A gas canister being used by passengers to cook breakfast exploded on a train between Karachi and Rawalpindi, officials have said. The resulting fire destroyed three carriages in the south of Punjab province. Most people died while trying to jump off the moving train, according to the railways minister
Continue reading...Category Archives: Pakistan
Pakistan train fire: at least 70 dead after gas explosion
Most passengers died trying to jump off moving train to escape blaze in Punjab, say officials
At least 70 people have died and dozens have been injured after a fire broke out on a passenger train in Pakistan.
Footage showed three of the carriages engulfed by flames, with dark smoke pouring out of the windows, and witnesses said they heard trapped passengers crying and screaming.
Continue reading...The transgender women on the trail of Pakistan’s missing children | Thaslima Begum
On Karachi’s streets, a team is leading the way where police have failed in investigating disappearances
Zigzagging through Karachi’s main road, Layla Gulnaz*, 46, is on a mission. Beneath a sweltering sun, she goes from one car to the next, peering intently at the backseat passengers as she asks for spare change. She approaches a black car with a family of five inside.
As the father reaches for change, Gulnaz quickly scans the faces of the three children in the back. To buy time, she makes small talk, but the man passes her a few rupees and hastily rolls up the car window.
Continue reading...University vice-chancellor stands aside over blackmail claims in Pakistan
Javed Iqbal denies involvement in scandal over alleged use of CCTV footage to extort money from students in Balochistan
The vice-chancellor of a university in the volatile region of Balochistan in Pakistan has temporarily stepped down from his role following the launch of an investigation into allegations of harassment and blackmail on campus.
Javed Iqbal said on Sunday that he was leaving his post at the University of Balochistan until the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) concluded its inquiry into claims that CCTV footage of students was used by university officials to blackmail them. Most of the students allegedly affected were female.
Continue reading...Kashmir families live in fear as loved ones are detained far from home
Relatives tell of 1,000km bus journeys to Agra where prisoners are held after Modi crackdown
The last time he saw her, Mehraj-ud-din Wani assured his wife that he would soon be a free man.
Wani was speaking to his wife, Gulshan, from behind bars in Srinagar jail in Kashmir. “He was certain that he would be released,” she said. “He said that he will be home in a matter of days.”
Continue reading...Brother of social media star Qandeel Baloch is jailed for her murder
Pakistani court sentences Mohammed Wasim Azeem to life but acquits four others
A Pakistani court has convicted the brother of the social media star Qandeel Baloch of her murder and sentenced him to life in prison.
Baloch, 26, was found strangled in 2016 in her home near the city of Multan. She was killed shortly after posting risque pictures on Facebook of herself with a Muslim cleric, Mufti Abdul Qawi, who was later arrested for his alleged involvement in the murder.
Continue reading...Imran Khan warns UN of potential nuclear war in Kashmir
Pakistan PM says he has tried to tell world leaders of growing risk of conflict with India over disputed region
Pakistan’s prime minister, Imran Khan, has said he has been trying to raise the alarm at the United Nations this week about the danger of a nuclear war breaking out over Kashmir.
India and Pakistan came close to a conflict in February when India bombed Pakistani territory for the first time in a half century and warplanes from both countries fought a dogfight over the divided region.
Continue reading...Pakistan earthquake leaves 19 dead and 300 injured in Kashmir region
A shallow earthquake near Mirpur has struck north-eastern Pakistan, tearing huge cracks in roads
At least 19 people have been killed and 300 injured after a shallow earthquake struck north-eastern Pakistan, tearing car-sized cracks into roads and heavily damaging infrastructure.
The quake sent people in Lahore and Islamabad running into the streets. With rescue operations expected to continue overnight, residents in the worst-hit areas described their horror as walls collapsed and houses fell.
Continue reading...Howdy Modi: Indian PM appears with Trump at Texas rally
Narendra Modi defends actions in Kashmir and accuses Pakistan of ‘hatred towards India’
Narendra Modi defended his government’s actions in Kashmir and, in thinly-veiled remarks, accused Pakistan of harbouring terrorists during a packed rally in Texas attended by the US president Donald Trump.
Trump sat in the front row as the Indian prime minister told cheering crowds his decision to remove all autonomy from Indian-administered Kashmir would bring progress and better rights for its people.
Continue reading...‘We will fight to the last drop of blood’: embattled Kashmiris target freedom – video
Determined to prevent security forces from entering their community, people in the suburb of Anchar, in the disputed region of Kashmir, stand united in their desire to achieve freedom from India. Defying teargas and pellets, they are the last remaining pocket of resistance in the country's only Muslim-majority state
Pakistan PM to accuse Modi of complicity in Kashmir ‘terrorism’
Imran Khan will use UN address to highlight alleged atrocities carried out by Indian army
Pakistan’s prime minister, Imran Khan, is to follow a speech by his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, at the United Nations general assembly by accusing him of being complicit in the torture and mass detention of protesters in India-administered Kashmir.
