Balochistan

En route to Pindi: Train disaster averted

QUETTA:  The Jaffar Express escaped a major blast at Kolpur railway station on Saturday.

According to Balochistan Levies, the train was en route to Rawalpindi from Quetta, when the railway maintenance staff informed the train driver about a suspected object on the tracks at Kolpur railway station.
“The train driver stopped the train and informed the local administration about it,” said Levies official Abdul Karim.
The Levies forces and local administration, along with the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) rushed to the spot and defused the bomb.
“At least 15 kg of explosive material, and a rocket planted in the track were recovered,” said a BDS official.
The train was carrying around 700 people, who were going to their native towns for Eid celebrations. In case of an explosion, there would have been a staggering loss of lives. The train was halted for two hours to assure security, after which it was allowed to proceed.
A case has been registered against unidentified persons and investigation opened.

 

Four killed, five kidnapped in Balochistan

QUETTA:  At least four people were killed, including an Afghan policeman, in different parts of Balochistan during the last three days. On the other hand, at least five people were also kidnapped on Wednesday.

In the first incident, an Afghan policeman was killed in the Pak-Afghan border town of Chaman. Police officials said the Afghan policeman had come to Chaman to meet his relatives for Eid when gunmen shot him dead. Name of the victim could not be ascertained.
Separately, militants fired a salvo of rockets at a check post of the Frontier Corps in the Kolpur area, some 60 km southeast of Quetta on the first day of Eid. No casualties were reported in the attack.
Meanwhile, a man was killed and another wounded when a landmine exploded in Sui, Dera Bugti. Sources said two people in the Ashnad area were walking when one of them stepped on the landmine which exploded killing one of them on the spot and seriously wounding the other.
In another incident, armed men opened indiscriminate fire on Muhammad Javed near the Mir Gahi Khan Chowk on Sariab Road and fled from the scene. Javed died before reaching the hospital.
Police also recovered a dead body from Mian Ghundi on the outskirts of Quetta. Police also found a piece of paper on the body which identified him as Shaukat Ali, a resident of Rawalpindi.
In a firing incident, assailants sprayed bullets on Niamatullah in Khuzdar town when he was going home after offering Eid prayers. Niamatullah died in the hospital.
Abductions
At least five people were kidnapped in different areas of Balochistan including Bolan and Pishin districts on Wednesday.
According to sources, at least three people were kidnapped in the Kachi area while heading for a picnic near the Bolan River. The kidnapped men were identified as Muhammad Khan, Lal Moham and Abdul Qadir — who belonged to the Rasinai tribe. The Kachi area is infamous for Baloch militants attacking security forces and national installations. However, the motive behind the abduction could not be ascertained till late in the night since law enforcement agencies had failed to find any leads regarding the incident.
Meanwhile, two well-known traders were kidnapped in Pishin. Sources said the abducted traders – Abdul Zarif and Muhammad Zahir – were on their way from Quetta to Pishin when gunmen intercepted their vehicle and kidnapped them.

 

 

