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PESHAWAR: The Counter-Terrorism Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Saturday registered a First Information Report (FIR) against unknown suspects on terror charges in relation to Friday's deadly attack on an Air Force camp in Peshawar's Badaber area.

The Darra Adamkhel chapter of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) earlier claimed responsibility for the attack.

Sources told DawnNews that on the complaint of camp commandant Flight Lieutenant Muhammad Hussain, the FIR was registered against unidentified suspects. Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) and other terrorism-related charges were framed against the suspects in the FIR, they said.

In wake of the brazen assault, search and strike operations were initiated in Badaber and Matani areas during which police arrested at least 28 suspects, including 8 Afghan nationals.

Ten educational institutes, including four colleges, which are located in areas adjacent to the camp stormed by terrorists were closed on Saturday owing to security reasons. Security sources said the institutions will remain closed till the end of Eidul Azha holidays.

In what appea­red to be a precisely planned and executed attack, terrorists displayed their ability to breach the security of an Air Force camp by carrying out one of the deadliest assaults on a defence installation on the southern fringes of the provincial capital, Dawn newspaper reported.

Twenty-nine people — among them personnel of the Pakistan Air Force and military and some civilians — lost their lives and all 13 militants who had stormed the camp were also killed.

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LANDI KOTAL: At least 15 suspected militants were killed and several others were injured on Saturday as military planes pounded terrorist hideouts in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency.

Security officials said that air strikes were conducted on the hideouts of militants belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Lashkar-i-Islam. Fifteen suspected militants were killed whereas four militant hideouts were destroyed in the air strikes.

However, these claims could not be independently verified as journalists have limited access to the restive tribal agency.

The strikes come a day after a terrorist attack on Pakistan Air Force (PAF) camp in Peshawar's Badaber area left at least 42 people, including 13 terrorists dead. The attack was claimed by the TTP.

Tirah is part of Pakistan’s restive Khyber tribal region where a number of air strikes have been launched against militant hideouts in recent months.

The Pakistan Army has been targeting TTP and Lashkar-i-Islam militants in the region since October 2014.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and army and civilian leaders pay their respects to the victims of Badhaber base camp attack in Peshawar on Friday. —APP

PESHAWAR: Unlike the past, the militants, who attacked Pakistan Air Force’s base camp in Badhaber, Peshawar, on Friday morning, seemed to have come with a different strategy to engage the security forces in a long gun battle, experts say.

“For the first time, the militants used an altogether different strategy as none of the attackers had worn suicide vest,” said Shafqat Malik, head of the Bomb Disposal Squad, who examined bodies of attackers and ammunition inside the camp.

Shafqat Malik said previously, militants used to wear suicide jackets.

“The quantity of ammunition, which terrorists had carried, showed they had come for a long gun battle,” he said.

The BDS head said two cellphones were also recovered from the attackers, who were aged between 20 and 30 years.

In the past, the militants used suicide vests in attacks, especially on security installations.

The attackers, who killed around 150 students and teachers at Army Public School Peshawar on December 16, 2014, had also used suicide jackets.

BDS chief says no attacker had worn suicide jacket

In a statement, Mohammad Khurassani, spokesman for the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack and insisted 14 militants took part in Badhaber camp attack and reached there in two vehicles.

The militants launched attack at around 5am. People in the vicinity heard loud explosions inside the camp.

The army confirmed that 22 PAF personnel, three soldiers, including Captain Asfandyar Bukhari, and four civilians were killed, while 25 others got injuries in attack.

Officials said heavy weapons and ammunition were recovered from attackers. They said militants wore identical jaguars and carried AK-47 rifles, rocket propelled grenades-7, anti-tank rocket launchers, hand grenades, improvised explosive devices and backpacks with loaded magazines.

The security officials said attackers lobbed hand grenades to engage guards manning the camp’s main entrance.

They believed that attackers had planned to breach the second line of defence to reach mess and residential quarters.

“Personnel did a good job and engaged attackers at the second line of defence close to mechanised transport section in the camp,” said an official.

Bodies of militants lied near the mechanised transport section.

“Had they (militants) reached residential quarters, it would have proved more fatal,” he said.

Major casualties occurred at the main mosque, where terrorists lobbed hand grenades at worshipers.

Bodies of 13 attackers were taken in custody.

Shafqat Malik said fingerprints of attackers had been taken, while DNA tests would be conducted.

