January 27, 2024

Pakistan has “definitely given a clear message to the entire region including India” through its response to Iranian airspace violation, said Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Thursday. “[After the airspace violation,] Pakistan has left with no option other than responding to Iran. The response has definitely had a message for India too and the entire region too,” the premier said while speaking to a private news channel on Thursday. After Iran launched a surprise attack in Balochistan claiming to target a militant outfit last week, Pakistan’s military targeted terrorist hideouts inside the Iranian border on January 18. Pakistan’s retaliation, however, killed a number of terrorists during the intelligence-based operation — codenamed “Marg Bar Sarmachar”, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had said in a statement. Iran’s attack, which Pakistan’s Foreign Office termed “unprovoked and “unacceptable”, left two children dead and injured three girls, stating that it violated the country’s sovereignty. PM Kakar gave credit to Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir for Islamabad’s response to Tehran. “Despite the prevailing political crisis, the entire nation supported the reaction.” “It was a difficult decision to make as we are very clear to immediately respond to such action from India. In this case, Pakistan has no border conflict with Iran. The whole world was looking towards Pakistan to see how we react to such violations.” The premier bluntly said: “Iran took a wrong step, so we responded, otherwise, we would have been chosen to stay silent. I still couldn’t find a logical reason behind Tehran’s move in the presence of active communication channels.” Amid heightening Pak-Iran tensions, the premier said that he deliberately avoided releasing a statement despite being pressed by many people. “I didn’t release a statement as the next response would be our true expression.” He also reiterated: “In the Iranian attack, our citizens were killed. On the other hand, Pakistan eliminated miscreants in his retaliative move.” To a question about avoiding such actions, PM Kakar urged both countries to activate all intelligence and military channels to further stabilise the Pak-Iran border situation. The situation is now returning to normalcy after Islamabad and Tehran mutually agreed that ambassadors of both countries will return to their respective posts by January 26. Moreover, the Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian will also undertake a visit to Pakistan on January 29 at the invitation of caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani. Source:https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1151303-pakistans-response-sent-chilling-message-to-india-in-wake-of-iran-tensions-pm

A 6.0-magnitude earthquake hit the southern Pacific coast of Guatemala late Friday, Al Arabiya News reported citing the country’s INSIVUMEH seismological agency. El Salvador, a neighbour of Guatemala, felt the same earthquake that struck the Escuintla area of Guatemala. No immediate reports of damages or casualties have been made yet. The earthquake was recorded at a depth of 119 kilometres (73.9 miles) by the German Research Centre for Geosciences, which also reported a magnitude of 6.1. Source:https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1151833-60-magnitude-earthquake-hits-guatemala-el-salvador

Gaza’s Health Ministry says 174 Palestinians were killed and 310 wounded in the enclave in 24 hours. Israel intensifies bombings in Gaza, even as the International Court of Justice ordered it to take steps to prevent acts of genocide. In its highly anticipated interim decision, the court also said it has jurisdiction to rule in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel but did not call for an immediate ceasefire. Attacks on healthcare facilities continue in southern Gaza, with Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis completely losing power; in Rafah, three people were killed in an attack on a residential home. At least 26,257 people have been killed and 64,797 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from the October 7 Hamas attacks stands at 1,139. 20 Palestinians arrested in occupied West Bank Israeli forces have arrested at least 20 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank in the past 24 hours, including former prisoners, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club said. Since October 7, at least 6,305 Palestinians have been arrested across the occupied West Bank. Click Gaza death toll reaches 26,257 At least 26,257 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed and 64,797 wounded since the start of Israel’s war, according to the latest update by the enclave’s health ministry. The ministry added that 174 Palestinians were killed and 310 injured in the past 24 hours. Palestinians retrieve bodies of relatives who lost their lives following Israeli attacks in Khan Younis [Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu Agency] Click PLO says stopping UNRWA backing entails ‘great’ risks The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) has urged the countries that said they were suspending the support for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) to “immediately reverse their decision”. As we’ve reported, a number of Western countries have announced such steps after UNRWA said it had opened an investigation after Israel alleged some employees were involved in the October 7 attacks. PLO Secretary General Hussein AlSkeikh said the countries’ decision “entails great political and humanitarian relief risks”. “At this particular time and in light of the continuing aggression against the Palestinian people, we need the maximum support for this international organization and not stopping support and assistance to it,” he wrote on X. Israel says wants to stop UN refugee agency work in Gaza after war Israel has praised the US, Canada, Australia and Italy for suspending their funding for the UNRWA, saying it wants to completely stop the operations of the agency for aiding Palestinian refugees after the war on Gaza has ended. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz says Tel Aviv “aims to promoting a policy ensuring that UNRWA will not be a part of the day after, addressing other contributing factors”. “We will work to garner bipartisan support in the US, the European Union, and other nations globally for this policy aimed at halting UNRWA’s activities in Gaza,” he said in a post on X. Tensions at ‘all-time high’ along disputed border Imran Khan Reporting from Ebel el-Saqi, Lebanon We’re hearing from Hezbollah sources that four Hezbollah members were killed in a separate shelling attack in Bayt Lif in southern Lebanon. The Israeli army confirmed that they did use their air force to hit targets in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah responded with rockets within the last two hours, hitting the central Galilee. Tensions along this border continue to be at perhaps an all-time high. Both sides have said that they are prepared to go to war if necessary, but they’d rather have a diplomatic solution to all of this. Hezbollah says there will be no negotiations with Israel until there is a complete end to the war in Gaza. Meanwhile, Israel is under very strong domestic pressure from those people who have been displaced on the northern side of its border. Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/1/27/israels-war-on-gaza-live-hospital-blackout-amid-khan-younis-assault Click here to share on social media