Khan will use his address in New York next week to highlight alleged atrocities being carried out by the Indian army in the Jammu and Kashmir state since Modi’s government revoked the region’s autonomy by abrogating article 370 of the constitution.
Continue reading...Trump confirms US has killed Osama bin Laden’s son Hamza
Death of son of the al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, was reported but not confirmed in July
Donald Trump confirmed on Saturday that the US has killed Hamza bin Laden, a son of the former al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
Related: Hamza bin Laden: the end of a dynasty, but not al-Qaida
Continue reading...Five civilians killed in Kashmir since crackdown, says army
Deaths over past 30 days follow Indian government’s decision to strip region of autonomy
Five civilians have died in Indian Kashmir, including an 18-year-old man, officials confirmed, one month after Delhi’s decision to revoke the region’s special status.
Residents across Kashmir faced a 31st day living under a heightened military presence, without phone or internet access. A communications blackout was imposed when the Indian government stripped the region of any autonomy on 5 August.
Continue reading...Bollywood to depict Indian air strikes on Pakistan over Kashmir bombing
Vivek Oberoi movie will tell ‘true story’ of reprisals after February attack in which 40 Indian troops were killed
Bollywood is to make a movie based on the “true story” of Indian air strikes on Pakistan this year, its producer said, the latest patriotic film to hit the silver screen.
The 26 February attack took place after a suicide bombing claimed by a militant group based in Pakistan killed 40 Indian troops on 14 February in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
Continue reading...Pakistan expands ban on plastic bags as inspectors are caught in shop spat
Punjab joins regions where polythene bags are illegal and stiff fines take effect in Islamabad amid demands for alternatives
Punjab has become the latest region in Pakistan to ban plastic bags, as the country battles to reduce single-use plastics that are damaging the environment.
So far there is no date for implementation in Pakistan’s most populous state. The south-eastern province of Sindh has announced it will ban polythene bags from October, and last week a ban took effect in Islamabad.
Continue reading...Kashmir: suspected militant killed in Indian security operation
Incident is believed to be first clash with insurgents since revocation of special status
A suspected militant and a police officer have been killed in a gun battle in Indian-administered Kashmir in what is believed to be the first clash with insurgents since the revocation of the territory’s special status.
Tensions remain high in the region, where there is a heavy security presence on the streets and a continued block on mobile and internet services. In Kashmir’s main city, Srinagar, posters appeared overnight urging people to defy a ban on public gatherings and join a mass march after Friday prayers this week to protest against Delhi’s decision to strip the region of its autonomy.
Continue reading...‘We will teach you a lesson’: Pakistan PM Khan issues furious threat to India – video
Pakistan’s prime minister, Imran Khan, has threatened to ‘teach India a lesson’ in a warning against any attack on Pakistani-administered Kashmir. Pakistan responded furiously after India’s decision last week to revoke Indian-administered Kashmir’s special status, the most radical change since Kashmir joined the Indian union, comparing its government to Nazis and suggesting it might carry out ethnic cleansing.
Kashmir: Imran Khan says Pakistan will ‘teach India a lesson’
Pakistan PM says army is preparing to respond to anticipated Indian aggression in region
Pakistan’s prime minister, Imran Khan, has threatened to “teach Delhi a lesson” and vowed to fight until the end against any Indian violations in disputed Kashmir.
In some of his strongest words since Delhi revoked Indian-administered Kashmir’s special status last week, Khan said the army was preparing to respond to anticipated Indian aggression in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Continue reading...Imran Khan likens inaction over Kashmir to appeasing Hitler
Pakistan PM remarks come as tensions rise over India’s removal of special status
The Pakistani prime minister, Imran Khan, has likened the Indian government to Nazis, warning that global inaction over Kashmir would be the same as appeasing Hitler.
His comments came as authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir reportedly reimposed some curfew rules in parts of the territory, following an easing of restrictions in Srinagar, the region’s main city, that had allowed people to visit shops over the weekend and attend Friday prayers.
Continue reading...Kashmir travel restrictions partly eased but phones and web still blocked
India’s Muslim-majority state is cut off from the world with phones and internet blocked
There were signs that travel restrictions in Indian-administered Kashmir had been relaxed on Saturday in the state’s summer capital, Srinagar, where the streets were reportedly busy with people trying to buy food ahead of Eid. Landlines, mobile phones and the internet all remained blocked, however, preventing residents from calling relatives or friends.
Related: Kashmir: India’s ‘draconian’ blackout sets worrying precedent, warns UN
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