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The ongoing investigation into suspected anthrax-laced letters sent to judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and Supreme Court has hit a brick wall after investigators discovered that the majority of CCTV cameras surrounding the post boxes in which the envelopes were likely deposited were non-functional, it was revealed on Thursday. On March 3, just a day after the Supreme Court of Pakistan took suo motu notice over the allegations of six IHC judges against intelligence agencies, the IHC chief justice among eight judges received suspected letters. The CTD team is racing against time to collect facts and ascertain the chemical nature of the powdery substance after the eight IHC judges received “letters containing suspected anthrax powder along with a threatening message”. According to sources, the case of suspicious letters is being investigated by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of the Islamabad police and a report on the progress made so far has been communicated to the Registrars of the Supreme Court and the IHC. Sources indicate that an examination of post boxes located within Satellite Town, Rawalpindi, is ongoing, with many CCTV cameras surrounding the post boxes found to be inoperative. Islamabad police have expanded the scope of the investigation using alternative means, including questioning individuals working in shops and offices in the area of post boxes. Furthermore, all staff at the Satellite Town, Rawalpindi post office have been included in the inspection. According to sources, the letters were sent by a woman named Resham without mentioning her address. They added that a staffer of a judge accidentally dropped the envelope containing the suspicious powdery substance and later felt extreme irritation in their eyes and burns on the skin around his lips. Following the incident, Islamabad Inspector General (IG) and Deputy Inspector General (DIG) police were summoned to the IHC. All the suspicious letters were handed over to the police for further investigation. It is noteworthy that initially, eight judges of the Islamabad High Court received suspicious letter, later judges of the Lahore High Court and even judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan also got similar mail. Source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1175631-anthrax-letters-probe-hits-brick-wall-as-cctv-cams-near-post-boxes-found-faulty

At least 11 Iranian security force members have been killed in an attack on an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) headquarters in the southeastern border province of Sistan-Baluchestan, state media reported. In the ensuing overnight clashes with security forces, 16 members of Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice) – a Sunni armed group – were killed, Iranian state TV reported on Thursday. The attack took place in the towns of Chabahar and Rask in Sistan-Baluchestan which borders Afghanistan and Pakistan. Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Dorsa Jabbari said it was one of the deadliest attacks carried out by Jaish al-Adl. “Gunmen stormed various security and military compounds simultaneously … and they also had suicide vests on,” Jabbari said, adding that the fighting continued for several hours. “The terrorists failed to succeed in achieving their goal of seizing the Guards headquarters in Chabahar and Rask,” Deputy Interior Minister Majid Mirahmadi told state TV. Ten security officers were injured in the fighting in the impoverished region, which has a predominantly Sunni Muslim population.Play Video Jabbari said the attack took place at a very “critical time” for Iran, coming days after its consulate in Damascus, Syria, was hit in a suspected Israeli missile strike for which Iran pledged revenge. Brigadier-General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander in the IRGC’s Quds Force, and his deputy, General Mohammad Hadi Hajriahimi, were killed in Monday’s attack. “Many questions will be asked about how this attack was able to be carried out at this time,” Jabbari said. Jaish al-Adl was formed in 2012 and is blacklisted by Iran as a “terror” group. The group claimed responsibility for an attack in December that killed 11 officers, one of the deadliest assaults in years, at a police station in Sistan-Baluchestan’s city of Rask, about 1,400km (875 miles) southwest of the capital, Tehran. It also said it was behind a strike on a police station in Rask that killed one officer on January 10. Later that month, Iran struck two bases of the group in Pakistan with missiles, prompting a rapid military riposte from Islamabad targeting what it said were separatist armed rebels in Iran. Jaish al-Adl says it seeks greater rights and better living conditions for ethnic minority Baluchis in Shia-dominated Iran. It has claimed responsibility for several attacks in recent years on Iranian security forces in Sistan-Baluchestan. The area has long been plagued by unrest and the site of frequent clashes between Iranian security forces and Sunni fighters, as well as drug traffickers. Iran is a key transit route for narcotics smuggled from Afghanistan to the West and elsewhere. Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/4/at-least-11-killed-in-attack-on-irans-irgc-in-border-province-state-media

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/4/4/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israel-accused-of-ai-assisted-genocide-in-gaza

