January 19, 2024

In a tit for tat response to January 16 airstrikes by Iran in Balochistan, Pakistan effectively hit terrorists in Iran’s border village of Saravan in the early hours of Thursday, killing nine foreign nationals. Pakistan launched intelligence-based operation- codenamed “Marg Bar Sarmachar” (Death to Sarmachar) at 4:48am on Thursday in a series of highly coordinated and specifically targeted precision military strikes against terrorist hideouts in Siestan-o-Baluchistan province of Iran. Sensing the high volatile situation in the region which could easily get out of hand, China became the only regional ally to step in offering mediation to cool down the situation. Ms Mao Ning, spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Office, said Beijing’s stand is that relations between countries should be handled in accordance with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and international law and that the countries’ sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity should be respected and safeguarded. “Iran and Pakistan are close neighbors and countries who have influence and keep friendly relations with China. China sincerely hopes that the two sides will remain calm, exercise restraint and avoid escalation of tension,” she added. However, when the Foreign Office of Pakistan was approached with the Chinese offer, spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said she was not aware of any offer of mediation so far. “I am not aware of third-party mediation as you mentioned. Pakistan and Iran do have several channels of communication. And, at this point, I am not aware of any third parties stepping forward in this context,” she responded. There has been no contact between Islamabad and Tehran since Thursday morning. While the situation remains tense, the Foreign Office and the ISPR said going forward, dialogue and cooperation was deemed prudent in resolving issues between the two neighbouring brotherly countries. The spokeswoman remarked, “Pakistan considers Iran as a close friend. We have great respect and affection for the Iranian people. Pakistan fully respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the sole objective of today’s act was in pursuit of Pakistan’s own security. And it was not targeted against Iran; it was targeted against certain individuals, terrorist groups, who were having hideouts and sanctuaries inside Iran. So, we should not see it as something that is targeted against Iran. It is clearly focused and targeted against a terror outfits, which call themselves Sarmachars”. The announcement about Pakistan’s military strikes was first made by the Foreign Office five hours after the strikes. Later in the afternoon, the Inter Services Press Relations (ISPR) also released a detailed statement of Marg Bar Sarmachar including the footage of military strikes which were confirmed by Iran’s IRNA news agency. The agency confirmed that nine people were killed in the attack. Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said all the dead “were foreign nationals”. In her statement, Baloch said for the last several years, Pakistan had consistently shared its serious concerns with Iran about the safe havens and sanctuaries enjoyed by Pakistani origin terrorists calling themselves *Sarmachars* on the ungoverned spaces inside Iran. “Pakistan also shared multiple dossiers with concrete evidence of the presence and activities of these terrorists. However, because of lack of action on our serious concerns, these so-called Sarmachars continued to spill the blood of innocent Pakistanis with impunity. “This morning’s action was taken in light of credible intelligence of impending large scale terrorist activities by these so-called Sarmachars”, she said. Defending Pakistan’s military strikes, she explained that this action manifested Pakistan’s unflinching resolve to protect and defend its national security against all threats. “The successful execution of this highly complex operation is also a testimony to the professionalism of Pakistan’s armed forces. Pakistan will continue to take all necessary steps to preserve the safety and security of its people which is sacrosanct, inviolable and sacred”. Pakistan once again reached out to Tehran and said it fully respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran. “The sole objective of today’s act was in pursuit of Pakistan’s own security and national interest which is paramount and cannot be compromised. As a responsible member of the international community, Pakistan upholds the principles and purposes of the UN Charter including territorial integrity and sovereignty of member states. Guided by these principles, and in exercise of our legitimate rights within international law, Pakistan will never allow its sovereignty and territorial integrity to be challenged, under any pretext or circumstances,” she added. Iran, she pointed out, was a brotherly country and the people of Pakistan had great respect and affection for the Iranian people. “We have always emphasized dialogue and cooperation in confronting common challenges including the menace of terrorism and will continue to endevaour to find joint solutions,” she said. Meanwhile, the ISPR later gave the specifics of the military strikes. “Pakistan carried out effective strikes against hideouts inside Iran used by terrorists responsible for recent attacks in Pakistan. The precision strikes were carried out using killer drones, rockets, loitering munitions and stand-off weapons. Maximum care was taken to avoid collateral damage. Hideouts used by terrorist organisations namely Balochistan Liberation Army and Balochistan Liberation Front were successfully struck in an intelligence based operation, code name ‘Marg Bar Sarmachar’. The targeted hideouts were being used by notorious terrorists including Dosta alias Chairman, Bajjar alias Soghat, Sahil alias Shafaq, Asghar alias Basham and Wazir alias Wazi, amongst others. Pakistan’s armed forces remain in a perpetual state of readiness to ensure safety of Pakistani citizens against the acts of terrorism”, said the statement. “Our resolve to ensure that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan is respected and safeguarded against any misadventure, remains unwavering. We reaffirm our determination to defeat all enemies of Pakistan with the support of the people of Pakistan. Going forward, dialogue and cooperation is deemed prudent in resolving bilateral issues between the two neighbouring brotherly countries,” it said. The first reaction from Tehran after Pakistan’s strikes came with Pakistan’s Chargé d’affaires to Tehran called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to explain about the incident.

