#Pakistani security agencies

[ausetkmt]

Video shows migrants waiting before ill-fated migrant boat voyage

03:41 - Source: CNN

CNN  — 

The hull of the fishing trawler lifted out of the water as it sank, catapulting people from the top deck into the black sea below. In the darkness, they grabbed onto whatever they could to stay afloat, pushing each other underwater in a frantic fight for survival. Some were screaming, many began to recite their final prayers.

“I can still hear the voice of a woman calling out for help,” one survivor of the migrant boat disaster off the coast of Greece told CNN. “You’d swim and move floating bodies out of your way.”

With hundreds of people still missing after the overloaded vessel capsized in the Mediterranean on June 14, the testimonies of those who were onboard paint a picture of chaos and desperation. They also call into question the Greek coast guard’s version of events, suggesting more lives could have been saved, and may even point to fault on the part of Greek authorities.

Rights groups allege the tragedy is both further evidence and a result of a new pattern in illegal pushbacks of migrant boats to other nations’ waters, with deadly consequences.

This boat was carrying up to 750 Pakistani, Syrian, Egyptian and Palestinian refugees and migrants. Only 104 people have been rescued alive.

CNN has interviewed multiple survivors of the shipwreck and their relatives, all of whom have wished to remain anonymous for security reasons and the fear of retribution from authorities in both Greece and at home.

One survivor from Syria, whom CNN is identifying as Rami, described how a Greek coast guard vessel approached the trawler multiple times to try to attach a rope to tow the ship, with disastrous results.

“The third time they towed us, the boat swayed to the right and everyone was screaming, people began falling into the sea, and the boat capsized and no one saw anyone anymore,” he said. “Brothers were separated, cousins were separated.”

Another Syrian man, identified as Mostafa, also believes it was the maneuver by the coast guard that caused the disaster. “The Greek captain pulled us too fast, it was extremely fast, this caused our boat to sink,” he said.

The Hellenic Coast Guard has repeatedly denied attempting to tow the vessel. An official investigation into the cause of the tragedy is still ongoing.

Coast guard spokesman Nikos Alexiou told CNN over the phone last week: “When the boat capsized, we were not even next to (the) boat. How could we be towing it?” Instead, he insisted they had only been “observing at a close distance” and that “a shift in weight probably caused by panic” had caused the boat to tip.

The Hellenic Coast Guard has declined to answer CNN’s specific requests for response to the survivor testimonies.

Direct accounts from those who survived the wreck have been limited, due to their concerns about speaking out and the media having little access to the survivors. CNN interviewed Rami and Mostafa outside the Malakasa migrant camp near Athens, where journalists are not permitted entry.

The Syrian men said the conditions on board the migrant boat deteriorated fast in the more than five days after it set off from Tobruk, Libya, in route to Italy. They had run out of water and had resorted to drinking from storage bottles that people had urinated in.

“People were dying. People were fainting. We used a rope to dip clothes into the sea and use that to squeeze water on people who had lost consciousness,” Rami said.

CNN’s analysis of marine traffic data, combined with information from NGOs, merchant vessels and the European Union border patrol agency, Frontex, suggests that Greek authorities were aware of the distressed vessel for at least 13 hours before it eventually sank early on June 14.

The Greek coast guard has maintained that people onboard the trawler had refused rescue and insisted they wanted to continue their journey to Italy. But survivors, relatives and activists say they had asked for help multiple times.

Earlier in the day, other ships tried to help the trawler. Directed by the Greek coast guard, two merchant vessels – Lucky Sailor and Faithful Warrior – approached the boat between 6 and 9 p.m. on June 13 to offer supplies, according to marine traffic data and the logs of those ships. But according to survivors this only caused more havoc onboard.

“Fights broke out over food and water, people were screaming and shouting,” Mostafa said. “If it wasn’t for people trying to calm the situation down, the boat was on the verge of sinking several times.”

By early evening, six people had already died onboard, according to an audio recording reviewed by CNN from Italian activist Nawal Soufi, who took a distress call from the migrant boat at around 7 p.m. Soufi’s communication with the vessel also corroborated Mostafa’s account that people moved from one side of the boat to the other after water bottles were passed from the cargo ships, causing it to sway dangerously.

The haunting final words sent from the migrant boat came just minutes before it capsized. According to a timeline published by NGO Alarm Phone they received a call, at around 1:45 a.m., with the words “Hello my friend… The ship you send is…” Then the call cuts out.

The coast guard says the vessel began to sink at around 2 a.m.

The next known activity in the area, according to marine traffic data, was the arrival of a cluster of vessels starting around 3 a.m. The Mayan Queen superyacht was the first on the scene for what soon became a mass rescue operation.

Human rights groups say the authorities had a duty to act to save lives, regardless of what people on board were saying to the coast guard before the migrant boat capsized.

“The boat was overcrowded, was unseaworthy and should have been rescued and people taken to safety, that’s quite clear,” UNHCR Special Envoy for the Central Mediterranean Vincent Cochetel told CNN in an interview. “There was a responsibility for the Greek authorities to coordinate a rescue to bring those people safely to land.”

Cochetel also pointed to a growing trend by countries, including Greece, to assist migrant boats in leaving their waters. “That’s a practice we’ve seen in recent months. Some coastal states provide food, provide water, sometimes life jackets, sometimes even fuel to allow such boats to continue to only one destination: Italy. And that’s not fair, Italy cannot cope with that responsibility alone.”

Survivors who say the coast guard tried to tow their boat say they don’t know what the aim was.

There have been multiple documented examples in recent years of Greek patrol boats engaging in so-called “pushbacks” of migrant vessels from Greek waters in recent years, including in a CNN investigation in 2020.

“It looks like what the Greeks have been doing since March 2020 as a matter of policy, which is pushbacks and trying to tow a boat to another country’s water in order to avoid the legal responsibility to rescue,” Omer Shatz, legal director of NGO Front-LEX, told CNN. “Because rescue means disembarkation and disembarkation means processing of asylum requests.”

Pushbacks are state measures aimed at forcing refugees and migrants out of their territory, while impeding access to legal and procedural frameworks, according to the Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR). They are a violation of international law, as well as European regulations.

And such measures do not appear to have deterred human traffickers whose businesses prey on vulnerable and desperate migrants.

In an interview with CNN last month, then Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis denied that his country engaged in intentional pushbacks and described them as a “completely unacceptable practice.” Mitsotakis is widely expected to win a second term in office in Sunday’s election, after failing to get an outright majority in a vote last month.

A series of Greek governments have been criticized for their handling of migration policy, including conditions in migrant camps, particularly following the 2015-16 refugee crisis, when more than 1 million people entered Europe through the country.

For those who lived through last week’s sinking, the harrowing experience will never be forgotten.

Mostafa and Rami both say they wish they had never made the journey, despite the fact they are now in Europe and are able to claim asylum.

Most of all, Mostafa says, he wishes the Greek coast guard had never approached their boat: “If they had left us be, we wouldn’t have drowned.”

[cytherealarsen]

🚨: Terrorist attack on Hindu pilgrims in Reasi district, Jammu and Kashmir, India.

