PM vows not to bow before any group after forces end Bannu counterterrorism center siege

An Army vehicle patrols, past police officers stand guard along a road, near cantonment area in Bannu, Pakistan on December 21, 2022. (REUTERS)
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Updated 21 December 2022
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PM vows not to bow before any group after forces end Bannu counterterrorism center siege

  • Pakistan Army says three soldiers and 25 militants were killed in the operation to retake the facility
  • FM Bhutto-Zardari says recent Pakistani Taliban attacks crossed ‘red line,’ won’t tolerate incursions

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday promised that the state of Pakistan would not bow before any militant group, after a deadly, days-long standoff killed three soldiers and 25 militants in the country’s northwest.

Pakistani Taliban militants being held at a counterterrorism facility in the northwestern city of Bannu took control of the compound on Sunday after overpowering their interrogators and taking their weapons, leading to a two-day siege.

Pakistani army commandos ultimately stormed the compound on Tuesday and killed 25 militants holed up in the facility, while three soldiers were killed in the operation to retake the compound, the army said.

Sharif condemned recent militant attacks in Bannu and other parts of the country, promising to crush the “wicked effort” to create chaos in the country through “terrorism.”

“The state will not bow before any terrorist group and terrorists will be dealt with according to the constitution and the law,” the prime minister said in a statement.

“Terrorism is a sensitive national security issue, which requires collective mindset and strategy.”

He said the federation would work together with provinces to fight the menace of “terrorism.”

“The federation will assist provinces in capacity-building of counterterrorism force and department,” PM Sharif said.

“[We] will work on restructuring of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa counterterrorism department and will fulfill all requirements of our forces.”

The Pakistan Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), associate themselves with the Afghan Taliban and have been fighting to overthrow the government in Islamabad since late 2000s.

The TTP has ramped up attacks in recent weeks since announcing the end of an Afghan Taliban-brokered cease-fire with Islamabad in November.

Providing details of the Bannu standoff late Tuesday, Pakistani military spokesman Maj-Gen Ahmed Sharif said a “terrorist” detained in the CTD complex overpowered a constable on duty on December 18, snatched his weapon and freed 34 other detainees.

Immediately after surrounding the CTD complex on December 18, he said, security forces killed two militants and arrested three. Ten soldiers, including three officers, were injured in the action.

The Bannu counterterrorism center siege came on the same day four Pakistani police officers were killed and another four critically wounded in a militant attack on a police station in the northwestern Pakistani district of Lakki Marwat.

On Monday, a suicide bombing killed at least two passersby and a soldier in the northwestern region of North Waziristan, while the TTP said on Tuesday it had attacked a police station in Wana city in the South Waziristan district and killed two policemen, but police said only one officer had been wounded.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said the recent attacks by the Pakistani Taliban had crossed a “red line” for Pakistan and it would not tolerate such incursions.

“Within our government, I am particularly hawkish on the issue of TTP or the issue of terrorism in general. I believe that the recent events in the region.. are alarming, not only the border incidents but the recent Bannu incident, which our security commanders have very bravely managed to overcome that specific threat,” he said at the Washington-based Atlantic Council think-tank on Tuesday.

“But as far as the TTP are concerned, it’s absolutely our red line. It is something that we will not tolerate. And without going further diplomatically, on record, I would say that absolutely, we would be willing to consider each and every single option to ensure the safety and security of our people.”

To a question, Bhutto-Zardari said the overall security situation in Pakistan had improved since 2007 and the country was far more stable and secure despite these latest attacks and skirmishes on the border.

“Owing to the improved security in the region as compared to the past, there is more confidence today for people do [conduct] business in Pakistan, but those things can be put at risk if this [situation] goes unchecked,” he said.

“And, obviously, that would undermine any hope for us, whether it is CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) or any other form of economic activity.”




Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari speaks during a talk at the Atlantic Council's Front Page event in Washington, US on December 20, 2022. (Photo courtesy: Twitter/AtlanticCouncil)

A major segment of Beijing’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, CPEC is a $65 billion network of roads, railways, pipelines and ports in Pakistan that will connect China to the Arabian Sea and help Islamabad expand and modernize its economy.

