Baloch rights movements ‘proxy’ for militant groups, criminal mafia — Pakistan army

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The combination of photos shows Pakistan Military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry (right) speaking during a press conference in Islamabad, on August 5, 2024, and people from the Baloch community taking part in a demonstration in Gwadar of Pakistan's Balochistan province on July 28, 2024. (Photo courtesy: PTV News/ AFP/ File)
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Pakistani army personnel stand guard along a road in Quetta on February 7, 2024. (AFP/File)
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Updated 05 August 2024
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Baloch rights movements ‘proxy’ for militant groups, criminal mafia — Pakistan army

  • Military spokesman says no “softening” of stance toward May 9 rioters 
  • 139 soldiers killed in anti-terror operations in 2024 amid militancy surge 

ISLAMABAD: Military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry said on Monday there was no “softening” of the army’s stance on riots last year led by alleged supporters of ex-premier Imran Khan, calling a Baloch ethnic rights movement holding protests a “proxy” for militant groups.

Pakistan’s army said last month protesters taking part in a march in the southwestern city of Gwadar had attacked security forces deployed to guard them, killing one soldier and injuring 16 others.

A nationalist ethnic Baloch movement led by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) had been demonstrating in the port city, blocking a highway to press their demands for the release of members of their movement they say were detained by security forces.

Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, where the port city of Gwadar is located, borders Iran and Afghanistan and has long been the scene of a low-level insurgency by separatist groups who say they have been fighting for a greater share in the region’s rich mineral resources. The province, Pakistan’s largest by area but its most impoverished, is also central to Beijing’s economic interests in the region, which is funding the Gwadar port and other projects.

Addressing a press conference on Monday, the military spokesperson said the purpose of the BYC and the Baloch Raaji Muchi (Baloch National Grand Jirga) it had convened in Gwadar was to make development projects and investments “controversial” and incite people against the Pakistan army and other security forces involved in operations against militancy and crime. 

“This Raaji Muchi, this is a proxy of terrorists and criminal mafia that has been exposed,” Chaudhry told reporters. “This is what the reality is. They are nothing more than proxy of terrorist organizations and illegal smugglers, this is a mafia.”

The BYC has held other protests in the past, including a long march to the capital to against enforced disappearances. Political leaders, human rights activists and families of victims have for decades spoken against enforced disappearances in Balochistan as well as killings by security agencies in staged encounters, a practice where officials claim the victim was killed in a gunfight though they were summarily executed. Authorities deny involvement in such incidents.

MAY 9 RIOTS

Answering a question about whether there was a softening of the army’s stance against May 9 rioters, Chaudhry said the army’s stance was “clear.”

“There is no change in it and neither will there be a change,” he said. 

Alleged supporters of ex-PM Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party attacked and damaged government and military installations on May 9, 2023, after his brief arrest that day in a graft case. The attacks took place a little over a year after Khan fell out with Pakistan’s powerful military, blaming the institution for colluding with his rivals to oust him from office in a parliamentary vote in April 2022. The military rejects the allegations.

Hundreds of PTI workers and leaders were arrested following the May 9 riots in a state crackdown and many remain behind bars as they await trial. The military has also initiated army court trials of at least 103 people accused of involvement in the violence. Many close Khan aides have since deserted him, due to what is widely believed to be pressure from the army, which denies interfering in politics.

Khan has been in jail since August last year, even though all four convictions handed down to him ahead of a parliamentary election in February have either been suspended or overturned. He has recently made a “conditional” offer of talks to the army, if “clean and transparent” elections were held and the “bogus” cases against his supporters were dropped.

The military — which has repeatedly said Khan and his party were behind the May 9 attacks on military installations — has ruled out any talks with him.

ANTI-TERROR OPERATIONS

Speaking about anti-terror operations across Pakistan, Chaudhry said at least 139 Pakistani soldiers had been killed in the campaigns during the first seven months of 2024.

Pakistan has faced a decades-long insurgency by separatists in the southwestern Balochistan province, while religiously motivated groups, including the Pakistani Taliban or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), have waged a fight in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province that borders Afghanistan and launched attacks in other parts of the country also. 

In recent months, both KP and Balochistan have seen a massive spike in terror attacks, with daily assaults on army, paramilitary and police forces, and targeted assassinations of security and government officials.

“139 Pakistan Army officers and soldiers embraced martyrdom in counter-terror operations,” Chaudhry told reporters, providing figures for 2024. “The entire nation pays tribute to these brave sons and their families.”

Security forces and law enforcement agencies had conducted 23,622 small and large-scale intelligence-based operations across the country this year, with 2,045 operations carried out over the last 15 days in which 24 militants had been killed, Chaudhry added. 

