ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office said on Thursday the government has further enhanced the security of Chinese nationals only days after a deadly suicide bombing killed five of them along with their Pakistani driver in the country’s volatile northwest.
The incident took place in Shangla, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into the vehicle of Chinese engineers and construction workers on Tuesday.
The attack occurred in an area vital to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which encompasses various mega projects crucial for Pakistan’s economy. The victims were en route to Dasu Dam, Pakistan’s largest hydropower project, when they were targeted.
“I can reassure you that Pakistan has further enhanced the security of Chinese nationals,” foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told reporters in a weekly media briefing in Islamabad.
She said both Pakistani and Chinese governments were in contact after the tragic incident on March 26, adding they were fully committed to bringing the terrorists, along with their facilitators and abettors, to justice.
“At this point, we are focusing on investigating the terror attack and ensuring that the dead bodies of the deceased are transported to their home country,” she added. “This is the first priority at this stage.”
Asked about the security concerns raised by the Chinese officials following the attack, Baloch said the Pakistani government fully understood their concerns.
“We are engaged with the Chinese officials at very senior level to discuss the arrangements for the safety of Chinese nationals and for the investigation of this particular terror incident,” she informed.
The foreign office spokesperson said Pakistan would continue to work with the Chinese authorities to ensure the safety and security of Chinese nationals, projects and institutions in Pakistan.
“We have no doubt that the … terror attack [in Shangla] was orchestrated by the enemies of Pakistan-China friendship and together, we will resolutely act against all such forces and defeat them,” she emphasized.
In response to a question regarding Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif’s statement regarding the necessity for stronger border controls between Pakistan and Afghanistan, she clarified he was elaborating measures already taken by Pakistan to regulate travel between the two neighboring countries.
“Pakistan-Afghanistan border is an important border, and Pakistan has, over time, taken several measures to secure the border, including erecting a fence along the border,” she continued.
“Pakistan has also introduced one document regime under which individuals can travel to Pakistan on the basis of valid visas on their passports,” Baloch added.
Pakistan says security of Chinese nationals enhanced after deadly attack
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Pakistan says security of Chinese nationals enhanced after deadly attack
- Pakistan’s foreign office says the government fully understands Chinese security concerns after the attack
- It points out Pakistan has built a fence, introduced one document regime to secure its border with Afghanistan
New Zealand win toss, opt to bowl in 5th and final T20 against Pakistan
- Pakistan, looking to build-up for June’s T20 World Cup, are trailing 2-1 in the series
- Pakistan have brought in their ace fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi in place of Zaman Khan
LAHORE: New Zealand captain Michael Bracewell won the toss and elected to field in the fifth and final Twenty20 against Pakistan on Saturday.
Pakistan, looking to build-up for June’s T20 World Cup, are trailing 2-1 in the series as they tested their bench strength against the understrength Black Caps.
Pakistan made just one change from the team that lost the fourth match by four runs, bringing in their ace fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi in place of Zaman Khan.
New Zealand, touring Pakistan without their nine frontline T20 players who are in the Indian Premier League, made three changes.
Tim Seifert recovered from sore back and returns in place of Tim Robinson, who scored a half-century in the last game but was ruled out with a groin injury.
Cole McConchie and Zak Foulkes also made it to the playing XI replacing Dean Foxcroft and Jacob Duffy. Foxcroft was ruled out with a back injury.
The first game was abandoned because of rain before Pakistan bowled out New Zealand for 90 runs in the second game to win by seven wickets.
New Zealand made a comeback, winning the third match by seven wickets before edging out the home team in the last game at Qaddafi Stadium on Thursday.
Pro-Palestine protester claims manhandling after disrupting German ambassador’s speech in Lahore
- Ambassador Grannas was speaking on safeguarding civil rights in South Asia when his speech was interrupted
- Ali Abdullah Khan said Germany was ‘brutally abusing’ people for speaking in favor of the rights of Palestinians
ISLAMABAD: A pro-Palestine protester in Pakistan, who interrupted German Ambassador Alfred Grannas during his speech on civil liberties in South Asia at a rights conference in the eastern city of Lahore on Saturday, said he was ‘manhandled’ by the organizers who later forces him out of the hall.
Ali Abdullah Khan, who studies economics and is part of the Progressive Students Collective, disrupted the German envoy’s speech at the popular Asma Jahangir Conference while accusing the European state of “brutally abusing” those who have been agitating for Palestinian rights.
