Officials say Sindhi and Baloch ‘separatists’ forming nexus in Sindh but experts skeptical

Policemen patrol near the Pakistan Stock Exchange building following an attack by gunmen in Karachi on June 29, 2020. (AFP)
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Updated 13 July 2020

Officials say Sindhi and Baloch ‘separatists’ forming nexus in Sindh but experts skeptical

  • The little-known Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army has carried out a spate of small attacks in Sindh province in recent weeks
  • Sindh Rangers chief says series of recent assaults have proved “hostile” agencies were working to bring Sindhi and Balochi insurgents closer together

KARACHI: Security officials in Pakistan say investigations into a spate of recent attacks in the southern Sindh province have led them to believe there is growing closeness between Sindhi separatists and militant groups from the insurgency racked Balochistan province, but experts warn that it might be too early to assume a “nexus”. 

Late last month, gunmen attacked the Pakistan Stock Exchange building in the city of Karachi, the capital of Sindh, killing two guards and a policeman before security forces killed all four attackers. Counterterrorism officials said the attack had been claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group from the southwestern province of Balochistan which has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.

Just weeks earlier, three consecutive explosions killed four people including two soldiers in Sindh. A shadowy secessionist organization, the Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army (SRA), that wants the province to break from the Pakistani federation, claimed responsibility for the attacks. This week, SRA also claimed a grenade attack on a Karachi bakery in which a retired paramilitary Rangers official was killed.

SRA and two other Sindhi groups were banned by the government in May this year.

Speaking to media after the attack on the stock exchange building, Sindh Rangers chief, Major General Omer Ahmed Bukhari, said the string of attacks had proved that “hostile intelligence agencies” were working to forge a “nexus” between Sindhi and Balochi insurgent groups, adding that he believed ongoing investigations would establish this beyond a doubt.

In a statement emailed to the media after the stock exchange attack, the BLA admitted it had “complete support” from Sindhi groups.

“Today both the nations [Baloch and Sindhi] are fighting for the independence of their homelands against Pakistan,” the BLA statement said. “We had the complete support of Sindhi nation in today’s attack and it shows a strong brotherly bond between both the nations.”

Separatists have been fighting security forces for years in Balochistan over what they see as the unfair exploitation of the province’s vast mineral wealth. They also claim security forces have pushed them to take up arms because of a long history of human rights abuses against the Baloch people, which security forces and subsequent governments in Balochistan have vehemently denied. Insurgents are also opposed to, and attack, projects linked to China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative in the resource-rich province.

Pakistan has regularly blamed India for supporting Baloch separatists, a charge Delhi denies.

Last month, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan told parliament he had no doubt India was behind the attack on the stock exchange building, which India promptly denied. Khan offered no evidence for his allegation, but he said there had been intelligence reports warning of attacks in Pakistan and he had informed his cabinet about the threats.

Sindhi separatists like the Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army have carried out low-intensity attacks in the past, including blowing up train tracks, but their fight has been less violent than that of neighboring Balochistan where separatists have attacked a Chinese consulate, a major hotel chain and on many occasions killed security officials patrolling a coastal highway.

Now, officials fear Sindhi groups might be able to enhance their capacity to carry our deadlier attacks with help from Baloch militants and other hostile groups.

“It can be a source of lawlessness in the future if this nexus is not broken,” said a police officer involved in investigating a “possible nexus between Sindhi and Baloch insurgent groups, backed by India.” He requested anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media about the issue.

The police official said Baloch groups already had “some capability” to launch damaging attacks “but once there is a nexus, it can also be helpful for Sindhi nationalists, and that’s worrisome.”

A senior intelligence officer, who also declined to be named, said there was a noticeable increase in the frequency of attacks by Sindhi groups, which pointed to the fact that they might have more experienced helpers.

“Increase in capability [through a nexus with Baloch groups] will only be proved if they launch more sophisticated attacks,” he said. “Law enforcement agencies are absolutely aware and alert to the dangers posed by the growing of this nexus.”

Raja Umar Khattab, a senior counter terrorism officer in Karachi, said while teaming up with other groups might enhance the capacity of Sindhi nationalists, he did not see the nexus posing a major threat in the near future.

“The nexus can supplement the capacity of Sindhi sub-nationalists,” Khattab said, “but they will not be able create any big law and order situation due to the preparedness of the law enforcement agencies.”

