Ground Zero

29/06/2024

KP Minister for Higher Education, Meena Khan Afridi chaired a meeting to discuss launching of allied health and nursing programmes in merged districts.

The meeting among others was attended by Vice Chancellor Khyber Medical University (KMU) and concerned officials of Higher Education and Health Department.

The minister was briefed about launching of these programs in merged districts and was told that KMU would provide laboratories and technical assistance while provincial government would provide colleges and infrastructure.

Meeting was also informed about the list of colleges selected for launching allied health science and nursing programmes.

29/06/2024

The Afghan defense ministry hit back at Pakistani defense minister Khawaja Asif’s recent statements, warning Pakistan that it would be held responsible for any resulting “consequences” if such attacks were carried out.

Afghan Defense Ministry took social media platform X and wrote: “It’s necessary for the leadership of Pakistan not to allow anyone to make such sensitive statement on sensitive issues. Anyone who violates our border under any pretext will be responsible for the consequences”

The ministry pointed out that Afghanistan’s main principle is not to permit any country to use its land against any country.

Afghan Taliban’s political office in Doha head Suhail Shaheen responded to Pakistan’s recent statement, indicating that the government will not allow anyone to harm Afghanistan.

29/06/2024

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has demanded the federal government refrain from launching "cross-border" attacks in Afghanistan in a bid to control terrorism after Defence Minister Khawaja Asif reportedly hinted at anti-militancy action in the war-withered country that shares a 2,640km border with Pakistan.

The federal minister, in a recent interview with a US media outlet, revealed the government's potential plans to launch anti-terrorism attacks in Afghanistan while also ruling out negotiations with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Former ruling party criticises Defence Minister Khawaja Asif for hinting at action against terrorists in Afghanistan

29/06/2024

Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said the Afghan territory was being used for committing terrorism, bloodshed, and destruction in Pakistan.

Pakistan possessed concrete evidence that its enemies had sanctuaries in Afghanistan and would take counter measures to defend its citizens, he said in the National Assembly.

The defence minister recounted his visit to Kabul during which he had conveyed to the Afghan authorities that fostering good relations would be beneficial for both nations.

He urged the opposition not to do politicking on terrorism as it was a matter of national security and honouring the blood of martyrs.

Khawaja Asif highlighted the adverse impacts of terrorism on the country’s economy, alleging that some opposition members had links with the Taliban. Such people had facilitated the return of 6,000 terrorists of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to the country, he added.

The minister stressed the importance of national unity in combating terrorism and protecting Pakistan’s sovereignty and security.

29/06/2024

Over three million children are not enrolled at schools in Balochistan, and the government will address the concerns of the parents to bring out-of-schools children to the educational institutes.

It was stated by Balochistan Education Minister Raheela Hameed Khan Durrani during the National Achievement Test (NAT) launched by the Pakistan Institute of Education (PIE).

She highlighted the severity of the crisis, calling for urgent corrective measures.

This revelation comes in a backdrop of a worrisome national scenario as Pakistan is one the countries with the highest number of out-of-school children globally, exceeding 26 million. Balochistan, where an education emergency has been declared, mirrors this broader national crisis. Despite attempts to enforce Article 25-A of the Constitution, which guarantees free and compulsory education for children aged 5 to 16, the situation remains critical.

28/06/2024

In a bid to improve the electricity transmission system in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the provincial government has announced various projects aimed at expanding the infrastructure and administrative capabilities of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Transmission and Grid Company (KPT&GC).

According to a handout, the initiative marks a historic first for the province, allowing it to use its own resources to lay new transmission lines. These lines will facilitate the sale of inexpensive hydropower to the industrial sector at competitive rates.

Hydropower generated from rivers in the Chitral/Dir region, Kohistan region, Swat region, and Mansehra region will be distributed to industrial consumers through a modern distribution system.

28/06/2024

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has lifted the ban on recruitment in government departments.

As per details, Chief Minister Ali Amin Gundapur has directed the concerned authorities to lift the ban on all types of recruitment in the province.

A letter has been issued to the Chief Secretary from the Chief Minister’s secretariat.

