ISLAMABAD: Militant attacks are on the rise in Pakistan amid a growing religiosity that has brought greater intolerance, prompting one expert to voice concern the country could be overwhelmed by religious extremism.
Pakistani authorities are embracing strengthening religious belief among the population to bring the country closer together. But it’s doing just the opposite, creating intolerance and opening up space for a creeping resurgence in militancy, said Mohammad Amir Rana, executive director of the independent Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies.
“Unfortunately, instead of helping to inculcate better ethics and integrity, this phenomenon is encouraging a tunnel vision” that encourages violence, intolerance and hate, he wrote recently in a local newspaper.
“Religiosity has begun to define the Pakistani citizenry.”
Militant violence in Pakistan has spiked: In the past week alone, four vocational school instructors who advocated for women’s rights were traveling together when they were gunned down in a Pakistan border region. A Twitter death threat against Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai attracted an avalanche of trolls. They heaped abuse on the young champion of girls education, who survived a Pakistani Taliban bullet to the head. A couple of men on a motorcycle opened fire on a police check-post not far from the Afghan border killing a young police constable.
In recent weeks, at least a dozen military and paramilitary men have been killed in ambushes, attacks and operations against militant hideouts, mostly in the western border regions.
A military spokesman this week said the rising violence is a response to an aggressive military assault on militant hideouts in regions bordering Afghanistan and the reunification of splintered and deeply violent anti-Pakistan militant groups, led by the Tehreek-e-Taliban. The group is driven by a religious ideology that espouses violence to enforce its extreme views.
Gen. Babar Ifitkar said the reunified Pakistani Taliban have found a headquarters in eastern Afghanistan. He also accused hostile neighbor India of financing and outfitting a reunified Taliban, providing them with equipment like night vision goggles, improvised explosive devises and small weapons.
India and Pakistan routinely trade allegations that the other is using militants to undermine stability and security at home.
Security analyst and fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation, Asfandyar Mir, said the reunification of a splintered militancy is dangerous news for Pakistan.
“The reunification of various splinters into the (Tehreek-e-Taliban) central organization is a major development, which makes the group very dangerous,” said Mir.
The TTP claimed responsibility for the 2012 shooting of Yousafzai. Its former spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, who mysteriously escaped Pakistan military custody to flee to the country, tweeted a promise that the Taliban would kill her if she returned home.
Iftikar, in a briefing of foreign journalists this week, said Pakistani military personnel aided Ehsan’s escape, without elaborating. He said the soldiers involved had been punished and efforts were being made to return Ehsan to custody.
The government reached out to Twitter to shut down Ehsan’s account after he threatened Yousafzai, although the military and government at first suggested it was a fake account.
But Rana, the commentator, said the official silence that greeted the threatening tweet encouraged religious intolerance to echo in Pakistani society unchecked.
“The problem is religiosity has very negative expression in Pakistan,” he said in an interview late Friday. “It hasn’t been utilized to promote the positive, inclusive tolerant religion.”
Instead, successive Pakistani governments as well as its security establishments have exploited extreme religious ideologies to garner votes, appease political religious groups, or target enemies, he said.
The 2018 general elections that brought cricket star-turned-politician Imran Khan to power was mired in allegations of support from the powerful military for hard-line religious groups.
Those groups include the Tehreek-e-Labbaik party, whose single-point agenda is maintaining and propagating the country’s deeply controversial blasphemy law. That law calls for the death penalty for anyone insulting Islam and is most often used to settle disputes. It often targets minorities, mostly Shiite Muslims, who makeup up about 15% of mostly Sunni Pakistan’s 220 million people.
Mir, the analyst, said the rise in militancy is a complicated conundrum. It has benefited from state policies that have been either supportive or ambivalent toward militancy as well as from sustained exposure of the region to violence. Most notable are the protracted war in neighboring Afghanistan and the simmering tensions between hostile neighbors India and Pakistan, two countries that possess a nuclear weapons’ arsenal.
Mir and Rana both pointed to the Pakistani government’s failure to draw radical thinkers away from militant organizations, as groups that seemed at least briefly to eschew a violent path have returned to violence and rejoined the TTP.
Iftikar said the military has stepped up assaults on the reunited Pakistani Taliban, pushing the militants to respond, but only targets they can manage, which are soft targets.
But Mir said the reunited militants pose a greater threat.
“With the addition of these powerful units, the TTP has major strength for operations across the former tribal areas, Swat, Balochistan, and some in Punjab,” he said. “Taken together, they improve TTP’s ability to mount insurgent and mass-casualty attacks.”
