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CHINA SEEKS PROBE AS SIX KILLED IN SUICIDE ATTACK ON DASU DAM STAFF CONVOY
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Wednesday, 27 March, 2024 I 16 Ramazan, 1445
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EMBASSY SAYS MAKING EVERY EFFORT TO HANDLE AFTERMATH OF ATTACK TOGETHER WITH PAKISTANI SIDE
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SWAT/ISLAMABAD
SYED SHAHABUDDIN / SALEEM JADOON
HINESE authorities urged Pakistan to investigate and punish the perpetrators as at least six people, including five Chinese engineers, one of them a female, were killed in an alleged suicide attack in Besham area of Shangla district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the police and district administration confirmed. Regional Police Officer (RPO) Malakand Division Muhammad Ali Gandapur confirmed the incident and said that a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into a vehicle carrying Chinese engineers to Dasu camp in district Kohistan from Islamabad, resulting in the death of five Chinese nationals, including a woman. The Pakistani driver was also killed in the incident, he added. After the explosion, the vehicle fell into a deep ditch. The RPO Malakand said that among the dead Chinese engineers there was also a woman. He further said that the Chinese civil engineers were going from Islamabad to the Dasu camp in Kohistan district. The relief teams recovered the bodies and shifted them to Besham Hospital and later the bodies of the Chinese residents were sent to Islamabad while the driver’s body was sent to Patan in Kohistan, the regional
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STAFF REPORT
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday demanded a fresh inquiry into United States Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu’s statement denying “cypher conspiracy” that US engineered his ouster from power by supporting the then opposition’s no-confidence motion in April 2022. Testifying before a Congressional panel last week, the top US diplomat said: “I wanna be very clear on this point [that] this conspiracy theory is a lie [and] it is a complete falsehood.” Speaking to journalists at Adiala jail, Khan denied the reports that the US envoy met him in the prison. He said that he would speak to the US envoy about Lu’s statement and the alleged role of the US embassy in the cyphergate if he met him. “The original copy of cypher is with the Foreign Office, we were only given a paraphrased copy [of the document],” the former premier said while referring to the allegations that he misplaced the classified cypher document that he received as the prime minister. The PTI founder said that a prime minister is “not the security guard” of his office; instead, there are some security protocols for the PM office. Khan also called for a separate judicial commission to investigation into May 9 incidents and February 8 elections. “A political party is being eliminated on the pretext of May 9 events,” he added. The former prime minister said that the president and Senate elections have no value after a “rigged election”.
INTERIOR MINISTER VISITS CHINESE EMBASSY, BRIEFS AMBASSADOR ABOUT DETAILS OF BLAST, RESCUE OPERATIONS
Soldier martyred, 4 terrorists killed as attack on Turbat naval base foiled: ISPR
police chief informed. “We will investigate from where and how the vehicle of a suicide bomber came and how it happened,” the RPO said. Rescue 1122 station head Sheraz Khan said that the bodies were being shifted to the Besham Tehsil Headquarters Hospital. The rescue official said that after the blast, the vehicle with the Chinese passengers fell into a gorge and caught fire. A rescue team then reached the spot and put out the fire, he added. After the incident, a heavy contingent of security personnel reached the spot and cordoned off the area for a search. After the incident, the authorities temporarily closed the Karakoram Highway for traffic between Besham and Kohistan. The spokesperson for Dasu project Dr Rehmat Ali confirmed that the Chinese nationals were identified as four men and a woman, adding that their bodies were being taken to Islamabad. STATEMENT BY THE CHINESE EMBASSY ON THE ATTACK The Chinese Embassy and Consulates General in Pakistan launched an emergency plan immediately after the attack, requesting the Pakistani side to thoroughly investigate the attack and severely punish the perpetrators, said the statement by the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan.
