Latest news with #Quetta
Arab News
4 hours ago
- General
- Arab News
One killed, four injured in IED blast in southwestern Pakistan
QUETTA: One person was killed while four others were injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province on Sunday night, a police official confirmed. Police said the blast took place at Brewery Road near the western bypass in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's restive Balochistan. The official confirmed that a vehicle with two people in it exploded due to the blast, injuring passersby on the busy road. 'Unidentified individuals attached a magnetic IED to a private vehicle which exploded in Quetta city,' Mehmood Kharoti, the station house officer at Brewery Road, told Arab News. 'One civilian named Hussain Ali, a resident of Kalat city, was killed in the attack and four people including three passersby were injured,' he added. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion is likely to fall on ethnic Baloch separatist groups involved in targeting law enforcers and state-backed tribal leaders in the province. Kharoti said police were investigating the possible motives behind the attack. Balochistan, Pakistan's largest but most impoverished province, has been the site of a long-running insurgency that has intensified in recent months, with separatist militants attacking security forces, government officials and installations and people from other provinces who they see as 'outsiders.' The Pakistani government says it has launched several development schemes relating to infrastructure, health and education for some 15 million people of Balochistan, which is also home to a deep seaport being built by China, gold, copper and coal mines, and has a long coast on the Arabian Sea. The most prominent of these separatist militant groups in the province is the Baloch Liberation Army, which has carried out several attacks against law enforcers and political leaders considered close to the military leadership. Balochistan has seen a spike in militant violence in recent days. An IED blast killed two tribal leaders and injured seven others on Saturday in a remote mountainous town in Quetta district. In March, BLA fighters stormed a passenger train in Balochistan and held hostage hundreds of passengers before the military launched an operation to rescue them. Pakistan's government accuses India of arming and funding separatist militant groups against the state, an allegation that New Delhi has repeatedly denied. The BLA and other similar groups accuse Islamabad of denying the local Baloch population a share in the province's natural resources. Pakistan's government and military deny the allegations.
Arab News
19 hours ago
- Business
- Arab News
PM urges trickle-down effect of development schemes in insurgency-hit Balochistan
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has stressed the need to ensure a trickle-down effect of his government's developmental initiatives in the southwestern Balochistan province, Sharif's office said on Sunday, amid a surge in militant attacks in the region. Balochistan, Pakistan's largest but most impoverished province, has been the site of a long-running insurgency that has intensified in recent months, with separatist militants attacking security forces, government officials and installations and people from other provinces who they see as 'outsiders.' The Pakistani government says it has launched several development schemes relating to infrastructure, health and education for some 15 million people of Balochistan, which is also home to deep seaport being built by China, gold, copper and coal mines, and has a long coast on the Arabian Sea. Speaking to tribal elders during his visit to the provincial capital of Quetta, PM Sharif highlighted the series of developmental programs undertaken by his government for the prosperity of Balochistan and called on officials to ensure that their benefits reach the people of the southwestern Pakistani province. 'He praised the people of Balochistan for their historic role in safeguarding national unity and urged them to remain vigilant against foreign-backed subversion and sabotage orchestrated and sponsored by India,' Sharif's office said. 'The jirga [council of tribal elders] concluded with a unanimous pledge from tribal elders to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Government of Pakistan and armed forces, reaffirming their commitment to the security, stability and development of Balochistan.' Pakistan and India often accuse each other of supporting militancy. Islamabad blames India of backing the separatist insurgency in Balochistan as well as religiously motivated militant groups, like the Pakistani Taliban, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. India denies the allegations. Sharif announced that Balochistan will receive 25 percent share from the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP), which funds infrastructure, energy, education and other long-term projects, in the upcoming budget. 'I think that PSDP will be of Rs1,000 billion [in the next budget],' he told the gathering. 'So, out of this [amount], a fund of approximately Rs250 billion is for Balochistan alone. That is, 25 percent of the total federal PSDP for Balochistan.' Addressing the challenge of militancy in the province, Sharif called for engagement at the grassroots level to ensure that militants find no social space. 'This was crucial for the success of counter terrorism efforts and for the long-term peace and stability,' he said. On the occasion, Field Marshal Asim Munir, who accompanied the prime minister to Balochistan, emphasized that Pakistan's army was fully alert and prepared to respond decisively to any threat. 'Peace in Balochistan is non-negotiable and that the future of Pakistan is directly linked to a stable, prosperous Balochistan,' he was quoted as saying by Sharif's office. Sharif also visited the military's Command and Staff College in Quetta and addressed student officers and faculty, reflecting his government's commitment to strengthening Pakistan's defense institutions amidst evolving regional and internal security dynamics. 'The prime minister highlighted the critical importance of professional excellence, operational readiness, and strategic foresight in the face of emerging and hybrid threats, especially in sensitive regions like Balochistan,' Sharif's office said.
