PESHAWAR: Following a request from Afghan authorities, Pakistan decided on Friday to open major border terminals to facilitate the movement of Afghan citizens who want to exercise their voting right in Saturday’s presidential election in Afghanistan.
Two days ago, Pakistan announced to shut the Pak-Afghan border in view of the political contest in the neighboring state, citing security reasons.
According to a Foreign Office statement issued on Friday night, Islamabad received a request from Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense “on a very short notice for border facilitation and opening of border crossings during Afghan Presidential elections scheduled on 28 September.”
“In spite of security issues along border,” it added, “Pakistan will continue to support its Afghan brothers. Therefore, it has been decided to open major border terminals to facilitate movement of Afghan citizen across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, so that they are able to exercise their right to vote during the presidential election in Afghanistan.”
Separately, Pakistan’s army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, told tribal elders there was a marked reduction in cross-border terror incidents due to the fencing of the Pak-Afghan border, said an official handout circulated by the military’s public relations wing, ISPR, on Friday.
Interacting with tribal elders from South and North Waziristan tribal districts, he said that enduring peace in Pakistan was contingent on lasting security in Afghanistan.
“Afghanistan is our brotherly Muslim neighbor … We wish for peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” he was quoted as saying.
Referring to recent violent incidents, such as IED blasts, Bajwa asked tribal elders to play their role to identify those working for inimical forces.
“We will defeat terrorists with mutual cooperation,” he added.
On the occasion, the tribal elders said the people of the region would support the country’s security forces to maintain law and order in the tribal belt. They also requested the army chief to help ensure speedy completion of development projects.
Border terminals to remain open on Afghan election day, says Pakistan
Border terminals to remain open on Afghan election day, says Pakistan
- Islamabad announced closure of Pak-Afghan border crossings due to security reasons two days ago
- Army chief sees a marked reduction in cross-border attacks in the wake of border fencing
Pakistan Taliban claim raid killing 16 soldiers in northwestern province
- Officials confirm privately militants set fire to the wireless communication equipment, documents
- Pakistan’s military has not issued a statement on the siege of its outpost that lasted for two hours
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani Taliban claimed a brazen overnight raid on an army outpost near the border with Afghanistan on Saturday, which intelligence officials said killed 16 soldiers and critically wounded five more.
The siege started after midnight and lasted about two hours as around 30 militants pummelled the mountainous outpost from three sides, one senior intelligence official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“Sixteen soldiers were martyred and five were critically injured in the assault,” he said. “The militants set fire to the wireless communication equipment, documents and other items present at the checkpoint.”
A second intelligence official also anonymously confirmed the toll of dead and wounded in the attack in the Makeen area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, 40 kilometers (24 miles) from the Afghan border.
Pakistan’s domestic chapter of the Taliban claimed the attack in a statement, saying it was staged “in retaliation for the martyrdom of our senior commanders.”
The group claimed to have seized a hoard of military gear including machine guns and a night vision device.
Pakistan’s military has not yet issued a statement on the incident.
Pakistan has been battling a resurgence of militant violence in its western border regions since the Taliban’s 2021 return to power in Afghanistan.
Islamabad accuses Kabul’s rulers of failing to root out militants staging attacks on Pakistan from over the border.
The Pakistani Taliban — known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — share a common ideology with their Afghan counterparts who surged back to power three years ago.
Kabul’s new rulers have pledged to evict foreign militant groups from Afghan soil.
But a UN Security Council report in July estimated up to 6,500 TTP fighters are based there — and said “the Taliban do not conceive of TTP as a terrorist group.”
The report said the Afghan Taliban show “ad hoc support to, and tolerance of, TTP operations, including the supplying of weapons and permission for training.”
The spike in attacks has soured Islamabad-Kabul relations. Security was cited as one reason for Pakistan’s campaign last year to evict hundreds of thousands of undocumented Afghan migrants.
