80 dead as terror strikes Parachinar and Quetta
Suicide car bomber kills at least 13 in Quetta
23-62017: QUETTA: At least 13 people, including four police officials were killed and nine others injured on Friday as a bomb exploded near the IGP office at Shuhada Chowk in Quetta’s Gulistan Road area. Police surgeon Ali Mardan confirmed nine people, including three police officers and one traffic warden, were killed in the blast. Civil Hospital spokesperson Waseem Baig said 11 people were killed in the blast.
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Deadly explosions rip through crowded Tori market )
Death toll in Parachinar twin blasts reaches 67
23-6-17: Most of the casualties were reported in Parachinar’s twin blasts, a government official confirmed there were at least 67 dead and about 200 wounded. The Political Administration said that the first blast occurred in the Tori Market and as the people gathered there to rescue the injured from the rubbles of the shops, while a second blast ripped through the same place that proved fatal as it caused maximum damages to life and property.The intensity of the second blat was far greater than the first blast that increased the toll of the injured and killed. The blast was heard miles away creating panic in the area. This is the second major bombing incident reported in the country on the same day. Early morning, a suicide blast shook Shuhada Chowk in Quetta’s Gulistan Road area.
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‘Horrible Tragedy’ in the history of Pakistan
As Fuel Tanker Fire in Bahwalpur ‘Ahmedpur Sharqia City’
190 burnt alive, 200 injured
JUNE 25, 2017: – The tanker overturned after trying to make a sharp turn on the national highway on the outskirts of the city of Bahawalpur, about 100 kilometres south-west of Multan. The oil tanker overturned and burst into flames as crowds rushed to collect petrol that spilled out to a highway in Ahmadpur Sharqia, near Bahawalpur about 100 kilometres south-west of Multan. The fire was apparently caused by someone who lit a cigarette after people from nearby localities gathered on the highway to collect spilt petrol, officials said. The police sources say that oil tanker carrying 50,000 litres of oil was on its way from Karachi to Lahore when overturned after trying to make a sharp turn in Kachi Pul area, some eight kilometers off Ahmedpur Sharqia city. Some people said the tanker overturned after its tyre burst.The rescue 1122 and other ambulance services rushed to the scene to shift the injured to hospital. Hospitals are also arranging DNA testing to identify the many bodies that were charred beyond recognition. At least 20 children are among the dead. Many of the burn victims have been moved to Karachi and Lahore. The oil tanker driver also dead in this incident. A separate investigation is underway to see why police did not disperse the crowds of people who gathered to collect fuel.
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Two Pak Navy men martyred, Five injured in Gwadar firing
19 June : The naval officers were transporting iftar items during a routine run from Jiwani city when their vehicle was ambushed by four assailants on two motorbikes, a senior local administration official told. The assailants opened fire on the vehicle indiscriminately, leaving one officer martyred and five wounded, he said.There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. The shooting incident occurs after Pakistan and China have inked agreements aimed at boosting cooperation in various sectors between the two countries.
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‘Cowardly act’: Naval chief blasts Jiwani attack
Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah condemning the gun attack in Jiwani, in which two navy personnel were martyred, said that such heinous and cowardly acts cannot deter national resolve of the Pakistan Navy to stand against terrorism. Attending the funeral of the two navy personnel Syed Hassan Raza (Medical technician) and Khalil Murad (Leading Fireman)the navy chief reiterated that the Pakistan Navy with other law enforcement agencies, is committed to eradicating the menace of terrorism in the country.“Great sacrifices of the Shuhada for national defence and to root out terrorism in the country are highly praiseworthy,” he said, adding that nefarious designs of a handful of terrorists to destabilise the country could not succeed.Chief of the Naval Staff also visited injured personnel at PNS Shifa and also met families of the victims. Besides Pakistan Navy senior officials and men, personnel of sister services, relatives, friends and a large number of people also attended the funeral.
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Karachi: Four police killed in SITE area vehicle firing
23 June,2017 | KARACHI : Police SSP Nasir Aftab told the target killers fired headshots at the police officials. Those martyred include three constables and one ASI. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has summoned the inquiry report of firing at police vehicle in SITE area. He expressed grief and condolences with families of the victims. He assured the people of Sindh that their sacrifices for the country will not be wasted. Nisar praised the valour and bravery of young police officers in Karachi.
