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India-Pakistan
ANP leader among two killed in Bajaur firing
2025-07-11
[GEO.TV] Two people, including Awami National Party
founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986. Part of the PPP-led cabinet 2008-13. The ANP is considered left wing, advocating for secularism, democratic socialism, public sector government, and economic egalitarianism....
(ANP) leader Maulana Khan Zaib, were killed on Thursday in a shooting near the Khar Tehsil headquarters in Bajaur.

The ANP leader was rubbed out while campaigning for the July 13 peace movement, according to the Bajaur District Police Officer (DPO) Waqas Rafiq.

Furthermore, the senior police official added that the firing also injured three of Maulana's associates who were shifted to the hospital.

Maulana Zaib was the head of ANP's Ulema Council and a former National Assembly candidate.

Following the killing, ANP workers and citizens staged a protest, which ended moments later.

In a post on X, ANP President Senator Aimal Wali Khan expressed grief over the attack. In the post, he uploaded a picture with the slain politician, writing: "Devastated".
Related:
Bajaur: 2025-06-10 Pakistan locked 20 Indian jets but chose to down only six: Bilawal
Bajaur: 2025-05-04 At least five terrorists killed, two apprehended in KP IBOs
Bajaur: 2025-02-21 Suspect confesses to brutal rape, murder of 4-year-old girl in Bajaur
Related:
Aimal Wali Khan 01/13/2024 Two 'suicide bombers' planning to target Fazlur Rehman, Aimal Wali arrested

Aimal Wali Khan 04/20/2023 Aimal Wali demands action against those who ‘resettled’ militants in Pakistan

Link


India-Pakistan
Azm-e-Istehkam: Govt clears the air on misconceptions about anti-terror operation
2024-06-25
[GEO.TV] Two days after the federal government gave the go-ahead to Operation "Azm-e-Istehkam", the Prime Minister's Office late Monday clarified that "no large-scale military operation is being launched" in the country.

"The recently announced vision for enduring stability named Azm-e-Istehkam is being erroneously misunderstood and compared with earlier launched kinetic operations like Zarb-e-Azab, Rah-e-Najaat etc," read a statement issued by the PMO.

It said the previous kinetic operations were conducted to physically dislodge holy warriors from their known locations which had become no-go areas and compromised the writ of the state. "These operations required mass displacement of the local population and systematic clearance of affected areas."

The federal government has stated that there are no such no-go areas in the country since the ability of terrorist entities to carry out large-scale organised operations inside Pakistain was decisively degraded by earlier kinetic operations.

The statement comes as opposition parties including the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
(PTI), Jamaat-e-Ulema Islam Fazl (JUI-F), Awami National Party'>Awami National Party

(ANP) and others voiced concerns over the launch of the new military operation, demanding that parliament must be taken into confidence before taking any such decision.

"Therefore, no large-scale military operation is being contemplated where displacement of population will be required," the PMO said.

It said that Operation Azm-e-Istehkam is a multi-domain, multi-agency, whole-of-the-system national vision for enduring stability in Pakistain.

It is meant to reinvigorate and re-energise the ongoing implementation of the revised National Action Plan, which was initiated after the national consensus across the political spectrum.

The statement further added that the new operation is aimed at energising already in place intelligence-based kinetic operations so as to decisively root out the nebulous and shadowy presence of remnants of terrorists, their facilitation due to crime-terror nexus, and rooting out violent mostly peaceful extremism in the country to ensure an overall secure environment in the country for its economic development and prosperity.

"This will include political, diplomatic, legal and information prongs apart from already continuing operations by all Law Enforcement Agencies," the statement said adding that the clarification should address all the misunderstandings as well as settle unnecessary debate on the subject.