28/06/2024

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet approved the establishment of a judicial commission to probe the May 9 incidents.

The decision was taken in the 9th meeting of the provincial cabinet, which was presided over by Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.

An official communique said the cabinet also approved to formally convey the Provincial Assembly’s 11th resolution to the federal government about the release of former prime minister Imran Khan and all political prisoners.

The cabinet approved the resolution to express solidarity with the Iranian people following the tragic helicopter incident resulting in the demise of Iranian president and other dignitaries.

28/06/2024

Peshawar High Court directed Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to remove all ‘blasphemous and objectionable’ material from TikTok, a popular video-sharing application.

A bench consisting of Justice Syed Mohammad Attique Shah and Justice Shakil Ahmad directed the authority to submit a progress report within seven days about removal of the said material from TikTok.

The bench issued the order over a petition, requesting for complete ban on TikTok, saying it failed to stop uploading of ‘blasphemous and indecent’ material on it.

28/06/2024

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi reaffirmed his commitment to support educated and vocationally trained women entrepreneurs in the province. Speaking with a delegation from the Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (WCCI) at Governor House, he emphasized the importance of providing business opportunities to skilled women for their financial autonomy and economic empowerment.

Governor Kundi praised the WCCI for advancing women’s roles in business, trade, and vocational entrepreneurship. He assured complete cooperation to women investors to promote prosperity in the province. Highlighting the abilities and skills of KP’s women, he stressed that their involvement in business would benefit the entire country and positively impact the national economy.

28/06/2024

The Balochistan government has decided to enrol around 400 children of labourers in higher educational institutions across the country on scholarship basis this year.

The Labour and Manpower Department has registered 200 children of laborers and the registration of 200 more children in the process will be completed by July 15.

This was decided in a review meeting of the Department of Labour and Manpower which was chaired by Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti

The meeting reviewed the progress of the Youth Skills Development Program. The Chief Minister was informed that the first batch of skilled youth from Balochistan would be sent abroad in March 2025, while unskilled would also be sent abroad for employment in December 2025.

27/06/2024

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has made it clear that it will not support any military operation, particularly the recently announced Operation Azm-e-Istehkam, until and unless the federal government took parliament and the four provincial assemblies into confidence about details of the proposed action.

“The announcement of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif about launching Operation Azm-e-Istehkam has created a lot of tension and confusion in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, particularly the tribal districts. The prime minister should have avoided such an irresponsible statement on important issues like national security matters,” said Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif, who is the Special Assistant to the Chief Minister on Information and Public Relations.

He and other senior politicians including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Asad Qaiser and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai expressed their views at a Tribal Peace Jirga held in Peshawar about the recent announcement of the prime minister about the launch of proposed military operation.

27/06/2024

The Islamabad High Court ordered the removal of the name of former state minister Zartaj Gul from the Exit Control List (ECL).

A single-judge IHC bench, comprising Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri issued the order on a petition filed by Zartaj Gul, the parliamentary leader of the PTI-Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) in the Nation Assembly.

During the proceedings, the Assistant Attorney General appeared before the court and presented the case record in the court.

As proceedings began, the judge questioned the state lawyer why Zartaj Gul’s name was listed in two FIRs in the report, quipping that the names of actual terrorists never make it to the ECL.

The judge wondered why the names of political leaders are put on the ECL just for holding political rallies.

27/06/2024

At least two people were killed, and several others sustained injuries in Balochistan's Dera Bugti district due to heavy rains, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).
The severe weather in the Sui area resulted in 20 injuries, leaving many in critical condition.

Following the incident, local hospitals declared an emergency to manage the influx of injured individuals.

Power outages plagued most of Dera Bugti as several electricity poles collapsed under the heavy rains.

27/06/2024

The US State Department said that no country should face the kind of terrorist attacks Pakistani people have suffered from, reiterating that Washington has a shared interest with Islamabad in combating threats to regional security.

