Tag: Afghanistan

  • 28 bodies of Pakistanis recovered in migrant boat crash off Italy’s coast

    28 bodies of Pakistanis recovered in migrant boat crash off Italy’s coast

    The bodies of 28 Pakistanis have been recovered after a wooden sail boat carrying migrants from several countries crashed against the rocks off the southern Italian coast early on Sunday.

    According to the Pakistani embassy in Rome, a total of 40 Pakistanis were on board the ill-fated boat. The fate of 12 more citizens is still unclear.

    Talking about the tragic incident, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has said that most of the Pakistan who died belonged to Gujrat and some of them were on their way to Italy from Libya.

    The agency also said that strict action will be surely taken against the facilitators, ‘agents’ who send these people via illegal routes to foreign countries.

    A total of 59 migrants lost their life in the crash. The survivors were mostly from Afghanistan, as well as a few from Pakistan and a couple from Somalia. One survivor was arrested on migrant trafficking charges, customs police said.

    “According to survivors, 140 to 150 people were on board,” Manuela Curra, the provincial government official said. She added that 81 survivors— most of them from Afghanistan —had come ashore, including 22 who were now in the hospital.

  • Will summon Faiz Hameed in Parliament, says Khawaja Asif

    Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said that he will demand in the parliament that former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director-General (DG) Lieutenant General (retd) Faiz Hameed should be summoned to the floor.

    Speaking on Mohammad Malick’s show “Breaking News” on 92 News, he alleged that Hameed brought Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) back to the country. Referencing to Hameed’s visit to Kabul in 2022 asked why Hameed gave out assurances that everything would be okay.

    It is pertinent to mention here that the former spy chief went to Kabul following the withdrawal of United States (US) troops from Afghanistan.

    He was expected to discuss border management and the overall security issue — to ensure that spoilers and terrorist organisations do not take advantage of the situation — with the Taliban.

    Further lashing out at Hameed, the federal minister said that hundreds of thousands of Afghanis are still in Pakistan and put the blame for the recent extreme episodes of terrorism on the former spy chief’s head.

    He also pointed out that terrorism incidents in the country did not increase just within six to eight months.

    Since government talks with the TTP broke down in November, the militant group has intensified its attacks across Pakistan including attacks on the police.

    According to statistics released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), January 2023 remained one of the deadliest months since July 2018.

    In January, more than 100 people lost their lives in a suicide attack at a mosque in Peshawar’s Police Lines. The TTP initially claimed responsibility for the attack, however, it later backtracked and claimed that it did not perpetrate the bombing.

    TTP is also responsible for the recent attack on Karachi police chief’s office which took place on February 17.

  • Terror attacks: January 2023 deadliest month since July 2018

    Terror attacks: January 2023 deadliest month since July 2018

    January 2023 has become the deadliest month with the maximum number of terror attacks since July 2018, with 134 people losing their lives in at least 44 militant attacks across Pakistan, data released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) has shown.

    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) residents remain in the eye of the storm after two suicide bombings were rocked the province — one in Peshawar and the other one in the tribal district.

    Although the number of terrorist attacks declined slightly in January, fatalities increased by 139 per cent, attributed mostly to the Peshawar Police Lines suicide blast on Monday which resulted in the death of over 100 people.

    The data mentions that KP Police was the primary target of the militants operating in the province bordering Afghanistan.

    Militant attacks declined in Balochistan during January, however, Punjab saw four incidents in which three security forces personnel were killed while two low-profile attacks were reported in Sindh in which one person died.

  • Cold snap kills least 160 people in Afghanistan

    Cold snap kills least 160 people in Afghanistan

    Afghan authorities have reported on Thursday that more than 160 people have died this month from the cold, as the country goes through the most severe winter season in more than a decade.

    Villagers in the country have spoken of their inability to pay for fuel to heat their houses in well-below-freezing conditions.

    “162 people have died due to cold weather since January 10 until now,” said Shafiullah Rahimi, a spokesperson for the Minister of Disaster Management.

    Temperatures have dipped to as low as -34 degrees Celsius (-29.2 degrees Fahrenheit).

    Even in the early days of winter, medical specialists noticed a significant increase in the number of young children suffering from severe pneumonia and other respiratory ailments. The ailments are partially attributable to rising poverty, which hinders individuals from appropriately heating their houses.

  • Bilawal blames PTI policies for TTP attacks

    Bilawal blames PTI policies for TTP attacks

    Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari— who is currently in Davos for the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual meeting— has spoken to Al Jazeera about the recently held conference in Geneva for Pakistan’s devasting flood losses, a looming economic crisis and the soaring threats of terrorism.

    In his interview, the 34-year-old minister blamed the previous government led by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for its wrong approach and “policy of appeasement” towards the Taliban.

    He said, “I believe that the previous government had the wrong approach. Its policy of appeasement towards the Taliban has created problems for the people of Pakistan”, adding that this approach has been ended by the incumbent government.

    He said that recently the government also had a national security meeting and it was decided then that Pakistan would adopt a zero-tolerance policy against terrorist groups.

    Talking about the oppressive Taliban reign in Afghanistan, Bilawal urged the world to continue engaging with Afghanistan as it is the only solution. He said, “We [Pakistan] are neighbours, we couldn’t separate if we wanted to. The only way to enhance leverage on both sides is to continue to engage with them.”

    “I do not think turning our back and disengaging is an option. And it’s certainly not an option for Pakistan which shares such a long and porous border with Afghanistan”, he said, highlighting that both “Pakistanis and Afghanis are victims of terrorism”.