Pakistan military sentences 25 to prison over May 9 violence, with more verdicts expected
- The sentencing is likely to raise concerns among PTI since Imran Khan faces charges of inciting people
- The ISPR says justice will truly be served when the ‘mastermind and planners’ of May 9 are punished
KARACHI: The Pakistan military on Saturday sentenced 25 people to prison for participating in the violent protests that erupted on May 9, 2023, when hundreds carrying the party flags of former Prime Minister Imran Khan attacked government buildings and vandalized military properties.
The protests, which broke out in different Pakistani cities, followed Khan’s brief detention on corruption charges from an Islamabad court, resulting in damage to major military facilities and martyrs’ monuments.
Subsequently, hundreds of leaders and supporters of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party were imprisoned, despite their denial of involvement in violence and claims that the May 9 incident was a “false flag” operation aimed at crushing their party.
The government and military also asserted they had gathered ample evidence that the attack on the country’s most powerful institution was carefully planned and executed by the PTI leadership, sharing videos of the attacks showing people setting fire to government and military properties.
“On 9 May 2023, nation witnessed tragic incidents of politically provoked violence and arson at multiple places, marking a dark chapter in the history of Pakistan,” the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said in a statement, listing down names of all 25 people with sentences ranging from two to 10 years. “Building on a sustained narrative of hate and lies, politically orchestrated attacks were carried out on the installations of the Armed Forces including desecration of the monuments of Shuhada [martyrs].”
It informed that it gathered “irrefutable evidence” against these people after conducting investigations to prosecute those arrested in the wake of the incident. “This is an important milestone in dispensation of justice to the nation,” the ISPR added. “It is also a stark reminder to all those who are exploited by the vested interests and fall prey to their political propaganda and intoxicating lies, to never take law in own hands ever in the future.”
The statement informed the military would share the details of other individuals whose cases had also been referred to the Field General Court Martial.
The ISPR said its announced followed a ruling by a seven-member Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on December 13 in which it allowed the military courts to share its verdict.
Prior to that, the court had unanimously declared last year that prosecuting civilians in military courts was in violation of the Constitution.
The sentencing of 25 individuals is likely to raise concerns among supporters of Imran Khan, who faces charges of inciting attacks against the armed forces and may potentially be tried in a military court.
The ISPR noted that many accused in the May 9 attacks are also facing trials in various anti-terrorism courts.
“However, justice would truly be fully served once the mastermind and planners of 9th May Tragedy are punished as per the Constitution and laws of the land,” it added.
The statement highlighted the significance of establishing “inviolable writ of the State,” as it pointed out that all convicts retained the right to appeal, as guaranteed by the law and the constitution.
Scoop of deceit: Pakistan’s competition watchdog freezes multinationals’ misleading ice cream ads
- Manufacturers of “Walls” and “Omore” have been penalized for passing off ‘frozen desserts’ as ice cream
- The Competition Commission of Pakistan has imposed Rs75 million of fine on each of the two companies
KARACHI: In a chilling blow to “deceptive marketing,” the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) on Friday imposed a hefty fine of Rs75 million ($269,530) each on two multinational companies, Unilever Pakistan and Friesland Campina Engro, for misleading consumers by advertising their products as “ice cream.”
The CCP took action following a complaint by Pakistan Fruit Juice Company, the manufacturer of “Hico,” which objected to the marketing practices adopted by its rivals.
The CCP maintained that the two companies were selling “frozen desserts” while passing them off as ice cream, a distinct product category made from milk, cream or other dairy products.
“It is held that a false and misleading impression of ‘frozen dessert’ as ‘ice cream’ was created and continued by the Respondents through their advertisements, in order to make the consumers believe that ‘frozen dessert’ products are also ‘ice cream,’” the CCP said in its written order.
“The Respondents advertised, labelled and marketed their products without disclosing the true nature of their products as frozen desserts,” it continued, adding that the two companies “took economic advantage of their deceptive marketing
practices to the detriment of consumers welfare.”
The CCP’s ruling referenced the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) and the Punjab Pure Food Regulations 2018, which define “frozen dessert” and “ice cream” as distinct products.