Arab News
a day ago
- General
- Arab News
Roadside blast kills two tribal leaders, injures seven in southwestern Pakistan
QUETTA: A blast triggered by an improvised explosive device (IED) killed two tribal leaders and injured seven others on Saturday in a remote mountainous town in Quetta district, located in Pakistan's restive southwestern Balochistan province, a senior police official said. The roadside blast took place in Mangla, an area of the Hanna Urrak valley located some 35 kilometers from the provincial capital of Quetta, when a convoy of tribal leaders was passing through the area. 'Sardar Abdul Salam Bazai and Sardar Nafay Bazai, accompanied by their companions, were heading toward a mining site when a powerful explosion hit their vehicle,' Naveed Khan, Station House Officer (SHO) in the area, told Arab News. 'Both the tribal elders were killed on the spot,' he continued. 'Police have commenced an investigation into the IED blast, while the injured have been shifted to Quetta city.' No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. However, Balochistan has witnessed a surge in separatist violence in recent months, including attacks on a passenger train and a school bus carrying children. The latest attack took place on the day Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif was in Quetta and addressed a grand jirga of influential Baloch leaders alongside senior military officials. Pakistan has blamed the recent surge in militant violence in Balochistan on 'Indian proxies,' calling groups like the Baloch Liberation Army 'Fitna Al-Hind.' New Delhi denies any involvement in backing Baloch ethnic separatist groups in Pakistan's southwestern province, which shares borders with Iran and Afghanistan and has witnessed an insurgency for decades. Speaking to Arab News, Dr. Arbab Kamran Kasi, head of the Trauma Center in Quetta, confirmed that those injured in Saturday's attack were brought to the medical facility. 'Seven injured were brought to the center and are now in a stable condition,' he said.
Arab News
2 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
PM Sharif announces 25% federal development share for insurgency-hit Balochistan
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said Pakistan's restive southwestern province of Balochistan will receive 25% share from the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) in the upcoming budget, as the government continues to grapple with a decades-long separatist insurgency that has surged in recent years. Balochistan, Pakistan's largest but least populated province, is strategically significant as the centerpiece of the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a major infrastructure development and regional connectivity initiative linking western China to the Arabian Sea. While the state touts CPEC as a game-changer for the region's development, Baloch separatist groups accuse the government of exploiting the province's vast mineral resources without benefiting the local population. Officials reject the narrative, pointing to ongoing investments in various sectors aimed at improving livelihoods. Sharif announced the allocation while addressing a grand jirga, an assembly of provincial elders and influential figures alongside top military leadership, in Quetta, where he reaffirmed the government's commitment to Balochistan's development. 'I think that PSDP will be of Rs1,000 billion [in the next budget],' he told the gathering. 'So, out of this [amount], a fund of approximately Rs250 billion is for Balochistan alone. That is, 25% of the total federal PSDP for Balochistan.' The PSDP is Pakistan's central development program used to fund infrastructure, energy, education and other long-term public investment projects across the country. It includes both federal initiatives and financial support for provincial projects, particularly in underdeveloped regions like Balochistan. The prime minister said the allocation was the province's 'right.' 'Along with this,' he continued, 'these resources should be used transparently, whether it is Gwadar, whether it is Pasni, whether it is Chaman, whether it is Killa Saifullah, whether it is Quetta, whether it is Jhal Magsi or any other areas,' he continued. 'Every single penny there should be used honestly for the development and prosperity of the people.' Addressing the challenge of militancy in the province, Sharif said efforts must continue to bring back 'misguided' individuals who had joined militant groups. He acknowledged Balochistan's history of economic deprivation, while reiterating that those engaged in violence offer no solutions. 'Terrorists do not know anything but brutality,' he said. Calling for national unity, Sharif maintained: 'Let's sit together and talk. It is only by sitting together that a family becomes strong and prosperous. No evil eye can harm a united household.'
Arab News
2 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan PM says Indian bid to set ‘new norm' thwarted, vows focus on economy and governance
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday highlighted a range of security threats facing Pakistan days after a military standoff with India, saying New Delhi's attempt to establish a 'new norm' by targeting his country at will had been thwarted, though Pakistan must now focus on strengthening economy and governance. The remarks came during a televised address to senior military officers at the Command and Staff College in Quetta, where the premier recounted the recent escalation between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. The flare-up followed an April attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir, which New Delhi blamed on a Pakistan. Islamabad denied the allegation and called for an impartial probe, but tensions rapidly escalated into four days of cross-border hostilities, ending after a US-brokered ceasefire on May 10. 'The threats we face are no longer limited to conventional battlefields,' Sharif said during his address. 'They are multifaceted, ranging from kinetic warfare to cyberattacks, economic coercion to disinformation campaigns and hybrid threats that challenge both our borders and our ideological frontiers.' 'The recent Indian aggression against Pakistan, violating our territorial integrity and targeting our innocent civilians, was not merely countered successfully, but instead we succeeded in turning the tables on those who were dreaming of establishing a new norm,' he said. Sharif added that Pakistan accepted the ceasefire offer 'in the interest of peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia,' asserting that India's claim of a new strategic precedent 'was buried for all times to come by our brave armed forces.' 'In fact, it was Pakistan that established the new norm in its relations with India,' he said. 'Henceforth, we will not allow her to behave in an arrogant and haughty manner.' The prime minister said India had suffered 'serious setbacks in both warfare and finest diplomacy' during the episode. Turning to domestic matters, Sharif said while the military had fulfilled its responsibility, Pakistan still faced 'major challenges in the field of economy and governance.' He cited the dire financial situation when his administration took office, saying it compelled Pakistan to seek external assistance from lenders such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF). However, he maintained the economy had since stabilized and was now on a positive trajectory. The prime minister also criticized India's recent move to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), a World Bank-brokered water-sharing agreement signed in 1960, reiterating it was unacceptable to his country. 'We will not allow India to weaponize water by holding the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance,' he said. 'This is an absolute red line for us.'
