KARACHI: The administration of Pakistan’s commercial capital Karachi imposed a two-month ban on the use of drones in the southern district on Saturday, citing “serious threats” to the Chinese diplomatic mission from militant groups and hostile agencies.
The threats to Chinese nationals and their consulate in the city have manifested in high-profile attacks in the past, including the 2018 assault on the diplomatic facility and the 2022 bombing near the Confucius Institute at Karachi University, resulting in the deaths of Chinese academics.
These incidents prompted Pakistani authorities to enhance security measures to protect Chinese nationals involved in significant projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, considered a future lifeline for the South Asian nation.
More recently, five Chinese nationals working were targeted and killed along with their local driver by a suicide bomber in the country’s northwest on March 26, leading to an emergency security meeting wherein the government reaffirmed its commitment to protecting all Chinese workers “contributing to the prosperity of Pakistan.”
“Whereas, it has been reported that there are serious threats to vital installations and Chinese Consulate, Karachi by the Anti-State Elements/Hostile agencies in the wake of recent attacks on Chinese Nationals, therefore, it is necessary to take immediate measures to avoid any mishaps & to maintain law and order situation in the city,” said a notification issued the office of the commissioner of Karachi division.
“In exercise of powers under section 144 (6) Cr.P.C delegated by Home Department, Government of Sindh ... I, Muhammad Saleem Rajput, Commissioner Karachi Division, do hereby impose complete ban on the use of Drones within the local limited of District South Karachi for a period of 02 months ... with immediate effect,” the notification added.
Pakistani officials told the media on Friday Chinese contractors had halted construction on two major dam projects in the country, following the recent suicide attack. These companies have been calling for a new security plan before resuming their activities, which involve nearly 1,250 Chinese nationals.
The incident is also being probed by a team of Chinese experts that arrived in Pakistan on Wednesday.
Pakistani authorities impose drone ban in Karachi amid ‘serious threats’ to Chinese consulate
https://arab.news/bcx8p
Pakistani authorities impose drone ban in Karachi amid ‘serious threats’ to Chinese consulate
- The commissioner of Karachi division says the threats come from anti-state elements and hostile agencies
- The decision comes just a few days after a suicide bomber killed five Chinese nationals in Pakistan’s northwest
Pakistan defense minister warns of ‘more legal action’ against ex-spy chief
- Faiz Hameed, ISI’s director-general from 2019-2021, was sentenced to 14 years by military court this week
- Defense Minister Khawaja Asif alleges Hameed planned violent priotests led by ex-PM Khan’s party in 2023
ISLAMABAD: Defense Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday announced “more legal action” will be taken against former spy chief Faiz Hameed, days after he was sentenced to 14 years in prison by a military court.
Pakistan military’s media wing announced this week that Hameed, who was the director-general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) from 2019 to 2021, has been sentenced to 14 years after being found guilty of misusing authority and government resources, violating the Official Secrets Act and causing “wrongful loss to persons.”
The former spy chief was widely seen as close to ex-prime minister Imran Khan. Hameed, who retired from the army in December 2022, is accused by the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of bringing down the government of his elder brother, Nawaz Sharif, in 2017.
The PML-N alleges Hameed worked with then opposition leader Khan to plot Nawaz’s ouster through a series of court cases, culminating in the Supreme Court disqualifying of him from office in 2017 for failing to disclose income and ordering a criminal investigation into his family over corruption allegations. Khan’s party and Hameed have both denied the allegations.
“A senior officer and former head of the ISI has been convicted in a trial that lasted for a long period of 15 months,” Asif told reporters in Sialkot.
“There are more problems, charges on which legal action will be taken and that won’t take long.”
Asif repeated the PML-N’s allegations, accusing Hameed of having Nawaz disqualified through the court cases. He accused the former spy chief of propelling Khan to the office of the prime minister, blaming him for having leaders and supporters of the PML-N arrested during Khan’s premiership.
Pakistan military said this week that Faiz’s alleged role in “fomenting vested political agitation and instability in cahoots with political elements” was being handled separately. Many interpreted this as the military alluding to the May 9, 2023, nationwide unrest, when angry Khan supporters took to the streets and attacked military and government installations after he was briefly detained on corruption charges.
Asif said Faiz’s “brain and planning” was behind the May 2023 unrest.
“These two personalities can not be separated,” the defense minister said, referencing Khan and Hameed.
Senior military officers are rarely investigated or convicted in Pakistan, where the security establishment plays an outsized role in politics and national governance.
Hameed’s sentencing comes just days after Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir was appointed as Pakistan’s first chief of defense forces, marking a major restructuring of the military command.
Former prime minister Khan’s PTI party has distanced itself from Hameed’s conviction, referring to it as an “internal matter of the military institution.”
