Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Mass rally in Karachi to oust Imran Khan

TO OUST prime minister Imran Khan opposition supporters have staged a mass rally in Pakistan's largest city of Karachi.

During the mass demonstration on Sunday(18) they accuse Khan of being installed by the military in a rigged election two years ago.


The campaign in Karachi was the second in three days launched by Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), formed last month by nine major opposition parties to begin a nationwide agitation against the government.

Under Khan, Pakistan has experienced mounting censorship of the media and a crackdown on dissent, said critics and opposition.

The huge protest sought to tap into discontent over his handling of the economy, which was tanking even before the global coronavirus pandemic struck.

"You've snatched jobs from people. You have snatched two-time a day food from the people," Maryam Nawaz, the daughter and political heir of the former three-time premier Nawaz Sharif, told the rally.

In the early hours of Monday(19), police snatched her husband, arresting Muhammad Safdar following complaints from Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party that he had raised political slogans at the mausoleum of Pakistan's founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, an action deemed illegal.

“Police broke my room door at the hotel I was staying at in Karachi and arrested Capt. Safdar,” Nawaz tweeted on Monday morning. A spokesman of the provincial government said police had not acted on their orders.

During Sunday's rally she had shared the platform with Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, whose late mother Benazir Bhutto was also prime minister two times.

"Our farmers have hunger in their homes... our youth is disappointed," said Zardari, whose Pakistan People's Party governs the southern city of Karachi.

The message struck a chord with their supporters, in a country now suffering double digit inflation and negative economic growth.

"Inflation has broken the back of poor citizens forcing many to beg to feed their children," said Faqeer Baloch, 63, at the Karachi rally.

"It is high time that this government should go now," he said as the crowd chanted, "Go Imran go!"

The next general election is scheduled for 2023.

On Friday(16), the opposition held a mass rally in Gujranwala, a city in the eastern province of Punjab, a stronghold for Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (N).

Addressing the rally via video link from London, Nawaz Sharif accused army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa of rigging the 2018 elections and orchestrating his ouster in 2017, saying the corruption charges brought against him were concocted.

The military, which denies meddling in politics, has yet to respond specifically to Sharif's accusations. Khan, who denies the army helped him win, has defended the military and on Saturday threatened a fresh crackdown on opposition leaders.

More For You

Sir Sajid Javid leads commission 'tackling social divisions'

Sir Sajid Javid (Photo by Tom Nicholson-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Sir Sajid Javid leads commission 'tackling social divisions'

A cross-party group has been formed to tackle the deep divisions that sparked last summer's riots across England. The new commission will be led by former Tory minister Sir Sajid Javid and ex-Labour MP Jon Cruddas.

The Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion has backing from both prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch. It brings together 19 experts from different political parties and walks of life.

Keep ReadingShow less
​Masum

Masum was seen on CCTV trying to steer the pram away and, when she refused to go with him, stabbed her multiple times before walking away and boarding a bus. (Photo: West Yorkshire Police)

West Yorkshire Police

Habibur Masum convicted of murdering estranged wife in front of baby

A MAN who stabbed his estranged wife to death in Bradford in front of their baby has been convicted of murder.

Habibur Masum, 26, attacked 27-year-old Kulsuma Akter in broad daylight on April 6, 2024, stabbing her more than 25 times while she pushed their seven-month-old son in a pram. The baby was not harmed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India flight crash
Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft, operating flight AI-171 to London Gatwick, crashed into a medical hostel complex shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12.
Getty Images

India declines UN investigator’s participation in Air India crash probe: Report

INDIA has declined a request from the United Nations aviation agency to allow one of its investigators to observe the probe into the Air India crash that killed 260 people in Ahmedabad on June 12, Reuters reported, citing two senior sources familiar with the matter.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) had offered to provide assistance by sending one of its investigators, following the crash of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner earlier this month. It was an unusual move, as ICAO typically deploys investigators only upon request from the country leading the investigation.

Keep ReadingShow less
Anna Wintour

Wintour’s style of leadership earned her the nickname “Nuclear Wintour”

Getty Images

Anna Wintour steps down as editor of US Vogue after 37 years

Key points

  • Anna Wintour steps down as editor of US Vogue after 37 years
  • She will remain Vogue’s global editorial director and hold senior roles at Condé Nast
  • Wintour transformed US Vogue into a global fashion authority
  • The 75-year-old has received numerous honours, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom

End of an era at US Vogue

Anna Wintour has stepped down as the editor of US Vogue, bringing to a close a 37-year tenure that redefined the publication and saw her become one of the most influential figures in global fashion.

The announcement was made on Thursday (26 June) during a staff meeting in New York. Wintour, 75, will no longer oversee the day-to-day editorial operations of Vogue’s US edition. However, she will continue to serve as Vogue’s global editorial director and Condé Nast’s chief content officer, maintaining senior leadership roles across the company.

Keep ReadingShow less
Post Office scandal trials 'unlikely before 2028'

FILE PHOTO: A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London. (Photo: Getty Images)

Post Office scandal trials 'unlikely before 2028'

THE people responsible for the Post Office Horizon scandal may not face trial until 2028, according to the senior police officer leading the investigation.

Commander Stephen Clayman has said that the process is taking longer because police are now looking at a wider group of people, not just those directly involved in decisions about the faulty Horizon computer system, reported the Telegraph.

Keep ReadingShow less