Tag: Pakistan

1 terrorist killed in Pakistan: Military

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Islamabad: One terrorist was killed by security forces during an exchange of fire in northwest Pakistan, a military statement said.
The incident happened in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Wednesday, according to the military’s media wing Inter-Services Public Relations.
It was reported that the killed terrorist remained involved in terrorist activities against security forces and civilians.
“Locals of the area appreciated the response and expressed their full support to eliminating the menace of terrorism,” said the statement.
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#terrorist #killed #Pakistan #Military
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 23, 2023
Pakistan to cut number of missions abroad under austerity measures

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Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has issued instructions to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to slash down a number of foreign missions abroad and reduce their offices, staff, and other measures to cut down expenditures by 15 per cent.
“The Prime Minister is pleased to direct that a well-considered proposal/plan in this respect may please be submitted to this office within two weeks positively,” The News quoted a directive issued by the PMO as saying.
This official communication titled “Rationalisation of Foreign Mission Abroad” states that in view of the ongoing economic constraints and the consequent need for fiscal consolidation and control of external deficit, the Prime Minister was pleased to constitute a National Austerity Committee (NAC).
The committee has recommended, inter-alia, that the expenditure on Pakistan Missions abroad may be reduced by 15 per cent.
“This may be achieved by curtailing the number of Foreign Missions, reduction in the number of officers and staff posted there and other suitable measures,” it further stated.
There have been increasing frustrations among the political-cum-technocratic members of the federal cabinet for reluctance on the part of the government not to implement the recommendations given by the NAC which was constituted by the premier himself but so far no action got implemented, The News reported.
For instance, one federal minister consumes 1,000 liters of petrol on monthly basis. He possesses a luxurious vehicle and three other official cars, The News reported.
Another minister demonstrating austerity has written a letter to return a vehicle to the government and also made the letter public.

But he didn’t disclose that he had utilised his ministry’s limit on petrol just in a couple of months of the ongoing financial year.
There is another practice in the Federal Secretariat as hiring was being done in name of specialists, experts, and young fellows without consideration of actual requirements and well-defined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
The majority of bureaucrats is taking the monetisation of vehicles but is also using official cars and petrol through different heads, The News reported.
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#Pakistan #cut #number #missions #austerity #measures
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 22, 2023
Dozens dead in migrant shipwreck off Italian coast

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At least 43 migrants drowned on Sunday after the fishing boat on which they were traveling sank off the coast of the Italian region of Calabria.
According to local authorities, some 250 migrants were crammed aboard the ship, which broke in two about 20 kilometers from the city of Crotone. Over 100 passengers have been rescued, but at least 70 of the people who were aboard the ship remain missing.
Over the course of the morning, bodies, including those of children and at least one newborn baby, have washed ashore in the resort town of Steccato di Cutro, according to local reports.
Although the ship’s port of origin was in Turkey, authorities say the majority of the migrants that have been rescued are from Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said the disaster was “a huge tragedy that demonstrates how necessary it is to oppose the chains of irregular migration,” adding that more needed to be done to clamp down on “unscrupulous smugglers” who, “in order to get rich, organize improvised trips with inadequate boats and in prohibitive conditions.”
Calabrian President Roberto Occhiuto slammed EU authorities for their inaction in addressing the migration crisis and asked “what has the European Union been doing all these years?”
“Where is Europe when it comes to guaranteeing security and legality?” he asked, adding that regions like his were left on their own to “manage emergencies and mourn the dead.”
According to the International Organization for Migration’s Missing Migrants Project, at least 2,366 migrants lost their lives attempting to cross the Mediterranean last year; at least 124 have been reporting missing in its waters since the beginning of this year.

