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Three soldiers, four militants killed in fire exchange in northwestern Pakistan

Three soldiers, four militants killed in fire exchange in northwestern Pakistan
In this file picture, taken on June 17, 2014, Pakistani security personnel keep watch at a checkpoint in Hangu, a town in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. (AFP/File)
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Updated 09 August 2024
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Three soldiers, four militants killed in fire exchange in northwestern Pakistan

Three soldiers, four militants killed in fire exchange in northwestern Pakistan
  • The clashes between the two sides took place at three different locations in Tirah Valley
  • The area has a history of militancy due to its rugged terrain, proximity to Afghanistan
Updated 09 August 2024
Arab News Pakistan
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s security forces lost three soldiers in clashes with militants at three different places in Tirah Valley, located in the northwestern Khyber district, the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said on Friday, adding that four militants were also killed.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant activities since the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, unilaterally called off a fragile ceasefire with the government in November 2022.
Much of TTP’s militant activity has been confined to the country’s western provinces, prompting security officials to launch intelligence-based operations against its fighters who are reportedly being armed with sophisticated military equipment, including night vision devices.
Tirah Valley, where the recent clashes occurred, has a history of militancy due to its rugged terrain and proximity to the Afghanistan border.
“On 9 August 2024, fire exchange took place between Security Forces and the Khwarij [militants] at three different locations in Tirah Valley of Khyber District,” the ISPR said, adding that four of these militants were killed due to effective engagement of troops.
“However, during the intense fire exchange, three brave sons of soil, Havildar Inam Gul (age: 37 years, resident of District Mianwali), Sepoy Muhammad Imran (age: 29 years, resident of District Tank) and Sepoy Iltaf Khan (age: 22 years, resident of District Mardan), having fought gallantly embraced Shahadat [martyrdom],” it continued.
The ISPR also mentioned “sanitization operation” in the area to eliminate other militants.
It added that Pakistani security forces were determined to eliminate extremist violence from the country.

Topics: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Pakistan Army

Pakistan parliament bills seek to ban judges’ dual citizenship, limit powers

Pakistan parliament bills seek to ban judges’ dual citizenship, limit powers
Updated 03 September 2024
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Pakistan parliament bills seek to ban judges’ dual citizenship, limit powers

Pakistan parliament bills seek to ban judges’ dual citizenship, limit powers
  • The private member bills seek to strip the judiciary of contempt of court powers, curtail suo motu authority
  • Legal experts say parliament wants to control the courts amid their excessive involvement in political cases
Updated 03 September 2024
Aamir Saeed