In a tragic event, a group of pilgrims met with a devastating accident when their bus careened off the road and plunged into a gorge near Teryath village in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. Reports indicate that at least ten individuals lost their lives, while over 30 sustained injuries in the incident, which occurred on Sunday. The bus, returning from the Shiv Khori cave shrine to Katra, a town renowned for the Vaishno Devi temple, was traveling along a link road of NH144A, navigating through dense forests and hilly terrain. Prompt response from locals and authorities led to rescue efforts, while security forces, comprising personnel from the police, Army, and CRPF, initiated a search operation to apprehend the assailants. The area, located 100 kilometers northwest of Jammu, has been cordoned off in response to the premeditated attack. Reasi SSP Mohita Sharma disclosed that the terrorists had orchestrated the assault, targeting the bus as it passed through the area. The driver was struck by gunfire, causing the vehicle to veer off course. Evidence, including bullet casings, was recovered from the scene, indicating the involvement of two masked assailants. Although the identities of the deceased and injured have yet to be officially confirmed, it is suspected that the pilgrims hailed from Uttar Pradesh. This incident underscores the potential spread of terrorist activities into previously unaffected regions, as Reasi district had hitherto remained insulated from the surge in attacks witnessed in neighboring districts such as Rajouri and Poonch. The Pir Panjal route, notorious for its rugged terrain, serves as a favored infiltration route for terrorists moving from the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch and Rajouri towards Kashmir. Intelligence sources suspect the participation of Illiyas Fauji, a former Pakistani army SSG commando turned LeT operative, along with two other militants from Pakistan who have evaded capture since the deadly assault on an IAF convoy in Poonch on May 4. This recent attack in Reasi follows a similar incident on May 13, 2022, when terrorists targeted a bus transporting pilgrims from Katra to Jammu using "sticky bombs," resulting in four fatalities and 13 injuries. The assault evokes memories of the July 10, 2017, attack on a bus ferrying Amarnath pilgrims, which claimed seven lives and left 19 others wounded. Despite facing heavy gunfire, the driver in that instance managed to safeguard 52 passengers. According to data from the Union home ministry, eight civilians have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir in the first five months of the current year up to May 31. Concerns regarding security have been heightened in anticipation of the upcoming Amarnath Yatra, prompting Jammu ADGP Anand Jain to oversee security arrangements on Friday night. The review encompassed preparations not only for the annual Amarnath Yatra but also for the Mata Kheerbhawani mela, Budha Amarnath Yatra, and Shri Machail Yatra, emphasizing the establishment of joint control rooms to enhance coordination among all concerned agencies. The Amarnath cave shrine, nestled at an altitude of 3,880 meters in the South Kashmir Himalayas, is slated to host its annual pilgrimage from June 29 to August 19.

[beardedmrbean]

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A court in Pakistan on Thursday allowed investigators to question a man in their custody for four more days about his role in spreading misinformation that sparked widespread rioting in the U.K. earlier this month, officials said.

The court’s decision came a day after authorities charged the suspect Farhan Asif, 32, with cyber terrorism following his arrest from his home in Lahore, the capital of eastern Punjab province.

Asif, who is a freelance web developer, was produced before the court amid tight security. He was not allowed to talk to the media.

Kiran Muqeem, a prosecutor for the Federal Investigation Agency, told the court that Asif did not cooperate with officers after the same court the previous day allowed them to question him for a day. They demanded his custody for two weeks but the court said it would only allow it for four more days.

Muqeem later told reporters that Asif disseminated fake news and caused riots in England.

Asif was handcuffed and wearing blue shalwar kameez garments when brought to the court.

His lawyer Rana Rizwan told reporters that the court remanded his client into the custody of the federal agency in a hurry and without hearing him.

“We were informed by the court that the case of Asif would be taken up after lunch break. But the court took up the matter before the lunch break, and allowed FIA to keep him in their custody,” Rizwan said.

Asif is accused of spreading misinformation from YouTube and Facebook about the British teenage suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three girls and injured 10 other people on July 29 at a dance class in Northwest England.

The false information claimed that the suspect was a recently arrived asylum-seeker and had a name that suggested he was Muslim. After the misinformation led to a violent mob attacking a mosque near the site of the stabbing the next day, police took the unusual step of clarifying that the suspect was born in the U.K.

British media has widely reported that his parents are from Rwanda and are said to have Christian beliefs. Channel3 Now, an account on the X social media platform that purports to be a news channel, was one of the first outlets to report the false name, Ali Al-Shakati.

A Facebook account for the channel said it is managed by people in Pakistan and the U.S. But, officials say Asif was solely running the Channel3 Now, and he spread misinformation to gain more viewers.

[workersolidarity]

🇵🇰⚔️🇮🇷 🚨

💥PAKISTAN RETALIATES FOR IRANIAN STRIKES ON TERRORIST GROUPS INSIDE ITS BORDERS💥

Pakistan launched a series of missile strikes inside Iranian territory targeting what it says are terrorist groups near its border with the Islamic Republic.

According to Pakistani authorities, the strikes are in retaliation for recent missile strikes by Iran inside its own territory.

Iranian sources say the strikes targeted the Sistan and Baluchestan provinces in the southeast of Iran.

Pakistani authorities said they had no intention of escalating the situation, while the Iranian authorities have condemned the strikes.

"At 4:50 a.m., Thursday, several explosions were heard in the area of Saravan city, and after the investigations, we found out that Pakistan had targeted one of Iran's border villages with a missile," a security source told Mehr News Agency.

#source1

#source2

@WorkerSolidarityNews

[mariacallous]

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan—As the Taliban consolidate Afghanistan’s status as a nexus for much of what is bad in the world right now, from crimes against humanity to the wholesale export of drugs, guns, and terrorism, a bloodthirsty old warlord popped up at a recent meeting of the putative opposition to declare war as the only hope of getting their country back.

There are two paths to Afghanistan’s freedom, Ismail Khan, aged in his mid-70s, told the gathering in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan: jaw-jaw or war-war. Negotiating with the Taliban has never worked, he said. Which leaves war as the only option.

Dushanbe just hosted the second road edition of the Herat Security Dialogue, which until the fall of Afghanistan’s old government used to be held in its namesake city. The gathering was meant to be a chance, more than two years after the Taliban re-took control of Afghanistan, for various opposition groups to come up with a plan to fix the country’s troubling trajectory. 

Instead, it produced infighting, factionalism, and worrisome ideas for what might come next. It’s a sad indictment of the dearth of ideas among anti-Taliban opposition figures, who seem incapable of transcending personality cults and personal ambitions to put the future of their blighted country first. At regular meetings, often funded by think tanks and democracy organizations, they put their rivalries on display, while consistently failing to make room for generational change or take responsibility for their role in the collapse of the corrupt and inept republic. Rahmatullah Nabil, a former head of Afghanistan’s security services during the republic, bemoaned the “three lacks”—lack of clarity, vision, and consensus—among the opposition, and the world at large, that have allowed the Taliban to entrench their power.

Evidence of the Taliban’s brutality toward the Afghan population and their threat to global security has been piling up in these two years. Multiple U.N. agencies have reported on the Taliban’s persistent abuses of human rights, production and export of heroin and methamphetamine, and support for terror and jihad groups across the region and even as far afield as Europe; the Hungarian government says the Taliban are involved in people smuggling to raise money for terror. In a neighborhood bristling with nukes, Nabil suggested the Taliban could try to acquire their own, if not for use then for profit. 

The lack of international attention on Afghanistan’s renewed terror threat is laying the groundwork for what Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Berlin- and New York-based Counter Extremism Project, called a “back to the future” repeat of the atrocities committed by al Qaeda, with Taliban collusion, in the United States in September 2001.

Some of the countries that supported the Taliban’s return to deal a blow to the United States are learning that to their peril. Pakistan, which supported the Taliban to thwart India’s ambitions for regional leadership, has suffered from multiple terror attacks by Kabul’s affiliate, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, meant to wreck the Pakistani state. 

Tajikistan, always wary while pragmatic, also understands the Taliban threat, having thwarted several attacks just this year, seizing weapons, ammunition, religious material, and cash. The Taliban deploy suicide bombers and an affiliated anti-Tajikistan extremist group, Jamaat Ansarullah, to their shared border regions.

But with the Taliban entrenched, and international organizations hamstrung, what are the options? Speaking to Foreign Policy, Schindler said the United Nations faces a bind: On the one hand, it’s in “a virtual hostage situation,” depending on the Taliban for the security of its employees in Afghanistan, while facilitating the delivery of tens of millions of dollars in cash purportedly to alleviate the humanitarian crisis, “but for which it has real challenges to account for after the Taliban have taken possession.” A new U.N. “self-assessment” offers nothing fresh for a post-Taliban future.