Blackouts estranging Balochistan people

All provinces barring Sindh came down hard on the government at a meeting held by the Committee on Equitable Distribution of Electricity formed by the Council of Common Interests (CCI) – with Balochistan maintaining the power crisis was marginalising the estranged province further.
Chief Secretary of Balochistan Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad expressed serious concerns during the meeting held last week, saying several areas of the province had no electricity supply due to the absence of any transmission and distribution network.
“(Even) the areas which do have a functioning distribution network are not provided with uninterrupted power supply,” sources quoted the chief secretary as saying.
Muhammad warned the people of Balochistan were already agitated and the government’s failure to address the issue would aggravate the situation further.
When other provinces also expressed dissatisfaction and cited power protests as a reflection of the government’s inability to deal with the crisis, Muhammad shot back saying protests should not be an indication of an area’s electricity woes.
Punjab’s Chief Secretary Nasir Mehmood Khosa said his province was facing the worst of the country’s power outages which was wreaking havoc on its industry. He said the recovery rate of power bills was highest in Punjab and thus it deserved more power. “Load shedding should be linked with the recovery of power bills.”
The Cabinet Committee on Energy has also proposed linking load shedding to the recovery of power dues in several meetings last year.
A senior official of the Water and Power Ministry said “the government had failed to implement the plan due to reservations expressed by other provinces where the recovery rates are low and line losses higher.”
Khosa demanded the supply of 700 megawatts of power by the Central Power Purchase Agency (CPPA) to Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) be stopped and diverted towards Punjab instead.
He maintained the power supply to KESC was the main reason behind prolonged power outages in Punjab.
Minister for Water and Power Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar had said after assuming charge that the supply to KESC would be stopped and the energy redirected for consumption in Punjab instead. Mukhtar said KESC, in return, would be provided with oil and gas to generate electricity from its own power units.
“The plan of stopping the supply to KESC may be tabled before the Council of Common Interests for approval,” said another government official requesting anonymity.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Chief Secretary Ghulam Dastgir Khan said the impression that K-P was not suffering from power outages was incorrect, and presented pictures of violent protests as evidence. He said since his province was generating electricity it should be exempted from load shedding.
The Committee on Equitable Distribution of Electricity will submit its recommendations to the CCI on August 31.

 

Blast targeting FC convoy kills two in Quetta

QUETTA:  At least two people were killed and 16 others, including five women and four children, were wounded  when insurgents targeted a security forces convoy with a remote controlled bomb near Quetta’s Saryab Road on the second day of Eid.

According to Hamid Ahmed, an officer posted at Saryab police station, the blast occurred when a convoy of paramilitary Frontier Corps drove past. The bomb was planted in an Alto car which was parked on the roadside.
As a result, two people were killed and 16 others sustained injuries. Two auto-rickshaws, a taxi and a motorcycle were destroyed and windowpanes of nearby houses were smashed.
Baloch insurgents have been fighting an insurgency in Balochistan since 2004. The insurgency became deadlier after the 2006 killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti in a military operation.

 

 

UNHCR warehouse reduced to ashes

QUETTA:  A massive fire gutted a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warehouse in the Killi Gul Muhammad area on Airport Road in Quetta on Wednesday, burning all the stored goods to ashes.

According to sources, the fire suddenly erupted and gutted the UNHCR warehouse. The cause of the fire was not immediately known. However, firefighters rushed to the spot to extinguish the flames.
“We do not know the scale of the loss inflicted by the fire. Only after we carry out an investigation can the extent of the losses and damage be ascertained,” UNHCR spokesperson Javaria Tareen told. Tareen was grateful that no casualties were reported in the fire and also praised the rescue team for its immediate response and efforts to extinguish the blaze. “All the computers, medicines, tents, shelters, and blankets were destroyed in the fire,” she said.
Firefighters were still trying to extinguish the flames raging in parts of the warehouse till the filing of this report.

 

Taliban jihad literature: What’s read in Afghanistan is printed in Pakistan

PESHAWAR:  Outside Peshawar’s mosques, after Friday prayers, magazines with articles and pictures of attacks by the Afghan Taliban and violence carried out by Nato forces are distributed, most of the time for free. The magazines are usually accompanied by guidance on Shariah law. 