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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

February 21, 2023
Russia developing North-South Corridor for business with India, Iran, and Pakistan: Putin

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Moscow: President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said Russia is developing the ambitious North-South Transport Corridor, which will open up new routes for business cooperation with India, Iran and Pakistan, as well as West Asian countries.
In his one hour and 45 minutes State of the Nation Address to the Federal Assembly, Putin also said that Russia will expand promising international economic connections, as well as build new supply corridors, as the US-led West has imposed crippling sanctions for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine nearly one year ago.
“We will develop the ports of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, we will particularly focus on the North-South International Corridor,” Putin said, noting that it will open up new routes for business cooperation with India, Iran, Pakistan as well as West Asian countries.
“We will continue developing this corridor,” Putin was quoted as saying by the state-run Tass news agency.
“What areas should the state, regions, and local businesses focus their partnership work on? First, we will expand promising international economic connections and build new supply corridors,” he said in the speech days before the Ukraine war’s first anniversary on Friday.
He said a decision has already been taken to extend the Moscow-Kazan highway to Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk and Tyumen, and in the future — to Irkutsk and Vladivostok, and potentially — to Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China, which will particularly expand Russia’s economic ties with the markets of Southeast Asia.
The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is a 7,200-km-long multi-mode transport project for moving freight among India, Iran, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe.
The INSTC is India’s vision and initiative to reduce the time taken for EXIM shipments to reach Russia and Europe, and enter the Central Asian markets.

During a visit to Yerevan in Armenia in October 2021, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar proposed that the strategic Chabahar Port in Iran be included in the North-South Transport Corridor that has the potential to bridge connectivity barriers.
The Chabahar port in the Sistan-Balochistan province in the energy-rich nation’s southern coast is easily accessible from India’s western coast and is increasingly seen as a counter to Pakistan’s Gwadar Port located at a distance of around 80 km from Chabahar.
The first phase of the Chabahar port was inaugurated in December 2017 by then-Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, opening a new strategic route connecting Iran, India and Afghanistan bypassing Pakistan.
The Chabahar port is being considered a gateway to golden opportunities for trade by India, Iran and Afghanistan with Central Asian countries, besides ramping up trade among the three countries in the wake of Pakistan denying transit access to New Delhi.
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#Russia #developing #NorthSouth #Corridor #business #India #Iran #Pakistan #Putin
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 21, 2023
Top Kashmiri Militants Killed In Pakistan, Afghanistan

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SRINAGAR: In the last few days, two top Kashmiri militants are reported killed in different incidents in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Both of them were designated terrorists by the MHA and were sought by the law in India.
In one incident banned Hizb ul Mujahedeen’s “launching commander” was assassinated in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. He was identified as Bashir Ahmad Peer, alias Imtiyaz Alam.
In another assassination Ejaz Ahmad Ahanger, a Kashmir-born insurgent is thought to have been assassinated in southern Afghanistan along with intelligence personnel and members of his family.
Reports appearing in the media suggest that Peer was killed on Monday night outside a store in Rawalpindi by a close-range assailant.
Back home, the MHA under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act declared Peer as a terrorist on October 4, 2022, for his involvement in terrorism-related activities, including facilitating terrorist infiltration into Kupwara.
Peer, originally from the Babarpora neighbourhood in the Kupwara had taken up residence in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. According to reports, Peer was assassinated by militants of rival organisations after disagreements arose between various organisations over a variety of problems, including funding.
The statement issued on the day he was declared a designated terrorist, offers a lot of details about him. “Peer participated in a number of online propaganda groups to bring together ex-militants and other cadres for the expansion of activities of Hizb-Ul-Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Toiba, and other terrorist organisations,” the statement said.
Ejaz Ahmad Ahanger is reported to have been killed last week. The authorities have informed the family that the militant leader “had slept off”.

“The police summoned my older brother to give him the news a few days ago. I do not know whether this is true or not, but I have been crying since then,” Fahmida Shafi, Ahanger’s sister, has told The Print website.
Afghan intelligence has identified Ahanger as the mastermind of the Kasargod-born Muhammad Muhsin suicide bombing in March 2020, which claimed the life of a security guard and 24 worshippers at the Gurdwara Kart-e Parwan in Kabul. Ijas Kallukettiya Purayil, a former dentist from Kasargod in Kerala, was also suspected to have carried out a suicide attack at Jalalabad under the direction of Ahanger.
In addition to his two children, Sabira Ahanger, who was born in 1997, and Tooba Ahanger, who was born in 2001, Ejaz is believed to have left behind his first wife, Rukhsana Ahanger.
A resident of Srinagar, Ahangar was designated a terrorist by the MHA in January 2023. He was an Islamic State member who was earlier jailed in Afghanistan and fled the jail after Kabul fell to the Taliban. The Print report said Ahanger married thrice since 1995.
The MHA notification said Ahanger “is wanted by J&K Police” for his links with Al-Qaida and other global terrorist groups. He is alleged to have been engaged in re-starting the ISIS channels in India, the MHA said in the notification. Besides, he was accused of providing traction to militancy in Kashmir Valley and has initiated an online India-centric ISIS propaganda magazine.