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) chief justice and seven judges have received “suspected anthrax-laced letters” with “threatening messages” just a day after the Supreme Court of Pakistan took suo motu notice over the allegations of the high court jurists against intelligence spy agencies. A police team comprising experts launched a thorough probe to collect facts and ascertain powdery substance after the eight IHC judges received “suspicious letters containing suspected anthrax powder along with a threatening message”, Geo News reported citing sources. The letter was sent by a woman namely Resham without mentioning her address, the sources said. They added that a staffer of a judge accidentally dropped the envelope containing the suspicious powdery substance and later he felt extreme irritation in eyes and burns on skin around his lips. Following the incident, Islamabad Inspector General (IG) and Deputy Inspector General (DIG) police have been summoned to the Islamabad High Court. All suspicious letters have been handed over the police for further investigation. Subsequently, a case was lodged at the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Police Station in the federal capital over complaint of a branch clerk Qadir Ahmed who received and dispatched the post. The development came just a day after the Supreme Court took suo motu notice and formed a seven-member bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa to hear the matter after the six IHC judges blamed spy agencies for meddling in judicial affairs. The seven-member bench will hold the maiden hearing on the issue tomorrow (Wednesday). Apart from the CJP the bench also comprises Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Mussarat Hilali, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan. The explosive letter which surfaced last week triggered a crisis and the Supreme Court led by CJP Isa has been under pressure to hear the matter under Article 184(3) of the Constitution. Just a day earlier, over 300 lawyers belonging to different bar associations across the country lauded the judges’ and called upon the apex court to hear the matter under its suo motu jurisdictions. The IHC judges — Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz — wrote the letter to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), urging the body to convene a judicial convention over the alleged interference of intelligence agencies in judicial affairs. Source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1174961-ihc-cj-among-eight-judges-receive-threatening-letters-containing-suspected-anthrax-powder

At least 29 people have been killed and one injured in a fire at a nightclub in central Istanbul during daytime renovation work, according to the office of the city’s governor. “The number of people who lost their lives in the fire … has increased to 29,” Governor Davut Gul’s office said in a statement on Tuesday. “One person hurt in the fire was still being treated in hospital,” it added. The fire broke out on Tuesday on the ground floor of a 16-storey building located in the residential Gayrettepe district. Television images showed flames and a column of thick smoke rising from upper storey windows. The fire began at 12:47 (09:47 GMT) and was brought under control by firefighters hours later, the governor’s office said. An investigation into the incident was launched, it said. Arrest warrants were issued for five people, including the management of the club and the person responsible for the renovations, state media reported. By late afternoon around 20 fire trucks and ambulances were still crowded around the building. “They were preparing for the Eid holiday, which will take place next week,” she said. Our correspondent said the number of deaths, which was initially lower, increased as people died after being transferred to the hospital for treatment. The Masquerade website said it would be closed from March 10 to April 10 “due to our new design renovation”. It can host up to 4,000 people with DJ performances and stage shows several times a week, it says. Authorities cut power, water and gas to the area and building residents were evacuated as a precaution. Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/2/at-least-25-killed-in-fire-at-istanbul-nightclub

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/4/2/israels-war-on-gaza-live-five-aid-workers-killed-after-delivering-food

The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) have arrested multiple terrorists and facilitators for their involvement in the deadly suicide attack in Shangla’s Bisham city that killed multiple Chinese nationals, Geo News reported citing sources. The sources within CTD said that more than 10 terrorists and accomplices have been apprehended and that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)-affiliated outfits are believed to be involved in the March 26 deadly attack. The attack, which saw a suicide bomber crashing his explosives-laden vehicle into the car carrying Chinese nationals, resulted in the deaths of five Chinese citizens, including a woman, and a Pakistani driver. Following the incident, the country’s civil and military leadership notably Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, President Asif Ali Zardari and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir condemned the attack vowing that the perpetrators responsible for the heinous attack would be brought to justice. Meanwhile, a wreath-laying ceremony was held at Rawalpindi’s Nur Khan Airbase and a 30-second silence was observed as bodies of the deceased Chinese nationals were airlifted back to China. Floral wreaths were laid on behalf of the president, prime minister, army chief, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar Sidhu and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Sahir Shamshad Mirza. In the aftermath of the attack, Chinese companies overseeing operations at the sites of the Dasu and Diamer-Bhasha Dams, temporarily suspended the civil work at both sites owing to security concerns. Around 991 Chinese engineers were working on both projects, while the local staff has been told to stay at home till further instructions, an official working on the project confirmed to the publication. Last week, a Chinese investigation team has also arrived in Pakistan to investigate the incident after China’s military expressed its willingness to work with Pakistan to enhance the capability of the two countries to tackle various security risks and challenges including terrorist attacks The CTD sources say that the terrorist commander, responsible for bringing the suicide bomber to Pakistan from Afghanistan, has also been arrested as well as four other facilitators. Furthermore, the investigation has revealed that the explosive-laden vehicle used in the deadly attack was prepared in Afghanistan and was subsequently transported to Dera Ismail Khan’s Darazinda via the Pak-Afghan Chaman border crossing in Balochistan. From there, the vehicle was transported to Chakdara in Lower Dir — via a smuggler of non-custom paid vehicles — for which the driver was paid Rs250,000. However, security forces have also arrested the facilitator responsible for transporting the vehicle from Chaman to Chakdara. Investigation team sources say that the car was then brought to the incident site on the day of the attack after being parked for 10 days at the cost of Rs500 per day. The mastermind of the attack, Hazrat Bilal, is also wanted by the security forces for his involvement in the Dasu dam attack, the sources added. With two accomplices of the suicide bomber already in custody, CTD expects that it will soon arrest Bilal as well. The arrests, as per the CTD sources, have been made by utilising the mobile and SIM data of the suicide bomber which he had procured through a third person. Source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1174552-terrorists-facilitators-behind-deadly-shangla-attack-arrested

