Pakistan rejects 'baseless Indian allegations of infiltration' across Line of Control

Pakistan on Sunday refuted India's 'baseless' allegations that claimed that it wanted to infiltrate militants along the Line of Control (LoC).

The world is aware of India running a smear campaign against Pakistan, as it had been exposed by the EU DisinfoLab’s report, stated Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"We categorically reject the baseless allegations that Pakistan wanted to infiltrate so-called 'terrorists' via the Line of Control (LoC)," he added.

Questioning the truthfulness of the Indian claims, he wondered how Pakistan could infiltrate militants across the LoC when it was one of the most militarised zones in the world, with over 900,000 Indian security personnel posted there.

Chaudhri added that India has installed layered barbed wire fences, security systems, and electronic surveillance devices, making it impossible for anything to cross the LoC to enter IIOJK.

He turned his guns on India, accusing New Delhi of stoking the flames of terrorism in Pakistan.

"On its part, India has been involved in state-terrorism in IIOJK and against Pakistan. From the Samjhota Express killings of February 2007 to the terrorist blast in Lahore in June 2021, terror incidents targeting Pakistanis have had an Indian hand," Foreign Office stated.

In 2020, Pakistan provided irrefutable evidence of India's involvement in terrorism and patronage, the spokesman said. In February this year, Pakistan urged India to abide by the 2003 ceasefire agreement.

The spokesperson added that India must not use baseless "infiltration attempts as a handy ploy to find excuses to scuttle the ceasefire understanding."

The consequences of India's irresponsible behaviour will not be good for peace and security in the region, the Foreign Office spokesperson concluded.

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Schools, colleges in Sindh to remain closed till Aug 19: Sindh education minister

Sindh Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah said on Sunday that schools and colleges will remain closed till August 19 in view of the rising incidence of coronavirus cases.

Addressing a press conference in Karachi, he said: "The decision has been taken that we will keep schools closed till Aug 19 [as well as] colleges."

The Sindh government had closed schools across the province on July 24 due to the rising number of Covid-19 cases although it had said that exams would take place according to schedule.

According to a notification issued by the Sindh government's school education and literacy department, "all public and private educational institutions under [its] administrative control" would remain closed till Aug 19 due to the prevailing Covid-19 situation.

A similar notification was issued by the provincial government's college education department, saying that physical classes in all public and private educational institutions under its administrative control would be closed till Aug 19.

The notification added, however, that examinations would take place as per the schedule announced by the respective boards. Principals would also ensure the presence of essential staff for maintenance and cleanliness of the colleges during the closure period.

Shah said that with the upcoming Muharram holidays, the Covid-19 situation would also be monitored.

He also said that a notification would be issued tomorrow (Monday) to ensure mandatory vaccination for teachers and only vaccinated teachers would be allowed on premises.

"The decision of the chief minister and the task force to stop their salaries will also be implemented," he added, referring to teachers who did not get vaccinated.

The education minister pointed out that the positivity rate in Karachi had still not decreased and stood at 23 per cent. "God forbid, if we don't take care in Muharram, this rate can increase," he said, adding that the challenge was two-fold: to protect the people from the disease but also not let student's education be impacted.

Responding to a question on when schools would be opened, the education minister gave the potential date of Aug 20 but said that a meeting would be held in Muharram to review the situation. He said whatever would be decided would be in favour of children and their parents.

Education reforms

The minister also outlined his approach to reforms in the education sector, focusing on a curriculum overhaul, upgrading infrastructure and teaching quality.

Shah lamented that the current curriculum was outdated and out of touch, referring to first-year students learning about the benefits of radio when it wasn't even commonly used now. "The curriculum will be revised."

On infrastructure, he said he would himself carry out inspections and vigilance would be ensured. "So at least [infrastructure] is child friendly [and] the school is a friend for children and not a ghost house to scare them off," he said.

He stressed that imparting quality education to students was linked to better teachers and "we will make no compromise on their quality". Shah added that teachers would be hired on "100pc merit".

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Pakistan rejects 'baseless Indian allegations of infiltration' across Line of Control

Pakistan on Sunday refuted India's 'baseless' allegations that claimed that it wanted to infiltrate militants along the Line of Control (LoC).

The world is aware of India running a smear campaign against Pakistan, as it had been exposed by the EU DisinfoLab’s report, stated Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"We categorically reject the baseless allegations that Pakistan wanted to infiltrate so-called 'terrorists' via the Line of Control (LoC)," he added.

Questioning the truthfulness of the Indian claims, he wondered how Pakistan could infiltrate militants across the LoC when it was one of the most militarised zones in the world, with over 900,000 Indian security personnel posted there.

Chaudhri added that India has installed layered barbed wire fences, security systems, and electronic surveillance devices, making it impossible for anything to cross the LoC to enter IIOJK.

He turned his guns on India, accusing New Delhi of stoking the flames of terrorism in Pakistan.

"On its part, India has been involved in state-terrorism in IIOJK and against Pakistan. From the Samjhota Express killings of February 2007 to the terrorist blast in Lahore in June 2021, terror incidents targeting Pakistanis have had an Indian hand," Foreign Office stated.

In 2020, Pakistan provided irrefutable evidence of India's involvement in terrorism and patronage, the spokesman said. In February this year, Pakistan urged India to abide by the 2003 ceasefire agreement.

The spokesperson added that India must not use baseless "infiltration attempts as a handy ploy to find excuses to scuttle the ceasefire understanding."

