Category: National

As many as 12 terrorists, including a high-value target, were killed in multiple operations conducted by security forces in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), the military’s media affairs wing said on Wednesday.    

According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), four terrorists, including a high-value target, were sent to hell during an exchange of fire with security forces in Balochistan’s Kech district.

Security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in the general Balgatar area of Kech district on the reported presence of terrorists.

“During [the] conduct of the operation, after an intense fire exchange between own troops and the terrorists, four terrorists including a high-value target, terrorist ring leader Sana [alias] Baru were killed,” the statement said.

Per the ISPR, Baru was a focal recruitment agent, “especially suicide bombers, for the so-called Majeed Brigade in Kech District and was highly wanted by law enforcement agencies.

Separately, security forces conducted an operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Miranshah district and killed eight terrorists.

According to the ISPR, on 12-13 November 2024, security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in the general area of Miran Shah, North Waziristan District on the reported presence of khawarij.

“During the operation, security personnel engaged the terrorists, where “eight khawarij were sent to hell, while six khawarij got injured”.

“A sanitisation operation was underway to eliminate any other “khawarij” in the area. Security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country,” the ISPR statement added.

The Chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party is currently under criticism after making insensitive remarks amidst the stifling smog engulfing the upper regions of Pakistan, particularly in Punjab and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), which was later shared on Instagram by the PPP, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari shared a chart showing the air quality index (AQI) readings of Pakistan’s major cities on November 10 at 9 p.m. Peshawar topped the list with an AQI of 591, followed by Multan (573) and Lahore (479). He captioned it, “Dear Pakistan, move to Karachi.”

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Maleeka Bokhari shared an image of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz strolling in London and a screenshot of Bilawal’s post with the caption, “These two images highlight the level of two so-called leaders, both competing for the PM slot. Maryam Nawaz and Bilawal Bhutto are both symbols of nepotism and dynastic politics, receiving on-the-job training to govern 240 million people. One of them needs a Climate change Minister as her PA to carry her bag. The other one finds the state of Pakistan’s toxic air quality funny.”

Chief Minister of Punjab, Maryam Nawaz, Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, and Chief Secretary Zahid Akhter Zaman are currently in London, and their absence from the country was called out by Lahore High Court Justice Shahid Kareem during a November 11 hearing on the smog situation in Lahore. He remarked, “All those responsible are outside the city.”

CM Maryam Nawaz can be seen wearing a fur coat and branded shades as she addresses the media, saying that the issue of smog cannot be fixed “overnight”. She further asserted that “we are doing what we can to control this in our capacity.”

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif also joined the ongoing discourse on smog, stating that crop burning was unreasonably blamed for air pollution, while vehicles are the biggest contributors.

Khawaja shared a chart showing that total emissions from transport were 127 gigagrams, compared to just 5.97 gigagrams from stubble burning.

Notably, the minister’s post did not mention the source of the chart or when the readings were taken. He emphasised that the chart shows the “real culprits” contributing to smog, while the public is being misled into believing that stubble burning – which has been occurring “since the time of Mohenjo Daro” – is the primary cause of the pollution.

In another post, Khawaja also endorsed an order by Lahore High Court Justice Shahid Kareem to close markets at 8 p.m., a measure that, according to him, “has yet to be implemented.”

He also pointed out that markets in Lahore remain open from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m., blaming traders for being “intransigent” on the issue. Additionally, he called out political leaders who were unwilling to address the problem because of “political expediency.”

Currently, Lahore (AQI 374) ranks second in the World Air Quality Index, while Delhi (AQI 547) tops the list, with a difference of  173 points between the two cities.

China is pushing Islamabad to permit its security staff to protect thousands of its citizens working in the country, sources have told Reuters.

On October 6, an explosion near Karachi Airport killed two Chinese engineers and injured 11 people, an attack that was seen as a major security breach.

The banned outfit Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) had taken responsibility for the blast. 

Recent attacks and security failures have reportedly angered China, prompting Pakistan to initiate formal negotiations for a joint security management system.

Reuters spoke to five Pakistani security and government sources with direct knowledge of the previously unreported negotiations and demands on condition of anonymity, as the talks are sensitive, and reviewed a written proposal sent by China to Pakistan.

One official stated: “They (Chinese) want to bring in their own security,” adding that Pakistan had not agreed so far.

The source and two other officials said there was a consensus on setting up a joint security management system and that Pakistan was amenable to Chinese officials sitting in on security meetings and coordination.

However, neither China nor Pakistan officially confirmed the off-record talks.

Privately, Beijing has expressed frustration. At one recent meeting, the Chinese side provided evidence that Pakistan had failed to follow security protocols agreed on twice in recent months, three officials told Reuters.

“It was a grave security breach,” admitted one of the officials investigating the bombing.

Speaking at a press conference on November 11, Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar confirmed that during an intelligence-based operation, one of the masterminds of the suicide bombing, Javed alias Sameer, and his accomplice Gul Nisa, were arrested at CD Highway near Umar Goth Chowk, Karachi, while riding a bike. The two had entered Karachi via Hub.

“An investigation revealed Javed’s direct involvement in the suicide bombing, while Gul Nisa had facilitated [him],” Lanjar added.

“On Oct 6, the terrorist checked out of the hotel. He later picked up his other accomplices near Jail Chowrangi in the vehicle that would be used in the attack. They circled the airport and then returned to a park near the Marriott Hotel.”

