KARACHI: Counterterrorism police in Pakistan’s Sindh province said on Monday they had arrested six suspected militants that were part of a terror network suspected of ties to a neighboring Muslim country and allegedly carrying out sectarian attacks in the port city of Karachi since 2003.
Abdullah Shaikh, Deputy Inspector General of the Counter Terrorism Department, told reporters six people had been arrested, one of them a police constable. The suspects were linked to 31 sectarian attacks in which at least 50 people had been killed, Shaikh said, and had been hiding in, and receiving financial help from, a neighboring Muslim country since 2003.
Shaikh did not specify which country he was referring to but in response to reporters’ questions, he ruled out that it was Afghanistan, leading to speculation that the country in question was Iran.
“The arrested terrorists would hide in a neighboring Islamic country after killing people in Karachi on sectarian grounds,” Shaikh said. “They are highly qualified and are trained in a foreign country from where they would also get financial help.”
He said they had disclosed details of future targets but did not share the details with reporters.
Raja Umar Khattab, another senior official at the Counter Terrorism Department, said police had raided a building in Karachi’s Ahsanabad area on March 29 after receiving a tip that militants linked to banned sectarian outfits, Tehrik-e-Jafaria Pakistan and Sipaha-e-Muhammad Pakistan, were hiding there. The suspects managed to flee then.
“We continued the chase and today morning arrested six terrorists from Business Recorder Road,” Khattab said, adding that three of the suspects were already on Sindh Police’s “red-book of hardened terrorists.”
He said the arrested suspects were involved in attacks that killed 50 people, including four policemen and two private guards.
“A joint interrogation team has been formed, which will further interrogate the arrested terrorists,” Khattab said.
In a separate incident, Karachi police arrested five militants allegedly linked to the international Daesh group and using social media to recruit new members for the organization.
Pakistan says six militants linked to ‘Islamic neighboring country’ arrested
Pakistan says six militants linked to ‘Islamic neighboring country’ arrested
- Police officials decline to name which country but rule out Afghanistan
- Arrested suspects linked to 31 sectarian attacks in which 50 people killed
Pakistan Army’s logistics firm to run national shipping corporation, confirm officials
- Government to transfer 30 percent shares in Pakistan National Shipping Corporation, management control to NLC firm, say officials
- Officials say the move will increase PNSC’s shipping fleet from 10 to 54, save $6 billion Islamabad pays in foreign freight annually
KARACHI: The government has decided to transfer the state-run Pakistan National Shipping Corporation’s (PNSC) management to the military-run National Logistics Corporation (NLC), officials confirmed on Thursday, saying the move is expected to save $6 billion that Islamabad currently pays in foreign freight annually.
A week earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government sold 75 percent of its shareholding in the national flag carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to a business consortium led by Arif Habib Group for Rs135 billion ($482 million).
The government’s current drive to privatize state-owned enterprises (SOEs) is a key requirement of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) $7 billion loan program. The global lender wants Islamabad to privatize its loss-making state assets to save valuable revenue.
PNSC reported a 34 percent decline in its profit, which reduced to Rs3.71 billion ($13.2 million) in the July-September quarter this year. Its revenues from shipping business fell by 2 percent to Rs9.32 billion ($33 million) in the same period, according to the company’s filing to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) seen by Arab News. The PNSC’s profits remained almost stagnant at Rs20 billion ($73 million) in FY25 while its shipping income shrank 18 percent to Rs33.7 billion ($120.3 million).
“We received a letter about one month ago in which the government asked us to sort out things before Dec. 30,” a PNSC official told Arab News on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media. “The management control will go to the NLC.”
An NLC official confirmed the same.
“Yes, this is happening,” an NLC official told Arab News on condition of anonymity. He said details will be shared in due course.
Muhammad Arshad, a spokesman at Pakistan’s Maritime Affairs Ministry, and PNSC Spokesperson Muhammad Farooq Nizami both declined to comment on the matter.
“We can’t say anything about this development until we get an official notification,” Nizami told Arab News.
Officials said that as per the PNSC Revitalization and Improvement Plan, the government would sell about 30 percent of its PNSC shareholding to NLC, which would then have a controlling share in the corporation’s management.
As of Jun. 30, the government holds 87.56 percent shares in PNSC, whose 198.1 million shares are listed on the PSX with a market capital of Rs109 billion ($389 million).
The NLC will be required to increase the PNSC’s shipping fleet, which currently comprises only 10 ships, to 54 over the next five years, the shipping company’s official said.
This would help Pakistan’s government save about $6 billion in freight costs as the PNSC’s current 10 ships are only able to handle 11 percent of the country’s commercial cargo, he added.
“As a result, Pakistan has to pay approximately $6 billion annually in foreign exchange to foreign shipping companies as freight charges,” he said.
Among other objectives, the military-led company is also expected to rid PNSC of its aging fleet, as many vessels are nearing the end of their operational life and won’t be able to sail profitably beyond 2030.
“This initiative will ensure 100 percent replacement of all old PNSC vessels along with the induction of new ships,” the PNSC official said.
News reports of the transfer of management have led to a rise in the PNSC’s shares at the PSX, which gained by around 21 percent in the last two trading sessions. The stocks traded at Rs548.89 ($1.9) per share on Thursday morning, taking its year-to-date gains to 17 percent.
Pakistan’s government has been cautious in spending its $16 billion foreign exchange reserves as it aims to keep its current account balance in check.
Pakistan’s current account reported a $812 million deficit in the July-November period from a $503 million surplus last year, according to data shared by the central bank.
The PNSC official said the increase in the company’s shipping fleet will enhance its share in global maritime freight from $162 million to $1.79 billion.
“Despite significant growth potential in the shipping industry, the absence of private operators is hindering market dynamism and efficiency,” he said.
“World-class financial and legal advisers will be appointed for institutional restructuring, transforming PNSC into a modern, agile, and professionally managed organization.”