These magazines are available in a number of languages including Urdu, English, Farsi and Dari, reaching out to a wide-ranging audience. One such magazine in Urdu, called Nawaa-e-Afghan Jihad, published last month, has pictures of an attack in June on a hotel in Kabul.
Part of the caption below it reads:
“The Islamic Emirate’s “Fidayeen” attacked a hotel on 22nd June, 2012 in the Green Zone of Kabul killing 25 crusaders and 9 Afghan officials. Along with this, dozens of security personnel were also doomed to hell.”
Although in Pakistan such literature has gone under the radar due to a crackdown by law enforcement agencies, in Afghanistan, this material continues to flourish in provinces along the border including Kunar and Khost, according to locals from these areas.
Near the historic Qissa Khwaani Bazaar in Peshawar is a printing press market aptly called “Mohalla Jangi,” which means the “Neighbourhood of War”.  A narrow lane leads inside to around 2,000 printing presses, busy churning out paper printed with whatever has been ordered by the customer.
Ostensibly, the shops here print school books, government publications and promotion material for the development sector, the majority of which is distributed in Afghanistan. But behind closed doors, the industry here also caters to Afghan jihad literature.
Umer, who has run a business here for the last 15 years, says Taliban literature gets printed regularly from his market. “For those who take such orders, it’s just business. Times are bad and some printers need the money,” Umer adds.
Most of his clients are also from Afghanistan, but Umer claims he only takes orders from the development sector. “Those two buildings over there, they have printing presses in them,” says Umer, pointing to a building nearby that looks like a residential complex. “They have tried to hide what they are printing by not having the machines out in the open. But here at the market we all know some of the jihadi magazines originate from here,” he claims.
Just last month, one of the printers from this market was picked up by law enforcers on suspicion of printing Pro-Taliban material. Although he has returned, he refuses to meet with the press and has not come to the market since he was freed.
Another printer, Murad, says around four to five of the businessmen here take orders from the Afghan Taliban. “Peshawar is the first choice for anyone coming from Afghanistan. But now with police harassment of Afghans increasing in Peshawar, most head to Lahore, where the local police cannot distinguish between them and Pashtuns from Pakistan,” Murad adds.
Murad and Umer both know who are behind such literature, and even though they don’t like it, they don’t complain. “The Pashtun community is based on the system of revenge and if I complain against someone, their family may come after me or my family,” Umer confides.
Meanwhile, the union representative of the area, Niaz Ahmad, justifies the printing of such material. “Who are the Taliban? They are the defenders of Islam and they follow the true Islamic Shariah. What’s wrong with what they do?” Ahmad asks.
According to Muhammad Shafiq, a media consultant based in Peshawar who frequently visits Afghanistan, “People here in Pakistan and in Afghanistan already have a lot of anti-American sentiment. Such literature reinforces those beliefs and helps Taliban get recruits and funding.”

 

PM directs Balochistan transfer policy overhaul

Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Sunday approved a new transfer policy for the posting of officers of various government departments in Balochistan.
In compliance with the directions Premier Ashraf had issued during his recent visit to the province to devise a policy relating to the deployment of government officials in Balochistan, he gave a final nod to the establishment division after revising the official transfer policy of Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS), District Management Group (DMG) and Police Service of Pakistan (PSP) officers.
According to and official statement released by the PM House, the new policy includes revised criteria which have been approved for the posting of all currently serving and future PAS, DMG and PSP officers to Balochistan.
According to the policy, those officers who are Balochistan domiciled and are serving outside Balochistan and have completed three years will be allowed to be posted back to their province of domicile. Those officers serving within, and who have never been posted outside their province of domicile, will be allowed to be posted outside.
The official statement reads: The officers who have remained posted in a province other than their domicile or in the federal government may be posted in Balochistan and those officers who have served outside their province of domicile and have never served in Balochistan may also be posted in Baluchistan.
In respect to the serving time of officers, the policy says that those officers, who have served in Balochistan but were transferred before completing three years, may be sent back to the province.
The prime minister has expressed the hope that the new transfer policy will strengthen the hands of the provincial government in selecting competent and able officers for appointment in the province and that it will further improve governance in the province.
While signing the revised policy into law, the premier said that the restoration of law and order and peace in Balochistan is one of the top priorities of his government.
“Uplift of Balochistan is my top priority and I will keep rendering my best efforts for this cause and the federal government will fully assist the provincial government in this regard,” said Premier Ashraf.
He also lauded the role of allies working for the stability of the province and assured stakeholders in the Balochistan issue that measures regarding the restoration of law and order are being taken to eliminate the sense of deprivation felt amongst the Baloch people.
Baloch nationalist Hasil Bizenjo, although appreciative of the prime minister’s efforts, expressed that the procedure should remain transparent and there should be a monitoring system in place to maintain checks and balances during recruitment and re-shuffling of bureaucracy.
“The measure is commendable but it should not face the fate of Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan which has apparently been implemented 100 % as claimed by the government, but merely 2 % on the ground,” Bizenjo added.

