ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s opposition on Wednesday called on the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to hold a national debate on Balochistan, a day after a veteran politician announced his resignation from parliament over the deteriorating situation in the southwestern Pakistani province.
Sardar Akhtar Mengal, leader of the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M), announced his resignation from Pakistan’s National Assembly on Tuesday, saying the people of the Balochistan province had been “consistently marginalized” and “pushed to the wall.”
Mengal’s announcement came after over 50 people were killed in Balochistan when separatist militants attacked police stations, railway lines and highways on August 25, prompting security forces to launch retaliatory operations.
The assaults were the most widespread in years by ethnic militants fighting a decades-long insurgency to win secession of the resource-rich southwestern province, home to major China-led projects such as a port, and a gold and copper mine.
On Wednesday, Asad Qaiser, a member of the opposition from former PM Imran Khan’s party, said the opposition alliance had expressed “grave concern” over the Balochistan situation and decided to request the National Assembly speaker to initiate a debate on it.
“The government must come and inform parliament what policies it has regarding Balochistan,” he told reporters after an opposition meeting late Wednesday. “We have formed a special committee as we believe there should be an all-party conference on Balochistan, with all political parties and stakeholders on board and a collective decision made to address the concerns of our disgruntled Baloch brothers.”
He criticized the government for “not taking Balochistan seriously,” referring to the announcement of resignation by Mengal, a former Balochistan chief minister.
“He tendered resignation after being disappointed with the present situation,” Qaiser said. “This is a very alarming thing. If your political figures are discouraged this way, they feel that they have lost respect in their [native] area because of this parliament, then this parliament has no value.”
In his resignation letter, Mengal had said the attempts by the people of Balochistan to speak up for their rights or protest were met with “hostility.”
“Our people are either silenced, labeled as traitors, or worse, killed,” he said. “Under such circumstances, I find it impossible to continue in this capacity, as my presence here no longer serves any purpose for the people I represent.”
Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, is Pakistan’s most economically backward province, lagging behind the rest of the country by nearly all social and economic indicators. The province has been the site of a decades-long separatist insurgency by ethnic Baloch militants. The separatists say they are fighting what they see as unfair exploitation of the province’s mineral wealth by the federation. The state denies it.
In recent weeks, the province has also witnessed several protests by Baloch people and rights groups against what they describe as a pattern of enforced disappearances and other human rights abuses by security forces, who deny the charge.
Pakistan’s military has recently repeatedly referred to the ethnic rights movement in Balochistan being led by young people, many of them educated women, a “terrorist proxy.”
The decades-old insurgency has continued to keep the mineral-rich province of some 15 million people poor and unstable and created security concerns around Pakistan’s plans to access untapped resources under Balochistan’s desert and mountainous terrain.
The province is home to key mining projects, including Reko Diq, run by Canadian mining giant Barrick Gold and believed to be one of the world’s largest gold and copper mines. Balochistan is an important part of China’s $65 billion investment in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a wing of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road initiative.
The province also has a long Arabian Sea coastline in the south, not far from the Gulf’s Strait of Hormuz oil shipping lane.
Pakistan opposition calls on government to hold national debate on Balochistan
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Pakistan opposition calls on government to hold national debate on Balochistan
- The demand came a day after a veteran politician from Balochistan announced his resignation from parliament
- His resignation followed deadly separatist attacks that killed more than 50 people in Balochistan late last month
After ODI series win, Rizwan to lead Pakistan in first T20I against Australia today
- Pakistan to play three-match series against Australia on Nov. 14, 16 and 18 in Brisbane, Sydney and Hobart
- Rizwan’s side defeated Australia 2-1 in three-match series last week to win first series in Australia since 2002
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan will lead his side for the first time against Australia in a T20I format at Brisbane today, Thursday, after steering the green shirts to their first ever ODI series victory against the 2023 world champions since 2022.
Rizwan will become the 12th person to assume Pakistan’s T20 captaincy when he takes the field in Brisbane for the first T20I. Pakistan’s cricket team, encouraged by stellar performances from fast bowlers Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah, beat Australia 2-1 in the three-match series that concluded last week.
