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Jamaat-e-Islami Holds Pro-Palestine Rally in Islamabad

The report stated the JI mobilised a massive crowd of protesters at Embassy Road, including people from different walks of life including workers and teachers….reports Asian Lite News

The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) held a protest criticising the stance of the interim government in Pakistan on the situation in Gaza, Dawn News reported on Monday, adding that thousands of protesters gathered on the streets in support of Palestine amid the ongoing Israeli offensive against Hamas.

The report stated the JI mobilised a massive crowd of protesters at Embassy Road, including people from different walks of life including workers and teachers.

JI chief Emir Sirajul Haq lamented the interim government not being proactive amid the situation in Gaza, the report stated, adding that the protesters also questioned the inaction of Muslim rulers saying that the Ummah “would not forgive the rulers of the Islamic world if they failed to take practical steps to safeguard the people of Palestine”.

He also called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, demanding that the US withdraw its support for Israel.

“Israel’s violation of all international laws and norms and its defiance of the UN General Assembly’s call for a ceasefire has been further aggravated by the launch of a ground assault on Gaza,” he said.

He expressed concern over the mounting death toll, pointing out the disruption of internet services in the besieged region, according to the report.

Further, according to Dawn News, the party had planned to hold the demonstration outside the US embassy, but the venue was changed after the district administration arrested about 20 party workers on Saturday.

Criticising the administration’s crackdown against JI workers, Haq said the government was “frightened when we announced the march in front of the US Embassy” and called it “unfortunate”.

“I want to ask who do you want to make happy. It was impossible for us to withdraw the call of the march,” he said, claiming that the police “brutally tortured” several JI workers.

The JUI-F’s protest in Quetta was also addressed by the party’s emir Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

He said the US was “no longer a superpower” and the government should remove the “shackles of US slavery and stand up against it”.

“Why aren’t our leaders openly declaring support for the Muslims of Gaza,” he asked, addressing the gathering at Ayub Stadium.

“If our rulers continue to show cowardice today, then the Pakistani nation will stand against its rulers,” he said.

He also stressed the need to convene a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to adopt a new stance in accordance with the evolving situation in Gaza.

Hamas leader Naji Zaheer also addressed the event saying the people of Palestine would not surrender and would fight for a separate state. (ANI)

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-Top News PAKISTAN

Shah Mahmood Qureshi arrested in Islamabad

The FIA earlier in July this year, grilled Qureshi and PTI leader Asad Umar for nearly two hours in connection with the probe into controversial US cypher…reports Asian Lite News

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi has been arrested from his residence in Islamabad, Geo News reported.

Geo News is a Pakistani news channel. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) as per sources, took Qureshi into custody from his Islamabad residence in connection with the ongoing investigation into cypher which PTI alleges contained the threat from the United States to oust Imran Khan from power.

The PTI has also confirmed that the party leader was arrested from his residence and is being moved to the FIA headquarters in the federal capital. The arrest came shortly after Qureshi addressed a presser wherein he dispelled the reports of infighting between party leaders to replace incarcerated party chief Imran Khan, as per Geo News. The PTI has also confirmed that the party leader was arrested from his residence and moved to the FIA headquarters in the federal capital.

The FIA earlier in July this year, grilled Qureshi and PTI leader Asad Umar for nearly two hours in connection with the probe into controversial US cypher.

Qureshi time and again has reiterated that the US cypher was a reality, backing the party chief’s claims that the US engineered his ouster from power by supporting the opposition’s no-confidence motion in April last year.

The cypher case against the former premier became serious after his principal secretary Azam Khan stated before a magistrate as well as the FIA that the former PM had used the US cypher for his ‘political gains’ and to avert a vote of no-confidence against him, as per Geo News.

