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Pakistan’s commercial capital shuts down on religious party’s call for strike over Gaza

Special Pakistan’s commercial capital shuts down on religious party’s call for strike over Gaza
Commuters make their way through a partially deserted street during a nationwide strike called by a Pakistani political party and supported by trade organizations against the Israeli military aggression in Gaza, in Karachi, Pakistan on April 26, 2025. (AN Photo)
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Updated 26 April 2025
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Pakistan’s commercial capital shuts down on religious party’s call for strike over Gaza

Pakistan’s commercial capital shuts down on religious party’s call for strike over Gaza
  • The strike was widely supported by organizations representing traders, lawyers and people from different walks of life
  • Pakistan has consistently demanded Israel’s accountability and called for uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza
Updated 26 April 2025
NAIMAT KHAN
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KARACHI: Markets and businesses remained shut in Pakistan’s commercial capital of Karachi on Saturday in response to a nationwide strike called by Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) religious party to express solidarity with the people of Gaza, amid renewed Israeli military strikes in the Palestinian enclave.
The strike was widely supported by various organizations representing traders, lawyers and people from different walks of life, and there was no major commercial activity in the southern Pakistani port city.
It followed massive Gaza solidarity marches in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad this month, which were attended by tens of thousands of Pakistanis who demanded the world stop Israeli military actions.
“Today, there is a strike throughout Karachi,” JI Karachi chief Monem Zafar Khan said, noting the strike was not only supported by Karachi’s business community but also by professionals and civil society groups.
“It is a shutter-down strike, and the entire business community of Karachi, the lawyers of Karachi, the students of Karachi, the scholars of Karachi, the civil society of Karachi — all of them are supporting this.”




Police patrol on streets during a nationwide strike called by a Pakistani political party and supported by trade organizations against the Israeli military aggression in Gaza, in Karachi, Pakistan on April 26, 2025. (AN Photo)

The strike was largely observed in Karachi and it could only partially take hold elsewhere in Pakistan.
Pakistan, which does not have diplomatic ties with Israel, has consistently condemned Israeli military actions and called for the uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory.
The South Asian country has stressed the urgent need to revive negotiations aimed at a two-state solution to the Palestine Issue, with East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.




Commuters make their way through a partially deserted street during a nationwide strike called by a Pakistani political party and supported by trade organizations against the Israeli military aggression in Gaza, in Karachi, Pakistan on April 26, 2025. (AN Photo)

Muhammad Aslam Khan, general-secretary of the Cooperative Market Association, condemned Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed over 50,000 Palestinians since Oct. 2023, and demanded stronger international action over it.
“It is now 12 o’clock and the city is completely silent and shut down,” Aslam told Arab News, surrounded by closed shops in the Saddar business district.
“We are sending them [Palestinians] a clear message that the hearts of the people are beating for the Palestinian Muslims, and we are deeply pained by the genocide happening to them, the oppression they are facing, and the fact that their basic needs like food and water have been completely cut off.”




Police stand guard during a nationwide strike called by a Pakistani political party and supported by trade organizations against the Israeli military aggression in Gaza, in Karachi, Pakistan on April 26, 2025. (AN Photo)

Usman Sharif, a representative of the All-Pakistan Cottage Industry Association in Karachi, said the Pakistani trader fraternity wanted to contribute to the Palestinian cause.
“Every trader says that they want to contribute in some way, whether it be through prayers, funds, participating in the strike, joining a rally, or through a boycott,” he said.
“The strike is happening across Pakistan, and here in Karachi as well, people have participated in the strike.”

Topics: karachi protest War on Gaza Israel Hamas war Pakistan Palestine pakistan palestine ties Jamaat-e-Islami (JI)

Pakistani animated film ‘The Glassworker’ heads to US theaters with Watermelon Pictures

Pakistani animated film ‘The Glassworker’ heads to US theaters with Watermelon Pictures
Updated 1 min 10 sec ago
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Pakistani animated film ‘The Glassworker’ heads to US theaters with Watermelon Pictures

Pakistani animated film ‘The Glassworker’ heads to US theaters with Watermelon Pictures
  • The Pakistani animated film revolves around two people from disparate backgrounds, a glassblower and a violinist
  • The movie, selected as Pakistan’s submission to the 2025 Academy Awards, took the animation world by storm in 2024
Updated 1 min 10 sec ago
Muhammad Ibrahim

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s first hand-drawn animated film “The Glassworker” is set to screen in the United States (US) after Watermelon Pictures acquired its distribution rights, the US-based film production and distribution company said this week.

