Pakistan
- Pattaya News
Pakistani men arrested for aggressive sales tactics in Pattaya
Two Pakistani nationals were arrested in Pattaya for working illegally at a local herbal shop, where they allegedly harassed tourists with aggressive sales tactics. Acting on multiple complaints, Tourist Police swooped in on Sunday, February 16, catching the pair in the act. The operation, led by Police Colonel Songwut Chueaplakit, Superintendent of Investigation at the Tourist Police Bureau, took place…
- Thailand News
Thailand cracks down on fake visa holders: Pakistanis face blacklist
Thai police are tightening the screws on travellers using fake documents, with Pakistanis now facing blacklisting if caught. According to ARY News, the Thai Consulate in Karachi has introduced stricter visa guidelines, ensuring that all applicants submit original, verifiable documents, including genuine airline tickets and hotel bookings. A consulate official confirmed, “Anyone caught submitting forged documents, including travel agents, will face strict action, including blacklisting.” The move aims to curb…
- Thailand News
Thailand revives trade with Pakistan in major economic pact
After a decade of silence, Thailand and Pakistan are back at the negotiating table, reigniting hopes for a booming trade partnership. The two nations have agreed to resume talks under their Joint Trade Committee (JTC) at the ministerial level, with Thailand hosting the next round of discussions later this year. In a recent meeting between Thailand’s Minister of Commerce, Pichai…
- World News
Lion’s roam: Chaos strikes Karachi as ‘King of the Jungle’ takes a traffic tour
Roaring commotion erupted in Karachi, a metropolis in southern Pakistan, as a full-grown lion was caught strolling amidst congested traffic. Unleashed from its transport vehicle, the majestic creature prowled the urban lanes for a stretch of more than two hours. This dramatic escapade unfolded on Tuesday, August 29, leaving the populace stunned and unnerved. The lion was spotted strolling nonchalantly…
- World News
Imran Khan faces anti-graft agency questioning over corruption charges
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan faced questioning by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on corruption charges yesterday, according to his lawyer Faisal Chaudhry. This comes less than a week after Khan refused a summons to appear and dismissed the allegations against him. The ex-cricket star, who has been in a confrontational relationship with the country’s powerful military, was arrested…
- World News
Imran Khan calls for nationwide ‘freedom’ protests after arrest in Pakistan
Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, has called for nationwide “freedom” protests today after last week’s unrest following his brief arrest and detention. The former cricket star, who has faced numerous legal cases since his removal from office in April last year, was released on bail on Friday when the Supreme Court declared his detention unlawful, AFP reported.…
- World News
Pakistan police ban gatherings ahead of Imran Khan’s court appearance
An emergency order banning public gatherings was imposed in Islamabad as supporters of Imran Khan, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, anticipated a march to the capital yesterday. The march was planned to coincide with Khan’s appearance at a court hearing. Earlier this week, his arrest had led to deadly unrest in the nation but was later declared “invalid and…
- World News
Pakistan court appearance for ex-PM Khan after unlawful arrest ruling
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, 70, was due to appear in court today after the Supreme Court deemed his arrest earlier this week, which led to deadly clashes across the country, to be unlawful. Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial declared Khan’s arrest invalid yesterday, necessitating a review of the entire process. Khan was ordered to remain in the bench’s…
- World News
Imran Khan’s duel with Pakistan military and its impact on nation’s democracy
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan has become a controversial figure in Pakistan, causing tension with the country’s military, long considered the primary power broker in the nation. His arrest this week comes after a series of critical statements against a senior intelligence officer, escalating the conflict between Khan’s popularity and the military’s significant influence. According to US-based Stimson Center analyst…
- World News
Imran Khan to face graft charges in special court following nationwide protests
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is set to appear in a special court today at Islamabad’s police headquarters to address corruption allegations, following his unexpected arrest that led to violent nationwide protests yesterday. Khan’s detention comes after months of political turmoil, and soon after the influential military criticized the former cricket star for claiming that a high-ranking officer was…
- World News
Protests across Pakistan after Imran Khan’s arrest and military rebuke
Protests broke out across Pakistan following the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan during a court appearance in the capital, Islamabad. The arrest comes amid political turmoil and hours after the powerful military criticised the former international cricketer for accusing a high-ranking military officer of plotting to kill him. Demonstrators in several cities directed their anger at the military,…
- World News
8 killed in sectarian violence in rural Pakistan
In rural Pakistan, eight individuals, including five teachers, died as tensions between Sunni and Shiite Muslims escalated into a fatal confrontation. The violent incident took place in the isolated border town of Teri Mangal in Kurram district, which is situated less than a kilometre from the border with Afghanistan. Two armed men entered a school while teachers collected exam papers…
- World News
Death toll rises after suicide bomb in Pakistani mosque, expert calls it ‘national security crisis’
UPDATE Following the horrific suicide bombing at a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan on Monday, the death toll has risen from 59 to at least 100, according to a hospital spokesperson. The spokesperson for Lady Reading Hospital, Muhammad Asim Khan, said that at least 100 people have died following the attack. Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Peshawar Police Moazim Jah Ansari,…
- Crime News
Suicide bombing in Pakistani mosque leaves 59 dead
Peshawar, Pakistan was the site of a devastating suicide bombing yesterday as a bomber detonated himself in a crowded mosque. The attacker targeted a mosque in a highly secure compound known as the “Red Zone,” which houses counter-terrorism and police offices. Some 400 worshippers were inside the mosque when the bomber detonated explosives, resulting in 59 deaths, with 27 of…
- Crime News
Pakistani man caught smuggling 80,000 pills into Thailand
A Pakistani man was arrested at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport on Friday after he attempted to smuggle a suitcase brimming with drugs from Pakistan into the Kingdom of Thailand. Airport security flagged down a suspicious suitcase from Karachi, Pakistan, found to contain a plethora of Type 2 and Type 4 psychotropic substances. In total, police at the airport seized 79,200 pills…
- Thailand News
Thailand, an interfaith paradise?
