Pak News Wire

Sources: Nigerian airstrike kills 37 mourners in Niger

Sources: Nigerian airstrike kills 37 mourners in Niger

A military plane on Tuesday dropped a bomb on mourners in a Niger village on the border with Nigeria, killing 37 people and wounding 20 othe...

Egyptian village mourns its sons

Egyptian village mourns its sons

Thirteen of the Egyptian Christians killed by ISIS militants in Libya were from Al Aour, a dusty village where life is tough and work is sca...

Official: ISIS burned up to 40 people alive in Iraq

Official: ISIS burned up to 40 people alive in Iraq

Reports that ISIS burned alive up to 40 people near the Iraqi town of al-Baghdadi are true, an Iraqi official tells CNN. CNN cannot independ...

Start here: Latest developments in fight against ISIS

Start here: Latest developments in fight against ISIS

ISIS launches a new assault but gets pushed back. The U.S. disagrees with some allies on ransom payments. And a comic book creator takes on ...

Darren Clarke named Europe’s Ryder Cup captain

Darren Clarke named Europe’s Ryder Cup captain

Darren Clarke is Europe's new Ryder Cup captain.

Long march: Shikarpur families wait for govt to hear them

<div>KARACHI:  The last time Arfa saw her uncle was when he was on his way to work. He had some documents in his hands and had just stopped at the Karbala Maula Imambargah to offer his prayers. </div> She never saw him again. Her uncle, Syed Ghulam Mustafa, was one of the 62 men who died in a powerful blast that ripped through the imambargah’s prayer hall on January 30. Arfa and her family had joined other families of the victims of the blast in a protest at Numaish Chowrangi on Wednesday. A total of 2,000 men, women and children along with the Wurasa Shuhada Committee of Shikarpur had marched from Shikarpur to hold a sit-in in the city. They demanded that an army operation should be carried out in Shikarpur to weed out the militants. They added that if their demands were not met, they will march up to the house of the chief minister (CM) of Sindh. The committee, which is headed by Allama Maqsood Dhomki met with a Pakistan Peoples Party delegation from CM House and presented them with a list of 25 demands. Sindh Information and Local Bodies Minister Sharjeel Memon termed the negotiations successful till the filing of this report. The committee, however, has not made an announcement as yet about whether they plan to continue with the sit-in or not. Sources claim that their top demand was for a military operation like Zarb-e-Azb in Shikarpur. They demanded the arrest and execution of those responsible for the blast along with a search operation of madrassas in the area. The protesters also demanded government jobs for the victims’ families, a ban on religious outfits, medical facilities for the injured, proper security at imambargahs and Shia institutions along with installation of CCTV cameras. “A search operation must be carried out in madarssas in Shikarpur,” said Shamshad, who lost two nephews, a cousin and a neighbour, in the blast. “The army needs to step in now.” While talking to The Express Tribune, Arfa said that when the blast happened, their house shook and thick black smoke made it difficult to see anything. She remembers running outside with the rest of the women in her house to see if their men were alive. “We have spent our childhood here,” she said. “Shikarpur used to be so lively. Now it’s just grim.” The protesters were being led by the committee but are also being supported by the Majlis-e-Wahadat-e-Muslimeen (MWM). According to MWM’s Amin Shaheedi, these protests were being organised to wake the government up from its sleep and do something for the people. “Why can’t CM Qaim Ali Shah ban all groups involved in sectarian violence?” he asked. “Why is the Punjab government supporting them? Why has no operation been carried out against them in Balochistan?” Men and women sat with solemn faces, listening to the cleric’s speeches and shouting slogans with them. The protesters arrived in Karachi on Tuesday night after leaving Shikarpur on Sunday afternoon. During their journey, they made stops in Sukkur, Bhit Shah and Hyderabad. After visiting the Wadi-e-Hussain graveyard, they settled at Numaish Chowrangi, where camps for food, telephone and medicine were also set up. Protesters said that 95 vehicles had escorted them to Karachi. Published in The Express Tribune, February 19th, 2015.

Long march: Shikarpur families wait for govt to hear them

KARACHI: The last time Arfa saw her uncle was when he was on his way to work. He had some documents in his hands and had just stopped at th...

Police officer pleads not guilty

Police officer pleads not guilty

A police officer in Alabama accused of slamming a 59-year-old visitor from India to the ground, causing partial paralysis to the man, entere...

Latest developments in fight against ISIS

Latest developments in fight against ISIS

ISIS launches a new assault but gets pushed back. What else is happening in the battle against the extremists.

Inside search for Flight MH370

Inside search for Flight MH370

Cop under fire for turning off camera

Cop under fire for turning off camera

A St. Louis man has filed a lawsuit alleging excessive force in a case that involves an officer turning off a dashcam video of that man'...

Syrian activists are heckling ISIS online

Syrian activists are heckling ISIS online

Hidden, but vocal, average Syrians are questioning one of the most feared terror groups in the world and attempting to hold them accountable...

ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ‘top target’

ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ‘top target’

The U.S. is maintaining a list of about two dozen top ISIS operatives in Iraq and Syria it hopes to target in airstrikes, according to a sen...

Shining light on China’s ‘Rat Tribe’

Shining light on China’s ‘Rat Tribe’

Kristie Lu Stout speaks to photographer Sim Chi Yin about migrant workers who live underground in Beijing

U.S. keeping ISIS kill list

U.S. keeping ISIS kill list

Does India have a Big Brother problem?

Does India have a Big Brother problem?

The attack on Charlie Hebdo reignited a furious debate about freedom of expression in India