“From there, they recorded the suicide attacker’s final video on a mobile phone and sent it to their BLA commander. At around 9:30 pm, they reached Karachi Airport. The suicide attacker and one of his accomplices remained in the vehicle while the third accomplice entered Karachi Airport,” Sindh Home Minister said.

Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, DG of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) has issued a controversial statement on Tuesday while addressing cadets in Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying that the natural resources in the province are not Pashtun Tahafuz Movement’s (PTM) “birthright or dowry.”

“Understand what they [PTM] are asking. They say that KP has chromite, copper, oil and gas, and nobody is allowed to touch it. Very good…then develop it yourself. Allah has bestowed Pakistan with abundant natural resources, not just KPK. Did PTM get these resources in their inheritance? Or they got it as dowry?”

The military’s media wing chief referred to the recent Jirga held on October 11 by the PTM. The jirga claimed to address key issues affecting the Pashtuns, including security concerns, political autonomy, and socio-economic challenges in the region. 

It should be noted that the October 11 Jirga was a continuation of previous jirgas, including the 2022 Bannu Jirga, leading to further discussions on Pashtun rights.

In 2022, the jirga presented 25 points, one of which included: “The national right of the Pashtun people over all natural resources of the Pakhtunkhwa region be recognized. The provisions of the Pakistani constitution be implemented in the real sense, and oil refineries be built in the Pakhtunkhwa province.”

During his address, the DG ISPR criticised the notion of “creating divisions on ethnic bases.” “The jirga is a noble tradition, but the concept of their demands is wrong. This concept of protecting Pashtuns from non-Pashtuns is wrong. The Army is composed of 25% Pashtuns. Our ancestors made this country in the name of Allah, not on an ethnic basis. This thinking is that if one is from a certain clan, one could be superior to any other human being – that is jahaalat [ignorance].”

“Would you like to be associated with ethnicity? But Hazaras also live in the KP; Hindkos and Chitralis are also here. More than 10 million Pashtuns are settled in Punjab. Karachi has Pashtun people, and we are a diverse society. This concept is entirely wrong,” stated the DG ISPR.

PTM supporters on social media criticised DG ISPR for his speech while using the hashtag #WeStandWith11OctJirga. One user took to X to express their disappointment with the DG’s statement, writing, “DG ISPR says that the Pashtuns got the resources on the land in dowry, so did the Pakistani army get it in dowry? Mr. DG, we will have authority over our resources very soon, God willing, our resources are not for the generals to buy, and these resources were given to us by Allah a long time ago, Pakistan has completed 75 years, which is younger than our grandfather I am sorry to hear your conversation like this.”

Tremors have been felt in various areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and the capital territory of Islamabad earlier on Wednesday. The epicentre was in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan region.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) revealed that the earthquake had a magnitude of 5.1 while the epicentre of the quake was located 37 kilometres west-southwest of Afghanistan’s Ishkashim town, with a depth of 220.7 km. On the other hand, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) reported the magnitude as 5.3.

The earthquake struck at 10:13 AM, Pakistan Standard Time, as confirmed by both the USGS and PMD.

DawnNewsTV reported that the tremors were felt in Peshawar and surrounding areas, as well as in parts of Islamabad. Residents in the affected cities reported that the quake caused people to evacuate buildings in panic.

No casualties have been reported so far.

The recent exemption of the Urdu subject exam for O-level students on medical grounds has sparked serious concerns among educators in Pakistan.

  

According to critiques, the exemption conveys a strange message that sickness only impacts students’ ability to read and write a particular language. They fear that the higher-level decision will further exclude the national language from school curricula.

The Inter Boards Coordination Commission (IBCC) has recently exempted O-level students from the Urdu exam on medical grounds. In a recent notification issued by the IBCC’s Assistant Director, it has been clearly mentioned that O-level students appearing for their examinations on medical grounds will be exempted from the compulsory subject of Urdu.

It was announced during the 173rd meeting of the IBCC on September 30 that a student must provide proof of their medical condition to be allowed an exemption for the Urdu exam.

According to IBCC’s website, English, Urdu, Islamic Studies, Pakistan Studies and Mathematics have been included in the eight compulsory subjects of O-level in Pakistan. A notification was also issued by the Federal Ministry of Education in June 2023.

Urdu, English, Pakistan Studies, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Computer Science, Entrepreneurship and Islamic Studies have been approved for Grades nine to 12 under the National Curriculum of Pakistan.

The IBCC’s announcement has triggered a fresh debate among the education circles in the country, with some teachers questioning why the students are being allowed an exemption on medical grounds from the subject of Urdu only when an exemption from any compulsory subject could be sought on medical grounds.

Terming it a discriminatory move, an Urdu teacher observes that the IBCC could have issued a notification in which either no subject or all the compulsory subjects were mentioned. “Students, who don’t want to study Urdu, can misuse this exemption on medical grounds,” he said.

Dr Irfan Shah, who is a Professor of Urdu at the Government City College, Karachi, is of the view that the notification is beyond the IBCC’s jurisdiction. “This matter is related to the National Curriculum and only the Bureau of Curriculum can decide all kinds of exemptions related to compulsory subjects,” he maintained. Shah wondered how such decisions are being made by the subordinate bodies of a federal minister whose mother tongue is Urdu as well.

IBCC’s Director Meetings Aamar Gilani, when contacted by the Express Tribune, conveyed his unawareness of the matter, saying this was a specific case and no general notification had been issued.

When the correspondent read out the notification to Gilani, he inquired about how the notification came to be accessible. “I have to see when and how the general notification was issued,” he responded.

COURTESY TO THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE