Is Pakistan's messaging on India convincing anyone?
India and Pakistan went to war in May this year. The military clashes have ceased, but the narrative battle continues.
In this series, a first of its kind on Al Jazeera, journalist Sreenivasan Jain interviews leading voices from both sides of the border and examines what India's new normal – which Pakistan calls a new 'abnormal' – means for both countries.
In this episode, Jain speaks with Hina Rabbani Khar, a former Pakistani minister and a key face of Pakistan's public diplomacy. Jain asks Khar whether Islamabad has been able to successfully convince the world that India acted like a rogue state, or has its messaging fallen short?
You can also watch Jain's interview with Indian politician Milind Deora here:
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16 hours ago
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Pakistan arrests 13 suspects as ‘honour killing' video goes viral
Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistani authorities have arrested at least 13 individuals, including a tribal leader, in connection with the killing of a couple in the southwestern province of Balochistan. The arrests followed nationwide outrage over a video depicting the murders went viral on social media, with many calling it yet another case of 'honour killing' – a phenomenon reported from across South Asia. The first information report (FIR) filed by the police on Monday identifies the couple as Bano Bibi and her husband Ehsan Ullah, and says they were likely killed in May near Balochistan's capital Quetta. Honour killings, mainly reported from Pakistan and India, often arise from perceived family, tribal or caste dishonour, especially in love marriages, in which the two partners marry without the consent of their families or tribe, or elope. Many such killings go unreported. Balochistan police official Syed Suboor Agha told Al Jazeera they are investigating the matter and are likely to make more arrests, including Bano's brother, who is suspected of the murders and 'is still at large'. The viral videos of the killings show a group of armed men gathered around vehicles in a deserted area. Bano is ordered by the crowd to stand away from the vehicles as the couple is pumped with bullets, even on their motionless bodies lying bleeding on the sand. The FIR names eight suspects while also listing 15 other unidentified suspects involved in the incident. According to the FIR, the couple was allegedly brought before local tribal leader Sardar Sherbaz Khan, who declared them guilty of engaging in an 'immoral relationship' and ordered that they be killed. 'Tyranny of medieval practices' Pakistan has a dismal record on 'honour killings' and other forms of violence against women. According to Sustainable Social Development Organisation (SSDO), an Islamabad-based independent organisation, more than 32,000 cases of gender-based violence were reported nationwide in 2024, including 547 instances of 'honour killings' – 32 of them in Balochistan and only one resulting in conviction. Harris Khalique, general secretary of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), the country's leading rights watchdog, said the killings in the name of honour confirm the 'tyranny of medieval practices' still entrenched in many parts of Pakistan. 'The state, instead of establishing the rule of law and ensure the right to life of its citizens, has protected the tribal chiefs and feudal lords who guard such practices to perpetuate their power over local people and resources,' Khalique told Al Jazeera. Mineral-rich Balochistan, Pakistan's largest but least populous province, has also witnessed decades of conflict between the government and ethnic Baloch separatists, who demand secession from the country. Rights activist Sammi Deen Baloch, also a member of a Baloch women's rights group, said killing of women has become 'a matter of routine' in the province. 'In Balochistan, women are murdered for love, disappeared for protest, and buried under layers of tribal authority and state-backed silence. These are not isolated tragedies. They are the cost of a system designed to keep Balochistan obedient, and its women expendable,' she told Al Jazeera. Baloch said the government would not have acted on the murders had the video not gone viral. 'Baloch women are trapped between two forms of violence: the brutality of tribal patriarchy, and the cold repression of the state. One kills in silence, the other kills in the name of law,' she said. 'The state's refusal to democratise Balochistan isn't accidental. It is policy. By outsourcing governance to feudal strongmen, the state keeps the region controlled, its women disposable, and its dissent criminal.'
