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Government deploys army in Islamabad, Punjab to ensure security of SCO summit

Government deploys army in Islamabad, Punjab to ensure security of SCO summit
The still image taken from a video shows a convoy of army patrols along a road in Islamabad on October 4, 2024. (Photo courtesy: Military's media wing)
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Updated 05 October 2024
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Government deploys army in Islamabad, Punjab to ensure security of SCO summit

Government deploys army in Islamabad, Punjab to ensure security of SCO summit
  • The Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit is scheduled to be held on October 15 and 16
  • The decision comes at a time when Islamabad, nearby areas have witnessed political protests
Updated 05 October 2024
Aamir Saeed
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ISLAMABAD: The provincial government in Pakistan’s Punjab province has summoned army to ensure security ahead of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Islamabad on October 15 and 16, the Punjab home department said, hours after deployment of army troops in the federal capital of Islamabad.
The SCO is an important Eurasian political, economic and security alliance founded in 2001 by China, Russia and several Central Asian nations. Over the years, it expanded to include countries like India and Pakistan, making it a significant regional bloc.
Pakistan is hosting the SCO Council of Heads of Government summit in Islamabad under its rotating chairmanship of the organization, with the participants expected to discuss issues related to trade, economic cooperation, security, and regional stability.
Among other international leaders, Pakistan also extended invitation to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, though the delegation from New Delhi will be spearheaded by External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
“For maintaining law and order and providing security to foreign delegates during 23rd meeting of SCO Council of Heads of States, armed forces in conjunction with civil armed forces and police will be deployed around the air base/airport, routes, venues, accommodation etc. falling within the territorial jurisdiction of the Punjab,” the provincial home department said in a notification.
The notification by the Punjab home department came after the federal government deployed army troops in Islamabad to ensure security ahead of the SCO summit, with foreign dignitaries arriving from various countries.
“Pursuant to the request made by the Office of the Chief Commissioner, ICT [Islamabad Capital Territory] ... the Federal Government, in exercise of the powers conferred under Article 245 of Constitution, 1973, and under Sections 4 & 5 of Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, is pleased to authorize deployment of requisite strength of Pakistan Army in aid of civil power from 5th to 17th October, 2024, in ICT, for maintaining law and order situation with respect to 23rd meeting of SCO Council of Heads of Government and visits of VVIP delegation for the said meeting,” the interior ministry announced in an order on Friday.
Television footage showed vehicles of Pakistan Army patrolling various areas of the federal capital on Saturday morning as the government’s order came into effect.
Article 245 allows the government to call in the armed forces to act in aid of the civilian administration.
“The validity of any direction issued by the Federal Government under clause (1) shall not be called in question in any court,” it reads. “A High Court shall not exercise any jurisdiction under Article 199 in relation to any area in which the Armed Forces of Pakistan are, for the time being, acting in aid of civil power in pursuance of Article 245.”
Section 4 of the ATA allows for the deployment of armed forces in any area, while Section 5 allows the use of “necessary force” to prevent any “terrorist acts or scheduled offenses.”
The decision comes at a time when Islamabad and the nearby city of Rawalpindi have witnessed protests by various political actors in recent months.
The police also attempted to prevent a protest by former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party near the parliament building on Friday, blocking highways and suspending cellphone services in the capital.
The government maintained it was not the time for protests as state guests were visiting Islamabad, making it crucial to ensure their safety.
The interior ministry also said in its order that the exact area of deployment, along with the number of additional troops if required, would be worked out by the capital territory administration in consultation with relevant stakeholders.

Topics: Pakistan Army SCO Council of Heads of Government summit Shanghai Cooperation Organization

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia agree to enhance public security, anti-narcotics cooperation

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia agree to enhance public security, anti-narcotics cooperation
Updated 26 sec ago
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Pakistan, Saudi Arabia agree to enhance public security, anti-narcotics cooperation

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia agree to enhance public security, anti-narcotics cooperation
  • Development came after Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s meeting with Kingdom’s Narcotics Control Director-General Mohammed bin Saeed Al-Qarni
  • Naqvi arrived in Riyadh on Sunday to discuss bilateral ties as both brotherly countries look forward to forging closer economic and defense partnership
Updated 26 sec ago
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation in the domains of public security and prevention of narcotics smuggling, the Pakistani interior ministry said on Monday.

The statement came after Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s meeting with Maj. Gen. Mohammed bin Saeed Al-Qarni, who heads Saudi Arabia’s General Directorate of Narcotics Control (GDNC).

Naqvi arrived in Riyadh a day ago to discuss bilateral ties and issues of mutual concern with Saudi officials as both countries continue to forge closer economic and investment relations.

