ISLAMABAD: Five militants were killed and three injured during multiple intelligence-based operations (IBOs) by security forces in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan, the military’s media wing said on Friday, as the army hunts for insurgents behind a string of coordinated attacks in the province on Aug. 26 in which 50 people were killed.
Ethnic Baloch insurgents on Sunday evening hit several civil and military targets in a coordinated string of attacks in Balochistan, killing at least 19 security officials. The army said it retaliated, killing 21 militants.
“The security forces are conducting extensive intelligence-based operations to hunt down the perpetrators of these heinous acts,” the army said on Friday. “On night 29/30 August, in three separate IBOs in District Kech, Panjgur and Zhob, five terrorists were sent to hell by the security forces, while three terrorists got injured during the intense fire exchange.”
In the attacks that began on Sunday night, militants took control of a highway and shot dead 23 people, mostly laborers from neighboring Punjab province. They also attacked a hotel and blew up a railway bridge which connects Balochistan to the rest of Pakistan. Security forces have been battling sectarian, ethnic and separatist violence for decades in impoverished Balochistan, but the coordinated attacks that took place in several districts throughout the province were one of the worst in the region’s history.
Many of Sunday’s attacks were claimed by the Balochistan Liberation Army, the most prominent of separatist groups waging a war of independence against the state, which it accuses of the unfair exploitation of resources in the mineral-rich region. The government denies this.
Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, is Pakistan’s poorest province, despite an abundance of untapped natural resources, and lags behind the rest of the country in education, employment and economic development.
The province is also home to major China-led projects such as a deep-water port and a gold and copper mine.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said the Aug. 26 attacks were aimed at hurting the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), an over $65 billion scheme to develop road, rail and port infrastructures in Pakistan that is part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Beijing has condemned the attacks.
Army says hunting militants behind deadly attacks in Pakistan's Balochistan
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Army says hunting militants behind deadly attacks in Pakistan's Balochistan
- Intelligence-based operations conducted in Kech, Panjgur and Zhob districts
- Five militants were killed and three injured in operations, army’s media wing says
Pakistan fall 2-1 to India in final pool match at Asian Hockey Champions Trophy
- The Green Shirts had already qualified for the semifinal of the tournament in China before facing India
- Pakistan were unbeaten until today, winning 5-1 against China to secure second spot on the points table
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s national hockey team suffered a 2-1 defeat in the last pool match against India on Saturday at the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy 2024 at the Moqi Hockey Training Base in Hulunbuir, China.
The two traditional rivals played with determination, with Pakistan securing an early advantage when Ahmad Nadeem netted a field goal, putting India under pressure.
However, the momentum shifted when the rival team responded with two consecutive goals in the first half, securing a lead they maintained until the final whistle.
“What a game,” Hockey India proclaimed on social media platform X. “India vs Pakistan lived up to the hype with non-stop action and intense rivalry!”
The Asian Hockey Federation also confirmed the 2-1 score in India’s favor toward the end of the match.
The Pakistan team had already secured a spot in the semifinals before facing India.
The Green Shirts remained unbeaten until today’s match, having secured a 5-1 victory against hosts China on Thursday, which moved them to second place on the points table.
“It is a collective team effort, we are learning by each match,” Hannan Shahid, who was named “hero” of Thursday’s match, said after the win.
Shahid said his side conceded too many cards in the start of the tournament, but had overcome it.
“Hero of the team award is a result of my team’s effort, they created chances for me to score and I am happy how we have progressed in the tournament,” he added.
Others who scored goals for Pakistan included Rehman Abdul and Ahmad Nadeem, while Jiesheng Gao scored the only goal for China.
Trump paid no ‘heed’ to Imran Khan’s imprisonment, Pakistani-American aide says
- Trump aide Sajid Tarar says some Pakistani-Americans conveying through social media that Trump could push for Khan’s release if elected, but there is ‘no truth to it’
- Khan and his PTI party have waged an unprecedented campaign of defiance against Pakistan’s military and now the PTI is aiming to mobilize public for Khan’s release
ISLAMABAD: Sajid Tarar, a Pakistani-American businessman and close aide to Donald Trump, said on Friday that a few Pakistani-Americans had tried to discuss former prime minister Imran Khan’s imprisonment and local Pakistani politics with the US presidential nominee at a recent fundraiser, but Trump “did not pay any heed to it.”
