QUETTA: At least nine people, including policemen, were injured after clashes broke out between police and protesters from an ethnic Baloch rights group, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, late Friday night in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, officials said.
The BYC accused law enforcement agencies of forcibly arresting its three central committee members on Wednesday and called for a protest on Sariab Road in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province which has recent witnessed a spike in separatist attacks.
The call for protest followed a clash between protesters and the police after people attempted to take away bodies of deceased militants who were killed after the Jaffar Express train hijacking last week, according to authorities. The provincial government lodged a police case against the protesters who stormed the mortuary at Civil Hospital Quetta and booked 12 protesters on Thursday.
Last week, militants from the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) separatist group hijacked the Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express passenger train in the rugged, mountainous Bolan region, with more than 400 passengers onboard. The hours-long siege ended after Pakistan launched an operation and killed 33 militants. The deadliest train assault resulted in the killing of over 30 Pakistani security personnel and civilians.
“The Baloch Yakjehti Committee blocked highways in Quetta and the police took legal action against the protesters who were blocking the roads,” Shahid Rind, a spokesman for the Balochistan government, said on Friday.
“The protesters pelted stones at police and tortured policemen, injuring several cops and civilians.”
The BYC was staging a sit-in on Sariab Road with bodies of three protesters, which it alleged were killed by gunfire from the authorities.
Rind said the government was ascertaining whose bodies BYC placed in their protest: “It is impossible to know the causes of death of the bodies unless the bodies were brought to the hospital for medico-legal procedure.”
Dr. Arbab Kamran Kasi, head of Trauma Center Quetta told Arab News, they had received nine injured persons, including policemen.
“Six injured with minor wounds were discharged, two are being treated and one was referred to the Combined Military Hospital,” he shared.
Dr. Mahrang Baloch, a veteran human rights activist who heads the BYC, accused police of killing three protesters by shooting at a peaceful rally in Quetta.
“We called a peaceful sit-in today on the Sariab Road in Quetta but the police attacked our protesters,” she told Arab News. “Now we have camped at Sariab Road with the bodies of three slain protesters and we won’t end the protest until justice has been provided to our slain workers.”
The office of the Quetta commissioner denied reports of firing by authorities.
“No shelling was carried out by the administration during the BYC protest. No firearms or rubber bullets were used,” it said in a statement. “Only water cannons (non-lethal and safe method) were used to disperse the crowd.”
It said the administration respects the right to peaceful protest, however, lawlessness and attacks on state institutions cannot be permitted.
Amnesty International, a global human rights watchdog, voiced alarm over the reports of deaths of three protesters and nearly a dozen injuries following live ammunition fired by authorities against the protesters in Quetta, describing it as “a shocking indictment of the Pakistani authorities’ utter disregard for human life.”
“In blatant violation of the right to protest, the authorities conducted mass arrests and fired tear gas before resorting to unlawful use of lethal weapons against the unarmed protesters. Mobile networks in the city remain suspended, hindering free flow of information,” it said on X.
“Amnesty International urges the Pakistani authorities to immediately stop the reckless crackdown against the peaceful protesters and guarantee the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression, in line with Pakistan’s international human rights obligations.”
Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest province by land but its most backward by almost all economic and social indicators. For decades it has been plagued by a low-level insurgency by militants fighting for a greater share of the province’s wealth.
Separatist militants, such as the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) accuse the central government of denying locals a share of Balochistan’s mineral resources. The federal government and the military strongly deny these accusations, and say they have launched several projects in the province to support its development.
Violence by Baloch separatist factions, primarily the BLA, killed about 300 people last year, according to official statistics, marking an escalation in the decades-long conflict.
At least nine injured as police, ethnic Baloch protesters clash in Pakistan’s southwest
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At least nine injured as police, ethnic Baloch protesters clash in Pakistan’s southwest
- The clashes erupted during a protest by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee rights group over the arrest of three of its key members by authorities this week
- Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by land, has been the site of an insurgency for decades and has witnessed a surge in violence in recent months
Punjab set to launch Pakistan’s first carbon credit project at Lahore dumping site
- Mehmood Booti dumpsite near Lahore’s Ring Road has amassed 13 million tons of waste, causing environmental hazards
- Official says project includes capturing methane, treating waste and transforming site into urban forest and solar park
ISLAMABAD: The government in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province is set to launch the country’s first-ever carbon credit project “soon” at a decades-old dumping site in Lahore, aiming to reduce pollution and mitigate climate risks, an official confirmed on Wednesday.
