The military’s media wing reported on Friday that a suicide blast on a convoy resulted in the deaths of two soldiers who embraced martyrdom.
The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) announced that a suicide bomber detonated himself near a convoy on Thursday.
“Resultantly, two brave sons of soil, Naib Subedar Yasir Shakeel, 38, resident of District Kohat, and Sepoy Tahir Naveed, 34, resident of District Kohat, embraced shahadat (martyrdom),” the ISPR said.
The military’s media wing also said that security forces are committed to eliminating the terrorism from the country.
“Moreover, the perpetrators of this cowardly attack will be brought to justice,” it said.
On the other hand, armed forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in Balochistan’s Panjgur district on Thursday, during which one terrorist was killed and two others sustained injuries, the ISPR said.
Earthquake tremors once again jolted different regions in Balochistan, including Quetta, early this morning.
The earthquake was also detected at the Pak-Iran border areas including Chaman, Qila Abdullah, Nushki, Pashin and Dalbandin.
According to the Seismological Center, the magnitude of the earthquake was recorded at 5.6, and the epicentre was 166 kilometres southwest of Quetta.
The depth of the earthquake was recorded at 30 kilometres.
No loss of life or property was reported.
An earthquake originated on 20-03-2024 at 02:27 PST Mag: 5.6 Depth: 30 Km Lat: 29.69 N Long: 65.32 E Epicenter. Pak-Afghan Border Region (166 Km Southwest of Quetta).#earthquake
— Pak Met Department محکمہ موسمیات (@pmdgov) March 19, 2024
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday issued a schedule of upcoming senate elections set to take place on April 2.
As per schedule, the returning officers will issue a public notice for all prospective candidates to submit their nomination papers. The electoral body will then scrutinise nomination papers and handle appeals.
The development comes as the ECP, on Monday, announced holding the election for Senate seats that were vacated after the expiration of the six-year term of the incumbent senators on March 11. However, elections will only be held on 48 seats as four reserved seats for the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) have been abolished after the 25th Constitutional Amendment.
Members of the Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and Balochistan assemblies will vote to elect members for seven general seats, two women, and two seats for technocrats, including Ulema.
However, Punjab and Sindh assembly members will cast their votes for one seat each for non-Muslims.
As per the ECP’s schedule,
March 15 to 16 — Submission of nomination papers.
March 17 — Publication of nominated candidates.
March 19 — Last date for scrutiny of nomination papers.
March 21 — Last date for filing of appeals against acceptance, rejection of nominations.
March 25 — Last date for disposal of appeals by the tribunal.
March 26 — Publication of revised list of candidates.
After Maryam Nawaz was given the charge of Chief Minister in Punjab, other provinces are also stepping up and recognizing the position of women in politics. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan have also elected women for the post of deputy speakers in their respective assemblies.
PTI-backed member from Chitral, Suraiya Bibi has been elected as the Deputy Speaker in KP Assembly after securing 87 votes.
PTI’s Suraiya Bibi has been Elected as Deputy Speaker KP Assembly by getting 87 Votes! pic.twitter.com/R3bUWYi5X0
Suraiya Bibi is from the constituency of PK-1 Chitral, representing the Banu, Chitral, and Lower Dir regions. She has served as the Vice President of the Malakand Women’s Wing of the Tehreek-e-Insaf. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Sociology. However, it is important to note that she is the second woman in the province to have been elected for this post. The first was Mehr Taj Roghani from Mardan, who is now a senator.
She belongs to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and according to her Twitter bio has served as a provincial minister on women’s development in Balochistan.
Additionally, Sindh Assembly has elected Anthony Naveed from PPP as the deputy speaker. Naveed is from a minority community and is a former Special Assistant To Chief Minister Sindh – Pakistan on Interfaith & Harmony.
Unexpected floods have hit Pakistan once more as Balochistan bears the brunt of sporadic rainfall just before spring. The flooded area includes the provincial capital of Quetta but this time, Gwadar has been severely affected.
The flood was prompted by heavy rains on February 27 in Gwadar where the highest amount recorded was 58 millimetres.
According to the Commissioner of Makran, the rain persisted for nine hours while in Gwadar, the duration was more than 16 hours which also impacted the electricity system.
Some of the other areas experiencing rains were Dalbandin, Khuzdar, and Turbat.
It has been forecast that heavy rains will continue across the province until March 2.
Gwadar is under water right now due to climate change induced storms. Working class fisherman who are at the frontlines are displaced while 70% of the homes are destroyed. We’re trying to fundraise for food, immediate shelter, and medical care. Please dm to donate and respost!!! pic.twitter.com/xtoLRdG2oP
More than 11 days have passed since the general elections took place, yet the country is without a coherent government formation strategy.
From every side saying they will form the government to every side saying they will sit in opposition, the situation remains unclear, except for one fact: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is in the driving seat as the Kingmakers.