“Fingerprints are perfect and experts will be able to identify them easily,” he said.

Arrival of over one dozen attackers in two vehicles also exposed intelligence and state of preparedness of law-enforcement agencies, especially the police. Attackers used main road to reach the PAF camp, where the police have checkpoints.

The camp is located in a thickly populated area, where Afghan refugees have sufficient concentration.

Several Afghan jihadi commanders are understood to have rented residential compounds in the vicinity. Easy access by attackers to the camp shows that the sensitive installation housing technicians, training facilities and families was not properly protected.

The Badhaber locality is said to be notorious as for the law and order situation. The area is close to Frontier Region Peshawar and used to be infested with criminals and hardcore terrorists.

The locals had raised local lashkars to fend off attacks from militants in the past but the area is still considered to be unsafe.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2015

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KARACHI: The senior leaders of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) held deliberations for adopting different measures to deal with recent issues as they met in Dubai on Saturday with party's chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in chair.

Sources privy to the development told Dawn.com that deliberations are mainly aimed at measures to be taken to deal with the increasing decline of party’s popularity in Punjab and adopting the role of ‘real opposition’ at the federal level.

According to further details, the PPP leaders in Punjab namely former federal minister Qamar-uz-Zaman Kaira and Senator Aitzaz Ahsan presented a working paper in this regard. The working paper is titled ‘revival of PPP in Central and South Punjab,’ said a source familiar with this development.

The source revealed that the working paper contained proposals for changing party leadership in both central and south Punjab, besides making alignment and realignments for forthcoming local body elections in the province.

The second main agenda of the meeting was related to adopting the role of real opposition in the Senate and National Assembly. This was the reason that mainly Senators and MNAs were invited to the meeting in Dubai, said the sources.

This is second meeting of the PPP leadership in Dubai, in first meeting the party had announced to end its ‘reconciliation’ policy with the PML-N-led government in the Centre.

The sources said that another meeting of the party leadership in Dubai was expected to be held soon to adopt measures for reorganisation and strengthening of the party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan.

The sources said that for forthcoming local body elections in Sindh, the provincial leadership of the party led by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah — who is also the party’s provincial president — had already met former president Asif Ali Zardari in Dubai.

The sources disclosed that two proposals came under deliberations in that meeting about local government polls in Sindh.

They added that initially, PPP chairman Bilawal has shown his desire to not award tickets to siblings of sitting lawmakers but a strong resistance emerged in several districts against this.

As sitting lawmakers of the party demanded mayor-ship of the cities/towns such as Sukkur, Ghotki, Shikarpur and Kashmor etc for their siblings. A final decision to this effect is expected to be taken in another meeting in Dubai later on.

The sources said that ‘differences’ have already emerged among the party leaders as three party leaders were demanding mayor-ship of Sukkur for their siblings. Similarly, two party leaders were demanding mayor-ship of Shikarpur for their family members.

The same was the situation in Ghotki district where three political families were eyeing for the mayor-ship. In Kashmor district, three party lawmakers were also eyeing for the mayor-ship of the district for their family members.

Another challenge in the forthcoming local body polls in Sindh pertained to the emergence of perceived strong anti-PPP alliances such as one led by former disgruntled party leader, Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza in Badin and several party alliance in Larkana.

The sources told Dawn.com that the PPP has got support of former provincial minister Papu Shah who recently joined the PPP in Badin to break the anti-PPP alliance there.

Similarly, the PPP was trying to seek support of a mainstream religious party in Larkana to break the alliance of rival groups there.

The sources said the PPP was contemplating to adopt the same strategy implemented during general election of 2013, namely to seek support of ‘winning horses’ for LB polls.

As they believe that in case, the workers were awarded tickets, they may not win the seats of councilors due to lack of financial resources and influence of community/caste factor.

Meanwhile, the party spokesperson in a brief statement issued on Saturday did not mention agenda of the meeting.

The statement merely said that “senior leaders of Pakistan People’s party have assembled in Dubai for courtesy call on party Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.”

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan alleged on Saturday that government officials affiliated with the provincial government of Punjab are involved in campaigning against his party and intimidating his party workers before the upcoming by-polls for NA-122 and NA-154.

Imran Khan made these claims while addressing a press conference in Lahore.

“Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) Superintendent of Police (SP) Umar Virk is involved in campaigning against PTI, and is performing these services for the incumbent government in Punjab,” alleged Khan.

