Pakistan says it has ‘credible intelligence' India will attack within days
Pakistani national Sara Khan, left, married to Indian citizen Aurangzeb Khan, right, holding their children prepares to leave for Pakistan without her husband from the Attari-Wagah border between India and Pakistan, following New Delhi's decision to order almost all Pakistani citizens to leave the country after last week's deadly attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Prabhjot Gill)
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Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Istanbul mayor boycotts court hearing in one of many cases that could see him banned from politics
ISTANBUL (AP) — Istanbul's imprisoned opposition Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and his lawyers boycotted a court hearing Thursday, claiming a late change of venue was 'unlawful.' Thursday's case, which was over comments Imamoglu made over the prosecution of other officials from his Republican People's Party, or CHP, is one of numerous criminal allegations Imamoglu faces. The mayor was arrested in March alongside other prominent politicians as part of investigations into alleged corruption and terror links. His arrest triggered the largest street protests Turkey has seen in more than a decade. A conviction in any of the cases could see Imamoglu banned from holding or running for public office. Imamoglu is regarded as the main challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan 's 22-year rule and was officially nominated as his party's presidential candidate following his imprisonment. Turkey's next election is due in 2028 but could come sooner. In a statement, the CHP said neither Imamoglu nor his legal team would attend Thursday's hearing due to a change in venue through 'unlawful procedures.' Imamoglu, in a post from jail, described the hearing as 'irregular' and said it 'does not comply with the principles of the trial. I refuse to be a part of such a process and therefore I will not attend this hearing.' CHP Istanbul Provincial Chairman Ozgur Celik posted on X that the hearing had been moved from Caglayan courthouse in central Istanbul to Silivri prison 24 hours beforehand. Imamoglu is being held at the prison, west of Istanbul. Prosecutors have requested a prison sentence of two to four years and a political ban on charges of 'attempting to influence' an expert witness in the case. The hearing was adjourned to Sept. 26. Officials from CHP-controlled municipalities have faced waves of arrests this year. Many people in Turkey consider the cases to be politically driven, according to opinion polls. Erdogan's government insists the courts are impartial and free from political involvement.
Global News
3 hours ago
- Global News
Indian agent had Jagmeet Singh under close surveillance
A suspected Indian government agent had Jagmeet Singh under close surveillance, prompting the RCMP to place the New Democratic Party leader in police protection 18 months ago, sources have told Global News. The agent, who is allegedly tied to activities directed by the Indian government, had access to intimate knowledge of Singh's daily routines, travel and family, according to the sources familiar with the matter. He was also described by the sources as associated with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, which the Indian government has been accused of using to commit violence in Canada. Police notified Singh about a credible risk to his life in late 2023 and put tight security around him and his homes. Singh revealed during the 2025 federal election that he had been under police protection. But no details of the investigation have been publicly disclosed until now, and Singh has said the RCMP never told him who was behind the threat, although 'the implication was a foreign government.' Police responded to the threat at the time and Singh is no longer considered to be in imminent danger. Singh lost his seat in the 2025 federal election and has stepped down as NDP leader. The allegation that a suspected Indian agent was gathering information about the day-to-day movements of a federal party leader will likely raise new questions about foreign interference. View image in full screen NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh steps off campaign plane as member of his RCMP security detail stands by in Winnipeg, April 23, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck. Singh did not respond to requests for comment through an intermediary. Global News is not identifying the multiple sources with knowledge of the investigation who spoke on condition they would not be named. Advertisement The Indian High Commission in Ottawa has not responded to questions about the allegations. The RCMP said it does not discuss 'protective measures, nor confirm individuals who may be designated to receive protection.' 