AFP Asia

Charred vehicles and a mangled motorcycle lay outside Islamabad’s district court Tuesday, their metal frames still warm as investigators sealed off the area where a suicide bomber had killed at least 12 people.It was a rare assault at the heart of Pakistan’s capital where blood stained a two-way street, and shattered glass glimmered among the debris.”It was a very strong and terrifying explosion,” said Khalid Mandokhel, a 24-year-old lawyer.”Many of the victims were bystanders,” he told AFP at the scene.The blue police van hit in the blast stood crippled at the entrance, its metal pierced by shrapnel and tyres shredded, as investigators documented every mark on the vehicle.More than 25 people were wounded in the attack.Rustam Malik, another lawyer, said he “heard a loud bang at the gate” as he entered the complex, where daily, hundreds of people arrive to sort out legal matters. They did not expect to leave with their lives hanging by a thread. “There was thick smoke,” Malik told AFP.Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told journalists outside the court that the attacker had lingered outside the building for several minutes before striking.”He could not go inside (the complex); he blew himself up near the police vehicle,” Naqvi said.- ‘Complete chaos’ -The complex, home to several courts, is usually one of the busiest areas in Islamabad during the day. Nearby offices of senior administration and police officials add to the dense crowds.Outside the government-run hospital where most of the victims were taken, people were milling about as rescue workers wheeled people with head and leg injuries into the emergency room. Security guards, on alert, prevented the media from entering.Back at the blast site, cordoned off at several points, investigators gathered evidence until late afternoon.A heavy presence of police and paramilitary soldiers combed through the wreckage as a stray dog rummaged through the remains, sniffing at the scattered debris.Malik recalled “complete chaos” —  lawyers and visitors running in panic after the explosion thundered through the compound. As investigators processed the scene, the lawyer waited patiently for police clearance so he could collect his vehicle which was damaged in the attack.”I saw two dead bodies lying at the gate and several cars were on fire,” he said.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed a suicide bombing that killed at least 12 people in Islamabad on Tuesday, a rare attack by the militant group on the country’s capital. The first such attack to hit the city in years sent people fleeing in panic, leaving shattered glass and charred vehicles on the road outside district court buildings. “Judges, lawyers and officials who carried out rulings under Pakistan’s un-Islamic laws were targeted,” the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) said, threatening more attacks until Islamic law is implemented in the Muslim-majority country. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said 12 people were killed and 27 wounded when the assailant detonated explosives near a police vehicle.A lawyer at the scene, Mohammed Shahzad Butt, said there was a “massive blast”.”Everyone started running inside out of panic. I have seen at least five dead bodies lying at the front gate,” he told AFP.An AFP journalist saw paramilitary troops cordoning off the site of the attack, which struck an area that also houses several government offices. Rustam Malik, another lawyer, told AFP he “heard a loud bang at the gate” as he was entering the complex. “It was complete chaos, lawyers and people were running inside the complex. I saw two dead bodies lying on the gate and several cars were on fire,” said Malik.The bombing follows the Indian capital Delhi being hit by a car explosion Monday, which killed at least eight people.The prime minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, earlier accused the TTP and separatists from the country’s Balochistan region, both of whom have carried out attacks mostly on security forces.Islamabad has largely been spared major militant violence in recent years, with the last suicide attack occurring in December 2022.- Cross-border violence -But the country is facing a resurgence of attacks, which officials attribute mainly to armed groups allegedly sheltered on Afghan soil.The bombing came as Pakistani security forces battled militants who had holed up in a school in northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Wana district, near the Afghan border.”There was an attack in Wana as well last night,” Naqvi said. “Three people died in that attack. The attacker involved in that attack is an Afghan. Afghanistan is directly involved in that attack.”Recent attacks prompted a bloody clash between Pakistan and Afghanistan in October, their worst fighting across their border in years.More than 70 people were killed on both sides, including about 50 Afghan civilians, according to the United Nations.The two countries agreed to a fragile ceasefire, but failed to finalise its details during several rounds of negotiations that collapsed last week. Each side blamed the other for the impasse.Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the Islamabad suicide attack should be seen as “a wake-up call”.”In this environment, it would be futile to hold out greater hope for successful negotiations with the rulers of Kabul,” he wrote on X.Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering the Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups that launch attacks across a long, porous border, which the Afghan government denies.

