24-10-2025

Month: March 2023

Three soldiers martyred in exchange of fire with terrorists in DI Khan

Three Pakistan Army soldiers were martyred in an exchange of fire with terrorists in Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the military’s media affairs wing said in a statement on Tuesday.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), terrorists opened fire on a police check-post in the general area of Khutti, DI Khan on the night between March 20-21.

The security forces, after receiving information about the terrorist attack, immediately cordoned off the area and blocked all possible escape routes, the ISPR said.

It added that the fleeing terrorists were intercepted in the general area of Saggu.

The martyred soldiers were identified as Havaldar Muhammad Azhar Iqbal, 42, resident of Lodhran; Naik Muhammad Asad, 34, resident of Khanewal; and Sepoy Muhammad Essa, 22, resident of South Waziristan.

Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the slain terrorists.

The military’s media wing added that sanitisation of the area is being carried out to eliminate any terrorists found in the area.

“The Pakistan Army is determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,” read the statement.

Last week, two children embraced martyrdom and two soldiers were injured during a gun battle between terrorists and security forces in South Waziristan’s Zinghara area, according to the ISPR.

Moreover, on Sunday, an intelligence-based operation (IBO) was carried out in the general area of Rehman Kahul to clear a suspected hideout of terrorists, linked with recent terror incidents, including the planting of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Chaman and surrounding areas in Balochistan.

India ‘cancels’ Pakistan’s invite to SCO event

The seminar, ‘SCO Armed Forces Contribution in Military Medicine, healthcare and pandemics’, was organised by India’s Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses on Tuesday. The SCO members and observer states participated in the seminar.

“India has misused its position as the Chair [of the SCO] and acted irresponsibly in denying a sovereign member state the right to participate in an SCO event,” said an official.

India claims Pakistan ‘skipped the event’ after it raised objections to ‘incorrect depiction’ of held Kashmir on the map.

Pakistan has rejected the reasoning, saying that the the region was an internationally-recognised disputed territory ‘whose final disposition will be made in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions through a fair and impartial plebiscite under the UN auspices’.

In line with its strong commitment to the Shanghai spirit and the charter and objectives of the SCO, Pakistan has been participating with a positive and constructive approach in various events being held under the current Chair, the official added. Pakistan has urged India not to exploit its position as SCO Chair to ad­­vance ‘self-serving objectives’ and refrain from politicising the organisation.

Ban lifted on Israelis’ return to evacuated West Bank settlements

There has been international criticism of the bill, as the settlements were built on what the High Court of Justice ruled was private Palestinian land.

It still has to be signed by an Israeli military commander to be enforced.

But it risks further inflaming tensions with Palestinians ahead of Ramadan.

Some 600,000 Jews live in 140 settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war.

Most of the international community considers the settlements illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.

Almost 18 years ago, Israel’s parliament passed a law mandating the unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip as well as the evacuation of four isolated settlements in the northern West Bank – Sa-Nur, Ganim, Kadim and Homesh.

Then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s government said the latter move would help “provide Palestinian territorial contiguity” in the West Bank and make it easier for Palestinians to live a normal life.

Israelis were banned from entering the evacuated area without the permission from the Israeli military.

However, a group of settlers were able to establish a Jewish religious school and an unauthorised outpost at Homesh which the new coalition government – the most right-wing and nationalist in Israel’s history – has been pushing to legalise.

On Monday night, lawmakers voted to repeal parts of the 2005 law so that Israelis could return to the sites of the evacuated settlements.

“The State of Israel tonight began its recovery process from the deportation disaster,” tweeted Yuli Edelstein, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party who sponsored the bill.

“This is the first and significant step towards real healing and settlement in Israel’s homeland territories, which belong to it.”

But the Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now said the return of settlers to the area would be “a huge security burden and a focus of settler violence”.

“This decision will also pave the way for establishing many more outposts in an area that is now almost entirely Palestinian,” it added.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s spokesman denounced the decision, saying the Israeli government was defying international law and working to sabotage international efforts to de-escalate the situation.

The US said it was deeply troubled by the vote in Israel’s parliament.

“Coming at a time of heightened tensions, the legislative changes announced today are particularly provocative and counterproductive to efforts to restore some measures of calm as we head into Ramadan, Passover and the Easter holidays,” state department spokesman Vedant Patel said.

A spokesperson for the European Union said the Israeli move “hampers the possibility to pursue confidence-building measures” and that it represented “a clear step back” away from a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Last month, the Israeli government announced the legalisation of nine unauthorised outposts and approved the planning and building of more than 7,000 new housing units in existing settlements.

