Current Final

Tag: terrorism

  • Taliban will not let Afghan soil be used against any other country: DG ISPR

    Taliban will not let Afghan soil be used against any other country: DG ISPR

    Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj-Gen Babar Iftikhar on Friday, during a press conference in Rawalpindi, said that the Taliban have said they will not let Afghan soil be used against any other country and “we have to take them at their word”.

    The military spokesperson said Pakistan had already taken the necessary measures to guard the border and ensure security in the country, as the situation in war-torn Afghanistan moves at a rapid pace.

    Maj-Gen Iftikhar elaborated that Pakistan had reached out to Afghanistan on multiple occasions to formalise border mechanisms, as it was felt that was the answer to the instability existing along the Pak-Afghan border.

    “The political and military leadership in Pakistan had the foresight that something like this (Taliban takeover in Afghanistan) could happen. So, despite whatever has happened on that side (Afghanistan), the situation on the Pak-Afghan border is normal and under control.”

    “This does not mean nothing can happen but we are prepared and won’t be caught unaware,” he added.

    Pakistan had apprehensions that the situation would unfold in the way that it did and there could be a “spillover”, which is why it took the steps it did, he elaborated.

    So far, 113 flights — both military and commercial — have landed in Pakistan from Afghanistan, he added.

    “While we were involved in this war on terror during the last two decades, we have had three major escalations on the eastern border. At the peak of this period, there were more than 90 terrorist incidents taking place in a year in Pakistan.”

    “After two decades, we can say we have fought off the menace of terrorism very well with the whole-of-nation approach. All these operations are the epitome of insurmountable spirit and supreme sacrifice of the whole nation’s efforts.”

    Responding to another question, DG ISPR said there was no military-to-military contact with other countries for now. However, reports of India using wild animals to attack and conduct surveillance along the Line of Control (LoC) were “concerning”, he said.

    “I hope the world holds them responsible for stooping so low. We are aware of those surveillance means and taking our measures to counter that.”

    Replying to another question, he said that while there was “always a fear of a civil war” taking place in Afghanistan, the situation is volatile and nothing can be said about it as of now.

    “However, right now, there is no civil war in Afghanistan,” he said.

    He said that Pakistan is “hoping for the best” in terms of normalisation of the situation in Afghanistan but would not like to “speculate anything”.

  • Pakistan on FATF grey list because of ‘Narendra Modi’s govt’, Pak to take action

    Pakistan on FATF grey list because of ‘Narendra Modi’s govt’, Pak to take action

    Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar admitted that Pakistan is on the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) because of the “efforts of Narendra Modi’s government”.

    Jaishankar, while addressing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal efforts made on forums like G20 or G7 made nations realise that terrorism is everyone’s problem.”

    “FATF, as all of you know, keep a check on fundings for terrorism and deals with black money supporting terrorism. Due to us, Pakistan is under the lens of FATF and it was kept [on] the grey list. We have been successful in pressurising Pakistan and the fact that Pakistan’s behaviour has changed is because of pressure put by India by various measures. Also terrorists from LeT and Jaish, India’s efforts through UN, have come under sanctions,” Jaishankar reportedly told the BJP leaders, according to The Print.

    The Foreign Office (FO) responded by saying that the Indian foreign minister’s statement that the Modi government had ensured Pakistan remained on the FATF grey list had vindicated Pakistan’s longstanding stance on “India’s negative role” in the global financial watchdog.

    “Pakistan has always been highlighting to the international community the politicisation of FATF and undermining of its processes by India. The recent Indian statement is just further corroboration of its continued efforts to use an important technical forum for its narrow political designs against Pakistan,” read the FO statement.

    “While Pakistan has been sincerely and constructively engaged with FATF during the implementation of the action plan, India has left no stone unturned in casting doubts on Pakistan’s progress through disgraceful means,” said the FO statement.

    “Following the recent confession by [the] Indian government, India’s credentials for assessing Pakistan in FATF as co-chair of the Joint Group or for that matter any other country are subject to questions, which we urge FATF to look into,” the statement said.