After Thursday’s match, Pakistan will play against Australia in Sydney and Hobart on Nov. 16 and 18 respectively. Pakistani cricketers Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Omair Bin Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Sufiyan Moqim and Usman Khan joined the T20I squad in Brisbane on Nov. 11 after undergoing a five-day training camp in the southern port city of Karachi.
“We are confident after beating Australia in the ODI series but international cricket is always challenging so we aim to do things as better as we can going into this T20I series against Australia,” Rizwan said a day before the match.
“We have determined the roles of various players in the team and look forward to executing our best plans not just in this series but also in the upcoming white-ball fixtures against Zimbabwe and South Africa.”
The Pakistan captain said he wanted to keep all the players involved in the series motivated.
“Of course, the conditions have helped the bowlers on this tour so far but we also want to prove our mettle as a batting unit and I look forward to an exciting contest in the three matches,” he said.
Pakistan last faced Australia in a T20 contest in March 2022 when the two teams played a one-off T20I in Lahore, which Australia won. In Pakistan’s last T20I series in Australia in November 2019, the hosts won 2-0 after the opening match ended in a no result.
Josh Inglis will lead Australia in the T20I series while Tim David and Nathan Ellis have joined Australia’s T20I squad. Josh Philippe, meanwhile, has replaced the injured Cooper Connolly.
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (captain – wicket-keeper), Salman Ali Agha (vice-captain), Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah, Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Omair Bin Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Moqim, Usman Khan
Pakistan rover to join China’s Chang’E 8 mission to explore lunar surface in 2028
- Chang’E 8 mission is a robotic exploration of the lunar south pole, known for its challenging terrain, by China in 2028
- Pakistan’s rover will conduct scientific experiments such as lunar soil study and conduct tests for human presence
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s national space agency announced this week its rover will join China’s Chang’E 8 mission to explore the moon’s surface in 2028, describing the development as a “significant milestone” for the South Asian country.
The Chang’E 8 mission is a robotic exploration of the lunar south pole by China, expected to launch in 2028. The Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), the country’s space program, said its rover will land on the lunar south pole in 2028 as part of the Chang’ E 8 mission. The south pole of the moon is known for its challenging terrain and potential scientific discoveries.
In May, Pakistan launched its first lunar satellite aboard China’s Chang’e-6 probe, which was tasked with landing on the far side of the moon that perpetually faces away from the Earth. China was the first country to make such an ambitious attempt.
“SUPARCO’s rover, with an approximate weight of 35 kilograms, will join China’s Chang’E 8 mission, which is part of the larger International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) project,” SUPARCO said in a statement on Wednesday.
“This collaboration marks a significant milestone for Pakistan’s space program, as SUPARCO’s indigenous rover will be part of the mission to explore the lunar surface.”
SUPARCO said the mission would involve scientific experiments such as lunar soil study, lunar surface mapping and testing new technologies for human presence on the moon. It highlighted that the rover, equipped with state-of-the-art scientific instruments, would play a pivotal role in collecting data.
“This collaboration with China highlights the strong bilateral relations between the two countries and their shared vision for space exploration,” it concluded.
Imran Khan forms committee to lead Nov. 24 protest to Islamabad, conduct negotiations
- PTI is protesting alleged rigging of elections, calling for release of political prisoners, independence of judiciary
- Pakistan’s government denies being unfair in Khan’s treatment, election commission denies elections were rigged
ISLAMABAD: Former Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Wednesday he had formed a leadership committee to lead a planned protest in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on Nov. 24 and conduct negotiations as his party prepares to launch an anti-government movement.
The jailed leader’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party has announced a ‘long march’ to Islamabad over alleged rigging in Feb. 8 general elections and to call for the release of political prisoners and the independence of the judiciary.
“I have formed a leadership committee to lead the protest and conduct negotiations,” Khan said in an X message from prison, urging his supporters to reach Islamabad for the protest and “not return until our demands are met.”
It was unclear who the committee would negotiate with, but in the past Khan has called for talks with the military, describing it as the “real decision-makers” as opposed to the “puppet government” led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Regarding the Nov. 24 protest, the PTI’s first demand is a rollback of recent constitutional amendments like the 26th amendment that it says is an attempt to curtail the independence of the senior judiciary. The party is also calling for the release of all political prisoners, including Khan, and a return of “the public mandate” following what it believes was a rigged general election.