A suicide bombing outside district court buildings in the Pakistani capital Islamabad killed at least 12 people and wounded 27 on Tuesday, the interior minister said.The first such attack to hit the city in years sent people fleeing in panic in an area which also houses several government offices. “A suicide attack was carried out,” Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told journalists. “So far 12 people have been martyred and around 27 are wounded.”An AFP journalist saw paramilitary troops cordoning off the area where the minister said the assailant detonated the explosives near a police vehicle. “We are trying to identify who he (the attacker) is and where he came from,” Naqvi said.There was no immediate claim of responsibility, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif pinning the blame on “terrorist proxies backed by India”, Pakistan’s longtime foe, without providing evidence.India’s capital Delhi was hit by a car explosion Monday, which killed at least eight people.Sharif accused the Pakistani Taliban militant group and separatists from the country’s Balochistan region, both of whom have carried out attacks mostly targeting the security forces.In Islamabad, lawyer Mohammed Shahzad Butt said there was a “massive blast”.”Everyone started running inside out of panic. I have seen at least five dead bodies lying at the front gate,” he told AFP.Rustam Malik, another lawyer, told AFP he “heard a loud bang at the gate” as he was entering the complex. “It was complete chaos, lawyers and people were running inside the complex. I saw two dead bodies lying on the gate and several cars were on fire,” said Malik.Islamabad has largely been spared major militant violence in recent years, with the last suicide attack occurring in December 2022. The bombing came as Pakistani security forces battled militants who had holed up in a school in northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Wana district.”There was an attack in Wana as well last night,” Naqvi said. “Three people died in that attack. The attacker involved in that attack is an Afghan. Afghanistan is directly involved in that attack.”

India’s defence minister vowed on Tuesday that those responsible for a deadly car explosion in the heart of the capital that killed at least eight people will face justice.Monday’s blast, if confirmed as an attack, would be the first significant security incident since April 22, when 26 mainly Hindu civilians were killed at the tourist site of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, triggering clashes with Pakistan.”The country’s leading investigative agencies are conducting a swift and thorough inquiry into the incident — findings of the investigation will soon be made public,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told a conference in New Delhi.”I want to firmly assure the nation that those responsible for this tragedy will be brought to justice, and will not be spared under any circumstances.”Crime scene investigators scoured through the wreckage of a car early on Tuesday, hours after the intense explosion.Senior Delhi police officer Raja Banthia said they were investigating the blast, near the landmark Red Fort in the crowded Old Delhi quarter of the city, under anti-terrorism laws.However, they have not given details on the cause of the explosion, which also wounded at least 19 people when intense flames ripped through other vehicles near the 17th century structure.New Delhi’s deputy chief fire officer AK Malik told AFP shortly after the explosion that eight people had been killed. The Press Trust of India news agency reported on Tuesday that the death toll had risen to 12, although that figure has not been confirmed.Home Minister Amit Shah told reporters late on Monday that security forces were “keeping all angles open”, adding that it was “very difficult to say what caused the incident” until forensic samples had been analysed.At dawn on Tuesday, AFP reporters at the site said police had erected white sheets around the charred remains of vehicles overnight.Security was increased across New Delhi as both forensic and anti-terrorism agencies searched for evidence.Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his “condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in the blast in Delhi” before leaving for a state visit to neighbouring Bhutan.”I understand the pain of the families. The whole nation stands with them,” he said.The Red Fort is one of India’s most well-known landmarks. Prime ministers address the nation from its ramparts on Independence Day, and its striking features appear on India’s largest banknote.- ‘People were burning’ -Eyewitnesses described to AFP how the car exploded in traffic and how people caught up in the surge of flames were set on fire.”I saw the car explode while it was moving,” said Dharmindra Dhaga, 27.”People were on fire and we tried to save them… Cars and people were burning — people inside the cars were burning,” he said. “I was telling the public to save them, rescue them, and get them out. The public was busy making videos and taking photos.”The emergency ward at Delhi’s LNJP hospital was chaotic after the explosion as wounded people streamed in and doctors rushed to treat them.A woman broke down outside the ward where her husband was being treated. “I can’t bear to see him like that,” she said as her brother tried to console her.New Delhi accused Pakistan of backing the gunmen after the April attack in Pahalgam, a claim denied by Islamabad.That attack sparked deadly clashes between the nuclear-armed arch rivals in May, when more than 70 people were killed in missile, drone and artillery exchanges before a ceasefire was struck.The last significant attack in the Indian capital was in September 2011, when a bomb hidden in a briefcase ripped through a crowd outside New Delhi’s High Court, killing at least 14 people.

