Convoy of Pak President's daughter blocked amid canal project protests in Sindh
In a video of the incident, protestors could be seen striking the vehicles in Aseefa Zardari's convoy with their hands and batons, prompting local security agencies to swiftly swing into action and keep the MNA out of harm's way.The convoy was halted for less than a minute as Aseefa Zardari managed to escape unhurt, SSP Jamshoro Zafar Siddiq said, and promised stern action against the miscreants.The incident came against the backdrop of the ongoing protests in Sindh against corporate farming and the construction of canals in Punjab, as protesters allege that this is an attempt to divert the river Sindh.advertisementRecently, two people were killed as police opened fire on protesters, angering the people, which resulted in violent protests, the report added.This came as Sindh protesters attacked the house of a minister belonging to the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), blaming Punjab's domination for their water woes.Sindh and Punjab are two of Pakistan's four provinces. Inhabitants of Sindh have held Punjab, which is the power centre of both the civilian and military establishments, responsible for putting it lower on the priority list.
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Hindustan Times
8 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Rajasthan Police arrests suspects for plotting I-Day attack in Delhi, linked to Lawrence Bishnoi gang
The Rajasthan Police announced the arrest of three persons allegedly linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, along with detaining three minors for allegedly planning to carry out terror strikes in Delhi and Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior on Independence Day. The arrested persons have been identified as Jitendra Chaudhary, a native of Tonk, Sanjay, a native of Hanumangarh district, and Sonu alias Kali, from Kapurthala, Punjab.(AI Generated/ Representative) The arrested persons have been identified as Jitendra Chaudhary, a native of Tonk, Sanjay, a native of Hanumangarh district, and Sonu alias Kali, from Kapurthala, Punjab. According to the additional crime branch director general of police (ADGP) Dinesh MN, quoted in an Indian Express report, the three accused were arrested from Jaipur and Tonk districts last week and handed over to the Punjab Police's Amritsar Special Operation Cell. The accused were wanted in connection with a July 7 blast in Nawanshahr, Punjab. He also said that three minors were also detained during the operation. The ADGP informed that the three had thrown a grenade in front of a liquor shop in Punjab's Nawanshahr and fled to Rajasthan. The motive behind the grenade attack was to spread terror and extort money. A case was filed under Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) sections 49 (abetment outside India for offence in India), 55 (abetment of offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life), 61 (2) (Criminal conspiracy), as well as sections of the Arms Act by the Punjab police. Following the Nawanshahr blast, a team led by the additional superintendent of police (ASP), Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) Siddhant Sharma, went to Jaipur Range and Ajmer Range. 'The team concealed its identity and, without caring for their lives, worked hard to collect intelligence about the wanted and arrested them on August 10,' the ADG told the media. The connection to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang The accused were interrogated upon their arrest, and the police uncovered their alleged ties to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. According to the police, their handler is Zeeshan Akhtar, the alleged mastermind of the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddiqui in Mumbai. Zeeshan reportedly lives in Canada and was connected to the three accused through social media. ADGP Dinesh MN also said that Zeeshan Akhtar, Pakistani gangster Shahzad Bhatti, Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist Manu Agwan and Gopi Nawanshahria are all allegedly connected with each other. 'They carry out criminal activities in different parts of the country and contact local youth by luring them with money to commit the crime. The accused in the present case are connected with Zeeshan Akhtar through Instagram and other online apps. Zeeshan Akhtar had also provided grenades to the accused for the Nawanshahr blast. He used to give instructions to them through online applications. He had also instructed them to carry out blasts in Delhi and Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, on Independence Day, August 15,' the ADG said. Mumbai police had said in June that Zeeshan Akhtar had been detained in Canada. However, there has been little clarity on the case or Akhtar's whereabouts since then.