    On June 25, FATF President Dr Marcus Pleyer said Pakistan would remain on the grey list till it addresses the single remaining item on the original action plan agreed to in June 2018 as well as all items on a parallel action plan handed out by the watchdog’s regional partner — the Asia Pacific Group (APG) — in 2019.

  • Shah Mahmood says Dasu incident ‘accident’, Fawad Chaudhry says ‘terrorism can’t be ruled out’

    Shah Mahmood says Dasu incident ‘accident’, Fawad Chaudhry says ‘terrorism can’t be ruled out’

    Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi that the initial investigation into the bus tragedy near Dasu hydropower project in the Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was not a consequence of a terrorist attack, according to a statement on China’s foreign ministry website reports Dawn.

    Nine Chinese nationals and three Pakistanis lost their lives on Wednesday in a blast that took place on the bus that was taking them to their workplace. They were going there for an ongoing project, as per a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA). 

    “The Chinese side is shocked by the serious Chinese casualties in Pakistan, hoping that the Pakistani side could quickly find out its cause, conduct rescue and treatment work at all costs, deal with the aftermath in time, and prevent similar incidents from happening again,” read the statement.

    “If it is a terrorist attack, the criminals must be immediately arrested and severely punished,” said the Chinese ministry.

    Qureshi, on behalf of the government and the people of Pakistan, expressed sincere condolences to the Chinese side over the heavy Chinese casualties. He said that the preliminary investigation shows that the incident was “an accident and no background of terrorist attacks has been found.”

    However, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry took to Twitter and said, “Initial investigations into Dassu incident have now confirmed traces of explosives, terrorism cannot be ruled out,” contradicting the statement by his party’s Foreign Minister.

    “Prime Minister Imran Khan is personally supervising all developments, in this regard Govt is in close coordination with the Chinese embassy we are committed to fighting the menace of terrorism together,” read the tweet.

  • ‘No smoking, shaving’: Afghan Taliban’s first orders

    The Taliban issued their first orders in the form of letter to a local imam after capturing a remote district in Afghanistan’s north, which says that women cannot go to the bazaar without a male companion, among other directives, AFP has reported.

    As per Sefatullah, 25, a resident of Kalafgan district, the letter said “women can’t go to the bazaar without a male companion, and men should not shave their beards,” adding that whoever breaks the rules “will be seriously dealt with”.

    Last month, the Afghan Taliban took Shir Khan Bandar, a northern customs post that connected the country to Tajikistan over a US-funded bridge that spanned the Panj river.

    Sajeda who worked in a local factory told AFP that after Shir Khan Bandar fell, the Taliban “ordered women not to step out of their homes”.

    “There were many women and young girls doing embroidery, tailoring and shoe-making … The Taliban’s order has now terrified us,” she added further.

    The letter issued in the name of the Taliban’s cultural commission says, “All imams and mullahs in captured areas should provide the Taliban with a list of girls above 15 and widows under 45 to be married to Taliban fighters.”

    However, the Taliban denied issuing any such letter.

    “These are baseless claims,” said Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Afghan Taliban.

  • ‘Do I look like a terrorist to you,’ Nadeem Malik responds to FIA

    ‘Do I look like a terrorist to you,’ Nadeem Malik responds to FIA

    The Counter-Terrorism Wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has summoned SAMAA TV’s senior anchorperson Nadeem Malik and asked him to disclose his sources in the Judge Arshad Malik video leak scandal case.

    Nadeem Malik has said that he will not appear. “The notice has been issued by the terrorism wing. Do I look like a terrorist to you?”

    The notice demands that Malik reveal his sources. “There is no law across the globe that can force a journalist to quote their sources,” the anchorperson said.

    On April 28, Nadeem Malik during his show ‘Nadeem Malik Live’ said that he had a chance to meet with two members of the FIA team that was investigating the video leak scandal against late accountability court judge Arshad Malik.

    “It could be perceived from what they [members of the FIA team] told me that there was a video of Judge Arshad Malik. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was banking on Judge Malik granting bail to Nawaz Sharif. He had contacts with the PML-N, so there were assurances,” the anchorperson said.