    About the economic and food crisis back home, the minister pointed out that Pakistan is not alone in facing the economic crisis as the world is also suffering and these all are the result of post-covid and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

    However, he hoped that the situation will get better in the coming days. `

    Terming the Geneva conference “resilient”, he thanked the international community for pledging more than $9 billion for Pakistan’s flood rehabilitation and climate resilience building.

  • Talibans unveil first Afghani ‘supercar’ with Toyota Corolla Altis 1.8 engine

    Talibans unveil first Afghani ‘supercar’ with Toyota Corolla Altis 1.8 engine

    Even though Afghanistan has recently made headlines for its restrictions on women, its people have now come up with something that is putting it on the map for the right reasons: a homegrown supercar called the Mada 9.

    The five-year design and development process for the sporty-looking Mada 9 prototype sports car was overseen by 30 engineers from the manufacturer ENTOP and Kabul’s Afghanistan Technical Vocational Institute (ATVI).

    The car is mostly always stationary in social media videos that are making the rounds, and ENTOP hasn’t provided any performance information at all, so it’s unclear what it can do on the road.

    Given that the Mada 9 team claims their engine is that of a very underwhelming Toyota Corolla, it is unlikely to compete with brands like Bugatti and McLaren.

    It features the same engine that Toyota employed in the Corolla Altis 1.8 (2005–2011; E140), which is likewise quite well-liked in Pakistan. The stock 1ZZ-FE is capable of producing up to 171 Newton metres (Nm) of torque and 132 horsepower (hp).

    It can produce more than 170 hp thanks to the factory-installed supercharger from Toyota.

    A spokesman for the Taliban Zabihullah Mujahid proudly shared pictures of the car on social media and said that the nation as a whole was “honoured” by its construction.

    The news of the supercar was well received in Afghanistan, and many quickly shared pictures of it on social media, claiming it was evidence of the country’s prowess in science and technology.

    However, many more users brought up the fact that the supercar was introduced as Afghanistan battled one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world and that the Taliban had revoked the rights of the nation’s women to study and work.

  • Blast in Kabul near Ministry of Foreign Affairs

    Blast in Kabul near Ministry of Foreign Affairs

    An explosion has taken place in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul. Multiple casualties are being reported.

    In a tweet, a spokesman of the Kabul Police Command, Khalid Zadran confirmed the tragedy.

    He wrote, “Today around 4 o’clock there was an explosion on the road of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which unfortunately resulted in casualties. Security teams have reached the area, and the details of the incident will be shared later.”

    According to media outlets, at least three people have lost their lives as of now.

    It has also been reported that the blast took place when a meeting was underway between a Chinese govt delegation and Taliban representatives inside the ministry.

    This is a developing story.

  • Lashkar-e-Khorasan claims responsibility for killing two intelligence officers

    Lashkar-e-Khorasan claims responsibility for killing two intelligence officers

    Lashkar-e-Khorasan, a relatively unknown terrorist group allied with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has claimed responsibility for killing two intelligence officers who were martyred on Tuesday in Khanewal, journalists have reported.

    The two officers, who were part of the counter-terrorism department of the intelligence service, were known for arresting members of the TTP and other militant organisations. They also had a formidable reputation for solving complicated terrorism cases including bombings.

    Both officers were shot as they were parking their vehicle outside a roadside restaurant in Pirowal where they reportedly planned to have tea.

    Terrorist incidents across the country are on the rise after a ceasefire pact with the government ended in November.

    Defense Minister Khwaja Asif had said on Monday that the recent spate of attacks were being staged by Pakistani Taliban hiding in Afghanistan. He asked the Taliban administration in the neighboring country to stop the attacks emanating from their soil.

  • ‘Zero tolerance’; PM warns terrorists

    Amid rising terror attacks, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has said that Pakistan will adopt the policy of zero-tolerance against terrorists.

    From his account on Twitter, the Premier said that the National Security Committee (NSC) has come up with two major decisions, which include adopting a zero-tolerance policy against terrorists and forming a roadmap to revive the economy of Pakistan.

    A day earlier, the second round of the National Security Committee (NSC) meeting reiterated a “zero tolerance” policy for terrorism in the country, according to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

    A press release issued by the PMO after the meeting’s conclusion said the NSC reaffirmed its determination to take on “any and all entities that resort to violence”, adding that any violence would be dealt with the “full force of the state”.

    On December 30, 2022, the forum vowed to respond firmly to resurgent terrorism in the country and declared militants as “enemies of Pakistan”.

    On the other hand, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Monday said that Afghanistan’s soil is being used against Pakistan despite an agreement with the Taliban government.

    During Geo News’ programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’, the minister urged the Taliban to fulfill commitments made in the Doha deal.

    “The Pakistani government is in constant touch with Afghanistan in connection with border violations”, he said.

    Over the past few months, the law and order situation in the country has worsened, with terrorist groups like the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) executing attacks across the country.

  • ‘If my mother or sister can’t study, then I won’t accept this education’, Afghan professor tears up diploma in protest against ban on women’s education

    ‘If my mother or sister can’t study, then I won’t accept this education’, Afghan professor tears up diploma in protest against ban on women’s education

    A professor from Kabul University tore up his diploma during a live news interview, protesting against the ban on women’s education placed by the Taliban administration.
    “From today I don’t need these diplomas anymore because this country is no place for getting education. If my sister & my mother can’t study, then I DON’T accept this education,” the emotional Professor stated.

    The act of revolt comes after the Taliban placed a ban on female education across the country. The Acting Higher Education Minister Neda Mohammad Nadeem said the ban was a result of women wearing inappropriate clothes and interacting with men.
    “They didn’t observe Hijab; they were coming with the clothes that most women wear to a wedding,” he said.

    The controversial decision has led to a rise of protests all over the country, with video clips emerging on social media, showing men choosing to walk out of university in protest against the ban.