Sindh’s chief of Rangers has also said Baloch and Sindh separatists were also cosying up to the London faction of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), a Pakistani political party whose leader Altaf Hussain lives in exile in London.

“Hostile intelligence agencies strive to make a nexus of the cells, sleeper cells and facilitators of the remnant terrorists organizations [separatists], which include the remnants of the MQM,” Bukhari said during his press talk after the stock exchange attack.

The MQM, one of Pakistan’s biggest political parties, mostly comprises descendants of Muslim Urdu-speaking people who migrated to Pakistan around the time of the partition of India in 1947.

Once able to control Sindh province with an iron grip, the party’s fortunes have waned in recent years, particularly since 2013 when the military launched a crackdown against criminal groups and militants as murder rates soared and mutilated bodies were dumped in alleyways daily. Many saw the operation, centered in Karachi, as a pretext to wrest control of the teeming port city from the MQM, an accusation security forces deny.

While Karachi crime rates have dropped sharply and many local businesses have welcomed the operation, allegations of brutal and illegal methods have remained.

The UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances has in the past referred dozens of cases of illegal abductions of MQM workers to the Pakistan government, concluding a “pattern of specific targeting” of the MQM by Rangers, which the paramilitary force denies.

Before the 2013 operation, law enforcement agencies and many Karachi residents accused the MQM of racketeering, the abduction, torture and murder of opponents and holding the city to ransom by calling mass strikes at will.

On Wednesday, the MQM’s Qasim Ali Raza denied the party had any links to separatists or attacks in Sindh and urged the state to stop the “blind and fraudulent” process of blaming the party.

Karachi-based political analyst Mazhar Abbas said a nexus between the MQM and separatist groups, if it existed, would not work.

“The workers of MQM neither accepted the alliance with Sindhi nationalists [in the past],” he said, “nor will they subscribe to the current idea of a friendship.”

Other analysts said there was as yet no “sold” evidence to claim the nexus existed.

“Politically, there has been some closeness between Sindhi and Baloch nationalists, but speaking about a military nexus, one needs to have solid evidence at hand,” Sohail Sangi, a Karachi-based analyst who closely observes separatist groups, said.

Anwar Sajjadi, a Quetta-based security analyst, however, said he believed a growing nexus was a possibility, saying it was no coincidence that Sindhi groups too had recently started voicing opposition to Chinese projects being built under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) umbrella, which Baloch groups have long opposed.

“We have seen uniformity in their stances,” Sajjadi said. “Same stance on CPEC and other [rights] issues is bringing all these groups closer.”
 


Saudi, Iranian foreign ministers to meet during Ramadan

Updated 27 March 2023

Saudi, Iranian foreign ministers to meet during Ramadan

  • The diplomats discussed in a phone call a number of issues relating to the trilateral agreement signed in China 
  • The Kingdom and Iran agreed on March 10 to re-establish diplomatic ties and reopen their embassies within two months

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, have agreed to meet during the month of Ramadan, the Saudi Press Agency reported early Monday. 

The diplomats also discussed in a phone call a number of issues relating to the trilateral agreement signed in China. 

"During the call, a number of common issues were discussed in light of the tripartite agreement that was signed in the People's Republic of China," Saudi state news agency SPA said. 

“The two ministers also agreed to hold a bilateral meeting between them during the ongoing month of Ramadan.” 

Ramadan is likely to end on April 20. 

The Kingdom and Iran agreed on March 10 to re-establish diplomatic relations and reopen their embassies within two months following years of tensions. 


Ex-PM Khan to appear before Islamabad court seeking bail in cases over clashes with police 

Updated 27 March 2023

Ex-PM Khan to appear before Islamabad court seeking bail in cases over clashes with police 

  • Hundreds of Khan supporters clashed with police on March 18 as the ex-PM led a caravan to an Islamabad court 
  • Islamabad administration has banned public gatherings in the capital, tightened security ahead of Khan appearance 

ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan will appear before an Islamabad court on Monday, today, to seek bail in five cases registered against him over clashes between his supporters and the capital police earlier this month. 

Hundreds of Khan supporters clashed with police on March 18 as the former premier led a caravan to the Pakistani capital from the eastern city of Lahore to appear before an Islamabad district court in a case involving the sale of state gifts. 

