Pakistan, Saudi military officials agree to deepen defense and security ties

ISLAMABAD: An officer and three soldiers were killed on Saturday as security forces launched two separate operations against militants in Pakistan’s northwest, the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said in a statement.
The intelligence-based operations took place in Hathala, Dera Ismail Khan District, and Miran Shah, North Waziristan District. Both the areas, along with the rest of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, have seen a surge in militant violence since the collapse of a fragile ceasefire agreement between the government and the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in late 2022.
Pakistan brands TTP fighters as “khwarij,” a historical reference to an extremist sect in early Islam known for rebelling against authority, declaring other Muslims as apostates, and justifying their killing.
“An intelligence-based operation was conducted by the Security Forces in general area Hathala, Dera Ismail Khan District, on reported presence of Khwarij,” the ISPR said. “During the conduct of operation, own troops effectively engaged the khwarij location and resultantly, nine khwarij including Kharji ring leaders HVT [high-value targets] Farman [alias] Saqib, Kharji Amanullah [alias] Toori, Kharji Saeed [alias] Liaqat, and Kharji Bilal were sent to hell.”
The statement added all these militants were involved in numerous violet activities and were wanted by law enforcement agencies.
“In another operation conducted in general area Miran Shah, North Waziristan District, six khwarij were effectively neutralized by the security forces,” the statement continued.
“However, during intense fire exchange, Lt. Muhammad Hassaan Arshaf (age: 21 years, resident of District Lahore) leading his troops from the front, fought gallantly and embraced Shahadat along with his three men,” it added.
The military said sanitization operations were underway to clear any remaining militants, reiterating its determination to eliminate militancy from the region.
The Pakistani military has intensified operations against TTP hideouts, vowing to wipe out the group, which Islamabad accuses of carrying out cross-border attacks from Afghanistan. The Taliban-led government in Kabul, however, denies providing safe havens to Pakistani militants.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has praised China’s remarkable growth and called it a positive development, saying there is no need for the world to fear it.
Zardari, who visited China on a five-day visit earlier this month, said this during an interview with Chinese broadcaster CCTV that was shared on YouTube on Saturday.
The statement dispelled the notion that China’s ambitious foreign infrastructure push has saddled poor nations with “hidden debt” worth hundreds of billions of dollars, which has raised concerns among some regional and global powers that Beijing’s growing naval presence, together with its so-called “debt-trap” diplomacy, could provide it significant advantages far from its shores.
China is a major ally and investor in Pakistan that has pledged over $65 billion in investment in road, infrastructure and development projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a part of the Belt and Road Initiative that is a massive China-led infrastructure project that aims to stretch around the globe.
“China has never been an occupier,” President Zardari said, when asked about China’s modernization and why he was not afraid of the development that might be threatening to some other countries.
“Why am I not? Because, A, I’m your neighbor, and I’ve been your neighbor since centuries. So why should one neighbor, which knows that the Chinese are not the kind who want to interfere in other countries, be scared. And I would never be scared of China.”
Since the launch of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) investment drive, Beijing has invested hundreds of billions of dollars to build roads, bridges, ports and hospitals in some 163 nations, including many countries across Africa and Central Asia, according to a study by AidData, an international development research lab.
Nearly 70 percent of this money has been lent under opaque deals to state banks or joint ventures between Chinese businesses and local partners in countries that were already deeply indebted to Beijing.
But China and Pakistan enjoy a close strategic partnership, with the latter’s location on the Arabian Sea providing Beijing an overland route toward the Gulf of Aden and onto the Suez Canal, and enabling Chinese ships to avoid the potential chokepoint of the Malacca Strait.
President Zardari, who discussed CPEC’s acceleration, cooperation in science and technology, renewable energy and other sectors during his visit to China this month, termed Beijing’s development program a “good thing.”
“The world can’t compete [with China]. It’s all about new technologies, the rise of China, which is a good thing,” he told the Chinese broadcaster.
“Pakistan is a very independent country. We have our independent role, but at the same time, we will look toward China and go along with China first.”