The PTI chief also claimed that Umar Virk is involved in threatening his party workers, and is encouraging criminal elements to intimidate his workers, in order to stop them from performing their party duties in light of the upcoming by-polls in Lahore.

Imran, during his press conference further alleged that he has evidence that Virk also threatened Ghaffar Gujjar, a PTI worker who was recently shot, on the phone two days before he was attacked.

“The government of Punjab under PML-N is using the provincial police as its enforcers and thugs, and are using them to influence the upcoming by-polls in the province,” added the PTI chief.

“We also have video evidence that a District Police Officer (DPO) is campaigning for PML-N in Hafizabad.”

Imran Khan said that his party will contact the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the Inspector-General (IG) of Punjab police to initiate legal proceedings against the individuals involved in intimidation and harassment of his party workers.

Imran Khan also said that he would extensively campaign in support of his party’s candidates in NA-122 and NA-154.

Read: PTI to hold sit-in on October 4 if ECP members do not resign: Imran

“I visited the constituency of NA-122 today and the response was very favourable, and the people of the constituencies support PTI,” stated the PTI chief.

“I will give my total support to Aleem Khan in NA-122, as we want to make a point and defeat rigging,” added Imran.

He further added that he is already a member of the National Assembly and won from three different constituencies, but he had asked ECP to investigate rigging in NA-122 as he wanted the people to see it.

The PTI chief once again reiterated his demand for the deployment of Pakistan Army during the by-polls and said "I do not trust the provincial police of Punjab to perform their election duties in an honest manner."

Imran Khan had announced earlier to hold a sit-in in front of ECP in Islamabad if its members do not tender their resignations by October 4.

The ECP on August 22 had de-notified National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq after receiving a copy of the decision announced by Punjab election commission's tribunal.

National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq had defeated PTI Chairman Imran Khan in the 2013 general elections from NA-122 after which PTI had challenged the results.

ISLAMABAD: The government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan strongly rejected the claims as baseless that Friday’s attack on PAF camp in Peshawar was planned and controlled from Afghanistan, read a statement issued by the office of the Afghan president.

The Afghan government reiterated its resolve that it has never, nor will it ever allow its territory to be used against other countries.

Earlier, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major-General Asim Bajwa had said that the attack on Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Badaber camp was planned and controlled from Afghanistan.

Twenty-nine people, among them personnel of the Pakistan Air Force and military and some civilians, lost their lives and all 13 militants who had stormed the camp were also killed, Bajwa said. The ISPR spokesperson said that 29 people were also wounded during predawn the attack.

Also read: Ashraf Ghani slams Pakistan over recent Kabul attacks

“Afghanistan, as a victim of terrorism, feels the agony and pain of terrorism, and commiserates in that spirit with the victims of yesterday’s attack in Peshawar,” read the statement released on Saturday by the office of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

It further stated that, Afghanistan’s government believes that “terrorism is the enemy of humanity and there are no good and bad terrorists”.

Therefore, the regional states, particularly Afghanistan and Pakistan, should continue putting in joint and sincere efforts to eliminate this heinous phenomenon, it asserted.

“The military operations of Pakistan in Waziristan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) have had consequences both for Afghanistan and Pakistan,” the Afghan president’s office said in its statement.

"The Afghan government has put in a lot of effort in recent years to fight terrorism and it once again calls on Pakistan to jointly fight alongside Afghanistan against all terrorist groups without discrimination so that peace and stability is ensured in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the region."

The Darra Adamkhel chapter of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack.

Built by the United States in the late 1950s to eavesdrop on Soviet communications and conduct air surveillance on the Soviet Union, Badaber is no longer an operation camp. It now serves mainly as a residential area housing quarters for PAF personnel and a public school.

In a five-minute, twenty-nine seconds video sent to reporters on Friday, the TTP group’s leader Khalifa Mansoor alias Omar Naray is seen saying goodbye to a group of 16 militants which, it said, was departing for the attack on the PAF camp.

The group now based in Afghanistan was also behind the attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar in December last year which left 145 people dead, 136 of them students.

QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch and senior officials of the provincial government have complained about ‘massive corruption’ in the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) and lack of job opportunities for the province’s youth in the organisation.

They were talking to BISP Chairperson Marvi Memon during a meeting here on Saturday.

An official informed the meeting that most of the money meant for deserving families in Balochistan was misappropriated by ‘middlemen’ because of the complicated computerised and bank/ATM system.

