ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday praised Pakistani security forces for thwarting a militant attack on the Frontier Corps headquarters in Mohmand district, following a statement released by the country’s military that four attackers had been killed in the clash.
Mohmand, a mountainous district in Pakistan’s northwest, shares a border with Afghanistan, where leaders of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are reportedly based.
Local media, citing police authorities, reported the militants tried to enter a paramilitary facility before being intercepted. Two of them detonated suicide vests, while others were killed in the firefight after the security forces responded to the attack.
“The soldiers of Pakistan security forces bravely and professionally sent four suicide bombers, who attempted to attack the [FC] camp, to hell,” the prime minister said. “The entire nation, including myself, pays tribute to the brave officers and soldiers of the security forces.”
“We will continue the war against terrorism until the complete eradication of this scourge from the country,” he added.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, these militants tried to attack the FC headquarters in the early hours of Friday.
“The attempt to enter the camp was effectively thwarted by the security forces personnel, and resultantly the Khwarij [militants], all four suicide bombers, were sent to hell before they could cause the intended damage,” the ISPR said in its statement.
“Sanitization operation is being conducted to eliminate any other Kharji found in the area,” it continued.
Mohmand and other tribal districts in Pakistan’s northwest became hotbeds of militancy while US-led international forces were fighting in Afghanistan.
Pakistani security forces conducted several military operations to reestablish the state’s writ in the region.
However, militant activity resurged in the area since the fragile ceasefire between the government and the TTP ended in November 2022, leading to a renewed wave of attacks.
Pakistan PM praises security forces for thwarting attack in northwest, killing four militants
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Pakistan PM praises security forces for thwarting attack in northwest, killing four militants
- Attackers, all suicide bombers, targeted the Frontier Corps headquarters in Mohmand district
- Military’s media wing says a ‘sanitization operation’ is underway in the area following the attack
Pakistan reports sixth case of mpox virus in Islamabad
- Patient admitted to the isolation ward of Islamabad’s Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences
- Mpox is mild but people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of complication
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani health authorities on Monday confirmed a sixth case of mpox virus in the federal capital of Islamabad, saying the patient was admitted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital.
The Border Health Staff (BHS) detected mpox symptoms in a 44-year-old man during screening at the Islamabad International Airport, according to the federal health minister.
Since confirming its first mpox case last month, Pakistan has implemented stringent screening protocols at all airports and border crossings for the screening of travelers.
“The sixth case of mpox has been reported in Pakistan,” a health ministry spokesperson said in a statement. “The travel history of the 44-year-old man is from Gulf countries.”
Patients who contract mpox get flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. Mpox is usually mild but can kill. Children, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of complications from the infection.
On Sept. 8, health authorities declared Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province mpox-free after all four patients previously infected with the virus recovered.
Dr. Mukhtar Bharath, the prime minister’s coordinator for health, said the health ministry was working closely with provincial authorities to monitor new cases and around 630,000 passengers had so far been screened at airports.
“Effective measures are being taken to protect people from mpox,” Dr. Bharath said.
The World Health Organization has declared a global health emergency over the spread of a new mutated strain of mpox named clade I, which first emerged in the Democratic Republic of Congo and has since spread to several countries, leading to increased monitoring and preventive measures worldwide.
Sindh minister orders security for polio worker who says she was raped on duty
- The polio worker testified before a local court on Friday that she was raped while she was on duty
- But the woman later retracted her statement amid threats by her husband for being an ‘adulteress’
KARACHI: Provincial Health Minister Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho on Monday took notice of alleged rape of a polio worker in the Jacobabad district of Pakistan’s southern Sindh province and instructed police to provide her round-the-clock security.
The incident occurred in Allah Baksh Jakhrani village of Jacobabad. The polio worker testified before a local court on Friday that she was raped while on duty, Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reported. A day later, the polio worker retracted her statement and said she was robbed, reportedly amid threats by her husband for being a ‘Kari,’ an adulteress, who deserves death.
The Sindh health minister has instructed police to provide security around the polio worker’s current residence and requested Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to provide the woman with monetary compensation to help her take care of her children.
“Our female polio workers are the backbone of the polio program and protecting them has always been the utmost priority of the program,” Dr. Pechuho said. “I am taking every necessary action to ensure that she gets the justice she deserves.”
On Sept. 9, Pakistan launched a week-long, nationwide polio campaign amid a spike in militant attacks. The potentially fatal, paralyzing disease mostly strikes children under the age of five and typically spreads through contaminated water.
Two days later, a roadside bomb hit a vehicle carrying officers assigned to protect health workers conducting polio immunization in the northwestern South Waziristan district, in the same province, wounding six officers and three civilians. The militant Daesh group later claimed responsibility for the attack.
Anti-polio campaigns in Pakistan are regularly marred by violence. Militants target vaccination teams and police assigned to protect them, claiming that the campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children.
Since January, Pakistan has reported 17 new cases of polio, jeopardizing decades of efforts to eliminate polio in the country. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries in which the spread of polio has never been stopped.
Pakistan recorded 44% rise in workers remittances from July-August— state media
- Pakistan’s workers remittances have reached $5.94 billion dollars this fiscal year, says state media
- Credits country’s investment-friendly policies, government crackdown against smuggling of dollars for surge
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has seen a “significant increase” in workers remittances at the beginning of the current fiscal year from July-August, state-run media reported on Monday, crediting the surge to the Special Investment Facilitation Council’s (SIFC) policies and the government’s crackdown on the smuggling of foreign currency.
