Pakistani politician prepares to sail for Gaza aboard Global Sumud Flotilla
Pakistani politician prepares to sail for Gaza aboard Global Sumud Flotilla/node/2614880/pakistan
Pakistani politician prepares to sail for Gaza aboard Global Sumud Flotilla
Pakistan's former senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan (second right) poses for a picture with other members of the Pakistani delegation at the Sidi Bou Said port in Tunisia on September 10, 2025, before sailing for Gaza aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) initiative. (Mushtaq Ahmed Khan)
KARACHI: Pakistani politician Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan on Wednesday prepared to sail for Gaza aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) initiative, vowing to break Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian territory.
The flotilla, which arrived in Tunisia on Sunday and wants to reach Israel with food and vital supplies, has said its boats have since been subjected to attacks on two occasions this week. GSF reported the first attack on Tuesday, saying one of its vessels had been struck by a drone in Tunisian waters at the Sidi Bou Said port, reports Tunisian authorities said were false. It alleged Israel had carried out another attack on one of its boats on Wednesday.
Khan, affiliated with the Pakistani Jamaat-e-Islami religious party, arrived in Tunisia on Sept. 1 to set sail for Gaza. The former Pakistani senator said he is part of a six-member Pakistani delegation on the flotilla.
“We are at the port, boats have been assigned and after immigration we will set sail for Gaza in couple of hours,” Khan told Arab News on Wednesday night.
In a separate post on social media platform X, Khan said the delegation were carrying with them sleeping bags, half a kilogram of dates, three pairs of clothes and “the passion to go to Gaza.”
“Once they reach Gaza, they will stay there and break the siege, god willing,” he wrote.
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— Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan | (@SenatorMushtaq)
The GSF comprises more than 50 boats and is supported by delegations from 44 countries. Famed Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and Portuguese left-wing politician Mariana Mortagua are also part of the initiative.
The flotilla seeks to provide essential items to Gaza, where Israel has killed over 64,000 people and injured 157,951 since Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The UN has warned that half a million Gazans face catastrophic hunger as Israel continues its bombardment of the densely populated territory.
India-Pakistan javelin showdown: Neeraj Chopra, Arshad Nadeem meet for world gold Sept. 18
Tokyo games will be the first time the two athletes meet after a war between their countries
Nadeem returns from calf surgery as Julian Weber and Anderson Peters tighten the medal race
Updated 8 sec ago
AFP
NEW DELHI: India’s Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan will battle for javelin gold in Tokyo next week, the latest chapter in a brotherly rivalry which has soured since a deadly military conflict between their countries.
The Tokyo Olympic champion, Chopra, and his successor in Paris, Nadeem, will line up at the athletics world championships for their first encounter since the nuclear-armed neighbors engaged in a four-day conflict in May, their worst since 1999.
Chopra, who took Olympic silver behind his great rival a year ago, had often spoken about his friendly relations with Nadeem despite the tensions between their countries.
After Nadeem won gold and Chopra stood alongside him on the podium in Paris, Nadeem’s mother Raziah Parveen said: “Winning and losing is part of sport, but they are like brothers.”
Chopra’s mother Saroj said she took some solace in Nadeem beating her son because the Pakistani “is also our boy.”
But publicly at least that changed after the conflict, with high-profile figures from both countries under pressure to distance themselves from the other side.
The 27-year-old Chopra, who will defend his world title in Tokyo, said that they were “never really close friends.”
Nadeem, 28, also played down any friendship with Chopra.
“When he won, I congratulated him, and when I won the gold, he returned the same courtesy,” Nadeem told AFP by telephone en route to Tokyo.
“(Just as) in wrestling, one wrestler wins and the other loses — it’s part of the game.”
INVITATION WITHDRAWN
Nadeem, who is returning to competition after calf surgery in July, hails from a farming village.
He became an overnight sensation when he gave Pakistan their first Olympic gold in 40 years with a Games-record throw of 92.97m.
Nadeem has competed only once since Paris, winning the Asian Athletics Championships in South Korea in May when Chopra did not participate.
The last time the pair clashed was at the Paris Olympics.
In April, the Indian star invited Nadeem to India for his ‘Neeraj Chopra Classic’ javelin event but the Pakistani declined, saying it clashed with his training schedule.
Chopra then withdrew the invitation after an attack in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22 killed 26 people, mostly Hindu tourists.
India accused Pakistan of backing the attackers, a charge Islamabad denied.
In the conflict that followed more than 70 people were killed in missile, drone and artillery fire on both sides.
“I want to clarify that I don’t have a particularly strong relationship with Nadeem, we were never really close friends,” Chopra said afterwards.
