SECURITY
Search operation launched in Quetta
QUEETTA: A massive search operation was launched by the Frontier Corps in the Kili Deeba and adjoining areas of Quetta to consolidate peace in the locality. FC Commander Quetta Brigadier Khalid Baig said more than 3,000 personnel, among them 208 women, were participating in the operation. Dawn
Four militants killed in shootout
QUETTA: Four suspected militants were killed in a gun battle with security forces in the Gishkor area of Awaran district of Balochistan. The shootout erupted after a convoy of the security forces was ambushed near Mashkay. A large quantity of arms and ammunition was also recovered from the militants` possession. Dawn , The Express Tribune
POLITICAL
Imran pledges sweeping reforms in `new Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, in his first public meeting after the ouster of Nawaz Sharif, promised wide-ranging reforms if he came to power. In a speech which had all the rhetoric of an election campaign, Mr Khan told the jubilant gathering at Parade Ground that he had resolved to improve health, education and judicial systems, besides introducing a tax culture which would eliminate poverty. Dawn , Radio TNN , Akhbar-e-Khyber The News
SOCIO-ECONOMIC
Mega gas pipeline
LAHORE: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) is likely to approve another mega project of laying the 1,100km long Karachi-Lahore gas pipeline within next 30 days after the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources gave a go ahead after a detailed study. After ECC, according to a senior official of the ministry, the project will be submitted to the Oil and Gas Regulatory (Ogra) for final approval. And as soon as Ogra approves it, the preparatory jobs (ahead of initiation of the civil works) such as bidding, award of contracts, work orders etc will start. Dawn
Governor ignoring Bajaur in uplift schemes: senator
KHAR: Senator Hidayatullah Khan accused Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra of discriminating against Bajaur Agency in development schemes. The lawmaker stated this while addressing a public meeting in Bai Chena area of Khar after inspecting the ongoing development schemes in the region. He claimed the governor was not sincere in addressing the problems of the people of Bajaur. Dawn , The Express Tribune
SMEDA Launches Financial Assistance Program To Support Calamities-Hit Businessmen In KP, Fata
PESHAWAR: The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) has launched a financial assistance program to support the militancy and natural calamity affected businessmen in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata. SMEDA said that under the Economic Revitalization of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata (ERKF) project, 1.060 billion rupees would be distributed among the traders whose businesses were affected from militancy and natural calamities during the last three years. Radio TNN
Foreign Affairs
Use carrot & stick in ties with Pakistan, Senate urges Trump
The US Senate is urging the Trump administration to use a combination of sanction threats and offers of a long term partnership to persuade Pakistan to stop `supporting Afghan insurgents`. An amendment to the US National Defence Authorisation Act 2018 also suggests strictly conditioning further US military, economic and governance assistance programmes for Afghanistan upon measurable progress in achieving the benchmarks for implementing necessary institutional reforms, especially those related to anti-corruption, financial transparency and the rule of law. Dawn , The Express Tribune