The Mehmood Booti dumpsite, a 42.98-acre landfill near Lahore’s Ring Road area, has been accumulating waste since 1997. Over the years, it has amassed 13 million tons of waste, leading to severe environmental hazards including toxic groundwater contamination, hazardous air pollution, and methane emissions.
Lahore, the capital of Pakistan’s eastern province of Punjab, has repeatedly ranked among the world’s most polluted cities in international air quality indices, with smog causing severe health issues for residents every winter.
Carbon credit projects are initiatives that reduce, remove or prevent the emission of greenhouse gases. These projects generate carbon credits, which can be sold to companies or individuals looking to offset their carbon footprint.
“RUDA [Ravi Urban Development Authority] is taking a historic step toward environmental sustainability by rehabilitating the Mehmood Booti dumpsite,” Alishba Tajwar, deputy director of communication and environment at RUDA, told Arab News.
“And is all set to launch Pakistan’s First-Ever Carbon Credit Project at the site very soon after testing as most of the work has been completed.”
The official said the rehabilitation project included initiatives such as capturing methane, leachate treatment [which treats leachate, a contaminated liquid that drains from landfills or waste sites] and transforming the site into an urban forest and solar park.
“This project not only addresses severe environmental challenges posed by the 13 million tons of waste accumulated over decades but also introduces innovative solutions to repurpose waste into hydrogen energy,” Tajwar said.
Pakistan is among the countries most at risk from climate change, as per the Global Climate Risk Index. Extreme weather events like floods, droughts, cyclones, torrential rainstorms, and heat waves have been occurring more frequently and with greater intensity across the country in recent years.
She said the initiative aims to reduce pollution, cut carbon emissions by one million tons over 15 years and align Pakistan with global sustainability goals.
She said methane emissions from the dumpsite will be captured and converted into usable energy, adding that the carbon credit mechanism in the rehabilitation project followed a structured process that enables monetization of emission reductions through global carbon markets.
The RUDA official said this project represented a Rs5 billion ($17.86 million) investment, making it one of Pakistan’s most ambitious environmental initiatives.
“With an expected issuance of 100,000 tons of carbon credits per year, it will generate Rs2 billion ($7.14 million) in revenue annually, reinforcing Pakistan’s climate finance strategy,” Tajwar said.
She said captured methane will either be converted into energy or flared using advanced gas recovery technology, significantly lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
Tajwar said the project involved collecting solid waste, treating it to extract usable gases and converting those gases into hydrogen.
“This hydrogen can then be utilized for various energy needs, including electricity generation, industrial uses, and even fuel for hydrogen-powered vehicles,” she explained.
‘POSITIVE IMPACT’
Environmental experts termed this initiative as a much-needed step to reduce pollution and address environmental challenges faced by Lahore residents.
Asif Mahmood, a Lahore-based environment expert, said this was an environmentally friendly project initially proposed by the interim government in 2023 to transform the site into a solar park.
“In 2019, dangerous methane gas clouds were observed emerging from the site, affecting not only the surrounding area but also the entire city,” he told Arab News.
Mahmood said rehabilitation work at the site had already made a noticeable difference, with one of the most evident improvements being the elimination of the foul odor that previously affected surrounding areas for several kilometers.
Asif Ali Sial, a Lahore-based environment lawyer, said the project will have a positive impact by providing relief to the city’s residents from solid waste pollution.
“A series of garbage piles at the site has been causing significant harm to residents and the environment,” he said.
“Therefore, this project will have a positive impact on the city’s surroundings and overall environmental quality.”
Pakistani stocks, currency appreciate in response to Islamabad-IMF staff-level agreement
- IMF on Tuesday announced reaching staff-level agreement with Islamabad on first review under Extended Fund Facility
- Stocks close at 117,772 points, gaining 1 percent while the rupee inches 0.1 percent up to close at Rs280.2 against the greenback
KARACHI: Pakistan’s stocks and currency markets on Wednesday reacted positively to Islamabad’s staff-level agreement (SLA) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with financial analysts noting that the agreement has eased market sentiments.
The IMF announced on Tuesday it had reached a staff-level agreement on the first review under Pakistan’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and on a new arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).
