PESHAWAR: A day after Prime Minister Imran Khan told an international news channel his administration was in talks with some factions of the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the militant network denied any split within its ranks and ruled out cessation of hostilities against the country.
In an interview with TRT World on Friday, Khan said some groups within the militant conglomerate were willing to negotiate for peace and reconciliation, adding that the government was willing to forgive them once they laid down their arms.
The prime minister’s statement, which was widely quoted in local and international media, was followed by reports that a TTP district shura in Waziristan had announced a 20-day cease-fire and its members would not attack the Pakistani security forces.
However, the top leadership of the militant network said it was not looking for a peace agreement with the Pakistani authorities.
“Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has never announced a cease-fire,” its spokesperson, Muhammad Khurasani, said in a statement. “TTP fighters should continue their attacks wherever they are.”
Khurasani described TTP as an “organized movement,” saying there were “no fissures or factions within the group.”
“The movement has a collective policy which no one can deviate from,” he added.
Last month, President Arif Alvi and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi announced the government was willing to offer amnesty to TTP members if they renounced violence and adhered to the country’s constitution.
However, the militant network stated in response it was proud of its “struggle” and was not seeking forgiveness from anyone.
The Pakistani prime minister, who said he did not believe in military solutions, continued to hope during his recent interview that a deal was likely come out of his government’s negotiations with the militant network in Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s information minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain also maintained in a video message that repentant TTP members should get a chance to return to “normal life.”
A security analyst, Saleem Khan, told Arab News the government was also negotiating a peace deal with the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group in North Waziristan, though he added the faction was never a part of the Pakistani Taliban.
He maintained that these talks were complicated since most of the armed groups in the territory were sympathetic to TTP and had pledged allegiance to the leader of the banned group, Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud.
“There are complications in the negotiations because they [the government] are holding talks with Hafiz Gul Bahadur while the main entity is Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan,” he said. “Unless they address the TTP challenge, talks with Hafiz Gul Bahadur will not help. In any case, his faction did not cause too much trouble to the government in the past.”
A conglomerate of several armed factions, TTP was banned soon after its emergence in Pakistan’s tribal areas in 2007 since it started killing Pakistani civilians and security forces.
Inspired by Al Qaeda ideology, it targeted the army headquarters in Rawalpindi and massacred more than 100 children at a school in Peshawar.
The network also took responsibility for shooting Malala Yousafzai, who later became the world’s youngest Nobel laureate, in her hometown, Swat, for advocating girls’ education.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan dismisses reports of ceasefire, denies internal divisions
https://arab.news/2ekkh
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan dismisses reports of ceasefire, denies internal divisions
- The proscribed militant entity issued a statement after PM Khan said his administration was negotiating with its factions for peace, reconciliation
- TTP called itself an ‘organized movement,’ saying it had a collective policy which no one could deviate from
Pakistan’s PM Sharif congratulates Sadiq Khan on winning third term as London mayor
- Sadiq Khan secured historic third term in office as London mayor on Saturday
- PM Sharif says Khan’s third victory reflects his dedication to public service
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Sunday for winning a third consecutive term in office, saying the landmark victory reflected the British-Pakistani official’s dedication to public service.
Khan, 53, who was first elected in May 2016, beat his Conservative rival Susan Hall by more than 276,000 votes, with his win representing a swing of 3.2 percent to the Labour party. He won nine of the 14 constituencies, results showed on Saturday.
Sharif offered his heartiest felicitations to Khan for his “hattrick” of victories, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said.
“As a hard-working British Pakistani, he not only raised the head of his parents high but also made every Pakistani to rejoice his victory with pride,” Sharif was quoted as saying by the APP.
Sharif offered his best wishes to Khan for his future success as mayor of London.
“The prime minister further said that his re-election for the third term also indicated his popularity and his devotion to public welfare,” the state-run media said.
Khan, who replaced Boris Johnson as London mayor in 2016 and who has widespread policing and budget powers, has been an increasingly divisive figure in the past few years regardless of the facts for or against, particularly in the suburbs, where he fared worse than in the inner city.
His supporters say he has multiple achievements to his name, such as expanding housebuilding, free school meals for young children, keeping transport costs in check and generally backing London’s minority groups. His critics say he has overseen a crime surge, been anti-car and has unnecessarily allowed pro-Palestinian marches to become a regular feature at weekends.
