Summarized News & Articles

Mastung massacre: 149 martyred, over 200 injured in suicide blast
QUETTA(July 12, 2018) A suicide bomber targeting a political rally of the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) on Friday killed at least 149 people and injured over 200, the deadliest in a string of attacks on electioneering that have heightened security fears ahead of the elections. Among those slain was the candidate for PB-35 (Mastung) Siraj Raisani, whose elder brother Nawab Aslam Raisani had served as the Balochistan chief minister from 2008 to 2013.
Back in July 2011, Siraj Raisani lost his 14-year-old son in a terrorist attack in Mastung, in which several others, including security personnel, were killed.
Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) officials confirmed that it was a suicide blast and noted that almost 16-20 kilogrammes of explosives were used in the explosion. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.
The bombing was the most deadly attack in Pakistan in over three years since the APS tragedy when Taliban extremists assaulted a school in Peshawar in 2014, killing over 150 people, mostly children and is the third incident of election-related violence this week.

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Peshawar Suicide Blast: ANP Leader Haroon Bilour Among 22 Others Martyred
July 10, 2018 | The barbaric incident happened when a suicide bomber blew himself up in YakaToot neighborhood moments after Haroon Bilour arrived at the venue near the stage late Tuesday 10th July, ahead of a corner meeting held here. Haroon Bilour was due to address the supporters at the meeting. The party members and admirers engaged in fireworks to welcome him. Suicide bomber used the firework as his cover. The late ANP candidate Haroon Bilour was set to contest the Pakistan elections 2018 from Peshawar’s PK-78 constituency. At least 65 other people were wounded in the bomb explosion.
Deceased ANP leader Haroon Bilour was the son of Bashir Ahmed Bilour, a senior ANP figure who, himself, was martyred in a suicide blast back in 2012. Haroon Bilour was rushed to the hospital in a critical condition but could not survive. The banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the Peshawar suicide blast.
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Four Martyred|Attack on JUI-F leader Akram Khan Durrani’s convoy in Bannu
BANNU(July 12, 2018) At least four people were killed and 10 injured in an explosion near a Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) convoy headed back from an election rally on Friday morning in Bannu. Speaking to reporters after the attack, JUI-F leader Akram Khan Durrani said the blast took place near the tire of his jeep when he was passing through Haved Bazaar after addressing an election rally. “There were workers surrounding my jeep when the blast took place.”
According to RPO, the blast happened 50 meters away from the rally’s site. In addition, 40 police officers were deployed at the venue. However, Akram Khan Durrani survived the attack. He said that it was a fifth attack on him and security forces warned him about the security threats. He further added that his vehicle is totally destroyed due to the explosion. Akram Khan Durrani is the former Federal Minister for Housing and Works.

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PTI Candidate Sardar Ikramullah Gandapor Martyred in Suicide Attack
DI KHAN(22 Jul) Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Sardar Ikramullah Gandapur was martyred as a suicide bomber targetted his vehicle in DI Khan’s Kulachi Tehsil. Gandapur was said to be leaving his home for an election meeting when his jeep was targetted. The PTI candidate was among four injured in the attack and succumbed to his wounds at the hospital. ”Two police guards and Gandapur’s driver were injured in the attack.

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32 killed from blast near polling station in Quetta on Election Day
QUETTA (25 July 2018) – According to details, the suspected suicide attack occurred near eastern bypass. DIG Quetta Abdur Razzaq Cheema remained safe in the attack. “The bomber was trying to enter the polling station. When police tried to stop him he blew himself up,” a local administration official in Quetta, Hashim Ghilzai, told AFP. Balochistan suffered the brunt of a series of attacks that killed more than 180 people across Pakistan during the brief but acrimonious election campaign.
Nawaz Sharif sentenced to 10 years in jail, Maryam 7 years in Avenfield reference
ISLAMABAD (Friday July 06, 2018) – An accountability court on Friday jailed former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif, daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Captain (r) Muhammad Safdar for 10, 7 and 1 year respectively. Announcing verdict judge, Muhammad Bashir ruled that the Avenfield apartments of the Sharif family shall be seized by the federal government. The judge while awarding 10 years imprisonment to Nawaz Sharif also imposed an eight million pound (Rs1.2billion) fine, while a fine of two million pound (Rs322 million) has been imposed on his daughter Maryam Nawaz .
The court also issued permanent arrest warrants of ex-PM’s sons Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz. Maryam Nawaz and Captain (r) Safdar, who were candidates for the forthcoming general elections have been disqualified from contesting elections for 10 years each. A copy of the verdict said the Sharif family had failed to prove a legal source of income for the purchase of Avenfield apartments in 1993, 1995 and 1996.