 

Jaffarabad district: UNHCR builds shelters for flood-stricken

QUETTA:  The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Balochistan has completed a shelter project in district Jaffarabad that provides relief to 8,550 families that were affected by the floods in 2010.

Speaking at a briefing, the UNHCR Balochistan head Charles Lynch said that as part of the relief program, the UNHCR started an Emergency Shelter and Non Food Items project for some 44,000 households and built transitional shelters for 15,500 households.

 

Free electricity?: Balochistan tops power theft list followed by Sindh

ISLAMABAD:
The report maintains that power pilferage caused an Rs100 billion loss to the national exchequer in 2011-12, with Balochistan accounting for a mammoth 63.8% of the losses. Furthermore, it states that Punjab – which has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction for bearing the brunt of load shedding – has the best recovery ratio.
Sindh follows Balochistan in power theft with its recovery ratio as low as 30 to 50% during the last fiscal year. The Sukkur Electric Supply Company is a major casualty in the province with its recovery ratio at 50.9% against the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company’s 69.1%.
Sindh is also the biggest defaulter of payments. The province owes over Rs50 billion in power bills.
Khyber-Pakthunkhwa (K-P) follows suit in power theft with a recovery ratio of 17.5%. The ratio, however, has been improved by a relatively more efficient Peshawar Electric Supply Company during the last fiscal year.
Punjab’s performance with regard to recovery of payments from consumers is stunning. Its power distribution companies maintained a recovery ratio of 95.8 to 98.5% in 2011-2012.
The province’s two major distribution companies — Gujranwala Electric Supply Company and Faisalabad Electric Supply Company —  reported a recovery rate of 98.5% while the Multan Electric Supply Company, Lahore Electric Supply Company and Islamabad Electric Supply Company registered recovery rates of 97.2%, 96.1% and 95.8%, respectively.
Power theft poses a serious threat to the country’s power distribution system. The ongoing energy crisis is also a major bone of contention between the ruling party and other political parties and has been deliberated upon in different forums such as the Council of Common Interests and Public Accounts Committee meetings.

 

12 hurt in Quetta bomb blast : Police

QUETTA: At least 12 people were wounded when a bomb hidden under a cot exploded near a restaurant where people had gathered to celebrate Independence Day in Quetta late Monday, police said.
The explosive device, fitted with a timer, was placed outside the restaurant in Quetta, local police chief Mir Zubair Mehmood said.
It was timed to explode late in the night when people had gathered on the eve of Independence Day being observed on Tuesday, he said.
“At least 12 people were injured, one of them is in serious condition,” Mehmood told AFP.
He blamed militants, saying “they wanted to create panic to disturb the national day celebrations”.
There was no claim of responsibility for the latest incident but the province which borders Iran and Afghanistan suffers from Taliban attacks.
It is also a flashpoint for sectarian violence involving Sunni and Shia Muslims that has left thousands of people dead since the late 1980s.
Bomb blasts and attacks on police and security forces are frequent in insurgency-plagued Balochistan.

 

Overcoming crisis: World Bank approves aid for Balochistan 

 

The World Bank has announced the approval of a $5 million grant from Khyber-Pakhthunkhwa, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Balochistan Multi- Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) for the Balochistan Disaster Management Project (BDMP), which will strengthen the capacity of Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Balochistan to prepare for, and respond to, natural disasters. The government of Pakistan had requested MDTF to help Balochistan recover from the drought, cyclones and floods of previous years.  As the administrator of the MDTF, the World Bank will aid the government of Balochistan in post-disaster recovery, reconstruction and expertise in disaster risk management.

 

Archery: Academies to be built in Balochistan

 

PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Archery Federation (PAF) announced that they will establish three archery academies in Balochistan in order to develop the game. PAF President Malik Shahid Majeed was critical of the provincial government, blaming it for not promoting the sport despite good performances by players in national tournaments. Majeed said that there was a lot of talent in Balochistan that can be utilised by establishing the academies. “This will give an opportunity to archery players from the province to show their talent at national and international events,” said the PAF president.

