Media watchdog asks Pakistan not to deport 200 Afghan journalists in undocumented migrant crackdown 

Police officers take into custody to immigrants for further data verification during a search operation against illegal immigrants in a neighbourhood of Karachi, Pakistan, on November 7, 2023. (AP)
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Updated 07 November 2023
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Media watchdog asks Pakistan not to deport 200 Afghan journalists in undocumented migrant crackdown 

  • The plea by Reporters Without Borders comes a week after Pakistan launched a crackdown on undocumented foreigners 
  • The crackdown began Nov 1 after the expiration of a monthlong grace period for unregistered foreigners to leave voluntarily 

ISLAMABAD: An international media watchdog is urging Pakistan not to deport more than 200 Afghan journalists who fled their homeland after the Taliban regained control in August 2021 as USand NATO forces withdrew following more than two decades of war. 

The plea by Reporters Without Borders comes a week after Pakistan launched a crackdown on undocumented foreigners, mostly an estimated 1.7 million Afghans. 

The crackdown began Nov. 1 after the expiration of a monthlong grace period for unregistered foreigners to leave voluntarily. Nearly 270,000 Afghans have returned home to avoid arrest and forced expulsion. They included some people who had lived in Pakistan for up to four decades. 

Some said they never registered with the UN refugee agency because Pakistani authorities were hospitable, and they didn’t imagine that they would be told to leave at short notice. 

The Afghans who are still in Pakistan include about 200 journalists as well as about 25,000 Afghans waiting for relocation to the United States under a special refugee program. Under US rules, applicants must first relocate to a third country — in this case Pakistan — for their cases to be processed. 

The US Embassy in Islamabad has issued letters to such applicants to protect them from deportation, but Pakistani authorities say they have no legal value. 

Reporters Without Borders said in a statement Monday that some Afghan journalists in Pakistan “have been subjected to harassment and extortion by Pakistani police officers, arbitrary arrest, pressure on landlords to expel Afghan tenants, and never-ending visa application procedures.” 

It said some had published sensitive information in Afghanistan and sought refuge in Pakistan for safety. 

“Deporting them back to Afghanistan would clearly expose them to great danger. We call on the Pakistani government to refrain from arresting any of them and to guarantee their protection and security in Pakistan,” Reporters Without Borders said. 

Pakistani authorities said they would not expel any Afghan journalists facing threats at home, but that they would only consider the cases of “genuine working journalists.” 

Many Afghan journalists lost their jobs after the Taliban takeover. Female journalists face additional hardships at home because of work prohibitions and travel restrictions imposed by the Taliban. 

Curbs on journalists in Afghanistan have drawn criticism from international rights groups. 

In May. the United Nations said intimidation, threats and attacks on Afghan journalists by the Taliban were unacceptable. During the Taliban’s previous rule in the late 1990s, they barred most television, radio and newspapers in the country. 

Reporters without Borders ranks Afghanistan 152 out of 180 countries in its latest World Press Freedom Index. 


Pakistan keeps fuel prices unchanged, plans power tariff cuts for public relief

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Pakistan keeps fuel prices unchanged, plans power tariff cuts for public relief

  • Shehbaz Sharif says a comprehensive strategy is being finalized to reduce electricity charges
  • Fuel prices and electricity tariffs are sensitive issues after high inflation rates recorded in 2023

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Saturday the government will maintain current petroleum product prices for the another fortnight and utilize the resulting fiscal space to implement a reduction in electricity tariffs, aiming to provide relief to consumers.

Fuel prices in Pakistan are adjusted fortnightly, reflecting global energy market fluctuations and the rupee-dollar exchange rate, to pass on the net effect to consumers.

Since fuel is a key input for thermal power generation, keeping petroleum prices unchanged can create fiscal space for the government to lower electricity tariffs and making it more affordable for consumers.

“We have decided to maintain petroleum prices at their previous levels and transfer the entire financial advantage to the public through reduced electricity tariffs,” the prime minister said in a statement released by his office.

“This measure, among many others, will lead to a meaningful decrease in electricity rates.”

Sharif also said that a comprehensive and effective strategy was being finalized to reduce electricity charges, with details to be announced in the coming weeks.

“Since assuming office, we pledged to prioritize public relief,” he said. “This relief will not only lower electricity prices but also have an overall impact on inflation, leading to a further decline.”

Both fuel prices and electricity tariffs are sensitive issues in Pakistan, which experienced an inflation rate hitting about 38 percent in 2023.

Subsequent stringent monetary policies have significantly reduced inflation, with the latest figures indicating a drop to 1.5 percent in February, marking a nine-year low.


