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Families of those who helped British forces could be deported from Pakistan despite promise to resettle them in UKAfghan families who helped UK forces and then fled to neighbouring Pakistan are in danger of being deported back to the Taliban due to Home Office delays in bringing them to the UK.In the chaotic evacuation period in the Afghan capital, Kabul, in August 2021 some...

CSIS intelligence report suggests growing number of countries targeting country’s large diaspora populationsCanada’s spy agency has declared that the governments of India and Pakistan probably attempted to meddle in its elections.As a closely watched public inquiry investigates the scope of foreign interference, on Thursday night the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) released a report suggesting a growing number of countries see Canada – and...

Defence minister’s comments after Guardian report are first time India has acknowledged any assassinations on foreign soilIndia’s defence minister has appeared to confirm that the government carried out extrajudicial killings in neighbouring Pakistan, after a Guardian report on the alleged assassinations.Intelligence officials from India and Pakistan who spoke to the Guardian had alleged that India’s foreign intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (Raw), had...

Allegations of up to 20 assassinations since 2020 follow Canada’s accusation of Delhi role in murders of dissidentsThe Indian government assassinated individuals in Pakistan as part of a wider strategy to eliminate terrorists living on foreign soil, according to Indian and Pakistani intelligence operatives who spoke to the Guardian.Interviews with intelligence officials in both countries, as well as documents shared by Pakistani investigators, shed...

High court members allege ISI put cameras in their bedrooms and tortured a relative to make them hear an appeal against ex-PMClaims by senior Pakistani judges that the intelligence agencies put pressure on them in cases involving the former prime minister Imran Khan have reached the country’s supreme court, following the publication of an unprecedented letter that has created a storm in Pakistan.The letter...

Five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver killed while en route from Islamabad to dam construction siteSix people have been killed after a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle into a convoy of Chinese engineers working on a dam project in north-west Pakistan, in the third significant attack on Chinese interests in the country in a week.The first two attacks targeted a Pakistani naval airbase...

After no reported cases of wild polio for 19 weeks, vaccination efforts boosted at last endemic spots in Pakistan and AfghanistanThe world is “tantalisingly close” to eradicating polio – with no confirmed cases of wild polio anywhere so far this year. But experts warn that vaccination efforts – and funding – must not falter if the world is to rid itself of a human...

Unnamed militant group drove vehicle laden with explosives into post and detonated suicide bombsMilitants have attacked a military post in Pakistan near Afghanistan using a vehicle laden with explosives, killing five security force members, Pakistan’s military said.The incident in north-west Pakistan was carried out by six attackers, the military’s media wing said in a statement, without naming the militant group responsible for the attack....

Zardari played a key role in talks to form a coalition government after February’s disputed parliamentary electionPakistan’s lawmakers have elected Asif Ali Zardari as the country’s president for the second time.Zardari is the widower of the assassinated former premier Benazir Bhutto and the father of the former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. Continue reading...

Nominated candidate of eight-party coalition takes office after gathering of national assemblyShehbaz Sharif has been appointed prime minister of Pakistan after a vote that was riddled with allegations of rigging and irregularities.Sharif, of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) party, was the nominated candidate of a new eight-party coalition that was formed after no single party managed to win an outright majority in the...

Shehbaz Sharif expected to become prime minister again after plans for coalition government announced between PML-N and PPP parties Imran Khan’s political rivals have announced details of a coalition agreement, naming Shehbaz Sharif as their joint candidate for prime minister amid continuing concerns about the legitimacy of the recent elections.Khan’s rivals said at a news conference of party leaders late on Tuesday that they...

Confession by Punjab commissioner exacerbates tension over legitimacy of February general election resultsA senior official in Pakistan has admitted to election rigging amid protests breaking out across the country over claims that its general election results were unfair.The confessional statement throws further questions over the legitimacy of the 8 February elections, which were marred by controversies and allegations of rigging in Pakistan. Continue reading...

Rival parties will make Shehbaz Sharif prime minister, despite Khan’s party getting most votes at election A coalition including the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PLM-N) and the Pakistan People’s party (PPP) have agreed to form the next government of Pakistan, ensuring that the party of former prime minister Imran Khan will not take power despite getting the most votes in the election.At a press conference...

Government will be formed by Nawaz Sharif’s party but it may not survive long given the popularity of the jailed Imran Khan’s PTIIt was mid-afternoon on Pakistan’s election day, sources say, when military intelligence began to realise that things on the ground were not going as planned.Mobile services, including the internet, had been suspended across the country on the pretext of security issues. Those...

Police fire teargas on supporters of Imran Khan amid turmoil as several parties claim they would be forming governmentPolice fired teargas to disperse supporters of Imran Khan as protests broke out across Pakistan amid allegations of widespread vote-rigging targeting the former prime minister’s political party and other nationalist groups in the general election.The results of the election, which took place on Thursday, gave a...

Jailed leader says he has support to form next government but analysts say results only suit the armyImran Khan’s political party has declared it intends to form the next government after claiming a shock election victory, despite efforts by the opposition to take power in a backroom coalition deal.Even as results showed that candidates backed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the party run by the...

Country faces uncertainty after strong performance by independent candidates loyal to former PM Imran KhanPakistan’s army chief has told feuding politicians to show “maturity and unity” after an election failed to produce a clear winner, leaving the military’s favoured party having to cobble together a coalition in order to rule.The country faces days of political horse-trading after a strong performance by independent candidates loyal...

Projections on local television channels slow coming in compared to previous elections as some early urban results show surprise lead for Imran Khan’s partyPakistan’s vote count following a national election has been hit by unusual delays, leading the country’s election panel to issue a late-night warning to polling officers, 10 hours after polls closed, to release results immediately.An “internet issue” was the reason behind...

Caretaker government says it took decision for security reasons after two bomb blasts targeted election officesPhone services have been suspended in Pakistan as polls opened in its general election, with candidates and political parties voicing concerns there may be attempts to rig the results.The caretaker government said phone services, including mobile internet, had been suspended for security reasons. Continue reading...

Phone services suspended for security reasons as voting begins, a day after at least 30 killed in attacks in Balochistan provincePhone services were suspended in Pakistan on Thursday as polls opened in its general election, a day after two bomb blasts at the election offices of a political party and an independent candidate in south-west Pakistan killed at least 30 people and wounded dozens...

Military has put its faith in former PM for fourth time, leading many to believe election outcome is already decidedWith days to go before Pakistan goes to the polls, the feverish buzz and boisterous rallies that usually mark the campaign season have been unusually muted.“There is a sense among many people that the outcome is already predetermined,” said Samina Yasmeen, a fellow from the...

Pakistani former PM says case was created to ‘humiliate’ him and Bushra Bibi, who were sentenced to seven years eachA local court in Pakistan has sentenced Imran Khan, the country’s former prime minister, and his wife to seven years each in a case related to their marriage, which it declared “un-Islamic”.Khan and Bushra Bibi were both last week separately handed 14-year sentences in a...

Former PM, once military’s golden boy, has been sentenced in two separate cases to 10 and 14 yearsThe script seems eerily familiar. Imran Khan, once the golden boy of Pakistan’s powerful military establishment, found himself at the receiving end of not one, but two, damning court verdicts this week.Sentenced to 10 years in jail on Tuesday, and 14 years on Wednesday, the brazen timing...

Ruling against Khan and wife Bushra Bibi comes just a day after a 10-year sentence was handed down, and just before Pakistan goes to the polls in a general electionPakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan has been sentenced to 14 years in jail in a corruption case, just a day after he was given a 10-year sentence for leaking state secrets.Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi,...