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Posts published in “Pakistan”

Inside Balochistan’s sectarian shift — the rise of IS from Lashkar-i-Jhangvi

by Zia Ur Rehman in Prism, Dawn, Oct 3, 2023The writer is a journalist and researcherTragedy struck at the heart of Balochistan’s Mastung district on September 29 when a suicide bomber targeted a gathering preparing for the 12th Rabiul Awwal procession. The blast echoed through the main market, killing 55 people and leaving over 120 injured. Muhammad Ashgar, a member of the procession’s organising committee, says despite threats from militant groups, conveyed to them by…

Unknown assailants attack policemen deployed outside PTI’s Insaf House in Karachi

report in The News online, Oct4, 2023At least 20 to 25 unknown assailants attacked the police personnel stationed outside the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Karachi headquarters, Insaf House, police said on Wednesday. The attackers tore the uniforms of the policemen and also attempted to seize weapons from them, the police told Geo News. They, according to the police, pelted stones at the officers and vandalised their patrol vehicles. When more personnel arrived at the scene, the…

Ten terrorists killed in Tank operation, says ISPR

by Ghulam Mursalin Marwat | Muhammad Irfan Mughal in Dawn, October 4th, 2023LAKKI MARWAT / DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Ten alleged terrorists were killed in an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in the Pezu area of Tank district on Tuesday, said the military’s media wing. Security forces received intelligence reports about the movements of terrorists in the border area bet­ween Lakki Marwat and Tank districts and conducted a raid on a suspected hideout in the highlands of Azamabad,…

Even security officials involved in smuggling won’t be spared: Bugti

report in Dawn, October 3rd, 2023ISLAMABAD: Admi­t­ting that some officials of the armed forces were involved in cross-border smuggling, Caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti on Monday said such officers would be court-martialled and sent to jail. “It won’t be correct if I say that security forces aren’t involved in it, as [smuggled] items are transported via trucks, not camels,” Mr Bugti said while addressing a press conference alongside Information Minister Murtaza Solangi. The minister’s remarks…

Nawaz Sharif ‘purchases’ air ticket to return home on Oct 21

Report in Pakistan Today, Oct 3, 2023LONDON: Three-time prime minister and PML-N’s absconding leader Nawaz Sharif has purchased his air ticket for Pakistan, source said on Monday. Sources close to Sharif told this scribe that the three-time prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) de-facto chief Nawaz Sharif, who has been wanted by courts, plans to land at Abu Dhabi International Airport from London on October 21 from where he plans to fly to Lahore…

Khokhar hints at announcing new party ‘this month’

Report in Dawn, Oct 3rd, 2023KARACHI: Former PPP senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar has hinted that the formation of a new political party can be announced as early as this month. The former PPP senator, who parted ways with his party Khokhar last year, had been on a speaking tour of the country alongside former PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and ex-finance minister Miftah Ismail. The trio has long been hinting at introducing a new force into…

Durrani proposes general, LB polls held in tandem

report in The Express Tribune, Oct 3, 2023Former federal minister Muhammad Ali Durrani on Monday presented a formula for reconciliation among political parties and institutions, saying that no one wanted confrontation in the country, rather everybody favoured peace and harmony. Durrani, a former senator who served as the federal information minister in the cabinet of former prime minister Shaukat Aziz, created a buzz on the political scene after holding a call-on meeting with President Dr…

PPP won’t ‘sit around and wait’ for poll schedule

by Imran Ayub in Dawn, Oct 3rd, 2023• Bilawal asks people to hold political parties accountable for endorsing delay in elections• Farhatullah Babar decries talk of poll delay based on negative ‘vibes’, says genuine democrats must be ready to face voters• Ex-PM Gilani seeks level playing field for all, pins hopes on election watchdogKARACHI: The Pakistan Peo­p­les Party on Monday called out its former allies for apparently endorsing a delay in general elections, vowing that…

JUI-F wants polls in Nov or Feb

by Saleem Shahid in Dawn, Oct 3rd, 2023QUETTA: The chief of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F), Balochistan chapter, Maulana Abdul Wassay, has said that elections should be held in the last week of either Novem­ber or in February, reiterating the stance of the party chairman that the month of January would be too cold and it would deny the people of northern areas and Balochistan their right to vote. Speaking at a press conference here on Monday,…

Organ Trafficking

edit in The Nation, Oct 03, 2023The capture and arrest of a gang involved in illicit kidney extraction and transplant procedures by the Lahore police is both commendable and probing. Over 300 illegal operations, 328 to be exact, are alarming. The fact that people desperate to save their loved ones find themselves at the mercy of such mafias and gangs is lamentable. It makes one question why the legal process of availing a kidney transplant…

Killjoys in Swat

Editorialin Dawn, October 3rd, 2023IN yet another blow to women’s rights in Pakistan, a group of young, spirited girls seeking to participate in a Sunday cricket match in Swat’s Charbagh town were robbed of the opportunity. The hopes of the 12-year-old organiser were dashed when the girls were sent away by angry men, telling them playing in an open ground would be ‘immodest’. How can playing a sport, a celebration of one’s talents, be seen…