The operation is being launched at a time as the country's overall fatalities in terrorist attacks and counter-terror operations reached a six-year high with nearly 1,000 deaths, The News reported in January quoting the Centre for Research and Security Studies's (CRSS) Annual Security Report.
Link


India-Pakistan
All 11 Senate candidates from Balochistan elected unopposed
2024-03-29
Just like blue cities.
[GEO.TV] There will be no polling for the 11 Senate seats from Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
as all the candidates — seven on general seats and two each on seats reserved for women and technocrats — have been elected unopposed ahead of the election slated for April 2.

Nine senators were declared winners a day earlier while the result was awaited on the two remaining technocrat seats.

According to a Geo News report, Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam
...the political wing of the Pak Taliban...
Fazl's (JUI-F) Maulana Abdul Wasey and Pakistain Peoples Party’s (PPP) Bilal Khan Mandokhail have been elected on the reserved seats.

Moreover, the other nine candidates elected unopposed to the Senate from Balochistan include former caretaker prime minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar who has returned to the upper house as an independent candidate on a general seat.

Similarly, Pakistain Moslem League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Syed Nasir and Agha Shahzeb Durrani, PPP’s Sardar Umar Gorgej, National Party’s John Buledi, Awami National Party
founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986. Part of the PPP-led cabinet 2008-13. The ANP is considered left wing, advocating for secularism, democratic socialism, public sector government, and economic egalitarianism....
's Aimal Wali and JUI-F’s Ahmed Khan have also been elected on general seats.

Additionally, PML-N and PPP have secured the two women's seats that were up for grabs in the province. The candidates that have been elected are PML-N’s Rahat Jamali and PPP’s Hasna Bibi.

In total, PML-N and PPP managed to get 3 seats each while JUI-F got two and ANP and National Party bagged one seat each.

Link


India-Pakistan
KP Assembly members take oath in ruckus-hit maiden session
2024-02-29
[GEO.TV] Newly-elected members of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly were sworn in on Wednesday in the maiden session that began after a delay of over an hour, due to a ruckus caused by Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
(PTI) workers in the legislature, reported Geo News on Wednesday.

The session had to begin at 11am but was delayed as the elected politicians were facing difficulty in entering the assembly hall as multiple PTI workers tried entering the floor and even threw a "lota" and a shoe at Pakistain Moslem League-Nawaz's (PML-N) Sobia Shahid.
A "lota" is a "portable bidet," a jug that can be used for butt scrubbies.
Later, outgoing Speaker Mushtaq Ghani administered oath to 116 newly elected politicians, which included 111 members who won the general seats, and five reserved seats members, in presence of heavy police party outside the assembly in the light of Awami National Party
founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986. Part of the PPP-led cabinet 2008-13. The ANP is considered left wing, advocating for secularism, democratic socialism, public sector government, and economic egalitarianism....
's (ANP) call of protest.

It may be noted that the KP Assembly consists of 145 members, 115 general seats and 30 reserved seats — 26 for women and four for minorities. However,
if you can't say something nice about a person some juicy gossip will go well...
25 of the reserved seats have not been notified yet as the matter is currently being heard by the Election Commission of Pakistain (ECP).

Meanwhile,
...back at the abandoned silver mine, the water was up to Jack's neck and still rising. And then he smelled the smoke...
two of the general seats remain vacant as elections on these two were deferred owing to the deaths of candidates in the respective constituencies.

Once the oath was administered, Speaker Ghani announced that the election for the new speaker and deputy speaker of the House would be held tomorrow (February 29).

The MPAs willing to contest for the coveted slot will have time till 5pm today to submit their nomination papers while those willing to withdraw from the polls can take back their papers by midnight, said the speaker.

"Polling for the speaker and deputy speaker election will be held tomorrow at 10am," announced Speaker Ghani.

PTI founder Imran Khan
...aka The Great Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree...
had announced Aqibullah Khan as the candidate for the KP speaker. But it has emerged today that the PTI founder has reverted his decision to name Aqibullah Khan as the new speaker.

