ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to supporting the residents of Indian-administered Kashmir in their struggle for the right to self-determination in a message marking the third death anniversary of Syed Ali Geelani, a veteran leader of the region.
Geelani was a prominent pro-independence leader in the disputed Himalayan region who was known for his staunch opposition to Indian rule. He passed away in September 1, 2021, two years after India revoked the special constitutional status of Kashmir, intensifying tensions in the region.
Both Pakistan and India administer parts of Kashmir, but each country claims the territory in full.
“Syed Ali Geelani will always be remembered as a prominent name in the freedom movement of Kashmir,” Sharif said in a statement released by his office. “He dedicated his entire life to this cause.”
“This struggle will continue until the Kashmiris achieve their right to self-determination,” he continued. “Pakistan will continue to provide moral, diplomatic, and political support to the Kashmiris.”
Geelani was arrested and jailed multiple times during his political career.
Reflecting on his life, the prime minister said even the hardships and suffering of his imprisonment could not weaken his resolve.
“His sacrifices will not be in vain,” he added.
After revoking Kashmir’s special constitutional status in 2019, India is now preparing to hold the first elections in the disputed region in a decade.
The electoral contest will take place between September 18 and October 1, with the vote count scheduled for October 4.
Pakistan PM pledges continued support for Kashmir on veteran leader’s death anniversary
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Pakistan PM pledges continued support for Kashmir on veteran leader’s death anniversary
- Syed Ali Geelani, who opposed Indian rule, was arrested and imprisoned multiple times during his career
- PM Sharif calls him a prominent name in the freedom movement, says that his sacrifices will not be in vain
No casualties as blast derails Jaffar Express train in Pakistan’s south
- Passengers were stranded and railway staffers were clearing the track after blast, official says
- In March 2025, separatist militants hijacked the same train with hundreds of passengers aboard
QUETTA: A blast hit Jaffar Express and derailed four carriages of the passenger train in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province on Monday, officials said, with no casualties reported.
The blast occurred at the Abad railway station when the Peshawar-bound train was on its way to Sindh’s Sukkur city from Quetta, according to Pakistan Railways’ Quetta Division controller Muhammad Kashif.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bomb attack, but passenger trains have often been targeted by Baloch separatist outfits in the restive Balochistan province that borders Sindh.
“Four bogies of the train were derailed due to the intensity of the explosion,” Kashif told Arab News. “No casualty was reported in the latest attack on passenger train.”
Another railway employee, who was aboard the train and requested anonymity, said the train was heading toward Sukkur from Jacobabad when they heard the powerful explosion, which derailed power van among four bogies.
“A small piece of the railway track has been destroyed,” he said, adding that passengers were now standing outside the train and railway staffers were busy clearing the track.
In March last year, fighters belonging to the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) separatist group had stormed Jaffar Express with hundreds of passengers on board and took them hostage. The military had rescued them after an hours-long operation that left 33 militants, 23 soldiers, three railway staff and five passengers dead.
The passenger train, which runs between Balochistan’s provincial capital of Quetta and Peshawar in the country’s northwest, had been targeted in at least four bomb attacks last year since the March hijacking, according to an Arab News tally.
Pakistan Railways says it has beefed up security arrangements for passenger trains in the province and increased the number of paramilitary troops on Jaffar Express since the hijacking in March, but militants have continued to target them in the restive region.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s southwestern province that borders Iran and Afghanistan, is the site of a decades-long insurgency waged by Baloch separatist groups who often attack security forces and foreigners, and kidnap government officials.
The separatists accuse the central government of stealing the region’s resources to fund development elsewhere in the country. The Pakistani government denies the allegations and says it is working for the uplift of local communities in Balochistan.
