Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani on Sunday expressing solidarity with Palestine against Israeli oppression called for the international community to intervene to protect Palestinian civilians.
More than 300 Palestinians have been martyred after Israel launched retaliatory air strikes in the Gaza Strip following Hamas’s operation “Al-Aqsa Storm” which saw 5,000 rockets being launched into Israel from Gaza, followed by gunmen infiltrating areas in the southern region of the country.
The foreign minister also expressed concern over the volatile situation and the loss of precious Palestinian lives.
“Pakistan is deeply concerned by the escalating hostility in the Middle East and the loss of innocent lives. We stand in solidarity with Palestinians and call for an immediate end to the violence and oppression by Israeli occupation forces,” Jilani wrote on his X account.
Furthermore, the caretaker minister also called for the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state on the basis of pre-1967 borders and according to the United Nations (UN) resolutions.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, at least 370 Palestinians have been martyred, including 20 children, and nearly 2,000 wounded by Israeli air strikes in Gaza since Saturday.
Israeli forces battled holdout Hamas fighters and pounded targets in the Gaza Strip with the army saying tens of thousands of soldiers were deployed in southern desert regions near the coastal enclave, to rescue Israeli hostages and then evacuate the entire region within 24 hours.
Senior military officers were among those killed in fighting near Gaza, the Israeli military said.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said the assault that had begun in Gaza, a narrow strip that is home to 2.3 million Palestinians, would spread to the West Bank and Jerusalem. Gazans have lived under an Israeli blockade for 16 years.
‘Concerned’ Pakistan calls for ending hostilities
President Arif Alvi on Sunday condemned the brutalisation of Palestinian rights.
Urging the international community to intervene, the president stressed the need to adhere to UN resolutions.
“Progress towards peace cannot materialise without condemnation of usurpation & brutalisation of Palestinian rights & people by Israel […] Time has come to move forward in line with UN resolutions. The international community can play a big role today towards world peace,” Dr Alvi wrote on his X account.
A day earlier, Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) had also expressed concerns over the human cost of the escalating situation pertaining to the latest Palestine-Israel conflict after Hamas launched an attack against the occupying forces, the biggest in years.
Meanwhile, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar was also heartbroken by the escalating violence in the Middle East, which underscores the urgent need to “address the Palestine Question”.
“We urge restraint and protection of civilians. Enduring peace in the Middle East lies in a two-state solution with a viable, contiguous, sovereign State of Palestine,” the premier said.
ISLAMABAD: As India continues to delay visa issuance to Pakistani fans and journalists anticipating attendance at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar stressed keeping politics away from sports.
“We would have issued visas to Indians if the World Cup was held in Pakistan,” the premier said.
Sports, he added, should be kept aloof from politics.
The prime minister, in an interview on a YouTube channel ‘Talk Shock’, said there was no practical proposal to visit India in this regard.
He also wished for the Green Shirts to bring laurels to the country, like every Pakistani.
Commenting on ties with India, the premier said Pakistan wanted normal relations with all its neighbours but with regard to India, there were three parties, including Kashmiris.
Their demands and aspirations should be met by India and if they were not made part of the normalisation process with regard to bilateral ties by the Indian government, it would amount to a “non-starter”.
Speaking about the civil-military leadership equation in Pakistan, the prime minister said the Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir believes in civilian supremacy.
‘Solidarity for Palestine’
As the situation in Palestine and Israel intensified, PM Kakar suggested a two-state solution to end the decades-long suffering of Palestinians.
The premier extended solidarity towards the people of Palestine on behalf of Pakistan, assuring to talk about their rights by utilising all multilateral forums such as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Through this, he added, Pakistan will be able to spur a collective stance to ensure the protection and dignity of Palestinians while aligning and supporting their demands.
Pakistan, PM Kakar said, has always taken a firm stance on the Palestine issue and reaffirmed its position as its “friend”.
He said that Pakistan would continue extending diplomatic, social and political support to them at all global fora. The premier stressed two nations’ state was the key to resolving the Palestine-Israel conflict, which would bring stability to the Middle East.
He also categorically reiterated that Pakistan did not recognise Israel. Palestinians had reached an agreement with Israel over the two-state mechanism, but the due right was constantly denied by Israel, he added.
The caretaker prime minister cautioned that unless ‘the Palestine Question’ was addressed, the issue of radicalisation would increase and stressed that the two political issues, Palestine and Kashmir, should be resolved.
“Over 123,538 people, have been internally displaced in Gaza, mostly due to fear, protection concerns and the destruction of their homes,” said the UN’s humanitarian agency, OCHA.