“But because of the current situation, things will not be as they were. That said, if someone speaks to me with respect, I always respond in kind.”
FINE FORM
Chopra became a national hero in India after his Tokyo gold, earning million-dollar endorsement deals with his boyish charm, changing hairstyles and infectious smile.
He won the world title in Budapest in 2023 and has been in fine form since joining Czech javelin great Jan Zelezny’s coaching group ahead of the 2025 season.
He went past 90m for the first time when he threw 90.23m at the Doha Diamond League meeting in May, but finished second to German Julian Weber.
At the Zurich Diamond League last month, Weber once again stood on top of the podium, with a throw of 91.51m. Chopra was second with 85.01m.
Along with Weber, also in Tokyo will be two-time world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada.
The world championships start on Saturday, with the men’s javelin final on September 18.
In Lahore’s activity-based cafes, youngsters unwind with pottery, lattes and rage rooms
Lahore sees rise in activity-based cafes where customers can avail walk-in pottery classes, enjoy food and beverages
Customers describe activity-based cafes as “refreshing” experience, say it provides a break from their usual routines
Updated 19 min 13 sec ago
Farheen Ale Syed
LAHORE: A heavy ax cuts through the air and slams into the center of a wooden board placed in the room, hurled by a youngster clad in an orange Personal Protective Equipment. Behind him, another woman paints bold, looping strokes on a wall after vigorously shaking a spray paint can.
This isn’t the scene of a violent protest in Pakistan, but that of a popular cafe in the eastern city of Lahore named “The Alt Space.” Young people come here in droves every day, smashing glass, hurling axes and breaking stuff in a “rage room” by throwing it around. And if it doesn’t get any better than this, the cafe offers hot and cold beverages ranging from espressos to lattes, frappes and sodas.
Pakistan’s cultural hub, Lahore, has seen activity-theme cafes open up in recent years. These places blend the typical cafe environment with a specific activity or purpose, meant to offer younger audiences unique experiences. While some offer walk-in painting courses, others like The Alt Space feature rage rooms.
Azfar Shahid, co-founder of The Alt Space, said his cafe offers the city’s first rage room and ax throwing experience. He said it attracts mostly people in the 15-35 age group, adding that 70 percent of the people who frequent The Alt Space are women.
“You’ll find young professionals and students in the first half of the day, followed by large friend groups and families in the evening once the activities rush hour kicks in,” Shahid told Arab News.
“Hopefully as Lahore is evolving into much more of a community centered city, and places like us can help galvanize this positive trend,” he said.
The picture taken on September 8, 2025, shows a customer posing with a baseball bat in a "rage room" in “The Alt Space” cafe in Lahore, Pakistan. (AN photo)
Lili by Deja, a popular restaurant in Lahore, has opened a small studio in its space by the name of Soleil. Here, customers can opt for walk-in painting and pottery sessions and browse through extensive serveware collections featuring intricate artistic designs. While lunch or dinner is being served in one part of the restaurant, aspiring artists a few feet away can be seen sketching on canvases at Soleil.
Khadija Shafqat, a graduate of Lahore’s National College of Arts (NCA) in ceramic design, founded Soleil in 2023. After completing her master’s degree from Paris in luxury brand management--hospitality, Shafqat opened a restaurant named Lily.
She soon started making customized pottery and ceramic pieces for other restaurants and customers. Shafqat realized there was a market for the product, and decided to merge the world of art with food, splitting the restaurant in half. In Lily, one can tantalize their taste buds while in the other, they explore their artistic cravings via walk-in classes.
The picture taken on September 8, 2025, shows food being served at Lily cafe in Lahore, Pakistan. (AN photo)
Shafqat said she knew Lahore was a food-centric city and merging fun activities with it would draw people in.
“So, we thought that this is a good opportunity, that food is also available here, but people are getting another chance to explore their creative side,” she said.
Her customers agree that the initiative is “refreshing.”
“Instead of just sitting around scrolling on my phone, I feel like I’m actually doing something with my friends,” Maryam Azam, a university graduate, told Arab News while painting on a canvas. “It feels memorable.”
‘QUALITY COFFEES, VIBES’
And then there’s cafe Dot, with its brightly painted wall interiors and board game tables, becoming a hub for the city’s student community. The cafe says “anything can happen here,” from drum circles to neon painting and brand pop-ups.
Sannan Tahir, Dot’s co-founder, describes the cafe as a “creative community space,” insisting he doesn’t see it only as a coffee shop.
“It is a space where you can come and whine, paint, dance, do whatever you want to do and be yourself without the fear of being frowned upon,” Tahir said. “At the same time, we give you quality coffee and vibes.”
