MULTAN: Pakistan’s counter-terrorism police on Tuesday said they foiled a possible militant attack by killing a suspected would-be suicide bomber when he tried to sneak into a police station near the eastern city of Lahore.
According to a statement released by police, the suspected militant was killed in an exchange of fire early Tuesday when he shot at guards after being asked to halt at the premises of the police station in the village of Burki.
The man was wearing an explosive vest and he had two grenades in his pockets, the statement said. Police released pictures of an explosive vest, two grenades and a pistol, saying the suspect was carrying them.
Police provided no further details and said a search operation was underway in the area.
Security forces in Pakistan are often targeted by militants who want the government to end its support to Washington in its war on terror and enforce Islamic laws in the country. In October 2009, militants attacked a police training facility in another village near Lahore, killing more than 30 people.
The latest development comes a day after Pakistan’s military said troops killed two militants during a raid on a militant hideout in a former tribal area of Bajur near Afghanistan. In a statement, the military said the suspects were involved in “terrorist activities in various areas of Pakistan” and were working for neighboring Indian intelligence, a charge New Delhi often denies.
Pakistan police say officers foil police station attack
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Pakistan police say officers foil police station attack
- The suspected militant was wearing an explosive vest and had two grenades in his pockets, police said
- He was killed in an exchange of fire early Tuesday when he shot at guards after being asked to stop at the police station in Burki village
Pakistanis among 44 migrants rescued by aid ship off Libyan coast
- Survivors rescued after days at sea on unseaworthy boat in international waters
- Pakistanis have featured in several deadly Mediterranean migrant disasters in recent years
Crew members of the humanitarian rescue ship Ocean Viking evacuated and provided first aid to 44 migrants stranded aboard a merchant vessel in international waters off the Libyan coast, the NGO SOS Mediterranee said on Monday.
The group, originating mainly from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Egypt, had been rescued earlier from an unseaworthy fiberglass boat and later transferred to the merchant ship before the Ocean Viking intervened, according to the organization.
Libya, about 300 kilometers from Italy, remains one of the main departure points in North Africa for migrants attempting the dangerous Mediterranean crossing, despite repeated warnings from humanitarian agencies about abuse, exploitation and high fatality rates along the route.
Migrants often depart Libya after months in detention centers or informal holding sites, boarding overcrowded and unsafe vessels operated by smuggling networks. Delays in rescue frequently leave survivors severely weakened, aid groups say.
“These 44 people, they are mainly from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Egypt. They departed reportedly from Benghazi (Libya) some five or six days ago. And they are now safe on board the Ocean Viking, recovering,” Francesco Creazzo, spokesperson for SOS Mediterranee, said.
Creazzo said the migrants were found in severe physical distress when evacuated.
“They were exhausted, coughing of dehydration, extremely weak, some couldn’t walk,” he added.
The Ocean Viking, an ambulance ship operated by SOS Mediterranee, regularly conducts search-and-rescue missions in the central Mediterranean, one of the world’s deadliest migration routes. According to international organizations, thousands of people have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean over the past decade while attempting to reach Europe.
The latest rescue comes amid a series of deadly migrant disasters in the Mediterranean in recent years that have involved Pakistani nationals. In June 2023, at least several hundred migrants died when the Adriana, a fishing trawler carrying migrants from Pakistan and other countries, capsized off the coast of Greece in one of the deadliest maritime disasters in the region in a decade.
Earlier incidents have also seen Pakistani migrants perish in shipwrecks off Italy, Tunisia and Libya, highlighting the persistent risks faced by people attempting irregular sea crossings to Europe. Pakistani authorities have repeatedly urged citizens not to undertake the journey, while international agencies warn that smugglers continue to exploit economic hardship and conflict to lure migrants onto unsafe boats.