The Glassworker, released in Pakistan in July last year, was storyboarded by young Pakistani animator, Usman Riaz, who also directed the movie that comprised 1,477 cuts and 2,500 individual drawings, bringing to life the coming-of-age tale of two people from disparate backgrounds: young Vincent who is an apprentice at his father’s glass workshop, and the talented violinist Alliz, the daughter of a military colonel.

Around them, a war threatens to upend their lives and the relationships between the children and parents are tested. A total of 250 people worked on the film including national and international cast and crew.

In a post on Instagram, Watermelon Pictures said they were proud to announce that their very first animated feature, The Glassworker, would soon be coming to US theaters.

“After being selected as Pakistan’s submission to the 2025 Academy Awards, #TheGlassworker took the animation world by storm as Pakistan’s first ever hand-drawn animated feature,” the distribution company said.

“An ode to Hayo Miyazaki’s dedication to telling beautiful stories frame by frame, The Glassworker is truly a work of art.”

The deal was closed during Cannes and negotiated by Hamza Ali for Watermelon Pictures and Hélène Espeisse on behalf of Charades, which is representing the film at this year’s Marché Du Film, US entertainment website DEADLINE reported.

“The Glassworker is a breathtaking, emotional story that will resonate deeply with audiences of all ages. We are honored to bring this cinematic gem to US theaters,” Watermelon Pictures co-founder Hamza Ali was quoted as saying.

Ali launched the film production and distribution company in April, 2024 along with his brother, Badie Ali, with Alana Hadid as creative director. The firm aims to amplify the voices of underrepresented filmmakers across the globe.

“We are thrilled that The Glassworker will be released theatrically in the United States by Watermelon Pictures. Their rapid growth and recent string of successful, meaningful films make them the perfect partner to bring our work to American audiences,” Khizer Riaz, the film’s producer, was quoted as saying.

“We couldn’t be more excited.”

Topics: The Glassworker

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Pakistani woman police officer wins Global Investigation Award in Dubai

Pakistani woman police officer wins Global Investigation Award in Dubai
Updated 49 min 50 sec ago
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Pakistani woman police officer wins Global Investigation Award in Dubai

Pakistani woman police officer wins Global Investigation Award in Dubai
  • ASP Anum Sher Khan was awarded at the World Police Summit 2025 for the rescue of two young girls from human traffickers and arrest of suspects
  • Another Pakistani officer, Muhammad Isa Khan, secured the second position in the ‘Best Artificial Intelligence Implementation in Policing’ category
Updated 49 min 50 sec ago
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: A Pakistani woman police officer, Anum Sher Khan, has won the prestigious ‘Excellence in Criminal Investigation’ award at the 2025 World Police Summit Awards in Dubai, the Punjab police said on Friday.

The World Police Summit 2025 featured conferences, strategic sessions and workshops that focused on four main areas, including combating organized crime and promoting community policing, the use of artificial intelligence in policing, capacity-building for junior officers, and enhancing road safety and traffic enforcement.

Themed as “Beyond the Badge: Envision the Next Era of Policing,” this year’s summit explored critical global challenges such as cross-border crime, public-private security collaboration, and AI integration across law enforcement. The four-day event featured 12 core policing tracks delivered across four specialized conferences, covering topics like cybercrime, border security, anti-narcotics efforts, road safety, and human trafficking.

Khan said she was recognized for her successful rescue of two young girls from human traffickers and bringing the perpetrators to justice, adding the award validates her team’s dedication and acknowledges the positive impact of their work on the lives of victims and their families.

“I’m deeply honored to have received the Criminal Investigation Award, representing the Police Service of Pakistan at an international forum,” Khan, who currently serves as Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Sargodha, told Arab News.

Pakistan’s Anam Sher Khan, assistant superintendent of Punjab Police, gestures for a photograph with the “Excellence in Criminal Investigation” award at the 2025 World Police Summit held at the World Trade Center in Dubai on May 16, 2025. (Photo courtesy: Facebook/Punjab Police)

“This case underscores the critical role of law enforcement in safeguarding vulnerable populations. I’m grateful for the recognition and look forward to continuing Punjab Police’s efforts in making our communities safer. The World Police Summit provides a valuable platform for sharing best practices and recognizing excellence, and I’m proud to be part of it.”

In a post on Facebook, Punjab Inspector-General Dr. Usman Anwar congratulated Khan on winning first position in the Excellence in Criminal Investigation Award 2025 category for her “outstanding performance in criminal investigation.”