  As President Joe Biden continues to urge top lawmakers to approve his $60 billion aid request for Ukraine, a grim realization has settled in for the administration that this is likely the last chance for any new US military funding to flow to the war-torn country before the 2024 presidential election. Lawmakers have conveyed as much directly to the White House, a US official told CNN. And underscoring the current gridlock, Pentagon officials have not held a single meeting since last month to decide on what to send Ukraine from the Defense Department’s weapons stockpiles — because there is no money left to fund the aid packages. Biden met with House and Senate lawmakers at the White House on Wednesday to outline what is at stake for Ukraine. At one point, the President turned to his national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to lay out specific capabilities that Ukraine would run out of in the coming months, according to a White House official familiar with the meeting, who declined to get into more detail. Another official told CNN that they specifically pointed to air defense systems and artillery ammunition as examples of key capabilities that could be depleted without US support. Biden also warned that US personnel were on the line, saying that if the Ukraine-Russia war spills over into NATO territory, the US would have to get directly involved in the conflict. But House Speaker Mike Johnson, who along with other House Republicans has tied additional Ukraine funding to a broader immigration deal, said afterward that continuing to fund Ukraine risked turning it into a quagmire for the US akin to its two-decade war in Afghanistan. “We cannot spend billions of dollars without a clear strategy articulated and I told the president in the meeting today again, as I’ve been saying repeatedly, ‘Sir, you have to articulate what the strategy is. What is the endgame?’” Johnson said Wednesday night in an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins. At the White House on Thursday, Biden told reporters he thought the meeting went well and that he believed “the vast majority of members of Congress support aid” to Ukraine. “The question is whether or not a small minority are going to hold it up, which would be a disaster,” Biden said. House Speaker Mike Johnson makes a statement alongside Reps. Mike Turner, Mike Rogers and Mike McCaul on January 17, outside the White House. Samuel Corum/Getty Images Race to approve funding before election Meanwhile, inside the White House, NATO headquarters and in Kyiv, there is a keen awareness that if Donald Trump is reelected in November, he will likely slash support for Kyiv. “The number one reason Republicans will not come out in favor of a supplemental for Ukraine is they don’t want to offend candidate Trump and his supporters,” Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley said on CNN Max on Wednesday. “He’s already made it clear what he would do — the war would be over on his first day, which means Putin gets to keep the borders he has, if not more.” No matter what happens in American politics this year, US and Western intelligence officials believe that Russia’s war in Ukraine is likely to go on for much longer. Assessments vary, but virtually all of them assume that there will be at least two more years of fighting, according to multiple sources familiar with the intelligence — long enough to outlast Biden’s first term. Privately, some US and Western officials say there could be as many as five more years of fighting. Administration officials and lawmakers, including some hawkish Republicans, have for that reason been eager to approve and channel the funding to Ukraine before the clock potentially runs out at the end of 2024. “Aside from there being a desperate need, getting as much aid in before January 2025 is on the minds of a lot of folks I’ve spoken to,” said one US official. “Not only is it important that the monies get appropriated, but that they get disbursed before the election as any FY24 funds still waiting to be spent can get blocked by Trump.” A congressional aide familiar with the discussions said that the more hawkish lawmakers, like Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham and Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, were among those pushing last fall for Congress to approve enough funding to hold Ukrainian military forces over through the 2024 election. The administration ultimately requested $60 billion, but Congress could not reach a deal before the end of last year — doing anything more in a fraught election year may now be little more than a pipedream, the aide said. “We are out of money,” said a US military official stationed in Europe. “The administration was able to do some magic [but] we’re getting down to the last of it.” Said one source familiar with Western intelligence, “Basically everything depends on Biden getting reelected, doesn’t it?” A static situation on the battlefield Continued Western support for Ukraine is critical, US and Western officials argue, even as the battle lines have remained largely static over the last several months following a failed Ukrainian counteroffensive to retake territory seized by Russia. Ukrainian soldiers huddle under cover during artillery fire as the soldiers of Ukrainian National Guard hold their positions in the snow-covered Serebryan Forest on January 12, 2024 in Kreminna, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images Still, in the short term, US intelligence officials don’t believe a drop-off in US funding will have a major battlefield impact for Ukraine. Russia is struggling to regroup, which buys Ukraine some time, people familiar with the assessments said. But in the longer term, a lack of US aid could allow Moscow to regain momentum by ramping up its weapons supply and taking advantage of support from Iran and North Korea, one of the people said. US officials have also considered the impact that a pullback of US support could have on other allies, particularly the message it sends about the US not having the political will to support allies and partners long term. Another concern is that Europe, which is already at the bottom of the barrel