According to these standards, “ice cream” is made from milk, cream, or other dairy products, while “frozen desserts” are prepared from a pasteurized mix consisting of edible vegetable oils and other ingredients.
The CCP also noted that other countries, including the US, India and Australia, maintain the same standards, where the term “ice cream” can only be applied to dairy-based products.
The commission instructed the companies to stop their current marketing practices and remove advertisements presenting frozen desserts as ice cream.
It instructed them to provide clear disclosures about their products’ nature and ingredients, adding that failure to comply with the verdict within 30 days would result in additional fines.
Government to form committee to negotiate with Imran Khan’s party ‘within days’ — adviser
- Rana Sanaullah says all outstanding issues causing political polarization can come under discussion
- Khan has threatened civil disobedience if the government doesn’t implement his demands by Dec. 22
ISLAMABAD: The government will set up a committee “in a day or two” to negotiate with the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, said the adviser to the country’s prime minister on political affairs on Friday, adding it was possible to discuss all outstanding issues causing political polarization in the country.
The move comes as PTI founder and former Pakistan premier, Imran Khan, threatened to launch civil disobedience by asking overseas nationals, who widely support his party, to stop sending remittances if the government does not implement his demands, including the release of political prisoners, by Dec. 22.
Khan himself remains incarcerated for over a year on charges that he says are politically motivated to keep him away from power. He has also demanded judicial commissions to investigate protests on May 9 last year and Nov. 26 this year in which the government says supporters of PTI partook in violence and caused vandalism.
The ex-premier has already established a negotiating committee to talk to the government.
“The [National Assembly] Speaker [Ayaz Saddiq] has contacted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in this regard,” Rana Sanaullah, Sharif’s political adviser, told Geo TV in an interview. “My own sense is that there will be a breakthrough on this [setting up on the negotiating committee] in another day or two.”
The country has remained in the grip of political unrest and uncertainty since Khan’s ouster from power in a parliamentary no-confidence vote, which also led to economic hardships for Pakistan.
The country’s national economy heavily depends on remittances by overseas Pakistanis who contributed about $30 billion in fiscal year 2023-24.
Khan has also warned the government not to project the PTI’s offer for negotiations as a sign of “surrender.”
Sanaullah said during his interview negotiations could help both sides find a way out of the current political impasse.
However, he said it was premature to say which ones of the PTI’s demands would be met.
“If they force us to accept these demands before the talks, then what is the need for these negotiations,” he asked.
Pakistan to launch first women’s software technology park in Azad Kashmir next year
- The tech facility will bridge the region’s gender-based digital divide and become operational in February
- Over 18,000 professionals are employed across 43 IT parks in Pakistan, of which 20 percent are women
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan announced on Friday its plan to establish the country’s first women’s software technology park in Azad Kashmir, aiming to bridge the region’s gender-based digital divide and targeting a launch in February.
The decision was made during a meeting of the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), chaired by Minister of State for Information Technology Shaza Fatima Khawaja, which assessed the overall performance of the country’s IT sector.
The move is part of the government’s broader plan, unveiled in May, to set up 10 new software technology parks nationwide by next year, including one in the federal capital.
These parks will feature incubation centers and other facilities to support start-ups, expand Pakistan’s digital landscape, increase IT exports and promote gender inclusivity in the tech sector.
“The initiative [to set up the software technology park in Azad Kashmir] underscores our dedication to creating equal opportunities for women and ensuring their meaningful participation in Pakistan’s digital economy,” the minister was quoted as saying in an official statement circulated after the meeting.
The statement informed that 20 percent of workforce in PSEB-supported software technology parks comprises female IT professionals.
Over 18,000 export professionals are currently employed across 43 IT parks in Pakistan.
The PSEB’s initiatives since 2020 have also resulted in more than 10,000 job placements through targeted training, certifications and internship programs.
The organization aims to empower 25,000 freelancers by 2027 by establishing 250 e-Employment Center’s and expand the footprint of the country’s IT sector abroad.
