Karachi | Pakistan

KARACHI: Bodies of a woman and three children have been found hanging inside a house near Machhar Colony in Karachi’s Sohrab Goth, police said on Sunday. A statement issued by Sohrab Goth police said a crime scene unit had visited the site and further investigation was under way. Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed said Sohrab Goth police brought the bodies of the woman, 35 and her children, aged 10, 3 and 2, for post-mortem examination at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. “We have collected all samples for chemical analysis,” said Dr Syed, adding that the cause of death has been reserved until reports are issued. East Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Zubair Nazir Shaikh told Dawn that there was no sign of a quarrel at the site of the incident, nor did neighbours say they heard a struggle. “The husband told police that he worked at New Subzi Mandi and had left for work at around 4am on Sunday,” SSP Shaikh said. “When he returned several hours later, he saw his wife and three children dead.” The SSP said police are wa...

The Pakistan Meteorological Department has forecast that cool weather conditions will continue in Karachi over the next three days due to winds blowing from Balochistan.

KARACHI - Sindh Home Minister Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjhar on Thursday revealed that call centres in Karachi had turned into hubs of criminal activity, with large-scale international fraud amounting to around $60 million.

KARACHI: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has busted an “international cartel” involved in cyber fraud amounting to $60 million, arresting 15 foreign nationals and recovering 10,000 international SIMs during a raid in Karachi’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA), Sindh home minister revealed on Thursday. Addressing a press conference in Karachi along with NCCIA Additional Director Tariq Nawaz, Sindh Home Minister Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjar shared the details of the investigations, saying the held scammers were “operating online investment scam, where criminals build trust over weeks/months via social media platforms by tricking the victims into investment in cryptocurrency, forex with promise of large profit returns”. “The victims were lured into investment by creating a login on fake investment platforms (which the victims considered as legitimate due to the fake conversation and activity in telegraph groups) which were controlled and managed by these scammers where the victims were made to belie...

The daytime movement of heavy traffic vehicles has been banned in Karachi for two months, it emerged on Wednesday. The development comes as the city has recently witnessed a steep increase in traffic accidents, with many resulting from collisions with heavy vehicles such as dumper trucks and water tankers. A notification issued on Tuesday by Karachi Commissioner Syed Hassan Naqvi, a copy of which is available with Dawn, said that the deputy inspector general of the Karachi Traffic Police had requested the imposition of a ban on the movement of heavy vehicles during the daytime “in order to resolve traffic congestion issues due to the influx of heavy vehicular traffic and to prevent road traffic accidents”. The notification added that in the interest of protecting human lives and ensuring the smooth flow of traffic, there were sufficient grounds to proceed under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to regulate the movement of heavy traffic within the city. As a result, the Karachi commissioner imp...

As fog engulfed several areas of Karachi on Sunday morning and the city experienced “very unhealthy” weather conditions, flight disruptions and one road accident death were reported. Low visibility due to fog was reported from Super Highway, Surjani Town, Gulistan-i-Jauhar, I.I. Chundrigarh Road, Clifton and Defence. Updates on the Karachi airport’s website showed that multiple flights were cancelled or delayed in the morning. Pakistan Airports Authority spokesperson Saifullah Khan confirmed in a statement that six international flights scheduled to land in Karachi had to be diverted due to fog. The statement said that the diversion was a usual safety measure taken due to reduced visibility. It added that Pegasus Airlines, Eitehad Airways, Flyadeal and Gulf Air flights had been diverted to Muscat. Moreover, a Pakistan International Airlines flight that had departed from Madina, too, had to be divered to Muscat. Similarly, Fly Jinnah flight arriving from Jeddah was diverted to Islamabad. According to the Pakis...

A domestic worker was allegedly beaten by a man in Karachi earlier this week, it emerged on Thursday. According to a first information report filed at Gabol Town police station — dated December 13 and available with Dawn — the complainant stated that she was working as a cleaner at a private residence when she got into an argument with the suspect on December 10. “On December 11, when I finished working at a house, the suspect came and started beating me as I was descending some stairs,” she alleged. “He pushed me down the stairs while verbally abusing me.” The complainant further alleged that bystanders also beat her, leaving her with facial and internal injuries. According to the FIR, the suspect who initially assaulted the complainant was booked under Sections 337A (punishment for assault), 354 (assault or criminal force to [a] woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace). After a video of the incident went viral, Sindh Minister for Women...

