Army says Pakistan’s ‘enemies’ exploiting ‘sense of deprivation’ of impoverished Balochistan province

This file photo taken on October 11, 2023, shows Pakistani military spokesman Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry during an event at the National Defense University in Islamabad. (NDU/File)
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Updated 05 September 2024
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Army says Pakistan’s ‘enemies’ exploiting ‘sense of deprivation’ of impoverished Balochistan province

  • Pakistan has blamed a recent surge in militant attacks on regional neighbors, including rivals India and Afghanistan
  • Military says court martial proceedings initiated against former spy chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed based on “concrete evidence” 

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan army on Thursday acknowledged a “sense of deprivation and perceived notion of state brutality” among the people of Pakistan’s impoverished southwestern province of Balochistan but said these sentiments were being exploited by the country’s “internal and external enemies,” who were behind recent militant attacks also.

The statement comes nearly ten days after separatist militants killed over 50 people in the country’s largest province in a string of coordinated attacks on army and paramilitary camps, police stations, railway lines and highways on the night of Aug. 25-26. Elsewhere in the country, particularly the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, religiously motivated groups like the Pakistani Taliban have also stepped up attacks, daily targeting security forces convoys and check posts, and carrying out targeted killings and kidnappings of security and government officials.

Pakistan has blamed the recent surge in attacks on regional neighbors, including Afghanistan, where it says the coming to power of the Afghan Taliban in 2021 has emboldened anti-Pakistan groups like the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Kabul says it does not allow its territory to be used by terror groups. 

Pakistan also says that India and Afghanistan are fomenting militancy in Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan and has been the site of a decades-long separatist insurgency. Ethnic Baloch militants say they are fighting for secession due to what they see as the unfair exploitation of the province’s mineral and gas wealth by the federation, which denies the charge.

“We are aware that there is a sense of deprivation and perceived notion of state brutality among Balochistan’s people, which certain external forces often exploit,” military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said at a media briefing. “The terrorist attacks on the night of August 25-26 was part of the ongoing game of this external conspiracy and funding.

“These acts were conducted with the assistance of internal and external enemies and their facilitators. The aim was to hurt the peace of Balochistan and its development by targeting innocent civilians.”

The August assaults were the most widespread in the resource-rich province, home to major China-led projects such as a port and a gold and copper mine. Balochistan is an important part of China’s $65 billion investment in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a wing of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road initiative. It also houses key mining projects, including Reko Diq, run by mining giant Barrick Gold and believed to be one of the world’s largest gold and copper mines. 

The attacks came as the province was in the grips of protests by an ethnic rights movement led by young Baloch, many of them educated women, who have been calling for an end to what they describe as a pattern of enforced disappearances and human rights abuses by security forces, which deny the charge. The army and government have recently repeatedly referred to the protest movement as a “terrorist proxy,” with independent analysts and politicians calling on the state to take a more even-handed approach to the protesters and take their demands seriously to avoid the province slipping into more instability and violence. 

Speaking about ongoing operations against militants, Chaudhry said security forces and law enforcement agencies were conducting over 130 intelligence-based operations across the country daily, with 32,173 operations conducted so far this year in which 90 militants were killed.

“In the last eight months of 2024, 193 officers and soldiers embraced martyrdom during counter-terrorism operations,” the military spokesman said.

COURT MARTIAL OF EX-SPY CHIEF 

Commenting on last month’s unprecedented arrest of a former spy chief, Lt Gen (retired) Faiz Hameed, Chaudhry said court martial proceedings initiated against him were based on “concrete evidence.” 

“Following a detailed inquiry based on concrete evidence, the Pakistan Army announced on August 12, 2024, that the relevant officer had violated sections of the Army Act,” the military spokesman said, adding that the army had found Hameed to be involved in “several instances of violation of the Army Act,” following which court martial proceedings had been initiated.

Chaudhry said the army believed in “self-accountability.”

“This process of self-accountability works on solid proof and evidence instead of allegations,” he added. “This self-accountability system comes into effect speedily without any discrimination whenever there is a violation of army laws and regulations.”

The military spokesperson said the case against Hameed reflected that the army viewed violations carried out for personal and political motives “very seriously,” and had initiated action according to the law and without discrimination.

