QUETTA: The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province has arrested eight suspects for allegedly being involved in and facilitating last week’s suicide blast in Mastung, a source in the department with direct knowledge of the development said on Wednesday.
Sixty people were killed and scores were injured on Friday when a suicide blast targeted a gathering held to celebrate Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) birthday in Balochistan’s Mastung city. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the incident while banned outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has distanced itself from the incident.
A spokesperson for the CTD Balochistan said the department has intensified its investigation into the Mastung suicide bombing. He added that the CTD and other law enforcement agencies were carrying out operations in Mastung and other districts of the province to arrest those involved in the bombing.
“Eight persons have been arrested on suspicion of being involved in the incident [Mastung bomb blast] and facilitating it,” a CTD source told Arab News. “Further action is being taken on the information extracted from those detained.”
Meanwhile, the CTD spokesperson said authorities have not received any data relating to the suicide bomber yet, adding that various methods are being used to identify him. “We have still not received the DNA and forensic reports,” the spokesperson said. “There is no negligence in the investigation of the incident, however, results will take time.”
Situated near the provincial capital of Quetta, Mastung is mostly mentioned in the news due to incidents of sectarian violence, insurgency, and militant attacks. The security situation in the area has been volatile for years and it is widely considered as one of the more sensitive districts in Balochistan from a security perspective.
Abdul Basit, a research fellow at the International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research in Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said the Daesh-Khorasan outfit was most likely behind the Mastung bomb blast.
The regional affiliate of Daesh is a key rival of the Taliban. The militant group has increased its attacks in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover of the country in August 2021. Targets have included Taliban patrols and members of Afghanistan’s Shia population.
Basit said the militant group has been struggling to survive as it faces tough opposition in Afghanistan and Pakistan. “If we look at all the data points and substantial evidence, it will give us a clear picture of which group has a stronghold in Mastung and attacks soft targets,” Basit told Aran News over the phone.
He said Daesh has conducted lethal attacks in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province and Balochistan as both provinces share borders with Afghanistan, where it has a strong presence in some towns.
“Daesh has been struggling to show its relevance in Pakistan through more attacks and the militant group might attack soft targets in the next general elections.” Basit added.
Pakistan’s Caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti vowed on Tuesday to take decisive action against militants in the country, adding that the state would maintain its monopoly on violence and would not succumb to pressure on gunpoint. He gave “illegal immigrants” in the country till November 1 to leave, threatening that after the deadline passes, the administration would deport them.
The move is likely to impact millions of Afghans living in Pakistan, with a sizable number not even registered as refugees in the country.
Balochistan’s Caretaker Information Minister Jan Achakzai told reporters on Wednesday that out of the 24 suicide bombings that have taken place in Pakistan since January, 14 were conducted by Afghan nationals.
“During the recent attacks on security forces’ camps in Zhob and Muslim Bagh, the majority of the attackers were Afghan citizens,” Achakzai said. He added that Balochistan was hosting 584,000 Afghans out of which 313,000 are registered as refugees and 274,000 are registered with Afghan citizen cards.
“In future, the Balochistan government will expel Afghan citizens living without visa here,” he said.
Balochistan police arrest 8 on suspicion of involvement in Mastung suicide blast
https://arab.news/r2hfr
Balochistan police arrest 8 on suspicion of involvement in Mastung suicide blast
- 60 people were killed, scores injured when a suicide blast targeted a gathering in Mastung on Friday
- CTD Balochistan spokesperson says various methods are being used to identify the suicide bomber
Dubai, Abu Dhabi to host T20 Asia Cup matches
- Arch-rivals India and Pakistan to meet in Dubai on September 14 for Asia Cup clash
- Group A includes Asia Cup defending champions India, Pakistan, UAE and Oman
Dubai and Abu Dhabi will be the host cities for the men’s Twenty20 Asia Cup, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) said, with arch-rivals India and Pakistan to meet in Dubai on September 14.
The tournament in the United Arab Emirates, scheduled to run from September 9 to 28, will feature eight teams — two more than the last edition — with 11 matches in Dubai and eight in Abu Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi will host the opener between Afghanistan and Hong Kong, while the final will be held in Dubai.