Indian crime scene investigators scoured through the wreckage of a car on Tuesday that exploded hours earlier in the heart of the capital, killing at least eight people.Police have not given details on the cause of the explosion, which also left at least 19 people injured, when intense flames ripped through other vehicles near the landmark Red Fort in the crowded Old Delhi quarter of the city.Home Minister Amit Shah told reporters late Monday that the security forces were “keeping all angles open”, adding it was “very difficult to say what caused the incident” until forensic samples had been analysed.At dawn on Tuesday, AFP reporters at the site of the explosion said police white sheets had been erected around the charred remains of vehicles overnight.Both forensic and anti-terrorism agencies were searching for evidence, while security was increased across New Delhi.Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences to the families of those killed, and said he had “reviewed the situation” with Shah.”Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in the blast in Delhi… may the injured recover at the earliest,” Modi said in a statement.The 17th century Red Fort is one of India’s most well-known landmarks.Prime ministers address the nation from its ramparts on Independence Day, and it features on the largest banknote.- ‘People were burning’ -Both forensic and anti-terrorism agencies were deployed at the site.Citing hospital authorities, New Delhi’s deputy chief fire officer AK Malik told AFP that “eight people have died so far and 19 are injured”.The Press Trust of India news agency on Tuesday reported that the toll had risen to nine dead.Eyewitnesses described to AFP how the car exploded in traffic and how people caught up in the surge of flames were set on fire.”I saw the car explode while it was moving,” said Dharmindra Dhaga, 27.”People were on fire and we tried to save them… Cars and people were burning — people inside the cars were burning,” he added. “I was telling the public to save them, rescue them, and get them out. The public was busy making videos and taking photos.”After the explosion, at the city’s LNJP hospital, the emergency ward was chaotic as injured people streamed in and doctors rushed to attend to them.A woman broke down outside the ward where her husband was being treated. “I can’t bear to see him like that,” she said, as her brother tried to console her.Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said in a statement that the deaths from the explosion were “heartbreaking”.The US State Department said its “hearts are with those affected by the terrible explosion”, and that it would “continue to closely monitor the situation”. 

A car explosion in the bustling heart of the Indian capital on Monday killed at least eight people and injured another 19, officials said.Police have not given details on the cause, but said that forensic and anti-terrorism agencies were at the site, near the landmark Red Fort.Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences to the families of those killed, and said he had “reviewed the situation” with Home Minister Amit Shah and other officials.”Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in the blast in Delhi…may the injured recover at the earliest”, Modi said in a statement. “Those affected are being assisted by authorities.”The blast took place in the early evening as people returned from work, close to a metro station in the crowded Old Delhi quarter of the city.Ambulances streamed into a nearby public hospital, carrying several injured people, AFP reporters said.Citing authorities at the hospital, New Delhi’s deputy chief fire officer AK Malik told AFP that “eight people have died so far and 19 are injured.”- ‘Heartbreaking’ -The capital’s Police Commissioner Satish Golcha told reporters that “a slow-moving vehicle stopped at a red light — an explosion happened in that vehicle, and due to the explosion, nearby vehicles were also damaged.”AFP photographers at the site saw pools of blood spattered across the road.At the city’s LNJP hospital, the emergency ward was chaotic as injured people streamed in and doctors rushed to attend to them. A woman broke down outside the ward where her husband was being treated. “I can’t bear to see him like that,” she said, as her brother tried to console her.Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said in a statement that the “news of the car explosion near Delhi’s Red Fort Metro Station is extremely heartbreaking”.The blaze engulfed at least six cars and several motorised rickshaw taxis.The nearby hospital building was cordoned off amid a heavy police deployment as officers moved through the corridors.Outside, anxious relatives gathered after hearing that their loved ones had been brought in.Musarrat Ansari said her brother was injured after a burning car hit the motorbike he was riding.”He called me and said his leg was hurt — he couldn’t walk,” she told AFP.The Red Fort, which was completed under Moghul rule in 1648, is one of India’s most well-known landmarks.Indian prime ministers address the nation from its ramparts on Independence Day, and it features on the largest banknote.