Eight Chinese migrants have been found dead on the coast of southern Mexico, authorities said, after their boat capsized along a popular but perilous route for illegally entering the United States. The bodies of the seven women and one man were discovered Friday on a beach in San Francisco del Mar, Oaxaca, the state’s prosecutor’s office said in a statement. Treacherous boat rides up the coast of Mexico are often used by migrants hoping to cross into the US in an attempt to bypass checkpoints on closely monitored land routes. The Oaxaca prosecutor’s office said the migrants had traveled on a boat operated by a Mexican man, which set off Thursday from Tapachula, Chiapas state, near the Guatemala border. One Chinese man survived the trip, the statement said. It did not explain what happened to the boat’s operator. The prosecutor’s office said it was working with federal agencies to investigate the incident and the Chinese embassy in Mexico to identify the bodies. CNN has reached out to the Chinese embassy in Mexico for comment. The number of Chinese migrants illegally entering the US from Mexico has skyrocketed in recent years. In 2023, more than 37,000 Chinese citizens were picked up by law enforcement crossing illegally into the US from Mexico, US government data shows – compared with an average of roughly 1,500 per year over the preceding decade. And though still dwarfed in number by migrants from regional neighbors like Mexico, Venezuela and Guatemala, Chinese people are on track to be the fastest growing group making those crossings, according to a CNN analysis earlier this year of law enforcement data. A dangerous but popular route A Chinese migrant who arrived in the US via the ocean route in late 2022 told CNN that her boat almost capsized at sea after departing from Tapachula under the cover of darkness. Iris Wang, 35, said she chose to take the boat to reach Oaxaca instead of the bus to avoid running into police on the road, without fully anticipating the danger. “Those few hours were a nightmare that I’ll never forget for the rest of my life. It was too terrifying,” she said. Wang said she and more than three dozen migrants were crammed into a boat roughly the size of two sedans. The vessel was so crowded that they had to sit with their legs crossed and couldn’t move at all. The boat departed after midnight and immediately ran into a fierce storm in the pitch-black ocean. “We were all shaken with fear. The waves were so high that we were repeatedly thrust into the air, all intertwined together, before falling to hit the bottom of the boat with a loud, painful bang. If it was a little higher, we would have been knocked out of the boat,” she said. “I kept shaking and crying, and I silently chanted in my mind: I can’t die like this.” Looking back at the journey, Wang said she felt incredibly lucky to have survived. “I never want to see the sea at night again,” she said. The influx of Chinese migrants spotlights the urgency many now feel to leave their homeland, even amid what Chinese leader Xi Jinping has claimed is a “national rejuvenation.” Many Chinese who left the country point to a struggle to survive. Three years of Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions left people across China out of work – and disillusioned with the ruling Communist Party’s increasingly tight grip on all aspects of life under Xi. And hope that business would fully rebound once restrictions ended a year ago has vanished, with China’s once envious economic growth stuttering. Other migrants nod to restrictions on personal life in China, where Xi has overseen a sweeping crackdown on free speech, civil society and religion in the country of 1.4 billion.Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/01/americas/mexico-coast-eight-chinese-migrants-found-dead-intl-hnk/index.html

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/4/1/israels-war-on-gaza-live-twenty-one-al-shifa-patients-have-died-amid-siege-who