But at a meeting with Palestinian Authority officials in Egypt on Sunday, it reaffirmed a commitment to stop discussion of any new West Bank settlement homes for four months, and to stop authorisation of any outposts for six months.

It was part of a series of measures designed to calm tensions ahead of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which is scheduled to start later this week and coincides with the Jewish festival of Passover and the Christian festival of Easter.

This move by Israeli lawmakers will be viewed as being at odds with that pledge.

There has been a surge of violence between Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem this year.

At least 88 Palestinians – militants and civilians – have been killed by Israeli forces, and on the Israeli side, 16 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks, all civilians, except for a paramilitary police officer.

On Monday, there was widespread condemnation of a claim made by Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that “there is no such thing as Palestinians”.

Mr Smotrich, the leader of the far-right ultranationalist Religious Zionism party and a key figure in the governing coalition, told a conference in Paris that Arabs “invented fictitious people in order to fight the Zionist movement”, and that the remarks “needed to be heard in the White House”.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh strongly criticised the speech, saying it provided “conclusive evidence of the extremist, racist Zionist ideology that governs the parties of the current Israeli government”.

Jordan, meanwhile, complained that a map used on the conference stage, which appeared to depict the country and the Palestinian territories as part of Israel, violated a 1994 peace treaty.

The Israeli foreign ministry later stressed in a tweet that there had “been no change in the position of the State of Israel, which recognizes the territorial integrity of the Hashemite Kingdom”.

Earlier this month, Mr Smotrich called for the Palestinian town of Hawara in the northern West Bank to be “wiped out” after two settlers were shot dead there by a Palestinian gunmen and settlers attacked the town and nearby villages in response.

He later said he regretted the comment, and called it “a slip of the tongue”.

At least 12 people have been killed and more than 200 injured after a powerful earthquake shook large parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The 6.5-magnitude quake damaged buildings, triggered landslides and sent people running into the streets.

It struck on Tuesday evening, centred in a mountainous region in Afghanistan’s north-east near the border with Pakistan.

Tremors from the remote Jurm valley were felt as far as India.

“It was a terrifying tremor. I had never felt such a tremor before in my life,” Kabul resident Khatera told AFP news agency after rushing out of her fifth-storey apartment.

Nine of the confirmed deaths were reported in the valley region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan.

Three others were killed in Afghanistan, the country’s health ministry spokesman said. A child was among those killed in the Laghman province near the country’s border with Pakistan, AFP reported. Many families had been out of their homes celebrating the Persian New Year or Norwuz when the quake hit.

The remoteness and rugged terrain of the affected areas is likely to slow relief and rescue work.

Phone lines have been affected, and in Pakistan the highway in the worst-hit Swat area has been blocked by landslides.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has asked disaster agencies to take emergency measures to help people.

Tremors were felt over a 1,000-km area that spans India, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre.

Earthquakes are more likely in this region because it lies at the juncture of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.

In June last year more than 1,000 people were killed after a 5.9-magnitude quake struck Afghanistan’s Paktika province, the country’s deadliest in nearly a quarter of a century.

MPs investigating Boris Johnson over Partygate will publish new documents later, ahead of a televised hearing crucial to his political future.

The former prime minister is battling accusations he misled Parliament over rule-breaking lockdown parties in Downing Street during his tenure.

He has admitted his initial assurances in 2021 that Covid rules were followed completely did mislead MPs.

But he says this was not deliberate and that the hearing will vindicate him.

The former premier, who was ousted from office last year after a string of scandals, faces being potentially suspended if MPs decide he deliberately misled them.

The seven-member Commons privileges committee is investigating whether what Mr Johnson told Parliament stopped it from properly holding him to account.

At 14.00 GMT on Wednesday, the committee will get its chance to question him live on TV, in a hearing that could last several hours.

He is expected to be flanked by members of his taxpayer-funded legal team, with whom he will be able to confer during the session. Mr Johnson also hopes to have some of his supporters in the room.

However, he will have to answer questions himself, and will take an oath on the King James bible before the hearing begins.

Before the hearing, at 09.00 GMT the committee will publish a “core bundle” of evidence that is expected to be referred to during the hearing.

All the evidence amassed by the committee, including written statements from 23 witnesses, official diaries, and emails between officials, has already been handed over to Mr Johnson’s legal team.

His lawyers have given the committee 46 WhatsApp messages between the former prime minister and five unnamed people.

Watch: Boris Johnson’s Partygate Commons statements

Media stories about staff parties in Downing Street when Covid rules banned socialising indoors began to emerge in late 2021, later becoming known as the Partygate scandal.

