THE chilling ambush of the Jaffar Express on Tuesday by terrorists is a rude wake-up call, reminding us of the state’s shrinking writ in Balochistan. Late Wednesday evening, the military confirmed the counterterrorism operation was over. But the fact that BLA terrorists were able to waylay and hijack the train carrying hundreds of passengers, as…
PAKISTAN’S social protection system is at a crossroads. Traditional social protection systems, while providing critical support for poverty reduction, are not designed to address the compounding challenges of climate-triggered disasters. The country’s flagship Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) needs to integrate an adaptive social protection system that can respond to climate risks and shocks while…
• Omar Ayub attributes attack to ‘incompetence, gross intelligence failure’• MNAs irked by ministers’ absence ISLAMABAD: The coalition government on Wednesday maintained an uncanny silence in the National Assembly over the hijacking of the Jaffar Express in Balochistan, despite scathing criticism from Opposition Leader Omar Ayub Khan, who slammed the handling of the attack that…
QUETTA: The war in Balochistan has reached every home, and there is dire need to launch coordinated actions to tackle the situation, Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti said on Wednesday. Speaking in the Balochistan Assembly on Wednesday, a day after the Jaffar Express was hijacked en route to Peshawar, he said that they should respond through…
• Military spokesperson says 33 terrorists killed; four FC men martyred; clearance operation underway• Says snipers took out suicide bombers guarding hostages, who then fled to safety• Claims terrorists were in touch with ‘handlers in Afghanistan’ via satellite phones• ISPR chief, information minister flay misinformation on social media, Indian media’s propaganda ISLAMABAD / QUETTA: After…
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) said Wednesday it agreed to acquire six power generation facilities from Texas-based Rockland Capital for $560M, adding 738 MW of natural gas-fired capacity to its portfolio. NRG (NYSE:NRG) is acquiring the assets, which include one combined-cycle unit
Swedish businessman Carl Lundstroem, co-founder of illegal file-sharing site The Pirate Bay, has died in an aeroplane crash in Slovenia, according to the far-right party he was linked to. Slovenian police confirmed on Wednesday to AFP that they found a body — “likely of the pilot, a Swedish citizen” — but declined to identify him…
A schoolteacher in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mansehra district was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly raping a female student and filming it, police told Dawn.com. According to a first information report filed by the victim’s brother on March 10 — a copy of which is available with Dawn.com — he received the video over Facebook Messenger and…
Representational image of Islamabad police and security personnel stand guard at a road. — AFP/File ISLAMABAD: Two police officers who were taken hostage by a group of drug peddlers in Phulgran’s Uthaal village, a suburban area of Islamabad, were successfully rescued by federal police on Wednesday. In a statement, the SSP operations said that both…
The Trump administration has ended $20 billion in funding for greenhouse gas reduction projects in a move that climate advocates and Democrats say illegally seizes money allocated for clean energy and transportation for disadvantaged communities. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin had publicised his campaign to claw back money from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund,…