ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in South Waziristan and killed a local militant after intense exchange of fire, said the military’s media wing, ISPR, on Tuesday.
The operation was carried out in Ladha, a small settlement, after information was received on militant presence in the area.
According to the ISPR statement, the slain militant, Peer alias Asad, had been an active member of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan since 2006.
“He joined the TTP Baitullah Mehsud Group and remained involved in terrorist activities against security forces,” the statement added. “After the death of Hakeem Ullah Mehsud, he joined the Shehryar Mehsud Group.”
Pakistan’s northwestern tribal districts became a hub of religious militancy after the US invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001.
Many of the groups operating in the region launched attacks against the Pakistani state and society, making the country’s security forces launch clear-and-hold military operations to reclaim the territory and establish the state’s writ in it once again.
Pakistani security forces kill militant commander in South Waziristan
https://arab.news/5jzsa
Pakistani security forces kill militant commander in South Waziristan
- Peer alias Asad has been active member of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan since 2006, army says
- Operation carried out after Pakistani forces received information on militant presence in the northwest tribal area
IMF hails Pakistan privatization drive, calls PIA sale a ‘milestone’
- Fund backs sale of national airline as key step in divesting loss-making state firms
- IMF has long urged Islamabad to reduce fiscal burden posed by state-owned entities
KARACHI: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Saturday welcomed Pakistan’s privatization efforts, describing the sale of the country’s national airline to a private consortium last month as a milestone that could help advance the divestment of loss-making state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
The comments follow the government’s sale of a 75 percent stake in Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to a consortium led by the Arif Habib Group for Rs 135 billion ($486 million) after several rounds of bidding in a competitive process, marking Islamabad’s second attempt to privatize the carrier after a failed effort a year earlier.
Between the two privatization attempts, PIA resumed flight operations to several international destinations after aviation authorities in the European Union and Britain lifted restrictions nearly five years after the airline was grounded following a deadly Airbus A320 crash in Karachi in 2020 that killed 97 people.
“We welcome the authorities’ privatization efforts and the completion of the PIA privatization process, which was a commitment under the EFF,” Mahir Binici, the IMF’s resident representative in Pakistan, said in response to an Arab News query, referring to the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility.
“This privatization represents a milestone within the authorities’ reform agenda, aimed at decreasing governmental involvement in commercial sectors and attracting investments to promote economic growth in Pakistan,” he added.
The IMF has long urged Islamabad to reduce the fiscal burden posed by loss-making state firms, which have weighed public finances for years and required repeated government bailouts. Beyond PIA, the government has signaled plans to restructure or sell stakes in additional SOEs as part of broader reforms under the IMF program.
Privatization also remains politically sensitive in Pakistan, with critics warning of job losses and concerns over national assets, while supporters argue private sector management could improve efficiency and service delivery in chronically underperforming entities.
Pakistan’s Cabinet Committee on State-Owned Enterprises said on Friday that SOEs recorded a net loss of Rs 122.9 billion ($442 million) in the 2024–25 fiscal year, compared with a net loss of Rs 30.6 billion ($110 million) in the previous year.