PTI Secretary Gneral Omar Ayub Khan announced today that PTI founder Imran Khan has now nominated Babar Salim Swati as the candidate for the KP Assembly speaker.

Related:
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa: 2024-02-18 Soldier martyred, 9 terrorists killed in two separate KP operations: ISPR
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa: 2024-02-15 May 9 'narrative' buried if establishment deems Feb 8 election fair: JUI-F chief Fazl
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa: 2024-02-15 Sindh, Balochistan, KP witness protests against alleged polls rigging
Link


India-Pakistan
Security forces kill 12 more terrorists in Balochistan's Mach
2024-02-01
[GEO.TV] The security forces Wednesday killed of 12 more holy warriors in Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
’s Mach city, taking the corpse count of bully boyz to 22, as the country witnesses a rise in terrorism.

The sources said the operation that began on January 30 thwarted terrorists’ attacks, while a clearance operation was still underway in the restive province’s city.

The security forces had killed nine holy warriors on Jan 30 — including three jacket wallahs — and injured three in retaliatory actions following multiple terrorist attacks in Balochistan’s Mach and Kolpur towns.

The incidents come just days before the February 8 national elections, turning the situation volatile, as political actors and parties have also been targeted during electioneering.

As the forces clamp down on holy warriors in the province, four brave security personnel embraced martyrdom along with two innocent civilians on Jan 30.

Terrorists also attacked multiple areas in Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), hampering electioneering ahead of the general polls.

Three separate hand grenade attacks were carried out against the Pakistain Peoples Party's (PPP) election offices in Quetta and Kalat's Mangochar — with the former incident wounding three people.

In a separate incident, the Awami National Party
founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986. Part of the PPP-led cabinet 2008-13. The ANP is considered left wing, advocating for secularism, democratic socialism, public sector government, and economic egalitarianism....
(ANP) also came under attack as assailants opened fire on the party workers in Chaman city resulting in the death of a worker identified as Zahoor Ahmed.

Link


India-Pakistan
Violence mars electioneering activities as multiple blasts target Balochistan
2024-02-01
[GEO.TV] With February 8 polls drawing near, Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
Wednesday was rocked by multiple terrorist attacks in various cities resulting in several injuries.

Three separate hand grenade attacks were carried out against the Pakistain Peoples Party's (PPP) election offices in Quetta and Kalat's Mangochar — with the former incident wounding three people.

The strikes were followed by another hand grenade attack on the PPP candidate Zahoor Buledi's house in Kech, confirmed Deputy Commissioner (DC) Hussain Jan.

Meanwhile,
...back at the Council of Boskone, Helmuth ordered the entire 614th quadrant searched. The Green Lensman must be found!...
in a separate incident, the Awami National Party
founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986. Part of the PPP-led cabinet 2008-13. The ANP is considered left wing, advocating for secularism, democratic socialism, public sector government, and economic egalitarianism....
(ANP) also came under attack as assailants opened fire on the party workers in Chaman city resulting in the death of a worker identified as Zahoor Ahmed.

The incident took place as ANP workers were busy in electioneering activities in the PB-50 constituency, confirmed party spokesperson Zamrak Achakzai.

Condemning the incidents, Balochistan's caretaker Home Minister Zubair Jamali said that such attacks would not deter the public's resolve against the menace of terrorism.

Furthermore, independent candidate Rehan Zeb Khan was rubbed out on Wednesday in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district, police said.

The election hopeful was contesting elections from NA-8 and PK-22 seats and was present in Sadiqabad Phatak Bazar area of the tribal district in connection with the election campaign when person or persons unknown fired upon him, leaving him deader than Tut.

