Benta News

Armed men kidnapped a sessions judge on Saturday from the border between Tank and Dera Ismail Khan districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, police said.

DI Khan Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mohammad Adnan told Dawn.com that the South Waziristan judge was abducted from Bhagwal village near the border between the two districts.

He said he was present at the scene with the Tank district police officer with a heavy contingent of personnel, and raids were being launched as part of a search operation in process.

KP Chief Minister Sardar Ali Amin Gandapur took notice of the incident and ordered the inspector general of police to ensure the judge’s safe recovery.

“Steps should be taken on an emergency basis to recover the judge. All available resources should be utilised for this purpose,” he was quoted as saying in a statement from the KP government.

“The alleged abduction of the judge is highly condemnable and regrettable. The elements involved in the incident cannot escape from the grip of the law. The provincial government will take all possible steps to recover the judge,” CM Gandapur said.

Three suspects were arrested on Monday for an alleged honour killing in the Bataira area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kolai Pallas district, according to the police.

Kolai Pallas Sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Abdul Raoof had told Dawn.com a day ago that a youth was killed “for honour” on Friday night, allegedly due to his brother who had eloped with a girl, a family member of the suspects, a year ago.

SDPO Raoof had said since the girl and the older brother of the deceased were missing, the girl’s family had allegedly opted to kill Matiur Rehman.

Rauf told Dawn.com today that the police arrested three suspects, the father of the prime suspect and his two cousins, adding that they had helped plan the murder.

A first information report (FIR), a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, was lodged on the complaint of the deceased’s uncle Attaur Rehman on April 19 under Section 109 (abetment) and 302 (intentional murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The uncle said that Rehman, mentioned as around 18 or 19 in the FIR, was returning to his home in Bataira from his shop in Bisham, Shangla, in the late evening on Friday when an armed man lying in wait opened fire and killed the youth on the spot.

He said the motive behind the murder was to retrieve the girl who had eloped with the elder brother.

The body was taken to the Bisham Tehsil Headquarters Hospital and later handed over to relatives, according to the FIR and the SDPO.

The uncle told Dawn.com today that the main suspect was initially hiding at his own uncle’s home but had since fled and was at large.

He said his nephew was innocent and the family wanted justice for his death and the immediate arrest of the culprits.

He said the girl had married his older nephew of her own free will and the family had held several rounds of jirgas to resolve the issue but no agreement was reached and the other party killed his younger nephew.

It stated that the motive behind the murder was the girl’s elopement with the victim’s brother and added that the victim was shot dead when returning to his home in Bataira. The gunmen had been waiting for him, Munim alleged.

Mati’s body was shifted to Tehsil Headquarters Hospital Bisham and later handed over to his heirs.

SDPO Abdul Rauf said the accused remained at large, but police are conducting raids in the area to arrest them.

Thirteen new deaths from a second spell of heavy rain in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa raised the death toll to 59 on Saturday, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) had predicted more spells of rain across the country on Tuesday, extending until April 22 as “another strong westerly wave” was likely to enter western parts of the country.

In KP, the PMD had predicted “rain-windstorm/thunderstorm (few heavy, with isolated very heavy falls) with snowfall over high mountains” in areas including Shangla, Buner, Bajaur, Khyber and Peshawar from Wednesday night until April 21.

The rain, which started on April 12, triggered flash floods in the northern areas of the province and caused landslides and house collapses across KP.

According to the KP PDMA report issued today, 33 children, 14 men and 12 women are among those killed in rain-related incidents since April 12 with a total of 72 people injured.

Further, 2,883 houses and 68 schools have been damaged while 309 cattle have perished, according to the report.

PDMA spokesperson Anwar Shahzad told Dawn.com that water flow in the rivers on Saturday was normal.

A report from the Irrigation Department’s flood cell also showed that water flow in 12 rivers of the province ranged between low, medium and normal.

The PDMA spokesman further said that Rs110 million was provided to districts for emergency aid while Rs90m was disbursed to the tribal districts to continue relief activities.