Dozens of protesters rallied in New Delhi on Sunday to demand government action on toxic air, as a thick haze containing dangerous microparticles shrouded the Indian capital.Parents in the crowd brought their children, who wore masks and waved placards, with one reading: “I miss breathing”.New Delhi with its sprawling metropolitan region of 30 million residents is regularly ranked among the world’s most polluted capitals.Acrid smog blankets the skyline each winter, when cooler air traps pollutants close to the ground, creating a deadly mix of emissions from crop burning, factories and heavy traffic.Levels of PM2.5 — cancer-causing microparticles small enough to enter the bloodstream — sometimes rise to as much as 60 times the UN’s daily health limits.”Today I am here just as a mother,” said protester Namrata Yadav, who came with her son.”I am here because I don’t want to become a climate refugee.”On Sunday, PM2.5 levels around India Gate, the iconic war memorial where protesters had assembled, were more than 13 times the World Health Organization’s recommended daily maximum.”Year after year, it is the same story but there is no solution,” said Tanvi Kusum, a lawyer who said she had come because she was “frustrated”.”We have to build pressure so that the government at least takes up the issue seriously.”Piecemeal government initiatives have failed to make a noticeable impact.These included partial restrictions on fossil fuel-powered transport and water trucks spraying mist to clear particulate matter from the air.”Pollution is cutting our lives,” said a young woman who claimed to be “speaking for Delhi” and refused to share her name.A study in The Lancet Planetary Health last year estimated that 3.8 million deaths in India between 2009 and 2019 were linked to air pollution.The United Nations children’s agency warns that polluted air puts children at heightened risk of acute respiratory infections.As the sun set into the smog-covered skyline, the crowd of protesters appeared to swell before police bundled several activists into a bus, seizing their placards and banners, arguing they did not have a permission to protest there.One of them, half-torn, read: “I just want to breathe”.

Leading wildlife protection experts have urged India to suspend all imports of the world’s most endangered species, endorsing long-running concerns by conservationists about mass acquisitions by mega-zoo Vantara.The facility in western Gujarat state, officially known as the Green Zoological Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre, is run by the son of Asia’s richest man.It has scooped up tens of thousands of animals in recent years, and was subject to an Indian Supreme Court review that cleared it of any wrongdoing.But experts from the world’s top wildlife watchdog — the secretariat overseeing the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) — have warned Vantara may have imported highly endangered species in violation of international rules.In a report published ahead of CITES talks this month, they found a “large number of imports… appear to be inconsistent” with rules protecting so-called Appendix I species, the world’s most threatened animals.They recommended serious reforms to ensure Vantara does “not inadvertently become a driver of illegal harvest of wild animals”.Vantara and India’s environment ministry did not respond to AFP requests for comment.Experts have repeatedly sounded the alarm on Vantara’s massive animal intake. The facility claims to have 150,000 animals, though CITES officials said closer to 47,000 were reported during a September visit.”This report raises more questions than it answers,” said Mark Jones, head of policy at wildlife group Born Free.”Why the discrepancies in numbers? Why import so many animals from so many species across the world… Who is supplying these animals, and how can we be sure they’re not being traded for profit?”- ‘Really, really shocking’ -CITES examined a laundry list of allegations involving endangered animals including the world’s most endangered great ape — the Tapanuli orangutan.AFP earlier this year reported that Vantara had acquired a Tapanuli orangutan from the United Arab Emirates that originated in Indonesia.CITES prohibits trade in the world’s most endangered species, but there are exceptions, including for “captive-bred” animals.The Tapanuli orangutan, like many of Vantara’s rarest acquisitions, was given this designation.But multiple experts told AFP there are no captive breeding programmes for the species in Indonesia — home to all the estimated 800 Tapanuli orangutans left in the world.Similar cases involving cheetahs from Syria, a gorilla from Haiti, and bonobos from Iraq are among those questioned by CITES.The report “is evidence of Vantara’s problematic acquisitions,” said Panut Hadisiswoyo, founder and chairman of the Orangutan Information Centre in Indonesia.He has been lobbying, so far unsuccessfully, for the return of several orangutans in Vantara, including a smuggled animal intercepted in India and handed to the facility.The CITES report says Vantara has acquired more than 2,000 Appendix I animals and nearly 9,000 from less endangered species.”It’s really, really shocking, the number is huge,” Panut said. “Vantara is exploiting legal loopholes and undermining Appendix I.”- ‘Exemplary action’ -The CITES report acknowledges Vantara’s world-class facilities, but urges India to review its import procedures, bolster capacity and more closely scrutinise permits.Independent wildlife trade expert Daniel Stiles said the report was “a true examination” of Vantara.”We’ll see if anything changes for the better.”CITES has asked India to report back on its progress, and it could face measures, including trade suspension, if it does not fully address the concerns.The findings are “deeply concerning and damaging to India’s conservation credibility”, warned K. Yoganand, a longtime conservation expert in India and Southeast Asia.”Restoring India’s global standing, damaged by the irregularities surrounding these imports, will require exemplary action.”

