ISLAMABAD (AA) – Pakistan on Wednesday dismissed UN human rights body concerns about violence and the right to fundamental democratic freedom ahead of general elections in the country, saying Islamabad is fully committed to protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms guaranteed by its laws and constitution. Pakistan upholds the rule of la...
KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – At least 25 people were killed and dozens of others injured in two separate “terrorist attacks” in Pakistan on Wednesday ahead of a high-stake national vote, officials said. The first blast, the latest in a string of poll-related violence, took place in the Pishin district of southwestern Balochistan province onl...
Karachi, Pakistan — AFP As waves from the Arabian Sea crash into the shores of Pakistan’s port city of Karachi, election candidate Ahmad Shabbar tells voters a list of growing but often ignored climate threats. Pakistan was ravaged by monsoon floods two years ago that left a third of the country submerged, turning climate change [&...
Peshawar, Pakistan — AFP Almost 6,500 candidates from 150 parties will stand in Pakistan’s election this week. Five percent of these happen to be women. The constitution reserves seats for women in both the provincial and national assemblies but few women contest election outside that reserved quota. AFP has interviewed three femal...
Dakar, Senegal – AFP Senegalese lawmakers voted late Monday to delay this month’s presidential election until December, an unprecedented move that has sparked international concern over a country normally seen as a beacon of stability in West Africa. The bill was passed near unanimously, with 105 votes in favor and one against, aft...
Dakar, Senegal — AFP Access to mobile internet has been cut in Dakar, as Senegal grapples with a political crisis after President Macky Sall announced a postponement of this month’s election. Many users in the capital said they had been unable to access mobile data on their phones since Monday morning. Senegal’s parliament is...
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AA) — A Pakistani court on Saturday sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to seven years each in prison over charges of unlawful marriage. Judge Qudrat Ullah announced the verdict in the northeastern garrison city of Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, according to local broadcaster ARY. The judge...
Islamabad, Pakistan – AFP Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison, less than two weeks before the country votes in an election his party has been hamstrung from contesting. Pakistan goes to the polls next Thursday in a ballot already marred by allegations of pre-vote rigging, with Khan [&hell...
Mianwali, Pakistan — AFP Pakistani cricketing legend turned politician Imran Khan is wildly popular in his constituency and ancestral homeland of Mianwali, but the political posters that line the streets do not bear his face and flags do not fly his colours. A relentless crackdown widely attributed to Pakistan’s powerful military h...
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) – In a letter to Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, 12 US senators have urged an end to the “persistent harassment” of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who is battling a string of graft cases. Earlier this month, a court handed down a six-month prison sentence to Yunus and three of his colleagues [&helli...