Page 65 - Pakistan

Pakistan guns down Baloch militants at China-operated Gwadar Port

On March 20, Pakistan police and security forces gunned down armed assailants after a two-hour-long battle at the China-operated Gwadar Port Complex. Two Pakistani soldiers were killed in action.

At least 2 killed, 22 injured in suicide blast in Pakistan, say police

At least two people were killed and 22 others injured when a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle laden with explosives against a convoy of the security forces in Pakistan's restive northwest region on Thursday, police said. The incident happened in the Dera Ismail Khan district of the country's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province when the security convoy was on the move from one part of the district to another. "In the suicide blast, at least 2 people were killed and 22 others injured. The two deceased are believed to be from the Army. However, it is not confirmed yet," said a senior police officer. The injured have been shifted immediately to a nearby hospital. The security forces and the police have rushed to the site and blocked the main Tank-Dera Ismail Khan road for all kinds of traffic. An official of the Bomb Disposal Squad said "we are determining the quantity of the explosives used in the suicide hit". The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is a very restive state and attacks on security f

Pakistan facing threat of terrorism along Afghanistan border: US official

Pakistan is facing a terrible threat of terrorism as areas along its border with Afghanistan have witnessed a multi-fold increase in terrorist activities, a top Biden Administration official has said. During a Congressional hearing on Pakistani elections on Wednesday, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lu told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee that Afghanistan has witnessed conflict for 40 years and Pakistan has been caught up in it. "The end of the war in Afghanistan provides us all an opportunity, an opportunity to have a relationship with Pakistan on its own terms and we are committed to doing that," Lu said. "One of the major goals that we have with Pakistan now is to support the Pakistani people as they face this terrible threat of terrorism. Many of the members have discussed this, but this is a country where the people have suffered under the threat of terrorism in a way that I think no one on the planet has had to suffer," he said. T

Will not tolerate any act of cross-border terrorism: Pakistan's PM Sharif

Amidst a spike in terror attacks in Pakistan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday asserted that his government will not tolerate any acts of cross-border terrorism and that his country would like to exist in peace with all its neighbours. Days after what is now known as the Mir Ali attack in the restive northwest Pakistan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was addressing the first meeting of the apex committee a top official civil-military body tasked to tackle militancy since the new government came to power earlier in the month. Pakistan is facing a renewed threat by militancy. Over the weekend, two Pakistan Army officers and five soldiers were killed in a terror attack at Mir Ali in the troubled northwest of the country. Without naming any country, Sharif asserted that his country would not tolerate any cross-border terrorism from the neighbouring countries under no circumstances. The prime minister said that Pakistan would like to have peace with all neighbours and urged t

From friend to foe: How Hafiz Gul Bahadur brought Pak, Afghanistan to blows

Hafiz Gul Bahadur went from being a pro-Pakistan militant commander to an implacable foe of the state and armed forces in the span of just a decade

IMF reaches staff-level agreement with Pakistan to disburse $1.1 billion

The funds are the final tranche of a $3 billion last-gasp rescue package Pakistan had secured last summer, which averted a sovereign debt default. Islamabad is also seeking another long-term bailout

US urges Pak to exercise restraint hours after airstrikes in Afghanistan

The United States urged Pakistan to exercise restraint in its counter-terrorist offensive in Afghanistan, hours after Islamabad said it carried out airstrikes on Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) affiliated militants in the neighbouring country. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the US also urges the Taliban, which rules Afghanistan, to ensure that Afghan soil is not used for launching terror attacks. Earlier on Monday, Pakistan said it carried out airstrikes on TTP militants in Afghanistan, amidst a war of words between the two neighbours over a spate of recent terror attacks in restive Pakistani cities. Pakistan's Foreign Office (FO) said that rebels belonging to TTP's Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group were hit after the outfit claimed responsibility for the attack on Saturday at an army outpost that resulted in the killing of seven soldiers, including two officers. At least eight civilians, including three children, were killed in

India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan had world's worst air pollution in 2023

Some of places most affected were in the Middle East, Africa and Central and South Asia. Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Tajikistan and Burkina Faso ranked as five countries with the most polluted air