 

Balochistan moot: Speakers call for efforts to restore peace

QUETTA:  Speakers at a Peace Conference organised by NGO ‘Bardasht’ on Thursday emphasised the need for civil and military leadership, civil society and politicians to jointly launch efforts for peace and harmony in Balochistan.

Speaker of Balochistan Assembly Muhammad Aslam Bhootani said in his keynote speech: “Balochistan has experienced multi-dimensional problems over the last few years which have left the people extremely traumatised and civil society devastated.”
He said that earthquake, terrorism, health issues and multiple other issues, one after the other, had affected the social behaviour of people.
Former deputy chairman of Senate Mir Jan Mohammad Jamali said that settlers and teachers were fleeing from Balochistan due to target killings. “Peace was destroyed in Balochistan after stakeholders expressed zero tolerance for harmony and brotherhood,” he said.

 

Election alliances: Nawaz looks to woo Baloch nationalists

As the present government’s term draws to an end, the opposition has begun the tedious process of knitting together an electoral alliance ahead of the general elections.
A leading figure in the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has the PML-N chief. Nawaz Sharif will soon visit Balochistan in a continuation of his all-out efforts to stitch together a grand opposition alliance against the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
Sources reveal that following the positive response in interior Sindh, the party is now seeking to build cross-cutting alliances with Baloch and Pashtun nationalist parties in Balochistan. The latest foray into Balochistan comes as PML-N attempts to bring the majority of political factions in Balochistan on one electoral platform.
PML-N information secretary Senator Mushahidullah Khan has confirmed that Nawaz Sharif will be visiting Balochistan soon after Ramazan.
Party members have revealed that the PML-N president is willing to engage everyone in the province. “Mian Sahib has asked provincial party members to talk to everyone including Baloch nationalists, Pakhtun parties and religious outfits,” said an insider who will be travelling to Saudi Arabia with the Sharif family.
However, Nawaz is most likely to meet the Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) of slain Baloch leader Akbar Bugti, Awami and Mengal factions of the Balochistan National Party (BNP).

 

Doctors’ protest: Shutter-down strike in Quetta 

 

QUETTA: A complete shutter-down strike against the kidnapping of Dr Ghulam Rasool entered its fourth day on Sunday. The strike was called by Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) and supported by Pakhtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), trade unions and the locals. All business centres and commercial establishments remained closed while traffic remained thin. It is reported that the doctors attend only to the emergency cases in government hospitals. More than half a million patients have gravely suffered as a result of the doctors’ strike.

 

Police recover explosives, suicide jacket in Quetta raid

QUETTA: Police, on Thursday, arrested three suspects and recovered a huge amount of explosives and a suicide bomber jacket in a raid in the Mashriki Bypass area of the city.
The raid was conducted on a house in Satellite Town and the explosives and jacket were recovered from a car standing inside the lot of the house.
Earlier, Multan police had arrested five alleged terrorists belonging to the Tehreek-e-Taliban-Pakistan (TTP) Noor Gul group, foiling their attempts of carrying out terrorist activities.
While briefing the Senate on the issue, Interior Minister Rehman Malik had said that the banned outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) were responsible for the deteriorating law and order situation in Balochistan.

 

Balochistan’s coal miners: Trapped between a rock and a hard place

QUETTA:  Balochistan’s volatile security situation is producing an inevitable trickling effect.

