Pakistan - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

Imran Khan: Pakistan court suspends jail sentence in graft appeal

A Pakistani court granted former Prime Minister Imran Khan an appeal of his graft conviction and suspended his 14-year jail sentence, his lawyer said, a relief for his embattled party which had won most seats in February's national polls. Just a week ahead of the February 8 elections, Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were both handed a 14-year sentence on charges of unlawfully selling state gifts by an anti-graft court. Despite the suspension, Khan will remain in jail on multiple other sentences which were imposed on the ex-cricket star ahead of the polls, which also disqualified him from holding any public…

Feb

2024

By CHARLOTTE GREENFIELD and ARIBA SHAHID

Pakistan’s Khan-backed independents lead in final poll count

WORLD

THE final results of Pakistan's national election put independents, backed by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, in the lead with 93 of 264 seats. The party of another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, was second with 75 seats after Thursday's vote, lacking a clear majority but it was the largest single party in parliament as Khan's independents ran as individuals. As coalition talks were held and protesters blocked roads in the north of the country, it was not clear who would form a government. The final tally of votes was published by the election commission more than 60 hours…

Feb

2024

By GIBRAN NAIYYAR PESHIMAM, ASIF SHAHZAD and ARIBA SHAHID

Pakistan ex-PMs and bitter rivals Sharif and Khan both claim poll win

WORLD

FORMER Pakistani prime ministers and bitter rivals Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan both declared victory in elections marred by delayed results and militant attacks, throwing the country into further political turmoil. Sharif's party won the most seats by a single party in Thursday's election, but supporters of imprisoned Khan, who ran as independents instead of as a single bloc after his party was barred from the polls, won the most seats overall. Sharif said his party would talk to other groups to form a coalition government as it had failed to win a clear majority on its own. Sharif's announcement…

Feb

2024

By ASIF SHAHZAD and ARIBA SHAHID

Pakistan starts vote count, clear picture expected early Friday

WORLD

PAKISTAN began counting votes after polling ended in a general election marred by militant attacks and suspension of mobile phone services, with authorities saying that at least nine people had been killed nationwide. The vote was held as the South Asian country struggles to recover from an economic crisis while it grapples with rising militant violence in a deeply polarised political environment. TV channels are expected to make projections of first results a few hours after voting closed at 5 p.m. (1200 GMT) and a clear picture is likely to emerge early on Friday as counting continues through the night. The national…

Feb

2024

By CHARLOTTE GREENFIELD and ASIF SHAHZAD

Blasts near Pakistan candidates’ offices kill 26 on eve of election

WORLD

TWO explosions near electoral candidates' offices in Pakistan's southwestern province of Balochistan killed 26 people and wounded dozens, officials said, raising concerns over security on the eve of a general election. Pakistan goes to the polls on Thursday amid rising militant attacks and the jailing of Imran Khan, the winner of the last national election, who has been dominating the headlines despite an economic crisis and other woes threatening the nuclear-armed country. Authorities have said they are boosting security at polling booths. The first attack, which killed 14 people, took place at the office of an independent election candidate in Pishin district. The second…

Jan

2024

By ASIF SHAHZAD and GIBRAN NAIYYAR PESHIMAM

Pakistan fires retaliatory strike at Iran, stoking regional tension

WORLD

PAKISTAN said it used rockets and drones to strike separatist Baloch militants inside Iran, in a retaliatory strike two days after Tehran said it attacked the bases of another group within Pakistani territory. Iranian media said several missiles hit a village in the Sistan-Baluchestan province that borders Pakistan, killing at least nine people, including four children. The neighbours have had rocky ties in the past, but the strikes are the highest-profile cross-border intrusions in recent years and come amid growing worries about instability in the Middle East since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted on October 7. "A number of terrorists…

Jan

2024

By GIBRAN NAIYYAR PESHIMAM

Pakistan says Iran violated airspace, killing two children

NEWS

PAKISTAN said neighbouring Iran has violated its airspace resulting in the death of two children, hours after Iranian state media said missiles targeted two bases of militant group Jaish al Adl. Islamabad warned that the incident could have "serious consequences" and was "completely unacceptable" in a statement released by Pakistan's foreign office spokesperson in the early hours of Wednesday. Iran’s foreign ministry was not immediately available for comment. On Monday, Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards attacked targets in Iraq and Syria with missiles. Jaish al Adl has previously mounted attacks on Iranian security forces in the border area with Pakistan. "These bases were…

Nov

2023

By ASIF SHAHZAD

Pakistan’s top court accepts Imran Khan’s plea for bail

WORLD

PAKISTAN'S Supreme Court accepted 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 former cricket star is fighting various legal battles in the hope of securing release from jail and leading his party in a campaign for a Feb. 8 general election, which his arch-rival, another former prime minister, is hoping to win. 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…

Oct

2023

By ASIF SHAHZAD

Taliban brands Pakistan expulsion threat to Afghan immigrants ‘unacceptable’

WORLD

PAKISTAN'S threat to forcibly expel illegal Afghan immigrants is "unacceptable", a spokesman for the Taliban administration in Kabul said, adding that Afghans were not to blame for Pakistan's security problems. Estimating that there were 1.73 million Afghan immigrants living in Pakistan without legal status, Pakistan's caretaker government on Tuesday set a November 1 deadline for them to leave or face forcible expulsion. "The behaviour of Pakistan towards Afghan refugees is unacceptable," Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Taliban administration in Kabul, said in a post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. The move to expel illegal migrants comes…

Oct

2023

By SALEEM AHMED and MUSHTAQ ALI

Suicide bombings at two mosques in Pakistan kill at least 57

WORLD

SUICIDE bombings ripped through two mosques in Pakistan killing at least 57 people, including seven children, as believers marked the birthday of the Prophet Mohammad, police and health officials said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, from which the death toll could climb, with many people seriously injured and others having been trapped beneath the wreckage. In the first blast, in Mastung in the southwestern province of Balochistan, the bomber detonated his explosives near a police vehicle where people were gathering for a procession, senior police official Munir Ahmed said. At least 52 people were killed, according to…