The clashes left several people injured on both sides and forced the court to adjourn proceedings of the case, popularly known as the Toshakhana reference, until March 30. However, Khan was booked in five more cases over clashes outside the Islamabad judicial complex. 

The Islamabad administration has imposed Section 144 (ban on public gatherings and display of weapons) in the federal capital, whereas the capital police have tightened security ahead of Khan’s appearance before the court. 

“Section 144 is in force in Islamabad. Violators will be arrested,” the Islamabad police said on Twitter. “In the light of court orders, only concerned persons will be allowed to enter the court premises.” 

Khan, who was ousted in a parliamentary no-trust vote in April last year, has for months been agitating against the government of PM Shehbaz Sharif and pushing for snap elections nationwide. 

He later dissolved two provincial legislatures ruled by his party and allies in a bid to pressure the government into announcing snap polls. 

The former premier faces dozens of cases across the country, with charges against him ranging from terrorism to sedition. 


In southwest Pakistan, fried vermicelli is everyone’s favorite Ramadan delight

Updated 27 March 2023

In southwest Pakistan, fried vermicelli is everyone’s favorite Ramadan delight

  • Many Pakistanis, fasting from dawn till dusk, prefer the staple, called ‘pheni,’ with hot milk in pre-dawn meals
  • Customers complain of increase in pheni’s price, bakery owners attribute it to soaring inflation across the country

QUETTA: After offering afternoon prayers, 54-year-old Muhammad Aziz starts displaying buckets filled with round bunches of fried vermicelli, called “pheni,” to attract customers to a local sweet shop in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta. Aziz, who works as a manager at the sweet shop, says the demand for the staple food item “increases” in southwest Pakistan during the holy month of Ramadan. 

In southwestern Pakistan, pheni is a Ramadan delight as people love to consume the light food item in their pre-dawn sehri meals. Vermicelli enthusiasts often consume it with hot milk and tea, which helps them avoid heavier meals during suhoor. 

“The demand for pheni increases in Ramadan because customers eat it with hot milk in their suhoor,” Aziz, 54, told Arab News on Saturday. “In Ramadan, we sell almost five to six buckets a day and each bucket contains 15-20 kilogram of pheni.” 

Mumtaz Ali, 43, has been making vermicelli for the last 20 years at Quality Sweets, a famous sweet shop in Quetta. Ali says his team, which comprises 12 members, works for 15 hours a day during Ramadan to prepare six sacks of vermicelli. 

Each sack weighs 85kg. 

“In Ramadan we hire extra labor who work in the vermicelli section for a month but we stop making pheni after the 23rd of Ramadan,” Ali told Arab News, adding that the focus then shifts toward confectionary items for Eid. 

Explaining how the snack is prepared, Ali says “high quality” of flour is used to make vermicelli, which his workers knead with their hands and through machines. Next, it is mixed with water and salt. 

“Then we apply ghee to it and later we stretch the dough and make them into dough balls,” he said. “We then bring it here [to the kitchen] and fry it here to bring it into this position.” 

With inflation soaring to a decades-high in the country, bakery owners in Balochistan have also increased the price of pheni this Ramadan season. A kilogram of the round, slender threads has risen to Rs650 ($2.30) from Rs500 ($1.74) last year. 

“Inflation increases day-by-day, previously it increased in a year but now prices jump within a week,” Muhammad Javed Butt, who owns a bakery in Quetta, told Arab News. 

“Flour and oil prices have increased which is why we have to slightly up the [pheni’s] rate to maintain its quality.” 

But it nonetheless remains a part of people’s pre-dawn meals in Balochistan, he added. 

Khalid Hussain, 65, who buys pheni for his family every Ramadan, said they have it in sehr and iftar with milk. 

“Children love it a lot, they mix it with milk and really enjoy it,” he told Arab News. 

Hussain said there may be many baked items for Ramadan but pheni is the “most eatable” one. 


‘Wonderful’ Afghanistan thump Pakistan to claim T20I series in Sharjah

Updated 55 min 5 sec ago

‘Wonderful’ Afghanistan thump Pakistan to claim T20I series in Sharjah

  • Needing 22 off last two overs, Najibullah and Mohammad Nabi hit a six each in penultimate over
  • Zadran then hit the winning boundary off Zaman Khan’s last over to chase down the 131-run target

SHARJAH: Afghanistan overcame late nerves in the closing overs to beat Pakistan by seven wickets in the second Twenty20 international on Sunday and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-game series. 