The consequences of India's irresponsible behaviour will not be good for peace and security in the region, the Foreign Office spokesperson concluded.

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Saudi Arabia gets its first wind farm

Dumat Al Jandal, the Middle East’s largest wind farm and the first in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is now connected to the grid and has produced its first carbon-free megawatt-hours (MWh) of energy.

The 400-megawatt (MW) utility-scale wind power project is being developed by a consortium led by EDF Renewables and Masdar, two of the world’s leading renewable energy companies.

The wind farm consists of 99 wind turbines from supplier and EPC contractor Vestas, each with a power output of 4.2 MW. Construction began in September 2019, and the wind turbine erection works are near completion.

When complete, the wind farm will generate carbon-free energy, powering up to 70,000 Saudi households, while saving 988,000 tonnes of CO2 per year in support of the Kingdom’s climate change mitigation goals.

Olivier Marchand, Project Director of Dumat Al Jandal Wind Co for Energy LLC, stated, “We are delighted to start the early power production of this unique large-scale wind project in KSA – Dumat Al Jandal wind farm.

The outstanding commitment shown by our teams and contractors with the implementation of the highest health and safety standards and the full support provided by the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Energy, Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPCC) and the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) have contributed to the successful execution of the project during this extremely challenging pandemic period. We are now looking forward to successfully reaching, with our partners and contractors, the full commissioning of the project in the months to come.”

Osama Al Othman, Country Representative, Saudi Arabia, Masdar, said, “Masdar is proud to be leveraging its experience in renewable energy to deliver the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s first wind farm in collaboration with our partners. The successful connection of the project to the electricity transmission grid marks an important milestone for this landmark project in the Kingdom and we look forward to project’s completion in the near future. As a global leader in the development of commercially viable wind power, Masdar is committed to advancing clean technology across the region and we will continue our efforts to support the country’s ambitious energy program.”

The wind farm is also contributing to the region’s economic activity, creating more than 600 local jobs during the construction phase. The project has also achieved a significant health and safety milestone by securing 1.8 million man-hours without a single lost-time injury (LTI) as a result of the strict health and safety procedures on site.

The Dumat Al Jandal wind farm will supply electricity under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Saudi Power Procurement Company, a subsidiary of the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), the Saudi power generation and distribution company.

 

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KNIFE ATTACKER ON COMMUTER TRAIN WANTED TO KILL ‘HAPPY WOMEN’

The man alleged to have wounded 10 people in a knife attack on a Tokyo commuter train late on Friday told police he became incensed when he saw women who “looked happy” and wanted to kill them, Japanese media reported on Saturday.

Police arrested the 36-year-old man in another part of Tokyo after he slashed and stabbed people in the attack at about 8:40 pm (1140 GMT) on Friday on a train on the Odakyu Line in the western part of the city, media reported.

One victim, a female university student, was seriously wounded, while the rest suffered less severe injuries.

The Sankei newspaper reported that suspect told police: “I began feeling like I wanted to kill women who looked happy about six years ago. Anyone was fine, I just wanted to kill a lot of people.”

Other media, including broadcaster NHK, reported similar quotes from suspect.

A police spokesman said they had nothing further to share on the details of case when asked about the media reports on Saturday.

Violent crime is rare in Japan but there have been a spate of knife attacks by assailants unknown to the victims.

In June 2008, a man in a light truck drove into a crowd in the popular Akihabara district and then jumped out of the vehicle and started stabbing pedestrians, leaving seven dead.

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Britain tells nationals to leave Afghanistan immediately due to 'worsening security situation'

Britain has warned all UK nationals in Afghanistan to leave the country immediately due to the "worsening security situation" as fighting intensifies.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on Friday updated its website to advise against all travel to Afghanistan.

"All British nationals in Afghanistan are advised to leave now by commercial means. If you are still in Afghanistan, you are advised to leave now by commercial means because of the worsening security situation," it said.

The foreign office warned Britons not to rely on it for emergency evacuation, saying the assistance it could provide was "extremely limited".

The warning comes after the Taliban launched a major offensive to coincide with the withdrawal of US-led foreign forces after nearly two decades of conflict.

"Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Afghanistan. Specific methods of attack are evolving and increasing in sophistication," the foreign office said.

The Taliban now control vast swathes of rural Afghanistan and are challenging government forces in several cities, including Herat, near the western border with Iran, and Lashkar Gah and Kandahar in the south.

On Friday, the militants captured their first provincial capital since stepping up their offensive in May.

Zaranj, the capital of the southwest province of Nimroz, fell "without a fight", deputy provincial governor Roh Gul Khairzad told AFP.

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Soldier martyred in North Waziristan military post attack

A Pakistan Army soldier was martyred after terrorists attacked a military check-post in North Waziristan on Saturday, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

The military’s media wing said terrorists opened fire on a check-post in Ghariom area. The security personnel responded in a befitting manner, it added.

During an exchange of fire, Sepoy Shahid, 29, who was a resident of Bahawalnagar embraced martyrdom, the ISPR said, adding a clearance operation was launched in the area following the attack.

It reiterated the Pakistan Army’s determination to eliminating the menace of terrorism saying “sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve”.

On August 2, a Pakistan Army soldier had embraced martyrdom after terrorists opened fire on a military post in North Waziristan’s Ghariom. The martyred serviceman was identified as 37-year-old Naik Ghulam Mustafa who was a resident of Muzaffarabad, the military’s media wing said.

A search operation was launched in the area to eliminate terrorists, the ISPR had said.

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