Meanwhile, the Balochistan PDMA said normal weather was reported in most districts.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said he would personally monitor the completion of projects with Saudi investment, adding that negligence regarding these ventures was not acceptable.

Chairing a meeting in Islamabad to review matters related to the visit of a recent high-powered Saudi delegation and Saudi investment in different sectors, the premier said the trip under the leadership of the Saudi foreign minister was the beginning of a “new era of commercial and strategic partnership” between the two countries, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.

The meeting’s participants were briefed that the Saudi delegation discussed investment in mining and minerals, agriculture, energy, information technology and infrastructure development.

They were also told that both sides had deliberated on making Pakistan a part of the global supply and value chain while the Saudi delegation had also praised Pakistan’s preparedness.

The participants termed the arrival of delegations of friendly countries for foreign investment as a “positive development” for the current government’s diplomatic front.

The prime minister directed all the concerned ministries and departments to pay special attention to government-to-government agreements and business-to-business projects, adding that the local business community should be taken into confidence regarding the matters.

He thanked Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for his “special attention that would usher in a new era of Saudi investment in Pakistan, trade partnership and business ties”.

PM Shehbaz lauded the relevant federal ministers, Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) and relevant senior officers for their efforts to convert the Saudi delegation’s visit into a mutually beneficial partnership.

He instructed that the services of world-renowned experts should be taken to complete the international investment projects.

The prime minister warned that any negligence regarding international investment projects would not be accepted, adding that outdated procedures and red tape would “not work at all”.

He said that the SIFC, the investment board and relevant ministries should formulate a plan of action for the completion of the projects.

The premier said that the expected arrival of a delegation of well-known businessmen from Saudi Arabia was a welcome development, adding that more investment opportunities were to be finalised during his visit to Saudi Arabia to attend the World Economic Forum.

He added that the two countries enjoyed cordial brotherly ties, adding that Saudi Arabia had always helped Pakistan when needed.

PM Shehbaz said that Pakistan would take all possible measures to achieve the goal of national development and prosperity.

Meeting with EU ambassador

In a separate meeting held today, the premier met the Ambassador of the European Union in Pakistan Riina Kionka in the capital and discussed matters of mutual concern.

The prime minister thanked the EU leaders for their congratulatory messages on his re-election and said he looked forward to working closely with the EU.

He said Pakistan enjoyed friendly and cordial ties with the EU and expressed satisfaction at the existing institutional mechanisms that were meeting regularly to exchange views on further strengthening cooperation.

The prime minister appreciated, in particular, the EU’s continued support to Pakistan through the GSP Plus scheme, which has now been renewed till 2027.

He also expressed Pakistan’s interest in engaging constructively with the EU Global Gateway Strategy through the European Investment Bank.

The prime minister sought EU support in providing consultancy and expertise to help Pakistan carry out important reforms in various sectors.

The EU ambassador briefed the prime minister on various cooperation initiatives, including the ongoing dialogue on migration and mobility issues between the two sides, as well as facilitating European businesses operating in Pakistan.

Progress on resumption of flights from Pakistan to EU countries was also discussed.

Defence, information minister criticise PTI for Saudi remarks

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that it was unfortunate that parties attempted to disrupt Pakistan’s foreign relations for political gain, especially with a country that holds “religious and economic importance”, referring to Saudi Arabia.

He said that such remarks were given by the parties to spread anarchy for personal political motives of dissuading investment in Pakistan.

Separately, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said that anyone who talked against these investment efforts was an “enemy of the state”, adding that the country was moving towards development.

He stated that it was not appropriate to go against Pakistan while opposing a party for political reasons.

“Criticise us, criticise us on our politics, criticise the party, criticise me but criticism on Pakistan is intolerable,” he said.

Their remarks came a day after the PTI censured and distanced itself from remarks by party leader Sher Afzal Marwat regarding Saudi Arabia’s alleged involvement in the toppling of former prime minister Imran Khan’s government in 2022.

In an interview on GTV news programme G for Gharidah on Tuesday, Marwat had said: “These are the two countries, Saudi Arabia and the United States, with whose cooperation the regime change operation took place.”