MALE: India’s foreign minister called for stronger ties with the Maldives on Saturday, on his first trip to the archipelago nation since its pro-China president expelled Indian troops. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said he was “committed to deepen India-Maldives ties”, after meeting President Mohamed Muizzu in Male on Saturday. Jaishankar earlier said he was in the Maldives to “take stock of our defence and security engagement”, months after Muizzu’s administration signed a military assistance pact with Beijing. Known as a luxury holiday destination with pristine white sand beaches and secluded resorts, the atoll nation has also become a geopolitical hotspot. India is suspicious of China’s growing…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
LONDON: Thousands of anti-racism demonstrators rallied across the UK on Saturday to protest recent rioting blamed on the far-right in the wake of the Southport knife attack that killed three children. Crowds massed in London, Glasgow, Belfast, Manchester and numerous other towns and cities, as fears of violent confrontations with anti-immigration agitators failed to materialise. It followed a similar situation unfolding on Wednesday night when anticipated far-right rallies up and down the country were instead replaced by gatherings organised by the Stand Up To Racism advocacy group. More than a dozen places across England as well as Belfast had been hit by unrest prior to that, following the…
BAGHDAD: Iraq’s top cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani warned on Saturday of the risk of a regional escalation with potentially “catastrophic consequences” following the killing of two Iran-backed leaders. Sistani also urged an end to the “genocidal war” in Gaza, where the civil defence agency said an Israeli air strike on Saturday on a school housing displaced Palestinians killed more than 90 people. “Once again, the Israeli occupation army has committed a huge massacre […] adding to its series of ongoing crimes” in Gaza, Sistani said in a rare statement since the start of the 10-month-old conflict. The recent high-profile killings of two…
WASHINGTON: Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris now leads former President Donald Trump in three crucial battleground states, according to new polls published on Saturday, apparently eroding the advantage the former president has enjoyed there over the past year. The polls of likely voters by The New York Times and Siena College showed Democratic presidential candidate Harris leading her Republican rival Trump by an identical 50 per cent to 46pc margin in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Under the US Electoral College voting system, those three populous Midwestern states are considered key to victory for either party. Harris’s apparent lead is within the…
ISLAMABAD: The UN Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination has praised Pakistan for the upgraded “A” status of its flagship human rights body. The remarks were made by Yeung Kam John Yeung Sik Yuen, the country rapporteur for Pakistan, on Friday during a meeting of the UN committee, which concluded its periodic review of the human rights situation in Pakistan. Mr Yuen said the committee had received a report from the National Commission for Human Rights, informing that earlier this year it had been accredited with an “A” status by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions. He congratulated…
DHAKA: Bangladesh’s chief justice and central bank governor have resigned, officials said on Saturday, as student protests that forced Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to flee have widened to target more officials appointed during her time in office. Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan resigned, law ministry’s adviser Asif Nazrul said in a Facebook video post, after students warned him of “dire consequences” if he did not. “It’s not possible anymore for me to perform the duty,” Obaidul Hassan said in a statement. “Therefore, I have decided to resign.” Appointed last year, Hassan earlier oversaw a much-criticised war crimes tribunal that ordered the execution of…
LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court on Saturday issued bailable arrest warrants for Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf social media activist Sanam Javed for skipping the hearing of a May 9 case against her. ATC Judge Khalid Arshad conducted a jail trial of the Shadman police station attack case against different leaders and workers of the PTI. Sanam and former MNA Rubina Jamil, who have been released on bail, did not appear before the court in jail. The judge issued bailable arrest warrants for both women, however, withdrew the warrants for Ms Jamil after she appeared before the court. Separately, the judge dismissed pre-arrest bail petitions of PTI MPAs Hafiz…
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has been struggling to end backlog as over 16,000 cases are still pending before it, despite managing to dispose of over 8,000 cases in seven months. According to the statistics available at the court’s website, 7,839 cases were filed and 8,295 cases were disposed of from January to July 2024. With a pendency of 16,400 cases, this disposal means the backlog is not going to be abridged. Legal experts expressed apprehension about piling up of the pendency. From January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023, IHC judges had disposed of 11,170 cases. The disposal…
ISLAMABAD: In a renewed effort to eradicate polio, stakeholders have reaffirmed their commitment to intensify immunisation efforts and ensure that no child is left unvaccinated, reinforcing their collective resolve to make Pakistan a polio-free nation. This commitment was made during a meeting of the national polio management team, convened by the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) for Polio Eradication, whilst 14 cases of the crippling disease have been reported this year so far. The session, chaired by Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Polio Eradication Ayesha Raza Farooq, brought together key stakeholders including national and provincial coordinators, the core team, Dr Zafar…