On several occasions afterwards, Mr Johnson told the House of Commons that Covid rules had been followed in Downing Street.

But an inquiry by senior official Sue Gray later found rule-breaking had taken place at multiple events, and police issued fines to 83 people, including Mr Johnson himself, for breaching Covid laws.

The committee, chaired by veteran Labour MP Harriet Harman, but with a Conservative majority, said earlier this month that breaches of pandemic guidance would have been “obvious” to him at the time.

However that was rejected by Mr Johnson on Tuesday, in a 52-page document setting out his defence ahead of the TV hearing.

Birthday gathering

In the submission, he said his assurances to MPs that lockdown rules had been followed were made in “good faith”.

He had not “intentionally or recklessly” misled MPs, he added, and would “never have dreamed of doing so”.

He said he had not considered at the time that events he attended himself, including a June 2020 birthday gathering in No 10 for which he was fined, had been in breach of the rules.

For other events he had not attended, he said he had not been told by his officials that they broke the rules – and it was reasonable of him to trust their account.

He also took aim at the committee itself, accusing of departing from the precedents set by previous inquiries.

Boris Johnson was fined for attending a birthday gathering in the Cabinet Room in 2020

The committee has decided that whether he intended to mislead MPs is not relevant in deciding whether he stopped Parliament from doing its job, known as a “contempt”.

But if they decide a contempt was committed, his intentions will be considered when deciding any punishment they recommend.

A finding that he deliberately misled MPs is likely to attract the strongest sanction. Another option is they conclude he misled Parliament “recklessly”.

In his submission, the former prime minister hit out at this reasoning, saying the idea of misleading MPs recklessly was an “entirely novel concept”.

The full House of Commons will have to approve the committee’s final recommendations, as well as any sanctions, which range from ordering him to apologise to suspending him from the Commons.

Conservative MPs will be given a free vote, meaning they will not be told how to vote by party managers.

If he is suspended for more than 10 days, this could trigger a by-election in his constituency – although suspensions of this length have been rare in the past.

Boris Johnson has submitted evidence to MPs investigating whether he misled Parliament over Covid rule-breaking parties in Downing Street.

The former prime minister, who denies misleading MPs, wants his defence to be published as soon as possible.

The Privileges Committee said it was reviewing the material to make redactions before publication.

Mr Johnson will be questioned by the cross-party committee in a televised session on Wednesday.

In an initial report earlier this month, it found Mr Johnson may have misled Parliament multiple times.

The committee confirmed it had received Mr Johnson’s written evidence on Monday afternoon and would publish it “as soon as is practicably possible”.

However, a spokesman added: “The committee will need to review what has been submitted in the interests of making appropriate redactions to protect the identity of some witnesses.”

 

Wednesday’s session, which could last up to five hours, will be crucial in determining his political future.

If Mr Johnson is found to have misled Parliament, the committee will consider whether this was reckless or intentional, and recommend how he should be punished.

MPs would have to approve any sanction, but potential punishments range from ordering him to apologise to suspension from the Commons. If he is suspended for more than 10 days, this could trigger a by-election in his constituency.

Downing Street sources say MPs will be given a free vote, meaning they will not be told to vote either for or against the sanction.

The Privileges Committee, which is chaired by Labour’s Harriet Harman, is made up of seven MPs – four Conservatives, one more Labour MP and one SNP MP.

Allies of Mr Johnson have raised concerns about the independence of the inquiry.

Conor Burns, a Tory MP who served as a minister under Mr Johnson, pointed to a tweet by Ms Harman in April last year, before the committee launched its investigation, where she suggested that by accepting a fine for breaking Covid rules, the then-prime minister would be admitting he misled Parliament.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Westminster Hour: “Boris Johnson contests that but it seems to me the person who is chairing this committee has predetermined it and that causes me a degree of anxiety for Parliament’s reputation in handling this with integrity.”

Tory peer Lord Greenhalgh, who was a deputy mayor under Mr Johnson, told Times Radio he was worried the inquiry would be “a witch-hunt”.

However, the prime minister’s official spokesman has defended the investigation and endorsed comments from Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt that the committee must be able to “get on with their work without fear or favour”.

Boris Johnson celebrates his birthday – for which he received a fine – in a photo released by the committee

Reports of gatherings in government buildings during Covid lockdowns first emerged in late 2021.

On several occasions, Mr Johnson, who was then prime minister, told the Commons the rules had been followed.

He later admitted his original statements had since proved incorrect. However, he has insisted he believed them to be true at the time and that he had been assured this was the case.