Bhutto-Zardari said he believed Pakistan would have to press Afghanistan to take on the TTP or other militant groups operating in the neighboring country.

“As far as the Afghan Taliban are concerned, I think it’s important for us to get to a position where we can work with them to deal with this issue because I can conduct as many operations as I want from our side of the border, but if they keep jumping on to the other side, and there is no hammer and anvil effect, then no counterterrorism policy will be effective,” he said.

“So, the [priority] is to get the interim or de facto Afghan government to demonstrate their will and capacity to deal with this issue and I think there is space to explore on that front.”


TikTok says removed 30 million videos in Pakistan for violating its guidelines

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TikTok says removed 30 million videos in Pakistan for violating its guidelines

  • The video-sharing platform made the disclosure in its report for second quarter of this year
  • Key findings show 99.5 percent of videos were proactively removed before users reported them

ISLAMABAD: Video-sharing platform TikTok has taken down around 30 million videos in Pakistan for violating its community guidelines, the company said on Tuesday, underscoring its resolve to effectively combat violations.
TikTok, a social media app that allows users to create and share short-form videos, disclosed in its report for the second quarter of the year the platform had become extremely popular among younger generations, with over a billion active users worldwide.
The Q2 2024 Community Guidelines Enforcement Report detailed TikTok’s approach to content moderation in Pakistan, ensuring transparency into content generation in the South Asian country.
“The report reveals that over 30,709,744 videos were removed from TikTok in Pakistan in the latest reporting period as the platform continues to strengthen its content moderation systems to safeguard its diverse community,” TikTok said on Tuesday.
“Key findings show that 99.5 percent of these videos were proactively removed before users reported them, with 97 percent taken down within 24 hours.”
This highlighted TikTok’s commitment to ensure a “safer platform” for Pakistani users by removing harmful content before receiving any complaints, it said, adding that a total of 178, 827,465 videos were removed this year.
The platform continued to prioritize and enhance automated moderation technology which helped remove 144,430,133 videos and underscored the TikTok’s “innovative use of its detection technology to eliminate harmful content in real-time,” according to the report.
“With a proactive detection rate now at 98.2 percent, TikTok is more efficient than ever at addressing harmful content before users encounter it,” the platform said.
“The report also highlights a 50 percent reduction in the number of restored videos, reinforcing the accuracy and effectiveness of TikTok’s content moderation systems.”
This is not the first time that TikTok has removed videos from Pakistan. It took down approximately 20 million videos in Pakistan for violating community guidelines in the first quarter of this year.
In the past, Pakistani authorities have banned the video-sharing service several times, with the first ban instituted in October 2020 over what was described as widespread complaints about allegedly “immoral, obscene, and vulgar” content on the app.
The service has been prohibited from operating in the country thrice for more than 15 months since then. In November 2021, a Pakistani court finally reversed the ban after TikTok assured the government it would control the spread of objectionable content.


Pakistan seizes weapons at Torkham border as Afghanistan denies knowledge of trafficking

Updated 32 min 32 sec ago
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Pakistan seizes weapons at Torkham border as Afghanistan denies knowledge of trafficking

  • Pakistan’s customs authorities say a vehicle carrying coal was trying to smuggle US-made weapons, ammunition
  • Driver of the vehicle disappeared before being arrested, according to official Pakistani statement about the incident

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Pakistan’s customs authorities have seized a large cache of weapons and ammunition at the Torkham border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province from a vehicle arriving from Afghanistan, according to an official statement, though an Afghan official denied knowledge of any weapons trafficking at the busy border crossing.

The statement released by Pakistan Customs on Monday said that a truck carrying coal entered Pakistan’s import terminal on Friday and was selected for thorough inspection following the scanning procedure.

It revealed that the seized weapons and ammunition were US-made and valued at approximately Rs35 million ($125,000).

This development comes amid already strained relations between the two neighboring states, with a surge in militant violence in Pakistan. Authorities in Islamabad have accused Afghan officials of "facilitating" armed groups targeting Pakistani civilians and security forces, a claim denied by the Taliban administration in Kabul.