Link


India-Pakistan
Two 'suicide bombers' planning to target Fazlur Rehman, Aimal Wali arrested
2024-01-13
[GEO.TV] The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on Friday foiled an attempt to sabotage the February 8 elections as it, in a successful operation, arrested two would-be jacket wallahs planning to target Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam
...the political wing of the Pak Taliban...
Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman
...Deobandi holy man, known as Mullah Diesel during the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty. Fazl seldom misses a meal and is now so large he has his own gravitational pull...
and Awami National Party
founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986. Part of the PPP-led cabinet 2008-13. The ANP is considered left wing, advocating for secularism, democratic socialism, public sector government, and economic egalitarianism....
’s (ANP) leader Aimal Wali Khan.

Addressing a presser, CTD Superintendent of Police (SP) Najam-ul-Hussain announced the arrest of two suspected suicide bombers affiliated with ISIS Khorasan from the Matni area.

He said that the apprehended forces of Evil were planning suicide kabooms targeting key political figures.

According to the SP, the arrested individuals were plotting a suicide attack on Fazl. Furthermore, it was disclosed that the forces of Evil had intentions to target the ANP leader through a suicide kaboom.

The arrested suspects had reportedly visited the JUI-F’s center and investigations revealed that they had undergone training in the Paktia region of Afghanistan.

During the security operation, authorities recovered suicide jackets, three hand grenades, and propaganda material associated with ISIS. The bomb disposal unit (BDU) has successfully neutralised the weapons and bombs.

The SP disclosed that the outlawed organization had previously been linked to assassinations of individuals representing various schools of thought in the region six months ago.

In a related development, authorities have made progress in identifying the individual responsible for planting a bomb on the Warsak Road. SP CTD said that the arrest of the terrorist involved in the Warsak Road kaboom was imminent.

Related:
Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam: 2024-01-03 JUI-F ready to work with PML-N for Pakistan's prosperity, says Fazl
Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam: 2024-01-02 Fazl doesn't see election happening on Feb 8 after DI Khan attack
Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam: 2023-11-28 Pakistan blames Afghan national for suicide bombing that killed two civilians
Related:
Fazlur Rehman: 2024-01-07 'TTP on agenda' as Fazl gears up for visit to Afghanistan
Fazlur Rehman: 2024-01-06 Sunni Ulema Council's Maulana Masoodur Rehman Usmani gunned down in Islamabad
Fazlur Rehman: 2024-01-03 JUI-F ready to work with PML-N for Pakistan's prosperity, says Fazl
Related:
ISIS: 2024-01-10 Good Morning
ISIS: 2024-01-10 Police foiled 30 Al-Shabaab terror attempts in 2023 — report
ISIS: 2024-01-10 Remains of 57 Yazidis killed by ISIS to be returned to Shingal
Related:
Matni: 2014-12-21 Seven Dead as Pakistan Hits Militant Hideouts
Matni: 2013-09-07 Firing leaves at least eight dead in Peshawar
Matni: 2013-07-28 7 terrorists killed in Hangu, Peshawar clashes
Link


India-Pakistan
Aimal Wali demands action against those who ‘resettled’ militants in Pakistan
2023-04-20
[Dawn] Awami National Party
founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986. Part of the PPP-led cabinet 2008-13. The ANP is considered left wing, advocating for secularism, democratic socialism, public sector government, and economic egalitarianism....
provincial president Aimal Wali Khan has demanded that those who took the decision of resettling bandidos gunnies in Pakistain should be taken to task.

"The security agencies have admitted bringing the bandidos gunnies back to Pakistain from Afghanistan during the rule of Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
government was a wrong decision, so those who took the decision should be punished," he demanded in a video message released from the Bacha Khan Markaz here on Wednesday.

"Resettlement of bandidos gunnies was and is a project of a few persons," he said and demanded: "Former army chief Gen retired Qamar Javed Bajwa and former Inter-Services Intelligence
...the Pak military intelligence agency that controls the military -- heads of ISI typically get promoted into the Chief of Army Staff position. It serves as a general command center for favored turban groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, tries to influence the politix of neighboring countries, and carries out a (usually) low-level war against India in Kashmir...
chief Gen retired Faiz Hameed should be questioned as to why they committed such a heinous crime."