Pakistan Railways awaits security clearance to repair track damaged in deadly Balochistan attack

Updated 15 March 2025
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Pakistan Railways awaits security clearance to repair track damaged in deadly Balochistan attack

  • BLA separatists targeted a passenger train earlier this week, taking more than 200 hostages
  • The militants killed 31 people in the attack, derailing the train and damaging 398 feet of track 

QUETTA: A delegation of Pakistan Railways officials visited the site of a militant attack on a passenger train in the southwestern mountainous Bolan region on Saturday, saying repair work on the damaged track would begin after security clearance to restore train service from Balochistan.
Dozens of separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) militants attacked the Quetta-Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express with bomb, gun and rocket attacks on Tuesday afternoon, killing 31 people and taking more than 200 passengers captive.
The hostage crisis lasted for 36 hours before security forces executed a rescue operation, killing 33 militants and securing the release of the passengers.
Speaking to the media, Rasheed Imtiaz Siddiqui, deputy chief engineer of Pakistan Railways, said four carriages of the Jaffar Express had derailed in the attack and 398 feet of track was damaged.

Pakistan's Frontier Corps inspect the siege site after armed militants ambushed a train in the remote mountainous area, at Pehro Kunri in Balochistan province on March 15, 2025. (AFP)

“Our teams are ready at Sibi, Mushkaf, Paneer and Aab-e-Gum railway stations,” he told reporters at the Bolan site where the train was hijacked.
“This is a highly sensitive area, and our teams will have to work from dawn to dusk since there can be security issues in the dark requiring formal clearance [from Pakistani forces],” he added.

A view shows the railway station, after the train service is halted following the attack on a train by separatist militants in Bolan, in Quetta, Balochistan, on March 14, 2025. (REUTERS)

Siddiqui said it would take at least eight to nine hours to clear the derailed carriages and repair the track.
Armed separatist groups often target trains and passenger coaches in southwestern Balochistan province, which has witnessed a low-level insurgency for decades against the Pakistani state.

Pakistan army soldiers stand at a tunnel where the Jaffar Express train was attacked by separatist militants, at Pehro Kunri in Balochistan province on March 15, 2025. (REUTERS)

The separatists accuse the government of stripping the province’s natural resources and leaving its people mired in poverty. However, government officials deny the allegation, saying they are working to uplift the province through development projects, including multibillion-dollar schemes funded by Beijing.
Last August, the BLA destroyed a historic bridge built by the British Army in the 18th century in the hilly area of Kolpur, suspending train service for nearly a month.


Pakistan's Frontier Corps stand guard at the siege site after armed militants ambushed a train in the remote mountainous area, at Pehro Kunri in Balochistan province on March 15, 2025. (AFP)

Brig. Umar Altaf, Commandant Sibi Scouts, told the media that the area was clear.
“The terrorists were confident they could prolong the standoff and propagate that the area was under their control,” he said, pointing out that they could not withstand the rescue operation.
“We have recovered eight magnetic improvised explosive devices from the area,” he continued. “They [the militants] were ready to blast the train, but we neutralized them.”


Blast in Pakistan’s northwest kills founder of banned militant outfit

Updated 15 March 2025
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Blast in Pakistan’s northwest kills founder of banned militant outfit

  • Mufti Munir Shakir of Lashkar-e-Islam was targeted in Peshawar while he was entering a mosque
  • He was rushed to Lady Reading Hospital in critical condition where he succumbed to his injuries

PESHAWAR: A blast on the outskirts of the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on Saturday killed local cleric Mufti Munir Shakir, founder of the banned militant outfit Lashkar-e-Islam, a hospital official confirmed after Shakir was rushed there in an injured state following the explosion.
Established in 2004, Lashkar-e-Islam initially focused on enforcing a strict interpretation of Islam before establishing a parallel governance system in parts of the Khyber district between 2008 and 2014.
Its members frequently clashed with Pakistani security forces, contributing to the broader insurgency in the tribal region, which was later merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Mufti Munir Shakir ... was brought into the [Lady Reading] hospital in a critical condition with three other wounded people in the blast,” Muhammad Asim, the spokesperson of the medical facility, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, Mufti Munir Shakir embraced martyrdom at the hospital. Right now, we are in the process of handing over his dead body to his relatives.”
Speaking to Arab News, Noor Muhammad, the Station House Officer of the area where the attack occurred, said the blast took place outside a mosque and specifically targeted Shakir.
“The moment Mufti Munir Shakir was entering the mosque at around 5 PM the blast took place, leaving four persons wounded,” he said. “It was a planted bomb.”
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has experienced a surge in militant violence, with frequent attacks targeting security forces and civilians.
The region has mostly been targeted by the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), whose leadership is reportedly based in neighboring Afghanistan.
Pakistan has frequently accused the interim Afghan Taliban administration of sheltering these militants and facilitating their cross-border attacks in its border region, an allegation denied by Kabul.
Last month, a prominent religious cleric, Maulana Hamid-ul-Haq, lost his life in a massive suicide bombing at the Darul Uloom Haqqania seminary in Akora Khattak that killed at least six other individuals.
The seminary has earned a reputation for producing several Afghan Taliban leaders, prompting the administration in Kabul to condemn the attack and blame it on the rival Daesh group in the region.
Prior to the explosion that killed Mufti Shakir on Saturday, police officials confirmed that militants launched four coordinated overnight attacks in the province, targeting police stations in two districts, leaving one attacker dead and a police officer injured.
The first three attacks took place in Bannu, a restive district located on the periphery of North Waziristan bordering Afghanistan.
The fourth attack occurred in the adjacent Lakki Marwat district when a group of well-armed militants launched an assault on the Abbasia police station, sparking a fierce gunbattle.
The confrontation resulted in the death of one militant, while others managed to flee the scene.
“During the chase, a police vehicle hit a roadside improvised explosive device, injuring one police official who was transported to a nearby medical facility for treatment,” Shahid Marwat, the spokesperson of the district’s police, told Arab News.
In a statement released earlier in the day, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Police Chief Zulfiqar Hameed also paid tribute to the courage of the police personnel for thwarting successive militant attacks in the two districts.


