Category: National

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  • Watch: Suicide bomber shares how she was brainwashed to commit violence

    Watch: Suicide bomber shares how she was brainwashed to commit violence

    Balochistan government held a press conference with Adeela Baloch, a would-be suicide bomber who issued an apology for her actions while talking to the media. She also shed light on her experiences in the mountains with other terrorists.

    A government official started off by explaining that the Counter Terrorism Department along with local officials conducted an operation in wake of recent events of terrorism in Balochistan.There, they found out that a woman associated with the department of nursing in the District Headquarters Hospital of Turbat is missing and her family is searching for her. She was later identified as Adeela, daughter of Khuda Bakhsh, who has now been recovered from the mountains.

    Adeela started off by explaining that she is from Turbat and got qualified as a nurse from Quetta’s Bolan Medical Hospital. She stated that she was also running a project of WHO-World Health Organization. “Even though my work requires to save lives of people but unfortunately, I was in touch with people who were manipulative,” she lamented as she shared how she was made to believe that suiciding bombing is the only way left to register her demands.

    “I did not even think that by doing the suicide bombing I would loose my life but it wouldn’t just be me, there will be a lot many people, dying besides me,” she added.

    Adeela made it a point to mention that she left for the mountains without letting her family know anything and realized her “mistake” when she reached up there.

    Crying, she described how she was told that her life will be changed for good up in the mountains but the conditions were hard. Many others like her, or even younger, were there after having been manipulated into becoming terrorists.

    She asserted, “The current perspective that Baloch women are carrying out suicide attacks out of their own free will is not true, as I am a witness myself that they blackmail women into doing this.”

    She thanked the Baloch government for saving her and emphasised that her safety might prompt others to come back on the right track. “Don’t listen to these people as they use you for their own sake,” she said on a parting note.

  • Clashes continue: What is happening in Kurram?

    Clashes continue: What is happening in Kurram?

    The local administration and grand jirga of Kurram district have not yet succeeded in putting an end to the on-going clashes that erupted between rival tribes of Bushehra and Ahmadzai following the construction of trenches on disputed land.

    The Nation reported that according to Kurram police officials, rival tribes exchanged fire on Tuesday at different parts of the tribal district, including Balashkhel, Khaar Kali, Trimanal, Baghki, Maqbal, and Kanj Alizai.

    When the matter was resolved, the brief pause was interrupted by a landmine explosion, followed by another phase of gunfire in Bushehra, which was then brought under control. The clashes, however, began in Upper and Lower Kurram.

    According to BBC Urdu, 15 individuals have lost their lives so far, from both Shia and Sunni sects, over dispute of land.

    Former Senator and tribal leader Sajid Turi claimed that grand jirga tried to resolve the dispute, but it ended in vain.

    Lambasting the incumbent government, he stated that in July, many jirga’s took place but none resolved the disputes between tribals because of government’s lack of interest and support.

    Previously, rival tribes clashed in the Kurram district on August 2, 2024, which resulted in 46 deaths and nearly 200 injuries. These clashes were also triggered by a land dispute.

  • Govt warns IPPs to end Power Purchase Agreement or face forensic audit

    Govt warns IPPs to end Power Purchase Agreement or face forensic audit

    Owners of four Independent Power Producers (IPPs) set up under both 1994 policy 2002 policy have been directed to voluntarily discontinue the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and go into ‘pay-and-take mode’, an official privy to the dealings told The News.

    Official privy further said, “The government will not pay capacity payments anymore in the range of Rs139-150 billion per annum to the said IPPs for the next 3-5 years; this has been told to the proprietors of the said five IPPs. They have also been categorically told that the government has already made excess payments to the said IPPs in the form of capacity payments and returns on equity and has also paid the loans for the IPPs.”

    Meanwhile, the owner of IPP, the official said, responded that if the government pays RS 55 billion to his company, he will not only be ready to terminate the contract but also hand over the plant to the government.

