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Imran Khan, Hafiz Saeed's son among others in terror hit-list ahead of Pakistan elections

Agencies
July 10, 2018

Jul 10: The National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) of Pakistan has said that some top politicians of the country, including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan, can be attacked by terrorists during the campaign for Pakistan general elections, scheduled for July 25.

The authority informed about the threat to the leaders to a Senate panel. Among those facing the threat are PTI chief Imran Khan, Awami National Party president Afsandyar Wali, Qaumi Watan Party’s Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal leader Akram Durrani and ANP leader Ameer Haider Hoti, reported Pakistani media.

Apart from these, Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed’s son, Talha Saeed, who is contesting the elections on Allah-o-Akbar Tehreek party ticket, is also likely to be targeted by terrorists. The agency further said that some senior leaders of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) were also in the hitlist of the terrorists.

NACTA has apprised the Interior Ministry, provincial home departments, and other agencies about the imminent threat to the top politicians of Pakistan, said a report in The Nation.

Pakistan-based Dawn News reported that the panel chief, Rehman Malik, had asked the Interior Ministry to ensure fool-proof security to all those facing the threat. He also called for providing security to the heads of all major political parties.

He further raised the issue of incidents of violence reported during the high-stake election campaign in the country. Malik cited the incident of a group of people pelting stones on the convoy of PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari while he was on his way to address a poll rally in Lyari area of Karachi.

Reports had said that Bilawal’s convoy was attacked by a group of at least 100 people. They also raised slogans like “Go Bilawal Go”. Due to heavy stone pelting, windshield of a truck, which was part of the convoy, was broken while two workers of the PPP also suffered injuries.

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News Network
February 28,2020

Washington, Feb 28: US intelligence agencies are monitoring the global spread of coronavirus and the ability of governments to respond, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday, warning that there were concerns about how India would cope with a widespread outbreak.

While there are only a few known cases in India, one source said the country's available countermeasures and the potential for the virus to spread given India's dense population was a focus of serious concern.

US intelligence agencies are also focusing on Iran, where the country's deputy health minister has fallen ill during a worsening outbreak.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday the United States was "deeply concerned" Tehran may have covered up details about the spread of coronavirus. A US government source said Iran's response was considered ineffective because the government only has minimal capabilities to respond to the outbreak.

Another source said US agencies were also concerned about the weak ability of governments in some developing countries to respond to an outbreak.

The US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee has received a briefing on the virus from the spy agencies. "The Committee has received a briefing from the IC (intelligence community) on coronavirus, and continues to receive updates on the outbreak on a daily basis," an official of the House Intelligence Committee told Reuters.

"Addressing the threat has both national security and economic dimensions, requiring a concerted government-wide effort and the IC is playing an important role in monitoring the spread of the outbreak, and the worldwide response," the official added.

A source familiar with the activities of the Senate Intelligence Committee, led by Republican Senator Richard Burr and Democratic Senator Mark Warner, said the panel was receiving daily updates. The role of US intelligence agencies in responding to the coronavirus epidemic at this point principally involves monitoring the spread of the illness around the world and assessing the responses of governments.

They are working closely with health agencies, such as the US Center for Disease Control, in sharing information they collect and targeting further intelligence gathering.

One source said US agencies would use a wide range of intelligence tools, ranging from undercover informants to electronic eavesdropping tools, to track the virus' impact.

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Agencies
August 7,2020

Colombo, Aug 7: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's party and its allies won an overwhelming two-thirds majority in a parliament election, results showed on Friday, giving him the power to enact sweeping changes to the constitution.

The governing Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna and its allies had won 150 seats in the 225-member parliament, according to the tally published by the election commission from Wednesday's vote.

Rajapaksa had sought a two-thirds majority in parliament to be able to restore full executive powers to the presidency, which he says are necessary to implement his agenda to make the tiny island economically and militarily secure.

He is likely to install his older brother and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa as the next prime minister. The brothers are best known for crushing the Tamil Tiger rebels fighting for a separate homeland for minority Tamils during the elder Rajapaksa's presidency in 2009.

On a congratulatory phone call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, which is keen to check Chinese influence on its southern neighbour, Mahinda Rajapaksa vowed to deepen ties between the two countries.

"With the strong support of the people of Sri Lanka, I look forward to working with you closely to further enhance the long-standing cooperation between our two countries," he told Modi. "Sri Lanka and India are friends and relations."

The tourism-dependent nation of 21 million people has been struggling economically since deadly Islamist militant attacks on hotels and churches last year followed by lockdowns to slow the spread of the coronavirus. 

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News Network
April 24,2020

Washington, Apr 24: The number of coronavirus cases in the US has surpassed 850,000, Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center data revealed on Thursday (local time).
The country now has registered 8,56,209 cases overall, according to the data, including 47,272 deaths.

The US currently leads the world in the number of reported COVID-19 deaths and confirmed cases.

There are more than 2.6 million COVID-19 cases around the world and more than 1,85,000 deaths, according to the data.

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