An investigation by senior civil servant Sue Gray found widespread rule-breaking had taken place and a police inquiry led to 83 people, including Mr Johnson himself, being fined for attending events.

The Privileges Committee’s initial report said it had seen evidence that “strongly suggests” Covid rule breaches would have been “obvious” to Mr Johnson.

Police in major US cities are preparing for potential unrest in case ex-President Donald Trump is arrested this week as part of a hush-money inquiry.

Authorities in New York, Washington DC and Los Angeles are ramping up their law enforcement presence.

A Manhattan prosecutor may charge Mr Trump over claims that he paid a porn star to keep quiet about the affair they allegedly had.

It would be the first criminal case brought against a former US president.

Steel barricades were being erected on Monday outside the Manhattan Criminal Court, where Mr Trump could be charged, fingerprinted and photographed if charges are filed this week, as US media widely anticipate.

Increased police presence has also been seen outside Trump Tower in the city.

Every member of the New York Police Department (NYPD), including plainclothes detectives, has been ordered to wear their full uniform on Tuesday and is being placed on standby to mobilise, a police source told CBS, the BBC’s US partner.

 

The NYPD and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force have been in touch with the US Secret Service, whose job it is to protect presidents and former presidents, about how a potential arrest might take place.

More police units were visible at Washington DC’s Capitol Hill on Monday

Capitol Police, who protect lawmakers on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, plan to issue an emergency declaration on Tuesday, a congressional source told CBS.

The order aims to increase co-ordination with other law enforcement agencies.

More civil disturbance officers will also be on standby, though the congressional source said there was no specific threat and that the order was proactive.

In Los Angeles, the LAPD and federal officials were preparing for a pro-Trump protest on Tuesday outside a federal building, the LA Times newspaper reports.

Police erect barricades outside the Manhattan court on Monday

US intelligence officials have detected an uptick in online threats against legal and government officials since Mr Trump wrote online on Saturday that he expected to be arrested on Tuesday, according to CBS.

Most of the threats were against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the man widely expected to file charges against Mr Trump.

On Saturday, the same day Mr Trump posted that his supporters should protest, Mr Bragg sent an email to staff.

“We do not tolerate attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York,” the prosecutor wrote.

Why is Trump under investigation?

The grand jury has been set up by Mr Bragg to determine whether there is enough evidence to indict Mr Trump.

The Stormy Daniels case centres on how Mr Trump reimbursed his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, after he paid Ms Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet ahead of the 2016 presidential election about an alleged affair years earlier with Mr Trump. The former president has denied any such relationship with Ms Daniels.

The record for the payment reimbursing Mr Cohen says it was for “legal fees”.

Watch: The Trump arrest saga in 70 seconds

Prosecutors could argue this amounts to Mr Trump falsifying business records. That is a misdemeanour in New York, though it could be upgraded to a felony, a more serious case, legal analysts say.

The Secret Service agents assigned to protect Mr Trump will stay with him during any arrest, reports NBC.

Other US media say there will be no perp walk – when a handcuffed suspect is publicly marched by officers to face charges.

In the latest hearing in the grand jury investigation on Monday, a Trump legal ally testified to push back against evidence provided by a key prosecution witness.

Robert Costello sought to discredit Mr Cohen, who claims the former president was aware of the hush-money payment to Ms Daniels.

Mr Costello told reporters after emerging from two hours of testimony: “I told the grand jury that this guy [Mr Cohen] couldn’t tell the truth if you put a gun to his head.”

Mr Costello claimed Mr Cohen had once told him that Mr Trump was not aware of the payment to Ms Daniels.

In an interview with MSNBC, Mr Cohen hit back, saying that Mr Costello, who used to be his legal adviser, “lacks any sense of veracity”.

Mr Trump has vowed to continue his campaign to become the Republican nominee in the 2024 presidential election if he is indicted.

But 44% of Republicans said he should drop out of the presidential race if charged, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found on Monday.

French govt narrowly survives no-confidence vote

The outcome will be a relief to Macron: a successful no-confidence vote would have sunk his government and killed the legislation, which is set to raise the retirement age by two years to 64. But the relief could be short-lived.

For one thing, the vote was closer than expected. Some 278 MPs voted in favour of the tripartisan, no-confidence motion, just nine short of the 287 needed for it to succeed.

In addition, unions and protesters have vowed to carry on with strikes and protests against the pension reform. Observers say Macron’s failure to find enough support in parliament to put his pension proposals to a vote has already undermined his reformist agenda and weakened his leadership.

