ISLAMABAD: Militants have stepped up attacks on security forces in northwest Pakistan raising fears of a revival of their insurgency and a return of lawlessness as brighter prospects for peace in Afghanistan herald shifting Islamist alliances.
The ethnic Pashtun border region was for years a haven for militants who fled the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. But the Pakistani military cleared out the strongholds in a 2014 offensive, driving most of the fighters into Afghanistan.
But since March, Al-Qaeda-linked Pakistani Taliban, facing the risk of losing havens on the Afghan side of the border if their Afghan Taliban allies make peace there, have unleashed a wave of attacks on the Pakistani security forces.
Bolstering their bid to re-establish themselves in the border lands, the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), struck an alliance in July with half a dozen small militant factions.
“The group’s capability and military strength has increased, as has their reach,” said Mansur Khan Mahsud, executive director of the Islamabad-based FATA Research Center.
September has seen near daily incidents, from roadside bombs to sniper attacks, to ambushes and the killing of residents accused of collaborating with government forces.
The militants have killed at least 40 soldiers since March, according to a Reuters tally of official figures.
At least 109 people were killed in 67 attacks between January and July — twice the number in 2019, according to the FATA Research Center.
“TTP’s regrouping is concerning both because of its own activities and its links to groups like Al-Qaeda,” said Elizabeth Threlkeld, a former State Department official who served in Pakistan, now deputy-director for the South Asia program at the Washington-based Stimson Center.
“It could again provide significant support to international terror groups if it continues to regain ground.”
UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCE
Militant violence surged in Pakistan after it was pressed to sign on to the US-led war on terror after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, even though it had for years supported the Afghan Taliban.
Soon the Pakistani government found itself under attack from home-grown Taliban but the military succeeded in pushing them out of the region, known as the tribal areas, in 2014, forcing the Pakistani Taliban into Afghanistan.
Millions of residents were displaced by the fighting but since then, militant violence in Pakistan has largely ceased.
But now fears are growing that the surge of Pakistani Taliban violence is an unintended consequence of efforts to make peace in Afghanistan.
In February, the Afghan Taliban and the United States struck a deal allowing for the withdrawal of US forces in exchange for Afghan Taliban guarantees they would not harbor other militants.
The United Nations said in a report in July there were more than 6,000 Pakistani fighters in Afghanistan, most affiliated with the TTP, who could be heading home if they lose their refuge.
“It’s a concern for everyone,” a Western security official based in Pakistan told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Pakistan’s military did not respond to a request for comment on the violence but its spokesman said on Twitter recently that the attacks were “meant to derail (the) Afghanistan Peace Process.”
For those living in the area, insecurity is again becoming a daily worry.
The TTP issued a statement this week telling residents to leave “until peace returns”.
“Our war against Pakistan is continuing and you will continue to see daily attacks,” the militants said.
Attacks surge in northwest Pakistan as Afghan peace effort brings shifting sands
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Attacks surge in northwest Pakistan as Afghan peace effort brings shifting sands
- Militants have killed at least 40 Pakistani soldiers since March, according to a Reuters tally of official figures
- Bolstering their bid to re-establish themselves in Pakistan’s border lands, Pakistani Taliban have struck an alliance with half a dozen small militant factions
Pakistan’s inflation dropped to 0.7 percent in March, lowest in three decades
- Pakistan’s inflation rate stood at 1.5 percent in February and at 20.7 percent during March 2024
- Prices of fresh fruits, eggs, sugar, chicken and readymade garments increased month-on-month
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s consumer price index (CPI) inflation rate dropped to 0.7 percent in March on a year-on-year basis, the country’s statistics bureau said on Thursday, the lowest in three decades amid signs of economic recovery.
Pakistan’s inflation rate stood at 1.5 percent in February and 20.7 percent in March 2024, according to data shared by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) in its monthly review of price indices report.
On a month-on-month basis, it increased by 0.9 percent in March as compared to a decrease of 0.8 percent in February. It increased by 1.7 percent in March 2024.
