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India-Pakistan

Pakistan radical party suspends march following agreement with govt

2021-10-25

[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] A radical party agreed on Sunday to suspend for three days its march of thousands toward the capital Islamabad after Pakistain agreed to drop pending charges against the party’s leader.

Party supporters on Saturday departed the eastern city of Lahore, clashing for a second straight day with police who lobbed tear gas into the crowd.

The group began its journey a day earlier with the goal of reaching Islamabad to pressure the government to release Saad Rizvi, head of the Islamist Tehrik-e-Labiak Pakistain party. Rizvi was arrested last year amid demonstrations against La Belle France over the publication of caricatures of Prophet Muhammad.

Raja Basharat, provincial law minister, told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named that under the agreement Punjab
1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots....
will withdraw charges against Rizvi and release all those detained during the protest march by Tuesday.

Rizvi were tossed into the calaboose pre-emptively on a charge of inciting people to assemble unlawfully. It was unclear when he would be released.

Basharat also said the agreement stipulates that the federal government will honor a previous agreement with the TLP to address diplomatic ties with La Belle France over the publication of the caricatures.

Sajid Saifi, front man for Rizvi’s party, confirmed the minister’s account and said thousands of party supporters will stay in the town of Mureedke waiting for the release of party leaders and members who have been detained.

Pakistain Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told news hounds that the TLP’s demand that the French ambassador to Pakistain be expelled over the caricatures would be taken to a parliamentary committee in the coming days.

Basharat, Ahmed and Religious Affairs Minister Noorul Haq Qadri took part in the talks with the TLP executive council.

Violent festivities erupted between security forces and the Islamists in Lahore killing at least two police and injuring about a dozen, police said. Saifi claimed four party supporters were killed by police fire and "many" others were maimed. Police said the demonstrators torched several police vehicles there.

Ahmed said the government was unaware of any deaths of TLP supporters.

Rizvi’s party gained prominence in Pakistain’s 2018 elections, campaigning on the single issue of defending the country’s blasphemy

...the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence to a deity, or sacred objects, or toward something considered sacred or inviolable. Some religions consider it to be a crime. In Pakistain you can commit blasphemy by looking cross-eyed at a Koran...
law, which calls for the death penalty

for anyone who insults Islam. It has a history of staging ~~violent~~ mostly peaceful protests to pressure the government to accept its demands.

Link

India-Pakistan

Killings, arrests and protests continue for second day in Pakistan

2021-04-14

[DAILYTIMES.PK] At least three people have been reported killed and more than 100 supporters of Tehrik-e-Labbaik Pakistain (TLP) were arrested overnight as the right-wing party’s protest entered the second day after the arrest of its chief Sahibzada Saad Hussain Rizvi a day earlier.The deaths occurred in the Faizpur Interchange area of Lahore. A police constable was also killed by protesters in Lahore, he was deployed at Gowalmandi cop shoppe.

According to sources, there are severe traffic jams in different parts of Lahore. Traffic remains paralyzed at Yateem Khana Chowk, Ferozpur Road, Shahdara, Daroghwala Chowk. In Faisalabad
...formerly known as Lyallpur, the third largest metropolis in Pakistain, the second largest in Punjab after Lahore. It is named after some Arab because the Paks didn't have anybody notable of their own to name it after...
, traffic flow has been severely affected due to closure of various highways.

In a statement, party spokesperson Tayyab Rizvi said that there was no truth to reports that the protests had been called off. "They will continue till the French ambassador is deported," he said.

Federal Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said , government has decided to take action against law-breakers ordered to reopen several road and entry and exits points that were closed due to protests by a religious party.

A high level meeting chaired by Federal Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, decided action against those disturbing law and order situation, as well as ordered to suspend cellular and internet services for 24 hours in areas where the law and order situation deteriorates.

On the other hand, a meeting chaired by Punjab
1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots....
Law Minister Raja Basharat has decided to deploy Rangers along with police at 16 points of Lahore.

The TLP is protesting blasphemous caricatures published in La Belle France and demanding that the French ambassador be sent home and import of goods from that country banned.

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India-Pakistan

Govt assures Ayubi’s father of justice

2019-09-09

[DAWN] Punjab
1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots....
Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Raja Basharat says the government will not tolerate extrajudicial killings by police.

He was speaking to the media along with Muhammad Afzaal, the father of ATM thief Salahuddin Ayubi who was allegedly killed by police in jug.