    The main member of the task force has told IPP owners that there is no other option for them; if they don’t act, a forensic audit will initiate and recover extra profits they made in the past through wrongdoings.

    The 1994 governmental agreement with IPPs states that whether these power producers work at a hundred per cent efficiency or fifty per cent efficiency, they will be paid for their installed capacity.

    The agreement was based on a ‘take or pay’ policy (the government was bound to pay to IPPs even if no electricity was produced or supplied), not a “take and pay” policy.

  • US gives ridiculous justification to embargo Pakistan’s missile programme

    US gives ridiculous justification to embargo Pakistan’s missile programme

    The United States (US) has reiterated its double standards in the international world, emphasizing its stance on Pakistan’s long-range ballistic missile programme, citing the absurd reason of strengthening the international non-proliferating regime.

    In a press briefing from Washington, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated, “We have been clear and consistent about our concerns with Pakistan’s ballistic missile programme for many years.”

    “Pakistan has been a long-term partner of ours, and I think what this action shows is that there continue to be places where we have disagreement, and when we have disagreements, we won’t hesitate to act on those to protect America’s interests,” Miller added.

    Responding to Miller’s statement, Pakistan stated, “Such double standards and discriminatory practices undermine the credibility of global nonproliferation regimes, increase military asymmetries, and endanger international peace and security.”

    The US imposed sanctions on three Chinese companies and a Chinese research institute that had assisted Pakistan in developing the Shaheen Three and Ababeel missile systems.

    In a statement, the spokesperson of the State Department had cleared that these embargos were imposed under the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and Export Control Reform Act (ECRA).

  • Pakistan joins Asia-wide protests against fossil fuels, demands climate action

    Pakistan joins Asia-wide protests against fossil fuels, demands climate action

    Pakistan will join a wave of protests across Asia on September 13, calling for an end to fossil fuels and a rapid transition to renewable energy. These demonstrations will urge world leaders to take immediate action on climate change ahead of the United Nations Summit of the Future and COP29.

    Pakistan Maholiati Tahaffuz Movement, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum will organize a protest at the Karachi Press Club, highlighting the impact of fossil fuels on coastal communities and the environment.

    The Policy Research Institute for Equitable Development (PRIED) and partners, including Indus Consortium, Alliance for Climate Justice and Clean Energy, and Alternative Law Collective (ALC), will protest at an ADB-funded coal site in Jamshoro, Sindh, demanding an end to coal expansion and a shift to sustainable energy sources.

    In Faisalabad, the Pakistan Labour Qaumi Movement, the Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee, and the Labour Education Foundation will organize a protest at Aman Ghar, a labour training centre.

    These actions will show how important it is for Pakistan to stop coal expansion and rapidly phase out existing coal. They will also highlight the Global North’s continued support of coal projects in Asia despite its promise to move away from fossil fuels.

  • Punjab Assembly speaker calls Rs. 417 monthly rent at Lahore Gymkhana ‘exploitation’

    Punjab Assembly speaker calls Rs. 417 monthly rent at Lahore Gymkhana ‘exploitation’

    Punjab Assembly took up the issue of the elite club Lahore Gymkhana paying only Rs 417 per month as a lease for over 1,000 Kanals of state land, with the assembly speaker calling it “exploitation.”

    The Punjab Assembly speaker, Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan, referred the matter to a special committee, which will submit a report within two weeks.

    Interestingly, it was also announced that the Gymkhana proceedings will not be in-camera.

    Geo Fact Check’s investigations in May this year revealed that the lease agreement, signed in 1996, between the then deputy commissioner of Lahore and the secretary of Lahore Gymkhana Club allowed over a thousand kanals of public land in the centre of Lahore to the club for 50 years at the rate of Rs 5,000 per year.

    The lease, effective from 2000, remains valid until 2050, reported Geo Fact Check.