The former bureaucrat, in his confession, said when he provided the ex-premier with the cypher, he was “euphoric” and termed the language a “US blunder”. The former prime minister, according to Azam, then said that the cable could be used for “creating a narrative against establishment and opposition”. (ANI)

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Islamabad suicide blast suspects identified, say police

Security personnel investigate at the site of a suicide attack in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Dec. 23, 2022. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal/IANS)

Additional details revealed that the suicide bomber had travelled from Karak, KP, to Mardan city where he had stayed overnight along with one facilitator who handled his accommodation…writes Hamza Ameer

A high-level team probing the December 23, 2022 suicide attack targeting a police checkpost in Islamabad that killed a cop and critically injured others, has identified the suicide bomber, while a manhunt for at least two other facilitators, who helped the perpetrator reach the Pakistani capital, has been launched.

As per informed sources, authorities have identified two people who had helped the suicide bomber in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province and helped him reach Rawalpindi and then move ahead towards Islamabad to carry out the atta.

“There were two facilitators of the suicide bomber; one brought him to Islamabad on December 23 and the other, who was present in Rawalpindi, handed him the suicide jacket”, stated an official, who is part of the investigation team.

Additional details revealed that the suicide bomber had travelled from Karak, KP, to Mardan city where he had stayed overnight along with one facilitator who handled his accommodation.

The next morning, the bomber travelled to Swabi city in KP, from where, he took a vehicle and travelled towards Pir Wadhai Bus Station in Rawalpindi.

The second facilitator received the bomber at Pir Wadhai.

“It is yet to be established if the bomber and his facilitator from KP had travelled with a ready-to-detonate suicide jacket or if it handed over to them by their facilitator in Rawalpindi,” said a source with information about the investigation.

As carrying a suicide jacket is more risky and dangerous, it is believed that the Rawalpindi facilitator was the one who handed it over to the bomber.

“The bomber also made a call after reaching Pir Wadhai and talked to someone,” said the source.

“We believe that the person with whom the suicide bomber spoke on the phone after reaching Pir Wadhai is the one who had arranged the suicide jacket for him.”

With the remains of the suicide bomber recovered from the crime scene, which include the upper part of the body and four fingers, the investigators have succedded in finding out his identity after conduction forensic tests of the fingerprints.

The source further said that a mobile sim was also found at the crime scene, whose details of registration matched with the bomber’s fingerprints.

“The suicide bomber was a native of Kurram district in KP and was identified at Saqib-ud-din, aged 22,” he added.

Another person, who had made a video of Parliament and the Red Zone in Islamabad with his mobile phone and was heard stating “TTP is coming”, has also been identified and arrested.

Intelligence sources confirmed that the person was affiliated with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terror outfit.

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-Top News PAKISTAN

Islamabad, Rawalpindi suffer fuel shortage

Later, rebutted reports and clarified that the government has no plans to hike the price of petroleum products…reports Asian Lite News

Long queues have lined up outside petrol pumps in twin cities — Islamabad and Rawalpindi — after oil marketing companies (OMCs) stopped the supply of the essential commodity, the media reported.

A representative of the petrol pump association said that the supply has been stopped and tankers have lined up outside oil depots for refilling, Geo News reported.

The official asked the OMCs to restart the supply of petroleum products as if the reserves of the petrol pumps run out, then businesses will be severely affected.

“We are in talks with oil supply companies regarding the matter,” he added.

Meanwhile, Chairman Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) Abdul Sami Khan said that the reserves of the pumps are running shortly after “Finance Minister Miftah Ismail announced another probable hike in petrol prices”.

He maintained that the supply to the petrol pumps had not stopped yet, but due to the rush at the filling stations, their reserves might be exhausted soon, Geo News reported.

Later, rebutted reports and clarified that the government has no plans to hike the price of petroleum products.

“There will be no increase in prices today, and there is no summary or plan to raise prices,” the Pakistan finance minister said in a tweet after media reports quoted him as saying that petrol prices will move up further.

“In the pre-budget seminar I never even spoke about petroleum prices. Channels running these tickers are doing a disservice to their viewers,” the finance minister said.

In his address to the one-day long pre-budget business conference, Ismail said that had the government taken decisions in line with former prime minister Imran Khan and former Pakistan finance minister Shaukat Tarin’s deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the price of petrol would have stood at Rs 300 per litre.