Imran Khan demands fresh inquiry after Donald Lu rebuffed ‘cypher conspiracy’
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QUETTA/ISLAMABAD: A soldier of the Balochistan Frontier Corps embraced martyrdom while four terrorists were killed after the security forces thwarted an attack on a naval base in Turbat in the wee on Tuesday, the military’s media affairs wing said. In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that terrorists attempted to attack PNS Siddique in Turbat, the attempt was foiled due to the “swift and effective response by the troops ensuring the safety and security of personnel and assets”. “Security forces in the vicinity were immediately mobilised to support the naval troops. Synergetic and effective response by the armed forces enabled killing of all four terrorists in ensuing joint clearance opera-
tion,” it said. It is worth mentioning that PNS Siddique is among the biggest naval air stations in the country. The ISPR said that during the intense fire exchange, 24-year-old Sepoy Noman Fareed of the Balochistan Frontier Corps embraced martyrdom. A sanitization operation is being conducted to eliminate any other terrorists found in the area, ISPR said. “Pakistan Armed Forces remain committed to eliminating the menace of terrorism from the country at all costs.” Earlier, Makran Commissioner Saeed Ahmed Umrani had informed the media that heavy exchange of fire and explosions were reported from the vicinity of Turbat airport on Monday night. STAFF REPORT
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PM visits Chinese embassy, assures ‘swift’ high-level probe
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday visited the Chinese embassy here to covey condolence over the killing of five Chinese nationals in a terrorist attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Shangla district, and assured a swift and high-level probe into the incident. The prime minister, in an interaction with the Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong sympathized with the bereaved families of the slain Chinese nationals, a PM Office press release said. Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Information and Broadcasting Minister Attaullah Tarar, and Special Assistant to PM Tariq Fatemi accompanied the prime minister. He assured the Chinese side that the government would hold a high-level and swift probe into the attack and take the culprits and
Six IHC judges write to SJC, seek intervention against ‘interference in courts affairs’ ISLAMABAD
Six judges of the Islamabad High Court have sought the Supreme Judicial Council’s (SJC) invention “against what they called” alleged interference of members of the executive, including operatives of intelligence agencies, in judicial affairs. In a letter to the SJC, six judges of the IHC, including Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, and Justice Saman Fafat Imtiaz — have sought the “SJC guidance” about the “interference” of the intelligence agencies in courts’ affairs. “We are writing to seek guidance from the Supreme judicial Council (SJC) about the duty of a judge to report and respond to actions on the part of members of the executive, including operatives of intelligence agencies, that seek to interfere with discharge of his/her official functions and qualify as intimidation, as well
as the duty to report any such actions that come to his/her attention concerning colleagues and/or members of the courts that the High Court supervises,” read the letter. The development came days after the top court declared the removal of former IHC Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui illegal, directing that he may now be considered a retired judge. The verdict noted that the SJC proceeded against Justice
Siddiqui on the “assumption that the truth or falseness of the allegations levelled” by the former judge was “irrelevant”. It also noted that the SJC opined that Justice Siddiqui had failed to substantiate, independently corroborate, substantiate or prove the allegations levelled by him. The IHC judges, in their letter, noted that the code of conduct for judges prescribed by SJC provides no guidance
PESHAWAR AFP
facilitators to the task. The prime minister also conveyed his condolatory message to the Chinese president and premier. “We will not let such nefarious attempts to undermine the Pak-China friendship succeed. The enemies of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor have again tried to interrupt it through such cowardly attempt but the enemy will never succeed in its evil designs,” the prime minister remarked. PM Shehbaz also reiterated the country’s resolve to continue fighting against terrorism till its complete eradication. The Chinese ambassador thanked the prime minister for visiting the embassy and showing personal interest in the investigation of the incident. He also appreciated the prime minister’s determination to maintain PakChina friendly ties. STAFF REPORT
STAFF REPORT
Govt ‘mapping’ Afghans ahead of eviction push after Eid
on how they “must react to and or report incidents that are tantamount to intimidation and interfere with judicial independence”. The judges further said that they “believe it is imperative to inquire into and determine whether there exists a continuing policy on the part of the executive branch of the state” to meddle in judicial affairs. In addition to this, the IHC judges requested that a judicial convention be called to consider the matter of “interference of intelligence operatives with judicial functions and or intimidation of judges in a manner that undermines the independence of the judiciary”. “Such institutional consultation might then assist the Supreme Court to consider how best to protect independence of the judiciary, put in place a mechanism to affix liability for those who undermine such independence, and clarify for the benefit of individual judges the course of action they must take when they find themselves at the receiving end of interference and/or intimidation by members of the executive,” it added.
