Page 11 - Pakistan

Pak-Afghanistan ties worsen as Sharif warns Kabul over cross-border attacks

Officials in Islamabad have also hinted at the possibility of expanding aerial operations deeper into Afghan territory should militant attacks persist

Leak reveals China firm exporting mass-censorship kit to India's neighbours

A leak of more than 100,000 files shows Chinese firm Geedge Networks exporting Tiangou Secure Gateway-national-scale filtering and tracking tech-now active in Pakistan and Myanmar

Israel slams Pakistan at UNSC, says 'bin Laden killed on your territory'

Pakistan cannot change the fact that Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden was sheltered and killed on its soil, Israel has said, as it lashed out at Islamabad in the UN Security Council for its "double standards". "When bin Laden was eliminated in Pakistan," Israel's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Danny Danon said, pointing his hand towards Pakistan's UN Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, the question asked was not 'why target a terrorist on foreign soil'?" "No one asked that question. The question was, 'Why was a terrorist given shelter at all?' The same question must be asked today. There was no immunity for bin Laden, and there can be no immunity for Hamas, Danon said. The sharp exchange between the envoys of Israel and Pakistan came on Thursday at a Security Council meeting held to discuss the Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital of Doha. In his remarks, Ahmad strongly condemned what he called Israel's illegal and unprovoked aggression against Qatar, term

Regimes collapse because of weak institutions, not leaders or ideologies

To be truly functional and durable, even eternal, a state doesn't just need a leader, a party, or an ideology. It needs functional and robust institutions

Delhi Police uncover Pakistan links in terror module, five arrested

The police have also recovered some parts used in the making of IEDs

Pakistan using phone tapping, firewall systems to spy on citizens: Amnesty

Calling it one of the 'most comprehensive examples of state surveillance outside China', Amnesty said that Pakistan's growing surveillance network was built with the help of Chinese and Western tech

Pakistan, China to form $7 bn consortium for railway project under CPEC

Pakistan and China have agreed to form a consortium of bilateral and multilateral partners to finance a USD 7 billion railway project, along with a four-year action plan (2025-29) for the second phase of the CPEC initiative. Pakistan and China recently launched the second phase of the controversial China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. Speaking at a news conference, Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal said that during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's recent visit to China, the two sides had agreed to constitute a consortium of financiers, including the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), China and Pakistan, for the 1,700-km Karachi-Peshawar railway line, the Dawn newspaper reported on Tuesday. He said China had assured financing not only for the rail project but also for the Karakoram Highway. Negotiations with multiple financiers would be concluded within a month, Iqbal said. The minister said Pakistan and China have agre

BSF nabs Pakistani intruder at international border in Jammu's RS Pura

A Pakistani intruder was apprehended by the Border Security Force (BSF) at the International Border in the RS Pura sector of Jammu, the force said on Monday.More details are awaited.Yesterday, the BSF apprehended five persons and seized pistols, heroin and a drone on the Punjab border, the BSF Punjab saidIn a crackdown against narco-terror, BSF Punjab troops foiled multiple smuggling attempts along the border. Acting on intelligence, BSF & ANTF Amritsar apprehended one smuggler near Chabbal, Tarn Taran and seized 504 gms of heroin, a mobile and a bike from their possession.Following that, at Sur Singh Market, Tarn Taran, a joint team detained four smugglers with 5.032 kg heroin, two pistols, a Scorpio, four mobiles, two bikes and ₹1000 cash.During night hours, vigilant troops intercepted a drone near Ranian, conducted a search operation and seized a DJI Air 3 drone with pistol parts and magazine. Yet another operation in Tarn Taran led to the recovery of pistol parts from ...

Empowering women could be Pak's key to recovery after devastating floods

Pakistan faces a second major flood in three years, and experts say empowering women and investing in grassroots initiatives could be the key to resilient recovery and long-term growth

Search op launched after suspected Pakistani drone movement in J&K's Samba

A search operation was launched after a suspected Pakistani drone was spotted hovering over vital installations in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Saturday. The drone was noticed at an altitude of over 700 metres moving from west to east over a military garrison in the Bari Brahmana area around 9.35 pm on Friday, they said. An alert was immediately sounded and quick reaction teams of the Army were activated. Police were also informed and a joint search operation was launched to ensure that there was no airdropping of weapons or narcotics, the officials said.

Sharing flood data with Pakistan on humanitarian ground, says India

India on Friday said it has been sharing flood data with Pakistan through diplomatic channels on humanitarian ground even as the Indus Water Treaty remains suspended. External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India has been sharing the flood data with that country through the Indian high commission in Islamabad. "We have been sharing high flood data with Pakistan through our diplomatic channels as and when it is required. This sharing of data is happening through our high commission in Islamabad," he said. "You've seen the kind of rainfall that is happening in that part of India and that part of the world. And this is being done based on humanitarian considerations," Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing. A day after the April 22 Pahalgam attack, India announced a series of punitive measures against Pakistan, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty with New Delhi asserting that "blood and water" cannot flow together. India has been maintaining tha

Hindu Kush countries use just 6% of total energy from clean sources: Report

Despite holding immense renewables potential', clean energy accounts for only 6 per cent of total primary energy supply in the countries of the Hindu Kush Himalayas, with hydropower being hugely underexploited', a report said. A new assessment report was released on Friday by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), an eight-nation regional body, during the Asia-Pacific Clean Energy Week in Bangkok. The report said that out of 882 Gigawatts total hydropower potential identified in Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the vast majority of that potential (635 Gigawatts) is from the waters of the transboundary rivers of the Hindu Kush Himalaya region. Just 49 per cent of this potential is currently tapped, the report added. Non-hydro clean energy potential (solar and wind) in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, meanwhile, stands at 3 Terawatts, it said. While the total combined renewable energy targets of the countries of

