ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Bar Council (IBC), Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) and the Islamabad District Bar Association (IDBA) have announced a strike on Monday to protest recent transfer of judges to the Islamabad High Court (IHC), calling them “unconstitutional measures affecting the judiciary and the legal profession.”
The announcement was made after a joint meeting of lawyer bodies a day after President Asif Ali Zardari approved the transfer of three judges from the high courts of Sindh, Balochistan and Lahore to the Islamabad High Court (IHC), amid opposition from five IHC judges.
Zardari approved the transfers of Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar from the Lahore High Court (LHC), the Sindh High Court’s (SHC) Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro and the Balochistan High Court’s (BHC) Justice Muhammad Asif to the IHC. Local media reported the government was considering elevating Justice Dogar to the post of the IHC chief justice.
In a statement issued after Sunday’s meeting of lawyer bodies, the IBC said the legal fraternity of Islamabad “strongly condemns” the recent notification regarding the transfer of judges from other provinces to the Islamabad High Court, describing the move as a “direct violation of the principles of judicial independence and regional representation.”
“It undermines the autonomy of the Islamabad high Court,” the IBC said. “The legal fraternity of Islamabad ensures its commitment to resist the unjustified transfers and appointments of judges from other provinces.”
Pakistan’s constitution empowers the president to transfer a judge from one high court to another after the concerned judge consents to the decision. The president can approve the transfer after consulting the chief justice of Pakistan and the chief justice of both high courts.
On Friday, five of 10 IHC judges opposed Justice Dogar’s transfer in a letter addressed to the chief justices of the Supreme Court and high courts. The five judges said if the decision to transfer the judge was aimed at elevating him to the post of IHC chief justice, it would be a “fraud on the constitution.”
The IBC said the lawyer bodies will pursue all legal and constitutional avenues to challenge the move and safeguard the “judicial independence of Islamabad.”
“An All-Pakistan Lawyers’ Convention will be held under the Islamabad Bar Council tomorrow... to formulate future strategy,” it said on Sunday.
Islamabad lawyers call strike today over ‘unconstitutional’ transfer of judges
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Islamabad lawyers call strike today over ‘unconstitutional’ transfer of judges
- The development comes a day after Pakistan’s president approved transfer of three judges from Sindh, Balochistan and Lahore to Islamabad High Court
- Pakistan’s constitution empowers the president to transfer a judge from one high court to another after the concerned judge consents to the decision
Pakistani forces rescue 155 hostages from hijacked train as battle with militants enters second day
- Security official says 27 separatists killed in operation to take control of train, suicide bombers onboard using passengers as human shields
- BLA group behind assault says holding 214 hostages, offers to release them if Baloch political prisoners freed within 48 hours
KARACHI: Security officials said on Wednesday they had freed 155 hostages after separatist militants hijacked a train carrying more than 400 people in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, with an armed rescue operation entering its second day.
The separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) bombed part of a railway track and stormed the Quetta-Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express on Tuesday afternoon in Mushkaaf, an area in the mountainous Bolan range of Balochistan. The province has been the site of low-level separatist insurgency for decades, with separatist groups accusing the government of stripping the province’s natural resources and leaving its people mired in poverty. They say security forces routinely abduct, torture and execute ethnic Baloch, allegations echoed by human rights campaigners.
Government officials and security forces strongly deny violating human rights and say they are uplifting the province through development projects, including multi-billion-dollar schemes funded by China.
In the latest assault, the train was trapped in a tunnel and the driver was killed after sustaining serious injuries, local authorities, police and railway officials said.
“So far, security forces have safely rescued 155 passengers from the terrorists,” a security official with direct knowledge of the ongoing rescue operation said on condition of anonymity. “At least 27 militants have been eliminated.”
“The terrorists have positioned suicide bombers very close to some innocent hostage passengers,” he added. “Facing possible defeat, the terrorist suicide bombers are using innocent people as human shields.”
