Australia to free Kashmiri

Published June 21, 2005

CANBERRA: Australia’s longest-serving immigration detainee will be released under a softening of the country’s tough immigration policy announced on Monday.

Held for seven years, Peter Qasim could be released this week from hospital, where he is being treated for depression, the authorities said.

Qasim claims to be from Indian-occupied Kashmir.

Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said Qasim had agreed to cooperate with authorities and would be free to live and work in the community, but officials were still unsure who he was.—Reuters

Opinion

Editorial

Doctor attacked
09 Jun, 2026

Doctor attacked

AN act of reprehensible violence has shaken the medical community. On Saturday, an employee of the Provincial Civil...
AJK flare-up
Updated 09 Jun, 2026

AJK flare-up

The situation started deteriorating after a trader affiliated with the JAAC was reportedly shot in an altercation with law-enforcers.
Fault lines
09 Jun, 2026

Fault lines

THE April 8 ceasefire that halted hostilities between Israel and Iran has encountered its most serious test yet....
Soft on traders
08 Jun, 2026

Soft on traders

THE Fixed Tax Asaan Scheme for traders with an annual turnover of up to Rs200m has been designed as a ‘pragmatic...
Ceasefire in name
Updated 08 Jun, 2026

Ceasefire in name

Both sides accuse the other of violating the truce that was supposed to halt the conflict in April, yet neither appears willing to abandon negotiations altogether.
Damaged childhoods
08 Jun, 2026

Damaged childhoods

CHILD abuse is so prevalent that the UN ranked Pakistan as the least safe country for children. Even so, more than...