Latest news with #Quetta
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Balochistan officials say Daesh involved in high-profile kidnapping, murder of schoolboy
ISLAMABAD: Senior officials of the Balochistan government this week said Daesh militants had abducted and murdered a schoolboy, whose kidnapping last year triggered a weeks-long protest in the province. Eleven-year-old Muhammad Musawir Khan Kakar, a third-grade student, was kidnapped from a school van by unidentified armed men while on his way to school in Quetta on Nov. 15, 2024. His family said they had not received any ransom call from the kidnappers since his abduction. Kakar's relatives and other protesters had staged a sit-in protest at Quetta's Unity Square for 14 days after his abduction. They ended the protest after Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti met and assured them of setting up a team to recover the boy. Kakar belonged to a prominent tribal family involved in the gold trading business in Balochistan for decades. "I do not merely want to condemn the brutal manner in which Daesh terrorists martyred the innocent child Musawir Kakar for ransom—I consider it my responsibility to ensure that those involved in this incident are brought to justice," Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti wrote on social media platform X on Saturday. داعش کے دہشت گردوں نے معصوم بچے مصور کاکڑ کو جس بے دردی سے تاوان کی خاطر شہید کیا اس کی صرف مذمت نہیں کرنا چاہتا بلکہ واقعے میں ملوث افراد کو کیفر کردار تک پہنچانا اپنی ذمہ داری سمجھتا ہوں ۔ گزشتہ سات ماہ سے حکومت بلوچستان اور میں ذاتی طور پر مصور کاکڑ کی باحفاظت واپسی کے لئے… — Sarfraz Bugti (@PakSarfrazbugti) June 28, 2025 Bugti said the provincial government had undertaken hectic efforts to recover Kakar over the past seven months. "The entire state machinery has now been mobilized against those involved in this incident," he said. Separately, Quetta Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat shared details of the incident. He said militants part of a Daesh cell operating from abroad had abducted the boy and demanded Rs3 billion [$10.58 million] as ransom, following which police and intelligence agencies launched a joint operation to recover him. Shafqaat said six suspects were identified by law enforcers, out of which five were Afghan nationals and one was a Pakistani citizen. The Quetta official said over 1,000 CCTV videos were analyzed while over 2,000 houses and 400 rented properties were searched. He added it was considered one of the largest search operations in which police, the Counterterrorism Department, Intelligence Bureau and Frontier Corps took part. Shafqaat said the operation progressed to a key hideout where one Afghan suspect detonated himself while another was killed. In a separate operation, he said the other gang members were located. "It was confirmed that the child had been martyred and was secretly buried," Shafqaat said. "The body was recovered, identified through DNA, and handed over to the family." There were reports that DAISH, led by Adil Panjshairi, was planning a kidnap for ransom operation. However, after his arrest, while entering Pakistan from Afghanistan by Paksitani Law Enforcement agencies, the plan was thwarted. Subsequently, another cell of DAISH, operating… — Muhammed Hamza Shafqaat (@hamzashafqaat) June 28, 2025 He said the provincial government was taking legal action against those involved in militant activities from across the border. "Rest assured all of them will be arrested," he vowed.
Arab News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan to observe first of Muharram on Friday, Ashura on July 6
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's central moon sighting committee announced on Thursday it had sighted the crescent for the Islamic month of Muharram, which will be observed in the country from June 27. The sighting of the Muharram crescent marks the start of the new Islamic year 1447, a reference to the number of years passed since Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) migrated from Makkah to Madinah. Shia Muslims across Pakistan hold gatherings and organize processions during the month to pay homage to Imam Hussain, the prophet's grandson, who was martyred in the Battle of Karbala centuries ago on Muharram 10 or Day of Ashura. Maulana Abdul Khabeer Azad, the chairman of the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, told reporters in Quetta that the committee had received testimonies of the Muharram crescent's sighting from several parts of the country. 'Hence it has been decided with consensus that, god willing, the first of Muharram, 1447 Hijri, will fall on June 27, 2025, on the blessed day of Friday,' Azad said. 'And the day of Ashura, the 10th of Muharram, 1447 Hijri, will fall on July 6, 2025, on Sunday.' Militant groups have often targeted Muharram processions and imambargahs in Pakistan, killing hundreds of people in the past. The government takes stringent security measures during Muharram every year, especially on Ashura, to ensure protection for thousands of Shia pilgrims across the city. These measures include strict security checking, increased deployment of law enforcement personnel and suspension of cellular services. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has tasked the provincial government to crack down against elements spreading sectarian hatred on social media platforms.