    “The other party, which I would not name, as many people can understand, they got their hands on that 30-year-old video of Judge Malik. It was an objectionable video that was recorded 30 years ago when Judge Malik was posted in Multan. There were other people too and the whole video is there.”

    According to the anchorperson, the late judge was called to a place at Constitution Avenue and was told that the video would be made public if a ‘favourable’ verdict was not given in cases against Nawaz Sharif.

    The judge gave the verdict and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif was disqualified.

    “The PML-N got their hands on the same video and Judge Arshad Malik came to meet Nawaz Sharif and apologised, saying he couldn’t do anything as they had his video,” Nadeem Malik said.

    “They [PML-N leaders] told him that they have the same video too, and, while Judge Malik was narrating the events, he was recorded once again. It was recorded by Nasir Sahib who has gone to London.”

    The FIA is handling the case through its Counter-Terrorism Wing at its headquarters in Islamabad. It had told Nadeem Malik to appear on June 6, along with documents and evidence to support what he said on his show.

    “Please refer to your Nadeem Malik Live Programme on SAMAA NEWS dated 28-04-2021 revealed that you have important information which can be relevant for the agency to further investigate the above mentioned and to link some relevant persons with this case,” the notice says.

    Civil society and journalists condemned the notice.

  • ‘Muslims living in the western world are the ones who suffer from Islamophobia’: PM Khan

    ‘Muslims living in the western world are the ones who suffer from Islamophobia’: PM Khan

    In an interview with CBC’s chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan said he had been trying to tell the world community that the Muslims living in the western countries are the ones who suffer from Islamophobia, and “we regularly hear about these incidents and many of them are not reported and our embassies tell us about those. So this gap needs to be closed”.

    The prime minister highlighted the grave issue of Islamophobia in the western world, which recently claimed the lives of four members of a Pakistan-origin family in Ontario last week.

    “Everyone is shocked [in Pakistan], because we saw the family picture, and so a family being targeted like that has had a deep impact in Pakistan,” PM Khan said.

    The prime minister said the use of the term “Islamic radicals” indicates there is something wrong with the religion, which radicalises people. Contrary to this, terrorism has no religion as extremists are found in every society, he added.

    Replying to a question about what should the governments do to shut down hate material, the prime minister called for strict action against online hate because such websites divide humanity by creating hatred through hate material.

    He further said that he “mostly agrees” with Trudeau and his position on extremism, but also expressed concern about some Canadian laws that he believed were contributing to Islamophobia.

    He asked as to why it became a big issue when someone wears a hijab (head scarf) or grows a beard in the west. “People objecting to hijab and a beard is quite bizarre for me. In liberal democracies, why is this an issue?”

    He described Quebec’s Bill 21 — which banned public servants, including teachers and police officers from wearing religious symbols at work — as a form of “secular extremism” that led to intolerance against Muslims.

    “I find this law secular extremism as it really is against, you see the whole idea behind secularism is liberalism, you want human beings to be basically free on how and the way they want to dress up as long as it doesn’t cause pain or hurt others. This is how I understand how liberalism is. If some cover their hair or their head, why has it become such a big issue,” he contended.

  • ‘No one can dare undermine me,’ Fawad Chaudhry burns BBC HARDTalk

    ‘No one can dare undermine me,’ Fawad Chaudhry burns BBC HARDTalk

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry talked on the protection of journalists, the involvement of the establishment within the state, the economy of Pakistan, missing persons, popularity of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Covid stituation and many other issues in an interview given to BBC host Stephen John Sackur on BBC HARDtalk.

    Journalists Protection

    The host opened the interview by asking what is the government and Fawad Chaudhry being the Information Minister doing to protect the journalists of the country. Sackur mentioned the recent attack on journalist Asad Ali Toor, who was severely beaten up by unidentified assailants in his apartment. Sackur further mentioned how a senior journalist and former Chairman of Pakistan Electronic Media Authority (Pemra), Absar Alam, was shot in Islamabad. To which Fawad Chaudhry replied, “Individual incidents do happen. The situation is not only dangerous for journalists but it has been for all the citizens of Pakistan. We have faced the worst terrorism. When we were fighting our war against terrorism, we lost a lot of field journalists and many civilians.”