The official said the militants were in touch with their “handlers” in Afghanistan, echoing a common accusation by Pakistani security and government officials that a recent spike in militancy was being orchestrated from the neighboring country. The Taliban rulers in Kabul deny they allow Afghan soil to be used by insurgents to plan or carry out terror attacks.
PRISONER EXCHANGE
Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest province by area, covering 347,190 square kilometers and constituting 44 percent of the country’s total landmass. However, the remote province bordering Afghanistan and Iran is the country’s most backward region in terms of nearly all social and economic indicators.
There are no Internet and mobile services in nearly 60 percent of the province, according to independent monitors, and areas which have such services often see shutdowns and months-long disruptions due to security reasons.
Speaking to Arab News on Tuesday, Imran Hayat, the divisional superintendent of Pakistan Railways in Quetta, said the department was unable to communicate with staff aboard the train as militants had carried out the assault in a “no-signal zone.”
“We haven’t retrieved a single body or injured from the area yet due to the communication blackout,” he said.
The BLA said in a statement on Tuesday it had not suffered any casualties but had killed 30 soldiers and shot down a drone. There was no confirmation of this from Pakistani authorities.
The group said it was prepared for a prisoner exchange,
“The occupying state of Pakistan is given 48 hours to immediately and unconditionally release Baloch political prisoners, forcibly disappeared persons and national resistance activists.”
The BLA warned that the hostages included military, paramilitary, police and intelligence officers, who would be killed if the BLA’s demands were not met within the stipulated period “or if the occupying state attempts any military action during this time.”
The Balochistan government has imposed emergency measures to deal with the situation, spokesperson Shahid Rind told media, without giving any details.
The separatists have also recently attacked projects being developed as part of the $65-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), part of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, in Balochistan. The program is also developing a deep-water port close to the new $200-million airport in Gwadar, a joint venture between Pakistan, Oman and China.
Pakistan consulate hosts pre-dawn Ramadan meal in UAE to woo investors to Lahore trade show
- The fourth edition of Health, Engineering and Minerals Show will be held at Expo Center in Lahore on April 17-19
- Consul-General Hussain Muhammad assures UAE businessmen of Pakistan’s full support in exploring various opportunities
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani consulate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said on Tuesday it had collaborated with the Pakistan Business Council Dubai to organize a pre-dawn Ramadan meal in Dubai to promote the Health, Engineering and Minerals Show (HEMS) 2025, scheduled to take place in Pakistan’s Lahore on April 17-19.
The fourth edition of the premier trade exhibition HEMS 2025 will be held at the Expo Center in Lahore that will showcase a wide range of products, including electrical machinery, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, surgical instruments, construction materials, gems, jewelry and sports goods.
During the event in Dubai, Pakistan’s consul-general in the UAE, Hussain Muhammad, urged the UAE-based business leaders to attend the HEMS 2025 trade exhibition to explore investment opportunities in Pakistan, assuring participants of the Pakistani government’s full support in this regard.
“The consulate is here to extend all required assistance and facilitation to the visiting delegates to Pakistan,” he was quoted as saying by the Pakistani consulate.
The UAE is Pakistan’s third-largest trading partner after China and the United States, and a major source of foreign investment valued at over $10 billion in the last 20 years, according to the UAE’s foreign ministry.
Policymakers in Pakistan consider the UAE an optimal export destination due to its geographical proximity, which minimizes transportation and freight costs while facilitating commercial transactions.
Pakistan’s Trade and Investment Counsellor Ali Zeb Khan said the aim of organizing the event in Dubai was to prepare a delegation of buyers and importers to visit Pakistan and participate in the exhibition, organized by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan in collaboration with the Export Development Board.
Shabbir Merchant, chairman of the Pakistan Business Council Dubai, and Vice Chairman Kamran Riyaz also addressed the gathering, underscoring the council’s role in connecting business communities from both countries to participate in HEMS 2025.