Subject to approval from the IMF’s Executive Board, the SLA will ensure “Pakistan will have access to about $1.0 billion (SDR 760 million) under the EFF, bringing total disbursements under the program to about $2.0 billion,” the global lender said.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) rallied to an intraday high of 118,220 points on Wednesday, gaining 1.4 percent or 1,588 points from the previous close. The stocks closed at 117,772 points with a 1 percent total increase.
“Definitely, the IMF agreement on Pakistan’s first review and climate financing was a major trigger for the market,” Sana Tawfik, the head of research at Arif Habib Ltd. brokerage company, told Arab News.
The current IMF review is critical for debt-ridden Pakistan, which has been grappling with a balance of payment crisis and has so far recorded a $691 million surplus this year in eight months till February, compared with its $1.7 billion deficit a year earlier.
Pakistan is carrying out IMF-backed structural reforms and expects to expand its economy by 3.6 percent this fiscal year.
“We are committed to structural reforms for sustainable long-term growth and prosperity,” Pakistan’s finance adviser Khurram Schehzad told Arab News.
Pakistan’s stock index rose 89 percent to 78,445 points last year in June, according to data from the Pakistan Stock Exchange.
Tawfik said she expected the index to increase to a record 123,000 points by June this year, once Pakistan receives the IMF’s first tranche under review.
“The overall market sentiments are IMF-driven,” Tawfik noted.
STABLE RUPEE OUTLOOK
Pakistan’s national currency also appreciated on Wednesday, inching 0.1 percent up to close at Rs280.2 against the US dollar in the interbank market.
After depreciating about 0.7 percent this year since July, the rupee has stabilized in the range of Rs280-281 against the dollar.
“The rupee would have taken a hit had this agreement not been made,” Owais ul Haq, a foreign exchange dealer at Arif Habib Ltd., told Arab News.
Haq said he expected the rupee to remain stable at the Rs280-281 mark, adding that anything below this rate would hurt exporters.
A healthy inflow of remittances stabilizes the supply of dollars in the country, helping the rupee stay stable against the greenback.
Pakistan expects to receive more than $35 billion in remittances this year through June, as overseas Pakistan remitted a record $1.3 billion in February, primarily due to “seasonal factors” such as Ramadan and Eid.
“I see a stable outlook for the rupee going forward,” Haq said.
Muhammad Zafar Paracha, secretary general at the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan, agreed the IMF agreement would help the rupee stay stable against the dollar.
“The investors were feeling a bit jittery, but this IMF agreement has eased market sentiments,” he said.
“The rupee has shown some appreciation in the interbank and open market and will strengthen more in the days to come,” he added.
Addressing the federal cabinet on Wednesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan’s agreement with the IMF would help it ensure long-term economic stability.
Sharif noted that Pakistan was able to increase its tax-to-GDP ratio to 10.6 percent, exceeding the IMF’s target of 10.2 percent.
“This is the highest tax collection ratio in the last four years,” he said.
The prime minister said that the IMF required his government to collect Rs12.9 trillion in taxes this year but then agreed to revise its target to Rs12.1 trillion rupees.
Pakistani authorities fixed the tax collection target to Rs12.33 trillion and were able to increase collection by 26 percent, he said, describing it as a “quantum jump.”
Pakistan says seeking investment and technical support from China, not aid
- Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb is in China for four-day Boao Forum for Asia economic conference
- Aurangzeb highlights agriculture, information and technology as important sectors for bilateral collaboration
KARACHI: Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Wednesday that Islamabad was seeking investment and technical assistance from China rather than just aid, identifying agriculture, information and technology as important sectors for bilateral collaboration.
Aurangzeb is currently attending the four-day Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2025 in China. The forum, often referred to as the “Asian Davos,” is a high-level platform where leaders from government, business and academia across Asia and other continents gather to discuss pressing global and regional issues.
China is a major ally and investor in Pakistan that has pledged over $65 billion in investment in road, infrastructure and development projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a part of the Belt and Road Initiative that is a massive China-led infrastructure project that aims to stretch around the globe.
“We are grateful [to China] on the financing side but going forward, we now want investment from China not aid,” Aurangzeb told the China Global Television Network (CGTN) at the sidelines of the conference. “Secondly, we want technical support and assistance.”
The finance minister said China could immensely help Pakistan in boosting its agriculture, information and technology sectors.
