Militants attack police post in northwest Pakistan, killing three officers

Militants attack police post in northwest Pakistan, killing three officers
Policemen stand guard along a road in a village in Karak district in Pakistan on December 31, 2020. (AFP/File)
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Militants attack police post in northwest Pakistan, killing three officers

Militants attack police post in northwest Pakistan, killing three officers
  • Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police chief says officers battled militants for two hours
  • Overnight attack in Karak district continued until police reinforcements arrived

PESHAWAR: Almost a dozen well-armed militants mounted an overnight assault on a police check post in Pakistan’s restive Karak district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, triggering a gunbattle that left three policemen dead and six others wounded on Thursday, police said.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militancy in KP, which borders Afghanistan, since a fragile truce between the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the state broke down in November 2022.
Most of these attacks have targeted police personnel and security forces, though civilians and other government functionaries have also been affected.
Pakistani officials have attributed the uptick in militant violence to cross-border attacks from Afghanistan, accusing the administration in Kabul of “facilitating” TTP fighters, though Afghan authorities deny the allegation.
“Militants started an attack on Bahadur Khel police check post of Karak with small and heavy weapons but police officers on duty offered stiff resistance,” Shaukat Khan, the district’s police spokesman, said. “During the exchange of fire, three police officials were martyred and six others wounded. But militants had to flee after police reinforcement arrived.”
Khan said the dead and wounded were shifted to the district headquarters hospital for treatment soon after the incident.
Speaking to the media after attending the funeral prayers of the slain police officers, provincial police chief Zulfiqar Hameed said law enforcement personnel fought bravely with the militants for two long hours.
“The terrorists wanted to take over the police post but their attempt was thwarted. We will chase terrorists everywhere and will take strict action against those involved in this heinous assault,” he added.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion is likely to fall on the TTP that has frequently targeted police and security personnel in the province.
KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur condemned the assault and directed the police chief to take all measures to identify the perpetrators.
He expressed his condolences over the death of the three police officers and prayed for the swift recovery of those wounded in the attack.
“The provincial government will not leave the bereaved families alone and will provide them with all support. Police have rendered immense sacrifices to protect the lives and property of people,” he added.
The TTP and other militants have stepped up attacks against security forces in the country’s two western provinces, alongside targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers and government officials, in recent months.
Last week, four soldiers of the paramilitary Levies force were killed after they were targeted by gunfire and an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in Dera Ismail Khan district of the province.
Earlier this month, the military said 18 Pakistani soldiers were killed in a militant attack in southwestern Balochistan province.
The military added that it had killed at least 23 militants in subsequent clearance operations.
 


China, Pakistan urge Afghanistan to act against militants as Zardari seeks stronger economic ties

China, Pakistan urge Afghanistan to act against militants as Zardari seeks stronger economic ties
Updated 13 sec ago
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China, Pakistan urge Afghanistan to act against militants as Zardari seeks stronger economic ties

China, Pakistan urge Afghanistan to act against militants as Zardari seeks stronger economic ties
  • Pakistan recognizes commitment to ensuring safety of Chinese workers, calls it ‘foremost responsibility’
  • President Zardari meets Chinese Premier Li Qiang, seeks enhanced people-to-people exchanges

ISLAMABAD: China and Pakistan on Thursday called on Afghanistan’s administration to take “visible and verifiable” steps to address militant threat, according to a joint statement, as President Asif Ali Zardari discussed enhanced economic collaboration and people-to-people ties during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

Zardari is on a five-day visit to Beijing, where he also met Chinese President Xi Jinping a day earlier and invited him to visit Pakistan. His engagements with Chinese officials come amid Beijing’s growing concerns over the security of its nationals working in Pakistan, many of whom are involved in China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects and have been targeted in a series of attacks in recent years.

During his meeting with Xi, Zardari acknowledged that Pakistan’s relationship with China had “gone through ups and downs” but said it would not be undermined by militant violence.