“Hosting it in the UAE allows us to bring the excitement to one of the most vibrant cricketing hubs in the world,” ACC President Mohsin Naqvi said in a media release on Saturday.
“Dubai and Abu Dhabi are well equipped to deliver a seamless and world class experience for players, fans, and broadcasters alike.”
Group A includes defending champions India, Pakistan, UAE and Oman, while Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Hong Kong are in Group B.
Islamabad, Tehran discuss regional security, defense ties during Pezeshkian’s Pakistan visit
- Iranian President Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in Pakistan on Saturday for two-day visit to boost trade, bilateral ties
- Pakistan, Iran have remained at odds over instability along shared border that led to a missile exchange between them last year
ISLAMABAD: The defense ministers of Pakistan and Iran this week discussed regional security and ways to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two countries, Pakistan’s defense ministry said amid Iranian President Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian’s two-day state visit to the South Asian country.
Pakistan and Iran have remained at odds over instability along their shared, porous border that led to a missile exchange between them last year. Both countries, however, were quick to move to ease tensions.
Iran was among several countries that attempted to de-escalate tensions between India and Pakistan during their May armed conflict, while Islamabad categorically condemned Israel for carrying out strikes against Iran that triggered a 12-day conflict between the two countries in June.
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif met Brig. Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh, his Iranian counterpart, on Saturday. Nasirzadeh is part of a high-level delegation led by Pezeshkian, who arrived on a two-day state visit to Pakistan on Saturday to increase bilateral trade to $10 billion and strengthen relations between the two countries.
“During the meeting, both sides discussed matters of mutual interest, including regional security, counter-terrorism efforts, and avenues to enhance defense cooperation between the two neighboring countries,” the Pakistani defense ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
“The ministers reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen bilateral ties and promote peace and stability in the region,” it added.
Asif expressed appreciation for Iran’s continued engagement and emphasized the importance of “defense diplomacy” in addressing shared security challenges, the ministry said.
In response, Nasirzadeh thanked Pakistan for extending the Iranian delegation a warm welcome and reiterated Iran’s desire to build stronger defense ties based on mutual respect, shared values and trust, the Pakistani defense ministry added.
“The meeting concluded on a positive note, with both leaders expressing optimism about the future of Pakistan-Iran defense relations and pledging to continue working together for the prosperity and security of the region,” the statement added.
This is Pezeshkian’s first official visit to Pakistan as the Iranian president, according to the Pakistani foreign office. His high-level delegation includes Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi, senior ministers and other high-ranking officials.
Prior to arriving in Islamabad, the Iranian president made a brief stay in Lahore on Saturday, Pakistan’s cultural capital, where he also visited the mausoleum of Dr. Muhammad Iqbal, Pakistan’s national poet, who wrote in both Urdu and Persian and is widely revered in Iran and Persian-speaking communities across the world.
He then arrived in Islamabad and was received by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. During his stay, Pezeshkian will meet President Asif Ali Zardari and hold delegation-level talks with Sharif, the Pakistani foreign office said in an earlier statement.
Last year, Iran’s late president, Ebrahim Raisi, traveled to Pakistan on a three-day visit during which both sides signed memoranda of understanding in the fields of trade, technology, agriculture, health, culture and judicial matters.
This year, ties between the two countries warmed up after Islamabad voiced its support for Tehran during the Iran-Israel war in June, which began after Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
Pakistan remained engaged in talks with regional partners like Saudi Arabia, Iran, China and Qatar to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East after Iran conducted retaliatory strikes on Israel and a US base in Qatar, raising fears the conflict could draw in other regional states.
Pakistan bans future participation in WCL league over ‘hypocrisy,’ alleged pro-India tilt
- PCB criticizes WCL’s move to award points to India after it withdrew from Pakistan league match
- WCL is a T20 tournament featuring retired and non-contracted players from cricketing giants
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday announced it was issuing a “blanket ban” on future participation in the World Championship of Legends (WCL) league, accusing it of being biased in favor of India.
The WCL is a T20 tournament held in England every year. It features retired and non-contracted players from cricketing giants, including England, India, Pakistan, Australia, West Indies and South Africa. It is co-owned by Bollywood superstar Ajay Devgn and Harshit Tomar.