Earlier on Saturday, Afzaal and members of his family met Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and expressed his satisfaction over the government’s action following the killing of his son.
"OK, I'm satisfied. Now can you stop beating me?"
The chief minister condoled the death of Ayubi and promised the family that the government would leave no stone unturned to punish the perpetrators.

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India-Pakistan

Sahiwal encounter case: ATC to hear plea to remove terrorism clause from FIR

2019-04-05

[DAWN] An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Sahiwal on Thursday admitted for hearing a plea filed by the suspects in the Sahiwal encounter case, in which the latter have petitioned the court to remove Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) from the first information report (FIR) of the incident.

The petition will be heard on April 8.

Another case regarding the alleged encounter is also being heard by the ATC, but no one has been indicted yet. As per Section 32-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the court will have to pass a verdict on the appeal for the removal of Section 7 from the FIR of the incident before indicting anyone in the main case. A hearing of the main case was also held today and the six officials who have been nominated were produced before the ATC.

In January this year, the accused CTD officials had shot four people dead, including a teenage girl and her parents. The officials had claimed that the victims were killed in an 'encounter', but their statement was called into question after two children, who were also in the car at the time of the incident, said that the family, along with one of their neighbours, were going to attend a wedding.

The officials then said that they had received a report that the fourth victim, Zeeshan, the family's neighbour who was driving the car, was affiliated with a terrorist outfit. Punjab
1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots....
Law Minister Raja Basharat had subsequently termed the killing of the parents and their teenage daughter as "collateral damage".

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India-Pakistan

Government, TLP reach agreement; state to take legal measures to place Asia Bibi's name on ECL

2018-11-03

[DAWN] The government and Tehrik-e-Labbaik Pakistain (TLP) have reached terms to conclude the latter's nationwide protest, DawnNewsTV has reported, with the government making the concession to "initiate the legal process" to place Asia Bibi's name on the exit control list (ECL).

They freed her from prison, only to make the entire country an open-air prison for her and hers. What a lovely contry Pakistan is, to be sure.

The government has also said it will not oppose a review petition filed against the Supreme Court's judgement in the Asia Bibi blasphemy case.

The government has also promised to take appropriate legal action to redress any deaths that may have occurred during the protests against the Asia Bibi verdict and to release all people picked up in connection with the protests starting October 30.

The TLP has, in turn, apologised if it "hurt the sentiments or inconvenienced anyone without reason".

The agreement was signed by Dr Noorul Haq Qadri (religious affairs minister) and Raja Basharat (law minister Punjab) on behalf of the government, and by Pir Muhammad Afzal Qadri (big shot of the TLP) and Muhammad Waheed Noor (central chief nazim
...small time big shot, the chief elected official of a local government in Pakistan, such as a district, tehsil, union council, or village council...
of the TLP).

Following the agreement with the government, the TLP leaders addressed the participants of their protest in Lahore and asked them to end the protest and clear the roads, DawnNewsTV reported.

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India-Pakistan

16 held for attacking election office

2015-12-13

[DAWN] Police have arrested 16 people in connection with an attack on the election office of a PML-N leader and the main accused in the murder of the nephew of former Punjab law minister Raja Basharat.

On the other hand, Numbardar Asad Mehmood, who was the ruling party candidate for the slot of chairman UC-86 Dhamial, was brought back to Rawalpindi along with his two facilitators after his arrest in Karachi. The ex-law minister’s nephew, Raja Shoaib, was killed outside a polling station in Dhamial on December 5.

When contacted, SP Ghayas Gul confirmed that Asad Mehmood had been arrested and police were also hunting for his brother, Ikhlaq. He said 18 suspects had already been detained in connection with the murder, including Asad’s father.

The SP said police had also detained 16 people suspected to be involved in the attack on the election office of Asad Mehmood at Dhamial Chowk. The protest was held against police failure to arrest the main accused in the murder case.

When asked how the police identified the suspects, the SP said they were traced during an investigation though there were no CCTV footages of the incident.

As many as 60 protesters were booked on the charge of damaging the election office of Asad Mehmood. However, none of the protesters was nominated in the FIR registered with Saddar Barooni police on the complaint of Constable Mohammad Imran.

The constable in his complaint stated that 60 unidentified people, chanting slogans and carrying sticks and batons, attacked the office and damaged its furniture and windowpanes.

The protesters also stormed Chaudhry Subtain’s mansion located in the neighborhood and set a vehicle on fire.