Aurangzeb praised China for taking strides in green projects, saying that Pakistan would try its best to learn from its neighboring country on how to tackle the climate change crisis.
“The way Beijing’s pollution was eliminated in record time, we have the same problem in Lahore,” he said. “So there are various sectors where we are working with China and will continue to do so.”
During his address at the conference earlier on Wednesday, Aurangzeb proposed the formation of a global coalition of developing nations to collectively advocate for fair trade and better representation in international financial institutions, criticizing the global economy as unequal.
“Developing countries must unite to demand fair trade principles and improved representation in global financial institutions,” Aurangzeb said, according to a finance ministry statement.
China’s help for Pakistan is crucial at this stage, given the 241-million-strong country has been grappling with a macroeconomic crisis that has adversely impacted its foreign reserves, weakened its national currency and caused a balance of payments crisis.
The country has undertaken some economic reforms in recent months which seem to have yielded fruit as its inflation has gone down and its foreign reserves have increased.
Pakistan has increasingly sought to attract international investment from China, Central Asian states and Middle Eastern allies such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia as it seeks to reduce its dependency on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for financial bailout packages.
It formed the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) in 2023 to fast-track decisions related to foreign investment in mining and minerals, agriculture, livestock, tourism and other priority sectors.
Pakistan to restore train services from Quetta this week after deadly hijacking
- 31 soldiers, staff and civilians killed as BLA separatists hijacked Jaffar Express train in Balochistan earlier this month
- BLA is largest and strongest of several ethnic Baloch groups fighting for decades to win independence for Balochistan
QUETTA: Pakistan Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi said on Wednesday train operations from Quetta Railway station in the southwestern Balochistan province would be fully restored from Mar. 28 while Jaffar Express, the victim of a deadly hijacking by militants earlier this month, would resume services to Peshawar from tomorrow, Thursday.
The separatist Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the Mar. 12 attack on the Jaffar Express, during which they blew up train tracks and held passengers hostage in a day-long standoff with security services in a remote mountain pass. The death toll included 31 soldiers, staff and civilians.
Addressing a news conference in Quetta, Abbasi said Jaffar Express would depart for the northwestern city of Peshawar tomorrow, Thursday, but full-scale train services from Quetta would be restored on Mar. 28.
“Although we don’t have enough strength of Railway Police Forces, many stations require fencing and other security equipment,” he told reporters, admitting that railways facilities in the province faced security challenges.
“We are recruiting 500 soldiers in the Pakistan Railway Police and 70 percent of the recruitment would be for Balochistan,” the minister added. “We have planned new security strategies with the frontier corps and other law enforcing agencies.”
He also announced a special Eid train from Quetta Railway station with fool-proof security for passengers.
“We are very much optimistic about better security to the railway’s passengers in Balochistan,” Abbasi said.
“We have repaired all damaged carriages of the attacked Jaffar Express, and new rack of carriages would be included in the train operations from Balochistan.”
The BLA is the largest and strongest of several ethnic Baloch insurgent groups which have been fighting for decades to win independence for the mineral-rich province, home to major China-led projects including a port and gold and copper mines.
Pakistan court sentences five men to death for ‘blasphemous content’ — lawyer
- Pakistan has witnessed a sharp increase in the prosecution of “online blasphemy” cases
- Vigilante groups bring charges against hundreds of individuals for committing blasphemy
ISLAMABAD: A Pakistan court has sentenced five men to death for posting “blasphemous content online,” a prosecution lawyer told AFP on Wednesday.
Pakistan has witnessed a sharp increase in the prosecution of “online blasphemy” cases, with private vigilante groups bringing charges against hundreds of young individuals for allegedly committing blasphemy.
“All five accused were sentenced to death for spreading blasphemous content against the holy Prophet,” a lawyer from the Legal Commission on Blasphemy Pakistan, a private group which brought the case to court, told AFP.
“Separately all were sentenced to life imprisonment for Qur'an’s desecration and 10 years imprisonment for hurting religious sentiments,” lawyer Rao Abdur Raheem said.
The five men — one Afghan and four Pakistanis — were sentenced on Tuesday in Rawalpindi, the garrison city that neighbors the capital Islamabad.
The sentences will run concurrently, Raheem said.
Blasphemy is an incendiary charge in the Muslim-majority country, where even unsubstantiated accusations can incite public outrage and lead to lynchings.
The convicts have a right to appeal in the upper courts.