Few answers were forthcoming in Dushanbe. Khan, wearing his trademark white salwar kameez and a black-and-white scarf on his head, basked in rock-star status and posed for selfies in the lobby of the five-star hotel hosting the conference. Khan was seized by the Taliban while leading a ragtag militia in Herat and now lives in Iran. Asked if Iran had allowed him to attend this year’s summit to signal to the Taliban a growing impatience with their intransigence, Khan demurred. 

Selfie-hunters aside, many at the conference were dismayed by Khan’s presence, seeing him as the embodiment of the failed old guard. 

“If he comes back, I see that as no different to the current situation,” said one delegate who wouldn’t allow his name to be used. “He killed a lot of people, then for 20 years he was watched closely. The Americans kept him under surveillance, with drones; they controlled his impulses. Without that, he will be the same as before. And that’s not good for Afghanistan.”

Khan was ostensibly representing the High Council of National Resistance, a coalition of warlords like Abdul Rashid Dostum; a former vice president, Atta Mohammed Noor; and other regional and ethnic figures who fled the Taliban’s blitzkrieg and who’d like nothing better than to reclaim their money, property, and prestige. 

But Khan’s presence ensured that Ahmad Massoud, the once-popular leader of the National Resistance Front (NRF), was a no-show, even though he lives in Dushanbe. His aides said he was busy; he granted audiences for a select few. Many young Afghans who had hopes in him as a future president now see little more than a cult of personality to mirror that of his father, the former Northern Alliance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud.

Following America’s lead, most Western governments will not support armed resistance against the Taliban. Reluctance to return to war in Afghanistan is understandable, Schindler said, but “you could reach out to opposition groups and make sure that when they convene everyone turns up who should be inside the tent to facilitate the emergence of an alternative vision for Afghanistan beyond the Taliban regime.” 

As it is, he said, “it’s always this faction, that faction. Some don’t turn up because their rivals do turn up. How is this of any use? We have seen this before, for more than 20 years. Now no one has any excuse.” 

Undaunted, the opposition talking shop is on the road again this week, for a third get-together in Vienna. NRF spokesperson Ali Maisam Nazary, fresh from Dushanbe, said they still plan to finalize there or elsewhere a strategy for a post-Taliban future.

[xtruss]

Imran Khan Warns That Pakistan’s Election Could Be A Farce

His Party is Being Unfairly Muzzled, the Former Prime Minister Writes From Prison

— January 4th, 2024 | The Economist

Imran Khan, Former Prime Minister of Pakistan. Image: Dan Williams

Today pakistan is being ruled by caretaker governments at both the federal level and provincial level. These administrations are constitutionally illegal because elections were not held within 90 days of parliamentary assemblies being dissolved.

The public is hearing that elections will supposedly be held on February 8th. But having been denied the same in two provinces, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, over the past year—despite a Supreme Court order last March that those votes should be held within three months—they are right to be sceptical about whether the national vote will take place.

The country’s election commission has been tainted by its bizarre actions. Not only has it defied the top court but it has also rejected my Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (pti) party’s nominations for first-choice candidates, hindered the party’s internal elections and launched contempt cases against me and other pti leaders for simply criticising the commission.

Whether elections happen or not, the manner in which I and my party have been targeted since a farcical vote of no confidence in April 2022 has made one thing clear: the establishment—the army, security agencies and the civil bureaucracy—is not prepared to provide any playing field at all, let alone a level one, for pti.

It was, after all, the establishment that engineered our removal from government under pressure from America, which was becoming agitated with my push for an independent foreign policy and my refusal to provide bases for its armed forces. I was categorical that we would be a friend to all but would not be anyone’s proxy for wars. I did not come to this view lightly. It was shaped by the huge losses Pakistan had incurred collaborating with America’s “war on terror”, not least the 80,000 Pakistani lives lost.

In March 2022 an official from America’s State Department met Pakistan’s then ambassador in Washington, dc. After that meeting the ambassador sent a cipher message to my government. I later saw the message, via the then foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, and it was subsequently read out in cabinet.

In view of what the cipher message said, I believe that the American official’s message was to the effect of: pull the plug on Imran Khan’s prime ministership through a vote of no confidence, or else. Within weeks our government was toppled and I discovered that Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, had, through the security agencies, been working on our allies and parliamentary backbenchers for several months to move against us.

People flocked onto the streets to protest against this regime change, and in the next few months pti won 28 out of 37 by-elections and held massive rallies across the country, sending a clear message as to where the public stood. These rallies attracted a level of female participation that we believe was unprecedented in Pakistan’s history. This unnerved the powers that had engineered our government’s removal.

To add to their panic, the administration that replaced us destroyed the economy, bringing about unprecedented inflation and a currency devaluation within 18 months. The contrast was clear for everyone to see: the pti government had not only saved Pakistan from bankruptcy but also won international praise for its handling of the covid-19 pandemic. In addition, despite a spike in commodity prices, we steered the economy to real gdp growth of 5.8% in 2021 and 6.1% in 2022.

Unfortunately, the establishment had decided I could not be allowed to return to power, so all means of removing me from the political landscape were used. There were two assassination attempts on my life. My party’s leaders, workers and social-media activists, along with supportive journalists, were abducted, incarcerated, tortured and pressured to leave pti. Many of them remain locked up, with new charges being thrown at them every time the courts give them bail or set them free. Worse, the current government has gone out of its way to terrorise and intimidate pti’s female leaders and workers in an effort to discourage women from participating in politics.

I face almost 200 legal cases and have been denied a normal trial in an open court. A false-flag operation on May 9th 2023—involving, among other things, arson at military installations falsely blamed on pti—led to several thousand arrests, abductions and criminal charges within 48 hours. The speed showed it was pre-planned.

This was followed by many of our leaders being tortured or their families threatened into giving press conferences and engineered television interviews to state that they were leaving the party. Some were compelled to join other, newly created political parties. Others were made to give false testimony against me under duress.

Despite all this, pti remains popular, with 66% support in a Pattan-Coalition 38 poll held in December; my personal approval rating is even higher. Now the election commission, desperate to deny the party the right to contest elections, is indulging in all manner of unlawful tricks. The courts seem to be losing credibility daily.

Meanwhile, a former prime minister with a conviction for corruption, Nawaz Sharif, has returned from Britain, where he was living as an absconder from Pakistani justice. In November a Pakistani court overturned the conviction (Under United States’ Scrotums Licker Corrupt Army Generals’ Directions).

It is my belief that Corrupt to his Core Mr Sharif has struck a deal with the establishment whereby it will support his acquittal and throw its weight behind him in the upcoming elections. But so far the public has been unrelenting in its support for pti and its rejection of the “selected”.

It is under these circumstances that elections may be held on February 8th. All parties are being allowed to campaign freely except for pti. I remain incarcerated, in solitary confinement, on absurd charges that include treason. Those few of our party’s leaders who remain free and not underground are not allowed to hold even local worker conventions. Where pti workers manage to gather together they face brutal police action.

In this scenario, even if elections were held they would be a disaster and a farce, since pti is being denied its basic right to campaign. Such a joke of an election would only lead to further political instability. This, in turn, would further aggravate an already volatile economy.

The only viable way forward for Pakistan is fair and free elections, which would bring back political stability and rule of law, as well as ushering in desperately needed reforms by a democratic government with a popular mandate. There is no other way for Pakistan to disentangle itself from the crises confronting it. Unfortunately, with democracy under siege, we are heading in the opposite direction on all these fronts. ■

— Imran Khan is the Founder and Former Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and was Prime Minister of Pakistan from 2018 to 2022.

