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With the general elections having come closer, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has said that free and fair polls can be held even without incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan — who is currently serving a three-year sentence in Attock jail in the Toshakhana corruption case.

Last week, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced that general elections will occur by the end of January 2024.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Friday, PM Kakar said: “Free and fair elections can take place without [Imran] Khan or hundreds of members of his party who are jailed because they engaged in unlawful activities including vandalism and arson.”

The May 9 riots were triggered almost across the country after the deposed prime minister’s arrest in the £190 million settlement case. Hundreds of PTI workers and senior leaders were put behind bars for their involvement in violence and attacks on military installations.

During the protests, the miscreants targeted the civil and military installations including — Jinnah House and the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi. The military termed May 9 “Black Day” and decided to try the protesters under the Army Act.

Responding to a question, PM Kakar said that those PTI activists, who are serving jail sentences, were involved in arson attacks, vandalism and other illegal activities.

“Thousands of PTI activists who did not engage in unlawful activities can partake in the upcoming elections,” he added.

‘Absolutely absurd’

When asked if there is a view that the military is going to manipulate the upcoming elections to make sure that the PTI does not return to power, the caretaker premier replied: “I think it is absolutely absurd.”

“The ECP is going to conduct the elections, not the military,” he said, adding that there is also the caretaker government to monitor and support the electoral process.

The current Chief Election Commissioner Sikarnder Sultan Raja was appointed by Imran Khan, Kakar said and asked, “Why would he turn in any sense of the word against him?”

To another question, the premier said, “We are not pursuing anyone on a personal vendetta.” He, however, warned that if the PTI chairman or any other politician violates the rules and regulations, then they would be dealt with according to the law.

PM Kakar further said he would not interfere with the verdicts by the courts, adding that the judiciary should also not be used “as a tool for any political ends.”

Polls sans Khan to be ‘unconstitutional’: PTI

Strongly reacting to the PM’s statement on the upcoming general elections, a spokesperson of the former ruling party said: “The general elections without the PTI or Imran Khan will be unconstitutional and unethical.”

The spokesperson claimed that the PTI is the largest political party and Khan — who was removed from power as prime minister via a parliamentary vote in April last year — is the most popular leader in the country.

The former ruling party said that the premier’s recent statement represented the insensitivity found in the state’s structure and asked PM Kakar to clarify his remarks immediately. The PTI spokesperson warned that the people will not accept such elections.

He further said that the caretaker premier should separate his government from the “evil designs”.

Last month, Imran Khan was arrested from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore after being convicted in the Toshakhana case with accusations of misusing his 2018 to 2022 premiership to buy and sell gifts in state possession that were received during visits abroad and worth more than Rs140 million ($635,000).

The disqualified prime minister denies the allegations against him.

“Charges of misdeclaration of assets have been proven against the PTI chairman,” Additional and Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar mentioned in his judgment.

Judge Dilawar sentenced the PTI chief to three years imprisonment, issuing arrest warrants against him and a fine of Rs100,000.

Iranian authorities have arrested 28 people linked to the Islamic State group for plotting to target Tehran during the anniversary of last year’s protests, the intelligence ministry said on Sunday.

The protests erupted after the death in custody on September 16, 2022, of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd arrested for allegedly flouting the Islamic republic’s strict dress code for women.

“In recent days, during a series of simultaneous operations in Tehran, Alborz and West Azerbaijan provinces, several terrorist bases and team houses were attacked, and 28 members of the said terrorist network were arrested,” the ministry said on its website.

“These elements are affiliated to the professional crime group of Daesh (Islamic State group) and some of them have a history of accompanying takfiris in Syria or being active in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Kurdistan region of Iraq,” it added.

In Shiite-dominated Iran, the term “takfiri” generally refers to jihadists or proponents of radical Sunni Islam.

The intelligence ministry said two security personnel were wounded during the arrest operations, and a number of bombs, firearms, suicide vests and communications devices were seized.

It said it had neutralised a plot to “carry out 30 simultaneous terrorist explosions in densely populated centres of Tehran to undermine security and incite riots and protests on the anniversary of last year’s riots”.

