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Hindustan Times
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Pakistan expels staff member of Indian high commission in tit-for-tat move
New Delhi: Pakistan on Thursday responded to India's expulsion of a staffer of the Pakistan high commission in New Delhi on charges of involvement in espionage by expelling a staff member of the Indian mission in Islamabad. These were the second tit-for-tat expulsions in a little more than a week amid heightened tensions between the two countries. Both countries had expelled a staffer each from their missions in each other's capitals on May 13. On Wednesday evening, the Indian government declared a staffer of the Pakistan high commission 'persona non grata' after he was found to be involved in spying, people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity. Pakistan responded at about 2.30 am IST by expelling a staff member of the Indian high commission in Islamabad. A statement from Pakistan's foreign ministry said the government declared the staff member 'persona non grata for engaging in activities inconsistent with his privileged status'. The Indian staff member was directed to leave Pakistan within 24 hours. The Indian chargé d'affaires was called to the foreign ministry to convey the decision. 'It was stressed that none of the diplomats or staff members of the Indian high commission should misuse their privileges and status in any manner,' the foreign ministry said. India too had asked the staffer of the Pakistani mission to leave the country within 24 hours, and the Pakistani chargé d'affaires, Saad Warraich, was issued a demarche on the matter. Warraich was 'asked to strictly ensure that none of the Pakistani diplomats or officials in India misuse their privileges and status'. At least 12 people from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have been arrested over the past fortnight over alleged involvement with a Pakistan-linked espionage ring. Punjab Police announced on May 11 that they had arrested two persons for alleged involvement in espionage activities linked to a Pakistani national posted at the high commission in New Delhi. A day after the Pahalgam terror attack of April 22 that killed 26 civilians, India announced a slew of punitive diplomatic and economic measures against Pakistan, including the expulsion of the three defence attaches posted at the high commission and the whittling down of the total number of diplomatic staff posted in each other's capitals from 55 to 30. Tensions between the two countries spiked after India targeted terrorist infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan on May 7 under Operation Sindoor. After four days of intense armed clashes, the two sides reached an understanding on stopping firing and military action on May 10.
The Print
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Print
In 2nd case this month, India declares another Pakistan High Commission staffer persona non grata
'The Government of India has declared a Pakistani official, working at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, persona non grata for indulging in activities not in keeping with his official status in India,' an MEA statement said. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Wednesday summoned Charge d'Affaires Saad Warraich of the Pakistan High Commission and issued a formal demarche. Warraich was instructed to ensure that all Pakistani diplomats and officials adhere strictly to diplomatic norms and do not misuse their privileges. New Delhi: India declared a Pakistani staffer posted at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi as persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country within 24 hours for his alleged involvement in activities inconsistent with diplomatic status. This incident follows a similar expulsion on 13 May, when another Pakistani staffer, identified as Danish, was removed for allegedly engaging in espionage. Danish was reportedly linked to two individuals arrested in Punjab earlier this month for espionage. According to Punjab Police, the suspects had been leaking sensitive information about Indian Army movements to a Pakistan-based handler in exchange for payments made through online channels. In a 11 May statement, the Punjab Police confirmed that an First Information Report (FIR) had been registered, and efforts were underway to uncover a broader network of local operatives. Authorities described the operation as a key step in dismantling cross-border espionage and reaffirmed their commitment to national security. Investigations will focus on tracking the financial transactions and identifying further links within the network. This incident follows an earlier series of diplomatic reductions after the Pahalgam terror attack, with India expelling Pakistani defence officials and downsizing the High Commission staff from 55 to 30. In a tit-for-tat move, Pakistan responded by cutting back Indian diplomatic presence in Islamabad. (Edited by Tony Rai) Also Read: As India downgrades diplomatic ties with Pakistan, here's how their foreign missions are staffed
Express Tribune
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Roads reopen as canals sit-ins called off
Cargo trucks ply on the National Highway near Babarlo late on Tuesday after the lawyers ended their anti-canals sit-in. Photo: Express Listen to article The legal practitioners, who spent 12 days in a sit-in camp at the Babarloi area of Sindh's Khairpur district, and triggered still wider sit-in demonstrations across the province against the building of six new canals on the River Indus as well as corporate farming, have called it a day. The anticipated development came about on Tuesday evening in consequence of the Council of Common Interests' (CCI) declaration of mothballing the controversial irrigation project and after a meeting with Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar in Sukkur. "In view of the positive government response and the prevailing tense situation [on the border], our action committee has decided to end the Babarloi protest," announced advocate Amir Nawaz Warraich, the president of the Karachi Bar Association. He was flanked by Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) President Barrister Sarfaraz Ali Metlo and other lawyers at the camp. Warraich acknowledged that only one of their two demandsthe dropping of the canals projecthad been accepted, and that they had given a specific time to the Sindh government to come clear on the farming plan. According to him, the home minister had claimed that the blame on the PPP's provincial government for allotting 14,000 acres of land for corporate farming was unfounded. Lanjar has promised to share the relevant revenue record with the lawyers' action committee by May 6 or 7. Warraich said the committee would review all the documents and hold its meeting on May 13 following which they expect to sort this problem out with the government. "Our biggest demand concerned the six canals which the federal government has accepted by closing the project," the KBA's president claimed. "Our second issue was about corporate farming," he said. He maintained that the lawyers bluntly told the provincial minister that they wanted the government to cancel the farming plan as well. Warraich said they had also asked the Sindh government to withdraw all the First Information Reports (FIRs) registered against the lawyers and other protesters who had taken part in their demonstrations. The Sindh police, meanwhile, have also been told to recover the objects and vehicles stolen during the sit-ins. "Our stance against corporate farming is firm," SHCBA President Metlo said. "We won't let this project be executed in Sindh." He added that the lawyers wanted to see the province's land distributed among small farmers and peasants who owned 25 acres or less agricultural land. He acknowledged that the stand-off with the neighbouring country was also a problem and said the sons and daughters of Sindh would never tolerate the fact that a country for whose freedom their forefathers had struggled and given sacrifices for faced such threats. On Tuesday morning, the lawyers action committee announced that all the sit-in protests on the National, Indus and Mehran highways were being ended except their central sit-in at Babarloi. They said a meeting with Lanjar was scheduled in the afternoon in Sukkur after which the legal fraternity would decide about quitting or continuing the Babarloi protest. Later, a delegation led by advocates Ayaz Hussain Tunio and Qurban Malano met Lanjar in Sukkur. At a press conference, the home minister defended the CCI's decision, refuting the critics who argue that the declaration suggested postponement and not cancellation of the canal project. "They should know that without the CCI's approval no project can go ahead," he said. He urged the lawyers to end the sit-in and assured them that the government would clarify its position with regard to the farming. Lanjar said he was hopeful that the lawyers would consider his request. The minister also defended the PPP and said the ruling party in SIndh and its leadership were being unjustifiably criticized for tacitly supporting the canals.
