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Pakistani northwestern province forms committee to ensure peace in district marred by sectarian clashes

Pakistani northwestern province forms committee to ensure peace in district marred by sectarian clashes
In this file photo, taken on November 30, 2024, Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur speaks at the provincial assembly in Peshawar. (Photo courtesy: Facebook/pakpgov)
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Updated 09 December 2024
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Pakistani northwestern province forms committee to ensure peace in district marred by sectarian clashes

Pakistani northwestern province forms committee to ensure peace in district marred by sectarian clashes
  • KP’s Kurram district is in grips of sectarian feuding with at least 133 people killed and 177 injured since Nov. 21
  • Committee also formed in backdrop of rise in militancy in KP in recent months, with daily attacks by TTP group
Updated 09 December 2024
WASIM SAJJAD
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PESHAWAR: The government in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Monday formed a ‘supervisory committee’ to implement measures aimed at restoring peace in the region’s Kurram district, which has been marred by deadly sectarian clashes since last month.
Sectarian feuding in Kurram has claimed at least 133 lives, with over 177 injured in sporadic clashes since Nov. 21. A grand jirga was formed last week to broker a truce after two previous deals to stymie the fighting failed. Last Friday, warring sides in Kurram agreed to an indefinite ceasefire.
Pakistan is a Sunni-majority country, but Kurram has a large Shiite population, and the communities have clashed for decades.
The provincial committee has also been formed in the backdrop of a rise in militancy in KP in recent months, with groups like the outlawed Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, daily targeting security forces’ convoys and check posts, and carrying out targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers and government officials.
“The following Provincial Supervisory Committee is hereby constituted by the KP CM,” a notification by the KP Home and Tribal Affairs Department said, adding that the body would implement the provincial cabinet’s measures to ensure “stability and peace of the [Kurram] region.”
The body, which will meet weekly, will be headed by Muhammad Ali Saif, an adviser to the KP chief minister, and will be assisted by members of the civil administration and law enforcement agencies, the notification added, without giving any details of the exact mandate of the committee. 
Last week, an All Parties Conference organized by opposition parties in KP had blamed the federal and provincial governments for “failing” to address security challenges as the region faces a rise in militant attacks and weeks of sectarian feuding. 
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan is the ruling party in KP but did not attend the gathering.

Topics: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) kurram district Kurram Agency parachinar Ali Amin Gandapur

Pakistan says has agreed to ceasefire with India with ‘immediate effect’

Pakistan says has agreed to ceasefire with India with ‘immediate effect’
Updated 17 sec ago
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Pakistan says has agreed to ceasefire with India with ‘immediate effect’

Pakistan says has agreed to ceasefire with India with ‘immediate effect’
  • US secretary of state says two countries had agreed to talks on “broad set of issues at a neutral site”
  • Announcement comes after Pakistan and India launched attacks on each other early morning Saturday 
Updated 17 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said on Saturday Islamabad and New Delhi had agreed to a ceasefire with “immediate effect, after President Donald Trump said the US had mediated late night talks between the nuclear-armed South Asian nations on the brink of an all-out war.

The announcement came after the Pakistan military said early on Saturday India had attacked three bases in Pakistan with missiles, after which it had targeted multiple bases in India in response, including a missile storage site in India’s north. India said there was limited damage to equipment and personnel at air force stations in the Udhampur, Pathankot, Adampur and Bhuj areas. The military said there were several high-speed missile attacks on several air bases in Indian Punjab, and that India had responded to the attacks.

Five civilians were killed in attacks in the Jammu region of Indian-administered Kashmir, regional police said.

“Pakistan and India have agreed to a ceasefire with immediate effect. Pakistan has always strived for peace and security in the region, without compromising on its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Dar wrote on X.

Separately, Trump said:

“After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a FULL AND IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE. Congratulations to both Countries on using Common Sense and Great Intelligence.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the two countries had also agreed to talks on a “broad set of issues at a neutral site.”

Earlier on Saturday, Pakistani and Indian officials had both separately said they would consider de-escalation if the other nation reciprocated. 

Through this week, allies and friends like Saudi Arabia, China, Iran and Qatar have offered mediation and urged restraint. The Group of Seven (G7) major countries called on India and Pakistan to engage in direct dialogue while the US government said it had offered assistance in starting “constructive talks.”