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( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

February 21, 2023
Lahore: 26/11 attackers still free in Pakistan, says Javed Akhtar

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Lahore: The perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks did not come from Norway or Egypt but are still roaming freely in Pakistan and Pakistanis should not feel offended when India talks about the 2008 carnage, lyricist and poet Javed Akhtar has said.
Akhtar made the comments on Sunday while attending the seventh Faiz Festival organised here in memory of celebrated Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz.
Responding to a member in the audience who told Akhtar to take with him a message of peace and tell Indians that Pakistan is “a positive, friendly and loving country”, the 78-year-old writer said: “We should not blame each other. It will solve nothing. The atmosphere is tense, that should be doused.”
“We are people from Mumbai, we have seen the attack on our city. They (attackers) did not come from Norway or Egypt. They are still roaming freely in your country. So if there is a grievance in the heart of a Hindustani, you should not feel offended,” Akhtar said at the festival which concluded on Sunday.
On November 26, 2008, 10 Pakistani terrorists belonging to Hafiz Saeed-led Lashkar-e-Taiba arrived via sea and opened fire, killing 166 people, including 18 security personnel, and injuring several others during a 60-hour siege in Mumbai.
The attacks drew widespread global condemnation. Nine Pakistani terrorists were killed by the Indian security forces. Ajmal Kasab was the only terrorist who was captured alive. He was hanged four years later on November 21, 2012.
India has repeatedly said that the key conspirators and planners of the 26/11 attacks continue to remain protected and unpunished.
“The key conspirators and the planners of 26/11 terror attacks continue to remain protected and unpunished,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said during the wreath-laying ceremony to pay tributes to the victims of the 26/11 attacks at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel last year.

Akhtar also told the gathering that even though Pakistani artists like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Mehdi Hasan have been warmly welcomed in India, Pakistan has never held a single show of Lata Mangeshkar.
“We hosted big functions of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Mehdi Hasan. You (Pakistan) never organised a function for Lata Mangeshkar,” the poet can be heard in a video of the event, drawing loud cheers and applause from the audience.
Meanwhile, Bollywood actor Kangana Renaut praised Akhtar for his candid remarks about the 26/11 terror attacks, tweeting: ‘Ghar mein ghuss ke maara’ (He hit them in their own land).
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#Lahore #attackers #free #Pakistan #Javed #Akhtar
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 21, 2023
Pakistan, Afghan forces exchange fire at major border crossing

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Islamabad: Forces of Pakistan and Afghanistan exchanged fire on the Torkham border leaving a border guard injured.
The Taliban-led government of Afghanistan on Sunday shut the border crossing, accusing Pakistan of reneging on its commitments, Dawn reported.
Irshad Momand, a district administration official in Landi Kotal, told Dawn news that Pakistan responded to “unprovoked” firing from the Afghan side.
People living near the border crossing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa confirmed that a heavy exchange of fire continued for over an hour, Dawn reported.
Momand said the injured Pakistani soldier was being treated at a hospital and his condition was stable.
On Sunday, Afghan authorities accused Islamabad of reneging on its commitments, without giving any further details.
The Afghan Taliban commissioner for Torkham said the border has been closed down for travel and transit trade.
“Pakistan has not abided by its commitments and so the gateway has been shut down on the directions of (our) leadership,” Maulavi Mohammad Siddique said in a tweet.

According to unconfirmed media reports, the Taliban government was irked by an unannounced ban on the travel of Afghan patients seeking treatment in Pakistan, Dawn reported.
However, Momand added that the issue was being discussed at the diplomatic level between Islamabad and Kabul.
He said Pakistan was awaiting a “positive” response from Afghan officials to reopen the border crossing as it was closed from their side.
Due to the precarious situation, the population around the border area has been shifted to Landi Kotal, Jamrud and Peshawar.
As the border crossing remained shut, locals complained of a shortage of essential goods even though markets remained open, Dawn reported.
Jamshed Khan, a local custom clearing agent, told Dawn that trading activities have stopped, leaving at least 300 trucks stranded.
The trucks are loaded with perishable food items which were at risk of being destroyed if the closure persisted, he added.
The daily wagers and porters whose livelihood was linked with the trade held a protest in Landi Kotal on Monday and demanded immediate reopening of the border, Dawn reported.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 21, 2023
2 killed, 8 injured in truck-van collision in Pakistan