Khan, who is in jail since last August, was ousted from the PM’s office in 2022 in a parliamentary vote of no confidence after what is widely believed to be a falling out with Pakistan’s powerful military, which denies being involved in politics.
Since his removal, Khan and his party have waged an unprecedented campaign of defiance against the military and now his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party is aiming to mobilize the public through rallies for its leader’s release from jail in “politically motivated” cases.
Tarar, who lives in Maryland and met Trump through his lawyer in 2016, is one of 136 members of Trump’s finance team and is believed to be instrumental in raising funds and organizing election campaigns for the former president across the US.
In an interview with Arab News, the Trump aide said some Pakistani-Americans had been conveying through social media that the US presidential nominee could push for Khan’s release if he was elected, but there was “no truth to it.”
“Even if Trump wins, obviously, he won’t be interfering in Pakistan’s judicial system to get Imran Khan released,” Tarar, who moved to the US from Pakistan’s Mandi Bahauddin district to study law some 36 years ago, told Arab News over the phone.
“Some Pakistani-Americans have been pedaling this thing on social media, but there is no truth to it that President Trump would interfere in local Pakistani politics.”
Tarar stressed that Trump had a relationship with the prime minister of Pakistan during his tenure in the office and not with an individual, referring to Khan’s meeting with Trump in the White House in July 2019.
“Representatives of different political parties in Pakistan, including the PTI, have approached me to lobby and meet Trump, but this has not materialized yet,” he added.
Trump is facing Democratic nominee and US Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election due to be held on November 5, with both candidates struggling to get maximum support of all communities, including Pakistani and Muslim diaspora, in the upcoming elections.
Tarar claimed that a majority of Muslim population in the US supported the Republican nominee in the upcoming presidential election, following the failure of President Joe Biden’s administration to have a ceasefire in Gaza.
“The majority of Muslim voters, including the Pakistani diaspora in the US, has been aligning with Trump after the Biden administration’s failure to manage a ceasefire in Gaza,” he said.
Muslims in America have been visibly divided between Republican and Democratic camps ahead of the presidential election in November. Historically, majority of American Muslims have voted for the Democrats, but this time they appear to be leaning toward Republican nominee Trump.
The US presidential election campaign is currently at its peak and both candidates are struggling to woo voters, promising different reforms and policies, according to Tarar. Some 17 percent Muslims voted for Trump in the previous election, but this is going to be more than 50 precent in this election.
The Pakistani-American aide is currently in California for Trump’s fundraising and has been mobilizing Muslim communities, including 0.7 million Pakistanis, in the US. He believes Pakistan-US diplomatic and defense relations would improve under the Trump administration, which will bring peace and stability to the region and the world.
“Pakistan being next to China and Afghanistan cannot be ignored at all [by the US] as the Trump administration will be fully focusing on terrorism eradication and stability in the region,” the aide said.
Roadside bomb kills two policemen in Pakistan’s volatile southwest
- Pakistan’s largest province of Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, has been the site of a decades-long insurgency by Baloch separatists
- Separatist militants last month hit several civil and military targets in a string of coordinated attacks in Balochistan, killing more than 50 people
QUETTA: A roadside bomb killed two policemen in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province on Saturday, police said, amid a surge in militant attacks in the restive region.
An improvised explosive device (IED) targeted a police vehicle in Kuchlak area on the outskirts of the provincial capital of Quetta, according to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Muhammad Baloch.
“One policeman was killed and another injured in the latest attack,” SSP Baloch told Arab News, later confirming that the injured policeman had also succumbed to his wounds.
Pakistan’s largest province of Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan and is home to major China-led projects such as a strategic port and a gold and copper mine, has been the site of a decades-long separatist insurgency by ethnic Baloch militants.
