At least 123 people were killed when a lorry transporting oil burst into flames near the Pakistani city of Ahmedpur East, local officials say. A crowd had gathered reportedly to collect fuel leaking from the overturned vehicle when it caught fire. Dozens are being treated in hospital. Unconfirmed reports suggest the tanker had been speeding … Read more
Fifteen years after her horrific gang rape by a local clan in her village in Pakistan, Mukhtar Mai is reliving her ordeal — and courageousness — through a US opera inspired by her story. “I was very emotional when I first started watching it and began reliving the incident in my mind,” Mai, 37, told … Read more
Pakistan will punish social media companies that fail to take action against online blasphemy, the interior minister said, adding he requested a meeting with Facebook to discuss the issue. Pakistan’s government wants social media networks to remove material deemed insulting to Islam or the Prophet Muhammad, and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif last week warned those … Read more
Pakistan on Monday ordered the border with Afghanistan to be reopened “immediately”, a month after it was closed amid soaring tensions as Islamabad and Kabul accused one another of providing safe haven for militants. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ordered the two main crossings on the long, porous border be reopened as a gesture of “goodwill”, … Read more
Hundreds of families were fleeing from both sides of Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan Monday, officials said, as Islamabad continued a violent crackdown on extremists after multiple attacks last week raised fears of a militant resurgence. Pakistan has accused Afghanistan of harbouring the militants who carried out last week’s attacks, which killed more than 100 people … Read more
Hundreds of Afghan families have been displaced by cross-border rocket and artillery fire by Pakistani troops, an aid group said on Monday, as tension rose after Pakistan said militants implicated in recent attacks had taken shelter in Afghanistan. As many as 200 families have been displaced from their homes, while some civilian casualties have also … Read more
Pakistan is conducting the mass repatriation of Afghan refugees through coercion, threats and abuse, Human Rights Watch said in a scathing report Monday, accusing the UN refugee agency of complicity in promoting the exodus. Hundreds of thousands of Afghans have been forced to return to their homeland, which is racked by conflict, poverty and unemployment, … Read more