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Tag: quetta

  • Non-customs paid vehicles worth Rs158m seized in Quetta

    Non-customs paid vehicles worth Rs158m seized in Quetta

    Customs Enforcement in Quetta seized multiple non-customs paid vehicles worth an estimated Rs. 158 million from a showroom on Saryab Road. The operation was intelligence-based.

    The confiscated vehicles included a Toyota Revo 2020, three Toyota Land Cruisers, and a Honda Civic Hybrid 2007. All vehicles were non-customs paid, meaning they were imported without paying required duties and taxes.

    Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) said this operation underscores the continued commitment of Customs Enforcement Quetta to curb smuggling, safeguard government revenue, and protect the national economy.


    In recent months, the FBR has intensified its crackdown on non-customs paid vehicles nationwide. Such vehicles result in revenue losses for the national economy and affect legitimate businesses in the automobile sector.


    Customs authorities have conducted similar raids in major cities as part of a nationwide enforcement campaign. The FBR reiterated its resolve to eliminate smuggling, illicit trade, and corrupt practices.

  • Death toll in Quetta suicide blast rises to 13

    Death toll in Quetta suicide blast rises to 13

    The death toll of the suicide bombing near Quetta’s Shahwani Stadium on Tuesday night has risen to 13, hospital staff confirmed.

    According to reports, at least 35 people were also injured in the explosion that occurred shortly after the conclusion of a public gathering of the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) held to mark the death anniversary of the late Sardar Attaullah Mengal.

    The gathering was attended by top leaders, including BNP-M chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Asghar Khan Achakzai of the Awami National Party (ANP) and former senator Mir Kabeer Muhammad Shai of the National Party.

    Officials said the bomber detonated his explosives-laden jacket in the parking area as participants were leaving the meeting. All political leaders, however, remained safe.

    According to police, the explosion occurred about 15 minutes after the meeting ended as the crowd dispersed.

    The deceased were identified as Muhammad Ishaq, Najeebullah, Shan, Muhammad Hanif, Madad Khan, Waqir Ahmed, Hafeez, Abdul Nabi, Nasarullah, Allah Bakhsh, Najeebullah s/o Asadullah, Allah Bakhsh and Muhammad Waqar.

    In a statement, Balochistan Chief Minister (CM) Sarfraz Bugti condemned the blast, calling it a cowardly attack on innocent people. He said those behind the bombing were enemies of humanity and had spilled the blood of ordinary citizens to spread fear. 

    The provincial chief executive vowed to “crush their nefarious designs,” adding that the attackers would be hunted down and punished.

    “Violence will not be allowed to derail peace in Balochistan,” Bugti emphasised, noting that both the federal and provincial governments will work together to keep citizens safe.

    Pakistan has witnessed a surge in terror activities, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan, since Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul in August 2021.

    According to a report released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), an Islamabad-based think tank, the country has witnessed 78 terrorist attacks during June this year, resulting in at least 100 deaths.

  • Power outage forces surgery under torch light at Quetta Hospital

    Power outage forces surgery under torch light at Quetta Hospital

    A power outage at Sandeman Provincial Hospital in Quetta disrupted routine medical procedures, forcing doctors to perform a child’s hernia surgery under mobile torchlight in the children’s surgical operation theatre. 

    The operation was performed when the hospital’s electricity supply was interrupted due to load shedding.

    The hospital staff contacted the Medical Superintendent (MS), who stated that he was not aware of any surgery performed under torchlight. He added that the hospital’s backup generator system takes a few minutes to start.

    According to the MS, funds have already been released to the Quetta Electric Supply Company (QESCO) for the installation of an additional power line.

    This incident highlights the broader, ongoing healthcare crisis in the province.

    Despite the provincial government’s allocation of PKR 2 billion in 2024 for medical procurement, government hospitals in Balochistan continue to face severe shortages of essential medications. Hospital supplies reportedly remain dangerously low for months at a time, seriously affecting both patients and medical professionals.

    Basic emergency items, including essential supplies such as bandages, are often unavailable in many hospitals.

    Citizens have voiced growing frustration over the worsening conditions, particularly in the emergency departments of Quetta’s main public hospitals.

    Conditions in Outpatient Departments (OPDs) have also reportedly deteriorated, with patients frequently complaining of poor treatment and unprofessional staff behaviour.

    As Balochistan continues to grapple with long-standing challenges in its healthcare infrastructure, citizens and healthcare advocates are calling for urgent, transparent, and long-term reforms to ensure access to safe and reliable medical services.

  • Father of girl who assaulted flight attendant was not an ex-govt official: Quetta commissioner

    Father of girl who assaulted flight attendant was not an ex-govt official: Quetta commissioner

    Quetta Commissioner Muhammad Hamza Shafqaat has dismissed reports about the father-daughter duo who were offloaded from the flight on Wednesday after allegedly misbehaving with a flight attendant, claiming that they were actually the victims of misbehaviour.

    Shafqaat took to his official Instagram story on Thursday, writing that the old man, Jogezai, was pushed and mistreated on the flight, to which his daughter “retaliated.”

    “Anyone with tribal background would understand that “badtameezi (disrespect)” with elders is taken as an attack on one’s pride and dignity,” Shafqaat wrote.

    He dismissed the media reports claiming that Jogezai was the ex-commissioner of Quetta. “The passenger about whom this news is being spread was never commissioner…In fact he was never served in any government department (sic),” he added.

    He further claimed that no one from the entire Jogezai family has ever served as commissioner of Quetta.

    As per his Facebook bio, Muhammad Hamza Shafqaat is currently serving as Commissioner Quetta. He has done an LLM from a university in London and an MPhil from the National Defence University (NDU). He has also studied computer engineering at GIK.