    “Benazir Bhutto too got killed due to terrorism. We have been dealing with tough times,” replied Fawad.

    Stephen Sackur asked what the state was doing about the involvement of state agencies in such incidents.

    “It’s a bit fashionable for the western media to accuse ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence)
    when such incidents happen. When you name any organisation or Pakistani intelligence agency, you are bound to produce evidence of their involvement as well,” replied the minister. “The two specific incidents which you have mentioned, the investigation is still under process, I still don’t know under what pretext have you concluded that the state must be involved in any of this.”

    Direct State Interference

    BBC host asked Chaudhry about freedom of speech in Pakistan. He said that media censorship has increased during Imran Khan’s tenure. Chaudhry replied, “We have about 112 private channels, 43 international channels, with this kind of mass media we have, how do you expect the state to intimidate the media? How can the state be accused of intimidating the media?”

    Censorship

    “I am the Information Minister of the world’s fifth-largest state. I am the Information Minister of one of the world’s seven nuclear states of the world. No one can dare to undermine me. I am here with full authority and I decide in Pakistan what will and what is happening,” answered Fawad when told by Sackur that Chaudhry has no real power or control.

    PTI government’s comparison with previous government’s

    The host compared the working of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) with previous governments.

    “This may be a perception of some Indian-influenced think tanks, not ours. This is not the perception of the people in general. Imran Khan is the most popular prime minister,” said Fawad.

    “As said, don’t undermine the elected government of Pakistan. Imran Khan has received nearly 200 million votes. This is not a joke. He is the prime minister of a nuclear state. He takes the decisions, the cabinet takes the decisions,” added Fawad.

    Relation with establishment

    Fawad Chaudhry said that we have a very good relationship with the ‘so-called establishment’ “as you term it so often. They are part and parcel of our system. We have huge respect for them, but the decision-making rests with the prime minister and the cabinet.”

    Missing Persons

    The BBC host asked about missing persons the security establishments, and the deep state?

    “ISI and army respect human rights just as any other civilian government will do. They are the most civilised army of the world, they are the most responsible army of the world. People in Pakistan respect them for their role,” said Fawad.

    “Least number of missing persons were reported in Imran Khan’s government. We are the only government that has just passed a law against disappearance. We are the only ones who have made illegal confinement a criminal offense. And now the bill has been passed and will go to the parliament,” added Fawad

    Imran Khan’s pledge to deliver

    The show host said that PM Khan’s promises have not been delivered to the people of Pakistan.

    “Unfortunately, I do not agree with your conclusion. Right now Pakistan’s growth rate is 3.94 per cent, which is one of the highest in the whole world despite all the Covid crises,” said Fawad.

    Fawad added, “People who have voted for Prime Minister Imran Khan and PTI are still ardent fans. In the next elections, PM Imran Khan will be elected again.”

    Covid situation

    Sackur asked why only one per cent of Pakistan’s population has been vaccinated.

    “As far as Covid is concerned Pakistan is a great success story. The partial lockdown story that Prime Minister Imran Khan implemented in Pakistan was a great success story,” replied Chaudhry.

  • ‘Quetta blast was a suicide attack’: Sheikh Rasheed

    Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed said on Thursday that the blast at Serena Hotel in Quetta was a suicide attack. He said this was a foreign attempt to destabilise Pakistan. “Pakistan Army and the people of Pakistan will defeat such designs.” Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed the responsibility for the Quetta blast yesterday. Five people were killed and more than a dozen injured in the deadly attack.

    All law enforcement agencies are on high alert at the instructions of the Interior Ministry. Talking about the attack, Sheikh Rasheed said the suicide bomber stayed inside the car. “C4 explosives weighing between 60 to 70 kilogrammes were used in the attack”. Evidence has been sent for forensic analysis.