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India-Pakistan

Ex-Punjab minister’s nephew killed in election clash

2015-12-06

RAWALPINDI: Raja Shoaib Iqbal, the nephew of former Punjab law minister Raja Basharat, was gunned down and four others were injured in a clash with supporters of the ruling PML-N during the final phase of local government election here on Saturday.

The incident occurred about half an hour before the end of polling at the Government Girls’ Primary School, Ward 3, UC-86 Dhamial.

Mr Iqbal, who was settled in England, had returned to assist his cousin Raja Moeen Sultan — who was running as an independent — with his election campaign

Police reports suggested that the incident was sparked by a commotion at the women’s polling station. Ruling party candidate Asad Mehmood intervened to settle the matter, but the detente didn’t last. When Asad Mehmood’s brother Ikhlaq Mehmood and his supporters reached the scene, they clashed with Mr Sultan’s supporters.

During the skirmish, bullets allegedly fired by Ikhlaq Mehmood hit Raja Shoaib, killing him on the spot and injuring four others.

The polling station had already been categorised as most sensitive, or A+, by police. However, there were no CCTV cameras there, nor were Rangers or army personnel deployed at the scene.

Raja Basharat termed this the most tragic incident in the history of hundred years of Rawalpindi. “It is an unfortunate incident, especially at a time when the PML-N is in government, both at the centre and in Punjab.”

He demanded that a case be registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act and that the accused be brought to justice.

Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2015

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India-Pakistan

Army camp attack: Arrests as LEAs work in tandem to find clues

2012-07-12

[Dawn]

The police and other law-enforcement agencies claimed on Tuesday to have taken into custody some suspects belonging to politico-religious and outlawed outfits.

The operation was launched in the areas surrounding the Chenab following a terrorist attack on an army camp at the river bank.

Sources told Dawn that some arrests had been made late on Monday night for investigation to find a clue to the incident. The agencies also confiscated the cycle of violence abandoned by the attackers and tried to find the car used in crime.

Initial investigation showed the car had fake registration number.

Sources said the country's premier intelligence and other agencies were actively working on the case and the role of the local police had been marginalised.

Another source said the involvement of "religious Death Eaters" could not be ruled out.

Gujrat District Police Officer Raja Basharat declined to comment on the proceedings of the investigations and also did not confirm the arrest of the suspects. The law-enforcement agencies would soon find a clue that could help in breakthrough, he said.

Regional Police Officer Amin Venis said special teams had been formed for investigation. He said the police were seeking assistance of other agencies to trace the assailants. They were also using sniffer dogs. The police, he claimed, had found some clues. He appealed to the masses to cooperate with the police in maintaining law and order.

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India-Pakistan

'Punjab govt has no cash to pay salaries'

2010-06-05

[Dawn] The Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) issued on Thursday a whitepaper on, what it called "black deeds" of the Punjab government, claiming a "total administrative and financial collapse of the province".

Addressing a press conference, former chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, who returned recently from abroad, said the PML-N government had ruined the provincial finance and did not have money to pay salary to officials."On May 30, it had only Rs420 million in its account," the PML-Q leader claimed.

"It (Punjab) sought the federal government's help, which enabled it pay salaries by transferring money to its account on the last day of the month. That is how a surplus, in every sense of the word, province has been turned into a bankrupt federating unit all because of lack of vision, egotist policies and sheer incapability of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif."Of a total development outlay of Rs175 billion, only Rs74 billion had been spent in the year, the Chaudhry said.

In order to hide the `disastrously' bad performance of his government, he said, the Punjab finance minister was now saying that the development budget was in fact only Rs95 billion. "The Communications and Works Department has not submitted its annual report so far, and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has called it exceptionally low development spending year in the history of Punjab.

"The total default of the province stands at a staggering Rs80 billion. And still they call it good governance," he said sarcastically.

Flanked by Leader of the Opposition Chaudhry Zaheeruddin and former Punjab law minister Raja Basharat, Mr Elahi said that Sharif Brothers were defaulter of over Rs4 billion to different banks.

He said the Punjab government was currently raiding people's residences to recover tax on luxury vehicles, and when notices were issued to Sharif Brothers for Wealth Tax, they went to court (seeking stay orders) to avoid payment.

"That is how both brothers are setting a personal example of good governance," he claimed.

In the last two years, the prices of eatables had skyrocketed -- making life miserable for every one in the province, he said. The flour prices went up by 100 per cent (from Rs16 per Kg to Rs32), sugar by 168 per cent (from Rs28 to Rs75 per Kg), chicken meat by 70 per cent (from Rs100 to Rs170 per Kg), milk by 100 per cent (from Rs25 to Rs50 per litter) and yogurt by 83 per cent (from Rs30 to Rs55 per Kg).

