Tag Archives: pakistani

A lawyer in Pakistan has filed a court petition seeking the return of a diamond he says Britain forced India to hand over in colonial times. Once the largest cut diamond in the world, the 105-carat Koh-i-Noor is one of the crown jewels. It is set in a crown last …

Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan has divorced his British TV presenter wife Reham Khan after months of speculation that the 10-month marriage was on the rocks. The news was confirmed by a spokesperson for Khan’s political party Tehreek-i-Insaf on Friday. The spokesperson described the split as “amicable” and by “mutual consent”. …

A Pakistani man convicted in March in a US court of conspiring with al-Qaida to bomb a shopping centre in Manchester should spend 30 years to life in prison, US prosecutors say. Abid Naseer, 29, poses an “extreme danger” to society given his “continued commitment” to cause mass casualties designed …

Pakistan’s first specialized homicide investigation unit is promoting a radical idea: find evidence, don’t plant it. Launched last month by police in the eastern province of Punjab, the 478-strong unit pairs veterans with university graduates who had an extra year of training in forensics, report writing and interrogation. Reforming the …

A Pakistani labour activist who has devoted her life to saving scores of her countrymen from bonded labour was honoured with a Global Citizen for Leadership in Civil Society at the Clinton Global Citizen ceremony in New York on Sunday night. Syeda Ghulam Fatima, 47, was recognized for her efforts …

This week British-Pakistani Labour MP Sadiq Khan won his party’s nomination to contest in next year’s London Mayoral election. Now a second Pakistani-origin politician is in the running to become mayor of another great European capital. Pakistan-born environmental campaigner Shoaib Sultan could become Oslo’s next mayor after his party became …

A Chennai-born representative of the Queen has resigned after making critical comments about British Pakistanis. Paul Chandrasekharan Sabapathy, CBE, was one of the monarch’s “Lord Lieutenants” with oversight for the West Midlands – home to a large British Pakistani community.  According to the Guardian, Mr Sabapathy sent an email in …

British Pakistani MP Sadiq Khan could become the first ethnic minority Mayor of London after he was today named the Labour Party’s candidate for the capital’s mayoral race.

Mr Khan, a lawyer by profession and the son of a bus driver who migrated to Britain in the 1960’s, beat out Tessa Jowell to secure his party’s nomination for Mayor.

His victory sets up an intriguing battle against Zac Goldsmith, scion of the famous Goldsmith banking dynasty, who is expected to be named the Conservative Party’s candidate.

The mayoral election will take place in May 2016.

Following his victory, 44-year-old Mr Khan, said: “I am deeply humbled to have received the support of tens of thousands of Londoners.  I am determined to repay that trust by winning the mayoral election next May, and making a real difference to Londoners’ lives.

“London gave me and my family huge opportunities.  A council house so we could save for a deposit to buy our own home.  A secure job for my dad as a bus driver.  A great education for me and my siblings, affordable university places and good quality apprenticeships.  As Mayor I will provide more opportunities for all Londoners.

“My priorities for Londoners are clear.  An affordable and secure home to rent or buy.  More jobs with higher wages for the lowest paid. Making it easier to set up and run a successful business. Reducing the cost of commuting and making London’s environment safer, healthier and less polluted.”

The final tally was 48,152 votes for Mr Khan and 33,573 for Dame Tessa.

London Mayor is one of the most important jobs in British politics.

The eventual winner will oversee a huge £17 billion budget and exercise control over transportation, policing, housing and tourism in one of the world’s great capitals.

Mr Khan, a human rights lawyer, has said one of his key jobs will be to set up an “economic fairness” unit to look at ways of creating a level playing field for workers in the capital, which is also one of the most expensive cities in the world.

He has pledged to freeze tube and train fares until 2020 and cut bus fares.  He has also said he would oppose expansion of Heathrow aiport.

If he wins, Mr Khan - the MP for Tooting, South London - will become the first Muslim Mayor of London as well. 

In 2005 he became the first Muslim to attend Cabinet when he was named transport minister by Gordon Brown.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has expressed alarmed by the violence against journalists and media workers in Pakistan after three separate attacks in 24 hours. Former Geo News business reporter Aftab Alam was killed outside his home in Karachi on Wednesday by two gunmen, according to media reports. The …

Pakistani Teenager Shefaz Hamza spent nine hours at sea clinging to the wreckage of a migrant boat that sank off Libya. By the time the coast guard arrived, his mother and young sister were dead. They were among at least 76 people to die when their boat went down Thursday …