Aimal Wali claimed that 100 bandidos gunnies were freed during the PTI government and action should be taken against former prime minister Imran Khan
...aka The Great Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight...
, President Arif Alvi and former adviser Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif.

He said ANP stood against all forms of militancy and would continue to resist the menace.

He also claimed he was facing threats to his life and told workers that if something bad happened to him, they should not lodge an FIR, and should instead take Dire Revenge from the perpetrators of terrorists.

"If something happens to me, the ANP workers should take revenage from Gen retired Qamar Bajwa, Let-Gen retired Faiz Hameed, President Arif Alvi, former prime minister Imran Khan, former KP chief minister Mahmood Khan and former adviser Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif," he said.

The ANP provincial president disclosed that security agencies had arrested a jacket wallah from Charsadda two weeks ago, who revealed during investigation that he belonged to the so-called Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems...
-Khurasan group and wanted to target him (Aimal). He also said another suicide bomber was arrested from a religious seminary in the historic provincial capital, who also wanted to target him.

"It looks like after the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
Pakistain, Tehrik-e-Taliban Afghanistan, we are now on the hit list of the so-called Islamic State," Aimal Wali said, adding: "This is what happens when you raise voice for Pakhtun’s rights."
Link


India-Pakistan
Gunman opens fire inside courtroom killing top lawyer in northwest Pakistan
2023-01-17
"The father of the attacker had represented Shakil Afridi, the Pakistani physician who helped the CIA find al-Qaida mastermind Osama bin Laden"
[FoxNews] A gunman dressed as a lawyer shot and killed a prominent attorney inside a courtroom in northwestern Pakistan on Monday, police said.

The attacker, who was arrested at the scene, had opened fire at Abdul Latif Afridi, a former president of Pakistan’s lawyers union and a prominent figure in the community, fatally wounding him. The attack took place at the High Court in Peshawar.

The attacker, Adnan Khan, had previously accused Afridi of orchestrating the 2015 killing of his father, Samiullah Khan, who was also a lawyer, said Naeem Khan, a police officer.

It was unclear how the attacker managed to sneak into the court building with a handgun. The killing was condemned by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, government officials, politicians and lawyers.

In a statement, Sharif expressed concern over the deteriorating security situation in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where Peshawar is the capital. His chief rival, the party of opposition leader and former Prime Minister Imran Khan is in power in the provincial assembly.

Before his killing, Samiullah Khan, the father of the attacker, had represented Shakil Afridi, the Pakistani physician who helped the CIA find al-Qaida mastermind Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden was killed in 2011 by Navy SEALs in a raid on his hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

The physician ran a fake vaccination campaign that helped locate and identify bin Laden. The doctor and the lawyer killed on Monday are not related.

In 2012, Pakistan sentenced Shakil Afridi to 33 years in prison on charges of allegedly providing money and medical treatment to Islamic militants in a former tribal region. Afridi and his family have denied those charges.

Pakistan was outraged over being kept in the dark ahead of the SEALs operation. Washington has demanded Afridi’s release but Islamabad has resisted the demand, saying he violated Pakistani law. The doctor was never formally charged in bin Laden’s case.
Khaama Press adds:
The police arrested the perpetrator and identified him as Adnan Afridi. The attacker was related to the Afridi tribe, and the incident happened due to personal enmity, according to the findings of the police.

The Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistain's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire...
high court bar association described the terror incident as security lapse and criticized how a gunman managed to reach the bar room, and shoot Afridi.

Following the incident, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and many high-ranking Pak politicians and public figures condemned the brutal attack on the senior lawyer and expressed their deep condolences to the family and relatives of the victim.
More from Dawn:
Afridi, 80, was sitting in the Beautiful Downtown Peshawar High Court bar room with other lawyers when the att­acker shot up him, according to the police. He was rushed to Lady Reading Hospital but could not survive.