Pakistan conducts airstrikes inside Afghanistan, 8 civilians killed

Pakistan on Monday carried out airstrikes inside Afghanistan that killed eight civilians, including three children, Afghan Taliban said, amidst a war of words between the two neighbours for a spate of recent militant attacks in restive Pakistani cities. A senior Afghan interim government official on Monday confirmed that strikes in the Afghanistan provinces of Paktika and Khost along the Pakistan border have taken place. There was no immediate reaction from the Pakistani side. Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson of the Afghan rulers, alleged in a statement that Pakistani aircraft had carried out the airstrikes, the Dawn newspaper reported from Kabul. At around 3 am, Pakistani aircraft bombarded civilian homes in Khost and Paktika provinces near the border with Pakistan, said Afghan interim government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid, claiming that all eight people killed were women and children. Mujahid said that Pakistani planes had bombed the Laman area in Paktika's Barmal ...

Pakistan carries out airstrike in Afghanistan Taliban retaliates

Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Afghanistan on March 18, killing eight people. Watch the video to know more.

No additional budget to settle dues of Chinese power plants: Pak to IMF

Pakistan has assured the IMF that it does not plan to allocate an additional budget to settle the USD 1.8 billion dues of Chinese power plants built under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, as the new government scrambles to revive the sinking economy, according to a media report. An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team has been in Pakistan to complete the final review of the USD 3 billion Standby Agreement approved for the country last year before releasing the last tranche of USD 1.1 billion before the end of the programme next month. The team has met officials who are also interested in getting a fresh loan to keep the dollar-starved nation's economy afloat, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. The IMF inquired about the government's decision to allocate funds for the Chinese power plants over and above the budgeted amount of Rs 48 billion for this fiscal year, said the Ministry of Energy officials. They added that the IMF was informed there was no plan to approve ...

18 Hindu refugees from Pakistan get citizenship during camp in Gujarat

Eighteen Hindu refugees from Pakistan residing in Ahmedabad were on Saturday conferred Indian citizenship at a camp attended by Gujarat minister of state for home Harsh Sanghavi. Gazette notifications of 2016 and 2018 empower the district collectors of Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and Kutch in the state to grant Indian citizenship to people of minority communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, said an official release. With this, a total of 1167 Hindu refugees from Pakistan residing in Ahmedabad district have so far been granted Indian citizenship, it added. At the camp organised at the district collector's office, Sanghavi conferred Indian citizenship to the migrants and urged them to work together to realise the dream of a new India. "It is expected that all of you will be determined to participate in the development journey of the country," he said, adding the Central and state governments were committed to bringing all those who have obtained Indian citizenship to the ..

Pak govt has access to phone interception system: Telecom dept tells court

Pakistan's telecommunication authority has installed a system for legal phone interception and the system was at the disposal of the government and its agencies, the chairman of the country's top telecom body told a court here. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman, Major-General Hafeezur Rehman made the statements during the hearing of a case at the Islamabad High Court on Thursday, the Dawn newspaper reported. Responding to a question by Justice Babar Sattar, who was heading the IHC bench, about whether there was a mechanism for legal interception, Rehman said that the top telecom body had installed a system, but it was at the disposal of the federal government and its agencies. However, he added that all provisions of the licence for telecom operators have been enforced, except the provision of legal interception. "Phone hacking has become so easy that if you leave your mobile phone somewhere and go to the washroom, I can connect and hack it before you return,

CAA in line with promise given by founding fathers: Kerala Governor

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that his government will not implement CAA in the state

Coast Guard apprehends Pak boat with narcotics worth Rs 480 crore

In a sea-air coordinated operation, narcotics worth Rs 480 crore were seized from a Pakistani boat with six crew in the Arabian Sea near Porbandar by a multi-agency team led by the Indian Coast Guard, the defence ministry said on Tuesday. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) coordinated with the Coast Guard in the operation in the intervening nights of March 11 and 12, it said. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG), based on intelligence inputs, apprehended a Pakistani boat with six crew members and narcotics onboard, the ministry said in a statement. "The boat was apprehended about 350 km from Porbandar into Arabian Sea in a sea-air coordinated operation involving Indian Coast Guard ships and Dornier aircraft," it said. The ministry said the operation exhibited well-coordinated efforts between ICG, NCB and ATS Gujarat. It said the Indian Coast Guard, on specific intelligence input from agencies, strategically positioned its ships in the Arabian Sea on

