KARACHI: At least 15 people were killed when a truck carrying Iranian oil collided with a passenger bus in southwestern Pakistan, officials said on Friday.
“Fifteen bodies were brought to the hospital,” Dr. Waseem Baig, spokesman of a civil hospital in Quetta, Balochistan, told Arab News. The bodies were charred beyond recognition and “DNA tests will be conducted to identify the deceased,” he said.
Deputy Commissioner of Killa Saifullah district, Atiq Shahwani, said the bus with 12 passengers from Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab collided with the truck near Muslim Bagh area. “The vehicles caught fire and 13 people died,” Shahwani told Arab News, adding the bus owner said that fourteen people, including a driver and a conductor, were on board when the accident happened. “One man has survived,” he said.
When told that the hospital said 15 bodies had been brought to its morgue, Shahwani said the two others might be the truck’s driver and his passenger.
“Four vehicles smuggling Iranian fuel, taking advantage of heavy snowfall, wanted to pass by a levies checkpoint last night when security forces spotted them. Three big vehicles were caught but the small pick-up truck managed to escape and collided with the bus in the morning,” Shahwani said, adding the authorities had zero tolerance for smuggling and had caught 15,000 liters of smuggled Iranian diesel and oil just a few days ago. “There is a continuous crackdown,” he said.
Meanwhile, Gul Muhammad, the only survivor of the accident, told reporters he was asleep when the accident took place and immediately jumped out of the bus when he saw flames. He identified one passenger his nephew Ataullah, a resident of Chaman in Balochistan. The driver was identified as Abdullah, whose son Arif also died in the accident.
Home Minister Ziaullah Langove has expressed his displeasure over the incident and asked the authorities to identify those responsible for the lapse.
“Why has the smuggling not been stopped despite the strict ban?” he said.
Deaths due to oil smuggling are frequent in Balochistan. At least 27 people were killed in January in a similar accident.
In October, a pick-up carrying Iranian fuel collided with a vehicle of the Commissioner of Makran Division, retired Cpt. Tariq Zehri, killing the senior bureaucrat and prompting authorities to start the crackdown on the smugglers.
“Following the tragic accident of the Commissioner Makran Division, who was a lovely human being, all commissioners and deputy commissioners have been instructed in writing to check all motorcycles, jeeps, cars, pickups, buses and trucks, laden with POL containers,” Balochistan Chief Secretary Cpt. Fazeel Asghar tweeted after the accident.
Customs authorities and the Frontier Corps have also been requested to prevent the smuggling of petroleum, oil and lubricant (POL) products into Pakistan, he said.
Balochistan: 15 killed as bus rams into vehicle smuggling Iranian oil
https://arab.news/nwc2y
Balochistan: 15 killed as bus rams into vehicle smuggling Iranian oil
- Truck smuggling Iranian oil managed to evade customs check
- Bodies of victims were charred beyond recognition
Pakistani student launches ‘Urdu ChatGPT’ AI model
- Developer says “Qalb” is largest large language model built exclusively for Urdu
- Project highlights push to localize artificial intelligence for non-English users
ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani student studying in the United States has launched an artificial intelligence model designed exclusively for the Urdu language, a development its creator says could help bridge longstanding gaps in access to advanced digital tools for millions of speakers worldwide.
The project, called Qalb, is positioned as an Urdu-first large language model at a time when most generative AI systems are primarily trained on English and other widely used global languages. Supporters of language-specific models argue they can improve accuracy, cultural relevance and accessibility for users in education, business and public services.
Urdu is spoken by more than 230 million people globally, including in Pakistan, India and diaspora communities, but remains under-represented in advanced AI systems. Efforts to localize artificial intelligence have increasingly been seen as critical for widening participation in digital economies, particularly in developing countries.
“Qalb is now recognized as the world’s largest Large Language Model created exclusively for the Urdu language,” Taimoor Hassan, the project’s developer, was quoted this month in a report in state-run news agency APP.
“Trained on a massive dataset of 1.97 billion tokens and benchmarked across seven-plus international evaluation frameworks, Qalb outperforms existing Urdu-focused AI models on key real-world performance indicators, setting a new standard for natural language processing in Pakistan,” Hassan said.
“This is a development model and in the next phase we would soon launch App for mobile and web so that people could use and benefit from Qalb ChatGPT.”
Hassan completed his undergraduate degree in computer science at FAAST University’s Peshawar campus and is currently studying for a master’s degree in computer science and software engineering at Auburn University in the United States. According to APP, he is a serial entrepreneur who has previously launched and exited multiple startups and has represented Pakistan at international technology forums.
“I had the opportunity to contribute in a small way to a much bigger mission for the country,” Hassan said.
“Together with my undergraduate roommates and teammates, Jawad Ahmed and Muhammad Awais, we are committed to continuously fine-tuning localized models for niche industries, which we believe can become a major breakthrough for Pakistan.”
Both collaborators are also graduates of FAAST University Peshawar Campus and are currently studying in Germany, APP reported.
The team behind Qalb said the model is intended to support local businesses, startups, educational platforms and voice-based digital services, arguing that meaningful innovation is no longer limited to large technology firms.
“Technology is no longer locked behind big budgets or big teams. With the right mindset, even a small group can build products that educate, automate, and serve millions,” Hassan told APP.