The tournament became controversial when India refused to play Pakistan in the league stage of the match, and the WCL decided both teams would share the points. India again refused to play Pakistan in the semifinal stage of the tournament, with the Green Shirts advancing on to the final on Sunday.
Several Indian players announced they would not take part in matches against Pakistan after the two nations engaged in the worst fighting in decades with each other in May. The WCL had said it respected India’s decision to withdraw and Pakistan’s willingness to compete.
“The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announces that it is issuing a blanket ban from future participation in the World Championship of Legends (WCL),” the PCB said in a press release following its 79th meeting of the Board of Governors.
The PCB said it reviewed “with considerable disappointment” the WCL’s conduct of awarding points to a willfully forfeiting team, and the content of the press releases of the WCL announcing the cancelation of the scheduled India vs. Pakistan legends matches.
It said the press releases were “tainted with hypocrisy and bias.”
“The contents of the said press releases highlight a duality where the narrative of ‘peace through sport’ is selectively applied and sporting events are held hostage to political expediency and narrow commercial interests,” the cricket board added.
The PCB said it has always advocated for the separation of sports and politics, adding that it believes cricket, like other international sports, should solely serve as a platform for goodwill, healthy competition, and mutual respect.
“For a tournament involving legendary players to be dictated by sentiments that undermine this fundamental principle is not only regrettable but also deeply concerning for the future of independent sporting events,” it added.
“The WCL’s apology for ‘hurting the sentiments’, whilst being farcical, inadvertently acknowledges that the cancelation was not based on cricketing merit, but rather on succumbing to a specific nationalistic narrative,” it added.
“This bias, masquerading as sensitivity, sends an unacceptable message to the international sporting community.”
The PCB said it can no longer condone participation in an event where the fundamental principles of fair play and “unbiased administration” are compromised by external pressures.
“We cannot allow our players to be part of events where the spirit of the game is overshadowed by skewed politics that undermines the very essence of sportsmanship and the gentleman’s game,” it added.
Pakistan were beaten by South Africa in the final of the WCL on Sunday when the Proteas trounced the South Asian giants by nine wickets to claim the tournament.
Pakistan warns of more rains next week as monsoon death toll reaches nearly 300
- “Weak” monsoon currents likely to intensify from Aug. 4, westerly wave likely to strengthen from Aug. 5, says Met Department
- Monsoon rains have killed 299 in Pakistan since June 26, with Punjab reporting highest number of deaths with 162 casualties
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Meteorological Department warned on Sunday that currently “weak” monsoon currents penetrating the country are likely to intensify from next week, triggering more rains and flash floods, as the death toll from rain-related incidents since late June climbed to 299.
As per the Met Department’s latest press release, weak monsoon currents are continuously penetrating the country’s upper and central parts. It said these currents are likely to “intensify” from Aug. 4 and that a westerly wave is likely to strengthen from Aug. 5.
“Heavy rains may generate flash floods in local nullahs/streams of Chitral, Dir, Swat, Shangla, Mansehra, Kohistan, Abbottabad, Buner, Charsadda, Nowshera, Swabi, Mardan, Murree, Galliyat, Islamabad/Rawalpindi, northeast Punjab and Kashmir from Aug. 5-7,” the PMD said.
Monsoon rains have killed 299 people in Pakistan since June 26, with Punjab reporting the highest number of deaths with 162 casualties, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) with 69, Sindh with 28, Balochistan with 20, Gilgit-Baltistan with 10, Islamabad with 8 and Azad Kashmir with 2.
As per the National Disaster Management Authority’s (NDMA) latest situation report, 715 people have been injured in total in rain-related incidents since June 26, with 239 of them children, 272 males and 204 females.
The PMD warned that heavy rains may trigger urban floods in the low-lying areas of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Lahore and Sialkot cities of Punjab from Aug. 5-7.
“Landslides/mudslides may cause roads’ closure in the vulnerable hilly areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Murree, Galliyat and Kashmir during the forecast period,” it added.
The PMD warned the public, travelers and tourists against traveling unnecessarily to vulnerable areas to avoid any untoward situation, and to keep updated with the latest weather conditions.