A new study has revealed that labour rights abuses remained rampant in major textile factories in major production hubs — Karachi and Faisalabad — manufacturing healthcare exports to Europe. The report was titled “Public money, private harm: The role of EU procurement in perpetuating labour violations: lessons from Pakistan and Sweden”. The 52-page study was conducted collaboratively by Swedwatch and local organisations, including AwazCDS-Pakistan and NowCommunities, building on testimonies of textile factory workers from Karachi and Faisalabad, where it revealed rampant labour rights violations, enabled by weak enforcement of EU procurement rules and labour laws. It revealed that using social audits and certifications as a way of ensuring compliance “repeatedly fail to capture or remedy these violations, raising serious concerns about their efficacy.” At the outset of the report launch in Karachi today, Executive Director NowCommunities, Farhat Parveen, outlined the issues faced by workers in both informal a...

In June, consecutive tremors shook Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi. Fifty-seven low-intensity quakes, measuring 1.5-3.8 on the Richter scale, were recorded on 1-25 June, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) reportedly said. Several months later, October began with a 3.2-magnitude quake in Malir, a neighbourhood in the city’s north. Karachi sits near the boundaries of three major tectonic plates, and multiple fault lines run through the city. Some 49 earthquakes with a magnitude of four or above have struck within 300 km of Karachi in the last decade. Mild quakes can sometimes act as “natural pressure releases, potentially reducing the risk of more destructive ones”, but the frequency of these earthquakes has raised concerns among experts, said geological oceanographer and former director of the Geological Survey of Pakistan, Asif Rana. In Karachi, mild quakes can have potentially devastating impacts on buildings that lack structural integrity. The Association of Builders and Developers stated in July...

The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), in a joint raid along with intelligence and law enforcement agencies, arrested several foreign nationals allegedly running a fraudulent Ponzi scheme network in Karachi’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA) area on Thursday, a statement from the agency said. A Ponzi scheme is a form of fraud in which belief in the success of a non-existent enterprise is fostered by the payment of quick returns to the first investors from money invested by later investors. Per the statement, the operation was conducted in DHA Phase 1 and Phase 6, where several foreign nationals were taken into custody during the action. “Important and sensitive data was recovered from the suspects, which is now being examined as part of the investigation,” the statement said. Preliminary inquiries suggest the detained individuals were allegedly running a “well-organised network through a Ponzi scheme,” the statement said, adding that the fraud had affected thousands of people, causing them “ser...

Karachi police said on Sunday that eight suspects, “involved in running an extortion network” were arrested during a raid at the residence of Pakistan Sunni Tehreek (PST) chairman Muhammad Sarwat Ejaz Qadri in Karachi. Special Investigation Unit (SIU) Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Imran Khan confirmed Saturday night’s development during a press briefing in Karachi today. At the same time, he also clarified that Qadri was neither wanted by police nor had he been arrested. Moreover, the official said police had no evidence of the suspects’ association with any party. The SSP also clarified that police had found no evidence of the involvement of the PST chief or any other member in the extortion network. SSP Khan said multiple cases had been registered against the arrested suspects, who were associated with an extortion network run by two men, who he identified as Wasiullah Lakho and Abdul Samad Kathiawari. These two “most-wanted” suspects were reportedly “in hiding abroad”, the official said, adding tha...

The closing ceremony of the 35th National Games was held in Karachi on Saturday, with Pakistan Army taking home the highest number of medals. Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir was the chief guest at the ceremony, which was also attended by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. View this post on Instagram Pakistan Army came in first, taking home 353 medals, out of which 200 were gold, 97 were silver and 56 were bronze. Wapda came in second with 232 medals, out of which 85 were gold, 73 were silver and 74 were bronze. Pakistan Navy came in third with 110 medals, 36 of which were gold, 39 were silver and 35 were bronze. Hosts Sindh finished with 96 medals, out of which 11 were gold, 26 were silver and 59 were bronze. View this post on Instagram After the distribution of the medals, CDF Field Marshal Munir, wearing a pair of black sunglasses and Sindhi ajrak around his neck, officially declared the games closed. View this post on Instagram Addressing the ceremony...

Karachi has introduced a drone-assisted e-challan system, marking a major step forward in the city’s technological upgrades under the Safe City Project.

