AI adoption calls for complete overhaul of digital and energy infrastructure

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistan court has sentenced four men to death for posting blasphemous content online, a member of a group of “vigilante” private lawyers that brought the prosecution said on Monday.
The four men were sentenced in Rawalpindi, the garrison city that neighbors the capital Islamabad, Rao Abdur Raheem, a lawyer from the Legal Commission on Blasphemy Pakistan (LCBP), told AFP.
Blasphemy is an incendiary charge in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where even unsubstantiated accusations can incite public outrage and lead to lynchings.
Pakistan has witnessed a sharp increase in the prosecution of “online blasphemy” cases, with private groups bringing charges against hundreds of young individuals for allegedly committing blasphemy.
“They were sentenced to death... on Friday for spreading blasphemous content online against the Prophet Muhammad and the Qur’an,” Raheem told AFP on Monday.
“Our case was supported by forensic evidence from the devices used in this heinous act,” he said of one of the LCBP’s latest prosecutions.
Despite the conviction, Pakistan has never executed anyone for blasphemy.
A member of a support group formed by the families confirmed the sentence to AFP and said the group would challenge the conviction.
“The pattern of arrests and prosecutions in this case is consistent with previous ones,” said the support group member, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.
“We urge the government to establish a commission to investigate the rise in these cases before these young individuals spend the best years of their lives behind bars.”
Many of the online blasphemy cases are being brought to trial by private “vigilante groups” led by lawyers and supported by volunteers who scour the Internet for offenders, rights groups and police say.
The LCBP is the most active of those groups in Pakistan.
Sheraz Ahmad Farooqi, one of the group’s leaders, told AFP in October that “God has chosen them for this noble cause.”
A report published by the government-run National Commission for Human Rights in October last year said there were 767 people, mostly young men, in jail awaiting trial over blasphemy allegations.
“In these cases, due process was notably disregarded, with significant procedural violations observed at multiple stages,” the report said.
“Arrests were often carried out by private individuals rather than law enforcement.”
Cases can drag through the courts for years, although death penalties are often commuted to life in prison on appeal at the Supreme Court.
A special court was formed in September to expedite the dozens of pending cases.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Railways has sacked 18% of its “unnecessary staff” in a bid to improve the state-owned asset’s performance, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was briefed on Monday according to a statement from his office, as Islamabad moves to implement ambitious reforms mandated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in exchange for a financial bailout. 

Improving governance in loss-making state-owned enterprises (SOEs) has long been on the IMF’s list of recommendations for Pakistan, which has turned to the international lender for frequent financial bailouts, the latest of which was a $7 billion loan last year. Pakistan’s prolonged economic crisis has forced the country to implement an ambitious reforms program designed by the IMF, which includes privatizing public sector organizations and laying off unnecessary staff to enhance their revenue.

Pakistan’s SOEs have accumulated losses in the billions over the years due to mismanagement, operational challenges, high debt loads, inefficiencies and alleged corruption. Pakistan’s railways sector has also been poorly managed over the years, with the country witnessing several train accidents over the past few years due to decades-old signal systems and tracks.

Sharif chaired a meeting to review the railway sector’s performance on Monday which was attended by senior cabinet ministers and officials, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement. 

“As part of the Pakistan Railways rightsizing process, 18% of unnecessary staff has been laid off,” Sharif was briefed during the meeting, according to the PMO. 

Sharif issued instructions to Pakistan Railways to attract passengers in a competitive manner, calling on the organization to provide better travel services to passengers through public-private partnerships. 

He also instructed railways to hire professional and capable manpower, and replace its old system with modern technology that is more in line with today’s age, the PMO said. 

Sharif was briefed that the railways suffered losses of Rs10 billion during the devastating floods of 2022, during which most of its tracks remained underwater for 35 days. 

“Pakistan Railways improved its performance through various measures after the 2022 floods and has so far earned a profit equal to the initial cost of its freight operations,” the PM was told. 

The Pakistani premier urged railways to use its land for business activities in collaboration with the private sector, directing it to formulate a strategy to increase trade in the region, especially with Central Asian countries.