“CPI inflation general decreased to 0.7 percent on year-on-year basis in March 2025 as compared to 1.5 percent of the previous month and 20.7 percent in March 2024,” the PBS said.
The commodities whose prices increased month-on-month included tomatoes (36.35 percent), fresh fruits (18.66 percent), eggs (14.92 percent), sugar (11.48 percent), chicken (10.87 percent), fresh vegetables (6.13 percent), butter (2.70 percent), neat (1.60 percent) and pulse moong (0.70 percent).
While prices of non-food items that increased month-on-month include readymade garments (2.15 percent), tailoring (1.84 percent), liquified hydrocarbons (1.83 percent), cotton cloth (1.74 percent), accommodation services (1.47 percent), hosiery (1.33 percent), education (1.23 percent) and plastic products.
“Pakistan’s CPI for March 2025 has clocked in at 0.7pc, the lowest monthly YoY reading in over three decades,” Topline Securities, a prominent Karachi-based brokerage firm, said.
Aggressive policy rate cuts by Pakistan’s central bank and a series of economic reforms by the government have led to a substantial decline in Pakistan’s annual inflation rate.
Pakistan’s inflation rate rose to a record high of 38 percent in May 2023 on account of surging food and fuel costs as Islamabad withdrew energy and fuel subsidies under a deal agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a financial bailout package.
Pakistan says has not extended Mar. 31 deadline for expulsion of Afghans
- Media reports claimed Pakistan extended deadline to beginning of next week as it coincided with Eid holidays
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government says has set up two camps in Peshawar and Landi Kotal for deportations
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson on Thursday confirmed that the government has not extended its Mar. 31 expulsion deadline for Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders, as the UN Refugee Agency expressed concerns over forced deportations and called on the government to show “leniency.”
Islamabad last month announced a deadline of Mar. 31 for Afghans in Pakistan holding ACCs, a certain immigration document, to leave the country. The move was part of Pakistan’s larger drive launched in 2023 to expel what it says are illegal immigrants from the country as it faced a surge in militant attacks.
AFP news agency reported that a government official, on condition of anonymity, said the deadline had been extended till the beginning of next week as it coincided with the Eid Al-Fitr holidays.
“No extension to the deadline for illegal foreigners and ACC-holder Afghans,” Shafqat Ali Khan, the foreign office spokesperson, told Arab News.
ACCs were issued by Pakistani authorities and are held by 800,000 Afghans, according to the United Nations.
More than 1.3 million Afghans who hold the UN-issued Proof of Registration (PoR) cards valid until June 30 are not part of the expulsion drive. Reports, however, suggest they are also being moved from Islamabad to Rawalpindi.
The UN says nearly three million Afghans live in Pakistan, many having fled there over decades of war in their country and after the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan.
UNHCR Pakistan spokesperson Qaiser Khan Afridi expressed concerns over the deportation drive and reports of arrests in Islamabad and Rawalpindi cities.
“We have expressed concerns over this deportation drive as we believe that ACC holders should be given sufficient time to return voluntarily, with dignity and safety,” Afridi told Arab News.
He said the UNHCR has received reports of Afghan nationals being arrested in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
“But these operations were already underway before the Mar. 31 deadline expired,” he said, adding that the UN agency does not have information about any increase in arrests after the deadline expired.
60 AFGHAN NATIONALS ARRESTED
A source in Islamabad’s district administration, speaking to Arab News on condition of anonymity, confirmed that 60 Afghan nationals had been arrested in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad after the deadline expired.
He said the operations were conducted based on intelligence reports in Islamabad and Rawalpindi jointly by police and intelligence agencies.
“Twenty-two individuals holding Afghan Citizen Cards were detained from Islamabad’s areas and 38 individuals were arrested from Rawalpindi,” he said.
He disclosed that the arrested Afghan nationals have been shifted to a temporary camp in Islamabad’s Old Hajji Camp area. He said after they have been registered, the Afghan nationals will be taken to the northwestern Landi Kotal town for further deportation process.
