Author: News Desk

Tensions erupted at the Asma Jahangir Conference (AJCONF2026) in Lahore when Ali Abdullah Khan, president of the Progressive Students’ Collective (PSC), confronted German Ambassador Ina Lepel over Germany’s role in Gaza. 


PSC is a left-wing, independent student organization in Pakistan that brings together students from various institutions to educate and organize around critical social and political issues.

During a session on disability rights held on 7th and 8th Feburary, Abdullah challenged Lepel: “Genocide is going on in Gaza over 12,000 children have been disabled by your country. You have to answer this before you start speaking.” Lepel dismissed the question, while the moderator suggested he wait until the end. Abdullah refused, chanting: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” before being asked to leave.

The AJCONF, a two-day forum titled “Erosion of Fundamental Rights and Resistance Across Borders”, organized with the Supreme Court Bar Association and Pakistan Bar Council, aimed to provide an uncensored platform for discussion on critical human rights issues. The event brought together senior high court justices, international jurists, journalists, media experts, and activists.

The clash ignited a firestorm of reactions online. Many praised Abdullah’s courage: “Her flabbers were gasted, bro! Good job,” wrote one user, while another commented, “We love to see. Well done PSC for raising the question.” 

Others highlighted the hypocrisy of allowing speakers from countries implicated in human rights abuses: “Shame on the organizers for inviting funders and enablers of genocide to speak on human rights,” and “The audacity of lecturing on rights while funding a genocide hope she carries this message home.”

Some criticized Abdullah’s approach: “Your method was wrong. Everyone should have a chance to speak after each segment,” and “The German ambassador is just one person; she doesn’t make foreign policy.” Others offered a more realist perspective: “In the world of politics, only self-interest matters. National interest. Purely national interest.”

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Germany supplied around 30 percent of Israel’s arms between 2019 and 2023, approving €326.5 million in military exports in 2023 alone a tenfold increase from 2022. Since 2003, Germany has exported over €3.3 billion worth of military equipment, including naval vessels used in attacks and blockades in Gaza.

After nearly two decades, Basant celebrations returned to Lahore, drawing large crowds, packed rooftops, and widespread activity across the city. However, the revival also triggered a wave of negative reactions from Indian netizens.

Social media was flooded with clips of kites battling in the sky, music blaring from rooftops, and people enjoying themselves in bright yellow clothes, marking what many called the long-awaited revival of Lahore’s cultural identity.

However, the celebrations also ignited heated debates online, particularly among Indian Hindutva extremists, many of whom accused Pakistan of “claiming” or “renaming” a Hindu festival.

“So Pakistanis renamed Makar Sankranti as Basant, shifted it to a different date, and now celebrate it just to fly kites… Just wow,” one user wrote.

Another commented, “Now Pakistan is stealing Indian Hindu festival Vasant Panchami and calling it their own.”

One post read, “It’s our Hindu festival… and we celebrate it every year,’ while another user claimed, ‘Seeing clips of Basant from Pak, it seems like Pakis have memed it into a real thing somehow.”

Some users also argued that kite flying was originally an Indian practice and not exclusive to Punjab, with one writing that Pakistan had only ‘revived’ something that had always continued in India.

Another comment suggested that Pakistanis were trying to claim the festival as part of “Punjabi Sufi culture” and were opposing attempts to label it as a Hindu calendar event.

One user said that trying to “gatekeep” the tradition made no sense, calling it “the soul of Punjab from Lahore to Amritsar.”

Another post said Hindu festivals were enjoyable and encouraged people to keep celebrating, while others pointed out that different regions have their own versions and ways of observing the spring festival.

Basant, once one of Lahore’s most iconic cultural events, was effectively banned in 2007 after a series of fatal accidents linked to metal and chemical-coated kite strings. The restrictions remained in place for years despite repeated calls from citizens, traders, and cultural groups to revive the festival under regulated conditions.

In December 2025, the Punjab government finally announced the return of Basant as a three-day event from February 6 to 8, 2026, bringing the festival back to the city after nearly two decades. The revival was framed as both a cultural celebration and a regulated, safer version of the traditional festivities.

At least 31* worshippers were martyred and 169 sustained injuries in a suicide bombing at an imambargah on the outskirts of Islamabad on Friday afternoon. When the incident was initially reported, police sources said that 12 people were martyred while several others were injured.

The incident occurred in the Tarlai area around the time of Friday prayers. A suicide bomber attempted to enter the imambargah but was stopped by security personnel at the gate. The attacker then detonated himself at the entrance, reports quoted sources.

Police sources said the attacker was a foreign national and was linked to Fitna-al-Khawarij, a term used by the state for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). “The bomber blew himself up after being stopped at the gate,” a police source said, confirming that the blast took place before the attacker could enter the premises.

Following the explosion, police and security agencies launched an operation at the site and cordoned off the surrounding area. Bomb disposal and investigation teams were called in to assess the scene and collect evidence, the sources said.

The injured were shifted to hospitals in the federal capital for medical treatment. An emergency was imposed at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), Polyclinic Hospital, and CDA Hospital, officials said.

On the directives of the executive director, an emergency has been enforced at PIMS . The main emergency, orthopaedic, burn centre, and neurology departments had been activated to receive the injured. 

Condemnations over the attack poured in from political leaders and officials.

President Asif Ali Zardari extended condolences to the victims in a statement issued by the Pakistan Peoples Party on X. Expressing grief over the incident, he said, “Targeting innocent civilians is a crime against humanity.” The president prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured and directed that all possible medical facilities be provided to them.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the blast in a statement. He expressed grief over the incident and said he “strongly condemns” the attack.

Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghadam condemned the incident in a post on X on behalf of the Iranian government and people. “On behalf of the government and the people of the Islamic Republic of Iran, I strongly condemn the terrorist attack in Islamabad during Friday prayers which led to the martyrdom and injury of innocent civilians,” he said. “I extend my condolences and sympathy to the government and people of Pakistan, particularly the bereaved families, and pray for the recovery of the injured.”

The blast comes days after a series of attacks in Balochistan that resulted in multiple casualties. According to official statements, attacks carried out by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed the lives of 36 civilians, including women and children, along with 22 security and law enforcement personnel.

The attacks were reported in several districts, including Quetta, Mastung, Nushki, Dalbandin, Kharan, Panjgur, Tump, Gwadar, and Pasni, on January 31.

A day before the Islamabad attack, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said security forces had concluded Operation Raddul Fitna-1. In a statement, the military’s media wing said at least 216 terrorists were eliminated in coordinated engagements and clearance operations conducted in different areas.

*The death toll and number of injured persons were last updated by the filing of this report.