As soon as the narrow failure of the vote was announced, lawmakers from the hard left La France Insoumise (LFI, France Unbowed) shouted “Resign!” at Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and brandished placards that read: “We’ll meet in the streets.” “Nothing is solved, we’ll continue to do all we can so this reform is pulled back,” LFI parliamentary group chief Mathilde Panot told reporters.

Violent unrest has erupted across the country in recent days and trade unions have promised to intensify their strike action, leaving Macron to face the most dangerous challenge to his authority since the “Yellow Vest” uprising over four years ago.

A ninth nationwide day of strikes and protests is scheduled on Thursday. “We’ll meet again on Thursday,” Helene Mayans, of the hard-left CGT union, said at a rally in central Paris. There were boos at the rally after the vote result and chants of “strikes” and “blockade.” A police fired tear gas at protesters who sought to march beyond the square where the rally was taking place.

Pakistan Navy ship delivers relief goods to quake-hit Syria, Turkiye

PNS Nasr, which completed relief mission in Syria before arrival in Mersin, will provide relief goods weighing approximately 200 tonnes to Turkish officials for distribution among those affected by the earthquake.

A massive earthquake hit Turkiye and Syria last month, leaving thousands dead.

A second shipment of relief goods is scheduled to reach Mersin onboard PNS Moawin on March 23.

Upon arrival at the Turkish port, PNS Nasr was received by the governor of Mersin, government representatives, and Pakistan’s ambassador to Turkiye.

During meetings with officials onboard PNS Nasr, the mission commander expressed condolences on behalf of the Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Mohammed Amjad Khan Niazi and the people of Pakistan and extended all out support in the time of need.

Earlier, during stay at Lattakia port in Syria from March 13-19, the ship disembarked huge quantity of relief goods comprising winterised camps, blankets, warm cloths, ration, medicines and generators.

Navy’s health teams es­­tablished a medical camp and provided support to a local dispensary. Children from schools visited PNS Nasr and interacted with officers and men. The Sy­­rian government and local people appreciated the support provided by the government of Pakistan.

Electioneering being denied ahead of April 30 polls in Punjab: Imran Khan

Referring to alleged difficulties in running election campaigns in Punjab, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Monday accused the government of creating hurdles in connection with the environment for the general elections despite the date drawing near.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had already announced the schedule for polls in the province — which are to be held on April 30.

Addressing his party workers and supporters via video link from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore, he said that the authorities are reluctant to allow them to hold jalsa at Minar-e-Pakistan.

A day earlier, the deposed prime minister — who was ousted from power in April last year — yet again announced a power show at Minar-e-Pakistan on Wednesday (March 22) after March 18’s “high drama” as chaos erupted at his Lahore home and at the judicial complex in Islamabad where he appeared before a trial court in the Toshakhana case.

According to the PTI leadership, they are waiting to get the go-ahead for holding the public meeting at Minar-e-Pakistan but came to know that the court will decide about it tomorrow (Tuesday) — just 24 hours before the power show of the former ruling party.

Talking about the police action at his Zaman Park, Khan said that the Punjab police broke down the gate and walls of his house.

The PTI chairman also urged his supporters not to take up arms, adding that the party did not want anarchy but the elections in the country.

Attempts are being made to create “division” in the country, he added.

Recalling the police action at the Federal Judicial Complex, Khan said his lawyers were baton-charged inside the compound. “A person who reached Islamabad for the rule of law and this happens… “Namaloom Afraad” [unknown people] were present inside the judicial complex.”

The PTI chairman went on to say that he was mentally prepared for the arrest. “Democracy and the Constitution are being killed. Nobody cares about the Constitution,” he added.

He also claimed that over 100 FIRs, including terrorism cases, had been filed against him.

Khan dubs Maryam ‘queen of liar’

Turning his guns towards Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz, Imran Khan said the ‘queen of liars’ thinks as if Pakistan is her fiefdom.

“She says that her father [Nawaz Sharif] is Nelson Mandela. Forgive him,” the ousted premier added.

“Law of the jungle” prevails in the country, Khan said, adding that the ‘queen of liars’ is above the law and dictating the authorities.

Evidences to be sent to EU, global human rights watchdog

Strongly reacting to the judicial complex incident, Khan said that a plan was in place to assassinate him at the complex. He said that they are collecting evidence and announced that the proof would be sent to the United Nations Human Rights Council and the European Union.

Moreover, the PTI leader also accused the Pakistan Democratic Movement — a 13-party ruling alliance —to bring the army and the PTI face to face to postpone the elections.

“This is my country and my army. I will live and die here. I will not flee abroad,” Khan categorically clarified.

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