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani opposition lawmaker on Tuesday tabled three constitutional bills in the National Assembly, seeking a ban on dual citizenship for judges, proposing a nine-member bench for public interest cases and abolishing the Supreme Court’s authority to initiate legal proceedings on its own through suo motu powers.
The opposition member, Noor Alam Khan of the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) party, introduced the bills on private members’ day, allowing lawmakers to propose legislation independently of their party’s policy.
The bills come at a time when the government is at odds with the country’s judiciary following a Supreme Court ruling declaring the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of jailed ex-PM Imran Khan eligible for reserved seats for women and religious minorities in the national and provincial legislatures.
The ruling weakened Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s fragile coalition, which could lose its two-thirds majority in parliament if the decision is implemented. Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party has already filed a review petition in the Supreme Court against the verdict favoring the PTI.
“Whether it’s a judge or a bureaucrat, no one should be a dual national,” Khan said while introducing the bill, adding if members of parliament could not have dual nationality, nobody should have it.
While private member bills rarely become laws since they require government support, particularly in case of a constitutional amendment which requires two-third majority in both the National Assembly and the Senate, Pakistan’s law minister Azam Nazir Tarar described it a “reasonable suggestion.”
The JUI-F lawmaker also objected to how the top court employed Article 184(3) of the constitution, which grants suo motu powers to judges, previously.
“This Article 184(3) has been often misused in the past,” he said, adding that numerous politicians including prime ministers had been convicted after the court invoked the legal provision and calling for an amendment to prevent its misuse.
In the bill, he suggested that a nine-member Supreme Court bench should first decide if a case warrants suo motu proceedings and also grant the right to review to the applicants.
The Pakistani law minister said the right to appeal in such cases was already granted to applicants through a previous legislation, and a five-member bench could hear public interest cases. However, he did not oppose the bill.
Khan also introduced another bill in the house seeking the repeal of contempt of court powers, saying the court had previously targeted prime ministers and their cabinet members by using the law and initiating legal proceedings.
“This constitutes a human rights violation,” he continued, emphasizing that no such law existed in the entire world.
The law minister agreed there should be no “oppressive law” that could impact the citizen’s freedom of expression. However, he suggested any amendment in this regard should be introduced in the act of parliament instead of the constitution.
Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and chairman of ex-PM Khan’s PTI party, urged the speaker of the assembly not to allow the JUI-F member to introduce the bill since it was against the independence of judiciary.
“The judiciary should have powers to get its judgments implemented through force of law,” he emphasized.
Legal experts said that successive governments in Pakistan had tried to either control the courts through legislations or get the judgments in their favor by curtailing their powers.
“Our Supreme Court and high courts’ involvement in political cases have increased manifold over the years,” Justice (retired) Shaiq Usmani told Arab News. “Therefore, the lawmakers are trying to control them through legislation which is their constitutional right.”
Advocate Faisal Chaudhary said introduction of the bills regarding the superior judiciary in parliament was an attempt to “push back” the judges, adding the attempt would not succeed.
“The government along with its allies doesn’t enjoy the required two-third majority in parliament to pass these constitutional amendments,” he told Arab News. “They are just trying to intimidate the judges through different tactics to get favorable verdicts, but they won’t succeed.”

Topics: Pakistan judges Supreme court judges

Pakistan’s finance minister says 43 percent economic sectors contribute less than one percent tax

Pakistan’s finance minister says 43 percent economic sectors contribute less than one percent tax
Updated 03 September 2024
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Pakistan’s finance minister says 43 percent economic sectors contribute less than one percent tax

Pakistan’s finance minister says 43 percent economic sectors contribute less than one percent tax
  • Muhammad Aurangzeb urges wholesalers, distributors and retailers to improve their tax contributions
  • Pakistan’s tax collection body generated $5.2 billion in July-August, falling short of its $5.6 billion target
Updated 03 September 2024
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday highlighted that 43 percent of the sectors in Pakistan’s economy pay less than one percent of the total tax collected, urging wholesalers, distributors and retailers to improve their contributions.
Pakistan’s narrow tax base and persistent tax evasion issues lead to insufficient revenue collection for the country’s fragile economy each year. The shortfall exacerbates the government’s tendency to run a high fiscal deficit, often financed through domestic and international borrowing, which increases the nation’s debt burden.
The country’s top tax collection body, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), collected Rs1.455 trillion ($5.2 billion) in July-August against the projected target of Rs1.554 trillion ($5.6 billion), according to provisional figures compiled officially over the weekend.
“43 percent sectors of this economy pay less than one percent tax so we have to make a collective effort and request these sectors to contribute otherwise we will keep going to the IMF [International Monetary Fund] for more [loans],” the finance minister said.
“Wholesalers, distributors, retailers we request you again to make a move to contribute to the country’s economy,” he continued. “We request them to help us.”
The minister made it clear the tax imposed on these sectors would not be withdrawn, pointing out that such a step would create more problems for the salaried class and manufacturing sector.
Pakistan has set a challenging tax revenue target of Rs13 trillion ($46.66 billion) for the current fiscal year, nearly a 40 percent increase from the previous year, to strengthen its case for a new bailout deal with the IMF.
The South Asian nation’s new administration has also decided to digitalize the tax collection system to prevent leakages, even as a large segment of the national economy remains undocumented.
Aurangzeb highlighted his commitment to cutting down the size of the federal government, adding that a method was being followed in which six ministries were initially chosen, of which two would be abolished.
However, he did not specify which ministries he was referring to.
“There will also be a reduction in the number of officers from grade 17 to 22,” he added. “We are closing the entities and departments that can be shut down.”
The minister said once the implementation of “rightsizing” the initial ministries was completed, the government would address the next five ministries and continue the process.
He also mentioned that remittances had remained at an all-time high in recent months, and highlighted that rating agencies Fitch and Moody’s had also upgraded Pakistan’s ranking by one notch.