“Uneducated people registered with the BISP do not know how to use the ATMs to draw the money. They are also deprived of the money at the post offices and the BISP offices by the staff who pay them only Rs2,000 out of the Rs4,500 released to each beneficiary every three months,” he said.

According to sources, a financial manager criticised some BISP schemes planned to be launched soon, saying that corruption being committed in the already available funds of over Rs104 billion could not be controlled.

The Chief Minister’s Adviser Kaisar Bengali, who headed a four-member team which designed the BISP, said: “There are several shortcomings in the BISP plan pertaining to educational institutions, internship and small loans which may cause failure of their implementation.”

Ms Memon told the chief minister that financial assistance to deserving families was given through post offices in remote areas where banks did not exist. She admitted that some reports of misappropriation had been received about the post offices system. “We are investigating the reports of misappropriation and action will be taken against those involved,” she said.

She requested the chief minister to help set up the BISP offices in the districts of Balochistan which lacked the facility.

The CM said that deputy commissioners would be asked to provide rooms in their offices for the purpose.

He, however, underlined the need for a re-survey to overhaul the database of deserving families and including new beneficiaries in the BISP lists.

Ms Memon visited the Agriculture College and presented the concept of ‘agro buddies’, asking the students to help the poor beneficiaries of the BISP learn modern techniques and come up with income generation projects which could later be funded by donors to help them overcome poverty. She also launched the scheme at the Sardar Bahadur Khan Women’s University.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2015

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LAHORE: National Accountability Bureau Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry has defen­ded plea bargaining and voluntary return of money and said action will be taken against all those involved in major cases of corruption.

“We have decided to lay hands on all those involved in mega corruption cases irrespective of party or social differentiation,” he said at a function here on Saturday.

NAB has been facing severe criticism, especially from the PPP, that it is being used by the PML-N government to victimise its political opponents.

The judiciary has also been criticising the bureau for “letting suspects off the hook” after striking plea bargain and voluntary return deals with them.

Mr Chaudhry acknowledged that the bureau had been accused of accepting amounts lower than the determined booty and allowing the accused to escape prosecution. “For the sake of clarification I want to say that NAB (law’s) preamble emphasises recovery of looted money if an accused is willing to return it. Voluntary return is applicable at the time of inquiry which is the initial stage of a case. If the accused is willing to pay the principal amount plus mark-up, he is within his rights under the law to do so. NAB evaluates his offer with appropriate guarantees.

“The case is presented in the regional or central executive board for consideration before approval by the chairman. If the offer is considered unsatisfactory, it is rejected and the case is processed for further action,” he said.

Once a case is upgraded to the investigation stage and then the accused offers to return the ill-gotten money, then it is termed plea bargaining. “The accused is required to pay the full determined amount plus mark-up in three equal instalments. His offer is submitted to the respective accountability court,” said Mr Chaudhry.

He said that plea bargaining had other implications because it is deemed a conviction. “The accused is barred from holding a government job and public office and a businessman may not obtain loan from banks for 10 years.”

The NAB chief said the amount determined by the bureau was non-negotiable and all of it had to be paid by the accused. “Therefore, the question regarding accommodating the accused to reduce payments against the determined amount is not valid.”

He said that top priority was accorded to complaints of corruption against NAB’s officials. “NAB personnel need to follow a strict code of conduct and zero tolerance against corruption is to be visibly exhibited.”

He also mentioned a period when NAB had allegedly been stopped from working. He said the operations, prosecution, human resource development and awareness and prevention programmes had been reactivated last year.

“With the departure of the Economic Crime Wing to the FIA in 2008, a huge resource gap was created and NAB was left with only 40 per cent manpower to manage its activities,” he said, adding that an effort had been made to fill this gap through induction of 260 officers after training in 2014. “Another batch of 134 officers has been selected and for the first time the personnel are being trained at the Police Training College in Sihala.”

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2015

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KARACHI: The Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) has granted Chief Executive Officer of Express Media Group — a private media organisation — Sultan Lakhani ten days to submit his reply regarding alleged manipulation of viewership ratings through employees of a TV ratings company, Medialogic.

PBA, taking notice of Lakhani's absence from the meeting, also extended for ten days the temporary suspension of Express group's membership from its panel.

Third-party international auditor Robert Ruud of Robert Ruud Analysetjenester attended the fifth meeting of PBA's board of directors held on Saturday and presented his opinions regarding tampering of viewing patterns of households in favour of Express channels.

