ISLAMABAD: Security forces gunned down a militant in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal district bordering Afghanistan on Monday, as the military’s media wing, ISPR, informed in a statement he was involved in the killing of a local politician belonging to a prominent religious party.
North Waziristan served as a safe haven for militants for years until the government decided to launch massive military operations to reclaim the territory. The top militant leaders, subsequently, escaped to neighboring Afghanistan, though many of their foot soldiers melted away by mingling with the local population.
According to the ISPR, the military carried out an intelligence-based operation in Mir Ali, a small settlement in North Waziristan, in which an “intense fire exchange” took place which led to the killing of one militant.
“Weapon and ammunition were also recovered from the killed terrorist,” the ISPR statement said, adding that the militant was actively involved in “terrorist activities” against security forces and had killed several citizens.
“He was also involved in [the] target killing of Qari Sami in North Waziristan district,” added the statement.
Qari Samiuddin, who belonged to Jamiat-e-Ulama-e-Islam (JUI-F) party, was ambushed in North Waziristan last month while he was going to his residence with another colleague.
The recent operation in the area was carried out a few days after the Pakistan Army rejected social media reports of heavy militant presence in the country’s northwestern Swat valley while calling them “exaggerated and misleading.”
Last week, thousands protested in two main towns of Swat to denounce violence after reports of increasing militant presence started circulating in the area.
The Pakistan Army said it would not tolerate militant activity anywhere in the region while promising “full use of force” if necessary.
Pakistan’s security forces kill militant in tribal district bordering Afghanistan
https://arab.news/9k4m4
Pakistan’s security forces kill militant in tribal district bordering Afghanistan
- The militant was involved in the killing of a local politician belonging to a prominent religious party
- The military says it carried out an intelligence-based operation in North Waziristan tribal district
Pakistan court delivers first-ever conviction for insider trading
- SECP says bank official misused insider information related to investment, disinvestment decisions for “personal gain“
- Financial regulator says court slaps $30,380 penalty on convict, with the amount to be deposited within seven days
KARACHI: A Pakistani court recently handed its first-ever conviction for insider trading, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) said on Tuesday, hailing the judgment as one which will boost investors’ confidence in the country’s capital markets.
Insider trading refers to the practice of buying or selling a publicly traded company’s securities while in possession of material information that is not yet public information. The SECP said it had filed a case against Zakir Hussain Somji, assistant vice president of investments at Habib Metropolitan Bank (HMB) Limited, after inspecting suspicious trading activity from Jan. 1, 2014, to Feb. 2, 2016.
The regulator said it was suspected that the accused, through his position at HMB, misused insider information related to the bank’s investment and disinvestment decisions for personal gain. The SECP said a probe revealed Somji bought 11,795,100 shares of various companies, including 1,230,900 shares (10.43 percent) acquired from HMB. He sold 11,836,600 shares — 4,915,200 (41.52 percent) of which were sold back to HMB, earning an “unlawful profit” of Rs2,866,646 [$10,116.39].
“Sindh Special Court (Offences in Banks) handed out first ever conviction for insider trading in the history of Pakistan in a case filed by The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP),” the regulator said.
It said Somji had been convicted by the court on June 14 for violating provisions of Section 128 of the Securities Act, 2015, which related to insider trading.
The regulator said the court slapped Somji with a penalty of Rs 8,599,938 [$30,380] which was three times the “unlawful gain.”
“The amount is to be deposited within seven days, failing which the convict will be remanded to jail until full payment is made,” the SECP said.
The regulator said the judgment reaffirms SECP’s mandate to ensure market integrity and investor protection.
“It sets a strong precedent for future enforcement actions and sends a clear message that market abuse and regulatory violations shall not be tolerated,” it added.
Pakistan’s militancy-hit Balochistan unveils ‘largest’ $3.6 billion annual budget
- Province earmarks $2.26 billion for non-development spending, $307 million for health and $423.5 million for schools
- Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest province by land yet its poorest by almost all social and economic indicators
ISLAMABAD: The government in Pakistan’s militancy-hit Balochistan on Tuesday unveiled its $3.6 billion budget for fiscal year 2025-26, which provincial Finance Minister Mir Shoaib Nosherwani described as the “largest” one in the province’s history.
Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest province by land size but its poorest by almost all social and economic indicators. The province, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, has been the scene of a low-lying insurgency for decades where ethnic separatist militants demand a greater share of the province’s mineral resources for locals.
Nosherwani presented the budget for the upcoming fiscal year in the Balochistan Assembly in Quetta, with Speaker Abdul Khaliq Achakzai chairing the session.
“For the upcoming fiscal year, the total budget is estimated at Rs1,028 billion [$3.63 billion]— the largest in the province’s history,” Nosherwani told lawmakers during the budget session.
