World

Islamabad, May 1 (IANS) The killing of nine suspects by Punjab province's Crime Control Department in Lahore, Sahiwal and Toba Tek Singh follows a same pattern, where armed suspects allegedly open fire, police return it and suspects are found dead while accomplices escape into darkness. The almost same narrative in all incidents raises questions about the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in Pakistan, a report has stated.

These deaths occurred just months after a Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) report accused the CCD of following a "deliberate policy of staged police encounters leading to extrajudicial killings." At least 670 CCD-led encounters over eight months in 2025 led to the death of 924 suspects, according to an editorial in Pakistan's leading daily Dawn. The recent deaths highlight the issues raised by the HRCP.

Six suspects died in separate operations in Lahore alone, with police mentioning accounts of armed resistance. Two men who had already escaped custody were intercepted and killed within hours in Sahiwal. An alleged drug dealer was shot dead at a checkpoint in Toba Tek Singh after allegedly opening fire.

"The pattern points to a culture of impunity in which lethal force has become the default response to crime. Such extrajudicial violence does not make citizens safer. It erodes the rule of law and public trust in institutions meant to protect them. When suspects are killed before they can face trial, justice is not served but circumvented," the editorial in Dawn mentioned.

Last month, a lady health worker from Muzaffargarh city of Pakistan's Punjab province requested country's Chief Justice to conduct an independent probe into the killing of her two sons in an alleged police ‘encounter’ demonstrated the eroding trust of people in provincial authorities to deliver justice. Her statement about police torture and the subsequent killing of her sons in a "so-called encounter" is not an isolated case.

"It reflects a continuing pattern in which the once sporadic instances of police staging encounters to eliminate suspected criminals appear to have evolved into a systemic practice. Figures cited by the media and rights groups reinforce this concern," Dawn editorial reflected.

"Estimates based on reported incidents indicate that hundreds of police encounters in recent months have resulted in a staggering number of deaths across Punjab. Rather than prompting action, these encounters have at times been praised by political authorities as an effective deterrent against crime. It signals not just tolerance of extrajudicial methods, but also a tacit endorsement of them as an official crime control policy," it added.

The increase in encounters demonstrates failure of the criminal justice system in Pakistan. Police relying on eliminating instead of prosecuting suspects showcases that investigation, evidence-gathering and trial processes are either too weak or too inconvenient to pursue. Each citizen has a right to a fair trial under the constitution. However, when the state starts to decide who should get that right and who should not, it crosses a dangerous threshold. The acceptance of these killings brutalises society, undermines people's trust and blurs the line between law enforcement and lawlessness, the Dawn editorial mentioned.

--IANS

akl/as

Islamabad, May 1 (IANS) One police constable was killed and two other personnel injured after armed assailants targetted a police vehicle in a rocket attack at Kangar Jan Bahadur in Bannu city of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday, local media reported.

The incident took place when a police vehicle from the Fateh Khel checkpoint was targetted with a rocket attack while personnel were heading back to police lines, according to Bannu District Police Officer (DPO) Yasir Afridi, Pakistan's leading daily The Express Tribune reported.

Constable (driver) Raza Ali Shah was killed while two others were injured in the attack. The injured police personnel were taken to the hospital for treatment.

Afridi said the attack was followed by firing and explosions, resulting in authorities closing Miryan Road for traffic. Security forces cordoned off the area and began a search and combing operation.

The incident occurred amid a rise in attacks targetting law enforcement personnel in Pakistan, especially the border provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Earlier this week, a police head constable was killed after armed assailants targetted a checkpost in Huramzai area of Pishin district in Pakistan's Balochistan province, local media reported.

Police said armed assailants opened fire on a police checkpost using automatic weapons, following which police retaliated, Pakistan's Dawn reported. According to the police official who wanted to remain anonymous, the exchange of fire, which continued for some time, claimed the life of head constable. The attackers fled from the spot.

