerson Organizations: Reuters, Google, Harvard University, U.S, Symantec, Appin, Caribbean, El, Israeli Defense Forces, Commando, Quillon Law, U.S . House Intelligence, The Michigan Republican, U.S . Senate, Aegis, Global Security, Security, Rogers, Army Corps of Engineers, Rotary, Aegis ’, Global, ” Reuters, Britain’s, Appin Software Security, Ltd, Appin Security, –, Research, Analysis, Intelligence Bureau, Indian, India’s Ministry of Home Affairs, India’s Ministry of Defense, of Home Affairs, Central Bureau of Investigation, CBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ministry of Home Affairs, Telenor, Broadcom, FBI, Dominican, Criminal Investigation Service, Appin Security Group, CERT, country’s, Bureau of Investigation, Educomp, State Bank of India, State Bank, The National Security Agency, NSA, U.S ., Swiss, Appin Technology, India’s Ministry, Corporate Affairs, Control Security Global, Technology, Kumar, Facebook, Meta, BellTroX, Services, Street, New, Rebsec, BellTroX’s, Hire Locations: Long, New Delhi, India, Yorker, Paris, Swiss, cybersecurity, Appin, Dominican, California, “, Dominican Republic, El Siglo, United States, Britain, Switzerland, New York, French, New Jersey, Israel, Russian, Malaysian, London, Rwandan, Virginia, Canadian, Chuck@shinnecock.org, Texas, Indian, India’s Punjab, Pakistan, Zurich, Australia, Norway, Oslo, Brady, Former, ”, U.S, Islip, Shinnecock, Washington, cyberespionage

☆ 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

☆ China, Pakistan navies hold drills days after Russia's historic Andaman exercise
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

At a naval base in Karachi on Saturday, the Chinese and Pakistani navies kicked off the exercise in the waters and airspace of the northern Arabian Sea in drills that include anti-submarine operations. The exercise will end on Nov. 17. During the exercise, China and Pakistan will conduct joint maritime patrols for the first time, the People's Liberation Army Daily reported on Monday. New Delhi has carefully preserved its longstanding relations with Russia, including cooperation in defence, even as its ties with Washington have grown steadily stronger. China was also not mentioned in the joint statement, even though an Indian government official said ahead of the talks that China would be one of the "key focus points".

Persons: Admiral Tributs, Admiral Panteleyev, Antony Blinken, Lloyd Austin, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Ryan Woo, Lidia Kelly, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Russian Pacific Fleet, United, People's Liberation Army, Indian, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Myanmar, India, United States, Karachi, China, Pakistan, Moscow, Russian, United, Russia, U.S, New Delhi, Ukraine, . New Delhi, Washington, San Francisco, Beijing, Melbourne

☆ China, Pakistan Navies Hold Drills Days After Russia's Historic Andaman Exercise
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( Nov. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

Persons: Admiral Tributs, Admiral Panteleyev, Antony Blinken, Lloyd Austin, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Ryan Woo, Lidia Kelly, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Russian Pacific Fleet, United, People's Liberation Army, Indian, Beijing Locations: BEIJING, Myanmar, India, United States, Karachi, China, Pakistan, Moscow, Russian, United, Russia, U.S, New Delhi, Ukraine, . New Delhi, Washington, San Francisco, Melbourne

☆ 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

☆ 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

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: 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

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

☆ 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

☆ 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

But there was one topic Mr. Gilani was always wary of raising: The treatment of Palestinians. Instead it was attributed to “Muslim, Palestinian and Arab Google employees joined by anti-Zionist Jewish colleagues.” The New York Times discussed the matter with seven Google employees and reviewed messages posted in employee channels for this article. Google said the acrimony described to The Times by both Muslim and Jewish employees was limited to a small group of its many thousands of workers. “The overwhelming majority of those employees are not engaged in internal discussions or debate.”Google isn’t unique in facing this turmoil. Even compared with its Silicon Valley peers, Google has become a hub for employee activism, a legacy of the company’s open and informal founding culture.