Workers remittances form a cornerstone of Pakistan’s economy, significantly contributing to the country’s foreign exchange reserves and reducing the current account deficit. Remittances also play a major role in supporting Pakistan’s external account, especially at a time when the country is recording small gains after a prolonged economic crisis that diminished its foreign reserves and weakened its national currency.
“There has been a significant increase of forty-four percent in remittances at the beginning of the current fiscal year due to the support of the SIFC,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
“According to the statistics released by the State Bank of Pakistan, remittances have reached 5.94 billion dollars with an increase of 1.81 billion dollars compared to 4.12 billion dollars in July-August last year.”
The SIFC was set up in July last year to serve as a “one window operation” to address any concerns of foreign investors, with a special focus on attracting funds from Gulf nations. The government has recently actively promoted the employment of Pakistanis abroad, especially in the Middle East, to ensure a steady increase in investments, crucial for the country’s economic growth.
The state broadcaster said that the government’s crackdown against illegal money transfer systems such as Hundi and the smuggling of dollars led to a stable exchange rate and increase in foreign reserves.
Pakistan’s government last year launched a crackdown against currency smugglers and hoarders when the cost of the US dollar soared, as people preferred informal banking channels to remit money to relatives in Pakistan.
Daesh claims responsibility for weekend bombing that killed 2 cops in Pakistan
- An explosion on Saturday targeted Pakistani police vehicle in Kuchlak town in southwestern Quetta city
- Analysts say latest violence sign of increasing coordination between separatists, other militants in Pakistan
QUETTA, Pakistan: Militant group Daesh claimed responsibility for the weekend bombing that killed two police officials in restive southwestern Pakistan, officials said Monday.
Analysts say the latest violence is a sign of increasing coordination between militants and separatists who for years have been targeting security forces and civilians in the oil-and gas-rich Balochistan province bordering Iran and Afghanistan.
Daesh said in a statement on Sunday that it detonated an explosive device a day earlier targeting a Pakistani police vehicle in Kuchlak town near Quetta, the capital of Balochistan. Pakistani officials say the attack killed two officers and wounded two others on a highway.
The Balochistan Liberation Army has previously claimed such attacks, but Daesh has carried out similar attacks in recent months.
BLA last month killed dozens of people in gun and suicide attacks on passenger buses, police stations and military facilities.
Abdullah Khan, a senior defense analyst and managing director of the Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, told The Associated Press that the latest claim by Daesh indicates that BLA and militants are now working together on attacks in Balochistan and elsewhere in the northwest.
Balochistan is the scene of a long-running insurgency, with an array of separatist groups staging attacks mainly on security forces. The separatists demand independence from the central government.
Pakistan court grants bail to ex-PM Khan’s party lawmakers arrested after Islamabad rally— lawyer
- Police arrested lawmakers last week on charges of violating law on public gatherings with Sept. 8 rally in Islamabad
- Ex-PM Khan’s party, which says it has faced crackdown since his ouster in 2022, will hold next rally on Sept. 22 in Lahore
ISLAMABAD: An anti-terror court in Pakistan’s capital on Monday granted bail to 10 lawmakers and members of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, after they were arrested last week on charges of violating a new law to regulate public gatherings, their lawyer confirmed.
Pakistani police arrested several PTI MPs Sher Afzal Khan, Malik Muhammad Aamir Dogar, Muhammad Ahmad Chattha, Makhdoom Zain Hussain Qureshi, Waqas Akram, Zubair Khan Wazir, Awais Haider Jakhar, Syed Shah Ahad Ali Shah, Nasim Ali Shah, and Yousaf Khan on late Monday night and Tuesday. The legislators were charged with violating the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act by holding a rally in Islamabad on Sept. 8. The PTI said a number of the lawmakers were arrested while they were inside the parliament, triggering protests and condemnation from the party.
The party had held the rally to demand the release of Khan, who has been in prison since August last year, facing a slew of cases. The Islamabad administration had allowed the PTI to hold the rally from 4pm till 7pm, but it went on until around 11pm. Though the gathering was mostly peaceful, a policeman was injured in clashes between police and PTI supporters en route to the rally.
On Friday, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) suspended the physical remand of the lawmakers that had been issued by the anti-terror court.
“By the grace of god, all our MNAs have been granted bail,” Naeem Haider Panjutha, a PTI lawyer, wrote on social media platform X. “The court has ordered their immediate release.”
According to international news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP), the lawmakers were granted bail upon the submission of surety bonds worth Rs30,000 [$100].
Following the arrests, the National Assembly speaker opened an inquiry into the incident on Tuesday, citing that under Pakistani law, legislators cannot be detained from within the precincts of the parliament without the speaker’s permission.
Khan’s party alleges it has faced an over a year-long crackdown since protesters allegedly linked to the party attacked and damaged government and military installations on May 9, 2023 after Khan’s brief arrest that day in a land graft case.
Hundreds of PTI followers and leaders were arrested following the riots and many remain behind bars as they await trial. The military, which says Khan and his party were behind the attacks, has also initiated army court trials of at least 103 people accused of involvement in the violence.
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 the PTI is aiming to mobilize the public through rallies to call for their leader’s release from jail in “politically motivated” cases.
The party’s next rally is planned for Sept. 22 in the eastern city of Lahore.