On April 19, two Federal Constabulary (FC) personnel were shot dead by unidentified assailants in Kuram Garhi area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. According to police, the FC personnel were shopping at a local market on Sunday, when the assailants, who arrived on a bike, attacked them and managed to flee from the spot.

On March 18, an assistant sub-inspector of the Elite Force was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Mano Banda area of Gandigar in Upper Dir district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to police. The personnel identified as Bacha Yousaf Khan, was targetted by unidentified assailants outside his residence. He was immediately rushed to the hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

--IANS

akl/as

Bangkok, May 1 (IANS) Facing unprecedented geopolitical pressures and rapid technological disruption, Thailand's government marked National Labour Day on Friday by announcing a major structural overhaul of its workforce strategy.

In his remarks, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Yodchanan Wongsawat highlighted a dual threat to the national workforce: external economic pressures from the Middle East conflict and supply chain volatility, coupled with internal transitions driven by artificial intelligence, an aging population, and green energy mandates.

To navigate the crisis, Yodchanan announced a shift in priorities, stating that national success will no longer be solely determined by economic growth, as the government aims to build a "Good Job Economy" based on the quality of employment, income security, and dignity afforded to Thai workers, Xinhua News Agency reported.

He said that with the launch of inter-ministry operations through a unified national skills database, this centralized platform is designed to match employer demands directly with workforce capabilities and will be paired with international standard certifications to ensure fair compensation.

Additionally, Yodchanan, who also serves as the minister of higher education, science, research, and innovation, introduced a new funding initiative, "Learn with Budget, Graduate with a Job," aimed at upskilling labourers from basic technology users into high-value creators within the digital economy.

The administration also pledged to elevate agricultural workers into "smart farmers" and expand social safety nets to cover the Southeast Asian country's growing pool of gig-economy platform workers and informal labourers.

In a post on X, the United Nations stated, "Happy International Workers’ Day! For more than 100 years, International Labour Organization has worked to advance social justice & promote decent work for all — including dignity, equality, a fair income and safe working conditions."

The ILO works for promoting social justice and internationally recognised human and labour rights, pursuing its founding mission that social justice is essential to universal and lasting peace.

--IANS

akl/

Islamabad, May 1 (IANS) Pakistan is the single largest contributor to the global number of people living with hepatitis C, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Hepatitis Report 2026 has revealed. In addition, Pakistan has been named among the 10 nations which have most hepatitis C related deaths worldwide, sparking concerns over unsafe injections, reusable syringes and weak infection prevention measures in the country, local media reported.

According to the WHO report, hepatitis B and C are among the deadliest infections in the world despite being preventable and treatable while hepatitis C also being curable. As many as 287 million people were living in the world with chronic hepatitis B or C in 2024, including 240 million with hepatitis B and 47 million with hepatitis C, Pakistan's leading daily The News International reported.

As many as 1.34 million deaths occurred due to hepatitis B and C in 2024, including 1.1 million deaths from hepatitis B and 240,000 from hepatitis C, majority of them due to liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. The two infections account for more than 95 per cent of viral hepatitis related deaths around the world.

The WHO report stated that Pakistan “stands out clearly” as the single largest contributor to the global number of people with hepatitis C infection. The report connected the global hepatitis C burden to transmission, unsafe medical practices, injecting drug and gaps in diagnosis and treatment.

This is especially important in Pakistan's context as recent field reporting from various parts of the country found that banned reusable syringes and fake auto disable syringes were sold in the market, which experts stated can fuel transmission of hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV when used repeatedly by unqualified practitioners, News International reported. Health experts termed the findings a warning for Pakistan, where unnecessary injections remain common, quackery is widespread and infection prevention practices are poorly implemented in healthcare settings.

--IANS

akl/as

Baku, May 1 (IANS) Azerbaijan’s parliament, known as Milli Majlis, voted on Friday to suspend all cooperation with the European Parliament.

The decision was made by Baku in response to the "anti-Azerbaijani activities" by the European bloc's legislature.