He said Pakistan’s army, police, intelligence and law enforcement agencies were conducting over 100 operations against militants daily. 

“Pakistan’s armed forces, law enforcement and intelligence agencies are fully focused on guaranteeing Pakistan’s external and border security,” the military spokesman said. “Our war against terrorism will continue till the last terrorist and the terrorism associated with him is not eliminated.”

Islamabad has blamed the rise in militant attacks in recent months on insurgents based in neighboring Afghanistan and says it has consistently taken up the issue with Kabul’s Taliban administration, raising tensions between the neighbors whose security forces have clashed at the border in recent months. 

The Taliban government denies allowing the use of Afghan territory by militants.


Pakistan plot spin blitz as West Indies return after 19 years

Updated 6 sec ago
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Pakistan plot spin blitz as West Indies return after 19 years

  • Pakistan capitalized on home advantage when England came in October
  • West Indies last toured Pakistan in 2006, before a militant attack on visiting Sri Lanka team

MULTAN, Pakistan: Pakistan will look to formidable spin duo Noman Ali and Sajid Khan to torment the visitors when the West Indies play their first Test series in the country in 19 years from Friday.

Pakistan capitalized on home advantage when England came in October, tailoring pitches for slow bowling to snap a painful winless streak with a 2-1 victory.

Noman and Sajid played starring roles and are joined in the squad by Abrar Ahmed, hinting at a three-pronged spin assault in the two-match series in Multan.

The West Indies last toured Pakistan in 2006, before a militant attack on the visiting Sri Lanka team three years later scared off international sides.

Andre Coley is in charge of a West Indies team which has won only two of its last 13 Tests before he hands over the reins to white-ball coach Daren Sammy in April.

“It’s a new series, a new opportunity,” Coley told reporters as the team arrived last week.

“When you talk about Test cricket, it’s not only the opposition’s skill that provides tests, but the different conditions, different environments and different game situations.”

Pakistan selectors delivered victory against England by taking the bold decision to drop ace batsman Babar Azam and pace pair Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah.

Left-arm spinner Noman and off-spinner Sajid shared 39 of 40 England wickets on pitches baked with patio heaters and dried with fans, clinching the series after losing the first match.

“We bounced back well against England,” said skipper Shan Masood of a series that salvaged his reputation after Pakistan lost their first six matches under his captaincy.

“With backs against the wall we did well. We need to learn how to land the first punch,” he said after his team suffered a 2-0 defeat in South Africa last week.

Azam has regained his place but Shaheen and Naseem remain out in a bid to manage their workloads.

Opener Saim Ayub is suffering from a calf injury sustained in South Africa and his partner Abdullah Shafique is dropped because of poor form, leaving the door open for the return of experienced Imam-ul-Haq.

To match Pakistan’s spin attack, the West Indies will deploy left-armers Gudakesh Motie and Jomel Warrican, as well as Kevin Sinclair.

Kemar Roach will head the pace attack in the absence of Shamar Joseph — out with a shin injury — and Alzarri Joseph who has opted to play T20 cricket in the UAE.

The second Test starts January 25, with the series deciding which team will finish bottom of the World Test Championship table.

Pakistan currently rank eighth and the West Indies ninth and last.

South Africa and Australia have already qualified for June’s WTC final at Lord’s despite Australia’s shock loss to the West Indies in Brisbane last year.

Squads:

Pakistan: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Kashif Ali, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan, Noman Ali, Rohail Nazir, Sajid Khan, Salman Agha

West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Joshua Da Silva, Alick Athanaze, Keacy Carty, Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, Tevin Imlach, Amir Jangoo, Mikyle Louis, Gudakesh Motie, Anderson Phillip, Kemar Roach, Kevin Sinclair, Jayden Seales, Jomel Warrican


Pakistani security forces kill four militants in North Waziristan operation

Updated 25 min 31 sec ago
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Pakistani security forces kill four militants in North Waziristan operation

  • The intelligence-based operation was carried out against TTP militants in the Spinwam area
  • Pakistan’s army chief said this week security forces will continue targeted operations against TTP

KARACHI: Pakistani security forces killed four militants in an intelligence-based operation in North Waziristan’s Spinwam area, the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said on Wednesday.

The operation comes amid a surge in militant violence in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, which Pakistani authorities attribute to cross-border attacks by the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from neighboring Afghanistan.

Officials have also accused the Afghan Taliban administration of facilitating these attacks, a claim Kabul has denied.

Pakistan’s army chief, General Asim Munir, told political stakeholders in KP this week that security forces were not planning a full-scale operation against the TTP but would continue targeted intelligence-based actions to counter the banned militant faction.

“On night 14/15 January 2025, Security Forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in general area Spinwam, North Waziristan District on reported presence of khwarij [TTP militants],” the ISPR said in a statement.

