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Tag: Pakistan

  • Seven BLA militants killed storming Gwadar port: officials

    Seven BLA militants killed storming Gwadar port: officials

    Security forces killed at least seven militants on Wednesday as they tried to storm the offices of a Pakistan port considered a cornerstone of China’s investment in the nation, officials said.

    Pakistan has for decades battled a simmering insurgency in southwestern Balochistan province, where separatists hostile to Islamabad have often targeted foreign investment projects.

    Local official Saeed Ahmed Umrani told AFP seven militants had been killed in an attempt to “infiltrate” the compound of Balochistan’s Gwadar Port Authority.

    Gwadar Port, which sits on the Arabian Sea, is managed by a Chinese firm and considered the crown jewel of Beijing’s investment in Pakistan under its gargantuan Belt and Road infrastructure project.

    An army source who asked to remain anonymous also said seven militants had been killed, alongside four soldiers defending law-enforcement posts inside the compound.

    “The terrorists attacked with grenades, rocket launchers and Kalashnikovs,” he said. “The area is cleared now.”

    Chief minister of Balochistan province Sarfraz Bugti said on social media platform X that eight militants had been killed.

    The attack was claimed by separatist group the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) in an email statement, and spokesman Jeeyand Baloch said military intelligence offices had been targeted.

    “The operation was launched at 3:30 pm (1030 GMT) and is still underway”, he said in a message sent early Wednesday evening.

    Last August, the BLA also claimed an attack on a convoy carrying Chinese engineers to the port.

    Ethnic Baloch separatists have long claimed their communities are not getting a fair share of wealth from the region, which sits atop huge reserves of natural resources.

    They have frequently targeted Pakistani security forces protecting foreign investment projects.

    China has inked over two trillion dollars in contracts around the world under its Belt and Road scheme, but projects in Pakistan have been plagued by security concerns.

    In 2022, a BLA suicide bomber killed four people, including three Chinese language teachers, in Karachi city.

    A year earlier, a bus carrying engineers to a construction site near a dam in northwestern Pakistan was hit by a bomb, killing 13 people including nine Chinese workers.

    Islamabad has been accused of committing abductions and extrajudicial murder of Baloch citizens in retaliation for their campaign of separatism.

    bur-jts/sco

    © Agence France-Presse

  • Karachi woman takes loud hens to court

    Karachi woman takes loud hens to court

    A hearing was held in the Sindh High Court (SHC) on a petition against keeping chickens in homes filed by a Karachiite woman named Samira, reports Geo.


    SHC has sought responses from relevant institutions including the Cantonment Board on the petition against rearing chickens in residential urban areas.
    Chief Justice Aqeel Abbasi inquired whether the relevant institutions have received complaints about the hens.

    Samira said that the Cantonment Board is not doing anything whereas hens are not allowed according to their own rules. The petitioner said that the hens create noise that reaches the whole area.


    The Chief Justice remarked that chickens indeed are very mischievous and make a lot of noise.

    The court asserted that in earlier times, naughty boys used to slaughter chickens and eat them up but what can be done now to get these chickens.

    The next hearing is scheduled to be held on April 23.

  • Hammad Azhar resigns from PTI Punjab President post

    Hammad Azhar resigns from PTI Punjab President post

    Hammad Azhar, senior leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), voluntarily resigned from his roles as acting Punjab President and General Secretary on Wednesday, citing legal cases and the challenges the party is currently facing as the reason for the surprise decision.

    The politician, who was once a federal minister during the PTI regime, submitted his resignation letter to PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan and Secretary-General Omar Ayub Khan. He said that he’s staying underground because of cases and raids, and he believes the party would benefit more from leadership that’s actively present on the ground.

    “It has been an honour, but it would be selfish of me to continue while I am still in hiding and unable to represent the party even on television. In my opinion, at this stage, the party would be best served by a leadership in Punjab that is able to be present on the ground and lead from the front,” he stated in the letter.

    Leadership ought to have the opportunity to be on television and directly meet the founding chairman, Imran Khan, Hammad observed, pointing out that he lacks this access and permission.