The parliament in Baku passed a resolution to stop cooperation across all tracks and end its participation in the EU-Azerbaijan Parliamentary Cooperation Committee.

At the opening of the spring session, Milli Majlis Speaker Sahiba Gafarova announced that the chamber would take responsive measures over what she called anti-Azerbaijani activities by the European Parliament.

The legislature simultaneously initiated withdrawal procedures from the EuroNest Parliamentary Assembly, a regional inter-parliamentary forum with the European Parliament and parliaments of several other countries, Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile, the Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Azerbaijan, Marijana Kujundzic, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday.

"On May 1, the Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Azerbaijan, Marijana Kujunjic, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During the meeting, the unfounded and biased provisions against our country in the resolution adopted by the European Parliament on April 30 were strongly condemned, and a note of protest was submitted to the other party in this regard," read a statement issued by the Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday.

"It was emphasised that the provisions of the resolution in question distort reality, contradict the principles of objectivity, and the obligations of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states. It was emphasized that the European Parliament's display of such an approach negatively affects the normalization process in the region, as well as the prospects for relations between Azerbaijan and the European Union," it added.

Baku asserted that the claims made regarding the return of Armenian residents to the Karabakh region are "completely unfounded", and such calls are interference in the internal affairs of Azerbaijan.

"It was noted that despite the reintegration plan presented in 2023 in accordance with the Constitution of Azerbaijan, Armenian residents left the region voluntarily, and that statements claiming the opposite are false. At the same time, it was noted at the meeting that calls for the release of persons of Armenian origin, presented as 'prisoners of war', are also legally unacceptable. It was recalled that the Azerbaijani side, demonstrating a humane approach, released many prisoners, took steps towards confidence-building, and that the individuals sentenced to court were individuals who had committed a number of serious crimes, including terrorism, sabotage and war crimes," the Foreign Ministry stated.

–IANS

ksk/as

London, May 1 (IANS) A 45-year-old man was charged with attempted murder on Friday after he stabbed two Jewish men in London's Golders Green.

The suspect, identified as Essa Suleiman, has been charged with two counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a bladed article in a public place related to an attack in Golders Green on April 29, according to a statement released by London's Metropolitan Police.

Suleiman was charged with attempted murder in related to a separate incident that took place on the same day in Great Dover Street. He appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday and was remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on May 15.

Commander Helen Flanagan, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, which is leading the probe said, "Our thoughts remain with the victims involved and specialist officers continue to provide them with support as their recovery continues."

"We are determined to get justice for the victims and now that a person has been charged, I would urge everyone to avoid any further speculation in relation to this case so that justice can run its course," Flanagan added.

According to the statement, officers responded following reports of people stabbed in Highfield Avenue on Wednesday. According to the police, the suspect was tasered before the arrest. The suspect, who is a British national, born in Somalia, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

Two men, aged 76 and 34, were provided treatment at the site of the incident for stab wounds and later taken to hospital. Since then, the 34-year-old man has been released from hospital while the 76-year-old remains there in a stable condition.

"The suspect, who is reported to have been armed with a knife, is believed to have had an altercation with the occupant before leaving. The occupant received minor injuries and police arrived within around six minutes of being called. Officers carried out searches in the local area for the suspect, but he was not located. Officers also carried out enquiries to locate the man at an address connected to the suspect, but again, he was not located. The attack in Golders Green was formally declared a terrorist incident and officers from Counter Terrorism Policing London continue to lead the investigation, which remains ongoing," London's Metropolitan Police said.

The UK terrorist threat level has been raised to severe – meaning an attack is highly likely, according to the statement released by British Transport Police (BTP).

"This Wednesday, two Jewish men were stabbed in Golders Green. Our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by this appalling terror attack. In response, we have more officers patrolling the railway network in the surrounding area," the BTP said.

On April 29, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer termed the attack on Jews in Golders Green "utterly appalling" and stated that action will be taken against perpetrators.

