Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the leader of Pakistan’s Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), has said that Afghanistan’s economic situation has become better than Pakistan’s, as Pakistan faces deepening financial hardship and increasing emigration.

Speaking at a gathering in Rawalpindi, Fazlur Rehman warned that business activity in Pakistan is collapsing and that many Pakistanis are leaving the country in search of stability. He sharply criticized Islamabad’s policies toward Afghanistan, describing them as “complete failures.”

Addressing Pakistan’s repeated claims that militants enter from Afghan territory, he said: “Authorities say terrorists are coming from there. If they are coming, stop them. If they are coming, eliminate them. The Afghan government has never objected to your actions.”

He also rejected the logic behind these allegations, pointing to the closure of key crossings between the two countries: “When not even a single pomegranate can enter Pakistan from Afghanistan today, how can militants enter?”

Fazlur Rehman argued that Pakistan’s foreign policy is shaped not by the civilian government, but by the military establishment: “One general comes and says we will negotiate; another comes and says we will wage war.”

Pakistani officials have long claimed that attacks inside Pakistan are planned from Afghan soil. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has consistently denied this, saying Afghanistan cannot be blamed for Pakistan’s internal security failures.

Hong Kong’s most prominent media tycoon Jimmy Lai was sentenced on Monday to a total of 20 years in jail on national security charges comprising two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one of publishing seditious materials.

The sentence ends a legal saga spanning almost five years, and Hong Kong’s most high-profile national security hearing. Lai, founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper, was first arrested in August 2020 and convicted last year, Reuters reported.

Lai’s sentence of 20 years was within the most severe penalty “band” of 10 years to life imprisonment for offences of a “grave nature”.

The Hong Kong court said Lai’s sentence was enhanced by the fact that he was “mastermind” and driving force behind foreign collusion conspiracies.

The 78-year-old, a British citizen, has denied all the charges against him, saying in court he is a “political prisoner” facing persecution from Beijing.

Lai’s plight has been criticised by global leaders, opens new tab including U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, spotlighting a years-long national security crackdown in the China-ruled Asian financial hub, following mass pro-democracy protests in 2019.

“The rule of law has been completely shattered in Hong Kong. Today’s egregious decision is the final nail in the coffin for freedom of the press in Hong Kong,” said Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalism.

“The international community must step up its pressure to free Jimmy Lai if we want press freedom to be respected anywhere in the world.”

Lai arrived to court in a white jacket, with hands held together in a praying gesture as he smiled and waved at supporters.

The case has drawn calls for the long-standing critic of the Chinese Communist Party, who friends and supporters say is in frail health, to be freed.

“The harsh 20-year sentence against 78-year-old Jimmy Lai is effectively a death sentence,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia Director of Human Rghts Watch. “A sentence of this magnitude is both cruel and profoundly unjust.”

Dozens of Lai’s supporters queued for several days to secure a spot in the courtroom, with scores of police officers, sniffer dogs and police vehicles including an armoured truck and a bomb disposal van deployed around the area.

“I feel that Mr. Lai is the conscience of Hong Kong,” said a man named Sum, 64, who was in the queue.

“He speaks up for Hong Kong people, and even for many wrongful cases in mainland China and for the development of democracy. So I feel that spending a few days of my own freedom sleeping out here is better than seeing him locked up inside.”

Starmer raised the case of Lai, who holds British citizenship, in detail during a tête-à-tête with Chinese leader Xi Jinping last month in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, according to people briefed on the discussions. Britain’s national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, and China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, were also present.

“I raised the case of Jimmy Lai and called for his release,” Starmer told the UK parliament after his trip.

Trump too, raised Lai’s case with Xi during a meeting last October. Several Western diplomats told Reuters that negotiations to free Lai would likely begin in earnest after he is sentenced, and depending on whether Lai will appeal.

LIFE IN PRISON?

Lai’s family, lawyer, supporters and former colleagues have warned that he could die in prison as he suffers from health conditions including heart palpitations and high blood pressure.

Besides Lai, six former senior Apple Daily staffers, an activist and a paralegal will also be sentenced.

“Jimmy Lai’s trial has been nothing but a charade from the start and shows total contempt for Hong Kong laws that are supposed to protect press freedom,” said the Committee to Protect Journalists’ Asia-Pacific Director Beh Lih Yi.

Beijing, however, says Lai has received a fair trial and all are treated equally under the national security law that has restored order to the city.