Saturday’s military confrontation, the worst fighting between the longstanding enemies in decades, followed days of daily clashing since Wednesday through drones and missiles and gunfighting on the Line of control, the de facto border that divides the disputed Kashmir region between them. At least 50 have been killed on both sides.

The latest tensions were triggered by a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people on April 22. New Delhi said Islamabad was involved, which denied the allegation and repeatedly said it was willing to participate in a transparent and credible inquiry.

Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations, having fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, a region split between them, since gaining independence from the former British colonial rule in 1947.

Both nations acquired nuclear weapons in 1998.

Topics: Pakistan Pakistan India Ties India Ceasefire Donald Trump

Gunmen kill two barbers among three, set police vehicle ablaze in Pakistan’s southwest

Gunmen kill two barbers among three, set police vehicle ablaze in Pakistan’s southwest
Updated 10 May 2025
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Gunmen kill two barbers among three, set police vehicle ablaze in Pakistan’s southwest

Gunmen kill two barbers among three, set police vehicle ablaze in Pakistan’s southwest
  • Balochistan has been the site of a decades-old insurgency where separatist militants often target security forces, foreigners and ethnic Punjabi workers
  • The latest attack comes at a time when Pakistan is fighting another insurgency in its northwest and is engaged with arch-foe India at the eastern border
Updated 10 May 2025
Saadullah Akhtar

QUETTA: Gunmen killed three people, including two barbers from the eastern Punjab province, and set a police vehicle ablaze in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province in the southwest, police and paramilitary Levies officials said on Saturday.

Balochistan, Pakistan’s most impoverished province, has been the site of a decades-old insurgency, where separatist militants often target security forces, police, foreigners and ethnic Punjabi commuters and workers, who they see as “outsiders,” by wresting control of highways and remote towns.

In this first attack, gunmen shot dead three people and injured another one inside a barber shop in Lasbela, a district adjacent to Pakistan’s commercial capital of Karachi, according to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Atif Amir.

“Two of the deceased hailed from Bahawalpur (Punjab) and one from Quetta,” the official told Arab News. “Hunt for the attackers is underway.”

In another incident, dozens of armed men entered the Panjgur district late on Friday night and attempted to seize control of the Panjgur city and nearby areas.

“The armed men set a police vehicle and record of the Panjgur police station on fire,” Abdullah Baloch, an official at the Panjgur Levies control room, told Arab News.

“No casualty was reported despite an exchange of fire between security forces and armed men in Panjgur city and Goran, another area located 15 kilometers from Panjgur.”

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Baloch separatists have carried out similar assaults on law enforcers and ethnic Punjabis in the past.

The separatists accuse Islamabad of exploiting the province’s natural resources, such as gold and copper, and accuse foreigners and people from other province of backing the Pakistani state. Successive Pakistani governments have denied the allegations and said they only worked for the uplift of the region and its people.

The latest attacks come at a time, when Pakistan is fighting another insurgency by religiously motivated militant groups in its northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, while the country’s eastern border with India has also flared up in recent weeks over an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 tourists last month.

Islamabad has variously accused Afghanistan and India of supporting the Pakistani Taliban and Baloch separatist groups, an allegation denied by Kabul and New Delhi.

In March, the Baloch Liberation Army separatist group hijacked a train with hundreds of passengers aboard near Balochistan’s Bolan Pass, which resulted in the deaths of 23 soldiers, three railway employees and five passengers. At least 33 insurgents were also killed, according to officials.

Late last month, police killed nine suspected militants in an intelligence-based operation in Balochistan’s Pishin district.

Topics: Balochistan Quetta

Pakistan shuts its airspace for 24 hours after fresh exchange of strikes with India

Pakistan shuts its airspace for 24 hours after fresh exchange of strikes with India
Updated 10 May 2025
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Pakistan shuts its airspace for 24 hours after fresh exchange of strikes with India