"It is a shameful performance by any standard. How one can dare call it good governance," he wondered.

"In the last two years, crimes have gone up by 48 per cent, which is a matter of official record. All kinds of heinous crimes are being committed with impunity and ruling MNAs and MPAs are involved in such crimes. Extra judicial killings have also gone up. The police budget is multiplying along with the crime rate," he claimed.

He said the Punjab government had turned out to be a government "for the task forces and by the task forces". According to him, there are four task forces on 'cattle lifting', three on sports and one has been created even in London for the Pakistani community.

Elahi said the advocate general cost Rs700,000 per month along with two vehicles and five-star hotel stay. The Lahore commissioner is drawing a Rs340,000 salary as project director of Ring Road, Chief Minister's Task Force Chairman (Farooq Naveed) draws a Rs280,000 monthly salary, the Liquidation Board chairman Rs400,000 and AD Analysis Khalid Sherdil Rs200,000. "All these appointments are personal, but cost the province," he claimed.

Calling the whitepaper the first phase of a series of such papers, the former chief minister said that the corruption of the Punjab government "would be taken up at every appropriate forum".

The PML-Q leader took the occasion to condemn attack on the Ahmadis, calling it a "worst day in the history of the province". As the Punjab government was forewarned, the attack should have been pre-empted, he said.

"The Punjab government is handicapped to stop such attacks as no capable officer is ready to work in the province," he said. The egotist and insulting policies of the chief minister had shooed everyone away. Mr Sharif was happy with his immature team and everyone in the province was paying the cost, he said.

He supported an even-handed "operation against terrorists wherever required".

Link

India-Pakistan

10 killed, 27 hurt as bomber strikes army bus

2008-02-05

Ten people were killed and 27 injured on Monday when a suicide bomber crashed his bike into an armed forces bus carrying students and officials of Army Medical College, near the General Headquarters (GHQ) at around 7.25am, sources in military hospitals said.

An eyewitness said the suicide bomber hit the 30-seater bus in front of National Logistic Cell (NLC) offices close to the GHQ, blowing away the roof, windows and doors of the bus. Several other vehicles were also damaged. A van carrying schoolchildren was also partially damaged, but the children remained unhurt.

RA Bazaar police Station House Officer (SHO) Raja Basharat Abbasi told Daily Times at the crime scene that it was a suicide attack. According to him, it was yet to be established if the suicide bomber had been riding a bike.

He said three civilians and two armed forces personnel were killed and 10 military officials seriously injured, adding that an FIR had been registered and investigations started.

According to ISPR, four security forces personnel were killed in the blast. The dead included four members of the security forces, according to a military statement, reported AP. They included a colonel from the armys medical corps, according to a military official and a police officer, both of whom spoke on condition of anonymity. A female major was among the injured, the military official said.

Troops seal: Reportedly, troops sealed off the entire area around the GHQ following the blast, and police were not allowed access to the spot. Tents were erected at the crime scene to cover the remains of the blast and newsmen were asked to vacate the place immediately.

Similarly, private and Rescue 1122 ambulances were not allowed to shift the injured and the dead to the military hospitals and only army ambulances shifted them to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) and the Military Hospital (MH).

District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) officials told Daily Times that the body of an unknown person had been shifted to the hospital but later military personnel shifted it to the CMH. They said none of the injured persons were admitted to the hospital.

City Police Officer (CPO) Saud Aziz told Daily Times that at least five people were killed and 25 hurt in the incident. He said law-enforcement agencies had collected evidence from the scene of the attack, including the suicides bombers head. The bombers face was being reconstructed at the CMH, he added.

Aziz said a special investigation team led by SSP (Operations) Yasin Farooq was investigating the incident. When asked about the exact death toll of military officials and civilians, the CPO said, Its a sensitive issue.

Baitullah Mehsud: Caretaker Federal Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz told reporters in Islamabad on Monday that Baitullah Mehsud may be involved in the Rawalpindi suicide attack as only he had the ability to carry out such attack, Online reported. The interior minister said that security agencies of the country were being targeted as police and army were taking effective action against the militants, NNI reported.

