The Punjab police have successfully rescued Constable Ahmed Nawaz from Katcha dacoits in Machka, when he was abducted by bandits after police got ambushed, a police spokesperson has said.
District Police Officer (DPO) Rahim Yar Khan, Rizwan Omar Gondal, said, “The police department is working with full strength in the riverine areas,” Punjab Police Inspector General (IG) Dr Usman Anwar stated that the police prioritised Nawaz’s recovery.
Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz appreciated the police effort to ensure Nawaz’s safe return.
Last Thursday, Rahim Yar Khan’s riverine area was witness to a brutal ambush after Katcha dacoits attacked police with rocket launchers, resulting in 12 officers getting killed while six were injured, and two vehicles were also destroyed.
At least 23 people, mainly from Punjab, were killed in the Musakhel district of Balochistan early on Monday morning after armed men checked the identities of victims on buses and trucks, shooting them to death.
Musakhail Assistant Commissioner Najeeb Kakar told Dawn News that the militants blocked the inter-provincial highway in the Rarasham area of the district and discharged passengers from buses.
Furthermore, the armed men set fire to 10 vehicles in the attack.
“Vehicles travelling to and from Punjab were inspected, and individuals from Punjab were identified and shot,” said AC Kakar.
Three of the victims were from Balochistan, while the rest of them belonged to the Punjab province.
In recent years, the security situation in Balochistan has been going downhill as terrorist organisations target civilians, especially from Punjab.
A similar incident took place in Noshki almost four months ago when nine passengers from Punjab were identified, taken away and later killed by the militant Baloch Liberation Army (BLA).
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the terrorist attack.
“The terrorists responsible for this incident will be severely punished,” the PM vowed.
Kalat Attack
At least ten people, including police and levies personnel, were killed in Balochistan’s Kalat city in a lethal attack by armed militants last night.
According to SSP Kalat Dostain Dashti, the victims include a police sub-inspector, four levies officials and five civilians.
Five Levies personnel, including the Kalat Assistant Commissioner Aftab Lasi, were among the injured.
The militants managed to escape after the brutal attack while a gunfight ensued between the police and militants last night on the national highway in Kalat and in the city.
It should be noted that August 26 marks the death anniversary of the former governor of Balochistan and the Sardar of the Bugti tribe, Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, who was killed during Pervez Musharraf’s era.
Dawn News reported that armed men attacked Levies and police stations in Mastung, Kalat, Pasni and Suntsar last night.
Similarly, reports of blasts and grenade attacks were also received from Sibi Panjgur, Mastung, Turbat, Bela and Quetta and the railway track linking Pakistan with Iran at the bypass area of Mastung was also blown up.
The Baloch Liberation Army has claimed responsibility for the Kalat attack.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has stated that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) postponed its August 22 rally in Islamabad due to “fear of rejection” by the people.
Khawaja Asif claimed that former Prime Minister Imran Khan would not have cancelled the rally if it was going to be successful. And to protect the image of its popularity, PTI is building a “false narrative.”
Khawaja Asif pointed out apparent differences between the PTI leadership regarding the August 22 rally and said that they have no “real intention” of getting Imran Khan freed from jail.
Responding to Imran’s meeting with Azam Swati, Khawaja said, “Meetings or conversations in jail cannot remain a secret; your every movement is recorded.”
He called Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhawa Ali Amin Gandapur “Buzdar 2” and remarked, “A blame game is underway in the PTI-led province as his [Gandapur] cabinet members are calling him [a] thief.”
The aircraft of the Prime Minister (PM) of India, Narendra Modi, has used Pakistani airspace while coming back home from Poland, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) sources have disclosed, as reported by Geo News.
A CAA source said that the aircraft carrying Modi entered Pakistani airspace at 10:15 AM and left at 11:01 AM, a total of 46 minutes, en route to New Delhi.
CAA sources said that the Indian PM plane entered Pakistan from around Chitral and went through the Islamabad and Lahore air control areas.
CAA source further said that the Indian PM plane entered Amritsar after leaving Lahore.
In 2021, Narendra Modi flew over Pakistan while travelling to Italy for the G20 Summit. The aircraft had used Pakistani airspace after getting formal permission from Islamabad.
A WhatsApp chat between Aleema Khan, sister of founder Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan, and party spokesperson, Rauf Hassan, concerning a statement by Bushra Bibi, has been leaked.