'The security environment in which public figures operate is constantly evolving, and the RCMP takes all threats against public officials seriously,' spokesperson Marie-Eve Breton said on Wednesday. The reasons police became concerned about Singh's safety a year-and-a-half ago have emerged as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Canada on the weekend. With President Donald Trump in the White House, Prime Minister Mark Carney has said he wants to diversify Canada's trading relationships and has invited Modi to the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alta. But the decision has faced criticism because New Delhi is still not cooperating with RCMP investigations into India's suspected involvement in the 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, among other violent crimes. RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme held a news conference last October to announce that investigators had found evidence linking 'agents of the government of India to homicides and violent acts' across the country. Police said India was collecting information on potential victims in Canada and using the Lawrence Bishnoi crime group, and similar drug and extortion outfits, to target them. They also said 'well over a dozen credible and imminent threats to life' had led them to issue warnings to members of the South Asian community, specifically those active in the pro-Khalistan movement. Singh told reporters in April that police had advised him in the winter of 2023 that his life could be in danger. They did not tell him who was behind the threat but he said the implication was that it was a foreign government. He said he stayed in his basement, avoided windows and considered quitting politics over fears about his family's safety. He decided to carry on but was forced to lead the NDP for a period under police protection. 2:28 Evidence links violent crimes in Canada to Indian government A lawyer who became federal NDP leader in 2017, Singh has angered India by pressing the Canadian government to take a harder line against Modi's government over its problematic human rights record. Indian press reports have wrongly labelled Singh a supporter of anti-India 'terrorists' and reported that the intelligence agency that works for Modi's office had prepared dossiers on him. Under Modi, New Delhi has amped up its claims that Canada has not done enough to counter the Khalistan movement that seeks independence for India's Sikh-majority Punjab. It has also meddled in all levels of Canadian politics and now ranks as the 'second most active country engaging in electoral foreign interference in Canada,' according to the Hogue Commission. With the murder of Nijjar, however, India has allegedly taken its grievances against Canada to another level. A Sikh temple leader, Nijjar was leading a referendum campaign on Khalistan independence when he was gunned down. Then-prime minister Justin Trudeau told the House of Commons in September 2023 that investigators were probing the involvement of Indian government agents. Police believe India used gang members to carry out the killing. Sources have told Global News that Modi's right-hand man Amit Shah allegedly approved the operation. India has denied that. Canada later expelled six Indian diplomats and consular officials for allegedly collecting information on Canadians of Indian descent that was fed back to intelligence officers in New Delhi and used to direct attacks. View image in full screen NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh speaks at campaign rally in Winnipeg, April 23, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck. The alleged surveillance of Singh is not unprecedented. Before Nijjar was killed, he told a close friend that a tracking device had been found on his pickup truck when he was having it serviced. Advertisement 'He told me this personally,' said Moninder Singh, the spokesperson for the Sikh Federation who is also among those police have warned about threats to their lives. Nijjar was shot dead inside the same vehicle outside Surrey's Guru Nanak Sikh Temple. Moninder Singh said he did not know whether agents had followed him too. 'I've had multiple warnings but have never been told or known if I was under surveillance, but I would think I would be and do live my life as though I am,' he said. 'There's no other way.' As someone living under threat, he said Modi's visit to Canada had added 'insult to injury.' After Modi said he would attend the G7, Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal said his constituents had told him that inviting the Indian prime minster was sending the wrong message. Carney has said that Modi agreed to 'continued law enforcement dialogue and discussions addressing security concerns' and that countering foreign interference was high on the summit agenda. 2:24 Carney lays out G7 priorities, faces criticism over Modi invite But a Canadian Sikh coalition wrote to MPs this week to voice their 'anger and sense of betrayal' over Carney's decision to extend an invitation to the leader of a government that has not yet been held to account for Nijjar's killing. 'His death was not an isolated act but part of a coordinated campaign of transnational repression that continues to violate Canadian sovereignty to this day,' the four Sikh organizations wrote. 'To extend an invitation to the architect of these policies who proudly boasts that India 'enters the homes of its enemies and kills them,' without any public commitment to justice or accountability, undermines the very principles Canada claims to uphold.' The letter was signed by the leaders of the World Sikh Organization of Canada, Sikh Federation of B.C., Ontario Gurdwara's Committee and Quebec Sikh Council. The groups are holding a news conference on Parliament Hill on Thursday.
