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Pak Urdu Media Digest – May 18

4 Min
Pak Urdu Media Digest – May 18

A random selection of news and commentaries as also editorials appearing in today -May 18 Pak Urdu dailies.

NEWS

  1.  Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mehmood Ali Khan said that it is better to move to Afghanistan and live there with dignity instead of staying in Pakistan under the leadership of Bilawal Bhutto who is the son of a cinema ticket black marketeer. He was addressing at a function in the Peshawar Post Graduate Medical Institute. (Qudrat)
  • PPP Senator Rubina Khalid has taken to task the KPK Chief Minister Mehmood Khan’s statement on shifting to Afghanistan, and accused him of being a punch to break Pakistan. KPK is an integral part of Pakistan and it will remain so forever. She asked Mehmood Khan to quit from CM post at once “if you have no guts to run the government”. (Aeen)
  • Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami, Siraj-ul-Haq, has castigated the Shehbaz government for knocking at the IMF doors and demanded that the agreement with the IMF should be reviewed. The economy cannot improve till we get rid of an interest-based economic system. He alleged that anti-national elements want to push the country towards anarchy. The economy, politics and institutions have become weak. (Jasarat)
  • Security has been beefed up at key locations including the airport, following terrorist attacks in Karachi. The recent blasts in the city involved three anti-state groups – the Muttahida London Group, the BLA and the SRA, according to a report of the law enforcement agency.    It states that 3 terrorist groups helped each other in the Bolton Market blasts as well. The report adds that the recce work of the area was conducted by a sleeper cell of Muttahida London. In the past, BLA used to make and plant such bombs while the Sindh Revolutionary Army carried out such attacks in interior Sindh. It is said that the recent blasts were carried out with the help of banned SRA; the target were commercial areas and law enforcement agencies.  The recent terrorist attacks in the city were an attempt by the SRA and the BLA to reduce their internal tensions. BLA chief Aslam Baloch has been assassinated in Afghanistan. He is said to be the mastermind of the attack on the Chinese Consulate in Karachi. His presence in Afghanistan was traced by a tip -off by his own comrades to the Pakistani agencies. Bashir Zeb, a former president of the Baloch Students Organization (BSO) has succeeded Aslam Baloch at the helm of BLA.  Furthermore, the Sindh Nationalist Militant Group, Sindh Desh Revolutionary Army, SRA, was formed in 2010 as an off-shoot of differences in the banned Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz. It was also called as Sindh Asghar Shah Group.  Asghar Shah was arrested in 2005 and released five years later, after which he decided to form his own group. Shafi Barfat, chief of Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz, had withdrawn from the armed struggle, while 40 of his comrades were killed in different incidents. (Jasarat-Jang)
  • Following a reprimand by the Sindh Chief minister, the Karachi police have started combing operations to smoke out sleeper cells of the terrorists in the slum areas of the city. A door -to- door search was conducted after sealing out all exit and entry points.   12 suspects were taken into custody (Intekhab Daily)
  • Two most wanted terrorists of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were killed in an exchange of fire with security forces in North Waziristan. According to the ISPR, on the night of 16/17 May, the encounter took place in Boya. The slain terrorists have been identified as terrorist commanders Rashid alias Jaber and Abdul Salam alias Chamto. Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from them. (Nawai Waqt)

EDITORIALS

  • Sindh is being discriminated against under every dispensation in the matter of water distribution. Sindh protests but to no avail. Like now despite Bilawal Bhutto’s statements on getting the 1991 water treaty implemented. Federal government and IRSA will have to take note that Sindh is not only getting less water but its share of water is also being stolen on the way to Sindh. Sindh must get its share and whatever thefts are taking place in the province, must stop too.  (Kawish Edit, May 17)
  • Law enforcement agencies have undertaken a full-scale operation in the tribal areas, along the Pak-Afghan border in the integrated tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and in urban areas. The hide outs of extremist groups were raided and key militant figures were picked up.  Officials claim that the backbone of the terrorist network has been broken.   Hopefully, the assertion is true and terrorism will decline. (Daily Pakistan Edit)
  • Bomb blast near Bolton Market in Karachi is the latest in the wave of terrorism that began with a suicide bombing targeting Chinese teachers at the Karachi University. Law enforcement agencies, the intelligence agencies and other concerned did their best to bring the perpetrators of terrorism to book, but with no tangible results.  The main accused is still at large. This non-arrest created insecurity among the Chinese teachers and China has recalled them. The attack on Chinese teachers is a test case for all relevant institutions in Karachi, including the Sindh Government. (Edit in Daily Pakistan & Naibaat)

COLUMNS

  1. It is obvious that this government can’t work. The problems are big but the ruling alliance can’t make big decisions.  Sharif and Asif Zardari are not interested in elections. They have different priorities. Both want an end to their cases.  Don’t expect any big decision from them. Shahbaz Sharif should be persuaded to dissolve the National Assembly and an election should be held at the earliest. (Ayaz Amir in Dunya Daily)
  2. Good friendship, strong and deep mutual social and cultural ties, and trade relations with neighboring countries on the basis of equality are essential for the peace and prosperity of the region. This opens up new avenues and creates new foundations for mutual relations and trade. Our neighbours include China, Afghanistan, Iran, and India.  Unfortunately, in the past 74 years, good relations between India and Pakistan have never been established. There has always been an atmosphere of tension due to disputes over many issues, including Kashmir.  Iran and Afghanistan are also our brotherly Islamic neighbours but our ties with them have been very cold on many issues. Terrorist groups have been entering Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan via Afghanistan and Iran. Pakistani government has been protesting diplomatically with Afghanistan and Iran over these terrorist acts. But both have never taken Pakistan’s protests seriously. (Saad Akhtar in Nawai Waqt)

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