Pakistan’s Anam Sher Khan, assistant superintendent of Punjab Police, receives souvenir at the 2025 World Police Summit held at the World Trade Center in Dubai on May 16, 2025. (Photo courtesy: Facebook/Punjab Police)

“Talented police officers like ASP Anum Sher Khan are the pride and valuable asset of Punjab Police,” Dr. Anwar was quoted as saying.

The jury considered police officers from 192 countries for the awards in various categories, and Khan was not the only Pakistani police officer whose exceptional services were recognized at the event.

“DPO [District Police Officer] Kasur Muhammad Isa Khan was awarded second position for his high performance in the ‘Best Artificial Intelligence Implementation in Policing Award’ category,” the Punjab police said.

Organized under the patronage of the UAE government, the World Police Summit is one of the most prominent global platforms for recognizing excellence in policing. The recognition of Pakistani police officers.

Topics: Punjab Police Dubai Police World Police Summit

Clashes between India and Pakistan upend lives in a Kashmiri village

Clashes between India and Pakistan upend lives in a Kashmiri village
Updated 17 May 2025
AP
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Clashes between India and Pakistan upend lives in a Kashmiri village

Clashes between India and Pakistan upend lives in a Kashmiri village
  • Following May 10 truce, residents of Gingal returned to assess the damage
  • Those with intact or livable houses sheltered neighbors who had lost theirs
Updated 17 May 2025
AP

GINGAL: Mohammad Younis Khan was among 40 residents seeking shelter in a cowshed when shelling began in Gingal, a scenic mountain village in north Kashmir on the Indian-administered side of the de facto border with Pakistan. Men, women and children sought refuge in the 3-meter-by-4.2 meter (10-feet-by-14 feet) space, which they felt offered greater safety than their brick and cement homes.

Huddled together, they heard the swoosh and thunder of the projectiles being fired from both sides of the border. When they heard a very loud sound from just outside the shelter, they held their breath and expected the worst. But the projectile had landed on soft earth and detonated a couple of feet below the ground sparing them.

Younis, who could tell the outgoing projectiles from the incoming ones by the sound they made, described the impact outside “as if a lightning bolt had struck the ground.” They all feared that India and Pakistan were at war and they would not survive the night.

“We were so scared that we didn’t dare go out to a water tap just four feet away from the door even when the children were crying of thirst,” Younis told The Associated Press.

Mohammad Shafi and four family members were having dinner in their kitchen when they heard explosions and ran outside. They had just managed to reach the road when they saw a blast damage the kitchen they had been dining in. They ran down a slope and hid among trees.

It was the night of May 8, and the shelling had intensified from the previous evening. Nasreena Begum rushed out, leaving her special-needs son behind as he was too heavy to be carried. She was tormented but was relieved to find him safe at home the following morning.

Most residents left Gingal for the town of Baramulla about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south, where some saw their homes destroyed on TV or social media.

Naseer Ahmad, a Jammu & Kashmir police officer posted in south Kashmir, learned via Facebook that shelling damaged his Paranpillan home, instantly recognizable by the surprisingly intact large walnut tree beside it.

Following the May 10 ceasefire, residents of Gingal returned to assess the damage, finding their homes riddled with shrapnel. Those with intact or livable houses sheltered neighbors who had lost theirs.

About 160 kilometers (100 miles) south, the usually bustling tourist spot of Pahalgam is now quiet, its residents facing a different challenge. It was here when, on April 22, militants killed 26 tourists in the worst assault in years targeting civilians in the restive region.

Pahalgam, usually lively with May holidaymakers, is now deserted. Businesses are shuttered and tourist attractions within a 30-kilometer (18-mile) radius of the assault site are closed to locals and visitors alike.

Back in Gingal, Younis prays for peace.

“Where will we go if the clashes continue? Drones can reach anywhere,” he said. “Those who want war have never experienced it.”

Topics: India Pakistan Ties

Gunmen kill four paramilitary troops in attack on security post in Pakistan’s southwest

Gunmen kill four paramilitary troops in attack on security post in Pakistan’s southwest
Updated 17 May 2025
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Gunmen kill four paramilitary troops in attack on security post in Pakistan’s southwest

Gunmen kill four paramilitary troops in attack on security post in Pakistan’s southwest
  • No group immediately claims responsibility for the assault in Balochistan’s Khuzdar district
  • Local official says security forces have surrounded the area and a hunt is on for the assailants
Updated 17 May 2025
Saadullah Akhtar

QUETTA: Unidentified gunmen targeted a security check post and killed four members of the Levies paramilitary force in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, officials said on Saturday.