The police claimed that the attacker, identified as Adnan Samiullah Afridi, was arrested from the scene of the crime and moved to East Canto­n­ment Police Station where a case was registered.

An officer at the cop shoppe told Dawn that the suspect had confessed to the crime and that he had killed the victim over a family feud.

‘A PROGRESSIVE VOICE NO MORE’
Afridi’s killing marks the end of an era and has left the legal fraternity and his admirers shaken.

Latif Afridi, commonly known as Latif Lala, has left behind a legacy of a decades-long struggle for civil liberties, democracy, rule of law, and the rights of people, especially those belonging to the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

Born in 1943, he had done his LLB from the University of Peshawar in 1968 and his career as a lawyer spanned over five decades. His election as the president of the Supreme Court
...the political football known as The Highest Court in the Land, home of penumbrae and emanations...
Bar Association in 2020 and multiple tenures as the president of the Peshawar High Court Bar Association is a testimony to his popularity among the lawyer community.

He had also remained the vice chairman and a member of the Pakistain Bar Council.

He was also a blunt critic of militancy in the region and often called for a clear state policy on terrorism. He was also vocal against the military’s interference in politics and termed the practice usurpation of the fundamental rights of people.

During his lifetime, Latif Lala was known for his progressive politics. Dur­ing his political career, he largely remained associated with the Awami National Party
founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986. Part of the PPP-led cabinet 2008-13. The ANP is considered left wing, advocating for secularism, democratic socialism, public sector government, and economic egalitarianism....
, with which he stayed until a few years ago. Before his death, he was a part of the National Democratic Party — a recently-formed party led by North Wazoo politician Mohsin Dawar.
Related:
Abdul Latif Afridi: 2019-09-19 MNAs Ali Wazir, Mohsin Dawar make bail in Kharqamar attack case
Abdul Latif Afridi: 2008-09-01 Tribal elders ask govt to target militants
Abdul Latif Afridi: 2007-10-31 Petition against TNSM chief's detention
Link


India-Pakistan
ANP wants report on 2016 Quetta tragedy implemented
2022-08-10
[DAWN] Awami National Party (ANP) president Asfandyar Wali Khan on Monday called for implementing the recommendations mentioned in the report of the inquiry commission headed by Justice Qazi Faez Isa on the terrorist attack on a government hospital in Quetta in which more than 60 lawyers died.

In a statement issued by the party’s information secretary Zahid Khan on the occasion of the sixth anniversary of the Quetta incident, the ANP chief also called for implementing the National Action Plan against terrorism which had been prepared by all political parties of the country with consensus after the terrorist attack on Army Public School in Peshawar.

Mr Khan was of the view that terrorism could be eradicated only through the implementation of the Qazi Faez Isa report in letter and spirit.

He lauded the lawyers’ community for their struggle for the cause of sanctity of the bar and the bench despite facing such tragedies. He said the sacrifices rendered by the lawyers’ community so far in the wake of terrorism in the country would not go in vain.

The ANP chief said the terrorists had eliminated a whole generation of the lawyers in the bloody attack. He said some “conspirators” were still active in the region to destroy peace. He termed the terrorist attack on the lawyers in Quetta one of the biggest tragedies suffered by the country.

On Aug 8, 2016, terrorists struck a government hospital in Quetta where a large number of lawyers had gathered after an attack on Bilal Anwar Kasi, the president of the Balochistan Bar Association at the time.

Taking a suo motu notice, the Supreme Court constituted an inquiry commission under Justice Qazi Faez Isa and the 110-page report of the commission containing some 18 recommendations was published in December 2016.

“The people of Pakistan have been subjected to sustained terrorist attacks, which continue unabated, and deserve answers. Those who have failed the people of Pakistan need to be held accountable. Things cannot go on as they have been. Without top-tier accountability, it is unlikely systemic change will be possible,” stated the report, urging the state to re-exert itself against those spreading hatred and murder.