Pakistan’s government denies being unfair in Khan’s treatment and its election commission denies the elections were rigged. The government also says the recent amendments related to the judiciary are meant to smooth out its functioning and tackle a backlog of cases.
Khan has been in jail since August 2023 and has faced dozens of cases since he was removed as prime minister in 2022 after which he launched a protest movement against a coalition of his rivals led by current PM Sharif and backed by the all-powerful military, which denies interfering in politics.
Khan says cases against him, which disqualified him from contesting the February elections, are politically motivated.
PM launches prevention program as over 33 million Pakistanis found to have diabetes
- Additional 11 million adults in Pakistan have impaired glucose tolerance
- Pakistan is on the list of countries with the largest diabetic populations
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday, National Diabetes Day, his government was launching a new program for the control and prevention of diabetes in a country where over 33 million people had the chronic disease.
According to a new analysis in The Lancet journal released this week, the percentage of adults suffering from diabetes across the world has doubled over the past three decades, with the biggest rises coming in developing countries.
The serious health condition affected around 14 percent of all adults worldwide in 2022, compared to seven percent in 1990, the Lancet study said. Taking into account the growing global population, the team of researchers estimated that more than 800 million people are now diabetic, compared to less than 200 million in 1990.
“At the Federal level, we will be launching the ‘Prime Minister’s Program for Prevention and Control of Diabetes Mellitus’ under the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination,” Sharif said in a statement.
“Objective of this program is controlling the disease in federal areas and improving capacities in all provinces for providing universal health coverage, diagnosis, and treatment for diabetic patients, along with raising awareness and behavioral change.”
With 33 million of its citizens having diabetes, Pakistan is on the list of countries with the largest diabetic populations. An additional 11 million adults in Pakistan have impaired glucose tolerance, while approximately 8 to 9 million with diabetes remain undiagnosed.
“The major risk factors leading to diabetes in Pakistan are environmental and geographical reasons in addition to genetic variants, dietary, as well as inactive lifestyle,” Sharif said.
“The Government of Pakistan is fully committed in controlling this escalation and delivering wellbeing to diabetic population.”
Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood glucose.
Type 1 diabetes affects patients from a young age and is more difficult to treat because it is caused by an insulin deficiency. Type 2 mainly affects middle-aged or older people who lose their sensitivity to insulin.
Army says suicide bomber recruiter among four militants killed in southwest Pakistan
- High value target recruited suicide bombers for separatist outfit BLA in district Kech, says army
- Last week’s bomb blast claimed by BLA at railway station in southwestern Pakistan killed at least 24
ISLAMABAD: Security forces shot dead four militants, among them a recruiter for suicide bombers for the separatist outfit Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) in an intelligence-based operation in southwest Pakistan, the military’s media wing said on Wednesday.
The operation was conducted in Balgatar area of southwestern Balochistan province’s Kech district, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army’s media wing, said.
Pakistan launched an armed operation in Balochistan earlier this month against separatist militants behind multiple attacks in August in which over 50 people, including civilians and security officials were killed. The BLA also claimed responsibility for a bomb blast last week that killed at least 24 people and left 50 injured at a railway station in Quetta.
“During the conduct of the operation, after an intense fire exchange between own troops and the terrorists, four terrorists including a high-value target, terrorist ringleader Sana (alias) Baru were killed,” the ISPR said.
“He was a focal recruitment agent, especially suicide bombers, for the so-called Majeed Brigade in District Kech and was highly wanted by the law enforcement agencies.”
Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the slain “terrorists,” the army’s media wing said. It added that security forces had launched a sanitization operation to eliminate any other “terrorists” found in the area.
Pakistan’s Balochistan province, which shares porous borders with Afghanistan and Iran, has been the scene of a low-lying insurgency for decades. Ethnic Baloch nationalists have long accused the central government and Punjab of monopolizing profits from Balochistan’s natural resources.
The state denies these allegations and says it is working on several projects to usher in development in the gas-and-oil rich province.