  • Indian actress celebrates birthday with respect to Ramazan

    Indian actress celebrates birthday with respect to Ramazan

    Indian Actress Zareen Khan had a special birthday celebration with orphaned Muslim girls at an orphanage. She shared videos of the celebration, expressing how happy she was to include these girls in her special day.

    Zareen is receiving praise for her kind act, with fans calling her incredibly humble and expressing the need for more people like her. In the video, Zareen shared heartbreaking details about the girls, including their ages, which deeply touched viewers. She wrote, “I had the most fulfilling experience spending the evening with the girls of ‘Anjuman – I – Islam Orphange’. These girls are aged from 6 to 18 years old. We had iftar together, chatted a little, and they prayed beautifully. They showed me so much love that my heart felt incredibly full and overwhelmed.”


    The actress added, “Sometimes we forget to appreciate all the blessings we have from God. I was feeling down lately, feeling upset and unloved. But when I met these girls, I realized that love comes in many forms. It washed away all my negative feelings.”

    She continued, “These girls don’t have parents or a home. Some of them are very young and small. The orphanage is their home, and the people who take care of them there are like their parents. The girls have each other as friends or siblings. Still, they had big smiles on their faces. Their warmth made my sad day bright.”

  • ‘Crack open the heads of the officers who ask for bribe,’ Ali Amin Gandapur

    ‘Crack open the heads of the officers who ask for bribe,’ Ali Amin Gandapur

    In a recent address in Syed Alian village, Dera Ismail Khan, Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Gandapur, has stirred controversy with an unconventional and violent proposal on dealing with corruption within bureaucratic ranks.

    Speaking to attendees, Gandapur said, “Crack open the head of the officers who ask for a bribe with a brick and then come to me instead of complaining about the bribe taker.”

    Gandapur told the attendees to “announce that Ali Amin asked me to do so,” after the violent act.

    He further went and said, “Tell the offspring of that officer that you have saved their father from hell.”

    Gandapur’s remarks, delivered in a no-nonsense tone, urged citizens not to lodge complaints about bribery but instead to take direct action against the perpetrators.

    CM KP emphasized that both the bribe-taker and the giver will be going to hell so the people should neither become hellish nor let him be.

  • Man given 29 years in jail for sexually assaulting minor girl

    Man given 29 years in jail for sexually assaulting minor girl

    Life imprisonment and 14- years jail time were handed down to a prisoner in a case pertaining to sexually assaulting a minor girl by a special court for gender-based violence in Lahore.

    On the complaint of the minor’s father, Sanda police had registered the FIR in 2021 against Imran, the brother-in-law of the complainant’s elder daughter who took his 5-year-old daughter to a shrine and sexually assaulted her there.

    Additional District and Sessions Judge Kaneez Fatima Bhatti, the presiding judge of the special court, handed down rigorous life imprisonment to the accused for rape under section 376 (iii) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), besides Rs50,000 fine.

    Section 376 (iii) of the PPC states, “Whoever commits rape of a minor or a person with mental or physical disability shall be punished with death or imprisonment for life and fine.”

    The judge also awarded a 14-year jail term for another offense of sexual abuse (in the same case) under section 377-B of the PPC and imposed a fine of Rs1 million.

    Section 377-B of the PPC states, “Whoever commits the offence of sexual abuse shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years and liable to fine which shall not be less than five hundred thousand rupees or with both.”

    Imran, who was on bail, was present in the court when the judge announced the guilty verdict. The judge got him arrested and ordered the police to shift him to Kot Lakhpat jail.

  • Gen Asim Munir, Saudi Prince Muhammad Bin Salman discuss military cooperation

    Gen Asim Munir, Saudi Prince Muhammad Bin Salman discuss military cooperation

    Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz on Wednesday to discuss military cooperation between both countries.

    Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) issued a press release saying that the army chief met with the Saudi prince during an official visit to the Gulf Kingdom.

    “Wide-ranging issues of mutual interest, including regional peace and security and bilateral defence and security cooperation, came under discussion,” the ISPR statement read.

    During the meeting, the prince stressed that Saudi Arabia and Pakistan shared strong and brotherly relations with each other, adding that they stood for each other. 

    After that, the COAS thanked the Saudi prince for his warm sentiments and support towards Pakistan.