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India-Pakistan

Investigators probing 'serial killer's' links to extremist groups

2007-02-23

Investigators are probing whether a serial killer cleric who assassinated a female minister this week having previously confessed to four other murders had links to Islamist groups. In a case that shocked Pakistan, extremist Mohammad Sarwar shot Punjab social welfare minister Zill-e-Huma Usman in the head at a public meeting in central Gujranwala city on Tuesday. Police have said that Sarwar objected to the involvement of women in politics and disapproved of the clothes worn by Ms Usman. I killed her out of conviction that she was leading an un-Islamic life and spreading an evil influence on other women, he told interrogators, according to a police source.

Sarwar was finally arrested in early 2003 on the basis of information from local religious leaders and witness reports that a cleric was spotted near the scene of the killings. He said Sarwars usual method of attack was to fire two or three bullets just above the crotch of his victims. He confessed to the murders and provided details.

Yet the case collapsed during the trial. Police said the victims families took compensation money raised by religious leaders instead of testifying. A rickshaw driver who used to drive the prostitutes around initially told police he saw Sarwar shooting one of the women but backed downunder pressure from local clergy.

Police say that in 2003 Sarwar had escaped justice despite publicly admitting that he had killed four prostitutes and injured another four as they waited by roadsides for clients. He is a serial killer, said Saud Aziz, the police chief of Gujranwala at the time of the earlier shootings.

Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat hit out at the Pakistani justice system, saying fanatic Sarwar was still on the streets mainly due to defective police investigation and poor quality of the prosecution. We are investigating and there is a possibility that he may have support from some religious group, he said, without elaborating or naming the organisation.

Pakistan has dozens of militant outfits, most of which have been banned by President Pervez Musharraf. The prostitute murders three in conservative Gujranwala and one in the eastern city of Lahore between September 2002 and January 2003 - puzzled police and caused a public outcry. Former police inspector Mohammad Naveed finally arrested Sarwar in early 2003 on the basis of information from local religious leaders and witness reports that a cleric was spotted near the scene of the killings. He said Sarwars usual method of attack was to fire two or three bullets just above the crotch of his victims. One woman who survived was paralysed. In no time after his arrest (in 2003) he confessed to the murders and provided all the details, Naveed said. He was produced before the media and he made a confessional statement.

Yet the case collapsed during the trial. Police said the victims families took compensation money raised by religious leaders instead of testifying because of the shame of their daughters immoral profession. A rickshaw driver who used to drive the prostitutes around initially told police he saw Sarwar shooting one of the women, but backed down, apparently under pressure from local clergy in Gujranwala who supported Sarwar.

Eventually Sarwar a father of nine who had been educated at a madrassa in Gujranwala and later taught local children the holy Quran withdrew his confession. His lawyer, Liaqat Sindhu, said he knew that Sarwar was guilty of the killings but that he was acquitted because there was no firm evidence and the case was mishandled.

Psychiatric tests on Sarwar in 2003 showed that he was not deranged. He said he killed the girls after he got divine revelations.

Psychiatric tests on Sarwar in 2003 showed that he was not deranged, said Saud Aziz, who is now police chief of Rawalpindi, near Islamabad. He said he killed the girls after he got divine revelations, he said.

Four years later, the murder of Zill-e-Huma Usman shows how extremism has corrupted Pakistani society, said Iqbal Haider, secretary general of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP). There is no writ of the government, which results in barbaric tragedies like this, said Haider, a former law minister under Benazir Bhutto, the countrys first female prime minister. Our prosecution and our administration is shamelessly incompetent, corrupt and religiously biased.

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India-Pakistan

Women's rights activist minister killed

2007-02-20

A SUSPECTED Islamic militant shot dead a female provincial minister at a political meeting in central Pakistan today because she was not wearing Muslim clothing, officials said. Zill-e Huma, the Punjab province minister for social welfare, was shot in the head at a function in Gujranwala city, provincial law minister Raja Basharat said. "She was shot dead by a fanatic when she was meeting with party workers," he said.

Officials said Huma was known for promoting women's rights. "He killed her because she was not observing the Islamic code of dress. She was also campaigning for emancipation of women," local police officer Nazir Ahmad said. "The suspect is an extremist and he has a history of targeting woman whom he believed to be immoral."

The Government of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has made some progress on women's rights in recent years, as part of the pro-US ruler's policy of "enlightened moderation" designed to tackle extremism. The Government introduced a Bill in Parliament on February 13 seeking to end the forced marriage of women and girls and allowing females to inherit property, officials said.

Gujranwala, some 250km southeast of Islamabad, was hit by riots in April 2005 after police stopped armed Islamic activists from disrupting a mini-marathon involving female competitors.

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