Yearbook 2015
Pakistan. During the year, hundreds of people became victims of numerous violent attacks. In the Sind province of southeastern Pakistan, a bomb exploded in a Shiite mosque during a Friday prayer and 61 people were killed. In Karachi, six men opened fire on a bus carrying Shiite pilgrims and more than 40 of the passengers died. In Pakistan’s second largest city of Lahore, at least 14 people were killed when bombs detonated outside two churches during a Sunday worship service. According to COUNTRYAAH, Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan which is located in Southern Asia. Various Sunni Muslim extremist organizations, Jundallah, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Islamic State (IS), were suspected of being behind the death. According to a study by the Global Terrorism Index, the number of terrorist acts in Pakistan had increased radically since 2013. The increase was described as “a violent hack in the peace spiral”. At the same time, attacks against terrorists increased.
In January, the government introduced military courts to deal with terrorism cases and enacted a law change that the stop for executions introduced in 2008 would no longer apply to persons convicted of terrorist offenses. The change was a result of more than 130 children and 16 adults being murdered by the Taliban movement TPP in a school massacre in Peshawar in December 2014. The attack was described as the worst terrorist act in the country’s history.
In March, the stop for executions ceased to apply to the death sentence of civilians as well. The decision meant that several thousand people in death risked execution. According to Amnesty International, there were 8,000 deaths in the country at the time of the change of law.
In April, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi was released against the castle. Lahkvi has been identified as the brain behind the terrorist bombing in Bombay 2008, when 166 people died. The decision stirred a storm of condemnation in India, calling the release an insult to the victims.
The same month, during a visit to Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced plans for a 300-mile-long trade route from western China down into Pakistan. Chinese investment in roads, railways and oil pipelines is estimated to cost $ 46 billion and will secure Pakistan’s troubled energy supply.
In May, eight passengers were killed when a helicopter crashed on its way to the opening of a tourist project. Among those killed were Ambassadors of Norway, Indonesia and Malaysia. The cause of the accident was unclear. Taliban claimed they shot down the helicopter while the Pakistani government stated it was an accident due to a motor failure.
During the summer, Pakistan suffered the worst heat wave in 35 years. Authorities issued emergency permits at the hospitals in the most affected province of Sind and in Pakistan’s largest city of Karachi. By June, the heat had claimed more than 1,000 lives and, according to the Pakistani charity Edhi Foundation, another 500 people could die. In Karachi, with 20 million residents, there was a shortage of electricity and water supply was limited.
At the beginning of August, unusually heavy monsoon rains emerged through southern and southeast Asia. The rainfall caused landslides and submerged entire villages. In Pakistan, 850,000 people were killed and at least 116 died. Since 2010, the country has suffered fatal flooding at about the same time each year.
In the same month, Parliament’s fourth largest party, the opposition party Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), left its seats in parliament in protest against the authorities having resorted to MQM supporters in Karachi with the help of army soldiers. MQM has been accused of forcibly controlling the city of Karachi, something the party denies.
At the end of August, Amnesty International reported a dramatic increase in the number of death sentences, especially in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Indonesia and Iran. According to Amnesty International, Pakistan justifies the death penalty for being an effective response to the terrorist threat. Amnesty International stated that over 200 people were executed in Pakistan during the year and that hundreds more that could be linked to terrorism could be executed.
In October, an earthquake of magnitude 7.5 occurred in the mountainous Hindu coast of Afghanistan. Khyber Paktunkhwa province in northwestern Pakistan was severely affected and in the Pakistani village of Bahadur 2,500 houses were destroyed and many were forced to sleep under open skies.
In December, the death penalty was executed against four out of six people sentenced to death for involvement in the massacre against a school in Peshawar in December 2014.
September
Shahbaz Sharif arrested on suspicion of money laundering
September 28
Shahbaz Sharif, leader of the PML-N opposition party, is arrested by the country’s anti-corruption authorities. The arrest comes in Lahore a few days after Sharif promised to support the opposition alliance seeking to oust the Khan government. Sharif is suspected of money laundering.
The opposition launches a campaign against Khan
September 21st
Pakistan’s Democratic Movement (PDM), an alliance of opposition parties, is launching a campaign against the government and demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Khan. The PDM also addresses the political influence of the military.
Khan: chemical castration for serious sex crimes
September 14
Prime Minister Khan says the most serious sexual offenses should be punished with chemical castration. The statement comes after a gang rape in Lahore angered Pakistanis. Hundreds of women are protesting in several cities after a woman was raped by two men in front of her children when she ran out of gas on a road outside Lahore. The protests increase when a police officer is said to have blamed the woman because she was outside late at night without male company.
August
Restrictions on the spread of infection are eased
10th August
The Khan government lifts most of the restrictions imposed to slow down the spread of the coronavirus. The number of new viral infections has decreased in recent weeks and the country’s crisis economy means that there is great pressure to restart society. All restaurants, parks, theaters, cinemas are allowed to reopen and public transport will resume. Schools and universities will be closed until 15 September. The number of deaths per day culminated in June with about 150 but is now down to around 20. In total, Pakistan has had just over 280,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and just over 6,000 confirmed deaths with covid-19. However, the dark figure is believed to be high as sampling in the country is very limited.