    The prestigious club is known for having top post bureaucrats, politicians, businessmen, and armed forces personnel as members, and it has over ten years of waiting lists for those who wish to join.

    This development comes as the country goes through one of the most difficult economic periods. With high rates of inflation and increasing debts, the government is trying to reduce its bloated expenditures through an apparent austerity drive.

  • Government employees banned from sharing political views on social media

    Government employees banned from sharing political views on social media

    Pakistan’s government has banned its employees from sharing political or religious opinions with the media and on social media platforms.

    The Establishment Division has reportedly issued an office memorandum for government employees. According to the rules, no government employee can speak on any media platform without the government’s permission.

    The employees are also not allowed to share official documents or information with unrelated employees, citizens, or the press.

    The public servants cannot express opinions and facts on the media or social media, which may affect the government’s reputation.

    Civil servants, too, cannot speak to the media, which could affect relations with other countries.

    The office memorandum also clearly states that violating guidelines will result in consequences and that all government employees must adhere to the set instructions.

    The memorandum also highlights that government institutions have been ordered to actively monitor and remove objectionable content from their social media platforms. All federal secretaries, additional secretaries, heads of departments, and chief secretaries are expected to ensure the implementation of the directives.

  • Govt confirms installation of Web Monitoring System; blocks access to certain websites, applications

    Govt confirms installation of Web Monitoring System; blocks access to certain websites, applications

    The government of Pakistan has formally confirmed the installation of the Web Monitoring System (WMS) for content management on the Internet.

    According to the Cabinet, Pakistan Telecommunication (PTA) has installed WMS to manage content on the Internet, and the process of blocking websites and applications within Pakistan is underway.

    PTA has blocked 2369 URLs and 183 mobile applications as of yet.

    Earlier, PTA clarified that the ongoing internet slowdown across the country was mainly due to the failure of two of the seven international submarine cables connecting Pakistan to the outside world. The fault in the submarine cable is likely to be fixed by early October 2024.

    Last week, the PTA told the Senate Standing Committee that Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) were overloading internet services in the country.

  • When will Pakistanis have full access to internet?

    When will Pakistanis have full access to internet?

    Pakistan’s internet slowdown has been ongoing for over a month, and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) deadline for its restoration ended yesterday. The deadline has passed, and the internet remains disrupted.

    “The internet slowdown is due to the failure of two out of seven submarine cables. The rerouting of the AAE-1 cable is completed; after this, the internet services will be further improved.” read PTA’s statement.

    “The repair phase of the SMW4 cable is likely to be completed by October 2024, and internet services will be fully available after the completion of the second submarine cable,” PTA further added.

    The internet in Pakistan has been slow since July, which has caused many digital businesses to lose money and many freelancers to lose their jobs.

  • How was Faiz Hameed arrested? Azaz Syed reveals interesting details

    How was Faiz Hameed arrested? Azaz Syed reveals interesting details

    Veteran journalist Azaz Syed has revealed how former spymaster General (retd) Faiz Hameed’s arrest took place.

    On his YouTube show Talk Shock, Azaz said that Superintendent Adiala jail Mohammad Akram had multiple phones, one of which was an outdated Chinese-made phone used to exchange messages between former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and the former Chief of Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) Faiz Hameed.

    “The phone was so outdated that the latest technology that the intelligence agencies deployed could not initially trace its calls,” Azaz claims.

    He said that information was sent to intelligence that Mohammad Akram received calls from one number many times; after the number was checked, Faiz was apprehended, and intelligence agencies recovered the phone.

    He further revealed that “Former Chief Justice Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar was also contacted through these phones.”

    While commenting on Akram’s arrest, Syed predicted he would be a sworn witness against Imran Khan and Faiz Hameed.

    Azaz said, “It will be a confessional statement someday”.

    “When all evidence was showed to Faiz Hameed, he was shocked and disturbed”, Azaz claimed, adding that caught red-handed, he did not get the option to deny what he had done.