Pakistan experts: Religiosity fostering rise in militancy
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Pakistan experts: Religiosity fostering rise in militancy
- Analysts say TTP has major strength for mass-casualty operations across former tribal areas, Swat, Balochistan and Punjab
- Militancy has spiked in recent weeks, with at least a dozen military and paramilitary men killed in ambushes, attacks and operations
Pakistani stocks break psychological 99,000 barrier on optimism over rates, reserves
- An analyst attributes the intraday rally to broad-based gains across most economic sectors
- The stock market has remained bullish since the government slashed policy rate in November
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday breached a major psychological barrier, surging past 99,000 points during intra-day trading before settling at 97,798.23, as analysts attributed the rally to investor optimism driven by falling lending rates and higher foreign exchange reserves.
The benchmark KSE-100 index climbed 2,057.40 points by 11:10 am, reaching 99,385.79 points from the previous close. However, the index closed at 97,798.23, marking an increase of 469.84 points or 0.48 percent.
Analyst Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said bank levies on large deposits, surging global oil prices, and rupee stability were fueling investor optimism.
“Stocks remained bullish, led by scrips across the board, as investors weighed falling lending rates and the imposition of bank levies on large deposits following a drop in government bond yields,” he told Arab News. “Surging global crude oil prices, rupee stability, and higher forex reserves played a catalytic role in the record surge at the PSX.”
Last month, Pakistan’s external current account recorded a surplus of $349 million, marking the third consecutive month of surplus and the highest in this period. The current account reflects a nation’s transactions with the world, encompassing net trade in goods and services, net earnings on cross-border investments and net transfer payments.
A surplus indicates that a country is exporting more than it is importing, thereby strengthening its foreign exchange reserves.
A bullish trend has been observed in the stock market since Pakistan’s central bank cut its key policy rate by 250 basis points, bringing it to 15 percent earlier this month. Economic indicators have also steadily improved since securing a 37-month, $7 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in September.
In the past, the country faced a prolonged economic crisis that drained its foreign exchange reserves and saw its currency weaken amid double-digit inflation. Last year, Pakistan narrowly avoided a sovereign default by clinching a last-minute $3 billion IMF bailout deal.
US vows to be ‘steadfast partner’ after deadly attack in Pakistan’s Kurram district
- American diplomatic mission says Pakistanis deserve to live free from harm, danger and threat
- It offers condolences to victims’ families after 41 people were killed by unknown gunmen this week
KARACHI: The United States on Friday condemned a deadly attack in Pakistan’s Kurram district that killed 41 people this week, reaffirming its commitment to stand with Pakistan in ensuring the safety of its citizens against such militant attacks.
Unidentified gunmen targeted vehicles carrying Shiite community members in the Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Thursday, in one of the deadliest sectarian attacks in recent years. The assault, which also left many critically injured, occurred in a region already plagued by deadly clashes in recent months.
“The United States will remain a steadfast partner as Pakistan works to ensure the safety and security of all its citizens,” Jonathan Lalley, the spokesperson of the US diplomatic mission in Pakistan, said in a statement. “We stand in solidarity with Pakistan and the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in this difficult time.”
Lalley expressed condolences to the victims’ families and called for a full recovery for the injured.
“The Pakistani people deserve to live free from harm, danger, and threat, and to feel protected and secure in their daily lives,” he added.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which followed the reopening of a key highway in the region after it was closed for weeks due to sectarian violence.
Kurram, a volatile district near the Afghan border, has been a flashpoint for sectarian clashes between Sunni and Shiite communities, adding to the challenges of maintaining security in the area.
The US-Pakistan forged a counterterrorism partnership in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks, to address regional security challenges. Over the years, however, the relationship faced friction, while the US-led international forces were in Afghanistan.
Despite the tensions, both countries reaffirmed their commitment to security cooperation and counterterrorism efforts, especially in the wake of the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
The commitment to security partnership reflects a shared goal of combating extremism and ensuring regional stability.
Pakistan, Malaysia agree to enhance military cooperation with focus on air force training
- Malaysian air chief praises PAF’s advancements in indigenization on his first Pakistan visit
- His Pakistani counterpart reaffirms commitment to training Malaysian Air Force personnel
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Malaysia have agreed to deepen bilateral military cooperation, with a particular emphasis on joint training and air power collaboration, Pakistan’s military said on Friday.
The understanding was reached during a meeting between Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Chief Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu and Royal Malaysian Air Force Chief General Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Mohd Asghar Khan bin Goriman Khan at Air Headquarters in Islamabad.
“The [Pakistan] Air Chief reaffirmed his commitment to enhancing military partnership between the two Air Forces through joint training initiatives, particularly within the realm of air power,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. “These initiatives will encompass provisioning of both basic and tactical level training for personnel of the Malaysian Air Force.”
The Malaysian air chief, making his first visit to Pakistan, praised the PAF’s advancements in indigenization and technological innovation. He also expressed interest in bolstering ties through enhanced collaboration in training, maintenance and operational excellence.
The meeting included discussions on defense cooperation, joint exercises and technology sharing, ISPR said, highlighting the robust defense relationship between the two nations.
During his visit, the Malaysian official toured the National Aerospace Science & Technology Park Silicon and the PAF Cyber Command, where he was briefed on Pakistan’s advanced operational capabilities.
