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War Against Terror
In a recent terror strike, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Sardar Amjad Farooq Khan Khosa was targeted inside his political office in Dera Ghazi Khan. At least seven people were killed and 13 others injured after a bomb exploded at his office. Luckily the MNA himself was not present in the office at the time of the blast. Later, a Taliban splinter group, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed the responsibility for the attack.
This was the second such attack on PML-N leaders. In August, Punjab Home Minister Shuja Khanzada was killed among 18 others after two suicide bombers detonated a bomb at a meeting at his political office near Attock city.
Meanwhile military has stepped up air strikes against suspected terrorists in the tribal region. In latest air strikes at least 22 suspected terrorists were killed along the Pak- Afghan border in Datta Khel area.
Meanwhile Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif while on his three-day visit to Turkey met his counterpart and discussed ‘enhanced cooperation’ on the future direction of war against terrorism.
By-Elections
The long awaited by- polls in NA- 122 and PP-147 were held in Lahore on Sunday. Ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) candidate Sardar Ayaz Sadiq narrowly defeated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Abdul Aleem Khan in NA-122. As the results were announced, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf once again blamed PML-N for electoral rigging, saying that names of large number of voters were either transferred to other constituencies or deleted from the voters list. PTI Chairman Imran Khan slammed the ruling PML-N for what he called ‘pre-poll intimidatory tactics and rigging’.
PTI Chairman also announced that his party has created a cell to investigate the issue of transferred and missing votes from the NA-122 constituency whose findings will be presented to a ‘free and fair election commission’.
In a response to the accusations by PTI, Minister for Interior Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan asked Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership to accept defeat. Chaudhry Nisar said that government had accepted all demands of the PTI including constitution of a judicial commission to probe 2013 general elections, installation of cameras and deployment of army during by-election in NA-122, but still PTI was levelling baseless allegations.
Nawaz to Meet Obama
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is scheduled to visit US from October 20 to 23 where he will meet US President Barack Obama. This visit to the US is considered very important considering the situation in Afghanistan where Taliban are once again consolidating their position.
Before leaving for US, the premier is holding sessions with advisors and cabinet members to formulate the agenda of his meeting with the US president. He has held at least two consultative sessions over the past eight days — one of which was exclusively with his key ministers, while the other bigger one involved the military.
Besides the discussion on the US proposal for Pakistan’s nuclear mainstreaming, which has emerged as the biggest issue on agenda, Mr Sharif would be telling President Obama about what Pakistan is doing to help restart the reconciliation process that stalled after disclosure about Mullah Omar’s death, and also about what his government was doing to fight terrorism at home.
Earlier, President Obama had also announced his agenda of meeting with Nawaz Sharif, saying he will continue to urge all parties in the region to press the Taliban to return to peace talks and to do their part in restoring peace in Afghanistan
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