“During conduct of the operation, own troops effectively engaged khwarij’s location, and after intense exchange of fire, four khwarij were sent to hell,” it added.

Weapons and ammunition were recovered from the militants, who the ISPR said had been actively involved in numerous violent attacks on security forces and targeted killings of civilians.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif commended the security forces for their efforts.

“The nation is proud of the fearless youth in our security forces,” Sharif said in a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office. “We remain determined to thwart the evil designs of the enemies of humanity and will continue to work toward eradicating terrorism from the country.”

The ISPR emphasized the operation underscored Pakistan’s commitment to eliminating militancy, adding security forces were determined to “wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country.”


Pakistan’s Imran Khan defiant even as longer sentence looms

Updated 15 January 2025
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Pakistan’s Imran Khan defiant even as longer sentence looms

  • The former prime minister can get 14-year prison term this month in the Al Qadir Trust graft case
  • Analysts believe the security establishment is using the sentence as a bargaining chip with Khan

ISLAMABAD: Imran Khan, Pakistan’s most popular politician, is facing a 14-year prison term this month in a case his party says is being used to pressure him into silence.
The former prime minister, long a source of frustration for the powerful military, has been in custody since August 2023 and faces a slew of legal cases he says are politically motivated.
A looming verdict for graft linked to a welfare foundation he set up with his wife, the Al-Qadir Trust, is the longest-running of those cases, with a verdict postponed on Monday for a third time.
“The Al-Qadir Trust case, like previous cases, is being dragged on only to pressure me,” Khan said this month in one of his frequent statements railing against authorities and posted on social media by his team.
“But I demand its immediate resolution.”
Analysts say the military establishment is using the sentence as a bargaining chip with Khan, whose popularity undermines a shaky coalition government that kept his party from power in elections last year.
“The establishment’s deal is he comes out and stays quiet, stays decent, until the next election,” said Ayesha Siddiqa, a London-based author and analyst on Pakistan’s military.
Analysts say the military are Pakistan’s kingmakers, although the generals deny interfering in politics.
Khan said he had once been offered a three-year exile abroad and was also “indirectly approached” recently about the possibility of house arrest at his sprawling home on the outskirts of the capital.
“We can assume from the delays that this is a politically motivated judgment. It is a Damocles sword over him,” Khan’s legal adviser Faisal Fareed Chaudhry told AFP.
“The case has lost its credibility,” he said, adding that Khan will not accept any deal to stay silent.
Khan has been convicted and sentenced four times in other cases. Two cases have been overturned by the Supreme Court, while judges have suspended the sentences from the other two.
The specialist anti-graft “accountability court” is set to announce the verdict and sentence in the welfare foundation case on Friday, two days after government envoys are scheduled to meet leaders from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to ease tensions.
The PTI has previously sworn to refuse talks with a government its leaders claim is illegitimate, alleging the coalition seized power by rigging February 2024 polls.
They say they will only take part if political prisoners are released and an independent inquiry is launched into allegations of a heavy-handed response by authorities to PTI protests.
Otherwise, Khan has threatened to pull his party from the negotiations and continue with a campaign of civil disobedience that has frequently brought Islamabad to a standstill.
The most recent protests flared around November 26, when the PTI allege at least 10 of their activists were shot dead. The government says five security force members were killed in the chaos.
“The government would like to appear legitimate, and for that they need PTI to sit down in talks with them,” said Asma Faiz, associate professor of political science at Lahore University of Management Sciences.
“Ideally, they would be looking to offer some relief to Imran Khan and his party to appease the domestic and international criticism,” she told AFP.
For now, it appears to be a stalemate, said Michael Kugelman, South Asia Institute director at The Wilson Center in Washington.
“The army might be willing to give Khan a deal that gets him out of jail, but Khan wouldn’t accept the likely conditions of his freedom,” he told AFP.
“Another problem is I can’t imagine the government agreeing to an investigation of November 26. But PTI won’t budge on that demand.”
A stint in exile is common in the trajectory of political leaders in Pakistan who fall out of favor with the military and find themselves before the courts, only to return to power later.
Three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif served only a fraction of a sentence for corruption, spending several years in London before returning to Pakistan in late 2023.
Former and current president Asif Ali Zardari moved to Dubai after his party was rebuked by the generals.
Both men are now considered the chief architects of the ruling coalition.
But exile might not fit with the carefully worked image of Khan, whose political rise was based on the promise of replacing decades of entrenched dynastic politics.
“I will live and die in Pakistan,” Khan said in a statement shared by his lawyers. “I will fight for my country’s freedom until my last breath, and I expect my nation to do the same.”


