Nine militants killed in security operations in northern Pakistan
Islamabad - Saba:
Nine militants were killed in an operation conducted by Pakistani security forces in the Bajaur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, located in northwestern Pakistan.
In a press statement issued on Sunday, the Pakistani military reported that security forces carried out an intelligence-based operation in the Dera Ismail Khan area following reports of militant presence in the region. The statement confirmed that security forces effectively targeted militant positions during the operation, resulting in the killing of four militants after an intense exchange of fire.
Additionally, security forces conducted another intelligence-based operation in the Tank district, where two more militants were killed in a subsequent shootout. In a third engagement in the Bagh area of the tribal Khyber district, Pakistani forces successfully neutralized three more militants.
Earlier last week, at least 12 militants and two soldiers were killed in two separate security operations carried out in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces.
Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Today
2 hours ago
- Japan Today
Japan residents with foreign roots raise voices over racial profiling
Motoki Taniguchi (L), lawyer representing plaintiffs in a lawsuit over racial profiling, speaks in a briefing on Feb. 28 in Tokyo, along with Zain Syed (C) and Maurice Shelton. By Junko Horiuchi Residents in Japan with foreign roots have started speaking out about being subjected to racial profiling by police, with some taking the issue to court, but supporters of their efforts warn that progress may be slow given apparent public indifference. Although a survey suggests racial profiling, or questioning by the authorities on the assumption that one is involved in a crime based on race or appearance, has been carried out for years, only recently has the issue been publicly exposed in Japan. "I am not saying Japanese police should not question citizens, including those with foreign appearance, whatsoever but I want to know the logic behind it," said Zain Syed, a 27-year-old naturalized Japanese citizen. Born to Pakistani parents, Syed has been stopped by police on the street at least 15 times. Syed said that whenever he had challenged officers on their reasons for stopping him, they insisted he was being treated no differently to anyone else. But convinced that he had been targeted solely based on his ethnicity, Syed decided to join a lawsuit. The idea behind resorting to legal action is to pressure the government to prevent discriminatory interrogations. Syed, who is self-employed and lives in the suburbs of Nagoya, is one of three male plaintiffs in a civil suit filed in January 2024 against the Aichi prefectural police, Tokyo metropolitan police and the state, seeking 3.3 million yen in damages per person. The response to his Twitter post in 2019 describing police treatment, such as being asked persistently to present a foreign resident's card or passport despite identifying himself as a Japanese, also emboldened him to sue and help others in a similar or worse situation than him. "I am trying to make Japanese society better by stopping questioning based on prejudice. There are many people like myself with foreign roots who are willing to make contributions to Japan," said Syed, who came to Japan at age 8 from Pakistan along with his parents and received Japanese nationality at the age of 13. But his acquisition of citizenship is a rare step in Japan, a country whose naturalized citizens accounted for less than 0.01 percent of the total population in 2024. A recent survey carried out by lawyers in the suit backs the plaintiffs' view that the stopping and questioning of those with foreign appearances often lacks the existence of "sufficient probable cause" to suspect the person has committed or is about to commit a crime -- the requirements set out under the Police Duties Execution Act. The survey, released in February 2025, found that over 71 percent of foreign nationals in Japan had been questioned by police on the streets in the past five years, a rate around 5.6-fold higher than for Japanese. The questionnaire, the first of its kind comparing police questioning of foreign nationals and Japanese, drew answers from 521 Japanese and 422 foreigners who have lived in Japan for five years or more, excluding those from the Northeast Asian region apparently due to their similar appearances to Japanese. The difference in the frequency of being targeted for street questioning came despite the crime rate between Japanese and foreigners being roughly the same, the lawyers said, citing an analysis using official government data. According to Justice Ministry statistics, out of 182,582 people in Japan investigated by the police in 2020 for suspected Penal Code offenses, 9,529 were foreigners. With the total population in the country, including foreigners, in that year standing at 123.35 million and non-Japanese at 6.34 million, the ratio of people subjected to criminal probes was 0.15 percent for both Japanese and foreigners in Japan, the analysis showed. In January 2021, advocacy group Japan for Black Lives posted