Most of the attacks against the Chinese workers have been attributed to groups such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which Pakistan says operate from neighboring Afghanistan. Kabul denies the allegation.

“The two sides [Pakistan and China] agreed to maintain close communication and coordination on the issue of Afghanistan, and play a constructive role in helping Afghanistan achieve stable development and integrate into the international community,” said the joint statement released by Pakistan’s foreign office.

“They called on the Interim Afghan Government to take visible and verifiable actions to dismantle and eliminate all terrorist groups based in Afghanistan which continue to pose a serious threat to regional and global security, and to prevent the use of Afghan territory against other countries,” it added.

The statement also highlighted Pakistan’s commitment to ensuring the safety of Chinese workers, calling it the country’s “foremost responsibility.”

“The Pakistani side reiterated its strongest condemnation of the terrorist attacks in Pakistan involving Chinese personnel,” it said, adding that the government would continue to investigate these incidents and bring the perpetrators to justice.

“It will also further increase input into security, and take targeted and enhanced measures to effectively ensure the safety and security of Chinese personnel, projects and institutions in Pakistan,” the statement said.

Separately, the Pakistani president met with Chinese Premier Li at the Great Hall of the People, reaffirming Islamabad’s commitment to deepening its “All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership” with Beijing.

“The President highlighted the pivotal role of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in promoting regional connectivity and economic growth and expressed appreciation for China’s continued support toward Pakistan’s development agenda,” a statement from Pakistan’s presidency said.

Discussions between the two leaders focused on the expansion of cooperation under “CPEC 2.0,” with an emphasis on renewable energy, science and technology, infrastructure and agriculture.

They also explored ways to enhance trade and investment through business-to-business linkages.

Both sides underscored the importance of strengthening people-to-people and cultural exchanges to build a “China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future in the New Era,” the statement added.


Pakistan urges UN action on Kashmir as OIC reiterates call to revoke India’s 2019 move

Pakistan urges UN action on Kashmir as OIC reiterates call to revoke India’s 2019 move
Updated 06 February 2025
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Pakistan urges UN action on Kashmir as OIC reiterates call to revoke India’s 2019 move

Pakistan urges UN action on Kashmir as OIC reiterates call to revoke India’s 2019 move
  • The developments came as Pakistan marked its annual Kashmir Solidarity Day on February 5
  • Pakistan’s letter to the UN officials mentioned alleged human rights violations by Indian forces

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan contacted top United Nations officials on Wednesday to raise concern over alleged rights violations in Indian-administered Kashmir, as the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) reiterated its demand that New Delhi rescind its 2019 decision to revoke the disputed region’s special constitutional status.
Kashmir has remained a flashpoint between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947, with both nuclear-armed neighbors claiming it in full but controlling only parts of it. They have fought wars over the region and continue to engage in diplomatic efforts to assert their respective positions.
Pakistan accuses India of committing human rights violations in the region while denying Kashmiris the right to self-determination. India, in turn, accuses Pakistan of supporting militancy in the territory. Both countries reject each other’s allegations.
On Aug. 5, 2019, India unilaterally revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, stripping it of the limited autonomy it had previously enjoyed. The move led Pakistan to downgrade diplomatic ties with New Delhi.
“Ambassador Munir Akram, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, met with Ambassador Fu Cong, Permanent Representative of China, who is also President of the UN Security Council, to hand over the letter written by Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Deputy Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister of Pakistan,” the Pakistani mission at the UN said in a social media post.
It added that the letter “drew the Security Council’s attention to the grave human rights violations in IIOJK [Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir] at the hands of the Indian occupation forces and urged the Council members to take decisive steps, without any further delay, to secure the implementation of its own resolutions and end India’s egregious violations of the human rights of the Kashmiri people, in particular the right to self-determination.”
The letter was also copied to the President of the UN General Assembly and the UN Secretary-General.
Separately, the OIC, a bloc of Muslim-majority nations, also reiterated its position on the Kashmir dispute.
“The General Secretariat reiterates the OIC’s call to revoke all illegal measures initiated on August 5, 2019, which aimed to change the demographic structure of the disputed territory,” the organization said in a statement.
The developments came as Pakistan marked its annual Kashmir Solidarity Day on Feb. 5 to express support for Kashmiris in Indian-administered territory.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani Kashmir, calling on India to engage in “meaningful and result-oriented” dialogue over the dispute. He asserted that New Delhi’s unilateral measures had failed due to resistance from the local population.
Pakistan’s army chief, General Asim Munir, also traveled to the region, expressing optimism that Kashmir would eventually become part of Pakistan as he vowed to defend the country’s territorial integrity.