Hameed was widely believed to be close to Pakistan’s jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan when he was PM from 2018-2022. Other than charges relating to a land development case, the military at the time of his arrest also said “multiple instances” of violation of the Pakistan Army Act post-retirement had been found against Hameed, in what was widely seen as a veiled reference to his support for Khan and his party, including in planning the May 9 riots of last year in which protesters linked to Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party attacked and damaged government and military installations. 

Hundreds of PTI followers and leaders were arrested following the riots and many continue to remain behind bars as they await trial. The military has also initiated army court trials of at least 103 people accused of involvement in the violence.

Government officials have repeatedly said Hameed worked with Khan to plan the May 9 riots. Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told Geo TV last month that Khan provided the manpower while Hameed “masterminded the conspiracy.” Current army chief General Asim Munir said in May that there could be “no compromise or deal with the planners and architects of this dark chapter in our history.” He did not name anybody.

Khan is on trial in a civil court for allegedly abetting the My 9 violence, a charge he has denied. But he can face more serious charges of treason and mutiny after Hameed’s arrest. Treason and mutiny are tried by a military court, which is not open to the public, and the charges carry a maximum punishment of death.

Khan has been feuding with Pakistan’s all-powerful military after a falling out with then-army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa in 2022, following which he was ousted from office in a parliamentary vote that he said was orchestrated by the generals. The army says it does not interfere in political affairs.


Pakistan, China to advance ‘high-quality’ CPEC development during Chinese PM’s visit — FO

Updated 13 October 2024
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Pakistan, China to advance ‘high-quality’ CPEC development during Chinese PM’s visit — FO

  • Prime Minister Li Qiang is scheduled to visit Pakistan from Oct. 14-17, says foreign office
  • China has funneled tens of billions of dollars into CPEC projects since its inception in 2013

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad and Beijing will discuss important trade and economic matters, and advance “high-quality development” of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) during Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang’s visit to the country next week, Pakistan’s foreign office said on Sunday. 
CPEC is a flagship project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It involves the development of a massive transport, energy and infrastructure network in Pakistan to link its deep-sea ports to Chinese cities. China has funneled tens of billions of dollars into the project since its inception in 2013. 
The Chinese premier is scheduled to visit Pakistan with a high-level delegation from Oct. 14-17 during which he will hold talks with the Pakistani government on various issues of mutual interest between the two nations. 
“It will be an occasion for the two sides to reaffirm mutual support on issues of core interest; advance high-quality development of CPEC; and reinforce regular exchanges on important regional and global developments,” Pakistan’s foreign office said in a statement. 
The statement said Li would be accompanied by ministers and senior officials from China’s ministries of foreign affairs and commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission and the China International Development Cooperation Agency.
“Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and Premier Li Qiang will lead their respective delegations to comprehensively discuss all aspects of Pakistan-China relations including economic and trade ties and cooperation under CPEC,” the foreign office said.
“The two sides will also discuss regional and global developments.”
The Chinese prime minister will meet Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari and the country’s senior civil and military leadership. He will also attend the Meeting of the Council of the Heads of Government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization scheduled to be held in Islamabad from Oct. 15-16. 
While CPEC is a reflection of the cordial ties that both countries enjoy, the multi-billion-dollar project has been hit hard as Pakistan struggles to keep up its financial obligations, as well as attacks on Chinese targets by militants. 
The most recent incident involving an attack on Chinese citizens took place last Sunday when three people, including two Chinese nationals, were killed in a suicide blast near Karachi airport. The attack targeted Chinese staffers of the Port Qasim Electric Power Company. 
The attack was claimed by the separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) group which targets Chinese interests in Pakistan. The BLA blames Pakistan’s government and China for exploiting the gas-and-mineral-rich Balochistan province, a charge the state vehemently denies.