The months-long demonstrations saw hundreds of people killed, including dozens of security personnel, in what Tehran called “riots” fomented by foreign governments and “hostile media”.

On Thursday, a court sentenced to death a Tajik IS member convicted over a deadly gun attack on a Shiite Muslim shrine in August.

The attack on the Shah Cheragh mausoleum in Shiraz, capital of Fars province in the south, came less than a year after a mass shooting at the same site that was later claimed by the IS group.

“Clearly we hoped for better on immigration, where we worked so hard,” she said in an interview marking the win, broadcast late on Saturday on the TG1 channel.

“The results are not what we hoped to see. It is certainly a very complex problem, but I’m sure we’ll get to the bottom of it.” Meloni’s post-fascist Brothers of Italy party was elected in large part on a promise to reduce mass migration into Italy. But the number of people arriving on boats from North Africa has instead surged, with more than 130,000 recorded by the interior ministry so far this year — up from 70,000 in the same period of 2022.

After 8,500 people arrived on the tiny island of Lampedusa in just three days earlier this month, Meloni demanded the European Union do more to help relieve the pressure.

Brussels agreed to intensify existing efforts, and this week said it would start to release money to Tunisia — from where many of the boats leave — under a pact aimed at stemming irregular migration from the country.

But Meloni’s main coalition partner, Matteo Salvini of the anti-immigration League party, has been dismissive of EU efforts to manage the surge of arrivals that he dubbed an “act of war”.

The fire broke out at the Shanjiaoshu Coal Mine at around 8:10am, the Panzhou City government said in a notice posted to its website on Sunday night.

“It was preliminarily determined that the conveyor belt caught fire, causing 16 people to be trapped,” it added, with no further details on what was damaged or how the fire began.

Emergency personnel extinguished the blaze and temperatures at the site returned to normal, but “after preliminary verification, 16 people have no vital signs”, the notice said. The Panzhou City mine is about 3,600 kilometres southwest of the capital Beijing.

China — the world’s biggest emitter of the pollutants driving climate change — operates thousands of coal mines, even as Beijing has pledged to peak greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

While safety standards in the country’s mining sector have improved in recent decades, accidents still frequently plague the industry, often due to lax enforcement of protocols, especially at the most rudimentary sites. Last year, 245 people died in 168 accidents, according to official figures.

An explosion at a coal mine in Shaanxi province in northern China last month killed 11 people, nine of whom were trapped inside. Another two people managed to make it to the surface before they succumbed to their injuries, according to state media reports at the time.

SHEIKHUPURA: In the latest train collision, at least 31 passengers were injured on Sunday after two trains collided near Qila Sattar Shah Station in Punjab’s Sheikhupura district.

According to sources, the Lahore-bound passenger train — coming from Mianwali — was travelling on the same track where a freight train was already present, resulting in a crash.

The train driver attempted to avoid the crash but to no avail.

According to the rescue personnel, 31 passengers onboard the train were injured in the accident. Five injured passengers have been transferred to the district headquarters hospital, they added.

The railway officials said that rescue work is underway at the site of the accident, and an investigation into the crash was launched.

Meanwhile, a railways spokesperson said in a statement that train operations are running smoothly in the Lahore division following the crash.

The track was cleared at 7:30am after the accident, the spokesperson added.

The spokesperson further said that Mianwali Express was also dispatched and all passengers onboard the train were safe.

According to the spokesperson, four railways officials including train driver Imran Sarwar and his assistant Muhammad Bilal have been suspended.

An inquiry commission led by a deputy principal officer has been formed, which will submit its report on the incident in 24 hours, the spokesperson added.

The railways chairman said legal action will be taken against those responsible for the incident. CEO Railways Shahid Aziz said no compromise will be made on the safety of passengers.

It is pertinent to mention that four bogies of a freight train derailed near the same railway station a day earlier.

Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif expressed sorrow over the incident and demanded action against those responsible for the crash.