A man riding a motorcycle was killed on Wednesday morning after a water tanker collided with his vehicle in Karachi, prompting a mob to torch the tanker. According to a statement by Khawaja Ajmer Nagri police, the incident took place near 4k Chowrangi in North Karachi. The statement said the motorcyclist sustained severe injuries in the accident, following which he was rushed to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead. The tanker’s driver managed to escape, leaving his vehicle. The tanker was then set on fire by a mob, the statement added. Separately, a bus ran over a 45-year-old woman in the Baldia-8 area of Karachi on Wednesday morning, a statement by Saeedabad police said. The body was rushed to Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi, it said, adding that the driver and conductor of the bus managed to escape. Today’s incidents come two days after a dumper of the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB) carrying garbage struck and killed a motorcycle rider in the Nagan Chowrangi area of Ka...

A first information report (FIR) has been registered under terrorism charges after one of the many rallies taken out in Karachi to mark Sindh Culture Day on Sunday turned violent, it emerged on Monday. Police on Sunday resorted to tear gas shelling to prevent participants of the rally from moving towards the Red Zone via Sharea Faisal and detained 45 people, 12 of whom were later released. According to the police, participants of the rally attacked personnel, who then responded with baton-charging and tear gas shelling. According to the FIR, a copy of which is available with Dawn, a case has now been registered against 12 named individuals arrested at the scene and “300-400” unidentified individuals. The case has been registered under Sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 144 (joining unlawful assembly armed with deadly weapon), 324 (attempted murder), 186 (obstructing public servants), 353 (assault or ...

The dust of the city coated everything – the flags, the crisp new doboks, the hopeful faces of fathers shepherding their children. After 18 years, this was Karachi’s welcome: not a red carpet, but a gritty testament. The National Games had come home. The city, in its quintessential fashion, demanded a pilgrimage. For the first Games on its soil after 18 years, it offered an obstacle course of its own making – cranes standing like sentinels over diverted roads that formed labyrinths of progress. But through the grit and the detours, they came. A river of colour, athletes from every corner of the country in their distinct tracksuits, and locals converging on the National Stadium. They arrived not for a mere ceremony, but in spite of the journey. “I am almost covered in this dust,” a father told Dawn, guiding his young son in a taekwondo dobok toward the gates. “But we are glad. We are here.” Flags of various participating contingents seen during the opening ceremony of National Games in Karachi on Saturday. — T...

A woman and her teenage daughter were stabbed to death over “honour” in the Gizri area of Karachi on Friday night, police said. Police said Kulsoom, 43, and her daughter Maryam, 11, were stabbed and killed by her husband, Samiullah. South Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Syed Asad Raza said the double murder appeared to be an “honour” killing. The suspect was arrested, and the knife used in the double homicide was also recovered and seized. Police registered a case against the suspect on the complaint of the victim’s brother Faisal Khan. Raza said the suspect stabbed and injured his wife and daughter in their home located near Noorani Masjid. The victims were taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where they were pronounced dead. DIG Raza said the suspect had “confessed” to the crime. He said the initial probe showed that the suspect was arrested around two and a half months ago in another case and was released on bail around three days ago. In Pakistan, ‘honour’ killings continued to claim ...

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Friday condemned police action against Aurat March activists in Karachi a day earlier, calling on authorities to respect people’s access to civic spaces. On Thursday, a rights activist was ‘briefly detained’ from outside the Karachi Press Club (KPC), ahead of a press conference by Aurat March over the alleged abduction of two Baloch girls. The organisers said classical dancer and human rights activist Sheema Kermani was also manhandled by police, while other women participants were also “mistreated” by female officers on their way to the press club. Journalist Zofeen Ebrahim was also barred from attending the press conference, which was eventually held at the KPC. In a post on social media platform X today, the HRCP said it condemned the police obstruction of Aurat March’s scheduled press conference and the brief detention and manhandling of activists and reporters, including Kermani. “We are also alarmed that journalist Ebrahim was barred from entering the pr...

Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab visited the grieving family of a three-year-old boy who fell into an open manhole and drowned in Gulshan-i-Iqbal on Wednesday night, assuring them of an impartial inquiry and action against those found negligent. The body of the boy, who drowned in an open manhole near Nipa in Gulshan-i-Iqbal on Sunday night, was found on Monday, around 15 hours after the incident occurred. The child’s tragic death, particularly the lack of cooperation from relevant civic agencies to launch an immediate search, had angered relatives and area residents, who staged a protest on University Road on Sunday night and again during the day on Monday. On Tuesday, many political parties held protests against the provincial administration and demanded that the Karachi mayor resign, while pleas were also filed in courts demanding action against city officials. A post by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation on X on Wednesday night said the mayor visited the boy’s family and extended his condolences. “An imparti...

KARACHI - China has donated 58 solar-powered street lights to Karachi, in what officials described as a small but practical boost to the city’s public safety and local infrastructure.