He also responded to queries put forward by members of the PBA board of directors.

Read: PBA temporarily suspends Express group’s membership

Earlier on September 11, PBA had “temporarily” suspended the membership of Express and issued a show-cause notice to the media network for alleged manipulation of viewership ratings through employees of a TV ratings company, Medialogic.

During previous meetings of the PBA's board of directors, which included Sultan Lakhani, a third-party international auditor Robert Ruud of Robert Ruud Analysetjenester had been tasked with the responsibility to conduct an independent audit into the operations of Medialogic against Express.

Later, in a report submitted to the PBA, Ruud had concluded that after analysing eight-month data from sample clusters, there was undeniable evidence of a significant increase in viewership, "where all household members began watching exact same minutes per week to the Express channels. This cannot happen without clear instructions on how the household should be watching the Express channels."

He later stated, "The auditor cannot find a logical explanation for this viewing pattern except outside influence of the households."

Chief executive officer of TV ratings company, Medialogic Pakistan, Salman Danish, while addressing members of the media fraternity on September 8 had claimed that the Express Media Group is involved in ‘malpractices’ to increase television ratings for its TV channels.

“They were bribing Medialogic employees to increase their TV ratings,” said Danish, while presenting what he said were cheques and drafts received by Medialogic employees from individuals connected to the Express Media Group.

Danish further claimed that the TV channels had profited by upto Rs450 million from the altered TV ratings at the behest of the entire electronic media industry.

But the media group had claimed that the ratings agency was trying to extort Rs450 million from it.

In an earlier report in the Express Tribune, the media group said the ratings agency chose its own employee, Shaista, and asked her to testify that Express News had pressurised households to tune into their channels.

On Shaista’s refusal to cooperate with Medialogic, The Express Tribune claimed that she and her family were harassed by Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) officials in Rawalpindi, adding that the victim is seeking justice from relevant authorities.

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DUBAI: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif extended on Sunday his condolence to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice Pre­­sident and Prime Min­ister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, on the death of his son Sheikh Rashid bin Moham­med bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

The prime minister accompanied by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Special Assis­tant Tariq Fatemi and Spe­cial Envoy to PM for Over­seas Invest­­ment Javed Malik arrived at the Za’abeel Palace in the evening.

A number of key figures of the ruling family, including Sheikh Saif al Nahyan, Sheikh Hamdan bin Moham­med, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid and Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammad Al Maktoum were present during the meeting.

Mr Sharif’s brief visit was an expression of solidarity and deep love of the leadership and people of Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, September 21st , 2015

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LAHORE: The severe heatwave scorching Karachi and some other parts of Sindh for the past two days will persist on Sunday and Monday as well before subsiding on Tuesday, according to the Met office.

As Karachi reeled under a temperature of 43 degrees Celsius on Saturday, at least 12 cases of heatstroke were brought to hospitals across the city.

Most people preferred to stay indoors, having learnt a good lesson from the killer wave that roasted the metropolis in June. The spell had claimed well over 1,200 lives.

Mercifully, a timely warning by the Met office this time helped prevent casualties from reaching alarming proportions.

DEPRESSION: According to the Met department, a depression over northeast Maharashtra, India, moved north-westwards on Saturday and hovered over northern Madhya Pradesh, close to an area in Rajasthan that borders the Bahawalpur region.

It was likely to move further north-westwards (towards Pakistan) and to join a trough of westerly wave moving across northern Afghanistan.

The monsoon low over India, which moved closer to Pakistan on Saturday, was likely to move to catchment areas of the eastern rivers by Monday, producing flood-generating rains and having a potential to trigger landslides in Kashmir, the Met Department and its Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) warned.

The system, combined with a westerly wave, is likely to produce a mix of snow and rainfall in Azad Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan from Monday to Wednesday (Sept 21 to 23). Heavy snowfall is expected over the mountains higher than 15,000 feet.

Rains may trigger glacial-lake outburst flood and flash floods. The probability of such an eventuality is highest in Baltistan.

The Met office has advised people living along rivers and streams in these areas to exercise extreme caution over the next five days.

The mixture has the potential to cause rain, with heavy to very heavy falls, at scattered places over the lower catchments (Bahawalpur, Sahiwal, Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Sargodha and Rawalpindi divisions) and upper catchments of Sutlej, Ravi, Chenab and Jhelum rivers from Sunday to Thursday (Sept 20 to 24).