The PML-N-led coalition government had approved a reinvigorated and re-energised national counter-terrorism campaign — originally titled Operation Azm-i-Istehkam but later rebranded as Vision Azm-i-Istehkam due to opposition’s criticism — which Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said symbolised national resolve to eradicate extremism and terrorism from the country.

The campaign was launched with the consensus of all stakeholders — including all four provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir — during a meeting of the Central Apex Committee on the National Action Plan.

27/06/2024

Pakistan has reported the sixth case of poliovirus in as many months this year, equalling the tally for the entire previous year.

The case was reported from Balochistan’s Qila Abdullah district on Tuesday, a day after Pri­m­­­e Minister Shehbaz Sharif chai­red a meeting on the polio programme, which was also attended by philanthropist Bill Gates.

The latest victim is an 18-month-old male child living in the Killi Syedan area of Qila Abdullah. He had not received any oral polio vaccine since birth.

As per the parents, the child had a high-grade fever on June 1 and developed weakness in the right leg two days later.

Special vaccination drive in Balochistan from July 1; PM appoints Ayesha Raza Farooq as focal person

The child was taken to a local healthcare centre and was referred to Al-Khair private hospital in Quetta on June 8.

He had no travel history prior to the onset of the paralysis.

26/06/2024

The Doha 3 meeting, scheduled for June 30 to July 1, however, is a new low for the UN since the Taliban takeover in August 2021. The UN, pulling out all the stops to get the Taliban to attend, has crafted an agenda excluding human rights and a guestlist excluding Afghan women from the main meetings. In other words, those most impacted by Taliban abuses are being sidelined and excluded from talking about their fate by the UN. It also contravenes UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, which seeks to ensure women’s full participation in key international discussions.

For weeks, a growing number of Afghan women activists in the country and the diaspora have called on states to boycott Doha 3, knowing that the Taliban would not meet with Afghan women.

26/06/2024

Balochistan Home Minister Ziaullah Langau said that banned outfits Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) were working together to carry out terrorist attacks in Pakistan with India as their “single investor”.

He made the statement during a press conference in Quetta, where he shared that security forces had arrested two key militant commanders — TTP’s Nasrullah aka Maulvi Mansoor and Idrees aka Irshad — and then showed a recorded statement of the former.

26/06/2024

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) decided to convene a jirga regarding the possible launch of "Operation Azm-i-Istehkam.

According to PTI sources, a jirga with tribal chiefs and leaders from across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) will be held in Peshawar on June 26. There is also a chance of presenting a resolution for consent.

Sources further reveal that, based on the recommendations of the resolution, a strategy will be devised for the national and provincial assemblies.

The decisions made by the jirga will be presented as a resolution in these assemblies.

26/06/2024

The Balochistan government announced arrest of two prominent leaders of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), marking a significant achievement in the fight against terrorism.

The arrested individuals are Nasrullah, alias "Maulvi Mansoor," and Idris, alias "Irshad."

"We have apprehended an important terrorist network. The militants have been arrested after a difficult operation," Balochistan Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Langove said while speaking at a press conference.

He congratulated the law enforcement agencies for their effective operation against terrorists and accused "India is responsible for supporting and financing terrorist activities."

26/06/2024

In a defining moment, de-dollarisation has kicked off in Gwadar Free Zones in the backdrop of the final decision enshrined in the federal budget 2024-25 which allows all companies in the Gwadar Free Zones to exercise their trade transactions in Pakistani currency instead of the US dollars.

Under the amended SRO.805 (I)/ 2024 Customs Rules 2001, conditions of dollar transactions between the Gwadar Free Zone and the tariff area (Pakistan’s markets and industries that work out of the jurisdiction of Gwadar Free Zone) have been stricken down. Now Gwadar Free Zone and the tariff area will do business in Pakistani currency. This impetus will protect trades of both sides from the fluctuations of the dollar.

25/06/2024

Balochistan Medical Emergency Response Center Director-General declared the national highways of Balochistan as ‘bloody highways’.

He said during the last five years, 64,000 people were injured in 46,000 traffic accidents.

There are eight national highways covering 4,500 km in Balochistan. The statistics of accidents in the last five years are alarming.

