PESHAWAR: Police have arrested 50 people suspected of arson attacks schools in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Diamer district, Inspector General Police (IGP) Sanaullah Abbasi told Arab News on Saturday.
Abbasi said the arrests were made in a string of raids during the last two weeks, adding that the operation is still ongoing.
On August 3, a group of unidentified attackers set fire to 12 schools in the region. While there were no casualties, since the schools were closed at the time, the incident has caused widespread panic in an area that is considered relatively peaceful.
Abassi confirmed that all of those arrested so far were involved in the arson attacks.
“Four militants, including their commander, Khalil, have been killed in the region since the August 3 attacks,” he said. “However, we also lost as many policemen in the fighting.”
Abbasi denied that the attacks and subsequent police action have created turbulence in the region, though he admitted that the situation was “tense” in Diamer District.
“We are also carrying out raids in the adjoining Ghizer District, since some miscreants, who were previously based in Diamer, have also fled there,” he explained.
All those arrested were locals, he confirmed, adding that his department was still trying to find out if they had links with any known militant organizations.
Quoting a Special Branch intelligence report, Abbasi said: “The recent incidents have not produced a negative effect on the region’s economy. According to our information, about 6 million tourists visited Gilgit-Baltistan over the last three months.”
However, Nawaz Khan Naji, a member of the area’s legislative assembly, wants the police to do more to combat “militants in the area.”
Law enforcement agency spokesperson, Inspector Wakeel Khan, said that the police were using “an iron fist” to deal with all criminals.
Police arrest 50 suspected arsonists in Gilgit-Baltistan
Police arrest 50 suspected arsonists in Gilgit-Baltistan
- A group of unidentified attackers set 12 schools in the region on fire earlier this month
- Police chief claims all those arrested were involved the attacks
Death toll in Pakistan shopping plaza fire rises to 67, officials say
- Rescue teams still searching for damaged Gul Plaza in Karachi where blaze erupted on Saturday, says police surgeon
- Karachi has a long history of deadly fires, often linked to poor safety standards, weak regulatory enforcement
KARACHI: The death toll from a devastating fire at a shopping plaza in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi jumped to 67 on Thursday after police and a hospital official confirmed that the remains of dozens more people had been found.
Police surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed said rescue teams were still searching the severely damaged Gul Plaza in the Karachi, where the blaze erupted on Saturday.
Most remains were discovered in fragments, making identification extremely difficult, but the deaths of 67 people have been confirmed, she said. Asad Raza, a senior police official in Karachi, also confirmed the death toll. Authorities previously had confirmed 34 deaths.
Family members of the missing have stayed near the destroyed plaza and hospital, even after providing their DNA for testing. Some have tried to enter the building forcibly, criticizing the rescue efforts as too slow.
“They are not conducting the search properly,” said Khair-un-Nisa, pointing toward the rescuers. She stood outside the building in tears, explaining that a relative who had left to go shopping has been missing since the blaze.
Another woman, Saadia Saeed, said her brother has been trapped inside the building since Saturday night, and she does not know what has happened to him.
“I am ready to go inside the plaza to look for him, but police are not allowing me,” she said.
There was no immediate comment from authorities about accusations they have been too slow.
Many relatives of the missing claim more lives could have been saved if the government had acted more swiftly. Authorities have deployed police around the plaza to prevent relatives from entering the unstable structure, while rescuers continue their careful search.
Investigators say the blaze erupted at a time when most shop owners were either closing for the day or had already left. Since then, the Sindh provincial government has said around 70 people were missing after the flames spread rapidly, fueled by goods such as cosmetics, clothing, and plastic items.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, though police have indicated that a short circuit may have triggered the blaze.
Karachi has a long history of deadly fires, often linked to poor safety standards, weak regulatory enforcement, and illegal construction.
In November 2023, a shopping mall fire killed 10 people and injured 22. One of Pakistan’s deadliest industrial disasters occurred in 2012, when a garment factory fire killed at least 260 people.
