Azerbaijan offers $1B for M-6, but disputes stall progress
Azerbaijan has offered over $1 billion for Pakistan’s Sukkur-Hyderabad Motorway (M-6), but internal disagreements delay progress amid economic instability.
Pakistani authorities arrested nearly 1,000 supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan who stormed the capital this week to demand his release, the city's police chief said on Wednesday.
Khan's aides alleged, without immediately providing evidence, that hundreds had suffered gunshot wounds during chaotic scenes overnight in the heart of Islamabad as police dispersed protesters led by Khan's wife who had broken through security barricades. They also said thousands had been arrested.
Islamabad's police chief, Ali Rizvi, denied that live ammunition had been used during the operation, which he said police had conducted alongside paramilitary forces.
Rizvi said 600 protesters had been arrested in Tuesday's operation, bringing the total since the protest sit-in began on Sunday to 954.
He said weapons, including automatic rifles and tear gas guns, were seized from the protest site where thousands had gathered. The site was cleared in a matter of hours.
Ali Amin Gandapur, a top Khan aide and chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province who was a part of the protests and fled when the operation began, accused the authorities of using excessive force against protesters who he said were peaceful.
He said "hundreds" had sustained bullet wounds.
Pakistan's information minister and an Islamabad police spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on the allegation.
"Both Imran Khan's wife and I were attacked directly," Gandapur told a press conference in the city of Mansehra, in the province he rules.
Khan's wife Bushra Khan escaped unhurt. Khan's party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), had said she would address the press conference with Gandapur, but she did not appear even though the event was delayed by hours.
PTI spokesperson Zulfikar Bukhari PTI said earlier that the protest seeking Khan's release had been called off, citing what he called "the massacre". But Gandapur said the protest would continue until Khan himself called it off.
t least six people - four paramilitary soldiers and two protesters - had been killed in the protests before the overnight clashes, according to PTI.
But the office of Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi denied this. "As of now, no death has been reported, and the claims circulating regarding any such incidents are baseless and unverified," it said in a statement.
Visiting protest sites on Wednesday, Naqvi said law enforcement agencies had successfully cleared protesters from the site of the sit-in and other areas of the capital.
He called on PTI to provide any evidence of the firing of live ammunition by security forces, and said it had not provided any details of deaths of its supporters.
Geo News and broadcaster ARY both said security forces had raided the site in central Islamabad in complete darkness, and that a barrage of tear gas had been fired.
The protesters were almost completely dispersed, they added.
On Wednesday, city workers were clearing debris and moving away some of the shipping containers authorities had used to block roads around the capital.
The red zone - the fortified area that is home to parliament, the diplomatic enclave and other key buildings - was empty of protesters, but several of their vehicles were left behind, including the remains of a truck used by Bushra Khan that appeared charred by flames.
The PTI had planned on maintaining a sit-in in the red zone until Khan, who has been in jail since August last year, was freed.
Pakistan's benchmark share index (.KSE), opens new tab jumped more than 5%, after falling 3.6% on Tuesday on news of clashes.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told a televised cabinet meeting that the struggling economy could ill afford a paralysing protest that had cost it 190 billion rupees ($680 million) a day.
($1 = 277.8000 Pakistani rupees)
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) pilots, monitoring a Chinese navy warship as it navigated Australian waters, were alerted to a live-fire exercise via a civilian radio broadcast, defense officials revealed on Tuesday.
A powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar’s Sagaing region, followed by a 6.4-magnitude tremor, killing 2056 people and leaving 3,900 injured. The quake caused building collapses in Myanmar and Thailand, prompting emergency declarations and ongoing rescue efforts.
As the world shifts toward clean energy at an ever-accelerating pace, large economies are scrambling to secure reliable supply chains for rare earth minerals. These minerals, once seen as mere industrial components, have become a political tool in the global power struggle
Russian forces carried out a drone attack on Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, late Wednesday, injuring at least twenty one people and causing structural damage, according to Ukrainian officials.
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen was banned from running for public office for five years after being convicted of embezzlement, ruling her out of the 2027 presidential race. She received a four-year prison sentence, with two years suspended, and a €100,000 fine. Le Pen plans to appeal.
Sweden announced its largest military aid package to Ukraine worth $1.6 billion to help Kyiv strengthen its position in peace talks. The package includes new equipment and financial donations for Ukraine's defense industry, with Sweden's total support since 2022 reaching 80 billion crowns.
Britain's King Charles is resuming public duties this week after a brief hospital visit due to side effects from his cancer treatment. Following a restful weekend, he is preparing for a regular working week at Windsor Castle, with some appointments rescheduled ahead of his state visit to Italy.
Thomas Lubanga, a convicted war criminal, has announced the formation of the Convention for the Popular Revolution (CPR) in eastern Congo's Ituri province, posing a new security threat as Congo's army faces advances by Rwandan-backed M23 rebels.
AnewZ provides an examination of Marine Le Pen, the leader of France's far-right National Rally party, and explores her ascent in French politics, her controversial policy positions, and the recent legal challenges she faces.
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