• Tuesday’s request for physical remand was rejected.
• Police later filed fresh plea for custody for investigation.
• Pinky arrested from Garden area, wanted in ‘multiple’ cases.
  

A local court in Karachi on Wednesday approved a three-day physical remand of a high-profile woman “drug peddler”, Anmol alias Pinky, in a case registered by Karachi South Police.

The police approached the court a day after a request for her physical remand was rejected. The suspect had earlier been sent to jail on judicial remand.

The investigating officer had cited three main grounds in the remand report: identifying the source of cocaine supply, determining her financial resources, and conducting a Criminal Record Office (CRO) check.

During Wednesday’s hearing, the investigating officer once again sought physical remand in the case registered against Pinky. The DIG South said that a fresh plea for physical remand was filed before the court, adding that the details of previous cases against Anmol alias Pinky have also been collected.

Pinky, who was arrested from Karachi’s Garden area, was a highly wanted suspect and had been absconding in at least 10 different cases, according to police.

Police said weapons, cocaine, and other drugs worth around Rs1.5 million were recovered from her custody, adding that she was allegedly running a drug supply network in the port city.

‘Pinky’s voice note’

Separately, the investigators recovered multiple audio messages from her mobile phone. In one recording, she is heard warning contacts about a possible arrest and suggesting that her network would continue through another individual handling her operations.

“Hi friends! If you are listening to this message, it means either something has happened to me or I am no longer alive. If anything happens to me, someone will continue contacting you from this same number,” Pinky can be heard saying this in the alleged voice note.

“The contact person will be a man, my friend, who will handle the work. If something happens to me, the work will continue through the same number.”

SSP South removed from inquiry

In a separate development, the SSP South has been removed from the inquiry and was replaced by DIG West Irfan Baloch, according to a notification.

Irfan Baloch has been assigned to investigate all matters that surfaced during Pinky’s court appearance on Tuesday. The inquiry will also examine alleged violations of protocol.

The DIG West has been directed to submit his report within three days, as per the notification. The Additional IG said that strict action will be taken against any officers or officials found guilty of negligence or misconduct.

• Bessent and He Lifeng hold talks at the airport.
• Each met South Korean president separately.
• Talks to set stage for Trump-Xi summit in Beijing.

INCHEON, South Korea: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng started talks in South Korea on Wednesday to lay the groundwork ahead of this week’s summit of the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies in Beijing.

Bessent and He began the talks at Incheon airport after each met South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at the presidential Blue House, Reuters witnesses said.

The discussions are expected to cover a range of issues to prepare for talks in Beijing between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping that are set to run from Thursday to Friday.

The talks between Bessent and He were likely to be exploratory with limited immediate outcomes, said Kim Tae-hwang, a professor of international trade at Myongji University in Seoul.

“Both sides are essentially in a holding pattern ahead of the summit, sounding each other out, rather than seeking breakthroughs,” he said.

China’s lead trade negotiator, Vice Commerce Minister Li Chenggang, and Vice Finance Minister Liao Min were among the officials accompanying He.

At the Beijing summit, the leaders are expected to agree to set up forums to ease mutual trade and investment, while China is expected to announce purchases related to Boeing aeroplanes, American agriculture and energy, US officials have said.

Beijing also wants the United States to relax curbs on exports of advanced semiconductors, and has raised concerns about a bill to keep critical chip-making equipment from China.

They are considering extending a truce on China’s export curbs on rare earths at the summit, but Chinese customs data shows Beijing is still throttling shipments of the materials vital for defence and manufacturing.

The summit talks may also encompass the Iran war, as China, which maintains ties with Iran, is a major buyer of its oil.

Trump said on Tuesday, however, he did not think he would need China’s help to end the conflict, even as hopes for a lasting peace deal dwindled and Tehran tightened its grip over the Strait of Hormuz.

Neither side has strong incentives to make early concessions, however, said Kim, the academic, adding that the United States is unlikely to ease curbs on key technologies such as semiconductors.

China, in turn, buoyed by relatively resilient growth and trade performance, is under less pressure to offer significant compromises, he said.