    The interior minister also said that social media was misused during the past few days by foreign elements who are behind efforts to destabilise Pakistan. “An estimated 250,000-300,000 social media accounts were created in India.” “These foreign forces cannot see Pakistan prosper and progress,” said the minister. 

    China strongly condemned the terrorist attack. A statement by the Chinese embassy in Pakistan said that Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong was leading a delegation on a visit to Quetta on the same day. “When the attack occurred, the Chinese delegation was not in the hotel. Till present, no reports of casualties of Chinese citizens in the attack have been received.”

    Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted that he is deeply saddened by the loss of innocent lives in the condemnable and cowardly terrorist attack in Quetta yesterday. “Our nation has made great sacrifices in defeating terrorism and we will not to allow this scourge to rise again. We remain alert to all internal and external threats.”

  • Terrorist involved in murder of four women killed in Waziristan operation: ISPR

    The security forces have killed a key militant leader who was involved in the killing of four women aid workers in North Waziristan, said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a statement on Tuesday.

    Commander of militant outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Hassan alias Sajna was killed in a security operation in the restive district near the Afghan border, the army said.

    The statement said Sajna was involved in the Monday morning killing of four aid workers associated with a local women’s skills development program in Mirali, a town in North Waziristan.

    Security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in Mirali and killed militant commander Sajna of the TTP’s Hafiz Gul Bahadur group during an exchange of fire, it was quoted by Anadolu Agency as saying.

    Bahadur, who is believed to have been operating from Afghanistan, is leading his own militant group within the TTP.

    Sajna, the statement said, remained involved in terrorist activities against the security forces and civilians, including “bomb blasts, kidnapping for ransom, target killings, and extortion,” in addition to the recruitment of terrorists.

    North Waziristan — once dubbed the heartland of militancy — is one of seven former semi-autonomous tribal regions in Pakistan where the army has carried out a series of operations since 2014 to eliminate the TTP network.

    Successive operations have pushed the TTP towards neighboring Afghanistan and Islamabad claims the terrorist network has now set up bases across the border to attack Pakistani security forces.

  • ‘Multiple’ army officials complicit in terrorist Ehsanullah Ehsan’s escape, says ISPR DG

    ‘Multiple’ army officials complicit in terrorist Ehsanullah Ehsan’s escape, says ISPR DG

    Pakistan Army spokesperson Major General Babar Iftikhar has said that former Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan mouthpiece Ehsanullah Ehsan had managed to escape the custody with the help of “more than one army officials”.

    According to a report in Independent Urdu that quotes Gen Iftikhar, the military is in the process of fixing responsibility in the case. “The details of the proceedings [against the accused] would be shared with the media soon,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) chief said in a conversation with the reporters of foreign media outlets.

    Last week, a Twitter handle, now suspended, allegedly operated by Ehsanullah Ehsan threatened Pakistani Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai. Malala had responded to the tweet, asking the military’s media wing and PM Imran as to how did the Ehsan even escape.

    The government had denied that the account belonged to the infamous terrorist, but Ziauddin Yousafzai, father of Malala, asserted that it was the Twitter handle of the ex-TTP spokesperson. Ehsanullah had also confirmed this in an audio message to BBC Urdu, saying his account was suspended over threats to Malala but he would come back with a new Twitter handle soon.

    However, the ISPR DG told reporters that he doesn’t think the account belonged to the ex-TTP spokesperson. “The attempts are being made to arrest the Taliban spokesperson, but at present, we have no idea where is he hiding,” he was quoted by the outlet as saying.

    Ehsan is infamous for issuing claims of carrying out TTP attacks and has been linked to some of the country’s most deadly incidents of terror. These include the massacre of children at Army Public School (APS) Peshawar, bombing at a park in Lahore on Easter in 2016, and the targeting of Malala.

    He surrendered to authorities in 2017 and later gave interviews to a Pakistani TV channel, leading to criticism and controversy that a terrorist was given airtime. It angered many in the country who believed he was being pampered by authorities after years of helping lead a violent insurgency. Ehsan mysteriously escaped custody last year, which, according to SAMAA, was also confirmed by the army.