As pick, kill and dump incidents continue to rise across the beleaguered province – with alleged involvement of law-enforcement agencies – the coalmining industry seems to be a victim too, with many shutting down operations across the region.
Thousand of coal mine workers have left the industry and dozens of companies have closed their operations citing lack of security and safety at mining fields – in a province where at least 268 million tons of coal reserves sit idle, according to the Mines and Mineral Development Department.
However, the poverty-stricken province remains rich in mineral deposits. Harani, Sharaq and Zardalo are estimated to have 76 million tons of coal reserves, Duki has 51 million tons, Sorange, Sinjidi and Degari have 50 million tons, Chamalang has 50 million tons, Mach Ab-e-Gum has 23 million tons, Pir Ismil Ziarat has 12 million tons and Musa Khel has six million tons of coal reserves.
It is estimated that around 80,000 to 90,000 people are currently employed in the mining industry and more than 50,000 people are working at the Chamalang mines alone — one of the largest coal mines in the region.
Coal mine department’s official Ali Ahmed after the killing of seven mine workers in Sorange area in July, most of the coal mine workers went on a strike. “Some of the workers came back and started working but the majority of them have not resumed work because of the deteriorating law and order situation in Balochistan,” he said. “Some banned militant organisations had already threatened workers with attacks if they worked in the mines. That’s why they are avoiding coming to work.”
The official said that seven more coal mine workers are still missing from the Pir Ismail area of Ziarat. “More than a 100 coal mining companies have shut down operations due to non-availability of workers,” he said. In Quetta and its surrounding areas, at least 90 coal mines are present but only 20 of them are operational, he revealed.
Ghulam Rasool, a mine worker, the money they make barely makes ends meet. “After 12 hours of duty I only get Rs200 to 300 and no other facilities or bonuses are provided. The government is not taking any steps to improve this industry,” he said.
Balochistan Coalmines Chief Inspector Ghulam Farooq has said that the equipment used in Balochistan’s coal mining industry is not the standard equipment the developed countries use and it is almost never maintained properly. “We can’t pressurise companies to use better and modern equipment to improve production,” he said.
Balochistan Central Mines Federal Labour Federation President Bahkt Nawab said that the trend of coalmines shutting down operations in Balochistan demonstrates the adverse impact of poor security on the country’s economy in general.
“Mine workers who are the backbone of the country are feeling unsafe and facing financial difficulties,” he said, adding that the government and owners of private coal mine companies are not providing any basic facilities or services to the workers in the field. “Hundreds of workers are losing their livelihoods because of a lack of basic facilities.”
Between 2005 and 2012, at least 310 coal mine workers were killed and dozens others injured in major incidents. At least 46 were killed in 21 incidents in 2010 alone. In 2011, some 92 workers were killed in 33 separate incidents and in the current year till June, 26 died in 24 separate incidents.
Nawab also revealed that workers who had died in the field were paid compensation after an exceptionally long period of three years. “The mine department has failed to implement safety laws for the coal mines,” he said.

 

Tribal insurgency: 3 killed in attack on Balochistan Constabulary

QUETTA:  At least three Balochistan Constabulary personnel were killed and 12 others wounded in remote-controlled bomb blast in Saami area of Shapuk, in Kech district on Tuesday.

A Balochistan Constabulary convoy, comprising two trucks, was on its way from Quetta to Turbat when it was targeted with a remote-controlled bomb, Abdul Razzaq Sasoli, the assistant commissioner of Kech.
“At least three personnel were killed on the spot and 12 others were wounded – some of them critically,” Abdul Razzaq said, adding that the bomb planted on a roadside.
A police official, Inham Lal put the number of fatalities at four. “The two trucks were destroyed in the blast,”.
Contingents of police and paramilitary Frontier Corps rushed to the spot soon after the incident and carried out the rescue and relief operation.
They threw a security cordon around the area and police and Levies personnel mounted a massive manhunt for the culprits.
The casualties were driven to the Divisional Headquarters Hospital in Turbat.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. However, a myriad of Baloch insurgent groups have been waging a deadly insurgency in the province since 2004.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik recently told lawmakers in the upper house of parliament that the banned insurgent group, Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for most attacks on security forces in the province.
He claimed that some foreign powers were supporting the Baloch insurgents who are also maintaining camps in neighbouring Afghanistan. The Baloch insurgents deny the charge.
Police station attacked
Gunmen attacked a police station in Mashkey in central Balochistan with sophisticated weapons.
“Policemen successfully defended the police station and chased out the attackers,” Noor Ahmed, the district police officer (DPO).“No one was injured in the attack.”

