PESHAWAR: Five persons, including two children, were killed while eight others were injured in two separate explosions in the volatile North and adjacent South Waziristan tribal districts late on Tuesday, officials told Arab News.
Jahanzeb Wazir, Deputy Superintendent of Police in Razmak, a town on the outskirts of Miran Shah – the headquarters of North Waziristan tribal district – told Arab News that a land mine blast in the area has injured two security personnel late on Tuesday evening.
“Two security men, including Hawaldar Hidayatullah and Muhammad Zahid, suffered multiple injuries in the blast. The victims were instantly evacuated to a nearby hospital for treatment,” Wazir added.
Soon after the blast in the Dangin area of Razmak, security forces rushed to the site before cordoning off the entire area in order to nab the perpetrators. However, arrests have yet to made in the case as the search continues.
In a similar incident on late Tuesday, five people were killed and six others injured in Birmal, a rugged town near the Afghan border, Dil Nawaz Wazir, additional deputy commissioner of the South Waziristan district, said.
The victims, he added, were on their way to the jungle when their vehicle was hit by a land mine in the Gangikhel area located close to the Afghan border. Meanwhile, the injured were moved to Dera Ismail Khan, an adjacent district, for treatment.
In recent months, a series of land mine blasts have claimed the lives of several civilians and security personnel in both the tribal areas.
On August 7, Abdullah Khan, a tribesman from Dattakhel tehsil of the North Waziristan tribal district suffered serious injuries when he stepped on a land mine while grazing his cattle, resulting in the loss of a leg.
Similarly, on June 25, a child lost her life while three others were injured in Patikhel, a village close to Miran Shah.
Earlier on June 14, a security officer who was returning home from duty in the Sra Rogha area was also killed when he stepped on a land mine.
Landmine blasts kill five in Pakistan’s tribal areas
Landmine blasts kill five in Pakistan’s tribal areas
- Arrests have yet to made in the case as the search continues
- All the victims were from the North and South Waziristan districts
Bangladesh approves new rice imports from Pakistan amid price pressures
- The deal follows Bangladesh’s resumption of direct rice trade with Pakistan earlier this year for the first time since independence in 1971
- Diplomatic ties between the two nations have improved since the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina after mass protests last year
DHAKA: Bangladesh has approved the import of 50,000 metric tons of white rice from Pakistan under a government-to-government deal as part of efforts to stabilize domestic prices, officials said on Tuesday.
The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase cleared the deal at $395 per ton, reinforcing Dhaka’s renewed trade engagement with Islamabad.
Rice prices in Bangladesh have jumped by between 15 percent and 20 percent over the past year, with medium-quality rice selling at about 80 taka ($0.66) per kilogram. Despite increased imports and the removal of duties to ease supply constraints, prices for the staple grain remain stubbornly high.
The deal follows Bangladesh’s resumption of direct rice trade with Pakistan earlier this year for the first time since independence in 1971. In February, it imported 50,000 tons of rice from Pakistan at $499 per ton under a similar agreement.
Diplomatic ties between the two South Asian nations have improved since an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took office after mass protests forced then prime minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to neighboring India last year.
Formerly East Pakistan, Bangladesh gained independence after a nine-month war in 1971, and relations with Pakistan have remained fraught in the decades since the conflict.
Separately, the government approved another 50,000 tons of parboiled rice through an international tender, part of a series of recent purchases aimed at cooling local prices. India’s Pattabhi Agro Foods secured the contract with the lowest bid of $355.77 per ton.