Topics: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb tax

Pakistan PM highlights benefits of South American market after cabinet approves trade agreement

Pakistan PM highlights benefits of South American market after cabinet approves trade agreement
Updated 03 September 2024
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Pakistan PM highlights benefits of South American market after cabinet approves trade agreement

Pakistan PM highlights benefits of South American market after cabinet approves trade agreement
  • Pakistan signed the trade framework agreement with a Latin American bloc in 2006 for preferential trade
  • It plans to enhance textile exports to the region and secure a level playing field against its competitors
Updated 03 September 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday the South American market could prove beneficial to the Pakistani economy after the federal cabinet approved a trade framework agreement with a bloc comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, based on the commerce ministry’s recommendation.
Pakistan signed the trade framework agreement with Mercosur, also known as the Southern Common Market, in 2006 with the aim of initiating negotiations to establish a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA). However, the two sides could not make significant progress in that direction in subsequent years or significantly enhance bilateral economic cooperation.
In early 2019, Pakistan explored the possibility of moving toward a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the bloc, saying it could help bridge the trade deficit with the Latin American states, but the initiative once again did not progress far.
“The federal cabinet, on the recommendation of the commerce ministry, has granted ex-post facto approval for the trade framework agreement between Mercosur (a trade bloc in South America comprising countries like Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, commonly referred to as the Southern Common Market) and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” said an official statement issued after the cabinet meeting.
“In this regard, the prime minister said the South American market could potentially be a good market for Pakistani products,” it added. “However, the Pakistani economy has not yet been able to reap the benefits of this market.”
Pakistan plans to increase its textile and other exports to the Latin American market.
Officials have previously said that an FTA would help strengthen the country’s business and trade relations in the region and provide a level playing field against its competitors.
The federal cabinet’s approval of the trade framework agreement comes at a time when Pakistan is seeking foreign investment and exploring international markets for exports to bolster its economy.

Pakistan, US discuss Afghan refugee crisis, economic and counterterrorism issues

Pakistan, US discuss Afghan refugee crisis, economic and counterterrorism issues
Updated 03 September 2024
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Pakistan, US discuss Afghan refugee crisis, economic and counterterrorism issues

Pakistan, US discuss Afghan refugee crisis, economic and counterterrorism issues
  • Ambassador Donald Blome calls on Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar 
  • Pakistan has repatriated nearly 700,000 Afghan nationals since last November 
Updated 03 September 2024
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: US Ambassador Donald Blome called on Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday to discuss the Afghan refugee crisis as well as economic and counterterrorism challenges facing the South Asian nation, the US embassy said in a statement. 

Pakistan has repatriated nearly 700,000 Afghan nationals since November last year when it launched a deportation drive against illegal foreigners following a spike in suicide bombings that Islamabad, without providing evidence, blamed on Afghans. A cash-strapped Pakistan had also said last year undocumented migrants had drained its resources for decades. 

International rights organizations including the United Nations have also called on Pakistan to review the repatriation policy, warning that Afghan nationals deported may suffer from poverty and could face retaliation at the hands of the Afghan Taliban in their homeland. 

“US Ambassador Donald Blome met today with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Dar,” the US Mission Spokesperson Jonathon Lalley said in a statement on Tuesday. 

“The ambassador and deputy prime minister discussed a broad range of bilateral and regional issues, including the protection of Afghan refugees and asylum seekers, economic cooperation, security and counterterrorism and regional cooperation.”

Pakistan is going through a prolonged economic crisis, which pushed the country to the brink of a sovereign default last summer before a last-minute $3 billion IMF bailout program. Pakistan has since reached a new staff-level agreement for a 37-month $7 billion IMF loan which now awaits approval from the lender’s executive board.

Pakistan’s poor and the middle classes are still feeling the effects of the $3 billion bailout, which included 12 months of power tariff hikes. Higher tariffs have led to a decline in household power consumption, with annual power use expected to fall for the first time in 16 years.