on social media a video which showed a police officer saying "in our experience many people with dreadlocks carry drugs" when questioning a mixed-race man at a station in Tokyo. The post became viral. The group's founder, Naomi Kawahara, said she could not just stand by to watch her friend being subjected to groundless questioning just because of his appearance. She added the recorded incident is only one among many experienced by her friend and other foreign-born acquaintances. On Dec. 6 of the same year, the U.S. Embassy in Japan tweeted a warning to U.S. citizens about foreigners being stopped and searched by Japanese police in suspected racial profiling incidents. The National Police Agency issued an advisory the same month to all prefectural police forces to avoid questioning people in a way that could be perceived as racially motivated. The written advisory read that when choosing who to stop and question, police officers "should not base their decisions solely on how they look, such as appearance and clothing." In November 2022, the agency's first-ever internal survey on the issue of racial profiling confirmed six inappropriate cases across four prefectural police forces in 2021, involving officers who stopped people giving reasons such as "It is rare for a foreigner to drive a car" or "People with dreadlocks have possessed drugs." In a move to enhance transparency of police questionings, police officers have started wearing body cameras on a trial basis to record interrogations in public spaces. Maurice Shelton, an African American man from Georgia who wears his hair in dreads and is another plaintiff in the suit, recounted how he had been interrogated by police at least 17 times since first coming to Japan in 2010. "Just because you look a certain way, does that mean you can be stopped randomly by the police?" the 42-year-old CEO of a personal training gym in Kanagawa Prefecture said. "Is that something that I should have to deal with because I'm a foreigner, or because I'm a black person, or because I have darker skin, or because I have this hair?" He cited as one of his motivations to join the suit the similar treatment he said he experienced in Georgia and which made him leave his country. "I've been harassed by the police in America. I've had guns pulled on me by the police," he said. "I don't want Japan to be such a place." Motoki Taniguchi, one of the lawyers representing the three plaintiffs, said in one court hearing, "Racial profiling is intentional racial discrimination exercised by public authorities and constitutes the most pernicious form of discrimination." "It is the responsibility of the court to confirm the illegality of such a practice and to put an end to it," Taniguchi said. Prospects for change, however, were muddied recently by comments by the justice minister when explaining a step to introduce pre-arrival screening for visa-free travelers from fiscal 2028 and other measures to strengthen the immigration system. "The government is being strongly urged to take action as public anxiety is growing against foreigners not following rules," Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki said last month, in comments that were viewed as potentially encouraging discriminatory attitudes. According to Japan for Black Lives' Kawahara, the recent surge in inbound travelers and the growing discussion of "overtourism" issues, such as problematic behavior by a small minority of visitors, is likely stirring a public she says is largely ignorant of prejudice issues to accept tight surveillance over people with foreign appearances. "Some people say casually that the victims claiming they have been discriminated against are just being paranoid or that they don't see a problem in the police stopping foreigners on the street," she said. "They say, 'Why not let police stop you if you don't have anything to hide,'" Kawahara said. "I believe that only by empathizing with people with foreign roots and having dialogue can people really end discrimination," she added. © KYODO
News18
2 hours ago
- News18
Pakistan COAS Asim Munir Invited To US Army Day Celebrations On June 14: Sources
Last Updated: During this visit, the US is likely to urge Pakistan to take action against terrorist groups targeting Afghanistan and India Pakistan's chief of army staff General Syed Asim Munir Ahmed Shah is scheduled to visit Washington DC, for the US Army Day celebrations on June 14, top intelligence sources have told CNN-News18. He will join other military leaders to commemorate the US Army's 250th anniversary. According to sources at the Pakistani Embassy in Washington DC, Munir is expected to arrive on June 12. During this visit, the US is likely to urge Pakistan to take action against terrorist groups targeting Afghanistan and India. The invitation appears to be linked more to the ongoing US-China rivalry and Pakistan's strategic importance than any stance against India. Due to Pakistan's close ties with China through initiatives like the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the US harbours concerns about Pakistan's neutrality. Given the current geopolitical climate, the US is unlikely to view Pakistan as a credible or neutral mediator, said sources. This visit has also