— Editor’s Note: Pakistan’s government and America’s State Department deny Mr Khan’s allegations of American interference in Pakistani politics (Bullshit! Hegemonic War Criminal Conspirator United States and Corrupt Army Generals and Politicians of Pakistan Were Clearly Involved. It’s Social Media’s Modern Era, Not 1970). The government is prosecuting him under the Official Secrets Act.

[bugtirefugees]

Remembering Shaheed Gul Bahar Bugti and Martyr Murad Ali Bugti, Baloch Refugees in Afghanistan

Introduction:

In the heart-wrenching incident that unfolded in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on Sunday, 20th December 2020, the world lost two valiant souls - Shaheed Gul Bahar Bugti and his son Martyr Murad Ali Bugti. These Baloch refugees, who had sought solace in Afghanistan, fell victim to a ruthless attack orchestrated by Pakistani secret agencies. The tragic event adds another chapter to the Bugti family's history of loss and struggle. This SEO-optimized article delves into the life of Gul Bahar Bugti, a brave and fearless Baloch nationalist, who dedicated his existence to the relentless pursuit of justice for Balochistan.

The Plight of Baloch Refugees:

User Were Shaheed Gul Bahar Bugti Baloch Refugees lived In Afghanistan, far from the land they once called home. The Bugti family's journey in Afghanistan was marked by the pursuit of peace and security, a respite from the unrest that plagued Balochistan. Unfortunately, this quest for refuge took a tragic turn when Gul Bahar Bugti and his son Murad Ali Bugti fell victim to a merciless attack. This incident has left the Baloch community in shock and mourning, as they grapple with the loss of two individuals who embodied the spirit of resilience.

A Baloch Nationalist's Struggle "Were Shaheed Gul Bahar Bugti Baloch and his son Martyr Murad Ali Bugti Refugees living In Afghanistan," echoes the profound struggle that defined Gul Bahar Bugti's life. A prominent Baloch nationalist, Gul Bhar Bugti dedicated his existence to the cause of Balochistan. His unwavering commitment to justice and his people was evident in every aspect of his life. From the moment he sought refuge in Afghanistan to the tragic events leading to his martyrdom, Gul Bahar Bugti remained a symbol of Baloch resilience.

Gul Bahar Bugti:

The Ongoing Baloch Struggle:

Gul Bhar Bugti's struggle did not unfold in isolation. "Gul Bhar Bugti Already has lost grandson Nihal Khan Bugti, nephew Zar Khan Bugti, brother Gul Khan Bugti, and Two sons Dar Khan Bugti and Murad Ali Bugti," painting a grim picture of the challenges faced by the Bugti family. The Baloch community has been at the forefront of a protracted struggle for autonomy and justice in Balochistan. The relentless persecution by Pakistani secret agencies has claimed the lives of many, leaving families shattered and communities in perpetual grief.

The Martyrdom of Gul Bahar Bugti: By Pakistani secret agency killed in Afghanistan, Gul Bahar Bugti's martyrdom adds another painful chapter to the ongoing Baloch saga. The circumstances surrounding his death are a stark reminder of the dangers faced by Baloch activists, even in foreign lands. The motorcycle ride that led to his demise symbolizes the ruthlessness with which these attacks are executed, leaving families and communities in despair.

Martyr Murad Ali Bugti: A Son's Sacrifice:

The tragedy not only claimed the life of Gul Bahar Bugti but also his son, Martyr Murad Ali Bugti. The phrase "User Were Shaheed Gul Bahar Bugti Baloch and his son Martyr Murad Ali Bugti Refugees living In Afghanistan" encapsulates the shared fate of a father and son who sought refuge together, only to face the same tragic end. Murad Ali Bugti, like his father, was dedicated to the Baloch cause, and his sacrifice deepens the wounds of a community already scarred by relentless persecution.

In remembering Shaheed Gul Bahar Bugti and Martyr Murad Ali Bugti, we pay homage to the indomitable spirit of Baloch nationalists who continue to face adversity with courage. "By Pakistani secret agency killed in Afghanistan Gul Bahar Bugti who was Struggle Baloch National and for Balochistan" reflects the broader narrative of a community's fight for justice. As we mourn the loss of these two brave souls, we must also reflect on the urgent need for international attention and support to bring an end to the plight of Baloch refugees and the ongoing struggle for justice in Balochistan.

Conclusion:

[zvaigzdelasas]

A general who was removed from leadership of Pakistan’s spy agency by former Prime Minister Imran Khan will take over as the country’s next army chief.

Lt. Gen. Asim Munir will succeed Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, who will retire next week, the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced Thursday. The chief of army staff position is widely thought to be the most powerful office in a country that has seen multiple coups, and where the military exerts massive influence over the government and policy even when not formally in power.

The appointment came as Mr. Khan, who is waging a protest campaign over the army’s influence in politics and is still recovering from a shooting earlier this month, prepares to take his monthslong protest against being ousted as prime minister to its climax later this week. Despite security concerns, he will lead his supporters to Rawalpindi, the city next to the capital that houses the headquarters of the army.

Mr. Khan blames intervention by Gen. Bajwa, who has served for six years, for his removal in April in a no-confidence vote by lawmakers. The army has denied involvement and said that Mr. Khan was removed through parliamentary proceedings.

Lt. Gen. Munir was appointed to head the Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency in 2018 but was removed by Mr. Khan after an unusually short tenure of eight months. No reason was stated at the time. A security official said Thursday that transfers were a regular part of the career.[...] The military held a rare news conference earlier this year in which it admitted to interfering in the country’s politics in the past but said it no longer did so. The departing army chief, Gen. Bajwa, said in a speech Wednesday that the armed forces had acted against the constitution in the past by involving itself in politics. He said that last year the army had made a decision for that to end. Earlier this month, the army also issued a stern statement to denounce Mr. Khan’s allegation that a top general was behind the shooting attack on him as he rode in a protest convoy Nov. 3. The army said it had asked the government to initiate legal action for defamation.[...] Mr. Khan had been putting pressure on the government to hold early elections as his popularity increased since his ouster, according to polls and the results of a series of local elections. National elections are due by October next year.

24 Nov 22

[ayushbydigital57]

Operation Blue Star

OPERATION BLUE STAR was an Indian Military activity somewhere in the range of 1 and 10 June 1984 to eliminate Damdami Taksal pioneer Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his supporters from the structures of the Brilliant Sanctuary, the holiest site of Sikhism, in Amritsar, Punjab, India. The choice to send off the activity rested with the State leader of India, then Indira Gandhi, who had previously approved military groundwork for a showdown at the sanctuary complex a year and a half earlier as indicated by the then-Bad habit Head of the Military Staff, S. K. Sinha. In July 1982, Harchand Singh Longowal, the leader of the Sikh ideological group Shiromani Akali Dal, had welcomed Bhindranwale to move to the Brilliant Sanctuary to sidestep capture by government authorities.: 332

Indian knowledge organizations had revealed that three unmistakable Sikh figures — Shabeg Singh, Balbir Singh and Amrik Singh, alluded to in reports as "noticeable tops of the Khalistan development" — had each made somewhere around six excursions to adjoining Pakistan somewhere in the range of 1981 and 1983. Shabeg Singh, an Indian Armed force official who later abandoned to join Bhindranwale, was recognized as the supplier of weapons preparing at Akal Takht. The Insight Agency asserted that preparation was being given at different gurdwaras all through Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. Amrik Singh answered these claims by expressing that understudy instructional courses with "customary weapons" had existed for a long time at these locations.[26] The KGB knowledge organization of the Soviet Association had warned India's Exploration and Examination Wing (R&AW) about a joint activity between Pakistan's Between Administrations Insight (ISI) and the US's Focal Knowledge Office (CIA) to mix nonconformist turmoil in the Indian territory of Punjab. Bogus cases were likewise made that R&AW had gotten knowledge by examining a Pakistani warrior that more than 1,000 Exceptional Help Gathering commandos of the Pakistan Armed force had been dispatched by the Pakistani government into Indian Punjab to help Bhindranwale in his battle against the Indian government; nonetheless, no indications of commandos were found and no confirmations were given by R&AW. SEE OUR HOME PAGE  

In 1981, the Soviets sent off operation Kontakt, which depended on a manufactured report implying to contain subtleties of the weapons and cash given by the ISI to Sikh assailants who needed to make a free country. In November 1982, Yuri Andropov, the Overall Secretary of the Socialist Faction and head of the Soviet Association, endorsed a proposition to create Pakistani knowledge records enumerating ISI intended to instigate strict unsettling influences in Punjab and advance the production of Khalistan as an autonomous Sikh state. Indira Gandhi's choice to move troops into the Punjab depended on her treating in a serious way the data given by the Soviets in regards to secret CIA support for the Sikhs.