ALSO READ-Pak Taliban dominates new round of dialogue with desperate Islamabad

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-Top News PAKISTAN

Pak Taliban dominates new round of dialogue with desperate Islamabad

Islamabad is asking the TTP negotiators to terminate their insurgency against Pakistan and dissolve the group in favour of a peaceful resettlement to their native country…reports Mrityunjoy Kumar Jha

The Haqqani group, the power behind the throne in Afghanistan, has hosted talks between the Pakistani army and outlawed terror outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The dialogue between the two, after the TTP threatened to emerge as the vanguard of Pashtun nationalism, will continue as both parties have declared an indefinite ceasefire. Pashtun nationalism riles Pakistan as it threatens to sever parts of the Pashtun dominated Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan, and merge it with Afghanistan. The TTP is further showing signs of collaborating with Baloch nationalists, setting in force a perfect storm that assertively questions Pakistans existing territorial boundaries.

According to the Pakistani media, both sides have agreed that there would be no “major” counter-militancy operations by Pakistani security forces, nor would the TTP carry out attacks against them. Sources also confirmed that a large Loya Jirga is being convened in Kabul comprising 150 tribal leaders of the erstwhile FATA region, now part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. These leaders are already in Kabul for the next round of talks hosted by the chief of the UN designated terror organisation and the interior minister of the Taliban regime, Sirajuddin Haqqani – the kingpin of the Haqqani network.

“The senior Pak military officers are fine tuning the peace agreement with the leadership of the TTP, the Pakistani army officers and the Taliban rulers in Kabul. Efforts are on to arrange face-to-face meetings between Pakistani officers and the chief of the TTP Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud,” wrote the Pakistani journalist Daud Khattak.

The first two rounds of talks were headed by the former ISI chief and core commander of Peshawar Corps, Lt General Faiz Hameed who has close links with the Haqqanis and top Taliban rulers. According to the TTP, as a confidence building measure, the Pakistani army released two key militant commanders, including TTP spokesman Muslim Khan last month.

As the talks progressed, one Pakistani army official told Voice of America (VoA) that Pakistan hailed the host Taliban government for making “utmost efforts” to ensure relevant TTP commanders were present at the table to productively carry the dialogue forward. He noted that acting Afghan Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani “is playing the key role” in mediating the talks.

“Compensation for the dead and wounded, enforcement of Shariah regulation in Malakand, withdrawal of military from the borders and reversal of Fata merger into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were key demands from the TTP side”, Dawn reported quoting the sources.

Islamabad is asking the TTP negotiators to terminate their insurgency against Pakistan and dissolve the group in favour of a peaceful resettlement to their native country.

“Pakistani army has no issue with some of the TTP’s demands, but two major issues remained challenging: the reversal of Fata merger and the disbandment of the TTP as an armed militant group,” reported Dawn.

“Haqqani mediations have not led to a sustainable ceasefire but are a further indication of Mr. Sirajuddin’s central role within the Taliban as a mediator and figure of authority among rank-and-file of TTP and other mainly Pashtun groups in eastern Afghanistan,” said the UN annual report of the 1988 Taliban sanctions committee monitoring team.

The Pakistani watchers say that this is the third time the Pakistani army has initiated the peace talks with the banned TTP. The first two talks were thwarted by the TTP itself. Even twice bitten and deceived by the TTP, the Pakistani army has not learned any lesson.

(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)

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News PAKISTAN Politics

Islamabad braces for political showdown

Islamabad braces for political showdown

Workers and leaders of the JUI-F, under the banner of the opposition alliance PDM, have already come to take the stage on the Srinagar Highway…reports Asian Lite News

Nerves are on edge as Islamabad braces for a political showdown on Sunday as the ruling PTI is going all-out to make its public meeting successful amid mounting pressure from opposition parties, which are also marching on Islamabad before the vote on a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, Dawn reported.