The picture taken on September 8, 2025, shows board games and paiting at cafe Dot in Lahore, Pakistan. (AN photo)
Aysel, a student busy playing Jenga with her friends, agreed.
“Dot is a very interactive and fun café to unwind after school and studies,” she said. “We play board games like Jenga and sometimes we draw. It’s a lot more interactive and fun.”
As young people immerse themselves in activity-based cafes and their attractions, Shafqat thinks the trend is “here to stay.”
“It is therapeutic,” she said. “It is an escape from your daily routine.”
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar announced on Wednesday that Islamabad has requested an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to discuss Israel’s “brazen attacks” against Qatar, saying they were aimed at undermining ceasefire efforts in Gaza.
Israeli airstrikes hit a civilian neighborhood in Doha on Tuesday to target Hamas leaders, killing at least six, including a Qatari security guard. Hamas confirmed after the strike that Israel had sought to kill its negotiators.
Qatar has played a central role in efforts to mediate peace in Gaza, allowing Hamas’ political bureau to operate from its territory as part of negotiations.
In a statement on social media platform X, Dar said Pakistan had strongly condemned the “unprovoked airstrikes,” describing them as a “dangerous escalation” in an already volatile region.
“In response, Pakistan has requested, along with Algeria & Somalia, an Emergency #UNSC meeting to formally bring this matter before the Security Council, urging it to consider Israel’s aggression against Qatar as a grave threat to international peace and security,” Dar wrote.
The Pakistani deputy premier said Islamabad has also called on the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and together with its Gulf Cooperation Council partners, to convene an urgent debate on the matter, “so that the Council can hold Israel accountable for its brazen attack on Doha.”
Dar said Pakistan had also welcomed Qatar’s decision to host an Extraordinary Arab-Islamic Summit in Doha on Sept. 15. He said Islamabad had formally conveyed to the OIC Secretariat of Pakistan’s readiness to co-sponsor and co-convene the summit for a united Arab-Islamic response to Israel’s “aggression.”
“Pakistan reaffirms its unwavering solidarity with the leadership, Government & brotherly people of Qatar,” he wrote. “The international community must collectively condemn Israel’s violation in the strongest terms.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also condemned the attack. He said that no other example exists of “such barbarity, cruelty and oppression.”
Israel’s attack takes place amid its military operations in Gaza. More than 64,600 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since Israel launched its military campaign in October 2023.
Qatari officials denounced the strike as a “criminal attack” and a “flagrant violation” of international law that endangered the security of both Qatari citizens and foreign residents.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the assault was a “wholly independent Israeli operation” for which his government took “full responsibility.”
KARACHI: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has asked the country’s stock exchange to promote Shariah-compliant brokerage services in equity trading, the regulator’s spokesperson Affan Haider said on Wednesday, saying the move was expected to help Pakistan eliminate interest from its economy by 2027.
Pakistan’s Federal Shariat Court (FSC) directed the government in April 2022 to eliminate interest by 2027, maintaining that Islam prohibited it in all its forms and manifestations. The FSC determines whether Pakistani laws comply with Islamic law or not.
Apex regulators from the SECP have asked Islamic institutional investors, including Takaful (insurance) operators, mutual funds and others, to route a minimum of 20 percent of their business of trading securities through Shariah-compliant brokers by June 2027.
“(The) PSX will work in close coordination with market participants to develop a Shariah-compliant trading mechanism and undertake market awareness initiatives to promote understanding and adoption of Shariah-compliant brokerage services,” Haider said.
He added the SECP had sent notices recently to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), the Central Depositary Company (CDC) and Shariah-compliant institutional investors in this regard.
According to SECP data, more than 51 percent of Pakistan’s listed equity securities are Shariah-compliant, representing about 60 percent of the country’s total market capitalization. These Islamic securities consistently make up around 80 percent of the PSX’s daily trading volume.
“This [move] demonstrates a robust market foundation and clear investor demand for dedicated trading and brokerage services, tailored to Shariah-conscious investors,” Haider said.
Last week, the SECP directed the PSX and CDC to enhance or incentivize the offering of Shariah-compliant intermediary services in Pakistan’s capital market.
“The core objective of this initiative is to facilitate the gradual transformation of the financial system with a view to establishing a comprehensive and inclusive Islamic finance ecosystem,” the SECP spokesperson explained.
Haider said each SECP-regulated Islamic institutional investor would be required to include at least one Shariah-compliant broker in its approved panel of brokers.
The SECP will encourage conventional brokers to establish Shariah-compliant brokerage services either by forming subsidiaries or through window operations.
‘POSITIVE STEP’
Industry stakeholders welcomed the move as a “step forward” for the government in implementing the FSC’s deadline.
