Over the past year of growing violence and chaos in Pakistan, the Karachi Stock Exchange has surged more than 44%, placing it among the world’s top-performing stock markets according to Bloomberg. (NYT, Oct. 3) On Sept. 29, a bomb placed in a Peshawar marketplace killed more than 40 and injured over 100. (BBC News, Oct. 1) On Oct. 3, Taliban militiants attacked the headquarters of local chieftain Nabi Hanafi Karwan in Spin Thall, Bulandkhel district, Orakzai agency, Federally Administered Tribal Areas. A car bomb and suicide attacker overwhelmed the guards, and gunmen followed, killing 17. Nabi Hanfi has been leading an anti-Taliban militia. (The News, Pakistan, Oct. 4; AP, Oct. 3)
In Baluchistan, where a Sept. 24 earthquake left 500 dead in a remote area, Baluch Liberation Front commander Allah Nazar has rejected government appeals for a ceasefire while rescue operations are underway. He told Reuters that the army “are directly involved in the large-scale killings of Baluch men. They want to crush us and make money from the disaster relief.” Two soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in the region Oct. 2. (Reuters, Oct. 2)
Baluchistan is Pakistan’s chief oil and gas producing region; hydrocarbon infrastructure has repeatedly been attacked by the rebels, and a greater local share of the wealth it generates is a key grievance. (IBT, Sept. 14) Pakistan’s Oil and Gas Development Company is one of the country’s biggest publicly traded companies. (NYT, Oct. 3)
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