Workers and leaders of the JUI-F, under the banner of the opposition alliance PDM, have already come to take the stage on the Srinagar Highway while PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz, along with Punjab opposition leader Hamza Shehbaz was leading her party caravan via GT Road to the capital, calling it the last nail in the coffin of the PTI government.

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid, speaking at a presser in Islamabad, warned the JUI-F that it would not be permitted to hold a sit-in in Islamabad, as they had been allowed to hold the public meeting on Saturday only and they would need to submit another request if they wanted to hold a rally on Sunday, too, the report said.

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He also cautioned that no party would be allowed to enter Red Zone and action would be taken against those who attempted to take the law into their hands by blocking another party’s route or by holding a sit-in in violation of Supreme Court directions.

He said the interior ministry would cooperate with opposition parties in connection with their upcoming rallies and no-confidence vote and provide full security to “all their lawmakers”.

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Arab News News PAKISTAN

Iranian Interior Minister arrives in Islamabad

Iranian Interior Minister arrives in Islamabad

Iranian Interior Minister Ahmed Vahidi arrived in Islamabad on Monday on a day-long visit to meet senior members of the Pakistan government and discuss important issues related to Pakistan-Iran relations…reports Asian Lite news

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed has received Vahidi.

As per details, Vahidi, along with his nine-member delegation will be meeting Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, and will be holding important meeting with other government representatives.

“During the day-long visit, the Iranian minister will hold meetings with Prime Minister Imran Khan and other government functionaries,” read a statement issued by the Federal Ministry of Interior.

“Vahidi and Pakistani officials will discuss issues related to Pakistan-Iran border management and the exchange of prisoners,” the statement added.

Both Pakistan and Iran had agreed to form a special committee for effective implementation on an agreement for the exchange of prisoners in October last year.

The border management, especially in relation to cross border movement of banned outfits and human trafficking, for which, Pakistan-Iran border is majorly used by the traffickers to bring people from Pakistan into Iran, and move them towards Turkey and Europe through a managed and active network of agents.

The visit of Iranian Interior Minister holds great importance as it comes a week after the visit of Saudi Interior Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Nayef, who came to Pakistan last week.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has expressed his desire to play a role of a mediator between Saudi Arabia and Iran and facilitates ways to ease tensions between the two countries.

Pakistan has also been focused on the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, a point that will also be part of the discussion with the Iranian Interior Minister.

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The recent tensions in Balochistan province, which saw a serious upsurge in targeted terror attacks on security personal and their installations, showed some signs of facilitation and harbouring by terror banned outfits on the Iranian side also.

Terror groups such as Zainabiyoun, have been operating on the Pakistan-Iran border. Pakistani authorities have in the past launched Intelligence Based Operations, and have neutralised dozens of members of the groups.

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COVID-19 News PAKISTAN

Islamabad records highest-ever Covid cases

Pakistan reported 5,196 COVID cases in the last 24 hours as per the National Command and Operation Centre, with Islamabad reporting 1,836 cases, the highest since the outbreak…reports Asian Lite News

Furthermore, 15 more patients of COVID-19 succumbed to the viral disease in the last 24 hours. With this, the death toll has been pushed to 29,137, reported ARY News.

The number of critical patients has also increased. It rose to 1,293 as compared to yesterday’s 1,113.

According to NCOC, a total of 51,063 samples were tested, out of which 5,196 turned out to be positive at the positivity rate of 10.17pc as compared to yesterday’s 12.81 percent, reported ARY News.

The positivity ratio in Islamabad was recorded at 22.2 percent. Besides, one person died of coronavirus in Rawalpindi district and 368 got infected, with the positivity rate calculated at 13.5pc.

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Notably, Pakistan is facing the fifth deadly wave of COVID and the country is breaking its previous records as the number increases each day.

WHO has already warned that the nations should not treat the Omicron variant lightly and make sure that all the protocols are followed properly. (ANI)

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Afghanistan Arab News PAKISTAN

Pak to invite Afghan Taliban to ministerial meet of Afghanistan’s neighbours

Pak to invite Afghan Taliban to ministerial meet of Afghanistan's neighbours

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that Islamabad will be inviting the Afghan Taliban to be part of the upcoming third ministerial meeting of Afghanistan’s neighbours…writes Hamza Ameer

Qureshi said “Afghanistan’s interim government will also be invited to the next meeting of Afghanistan’s neighbours”, as part of the country’s new formulated mechanism to keep constructive engagement with Afghanistan.