Arab News
5 days ago
- Arab News
Five dead, five injured as passenger bus catches fire in southwestern Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Five persons were killed and five others were injured in southwestern Pakistan on Tuesday after a passenger bus caught fire following its collision with a three-wheeled qingqi rickshaw, a senior official said. The incident took place on the Western Bypass road in Balochistan's provincial capital Quetta, the provincial government's spokesperson Shahid Rind said. He said the passenger bus caught fire after colliding with the qingqi, which was reportedly carrying petrol. 'We express our heartfelt sympathy to the families of the passengers who died in the tragic accident,' Rind said in a statement. 'The injured are being provided with immediate and best medical assistance.' Three of the injured are being treated in the city's Civil Hospital while two have been admitted to the Bolan Medical Complex, Rind said. He said the provincial government has started probing the incident, adding that strict action will be taken against all those found responsible for the accident once the investigation is completed. 'All possible help and support will be provided to the affected families,' Rind said. Road accidents are frequent in southwestern Pakistan, where drivers often lack proper training and often disregard traffic rules and regulations. In April, 19 people were killed and over 40 injured in an oil tanker blast that took place in Balochistan's Nushki district.
Arab News
19-06-2025
- Science
- Arab News
Three Pakistani schools among Top 10 finalists for World's Best School Prizes 2025
ISLAMABAD: Three Pakistani schools have this week been named among the Top 10 finalists for the World's Best School Prizes 2025, prestigious global awards founded by T4 Education to spotlight exceptional schools transforming education and communities. T4 Education is a global digital platform and community founded to empower teachers and schools to share best practices and drive positive change in education worldwide. It launched the World's Best School Prizes to spotlight schools making an exceptional impact beyond the classroom. Winners of the five World's Best School Prizes — for Community Collaboration, Environmental Action, Innovation, Overcoming Adversity, and Supporting Healthy Lives — will be announced in October following evaluation by an expert Judging Academy and a global public vote. Finalists and winners will share their insights at the World Schools Summit in Abu Dhabi in November. Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif commended the management, teachers and students of the three Pakistani schools: the Sanjan Nagar Public Education Trust Higher Secondary School and Nordic International School, both in Lahore, and the Beaconhouse College Program Juniper Campus in Quetta. 'These schools have made a name for themselves in terms of modern curriculum, research, technology, environment, development of backward and rural areas,' Sharif said in a statement released by his office. 'These educational institutions have made the country's name known all over the world.' Sanjan Nagar Public Education Trust Higher Secondary School in Lahore has been shortlisted for the World's Best School Prize for Overcoming Adversity. The charity school, which began in an abandoned factory, now educates nearly 800 students from marginalized backgrounds through the International Baccalaureate's Primary Years Program. It is the first in Pakistan to offer this curriculum to underserved communities, empowering students with critical 21st-century skills and bridging socio-economic divides. Beaconhouse College Program, Juniper Campus, Quetta, is a finalist for the Community Collaboration prize for its 'Science Gaari' initiative — a student-led mobile science lab bringing hands-on STEM education to remote schools in Balochistan, one of Pakistan's most underserved provinces. The project has reached over 150 schools, boosting science engagement and inspiring rural students to pursue careers in technology and research. Nordic International School Lahore has also been named a finalist for Community Collaboration. The independent school emphasizes strong parental involvement and a culture of kindness to foster a supportive learning environment. Parents are engaged throughout students' academic journeys via an interactive app, regular workshops, and celebrations of learning milestones. 'It is in schools like Sanjan Nagar, BCP Juniper Campus Quetta, and Nordic International School Lahore where we find the innovations and expertise that give us hope for a better future,' T4 Education Founder Vikas Pota said.
Arab News
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Hundreds evacuated from Iran via border crossing being sent to homes across Pakistan
QUETTA: Pakistani officials say hundreds of students and pilgrims, who were evacuated after Israeli strikes on Iran, will be transported to their homes across Pakistan today, Wednesday, after they were brought a day earlier to Quetta, the capital of the southwestern Balochistan province, which borders Iran. Commissioner of Quetta, Muhammad Hamza Shafqaat, said 545 pilgrims and 207 students reached Quetta from Pakistan's Taftan border crossing with Iran and arrangements had been made to transport them to their hometowns. 'We are trying to make them stay in Quetta tonight. There are some restrictions on movement at night from Quetta,' Shafqaat told Reuters. 'There are law and order issues on roads at some places. We want to avoid any unfortunate or untoward incidents.' Musharraf Abbas, who arrived from Tehran, said he was a student at the Iran University of Medical Sciences. 'Their [Iran's] military residences and rooms were at about one-and-a-half-kilometer distance from our residence,' he told Reuters. 'They were attacked on late Friday night around 330pm in which their high level personnel, including scientists, revolutionary guards and military leaders were killed.' Pakistan closed its border crossings with Iran at Panjgur in Balochistan province indefinitely due to escalating tensions, the district administration of Panjgur announced on Sunday, June 15. However, one of the busiest crossings at the Taftan border remains operational for repatriation and trade activity. A group of 214 Pakistani students studying in medical and engineering institutions in Iran arrived at Pakistan's Taftan border crossing from Tehran following Israeli airstrikes, officials said on Tuesday. Iran and Israel launched new missile strikes at each other on Wednesday as the air war between the two longtime enemies entered a sixth day despite a call from US President Donald Trump for Tehran's unconditional surrender.