Paving the way to operation Blue star, there were a few fights by Sangh Parivar, including a walk drove by LK Advani and Stomach muscle Vajpayee of the Bharatiya Janata Party to challenge the absence of government activity and to request that the Indian Armed force be sent into the Brilliant Temple.

On 1 June 1984, after exchanges with the assailants fizzled, Indira Gandhi dismissed the Anandpur Goal and requested the military to send off operation Blue Star, all the while going after scores of Sikh sanctuaries across Punjab. Indian security forces started operation Blue Star when they terminated into different structures, which brought about the deaths of eight civilians. Various armed force units and paramilitary powers encompassed the Brilliant Sanctuary complex on 3 June 1984. The authority position of the military was that alerts were made to work with the departure of explorers yet that no acquiescence happened by June 5 at 7:00 pm. In any case, in April 2017 the Amritsar Locale and Meetings Judge Gurbir Singh gave a decision which expressed that there was no proof that the Indian armed force gave admonitions to pioneers to leave the sanctuary complex prior to beginning their assault. The military's attack on the sanctuary complex finished on June 8. A wiping up activity, Woodrose, was then started all through Punjab. Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale

The military had misjudged the capability moved by the aggressors, whose combat hardware included Chinese-made rocket-pushed projectile launchers and ammo with protection penetrating capacities. Tanks and weighty cannons were utilized to go after the aggressors, who answered with hostility to tank and assault rifle shoot from the vigorously sustained Akal Takht. Following a 24-hour firefight, the military dealt with the sanctuary complex. The authority setback figures for the military were 83 dead and 249 harmed. The officially sanctioned white paper expressed that 1,592 assailants were secured and there were 554 joint assailant and regular citizen casualties, much lower than free estimates. As indicated by the public authority, high non military personnel setbacks were credited to aggressors utilizing explorers caught inside the sanctuary as human shields. Notwithstanding, the Indian armed forces had permitted many pioneers and protestors to enter the sanctuary complex on 3 June 1984 and kept them from leaving subsequent to forcing a check in time at 10:00 pm on the equivalent day.  Observers claimed that on 6 June, after the battling had halted, the Indian military executed prisoners who had their arms tied behind their backs and terminated on people who had regarded the declarations of the military to evacuate.

[falisha-enterprises]

Achieve Career Growth in Lithuania with Pakistan’s Top Manpower Agency

Introduction

As global job markets evolve, opportunities for skilled professionals continue to expand across borders. Lithuania, a thriving European country, has become a sought-after destination for many individuals looking to advance their careers. For Pakistani job seekers aspiring to work abroad, finding the right recruitment agency is crucial. Falisha Manpower, widely regarded as the Best Overseas Manpower Recruitment Agency in Pakistan, has been connecting talent with top employers in Lithuania. This article will delve into how you can achieve career growth in Lithuania by working with Pakistan's leading recruitment agency.

Why Lithuania Is an Emerging Job Market

Lithuania has rapidly transformed into one of Europe’s most dynamic economies. Its thriving sectors—such as information technology, manufacturing, healthcare, and logistics—are constantly in need of skilled professionals. For foreign workers, Lithuania offers a welcoming environment with competitive salaries, robust labor laws, and opportunities for career advancement.

Lithuania’s economy benefits from its position as a gateway to Western Europe and the Nordic countries, making it an attractive hub for global businesses. For Pakistani professionals, the potential for career growth in Lithuania is immense, thanks to the demand for diverse skill sets ranging from engineering to management.

Favorable Work-Life Balance

Lithuania is known for its emphasis on maintaining a good work-life balance, which appeals to professionals seeking not only career growth but also a healthier lifestyle. The average workweek is around 40 hours, and Lithuanian employers provide ample opportunities for personal and professional development. Moreover, the country boasts a relatively low cost of living compared to other European nations, making it an excellent option for Pakistani workers looking to settle in Europe.

The Role of a Recruitment Agency in Securing Jobs in Lithuania

One of the biggest challenges for Pakistani professionals aspiring to work in Lithuania is navigating the job market, understanding visa requirements, and securing a position that matches their skills. This is where Falisha Manpower, the Best Recruitment Agency for Lithuania in Pakistan, comes into play. By working with a trusted recruitment agency, job seekers can streamline their search, save time, and ensure they are matched with reputable employers.

1. Comprehensive Job Matching

Falisha Manpower has established partnerships with top employers in Lithuania, allowing them to offer diverse job opportunities to Pakistani professionals. Whether you're a seasoned professional or a fresh graduate, the agency can help identify roles that match your skills, qualifications, and career aspirations. As the Best Overseas Manpower Recruitment Agency in Pakistan, Falisha Manpower excels in understanding the job market trends in Lithuania, ensuring you are placed in roles with growth potential.

2. Visa Assistance and Documentation

One of the most challenging aspects of securing a job in a foreign country is navigating visa requirements. Each country has its own set of regulations, and Lithuania is no exception. Falisha Manpower provides comprehensive support for visa processing, helping candidates compile the necessary documentation, ensuring that all legal requirements are met, and guiding them through each step of the process. This takes the burden off the candidate, allowing them to focus on preparing for their new job.

3. Tailored Career Advice

Beyond simply matching candidates with employers, Falisha Manpower offers career counseling and guidance on how to thrive in Lithuania's competitive job market. From improving your CV to preparing for interviews with international employers, the agency provides a wealth of knowledge to help you succeed.

Top Industries in Lithuania for Pakistani Professionals

The Lithuanian economy is booming, with specific sectors showing significant growth. Let’s explore the top industries where Pakistani professionals can find opportunities for career advancement.

1. Information Technology (IT)

Lithuania is fast becoming a tech hub in Europe, and the demand for IT professionals is high. Whether you're a software developer, cybersecurity expert, or network engineer, there are ample opportunities for skilled individuals to thrive in this sector. Many tech companies in Lithuania also offer flexible work conditions and remote options, making it an appealing destination for tech-savvy professionals.

2. Healthcare

With an aging population and a growing need for healthcare services, Lithuania has seen an increasing demand for medical professionals. Nurses, doctors, medical technicians, and healthcare administrators are in high demand. For healthcare professionals from Pakistan, working in Lithuania offers not only competitive salaries but also opportunities to work in modern facilities with state-of-the-art technology.

3. Manufacturing and Engineering

Lithuania's manufacturing sector is a significant contributor to its economy, with industries such as automotive, machinery, and electronics leading the way. Pakistani engineers and skilled workers can find abundant opportunities in these sectors, where technical expertise is highly valued.

4. Logistics and Supply Chain Management

Thanks to its strategic location, Lithuania plays a vital role in European logistics. The logistics and supply chain management sector is expanding rapidly, offering numerous opportunities for Pakistani professionals skilled in operations, warehouse management, and transportation.

5. Finance and Accounting

Lithuania has attracted several multinational financial institutions, creating demand for professionals in accounting, auditing, and financial management. Pakistani professionals with qualifications such as ACCA or CFA can find excellent career prospects in Lithuania’s growing financial sector.