Germany has clearly sided with Israel since the beginning of the war in Gaza after a surprise attack was launched by Hamas on Oct. 7 as a response to the deteriorating Palestinian condition living under Israeli occupation.
The conflict, which has led to the killing of over 34,000 Palestinians, has led to widespread criticism of the Israeli government, leading to protests in different parts of the world.
While countries like South Africa have accused the Jewish state of committing genocide in Gaza, German authorities have forcibly removed protest encampments and gone into people’s houses to arrest them for critical social media posts on charges of antisemitism.
“We were forced out of the place after we raised our voice during the German ambassador’s speech,” Khan said while speaking to Arab News. “The organizers manhandled us and banned our entry in the conference.”
He said it was “baffling” to see the German ambassador “lecturing” people on civil liberties in Pakistan after his country supplied arms and ammunition to Israeli military to kill Palestinian civilians and destroy hospitals and education institutions.
“Germany isn’t in a position to champion civil liberties and human rights when it is complicit in the killing of thousands of civilians in Palestine,” he continued. “We simply called out Germany’s hypocrisy by peacefully raising our voice in the conference that literally agitated the ambassador.”
Khan said he had peacefully expressed solidarity with the people of Palestine and would continue to do so until the western world remained “complicit in the brutal massacre of Palestinians.”
The Asma Jahangir Conference is named after a late Pakistani human rights lawyer and activist that brings together scholars, activists, legal experts and policymakers to discuss a wide range of issues affecting the lives of marginalized communities.
Arab News reached out to Munizae Jahangir, Asma’s daughter and a known journalist, for a comment but did not get a response.
Earlier, Khan interrupted the German ambassador shortly after he began his speech.
“I am shocked by the audacity that you are here to talk about civil rights while your country is brutally abusing the people speaking for the rights of the Palestinians,” he shouted while standing at the back of hall.
Many people around him supported him by shouting “Free, Free Palestine” and “From the River to the Sea.”
The German envoy, who looked visibly perturbed by the development, responded by shouting back at him and pointing to the exit.
“If you, if you want to shout, go out,” he said. “There you can shout. Because shouting is not a discussion.”
Last year in November, a Pakistani classical dancer and human rights activist Sheema Kermani raised slogans for a ceasefire at a British Deputy High Commission event in Karachi and later complained of being “escorted out.”
Gunmen abduct judge in Pakistan’s northwest amid surge in militant violence
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister says ‘emergency measures’ must be taken to bring back the judge
- Police say a heavy contingent has gone to the area to gather evidence and identify the armed men
PESHAWAR: Unidentified gunmen abducted a district and sessions court judge in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province on Saturday as he was traveling from his hometown of Tank to the southern Dera Ismail Khan district, according to a police official.
The incident has alarmed the legal community and coincides with a resurgence of militant violence in KP and Balochistan provinces, following the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)’s termination of a fragile truce with the government in November 2022.
“Shakirullah Marwat, the district and sessions judge in South Waziristan, was kidnapped near Bagwal, a dusty town between Tank and Dera Ismail Khan,” said Muhammad Ibrahim, a police spokesman. “The kidnappers released Marwat’s driver but took the judge with them.”
Ibrahim added that a heavy police contingent was dispatched to the area immediately after the incident to collect evidence and search for the armed men.
Earlier this month, an attack in Dera Ismail Khan resulted in the death of six people, including five customs department officials, with another person wounded when gunmen targeted their vehicle.
Shah Fahad Ansari, a high court advocate and the divisional president for the People Lawyers’ Forum, condemned the abduction, saying that courts across the region should be locked down in protest to draw attention to the deteriorating law and order situation.
“The provincial government has completely failed to maintain security in the area,” Ansari added. “You can imagine the sense of insecurity among people at a time when the state cannot even protect its judges.”
Reacting to the development, KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur instructed the police to ensure the safe recovery of the judge.
“Emergency measures must be taken to recover the judge, and all available resources should be utilized for this purpose,” he said in a statement.
Gandapur maintained the people who were behind the incident would not be able to escape the law.
The recent weeks have also seen attacks on police officials in KP.
Earlier this month, a policeman was shot dead in North Waziristan. In related incidents, an official from the provincial counterterrorism department and a senior cleric affiliated with the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam religious party were fatally shot in target killings in the area.
While no group has claimed responsibility for these attacks, suspicion has fallen on the TTP, whose leadership is said to be based in neighboring Afghanistan.