It also urged the state to strictly abide by the laws, such as the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), the National Counter-Terrorism Authority Act, the Pakistan Penal Code, and, above all, the Constitution of Pakistan.

The report suggested that the ATA “needs to be enforced, and terrorists/terrorist organisations must be proscribed without delay. They must not be permitted to hold meetings. Those claiming to be members of proscribed organisations should be prosecuted in accordance with the ATA.”

Link


India-Pakistan
Samar Bilour: My political role is the best revenge on terrorists
2021-05-24
[DAILYTIMES.PK] Samar Bilour is a woman of many things — the widow of martyr Haroon Bilour, daughter-in-law of martyr Bashir Bilour and the first woman elected as MPA on a general seat in 18 years.

She is the provincial information secretary of the Awami National Party
founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986. Part of the PPP-led cabinet 2008-13. The ANP is considered left wing, advocating for secularism, democratic socialism, public sector government, and economic egalitarianism....
(ANP).

Recently, she exchanged her views on political, social, apolitical, and societal issues with Daily Times.

The first question was about the ANP’s future political strategy after leaving the Pakistain Democratic Alliance (PDA).

She rules out rejoining the alliance "because we have been feeling squeezed in the PDM for a while". She regrets the way her party was served a show cause notice and then excluded from committees, meetings, etc.

The ANP left the PDM after its senator supported PPP’s Yousaf Raza Gilani in the Senate for the opposition leader’s office. Samar, however, cleared the ANP and the PPP are more natural allies but so far they are not in a new alliance currently.

The ANP supported PML-N candidate Miftah Ismail, which was a decision by the ANP Sindh chapter, she explained.

Samar has been criticizing the PTI government both in the assembly and on social media.

"I’m very very disappointed in the performance of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government. As you are aware, that I was not a practicing politician until July 10 2018 when my husband passed away in a suicide kaboom, and then a couple of months later when I joined active politics, the PTI has totally transformed everything — from the police to the education sector to sanitation."

The government has even not spared the assembly.

"The CM does not come (to sessions); the same is the case with ministers and secretaries. It is a very distressing state of affairs when a premier law-making body of the province is so toothless and so powerless that the people sitting inside are powerless.

"Corruption is rampant and there are no checks and balances."

In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, no matter the people of the opposing parties, they would participate in each other’s happiness and sorrows, and you know not cross certain lines.

Link


India-Pakistan
Fazl accepts resignations of ANP, PPP from PDM
2021-04-30
[DAILYTIMES.PK] Pakistain Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman
...Deobandi holy man, known as Mullah Diesel during the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty...
on Wednesday accepted the resignations of Pakistain People’s Party (PPP) and Awami National Party
founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986. Part of the PPP-led cabinet 2008-13. The ANP is considered left wing, advocating for secularism, democratic socialism, public sector government, and economic egalitarianism....
(ANP) from all posts of the opposition alliance, a private TV channel reported.

The PDM chief, while reshuffling the PDM ranks, also approved the appointment of Hafiz Hamdullah as information secretary. Earlier, ANP’s Mian Iftikhar held the post.

On Monday, Maulana Fazlur Rehman had once again urged the PPP and the ANP to reconsider their decision to resign from all posts of the alliance. "I urge them to reconsider the situation, and if they have committed a mistake, they should accept it [...] as these are the tenets of democracy," Fazl had said while addressing a presser flanked by other PDM leaders.

On April 12, the PPP had announced that the party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) had called upon its members to resign from all positions of the PDM, while leaders of the ANP had withdrawn from the alliance after show-cause notices were issued to the party to explain their actions during the recently held Senate polls.

The presser had come after the opposition alliance met in the day to deliberate over its anti-government strategy. However,
corruption finds a dozen alibis for its evil deeds...
PPP and ANP were not invited to the steering committee meeting.

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