Why Choose Falisha Manpower?

Choosing the right recruitment agency is critical to securing a job abroad. Falisha Manpower stands out as the Best Overseas Manpower Recruitment Agency in Pakistan for several reasons.

1. Proven Track Record

Falisha Manpower has a proven track record of successfully placing Pakistani professionals in top roles across Europe, including Lithuania. Their extensive network of employers and in-depth knowledge of European job markets makes them the ideal partner for anyone looking to advance their career abroad.

2. Personalized Service

The agency understands that every candidate’s career goals are different. They take the time to understand your background, skills, and aspirations, ensuring you are placed in a role that aligns with your long-term goals. From the moment you register with Falisha Manpower to when you secure your job in Lithuania, their team provides continuous support and guidance.

3. Commitment to Ethical Practices

One of the key reasons Falisha Manpower has earned its reputation as the Best Recruitment Agency for Lithuania in Pakistan is their commitment to transparency and ethical recruitment practices. They work closely with both employers and candidates to ensure fair wages, safe working conditions, and adherence to legal standards.

4. Extensive Employer Network

Having established strong partnerships with companies in Lithuania, Falisha Manpower can offer access to jobs that are not always advertised publicly. Their network includes top companies in sectors like IT, healthcare, manufacturing, and finance, giving candidates a competitive edge in the job market.

How to Get Started

The first step toward achieving career growth in Lithuania is to register with a trusted recruitment agency. Falisha Manpower makes it easy for job seekers by providing a user-friendly online portal where you can submit your CV, browse available job openings, and receive personalized job alerts based on your preferences.

Once you’ve registered, a recruitment consultant will work with you to assess your qualifications and career goals, providing tailored recommendations and support throughout the job search process.

Steps to Begin Your Job Search:

Register on the Website – Visit Falisha Manpower's official website to register your profile and upload your CV.

Browse Job Listings – Explore the available job openings in Lithuania that match your qualifications.

Receive Guidance – A recruitment consultant will reach out to discuss your options and provide career advice.

Prepare for Interviews – With the agency’s help, prepare for interviews with international employers.

Secure Your Job – Once you’re matched with the right employer, the agency will assist with the visa application process and other logistics.

Conclusion

Achieving career growth in Lithuania is within your reach, especially when you partner with the Best Overseas Manpower Recruitment Agency in Pakistan. Falisha Manpower’s extensive experience, ethical recruitment practices, and commitment to helping professionals succeed abroad make them the ideal choice for anyone looking to work in Lithuania. By taking advantage of their services, you can simplify your job search, focus on career development, and make your move to Lithuania a smooth and successful journey.

[companyknowledgenews]

Iran-Linked Pakistani Man’s Plot To Kill US Official To Avenge Qassem Soleimani’s Death Fails - Journal Today Internet https://www.merchant-business.com/iran-linked-pakistani-mans-plot-to-kill-us-official-to-avenge-qassem-soleimanis-death-fails/?feed_id=196638&_unique_id=66e2409cb8716 #GLOBAL - BLOGGER BLOGGER A Pakistani man with ties to Iran has been charged for allegedly plotting to assassinate a US official in retaliation for the US killing of Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani, prosecutors said Wednesday.Asif Raza Merchant, 46, allegedly sought to hire a hitman to assassinate a politician or a US government official in the United States, the Justice Department and prosecutors said in a statement.“As these terrorism and murder for hire charges against Asif Merchant demonstrate, we will continue to hold accountable those who would seek to carry out Iran’s lethal plotting against Americans,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.Soleimani, the head of Iran’s foreign military operations, was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020. Iranian officials have repeatedly vowed to avenge his killing.“As alleged, Merchant orchestrated a plot to assassinate US politicians and government officials. Today’s indictment is a message to terrorists here and abroad,” United States Attorney Breon Peace added.The intended victim was not identified but the attorney general has previously said no evidence has emerged to link Merchant with the July 13 assassination attempt against former president Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.FBI Director Christopher Wray has said the Pakistani national had “close ties to Iran” and that the alleged murder-for-hire plot was “straight out of the Iranian playbook.”Another FBI official said the assassins Merchant allegedly tried to hire were in fact undercover FBI agents.“After spending time in Iran, Merchant arrived in the United States from Pakistan and contacted a person he believed could assist him with the scheme to kill a politician or government official,” the Justice Department said in a statement.“That person reported Merchant’s conduct to law enforcement and became a confidential source.”Merchant was arrested on July 12 as he planned to leave the country.Iran’s mission to the United Nations said in August it had “not received any report on this from the American government.”“But it is clear that this method is contrary to the Iranian government’s policy of pursuing Soleimani’s killer,” the mission said in a statement carried by Iran’s official IRNA news agency.In August 2022, the United States charged a member of the Revolutionary Guards with plotting to assassinate former US National Security Advisor John Bolton.The Justice Department said Shahram Poursafi, who remains at large, had offered to pay an individual in the United States $300,000 to kill Bolton.(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP) http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/gdadad903681efd76662d040770c983d5ff7b569d6525f59a292d7d7b5ec0e88040a38e53b5242d4adfa346795f4e04d370d.jpeg A Pakistani man with ties to Iran has been charged for allegedly plotting to assassinate a US official in retaliation for the US killing of Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani, prosecutors said Wednesday. Asif Raza Merchant, 46, allegedly sought to hire a hitman to assassinate a politician or a US government official in the United … Read More

[bravecompanynews]

Iran-Linked Pakistani Man’s Plot To Kill US Official To Avenge Qassem Soleimani’s Death Fails - Journal Today Internet - #GLOBAL https://www.merchant-business.com/iran-linked-pakistani-mans-plot-to-kill-us-official-to-avenge-qassem-soleimanis-death-fails/?feed_id=196637&_unique_id=66e2409bb4699 A Pakistani man with ties to Iran has been charged for allegedly plotting to assassinate a US official in retaliation for the US killing of Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani, prosecutors said Wednesday.Asif Raza Merchant, 46, allegedly sought to hire a hitman to assassinate a politician or a US government official in the United States, the Justice Department and prosecutors said in a statement.“As these terrorism and murder for hire charges against Asif Merchant demonstrate, we will continue to hold accountable those who would seek to carry out Iran’s lethal plotting against Americans,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.Soleimani, the head of Iran’s foreign military operations, was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020. Iranian officials have repeatedly vowed to avenge his killing.“As alleged, Merchant orchestrated a plot to assassinate US politicians and government officials. Today’s indictment is a message to terrorists here and abroad,” United States Attorney Breon Peace added.The intended victim was not identified but the attorney general has previously said no evidence has emerged to link Merchant with the July 13 assassination attempt against former president Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.FBI Director Christopher Wray has said the Pakistani national had “close ties to Iran” and that the alleged murder-for-hire plot was “straight out of the Iranian playbook.”Another FBI official said the assassins Merchant allegedly tried to hire were in fact undercover FBI agents.“After spending time in Iran, Merchant arrived in the United States from Pakistan and contacted a person he believed could assist him with the scheme to kill a politician or government official,” the Justice Department said in a statement.“That person reported Merchant’s conduct to law enforcement and became a confidential source.”Merchant was arrested on July 12 as he planned to leave the country.Iran’s mission to the United Nations said in August it had “not received any report on this from the American government.”“But it is clear that this method is contrary to the Iranian government’s policy of pursuing Soleimani’s killer,” the mission said in a statement carried by Iran’s official IRNA news agency.In August 2022, the United States charged a member of the Revolutionary Guards with plotting to assassinate former US National Security Advisor John Bolton.The Justice Department said Shahram Poursafi, who remains at large, had offered to pay an individual in the United States $300,000 to kill Bolton.(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP) http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/gdadad903681efd76662d040770c983d5ff7b569d6525f59a292d7d7b5ec0e88040a38e53b5242d4adfa346795f4e04d370d.jpeg BLOGGER - #GLOBAL