So what will the party do? Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari revealed on Sunday during a political rally in Thatta, that his party has rejected the power-sharing formula offered to them, but stressed that his father, Asif Ali Zardari, will be the PPP’s candidate for president. “I was told [by PML-N] that let us be the prime minister for three years, and then you can take the premiership for the remaining two years,” Bilawal revealed, adding that he said no to the offer. “I said I do not want to become a prime minister like this. If I become the prime minister, it will be after the people of Pakistan elect me.”
The PPP chairman also said, without mentioning any names, that his party will align with those who asked for their votes but will not take ministries.
The former foreign minister also stressed that his father will play a big role in reducing the political tension in the country.
According to The News, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and PPP are set to hold their fifth meeting today to hash out a formula for the formation of the federal government.
On the other hand, PPP leader Sarfraz Bugti claimed on Sunday that his party will form the provincial government in Balochistan with the help of PML-N.
“The PML-N would be our ally in Balochistan [as it has] given us a clear signal to form our government [in the province],” Bugti said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad.
It has been three days since the forest fire in Zargat mountain in Balochistan’s Musa Khel district started spreading but local authorities have failed to control it.
On Thursday, fire ignited in the forests of the mountains. The fire is reportedly so intense that its flames can be seen 18 kilometers away from the city of Musa Khel, affecting olive groves and wildlife.
The caretaker chief minister of Balochistan had given instructions for emergency measures to extinguish the fire on Thursday, but the residents of the area say that the fire could not be controlled till now.
At least 28 people have been killed and 40 injured in two separate blasts in Balochistan on Wednesday afternoon, just a few short hours before polling starts on election day.
The first attack claimed at least 15 people’s lives while over 30 were injured after an explosion took place outside an independent candidate’s office in Balochistan’s Pishin. The second blast took place outside a Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) office in the Killa Saifullah district. The Pishin blast happened outside the political office of independent candidate Asfand Yar Khan Kakar in the Khanozai area.
Injured people have been shifted to the Tehsil Hospital Khanozai, while the bodies have also been transferred, the hospital’s MS Dr Habib told Geo News.
Google Trends offer an insight into the popularity and curiosity political leaders enjoy among the masses. As the elections are drawing near, we took a peak into the data Google Trends have recorded over the last 30 days.
The highest and ever-increasing line graph is Imran Khan’s. The highest peak was shown on January 30 with Khan hitting the record 100 score whereas his contemporaries, Nawaz stood on 15, Maryam Nawaz at eight, Bilawal-Bhutto Zardari at three, and Hamza Shehbaz being the lowest: less than one.
However, it is important to note that Imran’s progressively increasing arc starts dropping successively in the days after Jan 30.
On the other hand, except for Hamza Shehbaz, the other three is slowly on an upward trend.
Breakdown of regions
PTI founder and jailed leader Imran Khan is most popular all over Pakistan according to Google Trends.
Punjab
In Punjab, the most popular choices for Chief Ministership, Hamza Shehbaz, and Maryam Nawaz contrary to popular perception, are not being searched so much. After Khan winning with more than 69 percent of searches, Nawaz Sharif is at 17 percent while Maryam is at nine percent. It appears that people in Punjab are comparatively more interested in Bilawal than Hamza who has 1 percent searches from all over the province.
However, it is important to note that out of all the provinces, Punjab has shown more interest in PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif. Sindh has shown the most interest after Punjab, which is 11 percent, 10 percent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, nine percent in Balochistan, and seven percent in former FATA.
Sindh
After Imran Khan (69 percent) former Foreign Minister and Chairman of Pakistan People’s Party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is unsurprisingly most popular in Sindh with 13 percent of Google searches. Second in line is Punjab and third is Balochistan. After him is Nawaz (11 percent) followed by Maryam (7 percent).
Balochistan
Imran Khan leading the slot here with 84 percent followed by Nawaz (9 percent), Maryam (4 percent), and Biawal Bhutto (3 percent). Hamza does not invoke public curiosity even the slightest.
Gilgit Baltistan
Imran Khan has a 100 percent popularity rate in Gilgit Baltistan, where it seems no other party leader stands a chance, implying that there were minor searches of them in GB.
Former FATA
Interestingly, in the former federally administered tribal areas, only Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif were searched for, Khan at 93 per cent of searches and Nawaz at seven percent.
Though Google search and Google trends are not the ultimate parameter of a party leader’s popularity, they certainly are proof of what netizens are most interested in and the social media footing of a politician.
Caretaker federal minister, Gohar Ijaz, said on Tuesday in a press conference that the election is a matter of Pakistan’s honour, adding that the caretaker government is fulfilling its responsibility of holding elections ‘with honesty’.
He also said that the law and order situation is now better in Sindh. He further mentioned that the police and civil armed forces have the ability to overcome any adverse law and order situation.
Ijaz also mentioned that there are no issues between election candidates in Balochistan, and all political parties in the province are in communication with each other.
He also said that Pakistan is threatened by forces that want to destabilise the country. However, the country’s security system can protect Pakistan from those forces.
