QUETTA: Suspected separatists hurled a hand grenade at a store selling Pakistani national flags in restive southwestern Balochistan province, killing one man and wounding four people, officials said Tuesday.
No one has claimed responsibility for the late Monday night attack in Quetta, the provincial capital, according to Wasim Baig, a spokesman for the provincial health department.
The separatist Baloch Liberation Army has claimed such attacks in the past. This year, it warned people not to celebrate Pakistan’s Independence Day on August 14, marking the date in 1947 when Pakistan got independence from British colonial rule when India was divided.
Earlier this week, the same separatist group claimed responsibility for the killing of two policemen in a roadside bombing in Quetta, indicating an uptick in violence ahead of the holiday.
On Tuesday in Quetta, security forces shot and killed five suspected separatists in an operation on the city’s outskirts, the provincial counter-terrorism department said. It provided no further details.
Small separatist groups have been carrying out a long-running insurgency in the province, demanding independence from the central government in Islamabad. Although Pakistan says it has quelled the insurgency in Balochistan, violence has increased in recent months.
The province also shares a long border with Iran and Afghanistan, and the Pakistani Taliban and Daesh have also maintained a presence in Balochistan.
In Pakistan, one killed in attack on store selling national flags
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In Pakistan, one killed in attack on store selling national flags
- Suspected separatists hurl a hand grenade at a store selling Pakistani national flags
- Baloch Liberation Army has warned people not to celebrate Pakistan’s Independence Day on August 14
Pakistan PM orders action against fuel hoarding amid Iran conflict supply fears
- Sharif asks authorities to shut down petrol pumps involved in any attempt to create artificial shortages
- Government says it holds adequate fuel stocks despite shipping risks as Strait of Hormuz tensions rise
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday ordered authorities to take strict action against fuel hoarders and shut down petrol pumps involved in any attempt to create artificial shortages, as anxiety grows over potential supply disruptions from the widening conflict involving Iran.
Sharif issued the directive during a high-level meeting on petroleum supplies, where officials briefed him that Pakistan currently holds sufficient fuel reserves to meet domestic demand despite the volatile regional situation.
The move comes as Pakistan steps up contingency measures following fears of supply disruptions linked to the escalating conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
The concerns stem partly from disruptions in tanker traffic after the Strait of Hormuz — a key global oil chokepoint between Iran and Oman through which much of Pakistan’s imported crude typically transits — was shut following rising hostilities in the Gulf.
“The prime minister directed provincial governments to take strict legal action against hoarders of petroleum products,” Sharif’s office said in a statement after the meeting.
“Any petrol pump involved in the reprehensible practice of creating artificial shortages should be immediately shut down, its license revoked and legal action initiated,” it added.
Earlier this week, Pakistan’s Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) allowed oil marketing companies to temporarily regulate supplies to retail outlets to discourage hoarding and maintain stability in fuel distribution.
Sharif instructed the petroleum minister to visit provinces and coordinate with their administrations to develop a strategy for conserving petroleum products and ensuring their uninterrupted supply to the public.
The prime minister further ordered the creation of a digital dashboard to monitor the movement of petroleum products and share real-time data with provincial authorities to improve oversight of fuel transportation and distribution.
