20 killed in attack on miners in Pakistan
Karachi(PTI): At least 20 miners were killed and eight others were injured early Friday when unidentified armed men attacked their coal mines in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province.
The incident occurred in the Dukki area of the province, Dunya News reported.
The attack is the latest in a string of violence in Pakistan. It comes less ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's summit to be held in the national capital.
According to District Chairman Dukki Haji Khair Ullah Nasir, the attackers used hand grenades and rocket launchers in the attack. He said that there are ten coal mines located in the area.
Nasir said that the attackers also set ablaze mining machinery before fleeing the scene.
At least 20 miners were killed and eight others were wounded.
Police, paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) and rescue teams rushed to the spot after the attack.
Police sources said that the death toll may rise as some injured minors were in critical condition.
SHO Dukki Hamanyan Khan said the armed men first gathered the miners in different groups and then sprayed bullets on them.
Heavy contingents of police and FC have cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to arrest the culprits.
Pakistan has witnessed a worrying surge in terrorist attacks in the ongoing year with fatalities in the first three quarters surpassing the numbers recorded in all of 2023.
As per the third Quarterly Report (Q3) issued by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), the number of fatalities rose to at least 1,534 in the first three quarters of 2024 compared to 1,523 in 2023.
Balochistan, bordering Iran and Afghanistan, is home to a long-running violent insurgency. Baloch insurgent groups have previously carried out several attacks targeting CPEC projects.
The banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) accuses China and Islamabad of exploitation of the resource-rich province, a charge rejected by the authorities. It has fought a long-running insurgency for a separate homeland.
Earlier this week, two Chinese nationals were killed and 17 people injured in a suicide attack by a Baloch insurgent group that targeted a convoy of Chinese workers near Pakistan's busiest airport in Karachi.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