“Out of this, the non-development budget is Rs642 billion [$2.26 billion] while the overall provincial development (PSDP) budget is Rs249.5 billion [$878 million],” he added.
The finance minister pointed out that the budget includes a Rs42 billion [$148.3 million] surplus, describing it as a “historic milestone” for the province.
Nosherwani said the government has earmarked over Rs120 billion [$423.5 million] for the schools sector and Rs29.1 billion [$102.7 million] for the higher education sector.
The provincial government has also allocated Rs87 billion [$307 million] for the health sector, ₨26 billion [$91.8 million] for the agriculture sector and Rs1 billion [$3.53 million] for food, he said.
He said the government had decided not to purchase new vehicles, except for the ones required by law enforcement personnel.
“To create employment opportunities in 2025–26, the provincial government plans to introduce 4,188 contract positions and 1,958 regular jobs across departments,” Nosherwani said.
He credited the provincial government for not overlooking any segment of society in the annual budget.
“These measures cover government employees, women, pensioners, youth, migrants, laborers— people from every walk of life,” the finance minister said.
Pakistani journalists protest Israel’s bombing of Iranian state TV
- Israel bombed state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting’s building on Monday as its conflict with Iran escalates
- Charged Pakistani journalists in Karachi accuse Israel of targeting journalists deliberately to silence their voices
KARACHI: Dozens of Pakistani journalists protested in Karachi on Tuesday against Israel’s move to bomb Iran’s state-run television channel this week, accusing Tel Aviv of deliberately targeting journalists to silence their voices.
Footage of anchor Sahar Emami went viral on Monday in which she can be seen denouncing Israel at the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) building before the live broadcast was interrupted by a huge blast. Shortly after, smoke and debris filled the screen.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) confirmed that Israel’s strike on the IRIB building killed Nima Rajabpour, editor-in-chief of Khabar TV, and Masoumeh Azimi, a secretary at the state-run television channel. Israel and Iran have been targeting each other with missiles since Friday, when the Jewish state attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities and military leadership.
Dozens of Pakistani journalists protested the move outside the Karachi Press Club. The protest was organized by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and the Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ). Journalists carried placards inscribed with messages condemning Israel, shouting slogans expressing support for the people of Gaza and Iran.
“It [Israel] has assassinated anyone across the world who tried to unmask its true face, anyone who tried to speak the truth,” PFUJ Secretary-General A.H. Khanzada told Arab News, accusing the Jewish state of killing journalists from Gaza to Iran.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has counted 178 journalists killed in Gaza by Israel since October 2023, making it the deadliest conflict for media workers ever recorded.
Khanzada urged the IFJ to redefine its global parameters of press freedom.
“If these are not corrected, many problems will arise — and these problems will affect the entire world,” he said, calling the response from global media organizations to the attack as “insufficient.”
Aamir Latif, a former Karachi Press Club secretary, agreed that Israel was systematically silencing journalists.
“Israel is not in a business to tell the truth,” Latif said. “In fact, it is in a business to block the truth. That is why it is targeting journalists whether it is Gaza or whether it is Iran,” he added.
Latif lamented Israel’s moves to target hospitals, media workers and other protected entities in the Middle East, saying they were directly violating international laws.
Veteran journalist and former PFUJ secretary-general Mazhar Abbas called the Iranian TV bombardment a “direct assault on freedom of expression.”
“The figure [of journalists being killed in Palestine] is nearly around 150, which is even far bigger than the journalists killed in the Second World War,” Abbas told Arab News.
KUJ President Nasrullah Chaudhry said Pakistani journalists stood in solidarity with their Iranian counterparts.
“Since October, we have documented Israeli war crimes against media in Gaza,” Chaudhry said. “This is part of the same pattern.
“The media of Pakistan in general and Karachi in particular firmly stands against Israel aggression and assaults on journalists,” he told protesters.
The protest ended with Pakistani journalists pledging to continue highlighting what participants called the “systematic targeting of truth tellers” by Israel across multiple conflict zones.
Islamabad says will not let militants exploit Iran-Israel conflict to attack Pakistan
- Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal says Islamabad recently had “very good, close coordination” with Iran, Afghanistan against “terrorist” groups
- Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, sharing borders with Afghanistan and Iran, has seen a surge in militant attacks in recent months
ISLAMABAD: Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said on Tuesday that Islamabad would not allow militants based in Iran and Afghanistan to take advantage of Tehran’s ongoing conflict with Israel to increase its “terrorist” attacks in neighboring Pakistan.
Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province shares porous borders with Afghanistan to the north and Iran to the west. It has experienced a surge in militant attacks by Baloch separatists and other armed groups in recent years, who demand a greater share of Balochistan’s mineral resources for locals.