With inputs from AP
Naila Kiani becomes first Pakistani woman to summit world’s fifth-highest mountain
- Naila Kiani summitted 6,485-meter high Mount Makalu in Nepal on Sunday morning, says Alpine Club of Pakistan
- Kiani’s latest achievement makes her first and only Pakistani woman to summit eleven peaks higher than 8,000 meters
KHAPLU, GILGIT BALTISTAN: Dubai-based mountaineer Naila Kiani has become the first woman from Pakistan to summit Mount Makalu, the fifth-highest mountain in the world, the country’s leading non-governmental organization promoting mountaineering said on Sunday.
Mount Makalu is located in the Mahalangur range of the Nepal Himalayas, southeast of Mount Everest. The imposing mountain stands at 8,485 meters (27,838 feet) high. Kiani’s latest achievement makes her the first and only Pakistani woman to summit eleven peaks higher than 8,000 meters.
She has previously summited Broad Peak (8,047 meters), Annapurna (8,091 meters), K2 (8,611 meters), Lhotse (8,516 meters), Gasherbrum 1 (8,068 meters), Gasherbrum II (8,035 meters), Nanga Parbat (8,125 meters), Mount Everest (8,849 meters), Manaslu (8,156 meters) and Cho Oyu (8,201 meters).
“Congratulations, Nail Kiani has summited Makalu,” Karrar Haidri, the secretary general of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, told Arab News over the phone.
“So far out of 14 eight-thousanders, she has completed the 11th peak. She summited the peak at 8:50 am local time,” he added.
The Alpine Club said in a separate statement that Naila was grateful for all the prayers and wishes she had received from people, thanking Sherpa Gelgen Dai from Imagine Nepal, a company that promotes mountain trekking and peak climbing in Nepal.
“This latest success highlights her exceptional endurance and determination,” the statement said. “She now holds the record as the fastest Pakistani, both male and female, to have summited 11 of the 8,000-meter peaks, accomplished in under 3 years.”
Kiani is a Pakistani banker living in Dubai and a mother of two. She garnered fame in 2018 after her wedding photos from K2 basecamp were widely shared on social media. The Pakistani climber received the Sitara-e-Imtiaz, Pakistan’s third-highest civilian award, in March this year for climbing Mount Everest.
“We are proud of the inspiration created by Naila, not only for her daughters and wider family but across the nation from every household,” Khalid Raja, Kiani’s husband, told Arab News over the phone.
Supporting his wife’s expeditions, Raja said it gets challenging for him at times to look after their children when Kiani is away.
“If Naila completes 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks, then we hope she can reduce the levels of time that she is away from her family and we can build together from there,” he said.
“Then who knows, maybe I can do a few expeditions of my own.”
PM Sharif forms committee to resolve Pakistani wheat farmers’ grievances
- Farmers are demanding government stop wheat imports that have flooded markets, leading to reduced prices
- Government committee to take measures to address farmers’ complaints within four days, says state media
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif this week formed a government committee to address the ongoing wheat crisis in the country, state-run media said, amid protests by thousands of farmers who say they are facing difficulties in selling and buying the food grain in Pakistan.
Farmers in Pakistan’s most prosperous Punjab province are demanding the government stop wheat imports that have flooded the market at a time when they expect bumper crops. The import of wheat in the second half of 2023 and the first three months of 2024 has resulted in excess amounts of the commodity leading to reduced prices, they say.
“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday taking notice of the issues faced by the farmers in selling their wheat and obtaining wheat bags, formed a committee under Ministry of National Food Security and Research to address their grievances,” the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported.
Sharif issued the directives to form the committee during a high-level meeting he chaired on Saturday to review wheat procurement matters through the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO). The meeting was attended by federal ministers Rana Tanveer Hussain, Attaullah Tarar, and other officials.
The committee would take measures to address farmers’ concerns within four days, APP said, adding that Sharif expressed concerns over reports of farmers facing difficulties in buying wheat at “fair” prices and tasked authorities to resolve the issue immediately.
“The federal government, through PASSCO, is procuring 1.8 million metric tons of wheat to ensure maximum benefit to farmers,” the APP quoted Sharif as saying.
“The prime minister emphasized that the government will not compromise on the economic protection of farmers and will take all necessary steps to ensure their well-being.”
Agriculture is the backbone of Pakistan’s economy and constitutes its largest sector. The majority of Pakistan’s population, directly or indirectly, depends on agriculture for their income.
