A mother has become the first person to be jailed under Australia’s forced marriage laws, for ordering her daughter to wed a man who would later murder the 21-year-old. The BBC reported on Monday that Sakina Muhammad Jan, who is in her late 40s, was found guilty of coercing Ruqia Haidari to marry 26-year-old Mohammad Ali Halimi in 2019, in exchange for a small payment. Six weeks after the nuptials, Halimi killed his new bride — a crime for which he is now serving a life sentence. On Monday, Jan — who pleaded not guilty — was sentenced to at least a year…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
MAJDAL SHAMS: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday vowed a “severe” response to a strike that killed youths in the annexed Golan Heights, as diplomats raced to contain escalation between Israel and Hezbollah. On a visit to the site of the rocket strike which killed 12 children in the town of Majdal Shams, Netanyahu said: “The state of Israel will not, and cannot, let this pass. Our response will come and it will be severe.” He was greeted by protests during his visit, which came after mourners gathered in the Druze Arab town for the burial of the last victim, 11-year-old…
DHAKA: Bangladeshi students held scattered street protests on Monday after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government ignored an ultimatum to release their leaders and apologise for those killed in deadly unrest. Student rallies against civil service job quotas this month sparked days of violence that killed at least 205 people including several police officers, according to a count of police and hospital data. The clashes were some of the worst of Hasina’s 15-year tenure but her government has since largely restored order by deploying troops, imposing a curfew and shutting down the internet nationwide. At least half a dozen leaders of Students Against Discrimination, the…
TOKYO: The foreign ministers of the United States, Japan, Australia and India on Monday expressed “serious concern” over the situation in the South China Sea in a veiled rebuke to Beijing. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his counterparts in the so-called Quad grouping issued a joint statement calling for a “free and open” Pacific after talks in Tokyo. The statement did not name China directly but referenced a series of recent confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the disputed South China Sea. “We are seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas and reiterate our strong…
Landslides in southern India killed at least 63 people on Tuesday, the office of Kerala state revenue minister K. Rajan told reporters. Rajan’s office added that another 116 people had been injured in the landslides, which struck Wayanad district early Tuesday morning. Images published by the National Disaster Response Force show rescue crews trudging through mud to search for survivors and carry bodies on stretchers out of the area. Homes were caked with brown sludge as the force of the landslide’s impact scattered cars, corrugated iron and other debris around the disaster site. India’s army said it had deployed more…
ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) has reserved the decision on objections filed by PTI candidates over transferring their electoral pleas to a retired judge-led tribunal. IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq reserved the decision on Monday after hearing the petitioners Shoaib Shaheen, Mohammad Ali Bukhari and Amir Masood Mughal, who lost the February 8 general election on National Assembly seats from Islamabad. They had challenged the victories of their opponents in the tribunal led by IHC’s Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri. However, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) moved their petitions to a tribunal headed by a retired judge, which was formed…
ISLAMABAD: After members of a politico-religious outfit attempted to incite people to violence against the country’s chief justice, the federal government on Monday said it would use the full force of law to bring the culprits, including the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) deputy chief, to justice. The threats to the top judge came as the TLP held a series of gatherings last week in various parts of the country against the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Mubarak Sani case, which was recently reviewed by the apex court in light of a plea filed by the Punjab government. During the protest outside…
LAHORE: Lahore High Court Chief Justice Aalia Neelum on Monday dismissed an application of PTI leader Azam Swati seeking transfer of his case from one antiterrorism court to another. At the outset of the hearing, a lawyer for the petitioner contended that the ATC judge had disclosed his bias during the proceedings of his client’s pre-arrest bail in May 9 riot cases. He pointed out that ATC Judge Khalid Arshad had mentioned that police gave him a USB containing videos of the alleged occurrences, and it was concluded that those making speeches were guilty. Chief Justice Neelum asked the counsel…
RAWALPINDI: Heavy rain lashed Rawalpindi and Islamabad, inundating low-lying areas in the garrison city on Monday. Three people, including a girl, lost their lives in rain-related incidents across Rawalpindi. The army and local administration were put on alert to deal with any emergency. The rain started early in the morning and continued till the evening with heavy to moderate intensity. The Leh Nullah rose to 10 feet at Gawalmandi bridge and 12 feet at Kattarian bridge. However, the dangerous level starts at 22 feet and spillover at 30 feet. After the pre-alert situation, the Pakistan Army, local administration, Water and…
KURRAM: Clashes continued in different areas of Kurram district for the sixth consecutive day on Monday despite efforts by a tribal jirga to broker a ceasefire between the rival tribes. Another 14 persons were killed during the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 49, said medical superintendent of the District Headquarters Hospital, Dr Mir Hassan Jan. Kurram deputy commissioner Javedullah Mehsud, however, insisted that the ceasefire was largely holding and efforts were being made to extend the truce and get the high ground positions held by the rival groups vacated. “We have given clear warnings to all those indulging in hostilities to…