Hans India
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Pakistan: Lawyers declare indefinite court boycott against Indus canals project
Islamabad: The lawyers' association in Pakistan has called for an indefinite boycott of the courts as it continues to stage a sit-in protest against the canal project of the federal government on the Indus River. The office bearers of the Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) and Karachi Bar Association (KBA), leading the sit-in protest on the National Highway in Babarloi town of Khairpur district last week, announced this decision on Monday, local media reported. Addressing the media, KBA's President Advocate Amir Nawaz Warraich said that a meeting of the representatives of all bar associations in Sindh has decided to widen the sphere of their sit-in protest by boycotting the courts. They further threatened to block railway tracks if the federal government failed to shelve the canal project within 72 hours, the leading Pakistani daily, The Express Tribune, reported. "We have also jointly decided that if the federal government does not notify cancellation of the canals project within 72 hours, we will demand that the Pakistan Peoples Party leave the government," Warraich said. "An impression is being given that only the lawyers have been protesting in Sindh. To negate it, the doctors will observe a day-long strike across Sindh after one or two days," he added. Meanwhile, in an interview with a local news channel, SHCBA Hyderabad's President Advocate Ayaz Hussain Tunio said that after the 72-hour deadline, the blockade of the railway tracks will start from Rohri, Sukkur district. He stated that the meeting discussed that the interprovincial traffic, which is finding some routes in the province, needs to be closed. Raising concerns, he added that their camp at Babarloi has not been provided adequate security, warning that in the event of any untoward incident, Pakistan's police DIG of Sukkur district and SSP of Khairpur will be held responsible. Meanwhile, in response to the Sindh Bar Council's call for protest against canals, several lawyers did not appear in the Larkana circuit bench of the Sindh High Court and lower courts. They said that their colleagues' sit-in at Babarloi bypass would continue till the government shelved the project. The protest against the construction of the six canals on the Indus River was also witnessed in the medical institutes of Pakistan. The students of Chandka Medical College (CMC), under the flag of the all-parties students' action committee, held a demonstration on the college premises against the canals, demanding that the government withdraw the plan, the leading Pakistani newspaper, Dawn reported. Addressing journalists, they said that the canal project was aimed at destroying Sindh's fertile land, striking at its economic resources, disrupting the ecosystem, and affecting the Indus Delta and the civilisation. Furthermore, the members of the Pakistan Paramedical Staff Association also staged a demonstration against the canals at the CMC Children's Hospital. The protesters said that it was a conspiracy and that their organisation would not allow it to succeed. They further added it would be unwise to go ahead with such a project that would irrigate the desert land in Cholistan at the cost of rendering thousands of acres of fertile land in Sindh barren.
Express Tribune
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Lawyers announce long march against new canals, PECA tweaks
Lawyer associations across Sindh have announced a long march against the construction of six new canals on the Indus River, the 26th Constitutional Amendment, and the controversial PECA Act. The protest will begin today (April 17) with a rally from the Sindh High Court to Baberlo Bypass in Sukkur, where a 24-hour sit-in will be held. At a joint press conference in City Court, leaders from various bar associations-including Karachi, Hyderabad, Malir, and Jamshoro-voiced grave concerns about the unchecked construction of canals, which they say will deprive Sindh of water and devastate agriculture. Karachi Bar Association President Amir Nawaz Warraich said the entire province stands against these projects, which are proceeding without consultation or consent. Warraich warned that Sindh may soon face severe water shortages, and even basic water access may become unaffordable. In Karachi, a water tanker available for Rs6,000 will not be availabale for even Rs30,000. People must realise the gravity of the situation and rise up to protect their rights. Despite threats and attempts at intimidation, he said, the legal community remains resolute. "Our protest is peaceful, and we stand with the people," he stated. Other leaders, including Faheem Anar (Jamshoro), Ashraf Khokhar (Hyderabad), and Ayaz Chandio (Malir), echoed similar sentiments, rejecting the 26th Amendment and the PECA Act, which they believe endanger press freedom and democracy. They also criticized corporate farming, alleging that land is being unfairly transferred and water resources are being misappropriated. The lawyers have demanded immediate reversal of these policies and warned that protests will continue until their demands are met. All bar associations across Sindh have pledged unity and participation in the long march. Waraich said that after the implementation of the PECA Act, freedom of expression will come to an end, and the media will be reduced to nothing more than state-run PTV. The government's only response to dissent is to shut it down. Referring to the case of a journalist arrested under the PECA Act, he added that they did not wish to pursue any further action after witnessing what happened with the session judge involved in that case.