Pakistan shuts its airspace for 24 hours after fresh exchange of strikes with India
  • India-Pakistan tensions, sparked by last month’s attack Kashmir that killed 26 people, spiraled into a military conflict this week
  • The ongoing conflict has forced intermittent closure of airspaces in both countries, plunging the regional air traffic into disarray
Updated 10 May 2025
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: Pakistan has once again closed its airspace to all domestic and international flights for 24 hours, the country’s airports authority said on Saturday, hours after Islamabad hit Indian military targets in retaliation to what it said were strikes on three of its air bases.
India-Pakistan tensions, sparked by last month’s attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people, spiraled into a military conflict this week, when India conducted missile strikes on what it called “militant training camps” in five Pakistani cities, which Islamabad said killed 31 civilians.
Both sides have since exchanged drone, missile and artillery strikes, with either one claiming to have acted in retaliation. The ongoing conflict forced intermittent closure of airspaces in both countries, where flight operations were already affected since the neighbors closed their airspaces for the other shortly after the Kashmir attack.
While Pakistan partially resumed flight operations this week, Islamabad decided to close its airspace for another 24 hours after Pakistan launched strikes on Indian military targets in response to what it said were attacks on three of its air bases, one close to the capital, in the wee hours of Saturday.
“Pakistan’s airspace will remain closed for all types of flights until 12PM tomorrow (May 11),” a Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) spokesperson said around Saturday noon.
The ongoing tensions between Pakistan and India have plunged flight operations across the region into a disarray, with several domestic and international flights delayed, canceled or returned. The state-run Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) this week suspended all flights after halting ground operations and initially diverting airborne planes to Karachi.
The latest closure bars both domestic and international air traffic from entering Pakistan’s airspace, a major corridor for flights between Europe and Asia.
Several Asian airlines, including EVA Air, Korean Air, Thai Airways and China Airlines, have rerouted or delayed flights for Europe, citing “safety concerns” due to the ongoing conflict. A Taipei-Milan flight was diverted to Vienna for refueling this week, while Korean Air opted for a longer route via Myanmar and Bangladesh.
India’s flight operations have also been impacted, with several airports closed.
The conflict has drawn international concern and world powers, including the United States, United Kingdom and China, have urged both countries to exercise restraint and avoid any escalation.

Topics: Pakistan India Ties

Pakistan minister denies nuclear body meeting after offensive launched on India

Pakistan minister denies nuclear body meeting after offensive launched on India
Updated 10 May 2025
Reuters
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Pakistan minister denies nuclear body meeting after offensive launched on India

Pakistan minister denies nuclear body meeting after offensive launched on India
  • Since Wednesday both sides have carried out strikes, counter strikes
  • US secretary of State Rubio calls both sides for de-escalation, direct talks
Updated 10 May 2025
Reuters

ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s defense minister said on Saturday that no meeting of the top military and civil body overseeing the country’s nuclear arsenal had been scheduled following a military operation against India earlier in the day.
Pakistan’s military said earlier that the prime minister had called on the authority to meet. The information minister did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
The worst fighting between the nuclear-armed rivals since 1999 has killed dozens of people on both sides and led to repeated calls for de-escalation from the United States and the G7 group of rich countries.
“This thing that you have spoken about (nuclear option) is present, but let’s not talk about it — we should treat it as a very distant possibility, we shouldn’t even discuss it in the immediate context,” Pakistan Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told ARY TV.
“Before we get to that point, I think temperatures will come down. No meeting has happened of the National Command Authority, nor is any such meeting scheduled.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Pakistan’s Army Chief General Asim Munir and India’s foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, urging both sides to de-escalate and “re-establish direct communication to avoid miscalculation.”
“India’s approach has always been measured and responsible and remains so,” Jaishankar said on X after the call with Rubio.
Pakistan’s foreign minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, told local television that if India stops here then “we will consider to stop here.”
Indian media reported that Indian and Pakistani officials had spoken on Saturday.
The Indian military said regarding Pakistan’s military attacks on Saturday that “all hostile actions have been effectively countered and responded appropriately.”
“The Pakistan military has been observed to be moving their troops into forward areas, indicating offensive intent to further escalate the situation,” Indian Wing Commander Vyomika Singh told a press conference.
“Indian armed forces remain in a high state of operational readiness. Indian armed forces reiterate their commitment to non-escalation, provided it is reciprocated by the Pakistan military.”
STRIKES, COUNTER STRIKES
Pakistan early on Saturday said it had targeted multiple bases in India including a missile storage site in India’s north, in response to prior attacks by the Indian military.
India said there was limited damage to equipment and personnel at air force stations at the Udhampur, Pathankot, Adampur and Bhuj areas. The military said there were several high-speed missile attacks on several air bases in Punjab, and that India had responded to the attacks.
Five civilians were killed in the attacks in the Jammu region of Indian-administered Kashmir, regional police said.
Pakistan said that, before its offensive, India had fired missiles at three air bases, including one close to the capital, Islamabad, but Pakistani air defenses intercepted most of them.
Analysts and diplomats have long feared that conflict between the arch-rivals could escalate into the use of nuclear weapons, in one of the world’s most dangerous and most populated nuclear flashpoint regions.
Locked in a longstanding dispute over Kashmir, the two countries have engaged in daily clashes since Wednesday when India launched strikes inside Pakistan on what it called “terrorist infrastructure.” Pakistan vowed to retaliate.
Pakistan’s information minister said in a post on X that Saturday’s military operation was named “Operation Bunyanun Marsoos.” The term is taken from the Qur'an and means a firm, united structure.
Sounds of explosions were reported in India’s Srinagar and Jammu, where sirens sounded, a Reuters witness said.
“India through its planes launched air-to-surface missiles ... Nur Khan base, Mureed base and Shorkot base were made targets,” Pakistan military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said in a late-night televised statement.
India has said its strikes on Wednesday, which started the latest clashes between the countries, were in retaliation for a deadly attack on Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir last month.
Pakistan denied India’s accusations that it was involved in the tourist attack. Since Wednesday, the two countries have exchanged cross-border fire and shelling, and sent drones and missiles into each other’s airspace.