Pakistan’s first ‘Made in Pakistan’ expo inaugurated in Jeddah to strengthen Saudi trade ties

Pakistan’s first ‘Made in Pakistan’ expo inaugurated in Jeddah to strengthen Saudi trade ties
Updated 06 February 2025
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Pakistan’s first ‘Made in Pakistan’ expo inaugurated in Jeddah to strengthen Saudi trade ties

Pakistan’s first ‘Made in Pakistan’ expo inaugurated in Jeddah to strengthen Saudi trade ties
  • Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan calls the event a testament to enduring Saudi-Pak relationship
  • The minister emphasizes joint ventures targeting African, Central Asian and Far Eastern markets

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan inaugurated the country’s first-ever solo “Made in Pakistan” exhibition in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday, marking a significant milestone in the Saudi-Pak trade relations.

Saudi Arabia presents a key export opportunity for Pakistani businesses, given its strong consumer demand, large expatriate workforce and ambitious Vision 2030 economic reforms that emphasize diversification and foreign investments.

Pakistan has sought to strengthen business-to-business (B2B) ties with the Kingdom, with both sides announcing during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Riyadh last October that they had signed 34 memorandums of understanding and agreements worth $2.8 billion to enhance private sector collaboration and commercial partnerships.

Addressing a gathering of Saudi officials, business leaders and diplomats at the three-day event, the Pakistani minister emphasized the importance of enhancing bilateral economic cooperation and exhibiting his country’s diverse industrial potential.

“This event is a testament to the enduring relationship between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, rooted in shared faith, cultural ties and strategic partnership,” he said, according to a statement released by his office.

Khan expressed his gratitude to Saudi Arabia for its unwavering support in organizing the exhibition.

He maintained the event served as a platform to present Pakistan’s best products and services, including textiles, sports goods, light engineering, food items, construction materials and more.

The minister underlined the government’s commitment to expanding trade and investment ties with Saudi Arabia through strategic economic initiatives.

He noted that Pakistan’s evolving industrial base and dynamic economy offered immense potential for collaboration, particularly in sectors like food security, energy, mining and human resource development.

“Our government is dedicated to fostering an investment-driven environment, and Saudi Arabia, with its Vision 2030, is ideally positioned to benefit from these opportunities,” he said.

Khan praised the contributions of the 2.7 million-strong Pakistani diaspora in Saudi Arabia, describing them as a cornerstone of the countries’ bilateral ties. He also highlighted that over 1.7 million Pakistani workers had migrated to the

Kingdom in the past five years, making it the top destination for Pakistani emigrants.

The minister stressed the need for joint efforts in skill development to further enhance employment opportunities for Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia.

He called for deeper collaborations between Pakistani and Saudi businesses, emphasizing the potential for joint ventures targeting markets in Africa, Central Asia, and the Far East.

“Together, we can explore new markets and create successful trilateral partnerships, leveraging the vast experience of Pakistani entrepreneurs,” he said.

Khan described the exhibition as a symbol of growing economic partnership between our nations, saying it would open new avenues for cooperation and mutual growth.