Needing 30 off the last three overs, and 22 from the last two, Najibullah Zadran and Mohammad Nabi hit a six each off pace bowler Naseem Shah in the penultimate over to reduce the target to five runs. 

Zadran then hit the winning boundary off Zaman Khan’s last over to chase down the 131-run target with one ball to spare. 

“It’s a great honor and pleasure to lead this wonderful team,” said Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan. 

“It was a great effort with the ball, and then we took it deep and finished it.” 

He added: “I think 130 was a good total. We tried our best to take it deep and finish it. Our strategy was to go out there and make sure you take responsibility. We have players to finish it like Nabi and Najib.” 

Pakistan’s 130-6 in 20 overs was built around a sedate 57-ball 64 not out by all-rounder Imad Wasim — his maiden T20I half century. 

This was Afghanistan’s first bilateral T20I series against any of the top six teams — India, England, Pakistan, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. 

They have previously won a T20I series each against the West Indies and Bangladesh and five in five against Zimbabwe. 

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (44 off 49 balls) and Ibrahim Zadran (38 off 40 balls) set the platform during their 56-run second wicket stand. 

However, their slow batting left Afghanistan needing to score 46 off the last 30 balls. 

Najibullah (23) and Nabi (14) remained unbeaten to seal the victory. 

“Our motive for this series was to check out talented young players and we have to back them in the future,” said Pakistan captain Shadab Khan. 

Earlier, Pakistan’s recovery was led by Imad who hit two sixes and three boundaries to rescue Pakistan from 63-5 after winning the toss and batting. 

Imad and Shadab (32) added 67 for the sixth wicket. 

Pakistan had got off to a disastrous start with left-arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi claiming Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique, both for nought, in the first over of the innings. 

Farooqi finished with 2-19 in his four overs. 

Shafique has now been dismissed for nought on four successive occasions in five T20Is since making his debut in November 2020. 

Mohammad Haris hit a six and two boundaries in his nine-ball 15 while Tayyab Tahir scored a 23-ball 13. 

The stockily built Azam Khan, who rose to fame with his power hitting in the recent Pakistan Super League, fell to spinner Rashid Khan, scoring just one after his nought in the first game. 

Shadab, who is deputising for rested skipper Babar Azam, hit three boundaries in his 25-ball knock. 

Imad’s previous best of 47 had come against Sri Lanka in Lahore in 2019. 


‘Friendly countries’ expected to fulfill commitments for IMF deal — finance minister

Updated 26 March 2023

‘Friendly countries’ expected to fulfill commitments for IMF deal — finance minister

  • Pakistan would not default, government doing its best to steer Pakistan out of “difficult situation,” says Ishaq Dar
  • Dar had said Pakistan’s IMF deal being delayed over friendly countries’ assurances to fund balance of payment gap

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Sunday that “friendly countries” were expected to materialize their commitments to Pakistan which would pave the way for Islamabad to finalize its loan revival deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said in a report.

Earlier this month, Dar told Pakistani parliamentarians that Pakistan’s deal with the IMF is being delayed as the global lender wants assurances and commitments from “friendly countries” to fund its balance of payments gap to materialize.

Though the finance minister did not name the “friendly countries” specifically, it is understood that he was referring to Saudi Arabia, China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). All three are close allies of Pakistan who have bailed come to its aid whenever Islamabad faces an economic crisis.

Pakistan has been struggling to revive a stalled loan program with the IMF which would unlock a tranche of $1.1 billion, crucial for the country to stave off a balance of payment crisis. The South Asian country’s reserves have dipped to historic lows over the past couple of months, as it desperately seeks external financing to pay off its debts and sustain its economy.

“Addressing as chief guest an Iftar dinner hosted by the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) in honor of foreign diplomats, Dar said that friendly countries were expected to materialize their commitments with Pakistan that would pave the way to close the deal with the IMF and revive the economy,” the APP said.

The finance minister said Pakistan “would not default,” adding that the government was doing its best to steer the country out of a “difficult situation” to ensure its sustainable growth.

While Pakistan desperately waits for the IMF to revive the stalled loan program, the South Asian country grapples with decades-high inflation and a deepening political crisis. Pakistan’s restrictions on imports — in its bid to prevent the outflow of dollars — have caused banks to delay or deny the opening of Letter of Credits (LCs) for the import of goods.