Afridi said the UNHCR was not directly involved in the process nor was it providing any support to the government.
“However, we believe they [Afghans] should be treated with leniency,” he said.
Anwer Shehzad, a focal person of the provincial government in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province for the repatriation drive, said the KP government has established two camps for the repatriation of Afghans. One was in Peshawar’s Regi area while the other one was in Landi Kotal.
“However, no Afghans have been relocated so far due to the Eid holidays,” Shehzad said. “As the deadline expired during the holidays, we have instructed all relevant authorities to begin shifting Afghans to these camps for further processing starting from Apr. 7.”
He said these camps have National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) counters, security officials and representatives from all relevant departments.
“NADRA will conduct biometric verification of all individuals before their departure to Afghanistan to ensure that, if they return, they can be properly identified,” he explained.
Shehzad said that since the government announced the deadline last month, around 100,000 Afghans have voluntarily returned to their homeland.
He added that as per the KP home department’s data, approximately more than 800,000 Afghans are yet to be repatriated.
“We will also provide all biometric data to the Pakistani embassy in Afghanistan to facilitate legal movement in the future,” Shehzad said.
Arab News contacted Pakistan’s interior ministry and the provinces of Punjab, Balochistan, and Sindh but did not receive a response from them by the time this report was filed.
Afghanistan has repeatedly called for the “dignified” return of Afghans from Pakistan, urging Islamabad not to expel them.
Following an ultimatum from Islamabad in late 2023 for undocumented Afghans to leave Pakistan, more than 800,000 Afghans returned between September 2023 and the end of 2024, according to the UN figures.
Pakistan announces Rs7.41 per unit cut in power tariff for domestic consumers
- Shehbaz Sharif says his government has slashed power tariffs for industrial consumers by Rs7.59 per unit to boost exports
- Pakistan produces costly electricity due to high reliance on imported fossil fuels, inefficient energy mix, regulatory inefficiencies
KARACHI: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced a significant reduction in electricity tariffs for both domestic and industrial consumers on Thursday, saying that his administration has slashed them by Rs7.41 per unit for domestic consumers and Rs7.59 for industrial ones.
Pakistan produces expensive electricity due to a combination of factors including high reliance on imported fossil fuels, inefficient energy mix, substantial transmission and distribution losses and chronic issues like circular debt and regulatory inefficiencies.
Pakistan has sought to ease fiscal pressure aggressively in recent months by undertaking energy reforms that reduce tariffs and slash capacity payments to independent power producers (IPPs).
“I am here to give you a good news regarding Pakistan’s economy and how the promise made by PML-N leader [Nawaz Sharif] in the manifesto has been fulfilled,” Sharif said at a ceremony in Islamabad, announcing that the price of electricity has been slashed by the government by Rs7.41 per unit, bringing it down to Rs34 rupees per unit.
In June 2024, the prime minister noted that the electricity price for industrial consumers stood at Rs58.50 per unit which was then lowered to Rs47.19.
“Today, I am announcing an additional reduction of seven rupees and 59 paisas for the industrial sector,” Sharif said to loud applause from the attendees.
The Pakistani premier reflected on the economic challenges his government inherited, saying that the nation was in danger of being declared bankrupt and that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was unwilling to cooperate with it at first.
“When we took power, there were discussions of bankruptcy, the IMF was not willing to listen, there was no money to run power plants and we were facing a very difficult situation to meet energy needs,” Sharif said.
“Meanwhile, those who had brought Pakistan to the brink of default were celebrating, thinking that nothing could save Pakistan from default,” he said, referring indirectly to former prime minister Imran Khan, his political rival.
The Pakistani prime minister stressed that his government could not continue providing power subsidies until its External Fund Facility (EFF) loan program with the IMF ended.
“We will have to make decisions like privatization and right-sizing because subsidies cannot be provided while the IMF loan exists,” he said.
“Due to the IMF loan, the nation loses 800 billion rupees annually. I believe that all politicians and institutions must work together to save 800 billion rupees,” he added.