Ruling coalition ally proposes ‘equal role’ of Pakistan parliament, judiciary in judges’ appointment

Updated 13 October 2024
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Ruling coalition ally proposes ‘equal role’ of Pakistan parliament, judiciary in judges’ appointment

  • Pakistan Peoples Party proposes merging parliamentary, judicial committees to appoint Pakistani judges
  • Says party is engaged in meaningful consultations with political parties, lawyers for “broader consensus”

ISLAMABAD: A key ally of the ruling coalition government this week proposed granting an “equal role” to the country’s parliament, judiciary and legal fraternity in appointing judges, as political parties continue consultations on a controversial constitutional amendments package that has earned the opposition of both the opposition and the legal fraternity. 
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s ruling coalition government has been trying to pass a set of constitutional amendments since last month that the country’s opposition and prominent lawyers say is aimed at granting more power to the executive in making judicial appointments. The government denies the allegations and says the amendments aim to provide speedy justice to thousands of litigants and ensure the parliament’s supremacy remains intact.
The proposed amendments are expected to establish a federal constitutional court, raise the retirement age of superior judges by three years, and modify the process for the appointment of chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Sharif’s key coalition ally, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has been spearheading negotiations with political parties and the legal fraternity after the government failed to muster the required two-thirds majority in parliament last month to get the amendments passed. Sharing a draft of the proposed amendments on Saturday, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said the party wanted to end the process of appointment of the judges by and for the judges.
“Instead, by merging the judicial and parliamentary committees we give an equal role to Parliament, Judiciary and legal fraternity,” the PPP chairman wrote on social media platform X.

Bhutto-Zardari said his party also proposed the creation of a Federal Constitutional Court which would have equal representation of all federating units. 
“The court would address all issues pertaining to fundamental rights, constitutional interpretation and federal/inter-provincial disputes,” the PPP chairman said. 
Pakistani lawyers last month threatened they would take to the streets if the government passed the amendments, saying that they would oppose any move to establish a “parallel” judicial system in the country. 
The PPP leader invited “legitimate meaningful feedback” from the public on the PPP’s proposed amendments. 
“The PPP has already been reaching out separately to political parties, Bar associations and civil society as part of our broader countrywide engagement on this important amendment,” he wrote. 
He said the PPP was engaged in consultations with the opposition Jamiat Ulama-e-Pakistan Fazl (JUI-F) party in hopes that political parties would build a “broader consensus.”


Pakistan frets over security ahead of SCO summit

Updated 13 October 2024
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Pakistan frets over security ahead of SCO summit

  • Prime ministers of Russia, China among senior regional government officials attending SCO summit
  • Pakistan’s authorities have cracked down hard on dissent in the weeks leading up to the event 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan authorities were on Sunday preparing to shut down the capital ahead of a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, overshadowed by recent militant violence and political unrest.
The Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and Chinese Premier Li Qiang will be among senior regional government officials attending the two-day conference on Tuesday and Wednesday.
In the weeks leading up to the summit, Pakistan’s authorities have cracked down hard on dissent, banning an ethnic nationalist movement and introducing new laws that restrict protest in the capital.
They have also arrested hundreds of supporters of jailed opposition leader Imran Khan who attempted to march in Islamabad earlier this month.
A deadly attack on a convoy of Chinese engineers in the mega port city of Karachi last week has also deepened security fears in a country where separatist groups routinely target Chinese nationals.
Islamabad has authorized the deployment of troops on the streets for the duration of the summit.
Imtiaz Gul, a security analyst and executive director of the Center for Research and Security Studies, said the meeting holds great significance for a country that’s “not seen as safe.”
“The government claims to have made elaborate security arrangements and understandably so because it has to make sure that the event passes off peacefully without any untoward incident,” he told AFP.
The SCO comprises China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus — with 16 more countries affiliated as observers or “dialogue partners.”
All visiting member nations are expected to send government heads apart from Pakistan’s arch-rival India, who will dispatch its foreign minister in a rare visit to its neighbor.
The SCO is sometimes touted as an alternative to the Western-dominated NATO military alliance.
As China’s claim over Taiwan and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have seen them clash with the US and Europe, analysts say the SCO is one forum where they are trying to curry regional influence.
While the SCO has a mandate to discuss security, the Islamabad summit is due to focus on trade, humanitarian and cultural issues.
Pakistan’s domestic concerns are likely to dominate the sidelines of the summit, however.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has threatened to stage protests, a week after scattered demonstrations by supporters saw the capital locked down for three days with mobile phone signal cut and exit and entry points blocked.
“The PTI doesn’t want to showcase the positive side of Pakistan to the world,” accused Ahsan Iqbal Chaudhary, minister for planning, during a press conference Saturday.
“Instead, they aim to present a picture of the country filled with tear gas and unrest.”
Authorities have declared a three-day public holiday for Islamabad and the neighboring city of Rawalpindi starting Monday, along with road closures to reduce movement around the area.
The “red zone” government quarter hosting the summit meanwhile has been spruced up with manicured lawns ringed by razor wire.
Cash-strapped Pakistan is particularly at pains to protect citizens from China because it is a major investor, sending funds and staff for million-dollar infrastructure projects.
Pakistan is grappling with a broad uptick in militancy coinciding with the Taliban’s 2021 return to power in neighboring Afghanistan, where Islamabad claims attackers are now taking shelter.