[boldcompanynews]

Iran-Linked Pakistani Man’s Plot To Kill US Official To Avenge Qassem Soleimani’s Death Fails - Journal Today Internet - BLOGGER https://www.merchant-business.com/iran-linked-pakistani-mans-plot-to-kill-us-official-to-avenge-qassem-soleimanis-death-fails/?feed_id=196636&_unique_id=66e2409ac139b A Pakistani man with ties to Iran has been charged for allegedly plotting to assassinate a US official in retaliation for the US killing of Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani, prosecutors said Wednesday.Asif Raza Merchant, 46, allegedly sought to hire a hitman to assassinate a politician or a US government official in the United States, the Justice Department and prosecutors said in a statement.“As these terrorism and murder for hire charges against Asif Merchant demonstrate, we will continue to hold accountable those who would seek to carry out Iran’s lethal plotting against Americans,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.Soleimani, the head of Iran’s foreign military operations, was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020. Iranian officials have repeatedly vowed to avenge his killing.“As alleged, Merchant orchestrated a plot to assassinate US politicians and government officials. Today’s indictment is a message to terrorists here and abroad,” United States Attorney Breon Peace added.The intended victim was not identified but the attorney general has previously said no evidence has emerged to link Merchant with the July 13 assassination attempt against former president Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.FBI Director Christopher Wray has said the Pakistani national had “close ties to Iran” and that the alleged murder-for-hire plot was “straight out of the Iranian playbook.”Another FBI official said the assassins Merchant allegedly tried to hire were in fact undercover FBI agents.“After spending time in Iran, Merchant arrived in the United States from Pakistan and contacted a person he believed could assist him with the scheme to kill a politician or government official,” the Justice Department said in a statement.“That person reported Merchant’s conduct to law enforcement and became a confidential source.”Merchant was arrested on July 12 as he planned to leave the country.Iran’s mission to the United Nations said in August it had “not received any report on this from the American government.”“But it is clear that this method is contrary to the Iranian government’s policy of pursuing Soleimani’s killer,” the mission said in a statement carried by Iran’s official IRNA news agency.In August 2022, the United States charged a member of the Revolutionary Guards with plotting to assassinate former US National Security Advisor John Bolton.The Justice Department said Shahram Poursafi, who remains at large, had offered to pay an individual in the United States $300,000 to kill Bolton.(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP) http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/gdadad903681efd76662d040770c983d5ff7b569d6525f59a292d7d7b5ec0e88040a38e53b5242d4adfa346795f4e04d370d.jpeg #GLOBAL - BLOGGER A Pakistani man with ties to Iran h... BLOGGER - #GLOBAL

[technologycompanynews]

Iran-Linked Pakistani Man’s Plot To Kill US Official To Avenge Qassem Soleimani’s Death Fails - Journal Today Internet - BLOGGER https://www.merchant-business.com/iran-linked-pakistani-mans-plot-to-kill-us-official-to-avenge-qassem-soleimanis-death-fails/?feed_id=196635&_unique_id=66e2409966040 A Pakistani man with ties to Iran has been charged for allegedly plotting to assassinate a US official in retaliation for the US killing of Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani, prosecutors said Wednesday.Asif Raza Merchant, 46, allegedly sought to hire a hitman to assassinate a politician or a US government official in the United States, the Justice Department and prosecutors said in a statement.“As these terrorism and murder for hire charges against Asif Merchant demonstrate, we will continue to hold accountable those who would seek to carry out Iran’s lethal plotting against Americans,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.Soleimani, the head of Iran’s foreign military operations, was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020. Iranian officials have repeatedly vowed to avenge his killing.“As alleged, Merchant orchestrated a plot to assassinate US politicians and government officials. Today’s indictment is a message to terrorists here and abroad,” United States Attorney Breon Peace added.The intended victim was not identified but the attorney general has previously said no evidence has emerged to link Merchant with the July 13 assassination attempt against former president Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.FBI Director Christopher Wray has said the Pakistani national had “close ties to Iran” and that the alleged murder-for-hire plot was “straight out of the Iranian playbook.”Another FBI official said the assassins Merchant allegedly tried to hire were in fact undercover FBI agents.“After spending time in Iran, Merchant arrived in the United States from Pakistan and contacted a person he believed could assist him with the scheme to kill a politician or government official,” the Justice Department said in a statement.“That person reported Merchant’s conduct to law enforcement and became a confidential source.”Merchant was arrested on July 12 as he planned to leave the country.Iran’s mission to the United Nations said in August it had “not received any report on this from the American government.”“But it is clear that this method is contrary to the Iranian government’s policy of pursuing Soleimani’s killer,” the mission said in a statement carried by Iran’s official IRNA news agency.In August 2022, the United States charged a member of the Revolutionary Guards with plotting to assassinate former US National Security Advisor John Bolton.The Justice Department said Shahram Poursafi, who remains at large, had offered to pay an individual in the United States $300,000 to kill Bolton.(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP) http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/gdadad903681efd76662d040770c983d5ff7b569d6525f59a292d7d7b5ec0e88040a38e53b5242d4adfa346795f4e04d370d.jpeg BLOGGER - #GLOBAL A Pakistani man with ties to Iran has been charged for allegedly plotting to assassinate a US official in retaliation for the US killing of Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani, prosecutors said Wednesday. Asif Raza Merchant, 46, allegedly sought to hire a hitman to assassinate a politician or a US government official in the United … Read More

[onlinecompanynews]

Iran-Linked Pakistani Man’s Plot To Kill US Official To Avenge Qassem Soleimani’s Death Fails - Journal Today Internet https://www.merchant-business.com/iran-linked-pakistani-mans-plot-to-kill-us-official-to-avenge-qassem-soleimanis-death-fails/?feed_id=196634&_unique_id=66e23f7ada0b5 A Pakistani man with ties to Iran h... BLOGGER - #GLOBAL A Pakistani man with ties to Iran has been charged for allegedly plotting to assassinate a US official in retaliation for the US killing of Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani, prosecutors said Wednesday.Asif Raza Merchant, 46, allegedly sought to hire a hitman to assassinate a politician or a US government official in the United States, the Justice Department and prosecutors said in a statement.“As these terrorism and murder for hire charges against Asif Merchant demonstrate, we will continue to hold accountable those who would seek to carry out Iran’s lethal plotting against Americans,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.Soleimani, the head of Iran’s foreign military operations, was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020. Iranian officials have repeatedly vowed to avenge his killing.“As alleged, Merchant orchestrated a plot to assassinate US politicians and government officials. Today’s indictment is a message to terrorists here and abroad,” United States Attorney Breon Peace added.The intended victim was not identified but the attorney general has previously said no evidence has emerged to link Merchant with the July 13 assassination attempt against former president Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.FBI Director Christopher Wray has said the Pakistani national had “close ties to Iran” and that the alleged murder-for-hire plot was “straight out of the Iranian playbook.”Another FBI official said the assassins Merchant allegedly tried to hire were in fact undercover FBI agents.“After spending time in Iran, Merchant arrived in the United States from Pakistan and contacted a person he believed could assist him with the scheme to kill a politician or government official,” the Justice Department said in a statement.“That person reported Merchant’s conduct to law enforcement and became a confidential source.”Merchant was arrested on July 12 as he planned to leave the country.Iran’s mission to the United Nations said in August it had “not received any report on this from the American government.”“But it is clear that this method is contrary to the Iranian government’s policy of pursuing Soleimani’s killer,” the mission said in a statement carried by Iran’s official IRNA news agency.In August 2022, the United States charged a member of the Revolutionary Guards with plotting to assassinate former US National Security Advisor John Bolton.The Justice Department said Shahram Poursafi, who remains at large, had offered to pay an individual in the United States $300,000 to kill Bolton.(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP) http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/gdadad903681efd76662d040770c983d5ff7b569d6525f59a292d7d7b5ec0e88040a38e53b5242d4adfa346795f4e04d370d.jpeg #GLOBAL - BLOGGER A Pakistani man with ties to Iran has been charged for allegedly plotting to assassinate a US official in retaliation for the US killing of Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani, prosecutors said Wednesday. Asif Raza Merchant, 46, allegedly sought to hire a hitman to assassinate a politician or a US government official in the United … Read More

[mariacallous]

Pakistani politics have always revolved around the country’s military. Civilian politicians compete for support while criticizing—or seeking covert help from—a ubiquitous security establishment. Since his ouster as prime minister last April, cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan has become the latest to challenge this system. But Khan’s polarizing rhetoric is only adding to Pakistan’s chaos—not marking the advent of a revolution.

