KARACHI: Following a spate of cyberattacks on Pakistan’s banks, several account holders said on Thursday that they were forced to take precautionary measures to secure their savings.
“I have closed my online account because of the ongoing cyber-attacks. The banks are not sharing details of what is happening, so I’ve decided to close the accounts having experienced the trouble of dealing with banks,” Abdul Samad Memon, a 35-year-old businessman, told Arab News.
Samad is not the only account holder to opt out. Dozens of individuals have either voluntarily closed their accounts or requested their banks to block access as a precautionary measure. “I have asked my bank to close my online account and now I will withdraw cash through checks to be on the safer side,” Muhammad Salahuddin, a retired government employee said.
Authorities from several banks also said that they had notified their customers about the move. Muhammad Rehan, a school teacher, said he had received the notification from his bank and did not have an issue with the standard operating procedure as it is a “good step under the current circumstances”.
In the news recently, major financial institutions reported losing billions of rupees through fraudulent activities. Prime among these were transactions involving identify theft, whereby hackers would create fake accounts using the details of another person, mostly from an underprivileged background. Case in point was an incident reported by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) whereby it had seized the bank account of an ice-cream vendor who had Rs2.25 billion in his savings account.
“The hacking incidents show that nothing is reliable. Even though withdrawing cash by using fake checks has been the practice in the past, I still believe it is safer as compared to online banking,” Baber Sharif, a shopkeeper, said.
Adding insult to injury was the case of Pakistan’s BankIslami which reported that its security system had been breached on October 27, resulting in major losses for the company.
The extent of the online hacking came to light on Monday, when FIA’s cyber-crime chief, Captain (retd) Mohammad Shoaib said that customers’ data from almost all major Pakistani banks had been stolen in a recent security breach.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), however, rejected the FIA’s findings, clarifying that the data of only one bank had been compromised. “SBP categorically rejects such reports. There is no evidence to this effect nor has this information been provided to the SBP by any bank or law enforcement agency,” the central bank said in a statement.
However, officials from the Pakistan Computer Emergency Response Team (PakCERT), a cybersecurity services provider, reported that on October 26, a data dump was posted on the Internet highlighting the details of more than 9,000 debit cards, out of which 8,864 belonged to customers of Pakistani banks.
“The [security details of the] compromised cards were sold at a price ranging from between $100 and $160. The second dump was posted on October 31 with over 12,000 cards on darknet comprising 11,000 cards from Pakistani banks,” the report added.
According to the PakCERT, security details of a total of 19,864 cards from 22 Pakistani banks were compromised.
Experts believe that the breach was not the act of any one individual but rather a group of individuals as the fraud was carried out in a sophisticated and organized manner. “The pattern of infiltration clearly shows that there was more than one entity involved,” S M Arif, a financial expert and banking technologist, told Arab News.
“We have to evaluate whether only the data which was available in the dark web was compromised or other data was used as well,” Arif said, adding that in circumstances where the data from one country is used for withdrawal purposes in another country while a third individual is the beneficiary “could only be done by those who have access to the data”. “The withdrawals have taken place through a financial system which means it is the failure of multiple entities on multiple points,” he said.
A B Shahid, a senior banker, told Arab News that the recent incidents of cyber-fraud have exposed the loopholes in the financial system and shaken the confidence of customers. “The customers believed that the banking systems was most reliable and secure for their savings but their confidence has been shaken to a large extent,” he said.
Holding the SBP and the management of various banks responsible for the infiltration and hacking, Shahid said that the financial bodies could have taken a cue from Wikileaks which had “exposed the system’s weaknesses”.
“Wikileaks clearly demonstrated that data can be downloaded and used for various reasons. In the race to promote electronic banking in Pakistan, neither the regulator nor the banks’ management took steps to install an anti-hacking system which is clearly evident from the recent incidents,” he said.
Users log off permanently to avoid cyber fraud
Users log off permanently to avoid cyber fraud
- Security of nearly 20,000 bank accounts compromised in recent heists
- Experts blame regulator and financial bodies for failure to prevent online attacks
Explosion at gas pipeline disrupts supply in southwest Pakistani province
- Police say unidentified individuals planted an explosive device along the pipeline near Quetta
- Sui Southern Gas Company says repair work will start Friday after the area’s security clearance
QUETTA: An 18-inch diameter gas pipeline was destroyed by an explosion in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province on Wednesday evening, officials confirmed, suspending gas supply to several areas of the province, including its capital, Quetta.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by area, is rich in natural resources, including significant natural gas reserves. The Sui gas field, located in the province, is one of the country’s largest and supplies a substantial portion of Pakistan’s natural gas needs.
Attacks on gas pipelines in Balochistan are not unprecedented. Militant groups, particularly Baloch separatists, have a history of targeting infrastructure to express grievances over the alleged exploitation of the province’s resources without adequate benefit to the local population, a charge the government denies.
These groups have previously carried out attacks on gas pipelines, power lines, and other infrastructure, disrupting supplies and causing economic losses. The latest incident targeting the pipeline occurred at Quetta’s western bypass, according to a local police official.