Today’s Pakistan Observer provides an interesting insight into Thailand as an interfaith paradise, seen from overseas, but not through the more usual Western lens. In Pakistan, Thailand is seen as a paradise of interfaith tolerance, and perhaps it is. Former Head of the Department of International Relations & Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University of Bangkok Prof. Dr Jaran Maluleem…
- Entertainment
Pakistani love story Joyland triggers rabid transphobia
Joyland, a movie made in Pakistan, is about a young married man who falls in love with a transgender woman. The movie won a prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and will represent Pakistan in next year’s Academy Awards. But a week before the film was due for release at home, Pakistani withdrew its certification. Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, a…
- World News
Pakistani official says killing of journalist in Kenya appears targeted
Pakistan’s interior minister said on Tuesday that a Pakistani journalist killed in Kenya last month appears to have been targeted. Kenyan police shot and killed the journalist, 50 year old Arshad Sharif, near Nairobi on October 23. Police had stated that Sharif was shot after he failed to stop at a roadblock. They also said that it had been a…
- World News
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan shot in assassination attempt
Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been shot during a suspected assassination attempt. Khan is said not to be in any immediate danger. Shots were fired near Khan’s convoy yesterday, just as the former PM was about to address party workers in Wazirabad, Gujranwala in the country’s east. Khan has been at the head of a march on Islamabad…
- Politics News
Last Pakistani in Guantanamo Bay goes home
Saifullah Paracha has been in Guantanamo Bay detention centre since he was taken into custody in Bangkok in 2003. The 74 year old was never charged with anything, nor was he accused of any crime, merely “having links” with the al-Qaeda leadership. The oldest inmate at Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba and an innocent man by every legal definition, Paracha…
- Thai Law News
Pakistan’s transgenders dragged back into Dark Ages
Early last month, Pakistani Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan proposed the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights amends the Transgender Protection Act of 2018, leading to a firestorm of online abuse on both sides of the argument. Despite its desire to be known as a conservative society with strong Islamic inclinations, Pakistan is one of only a few countries with legislation…
- World News
Pakistan flood death toll rises, agencies warn country needs long-term aid
The death toll from Pakistan’s devastating floods continues to rise, and things are getting worse. The official death toll now stands at 1,325, including 466 children. Up to 33 million people have been affected by the floods. Pakistan’s total population is 220.9 million. Now, UN officials are warning that Pakistan’s situation is likely to keep going downhill. The country is…
- World News
Pakistani Taliban commander reportedly killed in Afghanistan
Another terrorist leader has reportedly met his maker. A senior commander of the Pakistani Taliban has reportedly been killed in Afghanistan. The commander, Abdul Wali, was killed in an improvised explosive device attack on a car on July 7, according to two sources within the Taliban’s leadership. The sources told CNN that the attack happened in Afghanistan’s Paktika province, which…
- World News
Unusually heavy floods in Pakistan kill 549, thousands of homes damaged
Pakistan is seeing its heaviest rainfall in 30 years, and the consequences have been deadly. At least 549 people in the country have been killed by floods so far, and more than 46,200 houses have been damaged, the National Disaster Management Authority said on Friday. In the past month, there have been 133% more rain than the average for the…
- World News
Pakistani government tells people “drink less tea” amidst economic crisis
Pakistan is the latest of several countries hit by an economic crisis. In the midst of the crisis, Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Planning and Development has some interesting instructions for citizens: drink less tea. Pakistan is the world’s largest importer of tea, buying more than US$640 million worth in 2020, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity. The minister, Ahsan…
- World News
Three charged over rape of a mother of two on a train in Pakistan
Three men in Pakistan have been arrested over the rape of a woman on a train from Karachi to Multan on May 27. Pakistan’s railway ministry reported that the men asked the woman to move to a carriage with air conditioning, before they attacked her on the moving train. One of the accused is a ticket checker for the train.…
- World News
Pakistan terror attack kills 4, 3 victims Chinese teachers
The Baloch Liberation Army has claimed responsibility for a suspected suicide bombing in Kirachi, Pakistan which happened last Tuesday. The attack, which happened near a Chinese language centre, killed 3 Chinese teachers, and a driver. Kirachi police and the BLA say the bomber was a woman. The BLA is an armed separatist group which claims to be fighting to liberate…
- World News
Pakistan’s Imran Khan ousted from PM position
Following a parliamentary vote of no confidence last week, Pakistan’s PM Imran Khan has been ousted. The vote came after Pakistan’s opposition parties accused Khan of economic mismanagement, as well as poor governance. The country’s Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that a decision to block the no confidence vote was unconstitutional. Now, Khan claims that opposition to him is backed…
- Crime News
Men arrested at Bangkok airport for allegedly smuggling drugs valued at 95 million baht
Two Pakistani men were arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Monday for allegedly trafficking 30.6 kilograms of ketamine and 1.1 kilograms of heroin hidden in instant tea packages. Officers say the drugs had a street value of 95 million baht. The two residents of Karachi, who travelled to Thailand by an Emirates flight through the United Arab Emirates, were arrested for…
- Thailand News
Train accident leaves 30 dead in Pakistan
2 trains collided in Pakistan’s southeast province of Sindh today. 30 people have been reported dead and dozens more are injured. The Millat Express had derailed and was soon hit by Sir Syed Express. Rescue workers and villagers worked together to remove bodies from the wreckage. Between 15 to 20 people are still trapped inside the trains. Heavy machines are…