Despite the challenges, Sharif expressed confidence in Pakistan’s economic course, noting the recovery and reduced pressure on the country’s fiscal situation.
He noted that Pakistan’s petroleum product prices are now among the lowest in the region.
“In the past year, the price of petrol has decreased by Rs38 per liter and even today, petroleum product prices in Pakistan are the lowest in the region,” the premier said.
Sharif discussed the government’s plans to increase revenues by 35 percent, acknowledging that this figure was lower than the IMF’s original expectations but still a “significant improvement” over Pakistan’s past performance.
“We are going to increase revenues by 35 percent, which is less than what was agreed with the IMF but much more than in previous years,” he said.
The prime minister also provided an update on Pakistan’s circular debt, saying it stood at Rs2,393 billion. He said the government plans to eliminate it completely within the next five years.
“We are moving toward a path of progress,” Sharif emphasized. “The journey is challenging but we have the strength and resolve to move forward without looking back.”
Pakistan condemns Israeli far-right minister’s storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque
- Incident took place as thousands of Muslims gathered at Islam’s third holiest site for Eid Al-Fitr prayers
- Itamar Ben-Gvir’s show of force drew criticism from Muslim nations who called it an act of provocation
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday condemned the “sacrilegious storming” of Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir along with a group of settlers under heavy police protection this week.
The incident came after thousands of Palestinian Muslims gathered peacefully for Eid Al-Fitr prayers at Islam’s third holiest mosque amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Ben-Gvir, who has previously staged similar displays of force, has been widely criticized by majority-Muslim nations, who called it an act of deliberate provocation during a religious festivity.
Islamabad also condemned the escalation of the Israeli onslaught against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
“Pakistan denounces Israel’s latest military offensive aimed at establishing new security corridors, including the illegal seizure of the Morag Corridor and further annexation of Palestinian land,” the foreign office said in a statement.
“Of particular concern is the sacrilegious storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex by Israeli occupying forces, during the holy occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr,” it added. “This provocative act not only violates the sanctity of one of Islam’s holiest sites but also demonstrates Israel’s determination to escalate tensions and pursue its expansionist agenda at the expense of regional peace.”
The foreign office also condemned recent Israeli air and ground operations in Gaza, including the targeting of a UN-run clinic in Jabalia sheltering displaced civilians, describing it as a violation of international humanitarian law.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week announced the creation of a new security corridor known as the “Morag Corridor,” aimed at cutting off the southern city of Rafah in Gaza from Khan Younis.
The move, referencing the area around the former Israeli settlement of Morag, is part of what Netanyahu described as a broader strategy to “divide up” the Palestinian enclave and increase pressure on Hamas to release Israeli hostages.
Pakistan reiterated its support for the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
Pakistan’s new envoy to UN presents credentials to world body chief
- Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad has built a distinguished three-decade foreign service career
- He takes over at a time when Pakistan holds a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, state media reported on Thursday.
Ahmad, a seasoned diplomat, joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan in 1993 and has built a distinguished three-decade career, serving in Europe, Africa, Asia and at the UN.
He succeeds Ambassador Munir Akram, who concluded his tenure as the top diplomat at the country’s UN mission on Mar. 31 this year, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).
“The UN chief congratulated him on his new role and extended his best wishes for a successful tenure,” the APP said. “Ambassador Asim reaffirmed Pakistan’s steadfast commitment to multilateralism and the principles of the UN Charter.”
State media reported that Ahmad served as Ambassador to France and Monaco and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO from November 2022 to December 2024 before his current appointment.
He also held key roles in Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, including as a spokesperson, and served as Ambassador to Thailand and Permanent Representative to ESCAP from 2017 to 2021.
According to APP, Ahmad’s previous experience at the UN includes being part of Pakistan’s Security Council delegations in 2003-2004 and 2012-2013.
He takes over at a time when Pakistan holds a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council, participating in major global debates, including the volatile situation and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.
