Pakistan - The African Mirror

Sep

2023

Suicide bombings rip through two mosques in Pakistan, killing at least 57

SUICIDE bombings ripped through two mosques in Pakistan, killing at least 57 people and injuring dozens more as believers marked the birthday of the Prophet Mohammad, police and health officials said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blasts, one of which was reported to have trapped dozens under rubble. A surge in militant attacks in Pakistan's western provinces has cast a shadow on election preparations and public campaigning in the run-up to January's general elections, but until now the attacks had mostly targeted security forces. The first blast, in Mastung in the southwestern province of Balochistan, killed at least…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

Pakistan’s economic meltdown spurs more people to risk lives to reach Europe

WORLD

GIBRAN NAIYYAR PESHIMAM HAMEED Iqbal Bhatti had prospered over two decades working in Saudi Arabia, but after returning to Pakistan three years ago, he was getting desperate. The economy had suffered in the pandemic and his restaurant business closed. With work avenues drying up and sky-high inflation blowing a hole in his budget, the 47-year-old cobbled together $7,600 for a trafficker to smuggle him into Europe, where he hoped to rebuild the life he once had, his brother Muhammad Sarwar Bhatti, 53, told Reuters. "He told me that he would start afresh for his children's future and the life he…

Jun

2023

By ARIBA SHAHID and ASIF SHAHZAD

Pakistan outlines process for barter trade with Afghanistan, Iran, Russia

WORLD

PAKISTAN has passed a special order to allow barter trade with Afghanistan, Iran and Russia for certain goods, including petroleum and natural gas, the Ministry of Commerce said. Left with barely enough foreign exchange reserves to cover one month's imports, Pakistan's government is desperately trying to manage a balance of payments crisis and bring inflation under control after it hit a record of nearly 38% last month. The government order called the Business-to-business (B2B) Barter Trade Mechanism 2023 and dated June 1, lists goods that can be bartered. State and privately owned entities would need approval to participate in the…

May

2023

By The African Mirror

Analysis: Pakistan in uncharted territory as army seeks to vanquish Imran Khan

WORLD

GIBRAN NAIYYAR PESHIMAM PAKISTAN'S military has struck back after an unprecedented challenge to its hegemony by the popular Imran Khan and his followers, but the nuclear-armed nation remains caught between its most powerful institution and the man who was once a firm ally. Khan's arrest on corruption charges earlier this month, which he says was at the behest of the generals, led to violent nationwide protests, and attacks on military buildings and on the homes of senior officers, allegedly by the former prime minister's supporters. There has never been that kind of challenge to Pakistan's military, which has held sway over the country…

May

2023

By The African Mirror

Wife of Pakistan’s Imran Khan, charged with graft, is known for spirituality

WORLD

ASIF SHAHZAD BUSHRA Khan, the wife of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan, is facing corruption charges in the same case that led to his arrest on May 9. On Monday, he accompanied her to a court that granted her protective bail. She is known for her spirituality and devotion to Sufism, a mystical form of Islam. Khan, 70, has often called Bushra his spiritual leader. Born Bushra Riaz Watto, she changed her name to Khan after her marriage. Her husband and followers commonly refer to her as Bushra Bibi or Bushra Begum, titles that in Urdu denote respect. She has kept a low profile since her…

May

2023

By GIBRAN NAIYYAR PESHIMAM, ASIF SHAHZAD and ARIBA SHAHID

Pakistan cracks down on Imran Khan’s supporters after violence

WORLD

POLICE in Pakistan have arrested hundreds of supporters of ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan for violence after his arrest on corruption charges, authorities said, deepening a political crisis in the nuclear-armed country. Tuesday's arrest of the former cricket hero, and Pakistan's most popular politician according to opinion polls, came at a precarious time for the country that is facing a shortage of foreign exchange and a months-long delay of an IMF bailout. Mobile data services were shut for a second day while Twitter, YouTube and Facebook were disrupted, as security forces tried to restore order after violence killed one person late…

Apr

2023

By The African Mirror

Deadly chaos as Pakistanis scramble for scarce donations

WORLD

ARIBA SHAHID SEVEN-year-old Saad Umer joined a crowd in a poor neighbourhood in the Pakistani city of Karachi rushing to get a handout of flour and a little cash from a charity trying to help the most vulnerable cope with runaway prices. But in the surge, a melee broke out and some people fell. Saad and 10 others, all women and children, were killed in the latest in a series of deadly scrambles for food as Pakistan struggles with its most serious economic crisis in years. "He was a beautiful kid. I'll never get over his death as long as I live,"…

Apr

2023

By The African Mirror

Pakistan posts highest-ever annual inflation; stampedes for food kill 16

WORLD

ASIF SHAHZAD CONSUMER price inflation in Pakistan jumped to a record 35.37% in March from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said, as at least 16 people were killed in stampedes for food aid. The March inflation number eclipsed February's 31.5%, the bureau said, as food, beverage and transport prices surged up to 50% year-on-year. Thousands of people have gathered at flour distribution centres set up across the country, some as part of a government-backed programme to ease the impact of inflation. At least 16 people, including five women and three children, have been killed in stampedes at such centres in recent…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

Reactions to Pakistan ex-President Musharraf’s death

WORLD

FOLLOWING are reactions to the death of former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf: FAWAD CHAUDHRY, A FORMER MUSHARRAF AIDE AND CURRENTLY A SENIOR LEADER OF FORMER PRIME MINISTER IMRAN KHAN'S PARTY "He is called a military dictator, but there has never been a stronger democratic system than that under him... Pervez Musharraf led Pakistan at a very difficult time, and Pakistanis believe the era of his reign was one of the best in Pakistan's history." SHASHI THAROOR, INDIAN POLITICIAN, SAID ON TWITTER "Once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace 2002-2007. I met him annually in those…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

Suicide bomber breaches high security in Pakistan mosque, kills 59

WORLD

JIBRAN AHMAD and ASIF SHAHZAD A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a crowded mosque in a highly fortified security compound in Pakistan, killing 59 people, including 27 police officials, the latest attack by resurgent Islamist militants targeting police. The attacker appeared to have passed through several barricades manned by security forces to get into the "Red Zone" compound that houses police and counter-terrorism offices in the volatile northwestern city of Peshawar, police said. "It was a suicide bombing," Peshawar Police Chief Ijaz Khan told Reuters. Many of the 170 wounded people were in critical condition, he said. The death…