February 4, 2025

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2025/2/4/trump-tariffs-live-us-pauses-mexico-canada-tariffs-after-border-deals

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has called out the administration for “using force excessively and disproportionately” during the November 26 protest by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), seeking an independent and impartial inquiry into the events. “Contrary to the federal government’s claims, the PTI-led protest in Islamabad on 26 November 2024 led to loss of life allegedly among protesters as well as reported deaths among security personnel,” stated a fact-finding report released by the commission on Monday. The report comes after PTI’s talks with the government collapsed after the former ruling party refused to attend the fourth round of discussions on January 28 over the latter’s failure to form judicial commissions to investigate the events related to the May 9 riots and November 2024 protests. On November 26, Islamabad witnessed pitched battles between law enforcement agencies and PTI supporters as the latter inched towards the D-Chowk for the party’s ‘final call’ power show amid intense teargas shelling. However, a late-night crackdown by the government ended in a hasty retreat of the PTI’s top leadership and supporters, following which the party abruptly ended its protest. The fierce clashes resulted in the martyrdom of at least four Rangers personnel along with two policemen with the former ruling party claiming that 12 of its protesters died. The protests led to arrests and multiple cases being registered against the party workers and supporters. In today’s report, the HRCP said a high-level fact-finding mission documented oral testimonies from state representatives, the PTI leadership, reporters on the ground and the families of seven people who were allegedly killed during the protest. “The mission is deeply concerned by allegations that the hospital administrations and police withheld the bodies of victims until their families agreed not to pursue any legal action. “While the hospital administrations refused to speak with the fact-finding team, accounts from journalists and the families of alleged victims suggest that these hospitals may be concealing information,” it added. Quoting reports, the commission stated that some protesters carried slingshots, tear gas shells and firearms on occasion. “While the right to peaceful assembly is constitutionally guaranteed, it must remain within the bounds of the law.” Meanwhile, the report also called out the administration for demonstrating “a clear lack of proficiency in managing the protest and used force excessively and disproportionately”. “Although the mission attempted to contact the interior minister to inquire about the use of live ammunition against protestors, he was unavailable to meet the team,” it added. The mission also expressed alarm over the mainstream media’s blackout of the entire event, which may have resulted from “state coercion or self-censorship”. “The media should have been allowed to assess the situation on the ground without hindrance and report the facts,” it stated. The report urged the government to immediately announce an independent, impartial inquiry into these events, involving the families of the alleged victims, the PTI and other political stakeholders. Source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1279153-rights-body-seeks-freefair-probe-into-post-nov-26-pti-protest-allegations

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet United States President Donald Trump with the agenda to focus on the paused war in Gaza, as well as Iran. The two leaders are due to meet in the early afternoon on Tuesday, sources told news agencies. The meeting takes place as indirect negotiations between Israel and Iran-backed Hamas on the second phase of the fragile Gaza ceasefire agreement are due. Ahead of the meeting, Trump said that discussions with Israel and other countries on the Middle East were “progressing” but offered no details. The US leader admitted, however, that the ceasefire is uncertain. “I have no guarantees that the peace is going to hold,” he told reporters. His Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who met with the Israeli leader on Monday, added: “We’re certainly hopeful.” Netanyahu’s office announced on Tuesday that an Israeli negotiating team is preparing to travel to Qatar this weekend for talks on the second phase. The team will discuss “technical details related to continuing to carry out” the agreement, it said in a statement. Pressure Trump has claimed credit for the ceasefire deal, which was signed before he took office on January 20. During the first phase, Hamas released 18 captives; Israel has halted its onslaught on the enclave and released hundreds of jailed Palestinians. But the situation remains tense. Netanyahu is being pushed by far-right partners in the Israeli government to resume fighting. Meanwhile, he is likely to face pressure from Trump to hold fire. While the US president is a staunch supporter of Israel, the ceasefire deal is also part of a wider regional strategy. Trump and Netanyahu have both said they aim to normalise relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and to pull the latter into new regional arrangements to help create a bulwark against Iran. However, the steadfast opposition of Netanyahu – who said on the eve of the trip that he hopes the meeting will help further redraw the map of the region – to any move towards a Palestinian state is a potential obstacle. The Saudis have said they would only agree to take part if the war in Gaza ends and there is a credible pathway to a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank. Trump has already shown an increase in support for Israel, restarting supplies of 2,000-pound bombs and suggesting Palestinians should be moved from Gaza to neighbouring countries such as Egypt and Jordan. But Iran will be high on his agenda. During his first term, Trump led a hardball approach to Tehran, pulling an international nuclear deal. Trump may “have little patience for political woes of Netanyahu if it gets in the way of the broader goals of this administration,” Mira Resnick, a former deputy assistant secretary of state for Israeli and Palestinian affairs told the AP news agency. “The president started his term by saying that he wanted the ceasefire to be in place by January 20. That’s what he got,” Resnick said. “He is invested in this because he was able to take credit for it.” Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/4/israels-netanyahu-to-discuss-fragile-gaza-ceasefire-with-trump