Winnipeg Free Press
6 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
45 minutes to pack up a lifetime as Pakistan's foreigner crackdown sends Afghans scrambling
TORKHAM, Afghanistan (AP) — The order was clear and indisputable, the timeline startling. You have 45 minutes to pack up and leave Pakistan forever. Sher Khan, a 42-year-old Afghan, had returned home from his job in a brick factory. He stared at the plainclothes policeman on the doorstep, his mind reeling. How could he pack up his whole life and leave the country of his birth in under an hour? In the blink of an eye, the life he had built was taken away from him. He and his wife grabbed a few kitchen items and whatever clothes they could for themselves and their nine children. They left everything else behind at their home in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. Born in Pakistan to parents who fled the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the ensuing war, Khan is one of hundreds of thousands of Afghans who have now been expelled. The nationwide crackdown, launched in October 2023, on foreigners Pakistan says are living in the country illegally has led to the departures of almost 1 million Afghans already. Pakistan says millions more remain. It wants them gone. Leaving with nothing to beat a deadline 'All our belongings were left behind,' Khan said as he stood in a dusty, windswept refugee camp just across the Afghan border in Torkham, the first stop for expelled refugees. 'We tried so hard (over the years) to collect the things that we had with honor.' Pakistan set several deadlines earlier this year for Afghans to leave or face deportation. Afghan Citizen Card holders had to leave the capital Islamabad and Rawalpindi city by March 31, while those with Proof of Registration could stay until June 30. No specific deadlines were set for Afghans living elsewhere in Pakistan. Khan feared that delaying his departure beyond the deadline might have resulted in his wife and children being hauled off to a police station along with him a blow to his family's dignity. 'We are happy that we came (to Afghanistan) with modesty and honor,' he said. As for his lost belongings, 'God may provide for them here, as He did there.' A refugee influx in a struggling country At the Torkham camp, run by Afghanistan's Taliban government, each family receives a SIM card and 10,000 Afghanis ($145) in aid. They can spend up to three days there before having to move on. The camp's director, Molvi Hashim Maiwandwal, said some 150 families were arriving daily from Pakistan — far fewer than the roughly 1,200 families who were arriving about two months ago. But he said another surge was expected after the three-day Islamic holiday of Eid Al-Adha that started June 7. Aid organizations inside the camp help with basic needs, including healthcare. Local charity Aseel provides hygiene kits and helps with food. It has also set up a food package delivery system for families once they arrive at their final destination elsewhere in Afghanistan. Aseel's Najibullah Ghiasi said they expected a surge in arrivals 'by a significant number' after Eid. 'We cannot handle all of them, because the number is so huge,' he said, adding the organization was trying to boost fundraising so it could support more people. Pakistan blames Afghanistan for militancy Pakistan accuses Afghans of staging militant attacks inside the country, saying assaults are planned from across the border — a charge Kabul's Taliban government denies. Pakistan denies targeting Afghans, and maintains that everyone leaving the country is treated humanely and with dignity. But for many, there is little that is humane about being forced to pack up and leave in minutes or hours. Iran, too, has been expelling Afghans, with the UNHCR, the UN's refugee agency, saying on June 5 that 500,000 Afghans had been forced to leave Iran and Pakistan in the two months since April 1. Rights groups and aid agencies say authorities are pressuring Afghans into going sooner. In April, Human Rights Watch said police had raided houses, beaten and arbitrarily detained people, and confiscated refugee documents, including residence permits. Officers demanded bribes to allow Afghans to remain in Pakistan, the group added. Searching for hope while starting again Fifty-year-old Yar Mohammad lived in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir for nearly 45 years. The father of 12 built a successful business polishing floors, hiring several workers. Plainclothes policemen knocked on his door too. They gave him six hours to leave. 'No way a person can wrap up so much business in six hours, especially if they spent 45 years in one place,' he said. Friends rushed to his aid to help pack up anything they could: the company's floor-polishing machines, some tables, bed-frames and mattresses, and clothes. Now all his household belongings are crammed into orange tents in the Torkham refugee camp, his hard-earned floor-polishing machines outside and exposed to the elements. After three days of searching, he managed to find a place to rent in Kabul. 'I have no idea what we will do,' he said, adding that he would try to recreate his floor-polishing business in Afghanistan. 'If this works here, it is the best thing to do.'