Pakistan has remained at odds with both Afghanistan and Iran over instability at its shared, porous borders with the two countries. Islamabad blames Kabul for not taking action against Pakistani Taliban militants who it says regularly launch attacks in Pakistan’s Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces, allegations that Afghanistan denies.
Ties between Islamabad and Tehran have also been strained in the past, with both nations blaming each other for not rooting out militancy in their countries.
“Pakistan leadership has recently had very good, close coordination with both the leadership in Iran and with leadership in Afghanistan ensuring that their soil is not used by the terrorist groups to carry out terrorist attacks in the country,” Iqbal told foreign media reporters during a briefing in Islamabad.
He added that Pakistani security forces were carrying out operations against militant groups in Balochistan and were confident they could “control” them.
“They are Indian-sponsored terrorist groups and they have already taken a hit with the defeat of India in the limited war we had and won’t get any space now [in the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict],” the minister said.
Iqbal was referring to Pakistan’s days-long military confrontation with India last month in which both countries targeted each other with artillery fire, missiles, fighter jets and drone strikes before Washington brokered a ceasefire on May 10.
Regional tensions have flared once again after Israel attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities and military leadership last Friday. The two countries have traded missiles since then, with world leaders calling for dialogue and restraint.
The minister hoped Irani forces would not allow militants based in their country to carry out attacks against Pakistan.
“We hope and are confident that the leadership in Iran will also exercise its full jurisdiction to make sure that no groups use the territory of Iran to carry out any terrorist action in Pakistan,” he said.
He called on the international community, especially the G7 countries, to intervene and stop Iran’s conflict with Israel from escalating further.
“This can have very serious consequences because this region supplies energy to the global economy and if there is any disruption in the supply of energy through escalation in this conflict, it will not just affect Iran, it will not just affect Israel, it will affect the entire world,” Iqbal warned.
CPEC WORK TO CONTINUE
Iqbal said the Israel-Iran conflict will not affect the pace of development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a multi-billion infrastructure network between Pakistan and China, as the military confrontation was not taking place in Pakistan.
China has invested $65 billion in CPEC, its flagship project which is part of its Belt and Road Initiative, to build roads, railways, pipelines, and ports connecting China to the Arabian Sea. A key project is the deep-sea port at Gwadar in Balochistan, a province that faces a long-running separatist insurgency.
“So, our work in Pakistan will continue and CPEC will move forward as we are hoping and anticipating by the end of July, the 14th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) meeting will take place for CPEC,” Iqbal said, adding that by then the roadmap for the project’s phase 2 will be approved.
Ethnic Baloch separatist groups, most prominent among them the Baloch Liberation Army, have targeted Chinese interests in Balochistan in recent years. This has led to China expressing concerns over the safety of its nationals in Pakistan.
Iqbal said Beijing has expressed satisfaction over the improving security situation in Pakistan.
“Chinese are very convinced that Pakistan is fully committed to improving the security situation in the country and in the coming months and years, we will have greater cooperation because Pakistan has worked very hard to counter these elements who have been involved in actions against Chinese,” the minister said.
Italian Navy ship arrives in Pakistan’s Karachi to strengthen maritime cooperation
- Antonio Marceglia to discuss maritime security, hold joint training sessions during three-day visit
- Pakistan, Italian navy ships to partake in warfare-related exercises designed to enhance coordination
ISLAMABAD: The Italian Navy ship Antonio Marceglia arrived in the southern port city of Karachi on Tuesday to strengthen maritime cooperation with Pakistan and partake in warfare-related exercises, Pakistan Navy’s military media wing said.
The Italian ship arrived at the Karachi Port for a three-day goodwill visit during which the commanding officer and crew of the Antonio Marceglia were accorded a warm welcome by Pakistan Navy officials, the Italian ambassador to Pakistan and other officials of the Italian consulate in Karachi.
The Director-General of Public Relations (DGPR) of the Pakistan Navy said in a statement that the Italian ship’s crew will participate in a range of professional engagements during its port call. These include cross-ship visits, discussions on maritime security and joint training sessions.
“These engagements are designed to foster deeper mutual understanding, enhance bilateral naval cooperation and advance operational interoperability between the two navies,” the Pakistan Navy said.
It said the visit would culminate in the Sea Phase, which would feature various warfare-related exercises designed to enhance tactical coordination and maritime security operations of both navies.
“The visit of Italian Navy Ship ITS ANTONIO MARCEGLIA reinforces growing maritime partnership between both countries,” the statement said. “It also reflects shared resolve of both navies to work together for regional stability.”
Pakistan regularly collaborates with its counterparts from various parts of the world to ensure illicit activities such as smuggling, drug trafficking and piracy are kept in check.