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Pakistan to stay neutral in Saudi-Qatar rift: Sartaj Aziz
21 June, 2017 : Adviser to PM on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz has said Pakistan will not take any sides in the recent stand-off between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. “Pakistan doesn’t want to interfere in other countries matters and will stick to its non-partisan policy on the Middle East issue,” he briefed the Senate’s committee on Foreign Affairs. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, Libya and the United Arab Emirates announced on June 5 they were severing diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing the Gulf state of supporting terrorism.
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Chinese navy ships sail into Karachi port on goodwill, training visit
Three warships of the Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) arrived in the Karachi port on Saturday 10 June, 2017 on a goodwill and training visit, said a statement released by the Pakistan Navy. The ships Chang Chun, Jing Zhou and Chao Hu are part of a task group commanded by Deputy Commander East Sea Fleet Rear Admiral Shen Hao.Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah visited the ships of the Chinese flotilla and was presented with an guard of honour by a contingent of PLAN sailors.
“Pak-China friendship is highly valued and the continued cooperation between them has proven to be a source of strength for both the countries,” said the naval chief. He added that the visit was “expected to enhance interoperability and maritime collaboration between the two navies”.
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Iranian drone shot down by PAF fighter jet over Balochistan
20-6-2017: A Pakistan Air Force fighter jet has shot down an unmanned Iranian drone in Balochistan, The Associated Press reported while quoting unnamed Pakistani officials. The officials said on Tuesday that the unmanned aircraft was shot down over the weekend and was deep inside Pakistani airspace. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to media.The PAF declined to comment on the matter. Iran, in recent months, has expressed concern over militants allegedly operating along the Pakistani border. Iran’s army chief recently warned that the country was willing to strike militants inside Pakistan a threat that drew a strong protest from Islamabad.
Indian bid to destroy Pakistan’s claim in UK Court dismissed last year
Spokesperson ‘Pakistan Today’
In response to a media query regarding status of Hyderabad Fund Case in British Court, the spokesperson said that India’s contention to strike out Pakistan’s claim to the funds transferred by the State of Hyderabad, to the account of the Pakistan High Commissioner to UK in September 1948, was dismissed last year. The English Judge has now issued a side procedural ruling on the costs issues. The Judge has confirmed that Pakistan won on all its main arguments and has reserved costs to the end of the hearing, which is a standard order.On the costs issue, which has been argued separately, it was decided that the financial claims made by India and other parties were not time-barred. These costs are a tiny fraction of the overall costs which Pakistan may recover at the end of the process, if it ends as successful.
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US News Ranks Pakistan Among World’s 20 Most Powerful Nations
By Riaz Haq
American journal US News & World Report (USNWR), known for its university rankings, has ranked Pakistan as the 20th most powerful country in the world in 2017. The United States tops the list followed by Russia at number 2 and China at number 3. Among Pakistan’s neighbors, Iran ranks 14th and India 16th on the list. This latest ranking by an international publication is yet another indication of the failure of Indian leader Narendra Modi’s sustained efforts to isolate Pakistan since he rose to power in 2014.
USNWR, Y&R BAV Consulting and Wharton Business School:
The US News & World Report says it developed the study and model used to score and rank countries with Y&R’s BAV Consulting and The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
USNWR Methodology:
The journal says it identified a set of 65 country attributes terms that can be used to describe a country and that are also relevant to the success of a modern nation. It surveyed more than 21,000 people from around the world to assess each country in terms of these attributes. Survey participants decided how closely they associated an attribute with a nation. Each nation was then scored on each of the 65 country attributes based on a collection of individual survey responses. The more a country was perceived to exemplify a certain characteristic in relation to the average, the higher that country’s attribute score and vice versa. These scores were normalized to account for outliers and transformed into a scale that could be compared across the board.
USNWR defines powerful country in terms of “a leader, economically influential, politically influential, strong international alliances, strong military”.
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