They reiterated their commitment to fostering bilateral trade and investment opportunities, while prominent Pakistani businessman Hussain Dawood highlighted the importance of such exhibitions in promoting Pakistan’s export sectors and strengthening economic partnerships.
Deputy PM asks authorities to expedite privatization of Pakistan-owned Roosevelt Hotel in New York
- The development comes at a time when an IMF mission is visiting Pakistan to review progress on its $7 billion bailout
- Islamabad is pushing for privatization of loss-making state entities as part of the conditions set by the global lender
ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar has asked authorities to expedite privatization of Pakistan-owned Roosevelt Hotel in New York, Pakistani state media reported on Tuesday, amid Islamabad’s efforts to streamline its fragile $350 billion economy.
Roosevelt Hotel, a 19-story building located at a prime location in New York, was inaugurated in Manhattan on September 22, 1924. Named after the 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, Pakistan’s national airline leased it in 1979 through the Pakistan International Airlines Investments Limited (PIA-IL).
The hotel closed its doors to guests in Dec. 2020 after the coronavirus pandemic shuttered the tourism industry worldwide. In 2023, New York City (NYC) administration struck a $220 million, three-year deal with PIA to convert the hotel into a shelter, as per a report in The New York Times.
On Tuesday, Dar presided over a meeting of Pakistan’s federal cabinet committee on privatization in Islamabad to review the progress of the ongoing privatization initiatives, including that of the Roosevelt Hotel in New York, the Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“Deputy Prime Minister urged the Privatization Commission to fast track the privatization process of the Roosevelt Hotel,” the report read.
Roosevelt Hotel and PIA are among the main entities Pakistan is pushing to privatize as part of economic reforms undertaken by Islamabad under its loan agreements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with a $7 billion extended funds facility agreed in Sept. being the latest such bailout.
The development comes at a time when an IMF mission is visiting Pakistan to review the South Asian country’s progress on key IMF conditions as part of the first review of the $7 billion bailout. A successful review will result in the release of around $1 billion to Pakistan as second installment under the program.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb last month said they were confident of meeting targets of the IMF program. Pakistan was able to build some trust with the IMF by completing a short-term, nine-month program last year.
Previous loan programs in Pakistan ended prematurely or saw delays after the governments at the time faltered on meeting key conditions. However, the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is making rigorous efforts to boost trade and foreign investment in order to revive the country’s economy and end its reliance on foreign loans.
Who are Pakistani Baloch separatist militants behind train hijacking in Balochistan?
- The mineral-rich region is home to Beijing’s massive investment in Gwadar deep water port and other projects
- The BLA is the strongest of insurgent groups long operating in Balochistan that borders Afghanistan and Iran
ISLAMABAD: Separatist militant group the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed that they had taken hostages during an attack on a train carrying hundreds of people, including paramilitary troops, in southwestern Pakistan on Tuesday and threatened to kill them.
The BLA is the strongest of a number of insurgent groups long operating in the area bordering Afghanistan and Iran, a mineral-rich region that is home to Beijing’s investment in Gwadar deep water port and other projects.
In what was previously a low-level insurgency, the militants have in recent months stepped up their activities using new tactics to inflict high death and injury tolls and target Pakistan’s military.
Here are facts about the group, which has also targeted Chinese interests.
WHAT ARE THE BLA’S GOALS?
The BLA seeks independence for Balochistan, a province located in Pakistan’s southwest and bordering Afghanistan to the north and Iran to the west.
It is the biggest of several ethnic insurgent groups that have battled the federal government for decades, saying it unfairly exploits Balochistan’s rich gas and mineral resources.
The insurgents have been fighting to lay a claim to local resources which they say belong to their people.
Balochistan’s mountainous border region serves as a safe haven and training ground for the Baloch insurgents and Islamist militants.
HOW HAS IT BECOME MORE LETHAL?
The BLA shocked the country’s security establishment when it stormed army and navy bases in 2022.
It has deployed women suicide bombers, including in an attack on Chinese nationals at a university in Karachi and a bombing in southwest Balochistan.