Pakistan, which ranks among the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations, has witnessed increasingly erratic weather events in recent years.
In May, at least 32 people were killed in severe storms, while a third of the country was submerged by devastating floods in 2022 that killed more than 1,700 people, affected over 30 million and caused an estimated $35 billion in damages.
Filmmakers try to cash in on India-Pakistan battle
- India, Pakistan engaged in worst fighting in decades in May that killed over 70 on both sides
- Film studios register titles such as “Mission Sindoor,” “Sindoor: The Revenge” and others
MUMBAI: Indian filmmakers are locking up the rights to movie titles that can profit from the patriotism fanned by a four-day conflict with Pakistan, which killed more than 70 people.
The nuclear-armed rivals exchanged artillery, drone and air strikes in May, after India blamed Pakistan for an armed attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir.
The fighting came to an end when US President Donald Trump announced a surprise ceasefire.
Now, some Bollywood filmmakers see an opportunity to cash in on the battle.
India tagged its military action against Pakistan “Operation Sindoor,” the Hindi word for vermilion, which married Hindu women wear on their foreheads.
The name was seen as a symbol of Delhi’s determination to avenge those widowed in the April 22 attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which sparked the hostilities.
Film studios have registered a slew of titles evoking the operation, including: “Mission Sindoor,” “Sindoor: The Revenge,” “The Pahalgam Terror,” and “Sindoor Operation.”
“It’s a story which needs to be told,” said director Vivek Agnihotri.
“If it was Hollywood, they would have made 10 films on this subject. People want to know what happened behind the scenes,” he told AFP.
Agnihotri struck box office success with his 2022 release, “The Kashmir Files,” based on the mass flight of Hindus from Kashmir in the 1990s.
The ruling right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party gave that film a glowing endorsement, despite accusations that it aimed to stir up hatred against India’s minority Muslims.
Since Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014, some critics say Bollywood is increasingly promoting his government’s ideology.
Raja Sen, a film critic and screenwriter, said filmmakers felt emboldened by an amenable government.
“We tried to wage a war and then we quietened down when Mr.Trump asked us to. So what is the valor here?” Sen told AFP of the Pakistan clashes.
Anil Sharma, known for directing rabble-rousing movies, criticized the apparent rush to make films related to the Pahalgam attack.
“This is herd mentality... these are seasonal filmmakers, they have their constraints,” he said.
“I don’t wait for an incident to happen and then make a film based on that. A subject should evoke feelings and only then cinema happens,” said Sharma.
Sharma’s historical action flick “Gadar: Ek Prem Katha” (2001) and its sequel “Gadar 2” (2023), both featuring Sunny Deol in lead roles, were big hits.
In Bollywood, filmmakers often seek to time releases for national holidays like Independence Day, which are associated with heightened patriotic fervor.
“Fighter,” featuring big stars Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone, was released on the eve of India’s Republic Day on January 25 last year.
Though not a factual retelling, it drew heavily from India’s 2019 airstrike on Pakistan’s Balakot.
The film received mixed-to-positive reviews but raked in $28 million in India, making it the fourth highest-grossing Hindi film of that year.
This year, “Chhaava,” a drama based on the life of SambHajji Maharaj, a ruler of the Maratha Empire, became the highest-grossing film so far this year.
It also generated significant criticism for fueling anti-Muslim bias.
“This is at a time when cinema is aggressively painting Muslim kings and leaders in violent light,” said Sen.
“This is where those who are telling the stories need to be responsible about which stories they choose to tell.”
Sen said filmmakers were reluctant to choose topics that are “against the establishment.”
“If the public is flooded with dozens of films that are all trying to serve an agenda, without the other side allowed to make itself heard, then that propaganda and misinformation enters the public psyche,” he said.
Acclaimed director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra said true patriotism is promoting peace and harmony through the medium of cinema.
Mehra’s socio-political drama “Rang De Basanti” (2006) won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film and was chosen as India’s official entry for the Golden Globe Awards and the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
“How we can arrive at peace and build a better society? How we can learn to love our neighbors?” he asked.
“For me that is patriotism.”