 

Four personnel of Balochistan Constabulary killed in blast

TURBAT: At least four members of the Balochistan Constabulary were killed and up to eight others sustained injuries when a remote controlled explosive targeted their convoy in Saami area of Shapuk in Kech District, Turbat on Tuesday evening.
According to the report, two trucks of Balochistan Constabulary carrying personnel was on its way from Quetta to Turbat when they were hit by remote controlled blast.
A large number of law enforcement agencies personnel, including Frontier Corps, Police and local administration rushed to the spot soon after the incident and started rescue and relief operation.
The injured were shifted to the Divisional Headquarters Hospital in Turbat for treatment.
The whole area remained under complete cordon and law enforcing agencies, mainly police and Levies, launched a manhunt for the culprits responsible for planting the roadside explosive device.
No group has so far claimed the responsibility of the attack on the BC.

 

Balochistan Unrest: BNP-Mengal rejects Malik’s claims

KARACHI:  Adviser on Interior affairs Rehman Malik said on Monday that more than 33 camps established in Afghanistan were working against Pakistan and carrying out terrorist activities in the country.

Speaking to media at Karachi Airport, he said that he would disclose the hidden hands behinds these camps.
To another question, Rehman Malik insisted that there was no operation going on in Balochistan and the government did not intend to launch one there in future.
He said that government has started consultations with different stakeholders in Balochistan to resolve the issues being faced by the province.
Malik further said that Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) was also involved in terrorist activities in the province.

 

Seminar on Balochistan: ‘Absence of political will behind crisis’ 

An absence of political will is behind the bleak situation in Balochistan, was the consensus of participants at a discussion forum organised on Tuesday by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) on ‘Balochistan: Beyond Government Claims’.
A number of ex-military men, former ambassadors, academics and journalists were part of the forum, chaired by analyst Lt Gen (retd) Talat Masood. Participants called for free and fair elections in the volatile province as the only hope, according to a press release.
Masood, in his opening remarks, outlined how from the enforced accession of Kalat state to Pakistan to the current insurgency in Balochistan, the government never took serious step to tackle the Baloch problem. He added that the government blamed foreign actors for fuelling the insurgency, but it was obvious that foreign powers would play a hand only if provided with the opportunity.
Senator Mir Hasil Bizenjo of Balochistan’s National Party said that everyone was aware of the gravity of the situation in Balochistan but a lack of will and sincerity – both in civilian and military leadership – remains the biggest obstruction. Taking a swipe at Interior Minister Rehman Malik’s recent claims in Senate about the root-causes of the Baloch insurgency, Bizenjo said official thinking was frozen in the 1970s, when Moscow-inspired socialists were leading a nationalist movement in Balochistan.

 

3 killed, 10 injured in Quetta blast

 

QUETTA: A woman and two children were killed while 10 others were injured in a blast in Faizabad, Quetta on Sunday.
According to initial reports, the blast took place in a house when around 80kg of explosive material, planted in a car, exploded. The explosion destroyed the house completely and damaged others.
Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) reached the crime scene.
Injured were shifted to the civil hospital, however they could not be provided with immediate medical aid as the doctors and paramedical staff were on strike.
Earlier in June, two people were killed while 12 others sustained injuries in a blast in the Ghosabad area of Quetta.Arif Mehmood reported that the blast took place inside a mosque at a time when people were gathering for evening prayers.

 

Bugti murder case: PHC grants 24-day transit bail to Sherpao

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Monday granted a 24-day transit bail to former interior minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao in the murder case of Baloch chieftain Nawab Akbar Bugti.
The Pakistan Peoples Party – Sherpao (PPP-S) chairman had requested for the transit bail after Sibi Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Nawaz Khan Barakzai had issued arrest warrants against him and those accused for allegedly killing Bugti, during a hearing of the case on July 18.
Justice Shahjahan Akhunzada approved Sherpao’s request by giving him a 24-day transit bail which would enable him to travel to Sibi and appear before the court for the hearing scheduled on August 15.
The arrest warrants for suspects include former president Pervez Musharraf, former premier Shaukat Aziz, former governor of Balochistan Awais Ahmed Ghani, former chief secretary Shoaib Nausherwani and former DCO Dera Bugti Abdul Samad Lasi.