Data is being gathered on Afghan migrants – including those legally resident in the country – ahead of a renewed eviction push slated to start after Eid, official sources told AFP on Tuesday. More than half a million Afghans fled Pakistan last year after the former government ordered undocumented migrants to leave or face arrest, as Islamabad-Kabul relations soured over security. Islamabad initially set a November 2023 deadline, however two officials, who asked to remain anonymous, said evictions would resume in the coming weeks. “This time, instructions have been given to also collect data and conduct mapping of legally resident Afghan citizens,” said a top government official in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). A senior K-P police official said whilst “a final decision” has not yet been taken by the government, “police have sprung into action regarding Afghan citizens”. “The federal government has directed to not only collect data of legal and illegal Afghan citizens but also to conduct their mapping,” he said. Two officials, who asked not to be named, previously told AFP the renewed push to evict migrants will begin after Eid, set to be celebrated in April’s second week. The interior ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Islamabad has previously said the massive eviction scheme is justified by security concerns and its faltering economy. But analysts say it is designed to pressure Kabul over rising attacks in the country’s border regions with Afghanistan, where the Taliban government is accused of giving militants patronage and safe haven. The Taliban government has consistently denied the allegations. Millions of Afghans have poured into Pakistan over the years, fleeing decades of cascading conflict.
As privatisation process enters next stage, what will timeline look like? PIA’S LIABILITIES & ASSETS ISLAMABAD
AHMAD AHMADANI
Plans to privatise Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) have entered phase two with the appointment of an 11-member board that will oversee a holding company that manages the national carrier’s assets. The government, it seems, is in a hurry to complete plans for the privatisation of the PIA. Part of the reason could be that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s finance team is currently gearing up to enter yet another programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Back in June 2023, Shehbaz Sharif’s previous government had agreed to
overhaul loss-making state-owned enterprises under a deal with the IMF for a $3 billion bailout. The PIA represents the largest and most significant of these SOEs. NOT THE FIRST TIME The deal was struck at a time when Pakistan was teetering on the edge of default. The PDM government had no choice but to agree even though different governments throughout the country’s history have shied away from having the stain of privatising Pakistan’s national airline on their track record. Plans to privatise PIA, however, seem to continuously get hampered. This is not the first time that the airline has reached phase II of privatisation either. Back in January
2018, the then PML-N government had first announced it was planning to establish another company under which all the fixed assets of PIA would be managed. There was also an attempt by Anwar ul Haq Kakar’s caretaker cabinet to privatise PIA. However, these plans were thwarted when the ECP invoked Article 230 of the Constitution, outlining the caretaker government’s roles and limitations, and stopped them from completing the process. The government, however, was also facing increasing pressure because of the debt burden being caused by the PIA. In February this year, the Finance Ministry and the Privatisation Ministry locked horns over the
transfer of the national carrier’s debt liabilities worth Rs 1.7 trillion to the government. WHAT ARE THE STEPS AHEAD? As things stand, the government has to go through a detailed 30 step process to privatise the national airline. A significant hurdle in the process involves obtaining No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) from around 35 lenders, a task with an unpredictable timeline due to PIA’s financial struggles. This step is critical for maintaining the airline’s operations and is indicative of the complexities involved in the privatisation efforts. Compared to past privatisations, such as the Heavy Electrical Complex which took two years to transition
to new ownership despite concluding the Sale Purchase Agreement in 2022, the PIA privatisation stands out for its complexity. Achieving this within a year would be considered a significant accomplishment. Despite prior commitments to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for a swift transaction, possibly by June 2024, sources critique these promises as overly optimistic. Part of the preparation involves PIA’s division into two separate entities, a process entailing multiple steps itself. The liabilities and assets of the PIA will now be transferred to the PIA Holding Company. The holding company will be led by former Governor State Bank of Pakistan Tariq Bajwa as Chairman.