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Islamabad: At least two passengers were killed and eight others injured in a collision between a truck and a van near Jamshoro district in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province, rescue service reported.
The accident took place on the Super Highway near the Nooriabad area of the district resulting in the death of two people, including a woman, said the rescue service on Sunday.
Upon receiving the information, the rescue teams reached the site and shifted the victims to a local hospital, it added.
The incident occurred due to the brake failure of the truck, it said.
The ill-fated van was reportedly going from Karachi, the capital of Sindh, to Hyderabad city of the province, Xinhua news agency reported.
Road accidents frequently happen in Pakistan, mainly due to poorly maintained vehicles, dilapidated roads and negligence of road safety measures.
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#killed #injured #truckvan #collision #Pakistan
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 20, 2023
Pakistan: Terrorists attack police chief’s office in Karachi city

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Karachi: Unidentified armed terrorists on Friday attacked the police chief’s office in Pakistan’s most populous city, Karachi, ensuing heavy firing between paramilitary rangers, police and the attackers.
According to sources, the number of terrorists involved in the attack is not confirmed.
The terrorists first threw half a dozen hand grenades into the main compound of the Karachi Police Chief’s office building and then entered the premises.
Atleast 12 personnel of Pakistani SFs lost their lives and many are hostage in ongoing fire fighting between Pak SFs and TTP & SLA fighters in Karachi Police Headquarter.
(Sources)#Karachi pic.twitter.com/QOspyppdN5
— Kashif Gulzar 🗨 (@KGulzar196) February 17, 2023
“Heavy firing is going on between paramilitary rangers, police and the attackers. All mobile vans in the district and area have been summoned urgently to the spot to surround the attackers,” one police source said.
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#Pakistan #Terrorists #attack #police #chiefs #office #Karachi #city
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 17, 2023
Pakistan govt calls emergency session of parliament; introduces bill to raise Rs 170 billion taxes

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Islamabad: The cash-strapped Pakistan government on Wednesday introduced a money bill in parliament to raise Rs 170 billion in taxes by June this year as part of conditions by the IMF to get the next tranche of an already agreed loan.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar presented the Finance (Supplementary) Bill, 2023, in the National Assembly — the lower house — empowered to legislate on money matters.
Pakistan and IMF officials held 10 days of marathon talks in Islamabad, from January 31 to February 9, but could not reach a deal as the fund demanded prior actions before signing any agreement to release USD 1.1 billion out of the USD 7 billion deal agreed in 2019.
Speaking in the house after introducing the bill, Dar said the government was aware of the hardships of common people and tried its best to not further burden them through new taxes.
He also accused the previous government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led by Imran Khan of damaging the national economy. “When we were in the government, Pakistan’s economy was 24th largest in the world, but now it has dropped to 47th position,” he said.
Dar also said that the devastating floods of the last year also played havoc with the economy, creating huge problems for the government.
The government was forced to bring legislation through the parliament after President Arif Alvi on Tuesday refused to promulgate an ordinance to raise the new taxes and “advised” the finance minister to take parliament into confidence over the Rs 170 billion taxes.
The Cabinet met after the president’s “refusal” and approved the bill later in the evening after a debate. It also summoned the parliament to meet in an emergency session and pass the new bill.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) issued an order after the cabinet meeting to enhance a federal excise duty on locally manufactured cigarettes, which would generate up to Rs 60 billion in taxes on tobacco products, while the Finance Division issued a notification increasing the general sales tax by one per cent to 18 per cent to raise another Rs 55 billion.
The remaining amount of Rs 55 billion to fulfil Rs 170 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) demand was being collected through an increase in excise duty on airline tickets, and sugary drinks as well as an increase in withholding tax rates through the Finance (Supplementary) Bill 2023.
Pakistani and IMF officials are now holding talks in virtual settings to finalise a deal to provide the much-needed funds to shore up the foreign exchange that dropped to below USD 3 billion this month.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 15, 2023