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Nawaz, Maryam shifted to Adiala jail on corruption charges
Former premier Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz were arrested by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) officials upon their arrival in Lahore on Friday night, and subsequently whisked away to Islamabad on a chartered flight.
The sentences, delivered in absentia, against Nawaz Sharif and his daughter who is widely seen as his political heir, have dealt a blow to their Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party. Nawaz and Maryam were served with a legal warrant as soon as they entered Pakistan s airspace. Nawaz and Maryam had taken off from Abu Dhabi for Lahore shortly after 6pm PST on the last leg of their journey home from London. Their flight, Etihad Airways flight EY243, was earlier scheduled to land at 6:15pm PST at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport, but suffered a nearly three-hour delay.

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PML-N leader Hanif Abbasi sentenced to life in ephedrine quota case
RAWALPINDI: A special anti-narcotics court sentenced Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hanif Abbasi to life in ephedrine quota case, just four days before the general election in the country on 25 July. The PML-N leader was taken into custody from the courtroom soon after the judge announced the verdict. Abbasi, who was contesting the upcoming election from NA-60 Rawalpindi, faced charges of misusing 500kg of the controlled chemical ephedrine, which he obtained for his company, Gray Pharmaceutical, in 2010.

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Heads of Russian, Iranian, Chinese, Pakistani intelligence services discuss IS threat
MOSCOW, July 10. /TASS/. Heads of intelligence services of Russia, Iran, China, and Pakistan held a meeting in Islamabad on Tuesday to discuss the measures against the threat of aggregation of the Islamic State militants in Afghanistan, Sergei Ivanov, the chief of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service’s press bureau told TASS. The Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin, represented Russia.
“The discussions focused on the dangers arising from a buildup of the Islamic State on the Afghan territory,” Ivanov said. “The conference reached understanding of the importance of coordinated steps to prevent the trickling of IS terrorists from Syria and Iraq to Afghanistan where from they would pose risks for neighboring countries,” he said. The top security and intelligence officials stressed the need for a more active inclusion of regional powers in the efforts to settle the conflict in Afghanistan.

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Indian Raw chief station Prakash Sinha killed in Afghanistan
Confirmed RAW Station Chief Prakash Sinha Assassinated in Afghanistan, and other 2 Raw Officers Major Piyush & Major Inkat also abducted by unknown people in Kabul Afghanistan. This news is circulating over the social media especially in Pakistan. Many Defense analysts are talking about the assassination of Station Chief of RAW Prakash Sinha in Afghanistan. It is very hard for India to accept this news and admit it officialy because it will damage the credibility of RAW in India and all over the world, Some says it is the revenge of Balochistan attack in which martyred 147 people including Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) candidate Siraj Raisani and wounded 200 people.

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PAF declared runner-up in UK air show
Islamabad – A PAF C-130 aircraft has been adjudged a runner-up in the prestigious Royal International Air Tattoo Show-2018 in the UK. An aesthetically painted PAF C-130 was honoured out of 300 aircraft in the mega show. According to a PAF spokesperson, it was a moment of joy for the PAF when PAF C-130 aircraft was adjudged runner-up in the prestigious air show.
Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan also witnessed the static display of the No 6 squadron’s Hercules. He was briefed about the various photographs and paintings which had been put on display to the aircraft. He congratulated the PAF contingent for their excellent performance and raising the country’s flag high at the mega event.
Talking to the PAF contingent, he appreciated their efforts for achieving this honour and hoped that it would go a long way in projecting the soft image of the country across the world. PAF C-130 stole the show with its attractive and artistically painted colour scheme. The participating military and civilian aircraft included USAF F-35A, French Air Force Rafale C, German Air Force Tornado IDS and RAF Red Arrows on display at the Royal International Air Tattoo.
Earlier, the air chief attended Chief of the Air Staff’s Air Power Conference with a theme ‘Building the Next Generation Air Force’.
The conference was the highlight of a week of events celebrating the Royal Air Force’s centenary in London.

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Sending money to Pakistan? Read this first
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has taken stringent measures to tighten currency movement within the country amid depreciation of the national currency following the grey-listing of Pakistan by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The central bank issued a detailed set of instructions to all the money exchange companies, instructing them to help the bank keep a strict vigilance over currency movements, reports Xinhua news agency.
According to the instructions, the money exchange companies will have to properly document and record the purpose of the currency movement after necessary authorization in its system on real time basis by its head office. The central bank has also decided to allocate working capital to each outlet of the exchange companies for carrying out transactions, keeping in view the business needs of the head office of the respective exchange company. This would help the State Bank to keep a check on the movement of the Pakistani rupee and foreign currencies within the company’s authorised network.
Pakistan was placed on the grey-list on June 28 by by the FATF, an inter-governmental body which combats money laundering and terror financing among other things, for failing to curb terror financing on its soil. The decision to put Pakistan on the “grey list” was taken in February but then the country was given relief till June to combat the issue.
Pakistan had been included in the list from 2012 to 2015.