The Made in Pakistan Exhibition, featuring 137 Pakistani companies, has attracted a number of potential buyers and companies.

The event will run from February 5 to 7.


Pakistan vows legal job pathways abroad as bodies from Morocco boat tragedy arrive in Islamabad

Pakistan vows legal job pathways abroad as bodies from Morocco boat tragedy arrive in Islamabad
Updated 06 February 2025
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Pakistan vows legal job pathways abroad as bodies from Morocco boat tragedy arrive in Islamabad

Pakistan vows legal job pathways abroad as bodies from Morocco boat tragedy arrive in Islamabad
  • Chaudhry Salik Hussain says government signing agreements with other states for legal migration means
  • Pakistan said 13 bodies from January 16 boat tragedy had been identified following verification process

ISLAMABAD: A senior Pakistani minister said on Wednesday night the government was working to set up legal means for the youth to go abroad and make a living after the bodies of four nationals who died in a boat capsizing near Morocco last month while trying to reach Europe arrived in Islamabad, according to state media.

The Pakistani government has made several arrests of suspected human smugglers in recent weeks after the boat carrying 86 migrants to Europe, including several Pakistanis, capsized on Jan. 16, according to the rights group Walking Borders.

Moroccan authorities said a day later that 36 people had been rescued, while Pakistan’s foreign office confirmed that 22 of them were its nationals. Pakistani officials said earlier this week that 13 bodies had been identified following an extensive verification process.

“I have no words to express my pain and feeling over this incident,” Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Chaudhry Salik Hussain was quoted as saying by the Associated Press of Pakistan, as the bodies of the four Pakistani nationals arrived at Islamabad International Airport.

He said his ministry was working to create legal avenues for employment abroad to prevent such tragedies.

“Our ministry is creating many opportunities for the youth by setting up offices at the local level so that the middlemen mafia can be eliminated,” he added.

Hussain said the government was signing agreements with several countries to facilitate legal migration pathways and prevent human smuggling networks from exploiting desperate job seekers.

The latest boat disaster is part of a growing trend of dangerous sea journeys by migrants seeking to reach developed countries.

In June 2023, an overcrowded vessel sank in international waters off the Greek town of Pylos, killing hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, in one of the deadliest Mediterranean shipwrecks on record.

More recently, five Pakistani nationals died in a shipwreck off the Greek island of Gavdos on Dec. 14.


The sea was once a blessing for the Pakistani city of Gwadar. But it’s become a curse

The sea was once a blessing for the Pakistani city of Gwadar. But it’s become a curse
Updated 06 February 2025
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The sea was once a blessing for the Pakistani city of Gwadar. But it’s become a curse

The sea was once a blessing for the Pakistani city of Gwadar. But it’s become a curse
  • In several areas near Gwadar, waves have swallowed up mosques, schools and settlements
  • Authorities have built seawalls, but they are not enough to resolve the climate change issue

GWADAR, Pakistan: There was a time when few people in the coastal Pakistani city of Gwadar understood what climate change was. After a decade of extreme weather, many more do.

Rain battered Gwadar for almost 30 consecutive hours last February. Torrents washed out roads, bridges, and lines of communication, briefly cutting the peninsula town off from the rest of Pakistan. Homes look like bombs have struck them and drivers swerve to avoid craters where asphalt used to be.

Gwadar is in Balochistan, an arid, mountainous, and vast province in Pakistan’s southwest that has searing summers and harsh winters. The city, with about 90,000 people, is built on sand dunes and bordered by the Arabian Sea on three sides, at a low elevation that makes it vulnerable to climate change in a country that has already seen its share of catastrophe from it.

“It’s no less than an island nation situation,” warned Gwadar-based hydrologist Pazeer Ahmed. “Many low-lying areas in the town will be partially or completely submerged if the sea level continues to rise.”

