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Govt. vs Opposition
Tussle has been going on between the opposition and the government over corruption charges, arrests and investigation on corruption scandals. The opposition parties, who have been under the scrutiny, now demand Rangers and National Accountability Bureau to investigate corruption scams of the ruling party in Punjab. Earlier Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf Imran Khan had demanded third-party, independent inquiries into alleged mega corruption scams in Punjab. He had invited federal agencies, especially Rangers and NAB, to begin crackdowns on corruption in Punjab and in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where his own party rules.
Khan termed the metro bus project in Punjab the biggest scam as it was executed at an unusually high cost and also demanded investigation into Nandi Pur power project. Imran also said that mega corruption scandals had not surfaced before because the Public Accounts Committee and National Accountability Bureau were controlled by the PPP and the PML-N.
Meanwhile responding to Imran Khan’s demand to conduct an anti-corruption operation in Punjab, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said that calling upon the Rangers or the army for vengeance will create controversy in these institutions and weaken the democratic system.
Terror Strikes Again
This week saw two major attacks in Multan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in response to military operation against terrorists in the country. In a latest attack on Friday militants attacked a heavily-guarded Pakistan Air Force base in Badhaber area on the outskirts of Peshawar early morning, killing 18 people, including an army captain. According to Inter Service Public Relations 13 militants had also been killed. Terrorists also approached a mosque in the base and sprayed worshippers with bullets as they prayed, killing at least 16 of them. In an email to the media, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Khorasani group claimed responsibility for the attack. Earlier on Sunday at least 10 people were killed and 50 others injured in an explosion in Multan.
Meanwhile four Taliban, including a commander were killed in a drone strike in near Pak-Afghan border. According to reports, the killed suspects were from Imarat Islami Afghan Taliban. Another 15 terrorists were killed following an airstrike by Pakistan Air Force in North Waziristan.
Over in Quetta Balochistan Home Secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani stated that the provincial law enforcement agencies have arrested more than 8,000 suspected militants after the implementation of National Action Plan (NAP).
According to home secretary out of 204 terrorists, killed by security forces during different operations and raids, around 100 were high-profile terrorists.
Pak-India Relations
Despite a bi-annual meeting between commanders of Pakistan’s Rangers and India’s Border Security Force and agreement to stop border violations along the LoC, the ceasefire violation still continues. In a latest incident one Pakistani soldier and three civilians were killed in firing by Indian Border Security Forces across the Line of Control (LoC). Pakistan summoned Indian High Commissioner to lodge a strong protest and urged India to observe the 2003 Ceasefire Arrangement. Pakistan also urged to independently hold an inquiry into the latest violations and share its findings with Pakistan.
Meanwhile advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz, while speaking in the Upper House of the parliament, said that Pakistan would take along to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) all the dossiers prepared against India for its involvement in terror activities in Pakistan. He said India accuses the non-state actors from Pakistan of meddling in the Indian affairs, but in reality, the Indian state actors are interfering in Pakistan.
He also ruled out the chance of meeting with Indian prime minster adding this time India would have to request for a meeting as India only wants to talk on terror while Pakistan wants a discussion on all outstanding issues including Kashmir.
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