Pakistan Navy launches second Hangor-class submarine in China to boost maritime defense

Updated 15 March 2025
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Pakistan Navy launches second Hangor-class submarine in China to boost maritime defense

  • Equipped with advanced weapons and sensors, the submarine will strengthen Pakistan’s deterrence capabilities
  • The deal with the Chinese company will get Pakistan six more submarines with technology transfer agreement

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Navy launched its second Hangor-class submarine, PNS/M Shushuk, at a ceremony in Wuhan, China, as part of a strategic initiative to bolster its maritime defense capabilities, according to an official statement on Saturday.
The country’s defense ministry signed an agreement with China Shipbuilding and Offshore International Company during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Pakistan in 2015 to acquire eight of these submarines. Under the deal, four submarines are being built in China, while the remaining four will be constructed at Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works under a transfer of technology program.
Equipped with state-of-the-art weapons and sensors, these submarines are expected to enhance Pakistan’s naval capabilities by enabling precision strikes at standoff ranges.
Pakistan’s Vice Chief of the Naval Staff, Ovais Ahmed Bilgrami, attended the ceremony as the chief guest.
“While addressing the ceremony, the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff highlighted the importance of maritime security in the prevailing geo-strategic environment of the region, as well as Pakistan Navy’s commitment to safeguarding national interests and ensuring a safe and conducive maritime environment for all,” the official statement circulated by the Directorate General of Public Relations of Pakistan Navy said.
“He emphasized that Hangor-class submarines, equipped with state-of-the-art weapons and sensors, will play a pivotal role in maintaining the balance of power and maritime order in the region,” it added.
Pakistan’s deal with the Chinese company is expected to enhance its naval defense in the Indian Ocean region by equipping its fleet with stealth-capable submarines designed for low acoustic signatures, making them harder to detect.
These advanced vessels also aim to strengthen the country’s deterrence capabilities while reinforcing Pakistan-China military ties through strategic defense collaboration.
Beyond the Hangor-class project, Pakistan is enhancing its naval capabilities through collaborations with other nations.
In 2018, the country signed a contract with Turkiye for the construction of four MILGEM-class corvettes.
Additionally, a Turkish company was also engaged to upgrade Pakistan’s Agosta 90B-class submarines.


Security forces kill nine militants, lose two soldiers in Pakistan’s northwest

Updated 15 March 2025
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Security forces kill nine militants, lose two soldiers in Pakistan’s northwest

  • Pakistani forces carried out two separate intelligence-based operation in Mohmand and Dera Ismail Khan
  • An official statement says the armed forces recovered weapons, ammunition from the deceased militants

KARACHI: Pakistani security forces killed nine militants in two intelligence-based operations in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said in a statement on Saturday, adding two soldiers also lost their lives in one of the encounters.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has seen a surge in violence by banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants in recent months, with deadly suicide bombings, attacks on security checkpoints and targeted of civilians and security personnel.
Pakistani security forces have conducted several intelligence-based operations in the region, with the latest ones carried out in Mohmand District and Dera Ismail Khan between March 14 and 15.
Pakistan refers to TTP militants as “khwarij,” a historical term describing an extremist sect in early Islam known for rebelling against authority and declaring other Muslims apostates.
“On reported presence of Khwarij, an intelligence based operation was conducted by the Security Forces in Mohmand District,” the ISPR said. “During the conduct of operation, own troops effectively engaged the khwarijs’ location, resultantly, seven khwarij were sent to hell.”
“However, during intense fire exchange, two brave sons of soil, Havildar Muhammad Zahid (age: 37 years, resident of District Malakand) and Sepoy Aftab Ali Shah (age: 26 years, resident of District Chitral) having fought gallantly, rendered the ultimate sacrifice and embraced shahadat [martyrdom],” it added.
The second operation was carried out in Maddi, Dera Ismail Khan District, where security forces engaged militants in a gunfight.
“A fire exchange took place between own troops and khwarij,” the statement continued. “Resultantly, two khwarij were effectively neutralized.”
The ISPR said security forces also recovered weapons and ammunition from the militants, who, according to the military, were actively involved in multiple violent activities.
The statement informed that “sanitization operations” were ongoing in both districts to eliminate any remaining militants.