Al Jazeera
a day ago
- Al Jazeera
Pakistan arrests over a dozen suspects as ‘honour killing' video goes viral
Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistani authorities have arrested at least 13 individuals, including a tribal leader, in connection with the killing of a couple in the southwestern province of Balochistan. The arrests followed nationwide outrage over a video depicting the murders went viral on social media, with many calling it yet another case of 'honour killing' – a phenomenon reported from across South Asia. The first information report (FIR) filed by the police on Monday identifies the couple as Bano Bibi and her husband Ehsan Ullah, and says they were likely killed in May near Balochistan's capital Quetta. Honour killings, mainly reported from Pakistan and India, often arise from perceived family, tribal or caste dishonour, especially in love marriages, in which the two partners marry without the consent of their families or tribe, or elope. Many such killings go unreported. Balochistan police official Syed Suboor Agha told Al Jazeera they are investigating the matter and are likely to make more arrests, including Bano's brother, who is suspected of the murders and 'is still at large'. The viral videos of the killings show a group of armed men gathered around vehicles in a deserted area. Bano is ordered by the crowd to stand away from the vehicles as the couple is pumped with bullets, even on their motionless bodies lying bleeding on the sand. The FIR names eight suspects while also listing 15 other unidentified suspects involved in the incident. According to the FIR, the couple was allegedly brought before local tribal leader Sardar Sherbaz Khan, who declared them guilty of engaging in an 'immoral relationship' and ordered that they be killed. 'Tyranny of medieval practices' Pakistan has a dismal record on 'honour killings' and other forms of violence against women. According to Sustainable Social Development Organisation (SSDO), an Islamabad-based independent organisation, more than 32,000 cases of gender-based violence were reported nationwide in 2024, including 547 instances of 'honour killings' – 32 of them in Balochistan and only one resulting in conviction. Harris Khalique, general secretary of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), the country's leading rights watchdog, said the killings in the name of honour confirm the 'tyranny of medieval practices' still entrenched in many parts of Pakistan. 'The state, instead of establishing the rule of law and ensure the right to life of its citizens, has protected the tribal chiefs and feudal lords who guard such practices to perpetuate their power over local people and resources,' Khalique told Al Jazeera. Mineral-rich Balochistan, Pakistan's largest but least populous province, has also witnessed decades of conflict between the government and ethnic Baloch separatists, who demand secession from the country. Rights activist Sammi Deen Baloch, also a member of a Baloch women's rights group, said killing of women has become 'a matter of routine' in the province. 'In Balochistan, women are murdered for love, disappeared for protest, and buried under layers of tribal authority and state-backed silence. These are not isolated tragedies. They are the cost of a system designed to keep Balochistan obedient, and its women expendable,' she told Al Jazeera. Baloch said the government would not have acted on the murders had the video not gone viral. 'Baloch women are trapped between two forms of violence: the brutality of tribal patriarchy, and the cold repression of the state. One kills in silence, the other kills in the name of law,' she said. 'The state's refusal to democratise Balochistan isn't accidental. It is policy. By outsourcing governance to feudal strongmen, the state keeps the region controlled, its women disposable, and its dissent criminal.'
Al Jazeera
3 days ago
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Bangladesh's largest Islamist party rallies for fair elections
Hundreds of thousands of supporters of Bangladesh's largest Islamist party took part in a rally in the capital, Dhaka, demanding an overhaul of the electoral system. The South Asian nation is expected to head to the polls next year as it stands at a crossroads after the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. On Saturday, Jamaat-e-Islami placed a seven-point demand on the country's interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus to ensure a free, fair and peaceful election, justice for all mass killings, essential reforms and the proclamation and implementation of a charter involving last year's mass uprising. The party also said it wants the introduction of a proportional representation system in the election. Thousands of supporters of Jamaat-e-Islami spent the night on the Dhaka University campus before the rally. On Saturday morning, braving the sweltering heat, they continued to stream towards Suhrawardy Udyan, a historical site where the Pakistani army surrendered to a joint force of India and Bangladesh on December 16, 1971, ending the nine-month war. 'We are here for a new Bangladesh, where Islam would be the guiding principle of governance, where good and honest people will rule the country, and there will be no corruption,' said Iqbal Hossain, 40. 'We will sacrifice our lives, if necessary, for this cause.' 'No discrimination' Some demonstrators wore T-shirts bearing the party's logo, others sported headbands inscribed with its name, while many displayed metallic badges shaped like a scale – the party's electoral symbol. Many young supporters in their 20s and 30s were also present. 'Under Jamaat-e-Islami, this country will have no discrimination. All people will have their rights. Because we follow the path of the holy book – Quran,' said Mohidul Morsalin Sayem, a 20-year-old student. 'If all the Islamist parties join hands, soon, nobody will be able to take power from us.' The party's chief, Shafiqur Rahman, said the country's struggle in 2024 was to eliminate 'fascism', but this time, there would be another fight against corruption and extortion. 'How will the future Bangladesh look like? There will be another fight … We will do whatever is necessary and win that fight,' Rahman said. After Bangladesh's independence, Jamaat, which sided with Pakistan during Bangladesh's war of independence in 1971, was banned. It later re-emerged and registered its best electoral performance in 1991 when it secured 18 seats. The party also joined a coalition government in 2001, but failed to build lasting popular support. While Prime Minister Hasina was in power from 2009 until she was toppled in student-led protests last year and fled to India, top leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami were either executed or jailed on charges of crimes against humanity and other serious crimes in 1971. Last month, the Supreme Court restored the party's registration, paving the way for its participation in elections slated for next April. In a statement on X, Hasina's Awami League party reacted sharply to Yunus's government allowing Saturday's rally. The statement said the move 'marks a stark betrayal with the national conscience and constitutes a brazen act of undermining millions of people – dead and alive – who fought against the evil axis [in 1971]'. The Yunus-led administration has banned the Awami League, and Hasina has been in exile in India since last August. She faces charges of crimes against humanity.