Persons: Sarmad Gilani, Gilani, ”, Mr, Israel, —, ” Courtenay Mencini, Donald J, Rachel Westrick, Westrick, Israel’s, Sundar Pichai, Thomas Kurian, Kurian, he’s Organizations: Google, Hamas, New York Times, Times, Hollywood, Democratic Party, Microsoft, Pentagon, Asian, Meta, Washington Post Locations: Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Palestinian, “, United States, Meta, Palestine

☆ Pollution Forces City-Wide Closures of Businesses, Schools in Eastern Pakistan
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Mubasher BukhariLAHORE (Reuters) - Heavy pollution-fuelled smog forced authorities to close schools and markets this week in Pakistan's most populous province, including the eastern city of Lahore which has risen to one of the world's worst cities for hazardous air quality. Schools, offices, restaurants and businesses, aside from priority services like pharmacies, hospitals and courts, would all close to limit residents' movement outside, according to a directive from the provincial government. Heavy smog blanketed Lahore this week, reducing visibility and leading residents to complain of a threat to their health. In neighbouring India, authorities in Delhi have announced they would restrict use of vehicles next week to curb rising pollution as air quality in the capital remained dangerously unsafe despite mitigation efforts. (Reporting by Mubasher Bukhari in Lahore; Writing by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Michael Perry)

Persons: Mubasher Bukhari, Amir Mir, Mohammad Salahuddin, Charlotte Greenfield, Michael Perry Organizations: Schools Locations: Mubasher, Mubasher Bukhari LAHORE, Pakistan's, Lahore, Punjab, Swiss, Delhi, Karachi, South Asia, India

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

☆ Militant Attack on Air Base Is Latest Episode to Unnerve Pakistan
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-04 | by ( Salman Masood | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Pakistani military said it had successfully repelled an attack by militants on an air base in central Pakistan on Saturday. The attempt to breach the Mianwali Training Air Base occurred a day after 14 soldiers traveling in a convoy were ambushed and killed in Baluchistan Province, in the southwest. That has fed growing tensions between the Pakistani government and Taliban officials, who have rejected Pakistani accusations of providing shelter to militant groups, including their ally, the Pakistani Taliban. The fighter jets on the air base, which are stored inside concrete hangars, escaped harm, but three other aircraft described as nonoperational were damaged. It was not clear if those defending the air base suffered any casualties.

Organizations: Mianwali Training Air Base, Jihad, Defense Locations: Pakistan, Mianwali, Baluchistan Province, Jihad Pakistan, Afghanistan, Pakistani

☆ 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

☆ ‘There is no school for girls’: Afghans who fled to Pakistan sent back to a homeland that is foreign to many
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Sophia Saifi | Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“I was born in Pakistan, I’ve lived here for 42 years, I went to school in Pakistan,” said Nasim, who had traveled to the Torkham border crossing from the northern city Peshawar. Nasim, who was born and raised in Pakistan, and is now preparing to return to Afghanistan. International bodies and human rights groups have warned of a looming humanitarian disaster as they return. He hoped the Taliban would greet those forced out of Pakistan and help them find new jobs. The steady deterioration of human rights under the Taliban since its return to power have only confirmed the worst fears of many Afghans.

Persons: I’ve, ”, Nasim, “ I’ve, –, “, ” Nasim, Abdul Basit, Sarfraz Bugti, Ravina Shamdasani, Wakil Kohsar, Ghulam Sakhi, we’ve, Raza Muhammad, ” Muhammad, Akhtar Muhammad, Zahid Bahand, can’t, I’m Organizations: Pakistan CNN, CNN, ”, Getty, Security, Authorities, United Nations, Human Rights, Rights Watch, ” CNN, Interior Ministry, “ Police, UN, International Organization for Migration, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taliban Locations: Chaman, Pakistan, Pakistan’s, Peshawar, Afghanistan, ”, Quetta, “, Soviet, States, AFP, Afghan, Karachi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Balochistan’s, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Kabul

NEW DELHI, Nov 3 (Reuters) - India's capital New Delhi was wrapped in a thick layer of toxic haze on Friday and some schools were ordered closed as the air quality index (AQI) plummeted to the "severe" category. In India, the annual average concentration of particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) in the air is the highest in northern regions. Officials said they saw no immediate improvement in the air quality. Delhi hosts a World Cup match on Monday between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Poor air quality also caused respiratory problems, irritation in the eyes and restlessness in pet animals.