As a result, very high floods are expected in Chenab and Jhelum rivers, nullahs of Ravi and Chenab rivers in Sialkot region and hill torrents of Dera Ghazi Khan from Sept 21 to 25.

The Met office has forecast scattered rain and dust storms in eastern Sindh (Sukkur, Ghotki, Mirpurkhas, Tharparkar, Umarkot and Khairpur districts) and Bahawalpur and Sahiwal divisions in Punjab over the next 36 hours.

A fresh monsoon low has developed over the northern Bay of Bengal, the Met department, adding that it was closely watching its movement.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2015

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PESHAWAR: The Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology has collected specimens from the bodies of 14 terrorists who were killed by security forces during the attack at Pakistan Air Force’s camp in Badaber on Friday.

An official told Dawn that specimens would be dispatched to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency in Lahore to determine their identity.

The bodies were handed over to Badaber police station on Saturday after post-mortem for burial.

The military spokesman had on Friday put the number of dead militants at 13, but on Saturday officials said that a charred body was later found in a generator room.

The official said forensic examination would help identify the militants and the charred body.

Meanwhile, the Counter-Terrorism Department registered an FIR against unknown persons on a complaint of Camp Commandant Flight Lieutenant Mohammad Hussain under different sections of the Pakistan Penal Code and the Anti-Terrorism Act.

According to the FIR, 28 people, including security personnel, were killed, and 27 suffered injuries in the attack, while 14 terrorists were gunned down by security forces.

Officials at the Badaber police station said the 14 terrorists would be buried at an undisclosed location.

Police and other security agencies conducted a search operation in Badaber and adjacent areas, detaining 28 suspects, including Afghans.

A three-member team of the Federal Investigation Agency, which arrived from Islamabad, continued investigation.

Sources said security forces had intercepted communications made during the assault between attackers and their masterminds.

The sources said two SIMs, which were in use of the attackers, had been recovered from the scene.

The investigators are confident that they would soon reach the masterminds and facilitators of the attack.

Reuters adds: Shafqat Malik, head of the Peshawar bomb squad, said the attackers carried enough firepower to occupy the base, but that some of their weapons had malfunctioned. Each man had an assault rifle, two improvised explosive devices, and several rocket propelled grenades, but some of the grenades misfired, he said.

“Their mission was occupation of the air base,” he said.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2015

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KARACHI: Unknown motorcycle-riding armed men attacked a Samaa TV Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG) vehicle under bridge at Karachi's Liaquatabad No.10 area, DawnNews reported.

The attackers fired five to six straight shots at the van before escaping from the scene.

According to news reports, the DSNG crew was not present inside the vehicle at the time of attack. There was no loss of life reported in the incident. The attacked vehicle sustained minor damage.

Police and Rangers personnel reached the site.

Sindh Home Minister Sohail Anwar Khan Sial and Sindh Information Minister Nisar Ahmad Khuhro took notice of the attack on the Samaa TV DSNG.

The ministers directed Inspector General Sindh Police Ghulam Hyder Jamali and Additional Inspector General Karachi to submit a report on the incident and called for the immediate arrest of the culprits.

This is not the first attack of its nature targeting media workers. Earlier this month three unidentified gunmen attacked a Geo TV DSNG, killing a Geo News employee and injuring another.

The incident was followed by an attack targeting senior journalist Aftab Alam. Alam, who had previously worked for Geo News, was gunned down by unknown assailants near his home in North Karachi.

Last year, three Express News employees were shot dead in North Nazimabad in an attack claimed by the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.

KARACHI: The persisting heatwave and an acute shortage of water has claimed the life of at least three camels last week at the market set-up for sacrificial animals off the Superhighway, it emerged during a visit to the site on Sunday.

The deaths took place in the section solely reserved for camels, which has so far received over 270,000 animals and is being managed by the Malir Cantonment Board (MCB).

“No doubt they are hardy animals and can survive without water for days. But, if they are dehydrated in intense heat, they may die,” said a Thar-based trader whose two camels in a herd of 30 recently died in the market.

“I had no choice but to slaughter my young animals that could have otherwise helped me earn at least 150,000. I sold off their meat for Rs10,000,” he replied when asked what he did with the dying animals.

The other trader who lost one camel told Dawn that water supplies had been enhanced only after the traders protested over the death of their animals.