"The antisemitic attack in Golders Green is utterly appalling. Attacks on our Jewish community are attacks on Britain. Thank you to Shomrim, Hatzola and the police for acting swiftly. Those responsible will be brought to justice," Starmer posted on X.

--IANS

akl/as

Islamabad, May 1 (IANS) Two new polio cases have been reported from Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, bringing the total number of reported cases in the country since the start of this year to three, local media reported on Friday.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, an official of the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme, told leading Pakistani daily Dawn that two new cases of wild poliovirus - one in Bannu and another in North Waziristan - were confirmed by the National Emergency Operations Centre for Polio Eradication (NEOC).

“The two new cases were reported through the poliovirus surveillance network and confirmed by the WHO-accredited Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH),” the official told the newspaper.

This has raised the total tally of reported Polio cases in Pakistan this year to three as the first case was confirmed in Sujawl district of Sindh province.

Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the only two countries in the world where polio cases are still reported.

Dawn reported last month that police escorts have been killed and polio workers abducted in attacks in KP's Hangu and Bannu, besides parts of Balochistan.

The attacks on vaccination teams took place during the nationwide immunisation drive to administer polio drops.

In March, it was reported that as many as 233,000 children have been reported as leftovers due to security constraints, community boycotts, and snow-bound areas. An official mentioned that the total leftovers included 184,000 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and around 50,000 children remained unreachable in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) and Pakistan-occupied Gilgit Baltistan (PoGB) due to snow-bound regions and non-conduct of campaigns.

Vaccine refusals by parents remain another major challenge. Karachi alone accounted for about 31,000 refusals, nearly 58 per cent of the national total.

This has raised questions about the role of misinformation, weak planning, poor local governance and lack of political focus in the country’s largest city.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has imposed polio-related travel restrictions on Pakistan since 2014, which required all international travellers to carry a polio vaccination certificate.

–IANS

ksk/as

Brussels, May 1 (IANS) The European Parliament has severely condemned China's 'Ethnic Unity Law', warning that the law set to take effect on July 1 showcases a systematic attempt to erase the cultural, religious and linguistic heritage of the Tibetan people by mandating state ideology and prioritising Mandarin over native languages in all public spheres.

A resolution condemning China’s new Ethnic Unity Law was approved by a majority in the European Parliament this week with as many as 439 European lawmakers voting in favour of it, 52 against and 71 abstentions. The European lawmakers stated that the succession of the Dalai Lama is a religious matter that must be determined exclusively according to Tibetan Buddhist traditions, free from government coercion. Furthermore, the resolution called for the immediate and unconditional release of high-profile political prisoners, including the 11th Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, Choktrul Dorje Ten Rinpoche and Palden Yeshi, whose detentions remain a matter of international concern, Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) stated.

CTA asserted that the European Parliament is taking measures to protect the Tibetan communities in exile from Beijing’s reach. By highlighting the “extraterritorial” nature of China's law, lawmakers have requested all EU nations to suspend extradition treaties with China to stop the transnational repression of Tibetans living in other countries. The resolution demanded the activation of the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime against the officials responsible for drafting and enforcing these repressive policies, according to a report in CTA.

In her post-debate intervention, European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, expressed EU's concern over the human rights situation in Tibet, including restrictions on freedom of religion or belief, preservation of culture and identity and the rights of the religious communities to manage their affairs without intervention and freely choosing their religious leaders, including the Dalai Lama, and respecting religious norms. She stated that the EU will continue to demand credible information on the whereabouts and well-being of the 11th Panchem Lama, CTA said in a report.

Welcoming the resolution adopted by the EU, Rigzin Genkhang, Representative of the Dalai Lama at the Office of Tibet in Brussels, expressed gratitude to the European Parliament for its response and stressed that continued international attention is important for holding China accountable and supporting efforts to preserve Tibetan cultural and religious heritage.

--IANS

akl/as

New Delhi, May 1 (IANS) Pakistan is confronting its most serious fuel‑price shock in over half a century, which could trigger a cascade of economic problems and undermine Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government, a new report has said.