During their meeting, the interior minister and the Saudi narcotics control official held discussions on enhancing mutual cooperation in narcotics control, according to the Pakistani interior ministry.

“Both sides agreed on more effective measures under bilateral assistance for narcotics control,” it said in a statement. “The Saudi side offered cooperation to Pakistan in providing the latest equipment for drug detection.”

Naqvi visited various sections of the GDNC, where Saudi officials briefed him on the Kingdom’s narcotics control efforts.

“No country can tackle the menace of drugs alone. This has become a shared challenge for the nations of the world,” Naqvi was quoted as saying by his ministry. “Pakistan will continue cooperation with Saudi Arabia regarding anti-narcotics efforts.”

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong trade, defense and cultural ties, and officials from both nations regularly interact with each other in a number of domains.

On Sunday, Naqvi met with the Kingdom’s Director of Public Security Lt. Gen. Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Bassami. He inspected various departments of the state-of-the-art Directorate of Public Security and the Safe City Center.

“During the meeting, it was agreed to activate the joint task force [on public security] between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia soon,” the Pakistani interior ministry said.

Naqvi said that he was glad to see the “excellent” public security mechanism in Saudi Arabia, adding that both sides could benefit from the experience of each other by enhancing cooperation in the field of police training.

Topics: Pakistan Saudi Ties Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi

Policeman killed, anti-polio vaccinator injured in northwest Pakistan attack

Policeman killed, anti-polio vaccinator injured in northwest Pakistan attack
Updated 55 min 33 sec ago
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Policeman killed, anti-polio vaccinator injured in northwest Pakistan attack

Policeman killed, anti-polio vaccinator injured in northwest Pakistan attack
  • The development came as Pakistan launched a nationwide drive to vaccinate 44 million children
  • Militant groups in Pakistan groups have frequently targeted anti-polio vaccination teams in past
Updated 55 min 33 sec ago
REHMAT MEHSUD

ISLAMABAD: A policeman was killed and an anti-polio vaccinator injured in a gun attack in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, police said on Monday, as the South Asian country launched an anti-polio drive to reach 44 million children.
Polio is a paralyzing disease that has no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five is essential to provide children high immunity against this terrible disease.
The attack took place in KP’s Karak district, when unidentified gunmen riding motorbikes opened fire on an anti-polio vaccination team, according to KP governor’s spokesman Tariq Habib. The deceased policeman, Mohammad Irfan, was guarding the vaccinators. The body and the injured vaccinator were shifted to hospital.
“A large contingent of police reached the spot and cordoned off the area and a search operation has been launched there,” Habib said in a statement.
Pakistan is responding to an intense resurgence of Wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) this year, with 63 cases reported so far. Of these, 26 are from Balochistan, 18 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 17 from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif launched the vaccination campaign, which will continue till Dec. 22. During the drive, polio vaccinators will go house to house in 143 districts to immunize children under the age of five years, according to the polio program.
“Polio is a dangerous disease which can cripple your children for life. In fact, it can be life-threatening,” Sharif said at the campaign launch. “Only two drops [of anti-polio vaccine] can save your children from being disabled forever. Come and let’s protect the future of our and the nation’s children.”
He said the federation and all provinces were jointly fighting this epidemic and God willing, they would eliminate the disease through their collective wisdom and efforts, thanking vaccinators for their efforts to eliminate the virus despite harsh weather and terrain in far-flung areas.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the last two countries in the world where polio remains endemic.
Immunization campaigns have succeeded in most countries and have come close in Pakistan, but persistent problems remain. In the early 1990s, Pakistan reported around 20,000 cases annually but in 2018 the number dropped to eight cases. Six cases were reported in 2023 and only one in 2021.
Pakistan’s chief health officer said on Nov. 10 an estimated 500,000 children had missed polio vaccination during the last countrywide inoculation drive.
Pakistan’s polio program began in 1994 but efforts to eradicate the virus have since been undermined by vaccine misinformation and opposition from some religious hard-liners who say immunization is a foreign ploy to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western spies. Militant groups also frequently attack and kill members of polio vaccine teams.
In July 2019, a vaccination drive in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was thwarted after mass panic was created by rumors that children were fainting or vomiting after being immunized. This month, Pakistani authorities postponed a planned anti-polio vaccination campaign in the northwestern Kurram district, citing a fragile security situation after weeks of deadly sectarian clashes in the region.
Public health studies in Pakistan have shown that a lack of knowledge about vaccines, poverty and rural residency are also factors that commonly influence whether parents vaccinate their children against polio.
Ayesha Raza Farooq, PM Sharif’s focal person on polio eradication, said on Sunday that all children up to the age of five must be given polio drops.
“Polio vaccine is completely safe, effective and provided absolutely free of cost,” she added.
 

