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Pak forces free 190 hostages, 50 killed

March 12, 2025 10:44 p.m

SIBI, Pakistan: Pakistan security sources on Wednesday said the military had freed 190 train passengers taken hostage by gunmen on the second day of a siege in the mountainous southwest. More than 450 passengers were on board when a separatist militant group captured the train in a remote frontier district, with an unknown number of hostages still being held. The militants claimed on Wednesday they had killed 50 hostages, which could not be independently verified.

“So far, 190 passengers have been rescued, and 30 terrorists have been killed. Due to the presence of women and children with suicide bombers, extreme caution is being exercised,” security sources told AFP. “The operation continues to eliminate the remaining militants.” Attacks by separatist groups who accuse outsiders of plundering natural resources in Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, have soared in the past few years.

The assault was immediately claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army, who released a video of an explosion on the track followed by dozens of militants emerging from mountainous hiding places and storming onto the carriages. “Information suggests that some militants have fled, taking an unknown number of hostages into the local mountainous areas,” a security official in the area told AFP.

Muhammad Kashif, a senior railway government official in the provincial capital Quetta, told AFP on Tuesday afternoon that the 450 passengers on board had been taken hostage. Passengers who walked for hours through rugged mountains to reach safety described being set free by the militants. “Our women pleaded with them, and they spared us,” Babar Masih, a 38-year-old Christian labourer, told AFP on Wednesday. “They told us to get out and not look back. As we ran, I noticed many others running alongside us.”

At a railway station in Quetta, paramilitary troops brought empty coffins that will be sent to the site of the incident. “I can’t find the words to describe how we managed to escape. It was terrifying,” Muhammad Bilal, who had been travelling with his mother on the Jaffar Express train, told AFP.

The BLA has staged a series of recent attacks against security forces and ethnic groups from outside the province they accuse of benefiting from the region’s wealth. The group has demanded an exchange with security forces for its imprisoned members. The train driver, a police officer and a soldier were killed in the assault, according to paramedic Nazim Farooq and railway official Muhammad Aslam.

Several passengers told AFP that gunmen demanded to see identity cards to confirm who was from outside the province, similar to a spate of recent attacks carried out by the BLA. “They came and checked IDs and service cards and shot two soldiers in front of me and took the other four to... I don’t know where,” said one passenger who asked not to be identified, after walking four hours to the nearest train station. “Those who were Punjabis were taken away by the terrorists,” he said. Around 80 of the released passengers were taken to Quetta under “tight security”, said a police official who was not authorized to speak to the media.

Authorities restrict access to some areas of Balochistan where many energy and infrastructure projects are backed by China, which has invested billions in the region including in a major port and airport. The BLA claim the region’s natural resources are being exploited by outsiders and has increased attacks targeting Pakistanis from other regions, security forces and foreign infrastructure projects.

The group launched coordinated overnight attacks last year that included taking control of a major highway and shooting dead travelers from other ethnic groups, stunning the country. The BLA claimed an attack in February that killed 17 paramilitary soldiers and a woman suicide bomber killed a soldier this month. “The valuable natural resources in Balochistan belong to the Baloch nation,” a BLA statement said at the time. “Pakistani military generals and their Punjabi elite are looting these resources for their own luxury.”

Baloch residents regularly stage protests against the state, which they accuse of rounding up innocent people in its crackdown on militancy. Security forces have been battling a decades-long insurgency in impoverished Balochistan but last year saw a surge in violence in the province compared with 2023, according to the independent Centre for Research and Security Studies.

It found 2024 was the deadliest year for Pakistan in a decade, with violence rising along the Afghanistan border since the Taleban government took back power in Kabul in 2021. Pakistan blames its neighbor for allowing militant groups safe haven to plan and launch attacks on Pakistan, a charge Kabul denies. – AFP

NBK launches ‘Reduce Food Waste’ Campaign

March 12, 2025 10:14 p.m

KUWAIT: The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) reinforces its commitment to sustainability and social responsibility with the launch of the Reduce Food Waste Campaign, aimed at minimizing food waste and encouraging the community to preserve food resources. As part of this initiative, NBK installed refrigerators at the entrances of its branches across all governorates (two branches per governorate) and filled it with iftar meals.

The community is also encouraged to donate excess food and fill the refrigerators with, ensuring that edible and fresh food reaches those in need while also fostering a culture of sustainable consumption. Yaqoub Al-Baqer, AVP at NBK Public Relations and Event Management, commented on the campaign, stating: “Through this initiative, we aim to make sure iftar meals are accessible to everyone in addition to instill a culture of food conservation and responsible consumption.