News18
an hour ago
- News18
Gilgit-Baltistan: A New Uprising In Pakistan's ‘Last Colony' Against Oppressive Rule
Last Updated: For decades, GB has sought autonomy, political representation, and development aligned with local needs and ambitions, but has faced growing neglect and exploitation from Pakistan A fresh wave of resistance against the Pakistani state's illegal occupation of the region is being witnessed in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB). The local traders and business community of GB have launched a movement to oppose trade and travel between Pakistan and China via the Khunjerab Pass. This latest protest is the outcome of the relentlessly exploitative economic and political conditions imposed on GB by the Pakistani state. The protest by the traders has come close on the heels of a mass movement by the local residents of GB against the controversial Land Reforms Act, 2025, passed on May 21. For the last four weeks, traders have been continuing with a sit-in at the Karakoram Highway, bringing the region to a standstill. They are demanding recognition of local interests by Islamabad as well as its accountability. To understand GB's tumultuous relationship with Islamabad, it is important to look at the history of this asymmetric and oppressive power dynamic, which continues to disenfranchise, marginalise, and politically erase the identity, aspirations, and future of the people of this region. According to the US-based Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), Pakistan has treated GB more as a colony rather than as part of the federation. 'The region has long been regarded by Pakistan not as a cherished part of the federation, but as a distant and burdensome periphery. Successive governments have turned a blind eye to the fundamental needs of the humble inhabitants of Gilgit-Baltistan, relegating the region to an ad hoc governance framework administered from afar—governed not by participatory laws, but by decrees handed down from Islamabad," says a recent MEMRI report. The origins of this injustice lie in the 1949 Karachi Agreement. Under this 'agreement", the control of GB (then called Northern Areas) was transferred from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) to Islamabad without any representative from the region. Since then, Islamabad has directly ruled GB through the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs, using the draconian colonial-era Frontier Crimes Regulation. Its constitutional status remains in limbo as Pakistan has tried to use it to build another false narrative by linking it to the resolution of the Kashmir issue with India. But to deal with growing frustration among the local residents, it introduced limited self-governance reforms to the region, renaming it 'Gilgit and Baltistan' in 2009. However, this move was exposed as hollow; right from the beginning, the GB assembly was systematically populated by 'compliant figureheads or puppets, rather than leaders who dared to interpret their roles with independence and purpose," as emphasised in the MEMRI analysis. For decades, GB has sought autonomy, political representation, and development aligned with local needs and aspirations, but instead has faced growing neglect and exploitative policies from Pakistan. The Pakistani magazine Herald once described Gilgit-Baltistan as Pakistan's 'last colony", a phrase that aptly reflects Islamabad's governing attitude toward the region. Very recently, GB was engulfed in massive demonstrations against the forcibly passed Land Reforms Act, 2025. This legislation was opposed by the people, as it would enable land grabs by Punjabi landlords and the Pakistani military, displace the local population, and exploit natural resources. This law would also intensify military control. As GB is the only region under Pakistan's occupation that has a Shia and Ismaili majority, Islamabad has also undertaken a systematic campaign of altering the demography by opening up the region to outsiders. Now, fed up with increasing federal taxes and deliberate obstacles to local trade, GB traders—backed by a host of local political parties and religious groups—have sustained a resilient sit-in at Sost. This powerful show of solidarity and demand for justice compelled Chief Minister Haji Gulbar Khan and Governor Mehdi Shah to seek federal intervention, leading to the formation of a federal committee to make recommendations for the issue's resolution. The protestors' demands are simple: exemption from income, sales, and other federal taxes on commodities imported from China through the Khunjerab Pass—deemed illegal by traders considering GB's lack of constitutional status—and urgent customs clearance for 280 consignments stuck at Sost Dry Port under a one-time amnesty scheme. Ironically, while Gilgit-Baltistan is considered to be geographically very significant for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Islamabad's treatment of local traders sends a clear message that it is least bothered about the interests of the local population and is only interested in exploiting the strategic position and resources of the region. All routes connecting Pakistan to China, including the critical Karakoram Highway, pass through GB, which should ideally have brought more economic opportunities for the local population. However, in contrast, it has resulted in increased Chinese military presence. This reinforces the fact that Pakistan follows the template of exploiting the region while keeping the people underdeveloped. If the locals dare to express their aspirations, they are handled brutally by the Pakistani military and its death squads. Therefore, the traders' blockade in GB represents more than an economic conflict—it is the roar of a voice silenced for decades from a region long suffering under the thumb of Islamabad's colonial and oppressive policies. The writer is an author and columnist. His X handle is @ArunAnandLive. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18's views. Click here to add News18 as your preferred news source on Google. tags : China Kashmir pakistan view comments Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: August 16, 2025, 22:02 IST News opinion Global Watch | Gilgit-Baltistan: A New Uprising In Pakistan's 'Last Colony' Against Oppressive Rule Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. 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Time of India
6 hours ago
- Time of India
Pakistan Dy PM Ishaq Dar to visit UK from Aug 17
Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar will hold meetings with his British counterpart Angela Rayner and others to discuss bilateral issues during his official visit to the United Kingdom from August 17 to 19, it was announced on Saturday. Dar, who is also the Foreign Minister, would hold meetings with the UK Deputy Prime Minister Rayner, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pakistan, Hamish Falconer, in addition to a breakfast meeting with the Commonwealth Secretary-General , Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Foreign Office said in a statement here. The deputy prime minister will also inaugurate a Punjab Land Record Authority 's project, piloted at the Pakistan High Commission, London. The initiative aims to assist members of the diaspora in resolving land documentation issues in Pakistan remotely. Additionally, Dar will engage with British Parliamentarians, Kashmiri leaders, and representatives of the British-Pakistani community. Pakistan and UK enjoy close ties, featuring regular high-level visits and strong institutional linkages. The two countries have been engaged in Enhanced Strategic Dialogue since 2011, which has deepened and broadened the dialogue between them on issues related to trade, economic growth and development, cultural cooperation, security, and education. Live Events Earlier this month, Pakistan and the UK pledged to deepen their partnership across key sectors, with a renewed focus on defence cooperation and strategic dialogue, during high-level talks in Rawalpindi.