Accidents on Pakistan’s decaying rail system are common and successive governments have for years been trying to secure funds to upgrade the rail network under China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

In the past decade, the country has witnessed a number of deadly train accidents, and they seem to have increased in frequency over the past few years.

In August this year, at least 56 were killed and a dozen others injured after as many as 10 bogies of Havelian-bound Hazara Express derailed near Sahara Railway Station in Sindh’s Nawabshah district, 275 kilometres away from Karachi, officials said.

Subsequently, then-railways minister Khawaja Saad Rafique informed the National Assembly that six railways officials, whose negligence led to the accident of Hazara Express, had been suspended.

Caretaker Federal Minister for Information Murtaza Solangi has said that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif did not go to London after jailbreak and will be treated according to the law on his return

Saudi Arabia’s defense forces Saturday conducted aerial shows in Jeddah to commemorate the 93rd National Day

A large variety of Royal Saudi Air Force planes including the Typhoon, F-15S, Tornado, and the F-15 took part in the shows, the Saudi media said.

A large number of Pakistani Saudis and other foreigners were present in the Saudi capital Riyadh to witness the National Day Air Show.

On this occasion, the Saudi Falcons performed dangerous formation stunts in the sky and filled the sky with rainbow colors.

The air shows will also be held in other cities including Riyadh, Dhahran, Damman, Al-Jawf, Al-Ahsa, Taif, Al-Baha, Tabuk, Abha, Khamis Mushait, and Al-Khobar, SPA reported.

Citizens across the Kingdom will witness the Royal Saudi Navy’s parades and shows in the East and the West fleets.

Tens of thousands of people marched in France Saturday to protest police violence in demonstrations organised by the left, with clashes breaking out on the margins of the Paris rally.

The nationwide protest came just under three months after the point-blank-range killing by a policeman of a youth at a traffic check sparked more than a week of rioting in Paris and elsewhere.

In the capital, demonstrators of all ages held placards proclaiming “Stop state violence”, “Don’t forgive or forget” or “The law kills”.

Demonstrators took particular aim at article 435-1 of the internal security code, introduced in 2017, which extends authorities’ leeway to shoot in the event of a suspect’s refusal to comply.

They were responding to a call by the radical left including the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI).

Unions said some 80,000 people joined the protests across France, including 15,000 in Paris, but the interior ministry put the number at 31,300 nationwide, with 9,000 in Paris.

– ‘Unacceptable violence’ –

The government denounced “unacceptable violence” on the margins of the march in Paris, after officers were trapped in their police vehicle when it was attacked, an AFP correspondent said.

Hundreds of hooded people wearing black broke away from the main march of several thousand people in Paris.

They smashed the windows of a bank branch and threw objects at a police car stuck in traffic, an AFP reporter said.

Paris police said the car was attacked with a crowbar and that anti-riot officers were forced to intervene.

Police said three officers were slightly injured.

A video later published by the BFMTV channel and shared on the internet showed a group of masked protesters running after the car, repeatedly kicking it, as one man smashes a window with a crowbar.

An officer gets out and brandishes his service weapon, but does not fire it and gets back in the vehicle.

“We see where anti-police hatred leads,” Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin wrote on X, formerly Twitter, denouncing “unacceptable violence” against the police.

Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said three people had been arrested over the incident.

In total, six people were arrested throughout France, according to a report by the Ministry of the Interior.

– ‘Injustice destroys families’ –

Among those marching in the northern city of Lille was 27-year-old Mohamed Leknoun, whose brother Amine was killed in August 2022 after refusing to obey police orders.

“All this injustice destroys families,” he told AFP.

He deplored the fact that he had not been informed of any progress in the investigation since the police officer who fired the fatal shot was indicted.

The march came days after the IGPN, the inspectorate responsible for investigating police misconduct, released its annual report on the use of force by officers.

It showed that in 2022, 38 people died as a result of police action, including 22 who were shot dead. Thirteen of those deaths involved cases of someone refusing to comply with a police order.

In July, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination — made up of 18 independent experts — flagged concerns about the “excessive use of force by law enforcement” in France.

It also called for the government to “adopt legislation that defines and prohibits racial profiling”.