Topics: Pakistan Polio Attack on polio team Karak Arab News Pakistan

Pakistan launches nationwide anti-polio drive amid intense resurgence of virus

Pakistan launches nationwide anti-polio drive amid intense resurgence of virus
Updated 57 min 45 sec ago
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Pakistan launches nationwide anti-polio drive amid intense resurgence of virus

Pakistan launches nationwide anti-polio drive amid intense resurgence of virus
  • Pakistan has reported 63 polio cases this year, with Balochistan reporting the highest of them
  • Pakistan, Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where poliovirus remains endemic
Updated 57 min 45 sec ago
KASHIF IMRAN

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday launched an anti-polio vaccination drive that aims to vaccinate 44 million children nationwide, amid an intense resurgence of the virus in the South Asian country.
Polio is a paralyzing disease that has no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five is essential to provide children high immunity against this terrible disease.
Pakistan is responding to an intense resurgence of Wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) this year, with 63 cases reported so far. Of these, 26 are from Balochistan, 18 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 17 from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif launched the vaccination campaign, which will continue till Dec. 22. During the drive, polio vaccinators will go house to house in 143 districts to immunize children under the age of five years, according to the polio program.
“Polio is a dangerous disease which can cripple your children for life. In fact, it can be life-threatening,” Sharif said at the campaign launch. “Only two drops [of anti-polio vaccine] can save your children from being disabled forever. Come and let’s protect the future of our and the nation’s children.”
He said the federation and all provinces were jointly fighting this epidemic and God willing, they would eliminate the disease through their collective wisdom and efforts, thanking vaccinators for their efforts to eliminate the virus despite harsh weather and terrain in far-flung areas.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the last two countries in the world where polio remains endemic.
Immunization campaigns have succeeded in most countries and have come close in Pakistan, but persistent problems remain. In the early 1990s, Pakistan reported around 20,000 cases annually but in 2018 the number dropped to eight cases. Six cases were reported in 2023 and only one in 2021.
Pakistan’s chief health officer said on Nov. 10 an estimated 500,000 children had missed polio vaccination during the last countrywide inoculation drive.
Pakistan’s polio program began in 1994 but efforts to eradicate the virus have since been undermined by vaccine misinformation and opposition from some religious hard-liners who say immunization is a foreign ploy to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western spies. Militant groups also frequently attack and kill members of polio vaccine teams.
In July 2019, a vaccination drive in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was thwarted after mass panic was created by rumors that children were fainting or vomiting after being immunized. This month, Pakistani authorities postponed a planned anti-polio vaccination campaign in the northwestern Kurram district, citing a fragile security situation after weeks of deadly sectarian clashes in the region.
Public health studies in Pakistan have shown that a lack of knowledge about vaccines, poverty and rural residency are also factors that commonly influence whether parents vaccinate their children against polio.
Ayesha Raza Farooq, PM Sharif’s focal person on polio eradication, said on Sunday that all children up to the age of five must be given polio drops.
“Polio vaccine is completely safe, effective and provided absolutely free of cost,” she added.

Topics: Polio Wild poliovirus type 1

US acknowledges Pakistan’s anti-terror financing efforts in 2023

US acknowledges Pakistan’s anti-terror financing efforts in 2023
Updated 16 December 2024
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US acknowledges Pakistan’s anti-terror financing efforts in 2023

US acknowledges Pakistan’s anti-terror financing efforts in 2023
  • Pakistan continued to face significant money-laundering and terror financing risks last year, State Department says
  • The country conducted a sectoral vulnerability assessment and reported militant groups to law enforcement for action
Updated 16 December 2024
Fatimah Amjad

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities took significant steps to counter terror financing and completed an updated National Risk Assessment (NRA), which included terror financing components, in 2023, the United States (US) State Department said this week.

The South Asian country continued to face significant money-laundering and terrorist financing risks last year, the State Department noted in its country report for 2023 issued last week.

Pakistan assessed 87 militant organizations and conducted a sectoral vulnerability assessment, which revealed that 41 militant organizations had been active in the country with varying degrees of operations.

“The assessment also identified donations and extortion as key sources for terrorist financing, with cash/cash couriers and illegal money or value transfer services as the most common channels, noting that Pakistan’s porous border with Afghanistan was an important contextual challenge,” the report read. 

“Pakistan disseminated the assessment to relevant law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders, directing them to implement policy and operational priorities.”

In 2022, Pakistan was removed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global anti-money laundering and anti-terror financing watchdog, from a list of countries under “increased monitoring” for terror financing, following years of rigorous efforts by Pakistani authorities.