    Multiple media reports had earlier claimed that the former commissioner of Quetta, Iftikhar Jogezai, along with his daughter, were offloaded from a Quetta-Islamabad flight on Wednesday after allegedly assaulting a female flight attendant of Serene Air.

    As per media details, a heated debate flared up when the flight attendant politely instructed the passenger to fasten her seatbelt and close the tray table.

    The former commissioner’s daughter allegedly used “inappropriate language” and caused a disturbance during the flight, prompting the pilot to contact air traffic control and land the aircraft back on the runway.

    According to media reports, the Airport Security Force (ASF) was summoned, and the two passengers were asked to disembark. However, the woman reportedly refused to leave and allegedly punched’ the flight attendant in a fit of rage, causing injuries to the attendant’s face.

    The impact was so severe that the attendant’s nose started bleeding, and one of her teeth broke.

    Following a submission of apology for the incident, the father-daughter duo — whom the ASF had detained on charges of assault, disrupting the flight, and endangering the lives of other passengers and the crew — were allowed to leave.

  • Pakistan bus crash kills at least 27 people: hospital

    Pakistan bus crash kills at least 27 people: hospital

    Quetta, Pakistan – At least 27 people were killed on Wednesday when a bus plunged off the road into a deep ravine in southwestern Pakistan, hospital and government officials said.

    The crash happened around dawn in Basima town in Balochistan province while the bus was travelling from Turbat city to Quetta.

    “The driver was navigating a turn in a mountainous area when the vehicle lost control and fell into a ravine,” Ismail Mengal, a local government official said, giving a toll of 27 dead.

    “We are still investigating the cause of the incident. It could be that the driver fell asleep or was speeding, which led to the accident.”

    More than 25 others, including the driver, were injured.

    Noor Ullah, chief doctor at Civil Hospital Basima, told AFP that 27 bodies were taken there, including three women and two children.

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has “expressed deep sorrow and grief over the tragic traffic accident”, his office said in a statement.

    Road accidents with high fatalities are common in Pakistan, where safety measures are lax, driver training is poor and transport infrastructure often decrepit.

    At least 17 pilgrims were killed and 41 injured in a crash in April as they travelled to a shrine in Balochistan’s Hub district.

    In January last year, 41 people were killed when their bus, which was also loaded with containers of flammable oil, careered off the road into a valley and burst into flames.

    mak-zz/ecl/pbt

    © Agence France-Presse

  • Mahira Khan faces unexpected interruption at literature festival

    Mahira Khan faces unexpected interruption at literature festival

    Superstar Mahira Khan appeared as a guest in Pakistan Literature Festival, held in Quetta, where she talksd about stardom, her achievements and work ethic. However the talk got interrupted when something was thrown at her from audience. Mahira Khan stopped her conversation and said, “That was wrong.”

    She remained smiling, however, gracefully dealing with the interruption. The crowd asked her to recite a famous dialogue. She replied, “I shouldn’t because you threw something on me,” but laughed when the crowd suggested a long dialogue.
    She then continued her discussion and agreed to act in a Balochistan production.

    Fans believe that Mahira Khan patiently and gracefully dealt with the situation. They criticized the behavior of the crowd, calling it shameful. Some fans advised Mahira not to go to these kinds of public gatherings because she is a well-known figure worldwide.
    Here are the comments:

  • 14 members of Balochistan cabinet takes oath today

    14 members of Balochistan cabinet takes oath today

    Fourteen members of the Balochistan cabinet took oath today in a ceremony held at the Governor’s House in Quetta.

    Those who took the oath include Sadiq Umrani, Ali Madad Jattak, Zahoor Buledi, Noor Muhammad Dumar, Sardar Faisal Jamali, Sarfraz Domki, Abdul Rehman Khetran, Saleem Khosa, Asim Kurd Gello, Bakht Kakar, Tariq Magsi, Shoaib Nosherwani, Raheel Durrani, and Zia Langau.

    On March 2, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Sardar Sarfraz Bugti took oath as the Chief Minister (CM) of Balochistan.

  • Maya Ali inspired by children battling cancer

    Maya Ali inspired by children battling cancer

    Maya Ali is known for her amazing acting in TV shows and movies, but the actress is also a softie at heart.

    Besides acting, Maya Ali really loves cricket. Recently, she cheered for her favorite team, the Quetta Gladiators, at the National Stadium in Karachi during a PSL match. Maya is the brand ambassador for the Gladiators.
    But Maya Ali isn’t just passionate about acting and cricket. She also cares about helping others.

    She recently met children battling cancer at the stadium in Karachi. Moved by their bravery, she shared a video on social media. In the video, she said, “It was literally the happiest moment for me to see these little warriors happy, and battling cancer with a big smile on their faces. The strength they show is something we can all learn from. I have made new friends who taught me that no matter what, life is beautiful and we just have to count our blessings and be grateful. May ALLAH bless them all with good health, Ameen”

  • 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

  • 12 killed in Pakistan mine collapse: Officials

    12 killed in Pakistan mine collapse: Officials

    The bodies of ten more miners were pulled from a collapsed coal pit in southern Pakistan on Wednesday, officials said, bringing the death toll to 12 after the rescue bid ended.

    A gas explosion rocked the private coal pit in the mining region of Khost, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) east of Quetta, on Tuesday evening, trapping the miners hundreds of feet below ground.

    “The rescue effort has concluded with the recovery of all 12 dead bodies,” Abdul Ghani Baloch, chief inspector of mines for Balochistan province, told AFP.

    “Two bodies were recovered during the night, with the remaining 10 retrieved early in the morning.”

    Abdullah Shahwani, Balochistan’s director general of mining, also confirmed the death toll, while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued a statement expressing “profound sorrow and grief over the loss of precious lives”.