Category: 1. Pakistan

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding chairman Imran Khan intends to lead a protest movement from jail against the 26th Constitutional Amendment, while his sons Sulaiman and Qasim will join the campaign after returning from the United States, his sister Aleema Khan said on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters outside Adiala Jail, Aleema conveyed the jailed former prime minister’s message to supporters, claiming he remained resolute despite solitary confinement and harsh prison conditions.

“He [Imran Khan] said he is free inside jail, while those outside are imprisoned,” she said, adding, “People must come out for themselves, for democracy, for the rule of law, and against the 26th Amendment. Anyone who cannot bear the weight of this movement should step aside now.”

Imran, she said, had asked that the protest movement should reach its peak on August 5 — the date that will mark two years since his imprisonment.

“After the 26th Amendment, all public rights have been effectively taken away,” she added, noting that their entire family would participate in the campaign while former prime minister sons will join the campaign after returning from the United States.

“Imran Khan’s sons, Qasim and Sulaiman, will first go to the United States to raise awareness about the injustices faced by their father, and then they will take part in the movement being launched in Pakistan. Imran Khan has been informed of this,” he said.

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Aleema, accompanied by her sisters Noreen and Uzma, said she had been denied access to her brother, although other family members were eventually allowed to meet him. She expressed concern over his treatment in custody, describing it as unprecedented.

“What is being done to him is unlike the treatment of any other prisoner. He has been denied access to television, newspapers, and reading material for a week. His books are lying in the deputy superintendent’s room,” she said.

She added that PTI founder has been held in solitary confinement and has not been allowed to see his doctor for the past ten months. “They think they can break him. But they cannot,” she said, adding that she herself had also been barred from meeting him.

Earlier in the day, dozens of PTI supporters gathered at the Gorakhpur checkpoint as Khan’s sisters attempted to walk toward the prison. Police contingents were deployed, and party workers raised slogans. PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja was also present at the scene.

While Aleema was stopped near a local hotel and not allowed to proceed, other family members were eventually granted access. Former First Lady Bushra Bibi was also allowed to meet her sister-in-law Mehrunnisa.

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Separately, PTI focal person Niazullah Niazi Advocate and MNA Munawra Baloch were stopped by police at the Dahgal checkpoint. Senator Faisal Javed and Advocate Zahoor Abbas Chaudhry were also denied entry at Gorakhpur.

However, according to party sources, Barrister Gohar, Salman Safdar, and Zahoor Abbas Chaudhry were later allowed to meet the former premier.

Speaking to reporters before the jail meeting, Safdar said the visit was as significant as any earlier one. When asked why the legal team had not been able to secure relief despite over 700 days of Imran’s detention, he said, “We are fighting the cases in courts and doing our best.”

KARACHI: Pakistan has prequalified four investors for the sale of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), while its Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCOP) has approved the transaction structure for the denationalization of the Roosevelt Hotel in New York under a joint venture, the ministry of privatization said on Tuesday.

Pakistan has been seeking to sell a 51-100 percent stake in the struggling national airline to raise funds and reform cash-draining, state-owned enterprises as envisaged under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund program. It would be the country’s first major privatization in nearly two decades.

Among the bidding groups, one is a consortium of major industrial firms Lucky Cement, Hub Power Holdings, Kohat Cement and Metro Ventures. Another is led by investment firm Arif Habib Corp. and includes fertilizer producer Fatima Fertilizer, private education operator The City School, and real estate firm Lake City Holdings. Additionally, Fauji Fertilizer Company, a military-backed conglomerate, and Pakistani airline Airblue, have been approved to bid for PIA.

“The prequalified parties will now proceed to the buy-side due diligence phase — a critical next step in the transparent and competitive privatization process of PIACL,” the privatization commission’s statement said.

PIA, once a respected carrier in Asia, has been propped up by taxpayers for decades due to political interference, corruption and inefficiencies. The airline’s privatization has repeatedly collapsed amid union resistance, legal hurdles and low investor appetite.

Pakistani state-owned enterprises post annual losses of more than Rs800 billion ($2.87 billion), and when subsidies, grants and other support are included, the burden swells beyond Rs1 trillion ($3.59 billion), Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb told parliament while presenting the budget for fiscal year 2025–26 earlier this month.

PIA has been one of the government’s most costly liabilities, which has accumulated over $2.5 billion in losses in roughly a decade and been surviving on repeated bailouts that have weighed heavily on Pakistan’s strained budget.

Last month, five consortiums submitted expressions of interest for a 51–100 percent stake in PIA after the government restructured its balance sheet to make the deal more attractive. It also scrapped the sales tax on leased aircraft and is providing limited protection from legal and tax claims. Around 80 percent of the airline’s debt has been transferred to the state.

ROOSEVELT HOTEL

Separately, the CCOP approved the transaction structure for Roosevelt Hotel under a “Joint Venture model with multiple options.”

“This option is aimed at maximizing long-term value for the country, while ensuring flexibility, multiple exit opportunities, and minimizing future fiscal exposure,” the privatization commission said.

How much money the hotel ultimately brings in, and its overall valuation, depends on the type of transaction structure adopted, Privatization Commission Chairman Muhammad Ali told Arab News in an interview last month. If the government formed a joint venture with a private investor, sharing both the risks and future profits, the hotel could be worth four to five times more than its as-is valuation, he said at the time.

“So, depending on what sort of structure you have, how much risk you take, how much effort the government puts in, we can make a lot of money from this asset,” the privatization chief had said.