The government elected after Khan’s removal via a no-confidence vote initially tolerated the former prime minister’s attacks on generals, judges, and political rivals in addition to his conspiracy theories about his ouster being the result of a U.S.-backed plot. Unlike previous civilian leaders who fell afoul of the military, Khan was not immediately arrested, charged with corruption, or disqualified from future elections by judicial fiat. But now, Khan and his close aides are beginning to face the wrath of the state apparatus. Both the security establishment and the civilian government seem to have realized that Khan’s populist influence will not diminish without prosecuting him and his associates.

On Oct. 12, Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency charged Khan with violating laws barring foreign funding for political parties. Since Khan first ran for public office in 1997, he has raised funds for his Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party from foreigners and overseas Pakistanis, many of whom had donated to charities he started after retiring from cricket in 1992. Although some of this fundraising has likely always violated Pakistani law, prosecutors long held off disciplining Khan or his party because they enjoyed the establishment’s blessings.

Khan’s support base comprises middle-class urban Pakistanis disenchanted with the country’s two traditional political parties, the center-right Pakistan Muslim League (PML)—dominated since the 1980s by the family of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif—and the center-left Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), led by members of the family of late Prime Ministers Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto.

Prime ministers from both the PML and PPP have been ousted from office multiple times by the Pakistani military, which routinely influences Pakistan’s superior judiciary. Supreme Court judges then often provide legal cover for otherwise undemocratic and unconstitutional actions initiated by generals. The Supreme Court endorsed Pakistan’s four military coups in 1958, 1969, 1977, and 1999, as well as accepted the generals’ right to suspend the constitution under its so-called doctrine of necessity. On other occasions, the military orchestrated palace coups in 1990, 1993, and 1996, resulting in dismissal of elected prime ministers by the president and with the support of the Supreme Court. In 2012 and 2017, prime ministers were removed from office at the behest of the military through direct intervention by the Supreme Court. Together, the Pakistani military and judiciary have never allowed a PML or PPP prime minister to stay in office for the full five-year term of parliament.

Khan presented himself as the military-backed alternative to the PML and PPP’s perceived corrupt, dynastic politics. His populist rhetoric appealed to young middle-class Pakistanis as well as those who had been more comfortable during the country’s past periods of military rule than under its civilian democrats.

Khan at first failed to get traction as a politician, losing all seats his party contested in the 1997 parliamentary elections. He managed to enter parliament in 2002 in elections organized by the military regime of Gen. Pervez Musharraf. Only in 2013 did Khan’s party win a significant number of seats in parliament for the first time. In 2018, he finally translated his celebrity status into high political office with direct help from Pakistan’s intelligence services and the military. In that year’s elections, the PTI emerged as the single-largest party in the lower house of parliament, but it could not form a government without the support of smaller parties. The military overcame this last hurdle by advising three such groups to form a coalition with the PTI.

Khan’s ascent to the office of prime minister became possible because of a controversial Supreme Court ruling that disqualified Nawaz Sharif without trial as well as a spate of corruption cases hobbling most of Khan’s other opponents in the PML and PPP. To get to this point, the military had ensured favorable media coverage for Khan and his party, helped prosecute his opponents, and directed locally influential candidates to join the PTI. Opponents and foreign observers also alleged selective rigging on election day.

Those corruption cases against PML and PPP leaders failed to make much headway in trial courts and are currently being thrown out for lack of evidence. But Khan continued to rail against his opponents, telling his supporters that Pakistan was destined for greatness under his leadership. Like most populist leaders, however, he had no answers for Pakistan’s problems and governed poorly. Khan often addressed the nation on television and rallied his supporters with a mix of Islamist and nationalist grandiloquence. The military gradually lost faith in the former prime minister as Pakistan’s economy took a nosedive and its foreign relations suffered.

The value of the Pakistani rupee eroded after Khan reinstated fuel subsidies that had been eliminated as part of the country’s commitments under an International Monetary Fund program. Khan had managed to antagonize the leaders of China, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates so much so that these traditionally friendly countries would not help Pakistan service its $126 billion in foreign debt. His open support for the Taliban and criticism of U.S. leaders and policy, meanwhile, left Pakistan with little support in the United States.

Ever the narcissist, Khan ran a one-man show­—shuffling his cabinet often and skipping sessions of parliament. He also displayed little respect for lawmakers or the generals who helped bring him to office. Meanwhile, Khan’s opponents peeled off support from his coalition and—once the military withdrew its backing by publicly declaring itself politically neutral—ousted him in the April no-confidence vote. Khan’s effort to nullify the vote by claiming that it was U.S.-backed regime change did not survive legal challenges.

Out of office, Khan has turned on his former benefactor, the military high command, claiming that Pakistan’s army chief ousted him to bring “traitors” back to power at the behest of the United States. Khan feels no need to offer evidence of his conspiracy-mongering because his followers have become a personality cult, willing to follow him to the gates of hell. But despite Khan’s vaunted popular support and vast social media presence, his promises to mobilize a revolution will most likely remain unfulfilled.

Pakistan has had popular leaders who challenged the military’s dominance on politics and policy before. They did not succeed in weakening this stranglehold—and Khan’s chances are no better. In railing against the military leadership, Khan is simply doing what Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif did before him. All three of them rose to power with the help of the military and then turned around to confront it.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif attracted huge crowds at rallies, yet their parties survived only through compromises with the Pakistan Army. However, unlike them, Khan’s opposition to the military’s role in Pakistani politics is not rooted in conviction. Bhutto and Sharif, as well as their supporters, firmly believed in democracy and civilian supremacy over the military rooted in Pakistan’s constitution; their collaboration with the military was strategic and did not reflect ideology. Khan and his supporters, by contrast, hope that the Islamist, anti-American elements of the military will intervene to help Khan return to power.

That is unlikely to happen. Pakistan’s military is not prone to factional divisions and remains unified despite Khan’s provocations. The former prime minister’s cult followers might believe he is the only patriotic and honest political leader in Pakistan, but the military seems to have moved on.

Unlike Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif, or many other Pakistani politicians, Khan has never faced adversity in his career—so far. He has never faced criminal cases or gone to prison. Nor has he been banned from holding public office, appearing on television, or traveling—restrictions that others daring to take on Pakistan’s establishment have faced in the past. Khan may have a political future if he gets through the hardships that await him. He remains popular with his base and was recently able to win back most—though not all—of the parliamentary seats in recent by-elections on seats vacated by the PTI.

As Khan and others nurtured by Pakistan’s military establishment turn against it, some might be tempted to write the obituary of military dominance in the country’s politics. As someone who has advocated and fought for the supremacy of civilian rule and constitutional democracy in Pakistan for decades, I am not sure Khan’s agitation will truly change how Pakistan functions. The country is likely to witness some more chaos—rallies and media noise by Khan’s supporters, political disputes playing out in court, the specter of debt defaults, continuing inflation and erosion of the value of the Pakistani rupee, threats of violence by the Pakistani Taliban, and extreme political polarization—before the military steps in again, most likely indirectly, to restore order.