The attack targeted the Samand post located some 20 kilometers from Khuzdar city in wee hours of Saturday, according to Deputy Commissioner Yasir Iqbal Dashti. Four Levies men were killed as a result of an intense exchange of gunfire.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the assault but suspicion is likely to fall on Baloch separatists who have intensified their attacks in the province over the last one year.

“The attackers managed to flee by taking advantage of the dark and the bodies of the slain troops were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital Khuzdar,” Dashti told Arab News.

“Security forces have surrounded the area and a hunt for the attackers is underway.”

Balochistan, Pakistan’s most impoverished province, has been the site of a decades-old insurgency, where separatist militants often target security forces, police, foreigners and ethnic Punjabi commuters and workers, who they see as “outsiders,” by wresting control of highways and remote towns.

In Jan., dozens of fighters of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) separatist group launched a brazen attack on Khuzdar’s Zehri town and seized control of its main market for hours. The militants had set government buildings ablaze and snatched Levies’ vehicles and weapons.

This month, gunmen killed three people, including two barbers from the eastern Punjab province, and set a police vehicle ablaze in Balochistan’s Lasbela district, officials said.

The separatists accuse Islamabad of exploiting the province’s natural resources, such as gold and copper, and accuse foreigners and people from other province of backing the Pakistani state. Successive Pakistani governments have denied the allegations and said they only worked for the uplift of the region and its people.

Topics: Balochistan Attacks

Lammy says UK, US working to ensure India-Pakistan ceasefire holds

Lammy says UK, US working to ensure India-Pakistan ceasefire holds
Updated 38 min 59 sec ago
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Lammy says UK, US working to ensure India-Pakistan ceasefire holds

Lammy says UK, US working to ensure India-Pakistan ceasefire holds
  • Last week’s hostilities raised alarm among world powers about a full-blown war in South Asia
  • David Lammy arrived in Islamabad on first official visit days after the US brokered the truce
Updated 38 min 59 sec ago
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Britain is working with the United States (US) to ensure a ceasefire between India and Pakistan endures and that “confidence-building measures” and dialogue take place between the nuclear-armed neighbors, Foreign Minister David Lammy said on Saturday.

The nuclear-armed South Asian arch rivals agreed on May 10 to a ceasefire, brokered by the US, in their worst fighting in nearly three decades, which followed a deadly attack on tourists that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad. Pakistan denies involvement.

Last week’s hostilities between Pakistan and India raised alarm among world powers about a full-blown war in South Asia. Britain was among several countries that called for restraint, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying the UK was “urgently engaging” with both sides.

“We will continue to work with the United States to ensure that we get an enduring ceasefire, to ensure that dialogue is happening and to work through with Pakistan and India how we can get to confidence and confidence-building measures between the two sides,” Lammy told Reuters in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad at the end of a two-day visit.

Asked about India’s suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, potentially squeezing Pakistan’s water supply, Lammy said: “We would urge all sides to meet their treaty obligations.”

India announced suspending the 1960 World Bank-brokered treaty, which ensures water for 80 percent of Pakistani farms, a day after the April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 tourists.

Pakistan has said Britain and other countries, in addition to the United States, played a major role in de-escalating the fighting. Diplomats and analysts say the ceasefire remains fragile.

Trump told Fox News on Friday that he had helped stop a potential “nuclear war” between India and Pakistan, reiterating that he had offered trade to both nations if they stopped fighting.

“Also, Pakistan, great conversations with Pakistan, you know we can’t forget them, and because it does takes two to tango and with India, I felt very certain, and with Pakistan, I also talked about trade, oh, they would love to trade,” he said.

“They are brilliant people. They make incredible products and we don’t do much trade with them.”

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed his desire for peace in South Asia despite a recent military standoff with India, Sharif’s office said on Saturday, following his meeting with Foreign Secretary Lammy.

“The UK Foreign Secretary congratulated the Prime Minister on the ceasefire understanding and said the UK would continue to play a constructive role for promotion of peace and stability in the region,” Sharif’s office said.

Fighting erupted last week when India launched strikes on what it said were “terrorist camps” in Pakistan following a deadly April attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people. New Delhi accused Islamabad of backing the militants behind the assault, an allegation Pakistan denies.

Four days of drone, missile and artillery exchanges followed, killing around 70 people, including dozens of civilians, on both sides of the border. The conflict raised fears of a broader war before a ceasefire was announced by US President Donald Trump.

This was Lammy’s first official visit to Pakistan, which came just days after one of the most serious military confrontations between Pakistan and India in decades.

The visit underscored the “robust and multifaceted partnership” between the two nations and their commitment to regional and international peace, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said.

With input from Reuters

Topics: Pakistan UK Ties

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