By placing refrigerators at our branches, we are providing the community with a practical and accessible way to contribute to reducing food waste and supporting those in need. At NBK, we believe in the power of collective action to drive meaningful change.” Al-Baqer emphasized NBK’s long-term dedication to sustainable initiatives, stating: “We believe that community work is an investment in the future. That’s why we continue to introduce initiatives that foster generosity, awareness, and social cohesion — solidifying NBK’s role as a key contributor to Kuwait’s society.”

This initiative is part of the Annual Ramadan Program, “Doing Good Deeds,” which has been a cornerstone of its CSR initiatives for over 25 years. This year’s program introduces new community-driven activities designed to strengthen social bonds and promote generosity during the holy month. Through this initiative, NBK aims to inspire the community to take active steps toward reducing food waste, reinforcing its broader efforts to support environmental sustainability and social wellbeing.

Trade war threatens global oil demand growth, warns IEA

Agency sees oil market in 600,000 bpd surplus in 2025

March 13, 2025 06:27 p.m

PARIS: Global oil demand growth is set to accelerate this year but the escalating trade war launched by US President Donald Trump threatens to disrupt the market, the International Energy Agency said Thursday. The IEA noted that crude prices dropped in February and early March as concerns grew about the impact of trade tensions on the global economy and the OPEC+ cartel confirmed plans to raise production next month.

Global oil demand is expected to rise by just over one million barrels per day (bpd) in 2025, up from 830,000 bpd in 2024, according to the Paris-based agency. That would take overall demand for the year to 103.9 million bpd, with lower oil prices and demand from China fuelling demand.

But the agency, which advises developed countries on energy policy, said it lowered its estimates for the last quarter of 2024 and the first three months of this year. “New US tariffs will clearly act as barriers to global trade and economic growth in 2025,” the IEA said in its monthly oil market report.

The outlook of ample supplies despite US sanctions on major exporters Russia and Iran highlights the challenge for OPEC+, or the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus Russia and other allies, in balancing the market. “The United States is currently producing at record highs and is forecast to be the largest source of supply growth in 2025,” the IEA, which advises industrialized countries, said in a monthly report.

“The latest round of sanctions on Russia and Iran has yet to significantly disrupt loadings, even as some buyers have scaled back purchases.” Last month, the IEA had suggested a slightly narrower surplus of around 500,000 bpd, according to Reuters calculations based on the agency’s data.

World oil demand is now expected to rise by 1.03 million bpd in 2025, the IEA said on Thursday, down 70,000 bpd from last month’s forecast, with growth driven largely by Asia and specifically China.

“Asian countries will account for almost 60 percent of gains, led by China where petrochemical feedstocks will provide the entirety of growth as demand for refined fuels reaches a plateau.”

Growing consumption of petrochemical feedstocks, the IEA added, accounts for almost all demand growth gains since the COVID-19 pandemic. Oil ticked lower after the report’s publication. Brent oil futures traded at $70.85 at 0926 GMT, compared with $71.01 at 0900 when the report was published. The report highlights the headwinds OPEC+ faces this year as growing global trade tensions could impact demand against a backdrop of robust supply growth.

OPEC+ decided earlier this month to start unwinding its most recent layer of output cuts from April. The 2025 surplus could grow by a further 400,000 bpd if OPEC+ extends its unwinding of cuts and fails to rein in overproduction, the IEA said. “The macroeconomic conditions that underpin our oil demand projections deteriorated over the past month as trade tensions escalated between the US and several other countries,” the IEA said, prompting it to revise down its demand growth estimates for the fourth quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025.

In its own report on Wednesday, OPEC kept its view for 2025 oil demand growth unchanged at 1.45 million bpd, and flagged a 363,000 bpd rise in OPEC+ output in February led by Kazakhstan.

The IEA sees 2025 global supply growth doubling relative to the 2024 pace of growth, to around 1.5 million bpd, assuming OPEC+ does not unwind its cuts further beyond April. It added that OPEC+ may actually only add around 40,000 bpd of oil to the market, less than the nominal 138,000 bpd April increase, from Saudi Arabia and Algeria, because overproduction from other member states leaves no room to open taps further. Global supply gains will be almost all driven by non-OPEC growth, primarily the record US output as well as gains from Canada, Brazil and Guyana.

Proposed US tariffs on Mexican and Canadian oil could impact flows, the IEA said, however it said it was too early to assess the impact given negotiations are ongoing, as well as a lack of clarity around the scope and scale of the measures. — Agencies

LAST UPDATE: March 13, 2025 06:27 PM