 

Kidnapped for ransom: Abducted doctor rescued by FC 

QUETTA: An abducted doctor was recovered after six kidnappers were killed in an exchange of fire with the Frontier Corps (FC) late Saturday night.
According to a handout issued by the FC headquarters here on Sunday, The FC teams launched a search operation in Kabo and Spalanji area of Mastung district and Pir Ghaib area of Kachi Bolan district and raided the camps of the kidnappers.
The doctor was kidnapped from Mastung district on July 3

 

Doctors on strike: PDA threatens province-wide demonstrations 

 

PESHAWAR:  The interim cabinet of Provincial Doctors Association (PDA) has warned the provincial health department that if does not regularise all ad-hoc doctors of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), they will hold province-wide demonstrations in Ramazan.

“No doctor wants to hold strikes since the patients suffer, but if the government is not interested in accepting our demands peacefully, we are left with no other choice,” PDA senior vice president Dr Munir Mehsud said while addressing the media.
He added that many doctors were regularised under the previous government of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA). However the present government,  by not regularising was putting the future of around 450 doctors at risk.
Ad-hoc Doctors Action Committee general secretary Dr Ashfaq Khattak said that hundreds of doctors have passed their PCS examinations but were still waiting to be inducted in hospitals.
“Insecurity of jobs, non regularisation of doctors’ services and lack of health policy in K-P have compelled thousands of doctors to go abroad to pursue their careers which is a great loss for the country” Dr Khattak said.
He added that policies of the provincial government have not only affected the doctors’ community negatively but afflicted patients as well due to the regular strikes.
“A doctor appointed in BPS-17 retires in the same grade without any promotion which is unjust,” he said.
The doctors have also demanded a new service structure and the withdrawal of the Essential Services Act.

 

Boycott: Doctors protest abduction of another colleague

QUETTA: The return of a kidnapped doctor had hardly normalised the situation in city’s hospitals before another doctor was kidnapped.
Doctors across Quetta protested against the latest abduction of a psychologist from Bolan Medical College Teaching Hospital, Dr Ghulam Rasool Kakar, boycotting the out-patient departments (OPDs) in both state-run and private hospitals on Thursday.
Kakar was abducted from the Brewery Road area.
Doctors from the Balochistan chapter of the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) organised a protest rally from Civil Hospital, which passed different areas of Quetta and stopped to stage a demonstration outside the Quetta Press Club, denouncing the surge of kidnapping incidents in the city.
Addressing the demonstration, PMA President Dr Sultan Tareen said that OPDs and emergency wards will remain closed all over Balochistan till Dr Rasool is recovered.
Meanwhile, district headquarter hospitals of Kalat and Naushki also observed a complete boycott of the OPDs, showing solidarity with the kidnapped doctor.
Students of Bolan Medical College (BMC) also staged a demonstration outside the Quetta Press Club on Thursday.

 

DD Schools injured in Quetta attack

QUETTA: The deputy director of schools in Balochistan was severely injured in an attack on his car in Quetta on Tuesday. One of the assailants was killed after he was run over by the car.
According to the police, Abrar Ahmed was on his way to the office when he came under attack near the Directorate of Teaching. One of the attackers was killed after the car ran him over, while the other one managed to escape.
Ahmed was taken to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) and the body of the attacker was moved to the Civil hospital.

 

Strike continues: Doctors protest colleague’s kidnapping

QUETTA:  Doctors staged a protest demonstration outside the local press club on Saturday against the kidnapping of Dr Ghulam Rasool Kakar which occurred on Wednesday.

The protest was organized by The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA). Participants, led by PMA President Dr Sutan Tareen, marched from the Civil Hospital to the Quetta press club passing through the city’s roads and thoroughfares. Addressing the protesters, Tareen criticized the government for its failure to rescue Dr Kakar.
Meanwhile, doctors continued to boycott the out-patient departments (OPDs) in state-run hospitals all over Balochistan for the third day in a row on Saturday.
OPDs of major hospitals of the city, including Helper’s Eye Hospital, Bolan Medical College Teaching Hospital, Fatima Jinnah TB Sanatorium and Government Sandeman Hospital, remained closed for the third consecutive day.
More than half a million patients reporting to major hospitals of Quetta were seen to suffer as OPDs remained suspended and all operations stood cancelled.

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