Latest news with #Sarwani
India.com
12-06-2025
- India.com
Who is Asif Hafeez? Business tycoon in London, close to British royal family, now faces 16 years in jail due to..., was called...
Asif Hafeez, once a notorious figure in the global narcotics underworld, was sentenced on June 6, 2025, to 16 years of rigorous imprisonment in New York after being convicted on drug trafficking charges. Considered one of the most dangerous masterminds behind a massive heroin empire, Hafeez used to live a double life. He used to enjoy royal luxuries by day, while orchestrating one of the world's most feared drug operations by night. He oversaw a large-scale smuggling network that transported heroin, methamphetamine, and hashish from Pakistan and India across international borders. This 'Sultan' created an empire, from the opium fields of Afghanistan to drug markets in Europe, Africa, and the United States, utilizing the illegal trade and black-market employment and giving himself a proper appeal as a reputable man. Asif Hafeez, while operating an international drug cartel, was a shadowy figure among the criminal element, but on the surface, he ran legitimate businesses and reportedly paid tax on his profits. He was viewed as a respectable businessman who made charitable contributions from a portion of his profits to humanitarian causes. He created the facade that shielded the vast, widespread enums of criminal activity that propelled his drug empire. The secret life of Asif Hafeez began to unravel in 2014, when an undercover U.S. agent recorded a meeting in Kenya between Hafeez's business associates and a Colombian drug buyer. This sting operation set off a chain of revelations that eventually led to his arrest, a lengthy extradition battle, and his sentencing in the United States. Hafeez was born in 1958 in Lahore, Pakistan and was a middle class citizen. He began to climb the business ranks, and in the early 1990s, established Sarwani International Corporation. Initially, Sarwani had a reputation as the project of a well-heeled, white-collar businessman, and part of his assets included commercial drug detection equipment for military use, textiles, and a restaurant in Lahore. The profits from these businesses had developed cash that enabled Hafeez to live an extraordinarily lavish lifestyle. He used his fortune to develop relationships with wealthy, influential (and corrupt) people; access to their personal networks in turn was essential for maintaining and hiding his illicit activities behind the pretense of legitimacy. According to a BBC report, between 2009 and 2011, Asif Hafeez held a prominent role at the prestigious Ham Polo Club. It was during this period that he came into contact with members of the British royal family—although it was later revealed that he was never officially a member of the club. His perceived status as a respectable businessman was further reinforced by his connections with Britain's elite social circles. However, under the cover of night, his criminal drug trafficking empire continued to operate without interruption. Hafeez's illegal operations spanned the globe, as he trafficked heroin, methamphetamine, and hashish from his bases in Pakistan and India to markets worldwide. But it wasn't just his vast drug empire that made him stand out. Hafeez also played a dangerous cat-and-mouse game—posing as an informant for law enforcement agencies in the UK and the Middle East, further blurring the lines between ally and criminal. At the polo club, Hafeez was rubbing shoulders with British royalty, and building relationships with some of the richest and most powerful people. By day, he was acting like a businessman with deep networks from the UK to the Middle East and Pakistan. On June 6, 2025, Hafeez was sentenced to 16 years in a New York prison after being convicted of drug trafficking charges. This officially marked the end of a legal saga that had spanned years, and which had revealed how Hafeez—who once rubbed elbows with London's elite billionaires—had been secretly operating one of the biggest and perhaps most secretive drug empires in the world. His prison term, which is set to end in 2033, signals the end of a criminal enterprise that relied on deception, money, and unrestrained ambition.
Express Tribune
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Pakistan rejects India's Kashmir claim at UN, calls for plebiscite
Listen to article Pakistan has once again dismissed India's claim that Jammu and Kashmir is an 'integral part' of the country, reiterating that the region remains disputed and its status is recognised as such by the United Nations and the international community. 'Every official UN map depicts Jammu and Kashmir as disputed territory,' said Gul Qaiser Sarwani, Counselor at Pakistan's Mission to the UN, while exercising his right of reply at the conclusion of a high-level UN Security Council debate on peacekeeping operations. Sarwani's response came after Indian Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish repeated New Delhi's assertion that 'Kashmir has been, is, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India.' The Indian envoy made the statement in reaction to a speech by Syed Tariq Fatemi, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, who had urged the 15-member Council to implement its own resolutions that call for a UN-supervised plebiscite to determine the future of Jammu and Kashmir. 'No amount of obfuscation can change the legal, political and historical reality — Jammu and Kashmir is not, and has never been, a so-called 'integral' part of India,' Sarwani said. He described the region as a 'disputed territory,' whose 'final disposition' must be decided by its people through a plebiscite, as mandated by multiple UN Security Council resolutions. Sarwani criticised India's heavy military presence in the region, stating that more than 900,000 troops and paramilitary forces are deployed in what he called 'the densest occupation in history.' He further stated that ore than 100,000 Kashmiris have been killed since 1989 and highlighted India's gross violation of human rights, citing reports recorded by the UN. Responding to Indian allegations of cross-border terrorism, the Pakistani diplomat said, 'It is most ironic that India, which is committing the worst form of state terrorism in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, is portraying itself as the victim.' He added that occupiers and colonisers often label legitimate struggles for self-determination as terrorism. Sarwani went on to remark that India was orchestrating subversion and targeted killings in foreign countries, and highlighted that India funds and supports anti-Pakistan groups including the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), and the Majeed Brigade. Pakistan has consistently maintained that a fair and peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute lies in the implementation of UN resolutions and the holding of a plebiscite under UN supervision. Earlier, On the occasion of Pakistan Day, the illegally detained Chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Masarrat Aalam Butt, along with other Hurriyat leaders and organizations have extended their warm congratulations to the people and government of Pakistan, praying for the nation's continued progress, stability and prosperity. According to Kashmir Media Service, in a message from the notorious Tihar Jail in New Delhi, Masarrat Aalam Butt expressed solidarity with the people of Pakistan, describing the country as a beacon of hope for oppressed Kashmiris and the entire Muslim Ummah. He emphasised that Pakistan, founded on a noble ideology, serves as a great blessing for Muslims worldwide.