“On 11th October, 2024 at about 6:50 pm, a vehicle bearing registration No. KBL 51828 loaded with coal entered the import terminal and was regarded as abnormal in NLC [National Logistic Cell] scan image,” the statement said. “Upon examination, weapons parts/ammunitions were detected,”

It informed the recovered items included “gun barrels (15Nos), loaded magazines (170), having 30 rounds each with a total of 5,100 rounds.”

All the smuggled items were shifted to the Customs Appraisement Office for action, though the driver of the vehicle disappeared before his arrest.

“Further investigation is underway,” the statement said.

Pakistan has raised concerns that US military equipment left behind in Afghanistan after the 2021 withdrawal has ended up in the hands of militants, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), who have been using it to target Pakistani security forces.

The US government has previously said these weapons were intended for the Afghan National Army, which had been trained and equipped by US military officials prior to the Taliban’s return to power. However, much of this equipment fell into the hands of militant factions after the withdrawal of international forces.

According to Haji Hikmatullah Safi, the Torkham Gate Commissioner on the Afghan side, his country was neither aware of any attempt to smuggle arms nor had Pakistan shared any information about the development.

“We have put strict checking measures in place to discourage any kind of smuggling through this vital border crossing,” he told Arab News. “We have three separate departments for vehicle checking before they enter Pakistan.”

Asked about the development, a Pakistani customs official at Torkham, Umar Jan, confirmed the weapons recovered from the vehicle were left over by the US in Afghanistan.

“We don’t need to share this information directly or immediately with our Afghan counterparts,” he continued. “Rather, we share it with the relevant department, which can then raise the issue at the appropriate time.”

 


Pakistan advocates global collaboration in Vienna against transnational organized crime

Updated 45 min 46 sec ago
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Pakistan advocates global collaboration in Vienna against transnational organized crime

  • Pakistan raised the issue at the Conference of Parties to UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
  • Top FIA official highlights Pakistan’s efforts to tackle human trafficking, migrant smuggling at the forum in Austria

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has emphasized the need for international cooperation to strengthen the capacity of developing countries in combating organized crimes such as money laundering, human trafficking and cybercrime, the country’s top investigation agency said on Tuesday, at a forum in Vienna.

The 12th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP) to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) is currently being held in Austria. Pakistan was represented by Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Chief Ahmad Ishaque Jehangir, Director General of the Anti-Money Laundering Authority Ehsan Sadiq and Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Munir Akram.

The COP to the UNTOC, held every two years, serves as a vital platform for member states to discuss and develop strategies for enhancing cooperation in combating organized crime. The UNTOC remains the primary international instrument in the fight against transnational organized crime.

“[The top FIA official] called for international cooperation grounded in mutual respect and shared responsibility, stressing the importance of strengthening the capacities of developing countries in combating organized crimes such as money laundering, human trafficking, and cybercrime,” said an official statement released on Tuesday.

Addressing the session, the FIA chief called for a “holistic approach” to address the root causes associated with the challenges posed by transnational organized crime.

Reiterating Pakistan’s commitment to tackling these issues, he highlighted how economic disparities and lack of opportunities created “fertile grounds” for criminal enterprises and termed it pivotal to promote “inclusive and sustainable development.”

The FIA chief underscored Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to tackle human trafficking and migrant smuggling, emphasizing the need to expand legal migration pathways to address “irregular” migration.

He also spoke about corruption and illicit financial flows, highlighting the legislative reforms undertaken by Pakistan to combat money laundering and “terrorist financing.”

Jehangir urged the global community to expedite the return of stolen assets to developing countries so that the “ill-gotten resources” were utilized for socio-economic development.

He also emphasized that a “united global effort” was essential for achieving UNTOC objectives for ensuring a safer and more just world for everyone.