    According to state-run Saudi Press Agency, Saudi Minister of Defence Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, National Security Advisor Dr Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, Chief of General Intelligence Khalid bin Ali Al-Humaidan, Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant General Fayyad bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili, and Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf Al-Malki attended the meeting.

  • Sara Chaudhry’s journey from showbiz to spirituality

    Sara Chaudhry’s journey from showbiz to spirituality

    Sara Chaudhry, former Pakistani model and TV actor, gained immense popularity for acting skills.However, Sara left the media industry in 2010 after a religious awakening, joining the ‘Al Huda’ institute for preaching. Now happily married with children, Sara reflected on her journey.

    Recently, Sara appeared on Hafiz Ahmed’s podcast, talking about her journey. “My parents were very into Islam. They focused on prayers and the Quran. My dad made sure I prayed daily, and my mom prayed regularly, even when she was young. We celebrated Ramazan with excitement. I was spiritual and prayed for guidance, wanting to be the person Allah wanted me to be. I found peace in Allah and being good.”

    She realized at one point that following Allah’s wishes brings true guidance. “Another incident that guided me was my young aunt’s death at 38. That’s when I chose to leave showbiz. It was a shock and made me rethink. Family restrictions also helped me spiritually. As Sara Chaudhry, I couldn’t hang out much with friends outside. These limits were good for me and helped me on my spiritual path. I didn’t get too involved in the modern side of the media industry.”


    Sara Chaudhry explained that she entered showbiz to help her parents have a better life, as she desired a home and basic necessities for them. Being an only child, she prayed for financial stability and siblings due to her parents’ past financial struggles from their early marriage. She recalled, “My father’s friend fetched me a few modelling assignments after which I properly pursued media as a career. Even as a star, I used to be with my parents all the time, so they protected me as well.”


    Watch the video :

  • Seminary students sentenced to death for teacher’s murder over blasphemy allegations

    Seminary students sentenced to death for teacher’s murder over blasphemy allegations

    In a significant legal development, Additional Sessions Judge-II Mohammad Jameel has handed down death sentences to two seminary students and life imprisonment to another for their involvement in the brutal murder of a young teacher over false blasphemy accusations.

    Public prosecutors Tanseer Ali and Haji Shakeel Advocate appeared on behalf of the prosecution, while Asad Aziz Advocate represented the accused.

    The judge imposed a fine of Rs2 million each on the convicts. He imposed Rs1 million fine on the girl given a life term for being a juvenile.

    According to a police report, on March 29, 2022, three female students of Jamia Islamia Falah Al-Banat located in Anjumabad area on the Dera-Multan Road within the limits of the cantonment police station had slaughtered a young female teacher of their madressah for allegedly committing blasphemy.

    The initial investigation revealed that the accused students assaulted Safoora Bibi with a stick at the seminary gate before fatally slitting her throat. Their motivation stemmed from a purported dream shared by one of the students, suggesting that the teacher had committed blasphemy and that her killer would be rewarded in paradise.

    Both the perpetrators and the victim hailed from the Mehsud tribe of South Waziristan and were residing in the Anjumabad area.

    Following the gruesome incident, Zahid, an uncle of the slain teacher, was informed by the seminary administration about her murder. Upon reaching the scene, he discovered his niece’s tortured and lifeless body abandoned in the street.

    Subsequently, the police apprehended the three students and recovered knives and sticks from their possession.

  • Mohsin Naqvi seeks to review social media laws amid nationwide X disruption

    Mohsin Naqvi seeks to review social media laws amid nationwide X disruption

    Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has sought a review of social media laws to prevent misuse, as the popular social networking platform X has been disrupted nationwide for over a month.

    X, formerly Twitter, is not accessible to millions of Pakistani citizens without a VPN, getting suspended before the February 8 general elections.

    “Social media laws should be envisaged,” Naqvi said while speaking to journalists in Lahore on Tuesday, adding that “social media is being misused. Social media regulations have been implemented across the globe.”

    Mohsin Naqvi also said that it is necessary to maintain a difference between freedom of expression and spreading propaganda. “Everyone has the right to freedom of speech; however, it should not be misused.”

    The interior minister also said smear campaigns against politicians, the judiciary, and other national institutions should be stopped, further adding that there should be the implementation of social media laws in the country.