The report from Aljazeera said soaring global oil costs have hit Pakistan particularly hard because the country is heavily dependent on imported energy and remittances from Gulf states, along with an "already precarious balance-of-payments position."

The West Asian conflict could put a big hole in remittances from workers overseas, mostly labourers working in Gulf states.

Earlier this week, Sharif said Pakistan’s oil import bill has nearly tripled to $800 million from $300 million before the conflict, erasing all the economic progress the country had made over the past two years.

The report cited analysts who said the surge in fuel bills will have severe knock-on effects, impacting all segments of economy from agriculture and transport to the price of food and basic goods, worsening the already severe cost-of-living crisis.

“Conventional economics tells us that oil price hikes trigger a chain reaction across the economy,” economist Kamran Butt told the Dawn newspaper, quoted in the report. Butt said the crisis will reduce purchasing power, increase poverty and unemployment, slow economic activity and fuel public discontent against the government.

The State Bank of Pakistan raised its policy rate by one per cent to 11.5 per cent, citing heightened macroeconomic risks. "In particular, the global energy prices, freight charges and insurance premiums continue to remain significantly above pre-conflict levels. Furthermore, the supply chain disruptions have contributed to the prevailing uncertainty,” the bank said.

The report said the government faces a stark choice of either passing higher costs to consumers, or subsidisation of fuel. Increase in fuel subsidy will widen budget deficits — an option constrained by the International Monetary Fund as part of conditions to lend to Pakistan.

“We are in a state of absolute dependency, where even a $1 billion tranche, which is a microscopic amount in global fiscal terms, can make the difference between survival and collapse,” the report cited economist Kaiser Bengali, former adviser for planning and development to the Sindh chief minister.

—IANS

aar/pk

New Delhi, May 1 (IANS) The US Navy's blockade of Iran has built economic pressure on Tehran that continues even though the ceasefire has led to a temporary pause in fighting, according to a new report.

The blockade has also hit China’s purchases of Iran’s oil, at discounted prices, deals for which were being carried out through a covert financial system and a fleet of ghost tankers.

According to an article in Sky News Australia, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has sustained itself through shell companies, rotating ship identities, and shadow banking corridors that kept oil revenue flowing outside the formal financial system.

The article highlights that earlier, the US kept targeting individual aspects of this covert system put in place by China and Iran to circumvent western sanctions. However, this time around, the US is aiming to dismantle the entire network that in the past has managed to survive the limited action.

It points out that earlier, this clandestine ecosystem survived as China built the infrastructure to sustain it. This included a shadow banking network which concealed the origin of Iranian crude oil, rotating ship identities, and layering payments through third-country intermediaries.

China’s “teapot refinery” sector, comprising small coastal refineries, processed most of Iran's oil exports, while carrying out these deals through the US financial system in dollars and providing the IRGC the hard currency which was required to finance missiles, drones, and weapons transfers to regional proxies such as Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthi rebels.

The article also states that China was also using Iran as “a rehearsal space,” so that it could use these evasion methods on a much wider scale for itself if required to evade US sanctions.

The IRGC operated a rotating fleet of tankers under falsified identities to conceal Iranian crude shipments to Chinese buyers, while Hengli Petrochemical, China's second-largest independent refinery, received more than five million barrels of IRGC-affiliated crude through that same network, the article points out.

“The arrangement served Beijing on both ends, with Chinese refiners purchasing Iranian crude at steep discounts unavailable on open markets, while every successful evasion transaction simultaneously stress-tested the financial infrastructure Xi intended to activate over Taiwan,” the article observes.

However, there has been a big setback to this entire network as in the latest action, the US has sanctioned 35 entities and individuals running Iran's shadow banking system, hitting 19 shadow fleet vessels simultaneously, and putting every company paying IRGC tolls for Strait of Hormuz passage on notice, the article added.

--IANS

sps/na