ISLAMABAD: Pakistan told the United Nations on Monday it had “credible evidence” that a deadly attack on a passenger train in its southwestern region last month was externally sponsored, as it called for stronger global efforts to hold perpetrators behind such incidents accountable.
The statement referred to the March hostage-taking on the Jaffer Express passenger train in Balochistan province, which lasted about 36 hours before security forces launched an operation that killed more than 30 militants from the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA).
Pakistan’s decision to highlight the passenger train incident at the world body came at a time when tensions remain high in the region following the killing of 26 tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir last week, an attack India blamed on Pakistan, despite Islamabad’s categorical denial.
“Just last month, Pakistan suffered a heinous terrorist attack by the BLA on Jaffar Express passenger train, which included the taking of hostages in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, which resulted in the loss of at least 30 innocent Pakistani nationals,” Jawad Ajmal, Counsellor at Pakistan’s UN Mission, said at the launch of the Victims of Terrorism Association Network at the UN. “Pakistan has credible evidence that this attack had external sponsorship from our adversaries in the region.”
Ajmal stressed the international community must do more to support survivors of such militant attacks and the families of victims whose lives are permanently altered after such developments.
He urged a collective approach to prevent future attacks, emphasizing the need to hold militants and their backers accountable without political selectivity.
“If we are to chart a way forward for victims, we must look beyond narrow political interests and geopolitical agendas,” he said. “We must examine why, despite global strategies, terrorism threats continue to proliferate and give rise to an ever-increasing number of victims.”
Commenting on the recent attack in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, Ajmal said Pakistan extended condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.
He noted that Pakistan joined other UN Security Council members in condemning the attack.
The Pakistani diplomat added that his country was one of the worst victims of militant violence over the past two decades and had lost more than 80,000 lives to it.
He paid tribute to the families of his country’s law enforcement and armed forces personnel who had made “countless sacrifices” to defend the nation.
Pakistan tells UN it has evidence ‘external adversaries’ behind deadly train hijacking last month
https://arab.news/jf2kn
Pakistan tells UN it has evidence ‘external adversaries’ behind deadly train hijacking last month
- A Pakistani diplomat at the UN extends condolences to the families of the victims of the Pahalgam attack
- He says the international community must support survivors of militant attacks without political selectivity
Government says Pakistan preparing Cyber Security Act as digital expansion raises risks
- The proposed legislation will create Cyber Security Authority to oversee the country's cyber defenses
- IT minister warns misuse of genetic and digital data could enable targeted cyber and biological threats
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is preparing a Cyber Security Act and a dedicated regulatory authority to strengthen defenses against rising digital threats as the country rapidly digitizes government services and economic systems, IT Minister Shaza Fatima said while addressing a ceremony in the federal capital on Wednesday.
The planned legislation is part of Islamabad’s broader “Digital Nation Pakistan” initiative, which aims to expand e-governance, a cashless economy and online public services while safeguarding national cyber infrastructure.
“The more we move toward digitization, with the kind of opportunities that are opening up for us, it is also bringing an equal, or even greater, set of challenges,” the minister said. “This does not mean that we stop digitization. It means that we must make our cybersecurity systems robust.”
She said Pakistan had already activated its National Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) and provincial CERTs to detect and respond to cyber incidents, while a multi-agency digital monitoring framework known as the National Threat Intelligence System (NTIS) operates around the clock.
“We have a Cyber Security Act coming up, under which a Cyber Security Authority will be established.”
The minister said cybersecurity was not a “generic” concept and required multiple technical specializations as well as comprehensive monitoring and regulation. She warned that the rapid expansion of data-driven technologies was creating new risks even as it opened opportunities in areas such as health and biotechnology.
Referring to advances in genomics and precision medicine, she said the same technologies that help treat diseases could also pose security risks if sensitive biological data were misused. She warned that access to large-scale genetic data could potentially allow hostile actors to develop targeted viruses or other biological threats against populations.
The minister also highlighted Pakistan’s cyber defense capabilities, saying government and military systems remained secure during last year's war with India despite sustained cyber warfare attempts.
She said multiple institutions, including the IT ministry, the National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC), national cybersecurity teams and the armed forces’ cyber command structures, worked together to defend critical systems.
“Despite that massive war ... we did not face a single communication breakdown and we did not allow any penetration into our government systems,” she said, adding that the experience demonstrated the need to further strengthen cybersecurity coordination across institutions.