“The explosion has damaged the gas pipeline while police and other law enforcing agencies have commenced investigation,” Mehmood Kharoti, Station House Officer of Brewery Police Station, told Arab News.
He said unidentified individuals had planted an explosive device along the pipeline in the Killi Khali area.
The Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) also issued a statement confirming the incident.
“The main gas supply line caught fire after the explosion which has been controlled by the SSGC team but gas supply has been suspended in many parts of Quetta, Kuchlak, Pishin, Yaro, Karbala and Huramzai,” the statement said.
“The repair work of the damaged gas pipeline will be started tomorrow after the security clearance by the law enforcement agencies,” it added.
Balochistan, which shares borders with Iran and Afghanistan, has experienced a low-level insurgency for decades. Baloch nationalists have called for greater autonomy and a larger share of the region’s resource wealth. The Pakistani government says it has launched several development projects in the region to address these concerns, but tensions persist.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the latest attack.
Nearly 300 killed in militant attacks in Pakistan’s Balochistan province in 2024 — official data
- Balochistan witnessed a rise in separatist violence, reporting 563 attacks in which over 500 were injured
- Security analysts say only genuine political process can establish long-term peace in restive Balochistan
QUETTA: Pakistan’s volatile Balochistan province witnessed a dramatic surge in militant violence in 2024, as government data exclusively obtained by Arab News on Wednesday revealed nearly 300 people, including civilians and soldiers, were killed in over 550 attacks reported across various districts of the province this year.
Most attacks were carried out by Baloch separatist groups, primarily the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which also launched coordinated assaults, including suicide bombings, targeting Pakistani security forces and Chinese nationals in the southern region of the country.
Balochistan, sharing porous borders with Afghanistan to the north and Iran to the west, has experienced a low-level insurgency by Baloch separatist and other armed groups for the last two decades.
These groups accuse Islamabad of exploiting the province’s mineral resources without benefitting its people, claims the government denies, asserting it has initiated several development projects to bring the region on par with other provinces.
“296 people including the civilians and soldiers of Pakistan’s armed forces were killed and more than 500 were injured in 563 attacks reported in Balochistan from January 1st to December 20th, 2024,” the provincial home department’s annual report, exclusively obtained by Arab News, said.
“44 percent of the total attacks were reported against Pakistan’s armed forces operating in Balochistan including the Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps (FC) Balochistan, Police, Levies, and Pakistan Coast Guards, while 81 settlers (people from other provinces) and 37 civilians were killed in dozens of attacks this year,” it added.
The official data revealed that February and August, months when Pakistan held general elections and celebrated its independence, were the deadliest, with 187 attacks of varying nature and scale reported across Balochistan, claiming 119 lives.
Last month, Pakistan announced a “comprehensive military operation” against Baloch separatists and their hideouts in the mountainous region following a deadly suicide bombing at the crowded railway station in Quetta, which killed more than two dozen people, including Pakistan Army soldiers.
Shahid Rind, the provincial spokesperson, confirmed the annual number of attacks and casualties while speaking to Arab News.
“The provincial government has been implementing the decisions made in the federal apex committee meeting in November alongside the objectives of its own provincial action plan to counter this new wave of terrorism in Balochistan,” he said.
“The provincial administration, together with federal and provincial law enforcing agencies, will move as the whole of the government to impart a sense security among the masses, foreign investors and business community,” he continued.
POLITICAL PROCESS
Speaking to Arab News, Abdul Basit, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, called 2024 a year of offensive guerrilla warfare from defensive guerrilla warfare by the Baloch militant groups.
“The separatist groups showed a new trend of coordinated attacks and taking over the provincial highways for hours,” he said.
“Balochistan needs a genuine political process for long-term peace because the ethnic Baloch nation has lost trust in the political process,” he continued. “Instead of empowering dummy leadership in Balochistan, the state has to work with genuine leadership that has roots in the masses.”
Safdar Sial, a research analyst at the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), agreed with him, pointing out that the Pakistani authorities had mainly relied on “kinetic operations” and the frequency of military actions was likely to intensify further.
However, he added that it was important to adopt the political approach to prevent recruitment by the militant organizations.
“Government should take soft and political measures to alienate Baloch insurgents from the Baloch masses,” he said.
Afghanistan summons Pakistan envoy over reported airstrikes killing 46 in border town
- Kabul accuses Pakistan military of creating distrust when civilian officials are in talks with Afghanistan
- Afghan authorities reported the strikes days after TTP claimed a raid on Pakistani outpost, killing 16 soldiers
KARACHI: Afghan authorities in Kabul said on Wednesday they summoned the Pakistani chargé d’affaires after reported airstrikes by Pakistan in Paktika province that killed at least 46 people, warning such actions undermined bilateral trust and highlighting Afghanistan’s history of defending its sovereignty against major global powers.
The airstrikes reportedly targeted Afghanistan’s eastern district of Bermal, days after Pakistan claimed it thwarted a cross-border incursion by a banned militant network, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), whose leadership is said to be based on Afghan soil.