The conditions of the new program have become tougher such as higher taxes on farm incomes and electricity prices. 

Also adding to Pakistan’s woes are rising militant attacks, including a series of assaults in the country’s southwestern Balochistan province last month in which over 50 people were killed, including security personnel. The US Embassy had condemned the attacks and offered Pakistan support in the fight against “terrorism.”

Until the government initiated the expulsion drive last year, Pakistan was home to over four million Afghan migrants and refugees, of which around 1.7 million were undocumented, as per government figures.

Afghans make up the largest portion of migrants, many of whom came after the Taliban took over Kabul in 2021, but a large number have been present since the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Islamabad insists the deportation drive is not aimed specifically at Afghans but at all those living illegally in Pakistan.

Pakistan’s move to deport Afghan nationals has irked the Taliban-led government in Kabul, which has called upon Islamabad to treat its nationals with dignity and says Pakistan’s security issues are a domestic concern. 
 

Topics: Pakistan US Ties Donald Blome Ishaq Dar

‘Pushed to the wall’: Veteran lawmaker from Balochistan quits after deadly attacks 

‘Pushed to the wall’: Veteran lawmaker from Balochistan quits after deadly attacks 
Updated 03 September 2024
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‘Pushed to the wall’: Veteran lawmaker from Balochistan quits after deadly attacks 

‘Pushed to the wall’: Veteran lawmaker from Balochistan quits after deadly attacks 
  • Sardar Akhtar Mengal says people of the volatile, impoverished province “consistently marginalized” 
  • Says people of Balochistan protesting for their rights “either silenced, labeled traitors, or worse, killed”
Updated 03 September 2024
Aamir Saeed

ISLAMABAD: Veteran politician Sardar Akhtar Mengal, leader of the Balochistan National Party (BNP), announced his resignation from the National Assembly on Tuesday, saying the people of the volatile, impoverished Balochistan province had been “consistently marginalized” and “pushed to the wall.”

Mengal’s resignation comes after over 50 people were killed in Balochistan when separatist militants attacked police stations, railway lines and highways, and security forces launched retaliatory operations, late last month. The assaults were the most widespread in years by ethnic militants fighting a decades-long insurgency to win secession of the resource-rich southwestern province, home to major China-led projects such as a port and a gold and copper mine. The province is Pakistan’s largest by area but its most economically backward, lagging behind the rest of the country by nearly all social and economic indicators. 

“The prevailing situation in Balochistan has compelled me to take this step,” Mengal wrote in his resignation letter. 

“Our province has consistently been marginalized and ignored by this House. Each day, we are pushed further to the wall, leaving us with no choice but to reconsider our roles. The lack of genuine representation in this Assembly for the people of Balochistan has left voices like mine unable to bring meaningful change.”

Mengal said attempts by the people of Balochistan to speak up for their rights or protest were met with “hostility.”

“Our people are either silenced, labeled as traitors, or worse, killed,” he said. “Under such circumstances, I find it impossible to continue in this capacity, as my presence here no longer serves any purpose for the people I represent.”

The army has recently repeatedly referred to an ethnic rights movement in Balochistan being led by young people, many of them educated women, a “terrorist proxy.” The protesters have been calling for an end to what they describe as a pattern of enforced disappearances and human rights abuses by security forces, which deny the charge.

The province is home to key mining projects, including Reko Diq, run by mining giant Barrick Gold and believed to be one of the world’s largest gold and copper mines. Balochistan is an important part of China’s $65 billion investment in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a wing of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road initiative.

The decades-old insurgency has continued to keep the mineral-rich province of some 15 million people poor and unstable and created security concerns around Pakistan’s plans to access untapped resources under Balochistan’s desert and mountainous terrain.

It is Pakistan’s smallest province by population and strategically located, bordering Iran to the west and Afghanistan to the north. Balochistan also has a long Arabian Sea coastline in the south, not far from the Gulf’s Strait of Hormuz oil shipping lane.

Topics: Pakistan Sardar Akhtar Mengal Balochistan Arab News Pakistan

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