Pakistan and India say will consider de-escalation if other reciprocates

Pakistan and India say will consider de-escalation if other reciprocates
Updated 10 May 2025
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Pakistan and India say will consider de-escalation if other reciprocates

Pakistan and India say will consider de-escalation if other reciprocates
  • India hit Pakistan with air strikes and missiles on Wednesday and since then they have been clashing daily, with dozens killed
  • Pakistan said Saturday India had attacked three bases in Pakistan, after which it had targeted multiple bases in India in response
Updated 10 May 2025
KASHIF IMRAN

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani and Indian officials on Saturday said they would consider de-escalation if the other nation reciprocated, amid the worst fighting between the nuclear-armed rivals in decades.

India hit Pakistan with air strikes and missiles on Wednesday and since then both countries have been clashing daily through drones and missiles and gunfighting on the Line of control, the de facto border that divides the disputed Kashmir region between them. At least 50 have been killed on both sides.

In the latest confrontation, Pakistan Military Spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said early on Saturday India had attacked three bases in Pakistan with missiles, after which it had targeted multiple bases in India in response, including a missile storage site in India’s north.

India said there was limited damage to equipment and personnel at air force stations in the Udhampur, Pathankot, Adampur and Bhuj areas. The military said there were several high-speed missile attacks on several air bases in Punjab, and that India had responded to the attacks.

Five civilians were killed in attacks in the Jammu region of Indian-administered Kashmir, regional police said.

This screengrab, taken from a handout video released by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on May 10, 2025, shows the launch site of missiles fired at India. (Photo courtesy: Handout/Screengrab)

Speaking to Pakistani news channel Geo News, Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, said Islamabad would consider de-escalation if New Delhi stopped further attacks.

“We responded because our patience had reached its limit. If they stop here, we will also consider stopping,” Dar said, adding that he had conveyed the same message to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who spoke with him after speaking to New Delhi hours ago.

Speaking at a press conference in New Delhi, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh said India was committed to “non-escalation.”

“Indian armed forces reiterate their commitment to non-escalation, provided it is reciprocated by the Pakistan military,” she said.

“Pak military has been observed to be moving their troops into forward areas, indicating offensive intent to further escalate the situation. Indian armed forces remain in a high state of operational readiness.”

Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri rejected Pakistan military’s claims that it had destroyed several air force stations in India and caused serious damage to military sites and critical infrastructure during the overnight strikes.

The Group of Seven (G7) major countries urged India and Pakistan to engage in direct dialogue while the US government said it had offered assistance in starting “constructive talks.”

After a call on Friday between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir, the US State Department said Rubio offered US assistance “in starting constructive talks in order to avoid future conflicts.”

Rubio has held regular calls with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar since the end of April.

Latest tensions between Pakistan and India were triggered by a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam resort town that killed 26 people on April 22. New Delhi has said Islamabad was involved, which denies the allegation and said it is willing to participate in a transparent and credible inquiry.

Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations, having fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, a region split between them, since gaining independence from the former British colonial rule in 1947.

Both nations acquired nuclear weapons in 1998.

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