Persons: Aheed Khan, Ashwani Kumar, Prabhat Gangwar, Tanvi Mehta, Rajesh, Blassy Boben, Manoj Kumar, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: joggers, Residents, Officials, Control Committee, Farmers, Health, Friendicoes, Thomson Locations: DELHI, New Delhi, Swiss, Pakistani, Lahore, Delhi, India, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Mumbai, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka

☆ Pakistan speeds up Afghans' repatriation after deadline expires
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Mushtaq Ali | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Those arriving in Afghanistan complained of hardships they had to face to move out of Pakistan and uncertainty over their future. We had very bad situation," said Mohammad Ismael Rafi, 55, who said he lived for 22 years in the southwestern Pakistani border town of Chaman where he had a retail business. Pakistani authorities started rounding up foreigners, most of them Afghans, hours before the deadline. Khan, the official, said 19,744 Afghans had crossed the Torkham border on Thursday, 147,949 in total since the government announced the deadline. More than 35,000 undocumented Afghans have left through another southwestern Pakistani border crossing at Chaman.

Persons: Abdul Nasir Khan, Mohammad Ismael Rafi, Rafi, Sarfraz, Khan, Asif Shahzad, Ariba Shahid, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Kim Coghill, Nick Macfie Organizations: United Nations, Refugees, Kabul, Reuters, Authorities, Norwegian Refugee Council, Danish Refugee Council, International, Thomson Locations: burqa, Pakistan, UNHCR, Azakhel, Nowshera, PESHAWAR, Afghanistan, Torkham, Khyber, Pakistani, Chaman, Kandahar, Helmand province, Peshawar, U.S, Karachi, Kabul

☆ Pakistan official: 104,000 undocumented Afghans returned to Afghanistan through Torkham border
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Afghan citizens wait with their belongings to cross into Afghanistan, after Pakistan gives the last warning to undocumented immigrants to leave, at the Friendship Gate of Chaman Border Crossing along the Pakistan-Afghanistan Border in Balochistan Province, in Chaman, Pakistan October 31, 2023. REUTERS/Abdul Khaliq Achakzai Acquire Licensing RightsPESHAWAR, Pakistan Nov 1 (Reuters) - More than 100,000 undocumented Afghan nationals have returned voluntary to Afghanistan through the northwestern Torkham border crossing in the last two weeks, a Pakistani government official said on Wednesday. Deputy Commissioner Abdul Nasir Khan said the Afghan nationals had traveled from across Pakistan to the border crossing. Pakistan's deadline to expel all undocumented immigrants, including hundreds of thousands of Afghan nationals, is expiring later on Wednesday. Reporting by Mushtaq Ali; Writing by Asif Shahzad; Editing by Jacqueline WongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Abdul Khaliq Achakzai, Abdul Nasir Khan, Mushtaq Ali, Asif Shahzad, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Balochistan Province, Chaman, Rights PESHAWAR

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

☆ Inzamam steps down as Pakistan chief selector after conflict of interest allegations
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 31 (Reuters) - Former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has stepped down as Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) chief selector on Sunday after allegations of a conflict of interest. "I am stepping down from the post to offer the PCB the opportunity to conduct a transparent inquiry," Inzamam said in a statement released by the board. "If the committee finds me not guilty, I will resume my role as the chief selector." The PCB said it had set up a five-member fact-finding committee to look into the allegations. The allegations surfaced in the middle of Pakistan's struggling World Cup campaign, where they sit seventh in the points table after four successive defeats.

Persons: Inzamam, Haq, Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Chiranjit, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Pakistan Cricket Board's, Yazoo International Ltd, Saya Corporation, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ 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

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