On June 23, 2023, Aleema Khan sent a message to Rauf Hassan, claiming that Bibi’s claim of meeting Khan in jail and crying is fake.
Earlier, narrating the meeting, Bushra Bibi had said, “He (Imran Khan) knows that there is pressure on the jailer to kill him. If he gets killed, the public would not spare the jailer.”
“He (Imran Khan) knows that Army Chief General Asim Munir is listening to his conversation right now.” Bushra Bibi added.
Aleema Khan told Rauf Hassan that Bushra Bibi’s message was not true and her disinformation cell is inciting people.
Aleema Khan advised Rauf Hassan not to publicise this message.
Founder Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan has submitted two applications in court, including one for the provision of dumbbells for exercise in jail on August 23.
Khan’s legal counsel, Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry, submitted the petitions during the 190 million pound graft case hearing.
The second petition was regarding Khan’s signature on an official letter to his bank for an account statement.
The court directed the jail authorities to act according to the rules, upon which the authorities refused to implement either request, citing jail manuals, Geo News reported.
A blast in Surkhab Chowk in Pishin, Balochistan has left two children dead and fourteen people injured, including two policemen and two women, the medical Superintendent of Pishin Civil Hospital, Dr Wakeel Sherani, told Dawn News.
Pishin Station House Officer (SHO) Mujibur Rehman has confirmed the causalities.
He also confirmed that the injured have been shifted to Pishin Civil Hospital.
Two policemen were in critical condition, and doctors recommended transferring them to Quetta Hospital.
“Apparently, explosive material was planted in a motorcycle,” SHO Rehman claims.
He added, “Three vehicles were damaged after the bomb explosion”.
Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind said, “Terrorists are targeting innocent and innocent people to achieve their nefarious goals.”
“Anti-society and anti-state elements do not deserve any concession,” Rind concluded.
Punjab police have announced that the main culprit behind the lethal ambush against police that left 12 cops dead in the riverine area of Rahim Yar Khan was killed on Friday.
The announcement came a day after the riverine bandits attacked a stranded police van with a rocket launcher in the Machka area of RYK district, leaving 12 dead and six injured.
In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, the Punjab police said that bandit Bashir Shah had been killed in the action. At the same time, his accomplices, including Sanaullah Shar, Gada Ali, Kamlu Shar, Ramzan Shar and Gadi, were wounded.
“The operation will continue until the perpetrators are eliminated,” the police statement said.
Founder Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan spoke to journalists at the Adiala jail courtroom about postponing the August 22 rally, saying that after learning of the religious parties’ strike at Islamabad, he rescheduled the rally.
“I was given information that religious parties are on strike over the matter of Khatam-e-Nabuwat, so there was fear of chaos, upon which I advised the Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan and Azam Swati to cancel the scheduled rally.”
He added, “I would never want chaos in the country.”
“The whole party is in rage and grief over the postponement of the rally”, Imran Khan said.
“If the rally took place, there were concerns that another May 9 case would be imposed on the party, even though a former judicial inquiry has not been completed,” Khan concluded.
The Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) has allowed the Pakistan Army to lease 4.8 million acres of state land for “corporate agriculture farming,” The News reported.
The revelation came up during a national assembly session on August 9, when a member of the parliament asked a question about the government’s efforts to increase agricultural cultivation.
In response, MNA Rana Tanveer Hussain discussed various state projects to expand cultivation areas over the past five years.
He also revealed that the government’s Green Pakistan Initiative has identified 4.8 million acres of “barren” land across the country for corporate farming under the SIFC’s direction.
The News reported that the marked area is larger than the island of Jamaica and is approximately 9.5% of Punjab’s total land area.
The minister further stated that out of the 4.8 million acres land, almost 864,000 acres have been either shortlisted or allocated to the Green Pakistan Initiative through private sector contracts or foreign investments, while cultivation has begun on 100,500 acres of land.
According to The News, most of the designated land for corporate farming is in Punjab, with some additional areas in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
A private limited company was registered in August under the GPI, and according to The News, the Pakistan Army holds over 90% of its shares.
Interestingly, last year, during a Lahore High Court case regarding the allocation of state land for corporate farming in Punjab, it was revealed that a profit-sharing mechanism would be in place. Twenty percent of the profits would be dedicated to research and development, and the remaining profits would be split 50-50 between the provincial government and the army.
In June last year, the LHC suspended the transfer of land in a ruling that stated the constitution did not allow the military to get involved in commercial ventures; however, another LHC bench later allowed the transfer of the land.