UN human rights official says he met men who were detained, beaten and blindfolded by Israeli forces in Gaza. Near-total telecommunications blackout in the Gaza Strip enters its seventh day on Friday, making it difficult for information to get out of the enclave amid constant Israeli attacks. Conditions in Khan Younis’s Nasser hospital have become “unbearable” according to a doctor working there, as Israel attacks the vicinity of the facility, causing thousands to flee. US State Department says “support for Israel remains ironclad” despite Israeli PM rejecting US’s stance on establishment of Palestinian state. At least 24,620 people killed and 61,830 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The revised death toll in Israel from the October 7 Hamas attack stands at 1,139. Israel’s emergency government ‘close to collapse’ The emergency government in Israel that is managing affairs amid the ongoing war on Gaza may be “close to collapse”, according to a report in the Jerusalem Post. The Israeli outlet said “the question is no longer whether an election will take place in 2024, but rather when in 2024” as Netanyahu’s position falters amid Israel’s failures in achieving objectives in Gaza. However, it said an election is unlikely to take place imminently as most coalition members have received their budgets and are reluctant to shake things up despite demands by the population. The Jerusalem Post had also reported last week, quoting unnamed Likud members, that they believe Netanyahu’s time as the leader of the party are numbered as the party continues to perform poorly in opinion polls. Click here to share on social media 142 killed, 278 wounded in last 24 hours At least 142 people have been killed in Israel’s bombing of Gaza in the last 24 hours, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Another 278 have been wounded in the same period. The latest casualties bring the total number of people killed in Gaza since October 7 to 24,762, with 62,108 injured. Many victims are still trapped under the wreckage and cannot be reached by rescuers. Click UN Special Rapporteur: Israel has violated international law by bombing Gaza The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory says Israel has violated international law with its violent bombing of the Gaza Strip, which led to the razing of entire neighbourhoods and the killing of more than 23,000 Palestinians. “Israel has done a number of things that are largely illegal,” Francesca Albanese said at a press conference in Madrid. “International humanitarian law must be respected to protect people not participating in combat: Civilians, prisoners of war, the sick and the wounded. “This means distinguishing between combatants and civilians, and ensuring that military attacks are proportionate to avoid excessive harm to civilians. Instead, what happened was more than 100 days of heavy bombing. In the first two weeks, 6,000 bombs were used weekly, bombs each weighing 2,000 pounds [about a ton], in very crowded areas.” Click here to share on social media Gaza’s north receives almost no aid as famine looms The continuing difficulty in getting humanitarian relief into the Gaza Strip, particularly in the north, which continues to be under constant Israeli bombardment, is raising risks of malnutrition. “Less than a trickle amount [of aid] has been delivered to the northern part in which people are suffering [from] an actual famine,” says Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Rafah in southern Gaza. In December, the UN warned that Gaza’s entire population of 2.3 million people risks “imminent famine” as war rages on. (Al Jazeera) Click here to share on social media Palestinian woman recounts abuse, killings by Israeli soldiers Um Odai Salem, wife of a Palestinian man who was among at least 11 shot dead by Israeli forces on December 19, told Al Jazeera of abuse she says she and her daughters endured before her husband’s “execution”. “They [Israeli forces] beat me and my daughters,” she said. “They put us women in one place and threatened us with guns and knives. They made us strip. They searched us, insulting us with the most terrible words. They took our names and filmed us.” She said the Israeli soldiers did not listen to their pleas that they were all civilians, and proceeded to “execute” all the men they rounded up outside. After the men were killed, Israeli fire hit the apartment Um Odai and her daughters were sheltering in, one of her daughters told Al Jazeera, killing her three-year-old sister, Nada. Click Photos: The aftermath of Israeli raid in West Bank’s Tulkarem [Zain Jaafar/AFP] [Zain Jaafar/AFP] [Zain Jaafar/AFP] [Zain Jaafar/AFP] Click UNICEF: 20,000 babies born during war on Gaza, 135,000 minors at ‘severe risk’ of malnutrition According to UNICEF, nearly 20,000 babies have been born during the continuing war in Gaza, while 135,000 children in the Gaza Strip under the age of two are at “severe risk” of malnutrition. “The situation of pregnant women and newborns in the Gaza Strip is beyond belief, and it demands intensified and immediate actions,” Tess Ingram, a UNICEF spokesperson, said. “The already precarious situation of infant and maternal mortality has worsened as the healthcare system collapses.” Ingram stressed that mothers face unimaginable challenges in accessing adequate medical care, nutrition and protection before, during and after birth. Pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and their babies are living in “inhumane conditions, makeshift shelters (with) poor nutrition and unsafe water”. Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/1/19/israels-war-on-gaza-live-us-support-for-israel-ironclad-despite-rebuff