An umbrella group of several Baloch ethnic groups said last week that it had convened all factions in a bid to unite them under a unified military structure.
A dormant BLA splinter group called BLA (AZAD) became active in recent weeks.
WHAT ARE THE BLA’S TARGETS?
The BLA often targets infrastructure and security forces in Balochistan, but has also truck in other areas — most notably the southern port city of Karachi.
The insurgents target Pakistan’s army and Chinese interests, in particular the strategic port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea, accusing Beijing of helping Islamabad to exploit the province.
Militants have killed Chinese citizens working in the region and attacked Beijing’s consulate in Karachi.
The BLA, separately, was also at the center of tit-for-tat strikes last year between Iran and Pakistan over what they called militant bases on each other’s territory, which brought the neighbors close to war.
BALOCHISTAN’S SIGNIFICANCE
Balochistan is an important part of China’s $65 billion investment in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, a wing of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road initiative.
It is home to key mining projects, including Reko Diq, run by mining giant Barrick Gold (ABX.TO), and believed to be one of the world’s largest gold and copper mines.
China also operates a gold and copper mine in the province.
The decades-old insurgency has continued to keep the province of some 15 million people unstable and created security concerns around Pakistan’s plans to access untapped resources.
It is Pakistan’s largest province by area, but smallest by population. Balochistan also has a long Arabian Sea coastline, not far from the Gulf’s Strait of Hormuz oil shipping lane.
Hundreds of Baloch activists, many of them women, have protested in Islamabad and Balochistan over alleged abuses by security forces — accusations the government denies.
Islamabad accuses India and Afghanistan of backing the militants to damage Pakistan’s relations with China, a charge both countries deny.
Islamabad urges Oman to expand deep-water port’s reach to Pakistan to enhance regional trade
- The development comes during Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan’s official visit to Oman
- The minister reaffirms Pakistan’s commitment to boosting trade in industrial, logistics sectors
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan has urged Oman to expand the reach of its deep-water port and free zone by connecting it through Pakistan to Central Asia and China to enhance regional trade cooperation, Khan’s ministry said on Tuesday.
The statement came during Khan’s three-day official visit to Oman where he spent his first day in the industrial hub of Sohar to discuss bilateral trade, investment and industrial collaboration between the South Asian nation and the Middle Eastern state.
Pakistan aims to leverage its strategic geopolitical position to enhance its role as a key trade and transit hub connecting landlocked Central Asian republics with the rest of the world. In recent months, there has been a surge of visits, investment talks and economic activity involving Gulf and Middle Eastern nations.
During his visit to Sohar Port, the Pakistani commerce minister was given a detailed briefing on the port’s state-of-the-art facilities and its role as a major trade and logistics hub.
“He emphasized the potential for enhanced trade cooperation, particularly in expanding Sohar Port and Free Zone’s reach through Pakistan to Central Asia and China,” the Pakistani commerce ministry said in a statement, following Khan’s meeting with Omani officials.
Khan, who was accompanied by Pakistan’s ambassador to Oman Naveed Safdar Bokhari and other officials, was presented with an overview of the integrated free economic zone and industrial city, highlighting Sohar Port’s strategic role in handling 80 percent of Oman’s international trade and industrial activities.
The commerce minister urged joint ventures between Pakistani and Omani businesses during his meeting with industrialists and business leaders.
“The minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to boosting trade with Oman, particularly in the industrial and logistics sectors,” the commerce ministry said.
Later, Khan was taken on a city tour where he offered prayers at the iconic Sultan Qaboos Mosque in Sohar.
Last August, Islamabad invited Oman to invest in Pakistan’s agriculture, mineral and IT sectors through the Special Investment Facilitation Council, a Pakistani civil-military body aimed at attracting foreign investment.
The South Asian nation has been making efforts to boost foreign investment in order to reduce its reliance on foreign debt to support its fragile $350 billion economy. There has recently been a surge in economic engagements between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and other nations.