Over 46,000 accidents occurred in the last five years while over 63,000 people were injured in the last five years.

25/06/2024

Chief of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman has expressed surprise over the announcement of Operation Azm-e-Istehkam in the apex committee meeting of the National Action Plan (NAP) without consulting the parliament and political leadership.

Rehman emphasised that the people of Pakistan, especially those in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, can no longer afford military operations. The country, he argued, needs political stability rather than military interventions, highlighting the failure of past operations to achieve desired results.

He stressed the urgent need for establishing peace, ending terrorism, and stopping foreign interference. He asserted that these objectives can only be met through the formation of a government with a genuine public mandate.

25/06/2024

Dagestan Terror Attacks: Gunmen Target Synagogue and Churches, Killing 16

Dagestan's synagogue and Orthodox churches were attacked by gunmen, leading to 16 deaths, including police officers and a priest.

25/06/2024

Pakistan’s official news agency has announced that the government in Islamabad is mulling over plans to launch a shipping line with Iran to make it easy for Pakistanis going on pilgrimage trips to the southwestern neighbor.

Minister of Maritime Affairs Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh said that the Pakistani government is assessing plans to launch shipping lines with both Iran and Oman.

The minister said that the shipping line with Iran is part of efforts to facilitate trips by Pakistani pilgrims to the country. No further details were reported.

Pakistan first came up with the plan in 2014 when the then government decided to set up a shipping line with Iranian ports of Chabahar and Bandar Abbas in an effort to ease trips by Pakistani pilgrims and address the security challenges faced by them.

Almost 120,000 Pakistani passengers, including pilgrims, visit Iran each year through Mirjaveh and Rimdan border crossings.

25/06/2024

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) opposed Operation Azm-e-Istehkam, maintaining that operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would not be allowed ‘at any cost’.

According to the details, the PTI held a high-level meeting in Islamabad to discuss the operation ” Operation Azm-e-Istehkam ” in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Asad Qaiser, and other leaders attended the meeting.

PTI leader Iqbal Afridi said that the party has unanimously opposed the operation. He said that it was decided to put forward the matter before Jirga.

“This Jirga will decide whether the operation is to be carried out or not,” Iqbal Afridi added.

The sources said that Ali Amin Gandapur briefed the party members on operations against terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The participants expressed their opposition to the operation, stating that they would not accept any operation in the province.

It is pertinent to mention here that earlier in the day, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) and Awami National Party (ANP) also opposed the Azm-e-Istehkam.

25/06/2024

The import of coal from Afghanistan through the Torkham border has reduced considerably after the ruling Afghan Taliban in the neighbouring country increased taxes on coal mines and duty on its export while Pakistani industrialists are also switching over to comparatively cheaper local coal.

Custom clearing agents in Torkham told that the import of all types of goods from Afghanistan through the Kharlachi border crossing in the Kurram tribal district had been suspended for the last few months due to the security situation, local coal importers were finding it difficult to pay additional duties and taxes imposed by the Afghan Taliban since their ascendency to power in Kabul.

They said that prior to the hike in customs duty and taxes on mines in Afghanistan, more than 4,000 vehicles loaded with coal would come from Afghanistan via Torkham on a monthly basis, whereas, “The number of such vehicles has now dropped down to 1,200 to 1,300 per month,” they added.

24/06/2024

Mob Lynching Case in Swat: 23 Arrested for Killing Tourist Accused of Blasphemy

Mob lynching case in Swat: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police form JIT, 23 suspects arrested after tourist lynched for alleged blasphemy.

24/06/2024

"Azm-e-Istehkam: Analyzing the Controversy and Necessity of Pakistan's New Military Operation"

24/06/2024

Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Faisal Karim Kundi has said that all sectors including health have been pushed towards destruction in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, adding the picture of the province shown on media is against the factual position.

Talking to a delegation of the People’s Doctors Forum (PDF) which called on him under the leadership of Dr Janbaz Afridi at Governor’s House, he said that PTI during its rule of over one decade has played havoc with each sector and now for their restoration and improvement, the political leadership will have to work together.