Houses reflect in standing water in a neighborhod of Gwadar, Pakistan, on January 14, 2025. (AP)

The sea, once a blessing for Gwadar’s fishing and domestic tourism sectors, has become an existential threat to lives and livelihoods.

Warming oceans mean bigger and more powerful waves, and those waves get whipped higher by summer monsoon winds. Warmer air holds more moisture — about 7 percent more per degree Celsius (4 percent per degree Fahrenheit) — and that means more big rain events.

“Waves have become more violent due to the rising sea temperatures and eroded beaches,” said Abdul Rahim, deputy environment director at Gwadar Development Authority. “The tidal actions and patterns have changed. Hundreds of homes have been washed away. It is very alarming.”

Melting glaciers contribute to rising sea levels, another cause of coastal erosion. The sea level at Karachi rose almost 8 inches (almost 20 centimeters) between 1916 and 2016, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It’s projected to rise another half-inch (about 1.3 centimeters) by 2040.

A laborer works at the construction site of a drainage system by the local government in the downtown of Gwadar, Pakistan, on January 13, 2025. (AP)

In areas near Gwadar, like Pishukan and Ganz, waves have swallowed up mosques, schools, and settlements. There are gashes in the cliffs at the popular picnic spot of Sunset Park, and rocks have cascaded onto the shore. Beaches run flat for dozens of kilometers because no structures remain on it.

Authorities have built seawalls from stone or concrete to hold back saltwater intrusion. But they’re a small solution to a massive problem as Gwadar’s people and businesses are fighting climate change on different fronts.

Saltwater pools on government land, salt crystals glistening in the sunshine. In the Shado Band neighborhood, former local councillor Qadir Baksh fretted about water seeping up through the ground and into his courtyard every day, held at bay only by regular pumping. Dozens of houses have the same problem, he said.

Amanullah shows a wall impacted by rising water in the compound of his home in a neighborhood of Gwadar, Pakistan, on January 14, 2025. (AP)

Officials, including Ahmed and Rahim, said changes in land use and unauthorized building are worsening flooding. Locals said some major construction projects have destroyed traditional drainage pathways.

Gwadar is the centerpiece of a massive Chinese-led initiative to create an overland route between its western Xinjiang region and the Arabian Sea through Gwadar. Hundreds of millions of dollars have poured into the town to create a deep seaport, an international airport, expressways and other infrastructure. The more sensitive projects, especially the port, are tightly secured by the Pakistani military, out of sight and off-limits to the public.

But there is no proper sewage or drainage system for residents despite a decade of foreign investment, and Gwadar’s porosity, high water table, rising sea levels, and heavier rainfall are rocket fuel for the town’s vulnerability.

There’s nowhere for the water to go.

People walk along a beach next to a cliff in Gwadar, Pakistan, on January 13, 2025. (AP)

“In the past when it rained, the water disappeared up to 10 days later,” said Baksh. “But the rain that came last year hasn’t gone. The water rises from the ground with such speed it will reach the four walls of my home if we don’t run the generator every day to extract it. Officials say it’s because of climate change but, whatever it is, we’re suffering.”

Gwadar’s fishing community is also hurting. Catches are smaller, native fish are disappearing, and migration patterns and fishing seasons have changed, said Ahmed and Rahim. There is also algae bloom and the invasion of unwanted marine species like pufferfish.

Illegal fishing and foreign trawlers are responsible for a few of these things, but it’s mostly rising sea temperatures.

People have migrated from places like Dasht and Kulanch because of water scarcity. What agriculture there was in Gwadar’s surrounding areas is vanishing due to loss of farmland and livestock deaths, according to locals. It’s part of a wider pattern in which Pakistan’s farmers are seeing declining crop yields and increasing crop diseases due to climate extremes, particularly floods, droughts and heat waves, according to the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

“There are heat waves and dust storms in Gwadar,” said Ahmed. “But the main impact of climate change here is that there is too much water and not enough of it. If nothing is done to address this problem, we will have no option but to retreat.”