Here’s what’s happening across the border: Quetta man rides 8,000 km for peace, and a mosque inaugurated to pay homage to late singer-turned-preacher Junaid Jamshed.
Pakistan conducts first ever anti-terrorist meeting as SCO member
A three-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation-Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (SCO-RATS) meeting was held on Wednesday for the first time after Pakistan became an SCO country in June 2017.
The agenda of the meeting included discussion on terrorist threats in the country and finding solutions to enhance counter-terrorism cooperation between SCO member states. The participants of the meeting included legal experts from the eight SCO member states— India, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Pakistan.
The first day of the ceremony saw foreign secretary Tehmina Janjua address the members and highlight the grave losses that Pakistan incurred due to its war against terrorism. Janjua also stressed upon the need for the SCO member states to come together and battle the issue.
Other goals of the meeting included strengthening trust amongst the member states and promoting cooperation in politics, trade, economy, research, technology and culture, as well as in education, energy, transport, tourism, and environmental protection.
Man rides 8,000 km to spread the message of peace
In just 47 days, a man from Quetta travelled across 137 cities of Pakistan on a motorcycle in an attempt to promote peace. Abdullah Jan Al Noor, the man, claimed that his message ‘Peaceful Pakistan and Peaceful Balochistan’ met with a lot of criticism along the journey.
Abdullah’s efforts were highly praised and appreciated by the Baloch people but, no government representatives recognised his endeavours. However, he was honoured with a Balochi turban by the locals in his hometown.
“I covered almost 6,400 kilometres journey in 43 days. And, people really gave me respect and support throughout the trip and I can surely say that Pakistan is a peaceful country,” Abdullah told The Express Tribune.
Abdullah toured four provinces which included Gilgit Baltistan, Azad Kashmir and also the Pakistan-China border.
SC judge’s house fired upon, but wasn’t the intended target
The residence of Supreme Court Justice Ijazul Ahsan was fired upon twice last month, however, recent forensic reports released by Punjab Forensic Science Agency have revealed that his house was not the target of the gunshots.
The reports said that the two samples of bullets recovered from Justice Ahsan’s residence were stray bullets which could only hit the target if fired from a 9 mm pistol within a range of 40 m.
The Joint Investigation Team reached the conclusion after reproducing the crime scene by firing shots using a similar pistol from various ranges. They also probed the camera footage that is installed near the judge’s house.
It is unclear who the firings were aimed at.
Mosque made in the memory of singer is now open to public
Junaid Jamshed Masjid, a mosque in Karachi named after the late singer-turned-preacher, was inaugurated Wednesday.
Jamshed was known for his philanthropy in Pakistan. When he was at peak of his career, he decided to switch paths and preach Islam.
“After a period of time, when I saw Muslims all over the world suffering in one form or another, it started to play on my mind,” Jamshed had said in an interview to The Express Tribune.
He was the lead vocalist of a Pakistani band, Vital Signs. Jamshed died in a tragic plane crash in 2017.