The ministerial meeting of Afghanistan’s neighbours comprises China, Iran, Pakistan Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Russia.

Pak to invite Afghan Taliban to ministerial meet of Afghanistan’s neighbours

The inclusion of Afghanistan is part of Islamabad’s strategy of active consultation and work towards formulation of a plan that should ensure an all-inclusive setup, which should be acceptable by the global community and would attract global recognition for the Afghan government in Afghanistan.

This is the first time that Afghan Taliban interim government will be invited to the meeting. The previous two meetings, inaugural held in Islamabad on September 8 and second hosted by Iran on October 27, did not extend invitation to the Afghan Taliban because the interim Afghan Taliban setup lacked global recognition.

However, extending invitation for the third meeting at a time when no country has recognised the Taliban government setup in Afghanistan, certainly has raised eyebrows.

During the second meeting, a joint communique called on the international community to remain positively engaged with Afghanistan and develop a long-term roadmap to advance the agenda of political engagement, economic integration and regional connectivity.

As per details, the third meeting will be hosted by China, which is likely to be held early next year.

The Afghan Taliban maintain that de facto recognition of the Taliban was already there. Afghan interim foreign minister Muttaqi, during his visit to Islamabad, hoped that de jure acceptance would also happen soon.

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Pakistan’s foreign minister Qureshi said that the world will have to accept the reality that “war in Afghanistan has ended and the Taliban are in power”.

Pakistan has maintained and urged the international community to opt for the policy of consistent and positive engagement with the Taliban. Pakistan has also called on the Afghan Taliban government to work towards addressing pivotal concerns of the international community to seek early recognition.

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News PAKISTAN World

Pakistan govt reaches agreement with banned TLP

Imran Khan

Pakistan Prime Minister-led Imran Khan government on October 31 reached an agreement with the hardline outlawed radical Islamist party Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan…reports Asian Lite News

Pakistan Prime Minister-led Imran Khan government on October 31 reached an agreement with the hardline outlawed radical Islamist party Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) as the two sides negotiated for the release of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan party chief Saad Rizvi, as well as expel the French ambassadors. 

The talks came as the violent protests flared across the country with tens of thousands of protesters of the radical Islamist group marching in Islamabad, heading to Gujranwala, Pakistan’s third-largest industrial centre approximately 80kms from Lahore and an estimated 220kms from Islamabad. 

Weeks after the radical Islamist protesters threatened to bring Islamabad to a halt, the Imran Khan-led government announced that it has reached a mutual agreement with TLP, ANI reported. The announcement came after Pakistan released 350 activists of the banned outfit Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan arrested during the unrest after they threatened of holding a “long march” against Prime Minister Imran Khan for not releasing party chief Saad Hussain Rizvi. 

The issue will be resolved peacefully by Tuesday, ending the 10-day long conflict, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan’s (TLP) Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said, according to Geo TV. The dialogue was held amid the partial closure of the populous cities of Lahore and Rawalpindi and demands from the rebel groups for the permanent closure of France’s embassy in Pakistan.

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“Police and Rangers are deployed on the route, the law enforcers did not stop the TLP workers on the order from the top as some government functionaries have engaged its leadership in talks,” a government official from Pakistan’s Punjab province told news agency PTI. Although, neither Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi nor religious leader Mufti Muneebur Rehman gave out the details about the meeting despite that both were a part of the meeting.

A committee panel of 12 members was earlier constituted to act as a negotiator between the Imran Khan-led administration and the outlawed Islamist party Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) that has been protesting for two weeks to put pressure on the government to release the party’s leader. Minister of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, Pir Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, had told Pakistani media last week that the panel is in negotiations with both the PTI administration and the leaders of the outlawed group.