Government approves revised deals with 14 independent power producers to reduce electricity costs

Updated 15 January 2025
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Government approves revised deals with 14 independent power producers to reduce electricity costs

  • Revised contracts will save the government about $5 billion over their duration, benefiting consumers
  • Revised agreements will also include a $126 million cut in the profits reaped by these IPPs in the past

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s federal cabinet on Tuesday approved a plan to renegotiate agreements with 14 independent power producers (IPPs), a move aimed at lowering electricity costs and addressing the country’s mounting circular debt crisis, according to a government statement.

The issue of IPPs, dating back to agreements signed in the 1990s and 2000s, gained prominence recently amid soaring inflation and public discontent over high electricity prices.

At the core of the problem are capacity charges, or payments made to IPPs regardless of electricity consumption, which have exacerbated Pakistan’s circular debt, now exceeding Rs2.4 trillion ($8.6 billion), as per the energy minister Sardar Awais Ahmad Laghari.

“These revised agreements, finalized after negotiations with 14 IPPs, propose a reduction of Rs802 billion ($2.9 billion) in costs and profits, including a Rs35 billion ($126 million) cut in past excess profits,” the statement said, adding the revised contracts will save the government Rs1.4 trillion ($5 billion) over their duration, translating into annual savings of Rs137 billion ($493.2 million) for consumers.

The renegotiated deals include 10 IPPs established under the 2002 policy and four under the 1994 policy, with one 1994 agreement terminated altogether.

The government’s renegotiation efforts, also influenced by International Monetary Fund reform recommendations, seek to reduce tariffs and capacity payments to ease fiscal pressure.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was also quoted in the statement as describing the revised agreements as significant achievement.

“These settlements will not only save the national exchequer but also help eliminate circular debt and reduce electricity prices,” he said.


Muslim World League supports UNICEF on children’s needs in Pakistan, Chad, Afghanistan

Updated 15 January 2025
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Muslim World League supports UNICEF on children’s needs in Pakistan, Chad, Afghanistan

  • $1.5 million agreement will enhance education and skill-building programs in Chad and Pakistan 
  • In Afghanistan, agreement will help to improve, increase coverage of maternal, newborn, childcare services 

ISLAMABAD: UNICEF and The Muslim World League (MWL) have signed a $1.5 million agreement to enhance education and skill-building programs in Chad and Pakistan and to improve maternal, newborn and childcare services in Afghanistan, the UN agency said in a statement this week.

The agreement was signed by UNICEF Representative to Pakistan, Abdullah A. Fadil, on behalf of UNICEF’s Executive Director, Catherine Russell, and MWL’s General Manager of Strategic Partnerships, Dr. Shaima Alluqmani, on the sidelines of a global conference on Muslim World League Initiative hosted by Pakistan in Islamabad last week. 

‘The climate crisis and digital divide are critical challenges faced by children in Pakistan every day. Providing vulnerable children and youth, especially girls, with the education and skills they need will empower them to reach their full potential and help Pakistan prosper,” Fadil said.

“We look forward to working with the Muslim World League to help ensure that no girl is left behind.”

The agreement will support the “Green Skills Training Programme for Non-Formal Education Students” in Pakistan to equip adolescents — especially girls — with essential green skills and digital skills. The program will enhance their employability and empower them to contribute to a sustainable future, the statement said. 

In Chad, the “Renovation of Qur'anic Schools in Lac” program aims to improve access to education and learning environment in religious schools. This program includes teacher training, the construction of 12 classrooms, and the provision of clean water to 500 students in two schools.

As for Afghanistan, the “Improving Quality of Care for Maternal, Newborn and Childcare Health Services (MNCH)” program was designed to increase access to and utilization of high-quality MNCH services across the country through strengthening health facilities, equipping them with necessary supplies, and improving clinical practices. This program seeks to reduce maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity by ensuring better care and coverage.

Dr. Shaima Al-Luqmani, Director General of Strategic Partnerships at the Muslim World League, said the MWL was keen for such agreements to represent an important pillar of the MWL’s initiative, “Girls’ Education in Muslim Communities: Challenges and Opportunities,” through tangible projects that positively impact the future of millions of girls and women in Muslim societies.

Al-Luqmani added that the initiatives and partnerships established by the MWL with various governmental and non-governmental regional and international organizations “have emphasized inclusivity in their programs, whether in the field of girls’ education and its related services and institutions, or in raising awareness and correcting misconceptions and misinterpretations that cast doubt on the undisputed legitimate right of girls to receive education.”

Muslim World League and UNICEF had partnered for over 14 years, delivering impactful results for children and reaching the most vulnerable with humanitarian supplies and services in education, health, social protection, water and sanitation hygiene ‘WASH’.