ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed solidarity with Turkiye after four people were killed and 14 wounded in an attack on the country’s state-run aerospace and defense company TUSAS in Ankara on Wednesday.
Turkiye’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said two attackers were killed in what he called a “terrorist attack” at the Turkish Aerospace Industries’ headquarters. The minister added that three of the injured were in critical condition.
TV broadcasters earlier showed footage of armed assailants entering the TUSAS building while witnesses said they heard gunfire and a loud explosion at the site.
“Deeply shocked and saddened by the terrorist attack in Ankara,” Sharif wrote on social media platform X.
“Pakistan stands in complete solidarity with our Turkish brothers. I strongly condemn this dastardly act & pray for the families of the victims as well as speedy recovery of the injured,” he added.
TUSAS is Turkiye’s largest aerospace manufacturer, currently producing a training craft, combat and civilian helicopters, as well as developing the country’s first indigenous fighter jet, KAAN. Owned by the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation and government, it employs more than 10,000 people.
The cause and perpetrators of the attack remained unclear as no group claimed responsibility. Prosecutors have launched an investigation, Turkiye’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
Turkiye has previously suffered attacks by militant outfits Daesh and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Pakistan expresses solidarity with Turkiye as attack on Ankara aviation site kills 4
https://arab.news/65he6
Pakistan expresses solidarity with Turkiye as attack on Ankara aviation site kills 4
- Unidentified attackers target country’s aerospace and defense company TUSAS in Ankara
- Pakistani PM condemns “dastardly attack,” prays for speedy recovery of 14 people injured
Customs seize contraband, vehicles worth $1.1 million in Pakistan’s southwest
- The contraband goods, including branded cigarettes and mobile phones, were seized in multiple operations in the Balochistan province
- Smugglers have long exploited the southwestern province, which shares a porous border with Iran and Afghanistan, for illicit trade
KARACHI: Pakistan Customs seized contraband goods and vehicles in multiple anti-smuggling operations in the southwestern Balochistan province, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) said on Sunday.
In an intelligence-based operation (IBO), Customs officials seized 508 cartons (25,400 sticks) of assorted branded smuggled cigarettes valued at Rs200 million ($713,891), according to the FBR.
In separate operations, Quetta customs authorities seized a large number of smuggled mobile phones and 13 non-custom-paid (NCP) vehicles, with a combined assessed value of Rs117 million ($417,626).
“All seized items have been taken into official custody and further legal proceedings are being initiated under the relevant provisions of the Customs Act,” the FBR said in a statement.
It did not elaborate whether any arrests were made during the seizures.
The development comes amid Pakistan’s crackdown on smuggling of goods to support its over $400 billion economy. Smugglers have long exploited Pakistan’s Balochistan province, which shares a porous border with Iran and Afghanistan, for illicit trade of fuel, vehicles and other goods.
Earlier this month, Pakistan Customs seized narcotics, smuggled goods and vehicles worth a total of Rs1.38 billion [$4.92 million] in separate operations in Balochistan, according to the FBR.
“These operations are part of the [customs] collectorate’s intensified enforcement drive aimed at curbing smuggling and dismantling illegal trade networks,” the FBR said on Dec. 16.
The FBR on Sunday reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to curbing smuggling and illicit trade to safeguard the national economy.