Afghanistan’s Taliban government said Saturday its ceasefire with Pakistan would remain even though their latest talks failed, blaming Islamabad’s “irresponsible and uncooperative” approach.The two sides met on Thursday in Turkey to finalise a truce agreed on October 19 in Qatar, following deadly clashes between the South Asian neighbours.Both have remained tight-lipped on the content of the discussions, which are known only to have addressed long-standing security issues.”During the discussions, the Pakistani side attempted to shift all responsibility for its security to the Afghan government, while showing no willingness to take responsibility for either Afghanistan’s security or its own,” Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on social media.”The irresponsible and uncooperative attitude of the Pakistani delegation has not yielded any results,” he said.At a news conference later on, Mujahid stressed that the ceasefire “will hold”.”There is no issue with the ceasefire previously agreed upon with Pakistan, it will hold,” he said.Neither Islamabad nor mediators immediately commented on the announcement that the talks had failed.Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar had previously hinted that negotiations in Turkey were falling through, saying that the onus lay on Afghanistan to fulfil pledges to clamp down on terrorism, “which so far they have failed”.”Pakistan shall continue to exercise all options necessary to safeguard the security of its people and its sovereignty,” he wrote.- Demands -Relations between the one-time allies, who share a 2,600-kilometre (1,600-mile) frontier, have soured in recent years over Islamabad’s accusations that Afghanistan harbours militant groups which stage attacks in Pakistan.The Taliban government has consistently denied the allegations.Islamabad wants guarantees from Afghanistan’s Taliban government that it will stop supporting armed organisations, in particular the Pakistani Taliban (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan).Afghanistan meanwhile wants its territorial sovereignty to be respected and accuses Islamabad of supporting armed groups against it.Each side has threatened a resumption of hostilities that saw more than 70 people killed and hundreds wounded last month.The talks were threatened on Friday after each side blamed the other for border fighting in Spin Boldak on the Afghan side.A district hospital official told AFP that five people were killed in the fighting, including four women and one man.Afghanistan did not retaliate “out of respect for the negotiating team and to prevent the loss of civilian lives”, the Taliban spokesman said. Islamabad also accuses Afghanistan of acting with the support of India, its historical enemy, during a period of closer ties between the two countries. 

The Bangladesh Cricket Board has opened an inquiry after former women’s captain Jahanara Alam accused former and serving officials of sexual harassment.The 32-year-old pacer, in an interview on a YouTube channel, accused officials including then selector and manager Manjurul Islam of sexual harassment during the 2022 Women’s World Cup in South Africa.Manjurul, who is currently in China, rejected the allegations as “baseless”.Describing an incident during the 2022 World Cup, Jahanara alleged that Manjurul “made inappropriate physical contact”, claiming he “often hugged or pressed female players to his chest” under the pretext of encouragement.”You can ask other girls in the team”, Manjurul said. “This is all false.”Manjurul, 46, a former left-arm seamer, played 12 Tests and 34 ODIs for Bangladesh between 1999 and 2004, before serving in various coaching and managerial roles. Jahanara took 48 wickets in ODIs, and 60 in T20s, across 135 white-ball matches for her country.She also named other BCB officials, and said that she had previously written to the board, but that no action had been taken.The BCB said a committee would submit its findings within 15 working days.It reaffirmed its commitment to a “safe, respectful, and professional environment”, it said in a statement late Thursday.”We have to investigate this, since it’s a serious matter,” BCB vice-president Shakhawat Hossain said.