The incident comes amid escalating militant attacks in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, with TTP recently claiming responsibility for an overnight raid on a Pakistani military outpost that killed 16 soldiers.
Pakistan has accused Afghanistan of facilitating such attacks, a charge denied by Kabul.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) summoned the Charge d’Affaires of the Pakistani Embassy in Kabul this afternoon and delivered a letter of strong protest regarding the bombing by Pakistani military aircraft near the Durand Line, in the Bermal district of Paktika province, Afghanistan,” the Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which has a long history of struggle to defend the country against great powers, will never accept the violation of the nation’s sovereignty and is resolutely prepared to defend the country’s independence and territorial integrity,” it added.
The reported airstrikes coincided with a visit to Kabul by Mohammad Sadiq, Pakistan’s special representative for Afghanistan, to discuss trade and regional ties.
During the visit, Sadiq met Afghanistan’s acting interior minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani, to offer condolences over the Dec. 11 killing of his uncle, Khalil Haqqani, in a suicide bombing claimed by Daesh.
Sadiq also held talks with Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, describing the discussions as “wide-ranging” and focused on strengthening cooperation and fostering peace.
The Afghan foreign ministry maintained that while representatives of Pakistan’s civilian government were engaged in dialogue with Afghan officials in Kabul, the actions of Pakistani military aimed “to create distrust between the two countries.”
“Furthermore, it was made clear to the Pakistani side that the protection of Afghanistan’s national sovereignty is a red line for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and such irresponsible actions will undoubtedly have consequences,” it continued.
Earlier this year in March, airstrikes by Pakistan’s military in Afghan border regions prompted skirmishes on the frontier.
No statement has yet been issued by Pakistan’s military or foreign office regarding the strikes.
Two paramilitary troops guarding Qatari hunting team killed in attack in southwest Pakistan
- IED blast took place as 10-member Qatari hunting team was passing through Zarren Bug locality in Balochistan
- Qatar royal family members often visit Pakistan on hunting expeditions, especially in pursuit of the houbara bustard
KARACHI: Two paramilitary soldiers were killed and four were wounded in an IED attack in the southwestern Balochistan province, officials said on Wednesday, as they were guarding a visiting group of Qatari hunters who remained unhurt.
Qatar royal family members often visit Pakistan on hunting expeditions, especially in pursuit of the houbara bustard, a rare bird whose meat is prized by Arab sheikhs. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the bustard as a vulnerable species with a global population ranging from 50,000 to 100,000. It has almost vanished on the Arabian peninsula.
“This was an IED attack on the Frontier Corps [paramilitary force] while they were providing security to Qatari nationals, two soldiers have been martyred,” local assistant commissioner Abdul Hameed said.
He said the attackers struck in the Zarren Bug locality in Turbat in the southwestern Balochistan province.
A second official from a local paramilitary force confirmed that two soldiers had been killed.
“The 10-member delegation of the Qatari hunting party led by Sheikh Talal was visiting district Kech to hunt the houbara bustard,” the official added. “The Qatari team was not hurt in the attack and safely passed the area.”
To seek favor with communities on whose land they pursue prey, hunters from Arab nations have built roads, schools and mosques in places like Balochistan and the province of Helmand in neighboring Afghanistan, while residents also benefit from the international-standard airstrips that can spring up. New four-wheel-drive vehicles brought in for the hunt are sometimes left behind as gifts for regional leaders.
But critics say that hunting with falcons is a reckless hobby that threatens the houbara and other species.
In December 2015, about 100 gunmen kidnapped at least 26 Qataris from a desert hunting camp in Iraq near the Saudi border. A member of Qatar’s ruling family was freed in April 2016, along with an accompanying Pakistani man.
Pakistan calls for end of violence in Bethlehem, birthplace of Christ
- Palestinian city is venerated by Christians as birthplace of Jesus and now sits in Israeli-occupied West Bank
- Violence has surged across the hilly land since the start of the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza in October last year
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday called for an end to violence in Bethlehem, the Palestinian city venerated by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus and which now sits in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Since the 1967 war between Israel and neighboring Arab countries, Israel has occupied the West Bank, which Palestinians want as the core of a future independent state. Israel has built Jewish settlements across the territory and several of its ministers live in settlements and favor their expansion.
Violence has surged across the hilly land since the start of the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza in October last year. Hundreds of Palestinians — including suspected armed fighters, stone-throwing youths and civilian bystanders — have died in clashes with Israeli security forces, while dozens of Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks, Israeli authorities say.
“The place [Bethlehem] where Prophet Isa [Jesus] was born, his birthplace, today there is a raging market of bloodshed and violence there,” Sharif said as he addressed a church service in Islamabad.
“I believe that on this occasion [of Christmas], wherever in the entire world that Christians live, we should try our best to end this bloodshed in Palestine. And Prophet Isa, who was a peace messenger, for the success of his mission, we need war to end there.”
The West Bank has been transformed by the rapid growth of Jewish settlements over the past two years, with strident settlers pushing to impose Israeli sovereignty on the area.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said on X in October that since the start of the Gaza conflict more than 120,000 firearms had been distributed to Israeli settlers to protect themselves.