Women’s T20 World Cup: Pakistan stay alive despite consecutive losses

Updated 13 October 2024
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Women’s T20 World Cup: Pakistan stay alive despite consecutive losses

  • Pakistan need to beat New Zealand by “significant margin” to stay alive in tournament, says ICC
  • Skipper Fatima Sana, who missed previous match due to father’s passing, will rejoin team on Monday

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s hopes of making it to the semifinals of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup remain alive despite its back-to-back losses to heavyweights India and Australia, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Sunday. 
Pakistan began the tournament on a high note, beating Sri Lanka by 31 runs on Oct. 3 before losing to arch-rivals India by six wickets last Sunday. Pakistan suffered their worst defeat of the tournament so far on Friday, losing to heavyweights Australia by nine wickets. 
The South Asian country will now face a strong New Zealand side on Monday which has already defeated India in the tournament. 
“Pakistan are still in contention for the semifinals but will need to beat New Zealand by a significant margin to stand a chance,” the ICC said in a report. 
Pakistan captain Fatima Sana, who missed the previous game after her father passed away, will return to lead the team for the New Zealand fixture. 
However, the green shirts will have to do without pacer Diana Baig, who has been ruled out for the remainder of the tournament after a calf muscle injury that she sustained during the clash against Sri Lanka. 
“Najiha Alvi will replace Baig in the squad ahead of the final Group clash against New Zealand on Monday,” the ICC said. 
Pakistan squad:
Fatima Sana (captain), Aliya Riaz, Gull Feroza, Iram Javed, Muneeba Ali, Nashra Sundhu, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Syeda Aroob Shah, Tasmia Rubab, Tuba Hassan, Najiha Alvi.


Pakistan, US navies conduct bilateral exercise at Arabian Sea to ensure maritime peace

Updated 13 October 2024
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Pakistan, US navies conduct bilateral exercise at Arabian Sea to ensure maritime peace

  • American navy ship USS O’Kane conducts bilateral exercise with PNS Babur at Arabian Sea
  • These collaborations counter “terrorism,” piracy, narcotics and human trafficking, says navy

ISLAMABAD: The navies of the United States and Pakistan this week conducted a bilateral exercise at the Arabian Sea to demonstrate their resolve to uphold regional maritime peace, a statement from the Pakistan Navy said. 
American navy ship USS O’ Kane visited Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi on Saturday afternoon and participated in a bilateral exercise at the North Arabian Sea with Pakistan Navy’s Babur ship, the navy’s media wing said. 
“The exercise was aimed to enhance interoperability and demonstrate PN-USN resolve toward regional maritime peace,” the director-general of public relations (DGPR) of the navy said on Saturday. 
USS O’ Kane’s commanding officer met Commander Pakistan Fleet Rear Admiral Abdul Munib to discuss matters related to the interoperability of both navies and their tactical proficiency in maritime operations, the DGPR navy said. 
“The visit and bilateral exercise reflect Pakistan Navy’s commitment toward regional peace, stability and maritime order in collaboration with seasoned global partners,” the DGPR navy said. 
“These collaborations have proved befitting in countering menace of terrorism, piracy, narcotics and human trafficking in the region and beyond.”
It said that the American naval ship’s visit to Karachi was a “manifestation” of deep-rooted bilateral ties between their navies in general and countries in particular. 
Once close allies during the Cold War era, Pakistan and the United States have seen fluctuations in their bilateral ties over the decades. Both countries have cooperated on a range of issues, most prominently militancy, especially since the so-called War on Terror. 
However, they often traded blame for the surge in violence in Pakistan’s volatile neighboring country Afghanistan, with Islamabad denying Washington’s allegations it has backed the Afghan Taliban over the years.