“This is a positive step because, if we let’s say have to convert our financial system into Islamic financing, we would also need to convert our capital market,” Ahmed Ali Siddiqui, head of the Shariah compliance department at Meezan Bank, said.
“The Sukuk and share market must be converted too,” he added.
He said establishing dedicated brokerage houses would attract investors who want to avoid interest-based share trading.
“The biggest challenge our stocks market is facing right now is that it lacks Shariah credibility in the eyes of many investors,” Siddiqui said. “We don’t have Islamic brokers at our stocks market.”
He said Zahid Latif Khan Securities (Private) Limited was presently the only licensed Shariah-complaint brokerage firm. However, he said regulators would now start issuing more such licenses given the expected increase in demand.
“Many stockbrokers would start opening their Islamic windows as some of the big brokers have already started thinking about opening Islamic windows to start with the conversion process,” Siddiqui explained.
Muhammad Shoaib, chief executive officer at the Shariah-compliant Lucky Investments Limited company, said the SECP was trying to lure PSX, CDC and stockbrokers toward the Islamic financial system.
“However, a major component of this journey should be to first make the country’s banking system fully Shariah-compliant, which would make it easier for listed companies, brokers and all products of the stock exchange,” Shoaib said, whose company is a subsidiary of YB (Lucky) Group. It is managing Rs88 billion ($312 million) worth of assets.
Shoaib plans to more than double this amount to Rs200 billion ($710 million) by the end of 2026.
Lucky Investments raised the Rs50 billion ($178 million) funding through an initial public offering from the PSX in April, reflecting a growing appetite for Islamic financing in the country.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government has registered over 1,214 cases under a cybercrime law this year, out of which 10 have been filed against journalists, the director-general of a national cybercrime agency said on Wednesday, amid fears by the opposition that the law would be used to punish critics.
Pakistan’s Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) was originally enacted in 2016, but an amendment bill passed in January 2025 expanded its scope by broadening the definition of “fake news” and criminalizing defamation against government officials.
The law also established a new social media regulatory authority to oversee digital content and a cybercrime agency with the power to prosecute violations.
“So far, a total of 1,214 cases have been registered by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) this year, out of which 10 have been filed against journalists,” DG NCCIA Waqar-ud-Din Syed told the Senate Standing Committee on Information.
The NCCIA is an independent institution that has the authority to investigate and act against all cyber-related offenses across the country.
The committee was informed that out of a total 1,214 cases, 611 were registered by the NCCIA for financial fraud online, 320 for harassment through cyberspace, 174 for promoting religious hate speech, 55 for defamation and 19 for the possession of illegal SIMs. Seven of these cases were registered for child pornography.
Cases against journalists Sabir Shakir, former anchor Moeed Hassan Pirzada, and investigative journalist Ahmad Noorani, have been registered for allegedly spreading hate speech against state institutions. All three regularly criticize the incumbent government and Pakistan’s powerful military.
A case against journalist Farhan Gohar Malik has been registered on charges of spreading propaganda against state institutions and disseminating fake news on social media. Another journalist, Khalid Jameel, was booked under the PECA law for allegedly using hate speech against state institutions. However, he was later cleared of the charges by a local court.
Former army officer and YouTuber Aadil Raja, and former anchor Imran Riaz Khan were booked under PECA law for their alleged involvement in “anti-state activities.” Journalist Shahzad Rafique was booked for committing alleged defamation while reporter Muhammad Waheed was booked under the controversial law on allegations of using hate speech against state institutions.
Many of these journalists are accused by the government of being biased in favor of former prime minister Imran Khan. Most of these journalists and vloggers, who have fled the country, deny the accusations.
Syed Ali Zafar, who heads the senate standing committee, expressed fears the law could be misused against the government’s critics. Zafar is a prominent Pakistani lawyer and is a member of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) opposition party. The PTI accuses the government and military of harassing its supporters. Both strongly deny the charges.
“The opposition has no problem if the law is used against legitimate cybercrimes like hate speech, pornography or crimes against the state,” Zafar noted during the briefing.
He said the PECA law should not be used against anyone who criticizes the government during the ongoing floods crisis.
Meanwhile, Waheed told Arab News that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had misrepresented his posts on social media platform X, saying he was only quoting Baloch politician Akhtar Mengal’s statements.
“I was wrongly charged for an X post that was actually a quote of a Baloch leader,” he said.
Pakistani journalists have long complained of increasing state pressure on traditional and digital media in Pakistan, which is ranked 152nd out of 180 countries on the press freedom index of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a media watchdog that promotes and defends press freedom.
Pakistani authorities banned social media platform X in the recent past. Pakistani officials, meanwhile, have defended the PECA law, saying it protects people’s integrity and data on social media platforms.