The Afghan deputy interior minister, Mohammad Nabi Omari, urged Pakistan and the banned militant network to resume negotiations earlier this month, but Pakistani authorities rejected this idea, calling on the administration in Kabul to act against militants operating from its soil.
‘The audacity’: German envoy’s speech disrupted by pro-Palestinian protester at Lahore rights conference
- Ambassador Grannas was speaking on safeguarding civil rights in South Asia when his speech was interrupted
- The protester said Germany was ‘brutally abusing’ those speaking in favor of the rights of Palestinian people
ISLAMABAD: German Ambassador to Pakistan Alfred Grannas was challenged by a pro-Palestine protester on Saturday shortly after he began his speech on safeguarding civil rights in South Asia at a high-profile conference held in the eastern city of Lahore.
Germany has clearly sided with Israel since the beginning of the war in Gaza after a surprise attack was launched by Hamas on Oct. 7 as a response to the deteriorating Palestinian condition living under Israeli occupation.
The conflict, which has led to the killing of over 34,000 Palestinians, has led to widespread criticism of the Israeli government, leading to protests in different parts of the world.
While countries like South Africa have accused the Jewish state of committing genocide in Gaza, authorities in Germany have forcibly removed protest encampments and gone into people’s houses to arrest them for critical social media posts on charges of antisemitism.
“I am shocked by the audacity that you are here to talk about civil rights while your country is brutally abusing the people speaking for the rights of the Palestinians,” the young protester standing at the back of the hall shouted at him.
Many people around him supported him by shouting “Free, Free Palestine” and “From the River to the Sea.”
The German envoy, who looked visibly agitated by the development, responded by shouting back and pointing to the exit.
“If you, if you want to shout, go out,” he said. “There you can shout. Because shouting is not a discussion.”
The incident happened at the Asma Jahangir Conference that focuses on dialogue and advocacy for human rights issues in Pakistan and its broader neighborhood.
Last year in November, a Pakistani classical dancer and human rights activist Sheema Kermani raised slogans for a ceasefire at a British Deputy High Commission event in Karachi and later complained of being “escorted out.”
Pakistan PM arrives in Riyadh to attend World Economic Forum meeting
- PM Sharif is expected to discuss inclusive growth, regional collaboration and energy issues at the gathering
- He will also attend the Islamic Summit Conference in Gambia on May 4 to discuss Islamophobia and Palestine
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Riyadh on Saturday to attend a two-day special conference of the World Economic Forum (WEF).
The WEF meeting on global collaboration, growth and energy will be held in the Saudi capital on April 28-29, according to PM Sharif’s office.
The prime minister was extended an invitation to attend the meeting by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Professor Klaus Schwab, the WEF executive chairman.
“Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has arrived in the Saudi capital Riyadh,” said an official statement circulated in Islamabad.
“At Riyadh’s Royal Airport, the Deputy Governor of the Riyadh Region, His Highness Prince Muhammad bin Abdul Rahman bin Abdul Aziz, the Ambassador of Pakistan in Saudi Arabia, and other diplomatic staff welcomed the Prime Minister,” it added.
Prior to his departure, the PM Office said Sharif would be accompanied by a high-level delegation including foreign minister Ishaq Dar and finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.
“The Prime Minister and the Ministers will participate in WEF discussions on issues related to trade and investment measures, new investment frameworks, restructuring of supply chains, sustainable growth, and the energy landscape,” it added.
Sharif’s participation in the forum will afford Pakistan an opportunity to highlight its priorities in global health architecture, inclusive growth, revitalizing regional collaboration, and the need for striking a balance between promoting growth and energy consumption.
“On the margins of the main event, the Prime Minister and his delegation will hold bilateral meetings with world leaders, including the Saudi leadership, heads of international organizations, and other prominent figures participating in the event,” the statement added.
The prime minister will also attend the 15th session of the Islamic Summit Conference organized by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on May 4-5 in the Gambian capital of Banjul to discuss a variety of regional and global issues, including Palestine, Islamophobia, climate change and the status of minorities, the Pakistani state-run APP news agency reported.
The session will be held under the slogan “Enhancing Unity and Solidarity through Dialogue for Sustainable Development,” according to a press release issued by the OIC General Secretariat.
The Islamic Summit is a principal organ of the OIC focused on the formulation, development, and implementation of decisions made by 57 member states. It is attended by concerned heads of state such as prime ministers, presidents, emirs and other equivalent heads.