 


Pakistani, Russian armies kick off ‘Druzhba-VII’ joint counter-terror exercise

Updated 15 October 2024
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Pakistani, Russian armies kick off ‘Druzhba-VII’ joint counter-terror exercise

  • Exercise aims to harness military-to-military ties between Pakistan and Russia, says army’s media wing 
  • Two-week-long exercise kicked off in Pakistan’s northwestern town of Pabbi, says Inter-Services Public Relations

ISLAMABAD: The armies of Pakistan and Russia have kicked off a bilateral joint counter-terrorism exercise, “Druzhba VII” this week to refine their militaries joint training and enhance military-to-military relations, the army’s media wing said on Tuesday. 

The two-week-long exercise commenced on Oct. 13 at the National Counter Terrorism Center in the northwestern town of Pabbi, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army’s media wing, said. Pakistan army’s light commando troops and the Russian military contingent are taking part in Druzhba VII 

“The Exercise is aimed at refining professional skills through joint training besides harnessing the historic military-to-military relations among the friendly countries,” the ISPR said. “Participating troops are looking forward to benefit from mutual expertise/ experience.”

Pakistan and Russia have been deepening their military cooperation over the past few years. In 2014, Russia lifted a longstanding arms embargo imposed on Pakistan while in August 2015, it agreed to sell four Mi-35M attack helicopters to Pakistan.

The two countries have also warmed up to each other in recent years, with Islamabad and Moscow bolstering efforts to enhance bilateral trade and investment. Earlier this month, Pakistan’s commerce minister led a delegation of 70 businesspersons to an inaugural trade and investment forum between the two countries in Moscow. 

In order to escape a prolonged economic crisis, Islamabad seeks to enhance its role as a transit hub for landlocked economies in Central Asia. For this, it has expressed interest in connecting with Russia through Central Asian states for bilateral trade.

Islamabad’s ties with Russia also saw significant improvement last year after Pakistan started purchasing Russian crude oil at a discount rate. The development came after geopolitical tensions almost doubled the fuel prices in Pakistan last year, forcing the South Asian country to opt for cheaper sources of fuel.

Pakistan also received its first shipment of liquified petroleum gas from Russia in September 2023, marking Islamabad’s second major Russian energy purchase. Last month, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk arrived in Islamabad on a brief visit, seeking to expand trade and investment ties with Pakistan.
 


Pakistan’s Quaid-e-Azam University breaks into top 500 global institutions

Updated 15 October 2024
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Pakistan’s Quaid-e-Azam University breaks into top 500 global institutions

  • Located in Islamabad, the university is placed in the 401-500 band by Times Higher Education Rankings
  • Other Pakistani educational institutions on the list include LUMS, NUST, COMSATS and Air University

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Quaid-e-Azam University has secured a spot among the top 500 universities in the world, according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025, with the institution placed in the 401-500 band.
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings are released annually and consider several benchmarks that include teaching, research, employability, and sustainability. Securing a position in these rankings not only enhances a university’s reputation but also reflects its academic excellence and global impact.
Quaid-e-Azam University is the only educational institution in Pakistan to fall in the 401-500 ranking band followed by seven other local universities falling within the 601-800 band.
“This year’s ranking analyzed more than 134 million citations across 16.5 million research publications and included survey responses from 68,402 scholars globally,” the Times Higher Education website said. “Overall, we collected 411,789 data points from more than 2,673 institutions that submitted data.”
“Trusted worldwide by students, teachers, governments and industry experts, the 2024 league table reveals how the global higher education landscape is shifting,” it added.
The Pakistani universities in the 601-800 band include Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Air University, Capital University of Science and Technology, COMSATS University Islamabad, University of Engineering and Technology Taxila, Government College University Faisalabad and National University of Sciences and Technology.
Eleven Pakistani universities attained a spot in the 801-1000 ranking band including Bahria University, Hazara University Mansehra, International Islamic University Islamabad, Islamia College Peshawar, University of Lahore, Lahore University of Management Sciences, University of Malakand, University of Management and Technology, University of the Punjab, Institute of Space Technology and University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore.
The 1001-1200 ranking band included 13 Pakistani universities while the 1201-1500 ranking band included four local universities and the rest fall in the 1500+ category.
Quaid-e-Azam University is located in Pakistan’s capital city of Islamabad. Its inclusion in top 500 global institutions underscores its emerging prominence on the world stage, highlighting its commitment to delivering quality education and research.