Last month, separatist militants hit several civil and military targets in a string of coordinated attacks in Balochistan, killing more than 50 people. The attacks prompted Pakistani military to gun down a dozen militants in separate operations in the province.
The separatists accuse the central government of exploiting Balochistan’s mineral and gas resources. The Pakistani state denies the allegation and says it is working to uplift the region through development initiatives.
Four killed, 14 injured after bus falls into ravine in Pakistan’s Balochistan
- The incident occurred in Dana Sar mountainous area that lies along the Koh-e-Sulaiman range
- District officials say the driver of the Quetta-bound bus fell asleep and lost control of vehicle
QUETTA: At least four people were killed and 14 others injured after a passenger bus fell into a ravine in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province on Saturday, officials said.
The bus was traveling to Quetta from Islamabad, when the driver reportedly fell asleep and the bus fell into a gorge near Dana Sar area in Balochistan’s Sherani district, according to Sana Mahjabeen Umrani, a senior district administration official.
The deceased included the bus driver, while his assistant was among the critically wounded persons.
“Eight critically injured persons, including women, have been referred to Quetta for better medical treatment,” Umrani told Arab News.
Dana Sar is a mountainous area that lies along the Koh-e-Sulaiman mountain range, with a curvy and narrow N-50 highway passing through it.
In July 2022, 20 passengers were killed and more than a dozen others injured after a Quetta-bound passenger bus fell into a ravine in the area notorious for fatal road accidents.
Last month, a bus carrying pilgrims from Iran to Pakistan’s Karachi fell into a ditch near the Buzi Top area on the Makran Coastal Highway in Balochistan, killing 12 people and injuring 35 others.
Fatal accidents are common in Pakistan, where traffic rules are rarely followed and roads, particularly in many rural and mountainous areas, are in poor condition.
Such incidents are particularly common in Balochistan where single carriage roads connect various cities and even some highways lack modern safety features.
PM calls for improving licensing regulations for electric vehicles manufacturing in Pakistan
- Pakistan approved National Electric Vehicles Policy in 2019 with the goal of electric vehicles comprising 30 percent of all passenger vehicles
- Road transport is a significant contributor to air pollution as around 23 percent of Pakistan’s greenhouse gas emissions originate from vehicles
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has asked officials to improve licensing regulations regarding the manufacturing of electric vehicles in the country, Pakistani state media reported on Saturday.
Pakistan approved an ambitious National Electric Vehicles Policy (NEVP) in 2019 with the goal of electric vehicles comprising 30 percent of all passenger vehicles and heavy-duty truck sales by 2030, and an even more ambitious target of 90 percent by 2040.
Presiding over a meeting with regard to country’s shift to electric vehicles, Sharif directed officials to finalize a policy after consultations with all the federating units and stakeholders, the Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“The government is taking priority steps to promote electric vehicles in the country,” he was quoted as saying by the broadcaster. “These vehicles will not only save valuable foreign exchange in terms of import of petrol and diesel but will also be environment friendly.”
Pakistan, which has been struggling with an economic crisis, imports most of its energy needs. The country’s urban areas exhibit some of the world’s highest levels of air pollution, primarily due to sub-2.5 μm particulate emissions. This issue significantly impairs both the country’s economy and the quality of life of its residents.
Road transport is a significant contributor to air pollution as around 23 percent of Pakistan’s greenhouse gas emissions originate from vehicles.
Official informed participants of the meeting that since 2022, 49 licenses had been issued for the production of two and three-wheeled electric vehicles at the local level, of which 25 plants had started manufacturing, according to the Radio Pakistan report.
The first license for domestic production of four-wheeled electric vehicles was issued in September this year and the first indigenously manufactured electric car will come into the market by December. The meeting was informed that recharging stations for electric vehicles would also set up on priority basis.
The prime minister announced providing electric motorbikes to outstanding students of government-run schools on the pattern of the government’s laptop distribution scheme. He also asked the Capital Development Authority to prepare a comprehensive plan for electric-powered public transport in Islamabad.