Prez Zardari's daughter Aseefa Bhutto set to become first lady of Pakistan

In a historic decision, Pakistan President Asif Zardari has decided to formally recognise his 31-year-old daughter Aseefa Bhutto as the First Lady of the country, according to a media report. The status of the First Lady goes to the wife of the President of the country in general. But Zardari became a widower after his wife and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in 2007. Zardari did not remarry and the position of the first lady also remained vacant during his first tenure as the country's president from 2008 to 2013. Zardari, 68, was sworn in as the country's 14th president on Sunday. During his oath-taking ceremony at the President's House in Islamabad, Zardari was accompanied by his youngest daughter, Aseefa. Sources claimed that President Zardari decided to declare Aseefa Bhutto as the first lady of Pakistan, ARY News reported. This became particularly relevant when Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari, the eldest daughter, tagged Aseefa in a tweet on Sunday The text r

Pak Prez Zardari decides to forgo salary, cites nation's economic hardship

Pakistan's newly-elected President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday announced that he would not draw any salary during his tenure as part of his bid to help the cash-strapped country face the challenging economic hardship. Zardari, 68, who took oath as Pakistan's 14th President on Sunday, decided to encourage prudent financial management and not burden the national exchequer, his Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) said in a statement on X. The President considered it essential not to burden the national exchequer and preferred to forgo his salary, President Secretariat Press Wing said in a press release on Tuesday. Former president Arif Alvi was drawing Rs 8,46,550 per month, which was fixed by Parliament in 2018. Zardari is one of the richest politicians in Pakistan. Zardari, co-chairman of the PPP, took oath as President of Pakistan for a second term at a ceremony at Aiwan-i-Sadr in Islamabad on Sunday. Separately, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, following the steps of Zardari, also decide

Who is soon to become ‘First Lady’ of Pakistan Aseefa Bhutto

In a unprecedented move, Pakistan's newly elected President Asif Ali Zardari will soon declare his daughter Aseefa Bhutto as the First Lady. This title is usually given to the President's wife.

Pak Hindu refugees in Jodhpur celebrate as govt notifies CAA implementation

"This is like real Ram Rajya for us," said a Hindu migrant from Pakistan residing here as celebrations broke out after the Centre implemented the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, four years after the contentious law was passed by Parliament. In the settlements of Hindu migrants from Pakistan, the residents lit lamps and burst firecrackers on Monday night soon after the rules to fast-track citizenship for undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who came to India before December 31, 2014, were unveiled. "We had been waiting for this for long. With this (CAA) becoming a reality, many those in line for citizenship can hope to become Indian nationals soon," said Dinesh Bheel, a Hindu migrant from Pakistan. Expressing delight over the development, another migrant Perumal said this would pave the way for citizenship and help the distraught migrants in leading a better life. "We can get citizenship after six years of residing in India. This will help lots of

Perform or perish: Pakistan PM Shehbaz tells new cabinet members

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said a deep surgery is required to pull the cash-strapped country out of the economic crisis and urged his Cabinet members to either perform or perish. The prime minister inducted 19 members into his Cabinet earlier in the day, ending the tenuous wait for the completion of government formation in the country. Addressing the maiden cabinet meeting, Shehbaz said Pakistan is facing massive challenges and a deep surgery is required to pull the country out of the economic crisis. Taking stock of the issues and problems affecting the economy and the country, the prime minister asked his Cabinet members to perform or perish, saying that the time is now or never. Shehbaz said the government should take difficult decisions and that too without wasting any time. Deep surgery is needed as antibiotics will not work, he said. Shehbaz said bringing inflation under control is the biggest challenge, however, the government together with the provinc