The Roosevelt, a 1,015-room historic hotel in Midtown Manhattan, has long been one of Pakistan’s most prominent but politically sensitive overseas assets. Acquired by Pakistan International Airlines Investment Limited (PIAIL) in 1979, the hotel occupies a full city block on Madison Avenue and 45th Street. Over the past two decades, successive Pakistani governments have floated plans to sell, lease, or redevelop the property, but no proposal has advanced beyond early-stage planning.

Operations at the Roosevelt were suspended in 2020 following steep financial losses during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, Pakistan entered a short-term lease with the City of New York to use the property as a temporary shelter for asylum seekers, generating more than $220 million in projected rental income. That agreement ended in 2024 and no new revenue stream has since been announced.

The Roosevelt Hotel is one of several state assets the government hopes will contribute to its target of raising Rs86 billion ($306 million) in privatization proceeds during the fiscal year starting July 1, alongside the sale of PIA and three electricity distribution companies.

ISLAMABAD:

The Chief of Staff of China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), Lt General Wang Gang, praised the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) leadership for its professional acumen and strategic foresight while paying tribute to the exemplary performance of the PAF during the recent conflict with India.

A high-level defence delegation, led by Lt General Gang, visited Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu at Air Headquarters in Islamabad on Tuesday, the military’s media wing reported.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), matters of mutual interest, regional security dynamics, and avenues for enhanced bilateral cooperation, particularly in airpower and operational synergy, were discussed during the meeting.

Also Read: Chinese envoy praises PAF for ‘commendable utilisation of Chinese-origin equipment’

Lt General Gang praised PAF pilots for delivering a decisive and measured response under the resolute leadership of Air Chief Marshal Sidhu, describing it as a textbook example of precision, discipline, and courage in the face of unprovoked aggression, the ISPR said.

“He expressed deep appreciation for the high state of operational readiness and the cutting-edge capabilities of the Pakistan Air Force,” it added.

The Chinese air chief was particularly impressed by the PAF’s seamless integration of Multi-Domain Operations, calling it a hallmark of modern air warfare. He conveyed the PLAAF’s keen interest in learning from the PAF’s battle-proven experience in Multi-Domain Operations, the statement read.

On the occasion, Air Chief Marshal Sidhu warmly welcomed the distinguished guests and reiterated that Pakistan and China enjoy historic, time-tested ties rooted in mutual trust, strategic convergence, and shared aspirations for regional peace and stability, it added.

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According to the ISPR, Lt General Gang was given a comprehensive briefing on the PAF’s modern force structure, strategic initiatives, and the evolution of its operational doctrine.

Air Chief Marshal Sidhu also reaffirmed the strong bond of friendship between the two air forces and reiterated the PAF’s commitment to expanding cooperation in training, technology, and operational domains.

“The meeting stands as a testament to the shared resolve of Pakistan and China to advance their time-tested strategic partnership through deepened cooperation and innovation-driven collaboration,” the statement concluded.

KARACHI: Actor Humaira Asghar Ali was found dead in a flat in Defence Phase 6’s Ittehad Commercial area on Tuesday, according to police.

Law enforcement personnel said they had arrived at the premises around 3:15pm to vacate the flat on court orders. When no one answered, the police broke open the door and discovered the actor’s body lying on the floor.

Police officials said the actor had been living alone in the flat for the past seven years. 

Forensic evidence was collected from the scene, and the body was shifted to the hospital for post-mortem examination.

The flat’s owner had filed a case over unpaid rent, officials added. The body was discovered when a court-appointed bailiff arrived to execute the eviction order.

Police said the cause of death will be determined after the post-mortem. However, authorities revealed that the actor’s body is likely “15 to 20 days old”.

Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed said that the body brought to the hospital was “decomposed.

One of the actor’s neighbours told Geo News the flat owner had said that Humaira had been delaying rent payments. The neighbour also confirmed that police broke open the door of her flat earlier today and discovered her body inside.

The neighbour further shared that Humaira did not interact much with other residents of the building and noted that she did not own a car.

Ali famously appeared on a reality show, “Tamasha Ghar”, and in a film named “Jalaibee”.

The actor-cum-model’s death comes less than three weeks after renowned actress Ayesha Khan was found dead in her flat in Karachi’s Gulshan-e-Iqbal area.

84-year-old Ayesha’s death came to light when her neighbours informed her family about a foul smell emitting from her apartment.

A German court ruled on Tuesday that the government must issue visas to an Afghan family previously accepted under a programme for those at risk after the Taliban seized power in 2021.

The new government under conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz has frozen the programme, but Berlin’s administrative court said the family had been given a “legally binding” commitment and must be allowed to travel to Germany.

About 2,500 Afghans with similar approvals are estimated to be in Pakistan waiting to be able to travel to Germany.

The programme was set up for those who worked with Germany’s army or other institutions in Afghanistan, as well as journalists and activists judged to be threatened by the Taliban.

However, the new government under Merz — who made a crackdown on immigration one of his key election pledges — has said in its coalition agreement it wants to end the programme “as far as possible”.

The family concerned by Tuesday’s decision is currently in Pakistan and had lodged an urgent appeal, telling the court they were about to be deported to Afghanistan where they would be in fear of their lives.

The family was given approval to come to Germany in 2023 under the programme.

They then applied to the German embassy in Islamabad for visas but these have not been issued.

The court said the government had the right “to decide whether and under what conditions the admission programme for Afghan nationals will be continued” and could “abstain from new approvals during this decision process”.

But “it cannot release itself” from approvals which have already been given, it said.

According to the last update given about the scheme given in April 2024, more than 33,000 Afghans have travelled to Germany under the programme.