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), agriculture contributes about 24 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and accounts for half of the employed labor force in the country.
Pakistan face South Korea in Azlan Shah field hockey tournament today
- Pakistan began tournament on winning note after beating Malaysia 5-4 on Saturday
- The 30th edition of the prestigious tournament is being played in Malaysia’s Ipoh city
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will face South Korea in the Sultan Azlan Shah field hockey cup today, Sunday, after beginning the tournament on a winning note a day earlier by beating hosts Malaysia, state-run media reported.
The 30th edition of the prestigious field hockey tournament is being played in Ipoh, Malaysia from 4-11 May. The cup will be contested between six teams, namely Canada, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan and Korea.
Pakistan’s national hockey team made a triumphant start to the tournament on Saturday, defeating hosts Malaysia by 5-4 in a thrilling match.
“The Pakistan hockey team would face South Korea in their second match on Sunday (May 5),” state-run media Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported.
Pakistan have the upper hand against South Korea as far as the head-to-head record is concerned. The South Asian country has won 14 matches in total against Korea while the latter has won eight. Both teams have drawn with each other six times.
Pakistan’s hockey team came from behind on Saturday to down Malaysia 5-4 to win the contest. Sufiyan Khan, Pakistan’s drag flicker, scored a hat-trick while Zakriya Hayat and Abu Bakar Mahmood contributed one goal each to the team’s victory.
The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2024 will see a round-robin stage at first where all six teams will play each other once, followed by positional playoffs.
The teams finishing in the bottom two places of the league stage will contest in a fifth-place classification match. Teams finishing in third and fourth place in the pool stage will compete for bronze, while the top two teams will play in the final for the title.
The match is scheduled to begin at 3:15 p.m. Pakistan Standard Time (PST).
Saudi business delegation to arrive in Pakistan today to explore investment opportunities
- Saudi deputy investment minister, representatives of 30-35 Saudi companies part of delegation, says Pakistani minister
- Saudi Arabia recently reaffirmed its commitment to expedite investment package for Pakistan worth $5 billion
ISLAMABAD: A high-level Saudi business delegation led by the Kingdom’s deputy investment minister will arrive in Pakistan today, Sunday, to explore investment opportunities in various economic sectors, Federal Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik confirmed a day earlier.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, who enjoy fraternal ties rooted deep in shared culture, religion and economic cooperation, have witnessed a flurry of official visits in recent weeks. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan traveled to Islamabad earlier in April before Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s two-day visit to the Kingdom to attend a World Economic Forum meeting where he met Saudi officials.
“The Saudi Deputy Investment Minister is visiting Pakistan tomorrow,” Malik, who is also the focal person for Saudi-Pak bilateral collaboration, told reporters at a news conference in Lahore on Saturday.
“He is bringing representatives from 30 to 35 companies whose CEOs are coming here.”
The Pakistani minister maintained his country had always cherished cordial ties with the Kingdom, though it had not managed to turn this “relationship of friendship into a relationship of stability and progress.”
He said Pakistan mostly discussed its financial concerns with the Saudi authorities and requested their support. However, the present government wanted to change that by focusing its bilateral conversations on mutually beneficial progress and development, not aid and assistance.
The minister said the two sides discussed a new refinery project during the recent engagements that would be used for export purposes to earn foreign revenue. Additionally, food security was also discussed to further strengthen Pakistan’s agricultural sector.
He informed that Prime Minister Sharif wanted the country’s “private sector to take the lead on this path to progress.”
“That is why Saudi investors have been invited to come here,” he continued. “They will sit with Pakistani companies and figure out ways to connect the Pakistani talent with the capital and investment needed at the international level for the IT revolution.”
Malik said the bilateral collaboration would primarily benefit small businesses, particularly the technology companies established by young students who were likely to get a significant amount of investment from Saudi entrepreneurs.
He expressed optimism that chemical, energy and agricultural companies would also gain an advantage from the ongoing bilateral collaboration between the two sides.
Apart from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia’s fraternal ties, the Kingdom is particularly important to Islamabad as it is home to over 2.7 million Pakistani expatriates and serves as the top source of remittances to the cash-strapped South Asian country.
Both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have been closely working to increase bilateral trade and investment deals, and the Kingdom recently reaffirmed its commitment to expedite an investment package worth $5 billion.