provoked political reactions within Pakistan, with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) planning protests against Munir's visit and labelling him a criminal. Pakistan is expected to seek assurances from the US regarding the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) operating from Afghanistan. Historically, Pakistan has sought US mediation on various issues, while India firmly rejects third-party involvement. The US prefers bilateral dialogue and is unlikely to alter its stance in favour of mediation, sources said. Pakistan recognises the potential debt trap associated with China and is eager to attract investment from other global powers. The country possesses valuable resources such as lithium, copper, gold, and rare earth minerals, for which it urgently requires investment. However, Pakistan is wary of potential colonisation similar to China's approach. The visit aims to manage the strained security relationship between the US and Pakistan. Pakistan will likely pursue its agenda on mediation in Kashmir and seek investments in its mineral resources. However, tangible outcomes may be limited, as India is unlikely to accede to any external demands regarding Kashmir. First Published: June 11, 2025, 02:37 IST
Express Tribune
3 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Statute and salvation
Listen to article In a moment of historic magnitude and noble resolve, the Parliament of Pakistan has enacted the Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Act 2025, a legislative triumph in the pursuit of justice, equality and preservation of childhood. By raising the minimum legal age of marriage to eighteen years for both young men and women within the federal capital, this enlightened decree supplants the antiquated ordinance of 1929, a relic of colonial jurisprudence. This bill, advanced with conviction by the member of the National Assembly, Ms Sharmila Faruqui, and championed with eloquence in the Senate by Senator Sherry Rehman, met stiff resistance from conservative quarters who claimed its incompatibility with religious and cultural tenets. Yet, the force of reason triumphed, notably drawing strength from the province of Sindh, where a similar statute has withstood the test of time since 2014. Even the Council of Islamic Ideology, the highest body of religious deliberation in the land, had previously given its assent to Sindh's reform, thereby rendering obsolete the theological objections to the federal measure. Under the auspices of the 2025 Act, any nuptial arrangement involving individuals below the age of maturity is henceforth unlawful within the jurisdiction of Islamabad. Nikah registrars are now duty-bound to authenticate the ages of both parties through national identity documents issued by NADRA. Those who dare defy the law — be they officiants, adult men preying upon minors, or conspirators enabling such unions — shall face stringent punishment, including imprisonment of up to three years and pecuniary penalties scaling to one million rupees. More significantly, the law designates all conjugal relations with a minor as statutory rape, regardless of consent or marital sanction. This legislative deliverance is not merely timely; it is imperative. According to the 2023 Demographic and Health Survey, nearly 28.9 per cent of Pakistani girls are wed before they attain the age of eighteen, while 4 per cent are forced into matrimony before the tender age of fifteen. Such unions, forged in coercion and cloaked in custom, breed domestic violence, maternal mortality and educational deprivation. Though limited in geographical application, the reverberations of this statute are felt far and wide. It heralds a new era wherein the voice of conscience may triumph over the outdated traditions. Provinces such as Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, where child marriage remains alarmingly prevalent, must now reflect upon their own legislative inertia and consider whether silence in the face of national reform is a tenable position. A consensus across the republic must now be forged. The provinces must harmonise their legal frameworks with the capital's enlightened statute, thereby affording equal protection to every child beneath the crescent and star. The state must invest in grand campaigns to enlighten families and communities about the grievous costs of premature marriage. The machinery of justice must be fortified with special courts and trained officers capable of swift intervention and resolute enforcement. Moreover, the nation must extend its hand to those vulnerable girls who stand at the precipice of such fates, offering them the sanctuaries of education, psychological support and shelter. Community leaders should emphasise the importance of every child's dignity and protection The latest turn in the saga of the bill reveals that the Council of Islamic Ideology has challenged the Act as un-Islamic, and a petition in the Federal Shariat Court now seeks its annulment on constitutional and religious grounds. The bill's landmark move to ban child marriage and set the legal age at 18 marks a major victory for child rights yet faces constitutional challenges and implementation hurdles that will determine its true effectiveness.