“We were being supplied eight litres of water to each trader for free daily. Obviously, that wasn’t enough. One animal needs at least 50 litres of water daily,” he said, adding that though water was sold at the market, he couldn’t afford to buy it for animals.

“It would greatly enhance my expenses as I am already buying water for drinking purposes myself. I haven’t bathed since I have arrived here 15 days ago,” he said.

According to camel traders, it is the first time they are facing water shortages at the market, which, they believe, is due to change in the location of their section.

“For many years, the area on the left side of the Superhighway near the bridge was reserved for camels and goats. In those days, we used to fill up the gap in water shortages from two broken leaking pipelines,” another trader said.

A lot of animals that had arrived from the interior of Sindh, especially Tharparkar, in the camel section appeared weak, old and ill.

Standing in the open intense heat seemed to be adding to their misery. Their prices ranged between Rs60,000 and Rs150,000.

Traders, most of whom have been coming to the annual market for more than a decade, seemed disturbed over the low numbers of buyers coming to the market in recent weeks. They also complained that the market administration was charging them too much for literally no service.

Animals of the Sahiwal breed are one of the most sought-after at the animal market.—White Star

Every utility at the market ranging from water, electricity to feed and food, they said, had been sub-contracted and being sold on exorbitant rates.

“None of us paid for the space provided to our camels but we have paid the entry fee of Rs1,200 per animal. The market rate for camel feed is Rs500 for one maund but here we are getting it for Rs1,200. Unfortunately, we are not allowed to bring our own feed once we are in the market,” said Hashim (name changed to protect identity) who has brought 30 animals from Moro.

Not so much perturbed by water shortages and other issues at the market was Haji Ismail, a goat trader, who arrived from Naushahro Feroz a month ago with 40 animals. Most of them had been sold out.

“I am satisfied though I still faced a loss of Rs30,000. Actually, I didn’t want to stay till the end as I did last year and had to suffer a Rs100,000 loss because the market rates fell due to the arrival of a huge number of animals,” he pointed out, while sipping tea in his makeshift tent.

Unlike other traders, he had no complaints from the administration. Goat traders, he said, had to pay Rs600 entry fee per animal and he, along with his friends, had paid Rs60,000 for the space to keep the animals. The goat prices ranged between Rs8,000 and Rs50,000.

Some traders questioned why free water and space could not be provided to sacrificial animals at the Karachi market as the same could be done in Lahore. “We are thinking not to come here next year because we pay too much but don’t get any facility in return. The reason for our continued business in Karachi has been because it’s close to our district,” said a goat trader based in Hyderabad.

At the cow section, there were similar complaints regarding high feed prices and other commodities. “Dry fodder is being sold for Rs600 to Rs700 per maund here but its market price is Rs350 per maund. Besides, we paid Rs1,000 per animal and then Rs120,000 for the space for 40 animals. The most basic issue, however, is lack of adequate supply of water,” said Rehman from Sahiwal, lamenting that there were neither any veterinary services nor arrangements for fumigation at the market.

According to him, Sahiwal breed has remained one of the most sought-after animal because of its beauty and innocence, though traders have even brought pure Cholistan, Sibi, Australian and local cross breeds to the market.

Upon contact, Rana Imran, the animal market administrator and contractor, admitted that three camels had died in the market but disputed the cause of their death and said that the animals may have been ill.

“We are maintaining a sufficient supply of water to the market through three hydrants. Besides, it’s difficult to imagine that an animal like a camel would die due to lack of water,” he said, adding that a 10-member livestock department team examined animals before their arrival in the market and veterinary services were also available.

The market’s location, he said, was changed because of security issues and the land belonged to housing societies who were paid rent for the time the land is being used for the animal market.

“You can’t compare Karachi with Lahore, a city which has more than sufficient supply of water all year round. While in Karachi, even humans don’t have enough water to drink and use,” he replied to another question.

The entry fee, he said, hadn’t been raised nor the rates for the space to keep animals this year. “The price difference between the feed rates of the regular market and the maweshi mandi is of only Rs50. Our vigilance team keeps a check that the feed is being sold at the right price. Besides traders can also register their complaints with us,” he argued.

The generated amount, he said, was used to provide water, feed and electricity in a barren area to traders.

“They look poor but they are not poor traders. Ask them how many animals they have sold so far and at what price. Most of them would claim that they are in losses but actually they are making profits,” he concluded.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2015

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