He also lauded the innovative projects displayed at the ongoing International Defense Exhibition IDEAS-2024 in Karachi.
Earlier, the Malaysian air chief was presented with a guard of honor upon his arrival, ISPR added.
Pakistan government doubles down on preventing Imran Khan’s Nov. 24 protest
- Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi warns no talks if Khan’s PTI proceeds with the protest
- Ex-premier’s party plans a ‘long march’ to Islamabad, seeking his release from prison
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Friday vowed to implement the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) order, refusing to allow former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to stage the Nov. 24 protest in the federal capital demanding his release.
The PTI has announced a “long march” to Islamabad, primarily to pressurize the government to end Khan’s imprisoned that has lasted for over a year on what his party contends are politically motivated charges. The protest also aims to raise PTI’s voice against alleged rigging in the February 8 general elections while calling for measures to ensure judicial independence, which the party says has been undermined by the 26th constitutional amendment.
Only a day earlier, the IHC directed the government to form a committee to engage in talks with the PTI, emphasizing the need to avoid disruptions during the three-day visit of Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko to discuss bilateral economic cooperation. The court expressed hope that the PTI would allow “meaningful communication” with the administration while acknowledging that the maintenance of law and order would be the government’s priority if there was no breakthrough between the two sides.
Addressing the media in Islamabad alongside the capital city’s chief commissioner and police chief, the interior minister highlighted that no rally, march or protest would be allowed in the federal capital owing to the Belarusian president’s visit to the country, as per the IHC order.
“No one will be allowed to stage a rally or protest in Islamabad in compliance with the high court order,” Naqvi said. “After the IHC order, we will implement it 100 percent at any cost. We are bound by the law to implement it.”
Regarding the IHC directions to hold talks with the PTI party leadership, the minister said he would speak to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the evening to constitute a committee “but definitely if they stage a protest, this [negotiation] will get difficult.”
Islamabad’s district magistrate has already imposed a two-month ban on the gathering of more than five people in the capital using Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which allows the government to prohibit various forms of political assembly, gatherings, sit-ins, rallies, demonstrations and other activities for a specified period.
In response to a question about whether the government was in touch with Adiala Jail, where ex-premier Khan is currently incarcerated, Naqvi said he has no contact with anyone there.
The interior minister also highlighted that the capital city’s administration did not receive any application from the PTI to stage a protest.
He made it clear that people violating the court orders would be responsible if there was any loss of life during the Nov. 24 protest.
Naqvi also said that he agreed with the residents of Islamabad that shops, roads, businesses and mobile signals should not be shut down but noted there was no other way of dealing with such protests.
“If they want to come and protest [in Islamabad], I’ll be the one who will say that no talks should take place,” he concluded. “If they want to hold talks, they should do it in a proper manner. This is no way that on one side they protest and on the other call for talks.”
Earlier this week, Pakistan’s interior ministry had authorized the deployment of paramilitary Punjab Rangers and Frontier Corps troops in Islamabad to maintain law and order.
Pakistan’s parliament also passed a law earlier this year to regulate public gatherings in Islamabad, specifying timings for rallies and designating specific areas. The law prescribes three-year jail terms for participants in illegal assemblies and 10-year imprisonment for repeat offenders.
Army chief vows action after deadly week of militant attacks in Pakistan
- Twelve soldiers were killed on Tuesday as militants attacked a checkpost in the northwestern Bannu district
- Gunmen opened fire on vehicles carrying minority Shiite community members in KP province on Thursday, killing 41
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir vowed action against militants on Friday, following a week of deadly attacks in which dozens of civilians and security officials have been killed in the country’s northwest.
In the latest attack, gunmen opened fire on vehicles carrying members of the minority Shiite community in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Thursday, killing at least 41 people in one of the region’s deadliest such attacks in recent years. The assault took place in Kurram, a district where sectarian clashes have killed dozens of people in recent months. No group has claimed responsibility.
On Tuesday, ten Pakistan army soldiers and two from the paramilitary Frontier Constabulary were killed on Tuesday as militants attacked a checkpost in the northwestern Bannu district.
Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province in the northwest and the remote southwestern province of Balochistan have both seen an increase in strikes by militants this year.
“He [Munir] reiterated the army’s firm resolve to dismantle hostile terrorist networks and eradicate the illegal spectrum undermining national security,” the army’s media wing said in a statement, quoting Munir as saying after he attended a security meeting in Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“He assured that through synchronized and robust operations, Pakistan Army in collaboration with Law Enforcement Agencies will relentlessly hunt down the enemies of peace to ensure lasting stability and security.”
In a separate statement, the army said it had carried out three operations in Balochistan on Nov. 20-22, in which four militants had been killed.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a meeting of civil and military leaders who gave the go-ahead for a "comprehensive operation" against separatist insurgents in Balochistan.
