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Posts published in May 2014

Three Chinese held for illegal excavation: Dawn, May 29th, 2014

NOWSHERA: The district police arrested three Chinese nationals on charges of illegal excavation here on Thursday. District police officer Rabnawaz Khan confirmed the arrest of three Chinese and said the police took the action on the complaint of the mineral department that some Chinese men were involved in illegal excavation in Nizampur area. He said the police raided the area and found three Chinese busy in illegal excavation and arrested them. He said the secretary…

Fresh threats: Interior ministry alerts G-B of possible terrorist attacks

By Shabbir Mir in  Express Tribune, May 28, 2014 GILGIT: The Ministry of Interior has sent a security alert to the government of Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) warning that terrorists may target the region’s Ismaili community and foreign tourists. “A terrorist organisation is planning to carry out a vehicle-borne suicide attack at a prominent venue in Gilgit,” reads the statement which has been addressed to G-B’s inspector general of police (IGP) and chief secretary. “The likely targets…

Pak-China joint air exercise ‘Shaheen-III’ concludes

OPERATIONAL AIR BASE: The Joint International Air Exercise “Shaheen-III” conducted between the Pakistan Air Force and People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) culminated at an operational air base of the Pakistan Air Force on Tuesday. Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (Operations), Air Marshal Sohail Aman, was the chief guest at the closing ceremony. During the three-week-long Shaheen-III air exercise, PAF and PLAAF participated with modern fighter jets and support elements. Following the rich tradition…

China, Afghanistan banking deal halts tied to Xinjiang unrest; The Frontier Post, May 28, 2014

BEIJING : A decision by some Chinese banks to stop dollar business transactions with Afghanistan banks is connected to recent attacks in China’s western Xinjiang region, two senior banking sources said. One of the sources said dealings between Chinese and Afghanistan banks were subjected to greater scrutiny as early as two years ago in line with global rules, but regulation was further tightened this year mainly due to the conflicts in Xinjiang. Xinjiang has seen…

In support of judges: G-B lawyers to meet on June 2 to devise future strategy

GILGIT: The region’s lawyers will meet next week to devise a strategy to respond to the situation which emerged after a court issued non-bailable warrants against officials of the Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) administration for not adhering to its orders. On May 21, the G-B Chief Court had issued non-bailable warrants against the secretaries of home, finance and law after they failed to show up in court over a contempt notice issued earlier regarding the case of…

Deceitful firm: Skardu residents swindled by fraudulent Hajj company

By Shabbir Mir in The Express Tribune, May 26th, 2014. GILGIT: Over 50 people in Skardu were swindled by a fake company which lured them into paying money to perform Hajj this year. “At least 71 people wishing to perform Hajj deposited Rs288,000 each on the advice of the company’s head,” said Muhammad Hassan, one of the affectees. The company was reportedly named Karawaan and run by Sheikh Ayub. According to locals, it claimed to…

23 terror, religious extremism groups busted in Xinjiang: AGENCIES, May 26, 2014

URUMQI: Police in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regions have busted 23 terror and religious extremism groups and caught over 200 suspects in May, according to the regional public security department on Sunday. The groups were busted by police in south Xinjiang’s Hotan, Kashgar and Aksu prefectures, where the majority of the population are Muslim Uygurs, according to the department. More than 200 explosive devices were also seized in the police raids. Many of the…

Triple ‘honour’ killings: Nearly a year passes with suspects still at large

By Shabbir Mir  in The Express Tribune, May 25th, 2014 CHILAS:  Almost one year on, the men responsible for the triple homicide of a mother and her two daughters in Gilgit-Baltistan’s (G-B) Diamer Valley are still at large. According to data gathered by Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) in Gilgit, from July 2013 to April 2014, there have been a total of 49 cases of violence against women in G-B, of which 17 are…

Pakistan objects to road construction in IHK

SRINAGAR : Pakistan has expressed objection to the construction of a 12-km road stretch by India near Line of Control (LoC), Greater Kashmir reported Friday. The objections forced Indian officials to suspend work on the stretch. The Srinagar-based newspaper said the road was supposed to connect three hamlets in the frontier Uri town. “As Pakistani army raised red flags and made announcements asking us to stop construction, we had no option but to halt the…

Govt approves allocation for construction of Bhasha, Dasu dams

ISLAMABAD: The government on Friday approved the allocation for construction of 4,500 Mega Watt (MW) Diamer Bhasha Dam, 2,160 MW Dasu Hydro Power Project, construction of a 57 km long stretch of the Faisalabad – Khanewal M-4 Motorway and Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metro Bus project. The decision was taken during a meeting chair by the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to finalise the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) allocation for financial year 2014-15 at PM House. We have…

Attack at Market Kills Dozens in China’s Xinjiang

By Mark Magnier in Wall St Journal, May 22, 2014 BEIJING—Violence again rocked the capital of China’s restive Xinjiang region, as explosives thrown from vehicles ripped through a street market, killing 31 people and injuring more than 90, Chinese state media reported. China’s public-security ministry described the attack as a “violent terrorism case.” The official Xinhua news agency, citing witnesses, said two vehicles rammed into people at the open-air market shortly before 8 a.m., and…