6 killed after assailants ambush vehicle in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

At least six people were killed after unknown assailants opened fire on a passenger vehicle in northwestern Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Wednesday, police said. The vehicle was travelling from Daradar to Sadda when suspected militants ambushed it near Mahora in the lower Kurram district, bordering Afghanistan. The attackers managed to flee after the attack, police said, adding that the victims have not yet been identified. The bodies of the deceased have been transferred to the District Headquarters Hospital, police said. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet. On Tuesday, six soldiers and five terrorists were killed as security forces successfully thwarted a terror attack on the headquarters of a paramilitary force in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the army said. The attack took place in Bannu district when the terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) attempted to breach the security of the Federal Constabulary (FC) headquart

14 killed, 35 injured in suicide bombing after BNP rally in Pak's Quetta

At least 14 people have been killed and 35 others injured in a suicide bombing shortly after the conclusion of a public rally organised by the Balochistan National Party (BNP) in Quetta, according to media reports. The explosion occurred close to Shahwani Stadium in the Sariab area on Tuesday night after the rally held to mark the fourth death anniversary of Sardar Attaullah Mengal ended, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. Provincial Health Minister Bakht Muhammad Kakar confirmed the casualties, the newspaper said. Officials confirmed it was a suicide attack, the Dawn reported. According to police, the explosion occurred about 15 minutes after the meeting ended. The bomber allegedly detonated his explosives-laden jacket in the parking area as participants were leaving the meeting. BNP chief Akhtar Mengal, who presided over the gathering, remained unhurt as the blast occurred when he was leaving for home, according to The Dawn. Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mehmood Khan

5 crew members killed after helicopter crashes in PoK's Gilgit-Baltistan

At least five crew members, including two pilots, died on Monday when the helicopter they were flying crashed in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir's Gilgit-Baltistan, officials said. The aircraft crashed in the Chilas area of Diamer district, Gilgit-Baltistan government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq said in a statement. One of our helicopters has crashed in Thor, Chilas, he said, adding the crew included two pilots and three technical staff. Diamer Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Abdul Hameed, in a statement, said five casualties occurred due to the crash. The helicopter was conducting a test landing on a newly-proposed helipad, he added. The exact reason for the crash was not known. It is the second crash in recent weeks after a helicopter of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government crashed last month.

Less than 50 IAF strikes made Pak seek end to conflict: Air Marshal Tiwari

Less than 50 weapons fired by the Indian Air Force at carefully chosen Pakistani military targets forced Islamabad by mid-day of May 10 to request the end of military hostilities, Vice Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Narmdeshwar Tiwari said on Saturday. Air Marshal Tiwari, recounting the mission, said the IAF was able to achieve "complete domination" over the Pakistan military with the strikes that were carried out following Pakistan's attack on the intervening night of May 9 and 10. "I must tell you that it was a key takeaway for us that in less than 50 weapons, we were able to achieve complete domination. It has not happened before," Tiwari said at the NDTV Defence Summit. The senior IAF officer, who played a key role in Operation Sindoor, said some of the Pakistan targets that were "taken out" in the course of the mission were not hit even during the 1971 war. "We made every weapon count and that is a tacit acknowledgement of the capability of our planners and people who ...

Earthquake of magnitude 5.3 strikes Pak's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad

The quake was recorded in Peshawar, Swat, Malakand, Swabi, and Mansehra, and other adjoining areas, with its tremors reaching up to Gahkuch city

India issues fresh flood risk warnings to Pakistan amid heavy rainfall

India has issued fresh alerts to Pakistan about the "high probability" of flooding in the Tawi river, with incessant rainfall in the northern states forcing the release of excess water from major dams, sources said on Wednesday. The alerts, routed to Islamabad through the Ministry of External Affairs, were issued on "humanitarian grounds", the sources said. The first alert was issued on Monday. "We issued another alert yesterday (Tuesday) and one today (Wednesday) of high probability of flooding in the Tawi river. The gates of some dams had to be opened due to excessive rains being witnessed in Indian regions," a source said. The Tawi river originates in the Himalayas and passes through the Jammu division before joining the Chenab in Pakistan. India suspended the routine exchange of hydrological data with Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty after 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam by Pakistan terrorists on April 22. Despite the suspension,

US firms show interest in Pakistan oil after Trump's claim on reserves

Trump sparked a surge of interest in Pakistan's energy potential after a social media post in July claimed the country has massive oil reserves

IAF was 'on song' during Op Sindoor, says Air Chief Marshal AP Singh

The Indian Air Force was "on song" and it could have continued its strikes on Pakistan, but it didn't as the desired objective was already achieved, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh said on Tuesday, delving into Operation Sindoor. In a fireside chat at the Army War College, the Chief of Air Staff also said the operation was a reflection of "conflict termination" against the backdrop of many wars across the globe continuing for a longer period. "That night, we were on a song. We could have continued to strike, but that was not our aim. Our objective was already achieved," he said, referring to his force's strikes on Pakistan on the intervening night of May 9 and 10. The Chief of Air Staff also referred to comments, largely on social media, that the Indian military should have continued its strikes against Pakistan. "It is very easy to say that. But why should you prolong a war which can be stopped after having achieved your objective. I think that is what is required," he said. Air Chief