FATF added Pakistan to the list in June 2018. The South Asian country, which risked being blacklisted by the watchdog, was removed from the list of countries with vulnerable financial systems after it successfully implemented 34 action points to counter money laundering and terror financing.

Pakistan witnessed a significant increase in the number of terrorist attacks in 2023, compared with 2022, according to the State Department. The government continued to operate “deradicalization” camps offering “corrective religious education,” vocational training, and counseling last year.

“Military, paramilitary, and civilian security forces conducted CT (counter-terrorism) operations throughout Pakistan against anti-state militants in 2023,” it said.

“Pakistan participated in several formal and informal multilateral fora where CT cooperation was discussed, including, the Global Counterterrorism Forum, and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.”

Pakistan witnessed an increase of 17 percent in militant attacks that hit the country in 2023, the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) said in its report in January.

This was the third year in a row when the number of militant attacks and consequent casualties surged in Pakistan, according to the Islamabad-based research and advocacy think-tank. A total of 306 militant attacks took place in Pakistan in 2023, including 23 suicide bombings, which killed 693 people and injured 1,124 others. 

Pakistan has seen a sharp rise in militant attacks in its northwestern and southwestern parts that border Afghanistan since the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) called off its fragile truce with the government in Islamabad in November 2022. The militant group is separate from but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban.

Islamabad has blamed Kabul’s Afghan Taliban rulers for facilitating the TTP and other anti-Pakistan militant groups who launch attacks from their soil. Afghan officials deny involvement, insisting Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter of Islamabad.

Topics: Pakistan US Ties

Pakistan reaffirms resolve against militancy on 10th anniversary of Peshawar school attack

Pakistan reaffirms resolve against militancy on 10th anniversary of Peshawar school attack
Updated 16 December 2024
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Pakistan reaffirms resolve against militancy on 10th anniversary of Peshawar school attack

Pakistan reaffirms resolve against militancy on 10th anniversary of Peshawar school attack
  • On Dec. 16, 2014, militants stormed Army Public School in Peshawar, killing 134 children and over a dozen staffers
  • In their messages, Pakistan president, premier extend sympathies to families of victims, vow to root out militancy
Updated 16 December 2024
KASHIF IMRAN

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday reaffirmed their resolve to wipe out militancy from the country as the South Asian nation observed 10th anniversary of a militant attack on an army-run school in Peshawar, which killed more than 130 children in 2014.

A group of heavily armed militants belonging to the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) entered Army Public School (APS) Peshawar on Dec. 16, 2014, killing 134 children and over a dozen staff members. The incident took place in a high-security area in Peshawar, capital of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The massacre at the school sparked worldwide condemnation and in response, Pakistan reinstated the death penalty after a six-year moratorium and executed many TTP militants as well as launched a military campaign in the country’s northwestern tribal districts to purge the area of TTP militants.

Thousands of Pakistanis have lost their lives in attacks claimed by the TTP since 2007, including an assassination attempt on Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai. The country has also seen a renewed surge in attacks since a fragile truce between the TTP and the government broke down in Nov. 2022.

“No amount of time can erase the trauma of the children who witnessed the unfathomable horrors on that day, nor can it ease the grief and suffering of the families who lost their loved ones. As we honor their memory, the entire nation joins me in paying tribute to the bravery of our children, the heroism of the teachers, the sacrifices of their families, and the valor of our security forces,” PM Sharif said on X.

“Let us reaffirm our commitment to building a safer, more secure Pakistan, where no innocent will be harmed, no child will have to live in fear, injustice will be punished and punished severely. This is a promise we must make together. We owe it to the victims of this tragedy, to ensure that their lives were not lost in vain.”

Pakistani authorities also announced closure of schools and colleges in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Lahore on Monday on the anniversary of the deadly attack.

In his message, President Zardari said the day reminded the nation to unite against militancy and increase efforts to eliminate this menace, Pakistani state media reported. He extended his sympathies to the relatives of innocent children, saying that Pakistan would never let militants succeed in their nefarious designs.

“The APS tragedy united the nation against terrorism,” Zardari said. “The history was witness that Pakistani nation did not lose courage in the face of tragedies.”

In recent months, Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces, which border Afghanistan, have witnessed a number of attacks by the TTP and other religious and separatist militant groups that targeted security forces convoys and check posts, besides targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers, government officials and civilians.

The TTP, or the Pakistani Taliban, is a separate group but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban.

Pakistan has frequently accused neighboring Afghanistan of sheltering and supporting militant groups, urging the Taliban administration in Kabul to prevent its territory from being used by armed factions to launch cross-border attacks.

Afghan officials deny involvement, insisting Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter of Islamabad.

Topics: APS Pakistan December 16 APS attack Peshawar School Attack Arab News Pakistan

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