More than 73,000 are sheltering in schools, OCHA said, some of which have been designated emergency shelters.
Israel has launched hundreds of strikes on Gaza since Saturday, when Hamas fighters launched attacks in Israel and fired thousands of rockets at the country.
Adnan Abu Hasna, a spokesman for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), said he expected the numbers to rise further.
“There’s electricity in these schools, we provide them with a meal, clean water, psychological support and medical treatment,” he told AFP.
Gaza is home to 2.3 million Palestinians, who have lived under a crippling Israeli blockade imposed after Hamas took power in 2007.
At least seven Palestinians were killed in two Israeli air strikes on two houses in Gaza, according to medics. Israeli planes also carried out dozens of air strikes, many in the northern town of Beit Hanoun. The Associated Pressreported that 19 members of a single family were killed in one such strike.
Israeli strikes on Sunday hit housing blocks, tunnels, a mosque and homes of Hamas officials in Gaza. The Palestinian health ministry said more than 400 people including scores of children had been killed.
“The price the Gaza Strip will pay will be a very heavy one that will change reality for generations,” said Defence Minister Yoav Gallant in the town of Ofakim, which suffered casualties and had hostages taken.
Israeli military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus said the country had called in around 100,000 soldiers.
“Our job is to make sure that at the end of this war, Hamas will no longer have any military capabilities to threaten Israeli civilians with, and in addition to that we also need to make sure Hamas will not govern the Gaza Strip,” he said.
A military spokesperson said fighting was ongoing at seven or eight locations near Gaza two days after Hamas fighters killed 700 Israelis and abducted dozens more in the deadliest raid into Israeli territory since Egypt and Syria’s attacks in the Yom Kippur war 50 years ago.
Hamas fighters also continued to cross into Israel from Gaza, the spokesman said.
Fighter jets, helicopters and artillery struck over 500 Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in the Gaza Strip overnight, with targets including Hamas and Islamic Jihad command centres and the residence of senior Hamas official Ruhi Mashtaa who allegedly helped direct the infiltration into Israel.
Oil prices were up more than $3 a barrel in Asian trade on Monday as the violence deepened political uncertainty across the Middle East and raised concerns about supplies from Iran.
Iran is an ally of Hamas and while it congratulated Hamas on the attack, its mission to the United Nations said Tehran was not involved in the attacks.
Any sustained rally in oil prices would act as a tax on consumers and add to global inflationary pressures, which weighed on equities as S&P 500 futures shed 0.7pc and Nasdaq futures lost 0.6pc.
Several international air carriers have suspended flight services with Tel Aviv in light of the Hamas attack, saying they are waiting for conditions to improve before resuming. Beyond blockaded Gaza, Israeli forces and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah militia exchanged artillery and rocket fire on Sunday, while in Egypt, two Israeli tourists were shot dead along with a guide.
Appeals for restraint came from around the world, though Western nations largely stood by Israel.
The Palestinian foreign ministry denounced what it called a “barbarous campaign of death and destruction” by Israel.
“As an occupying power, Israel has no right or justification to target the defenceless civilian population in Gaza or elsewhere in Palestine,” it said on Sunday.
Palestinians evacuate their homes after Israeli strikes on Gaza City on October 9, 2023. —AFP)
In southern Israel, Hamas gunmen were still fighting Israeli security forces after their surprise assault with rocket barrages and bands of gunmen who overran army bases and invaded border towns.
“It’s taking more time than we expected to get things back into a defensive, security posture,” Lt Col Richard Hecht told a briefing with journalists.
Captives
Israel’s military, which faces awkward questions for not thwarting the attack, said it had regained control of most infiltration points along security barriers, killed hundreds of fighters and taken dozens more prisoner.
Tens of thousands of soldiers had been around Gaza, a narrow strip of land that is home to 2.3 million Palestinians, and the military was starting to evacuate Israelis around the frontier.
Israel has not released an official toll but its media said at least 700 people were killed in Saturday’s attacks, children among them.
Military spokesperson Daniel Hagari called it “the worst massacre of innocent civilians in Israel’s history”. Several Americans were killed by Hamas attackers, a White House National Security Council spokesperson confirmed. Thailand said 12 of its nationals had been killed and 11 kidnapped.
Palestinian fighters took dozens of hostages to Gaza, including soldiers and civilians, children and the elderly. A second Palestinian group, Islamic Jihad, said it was holding more than 30 of the captives.
About 30 missing Israelis attending a dance party that was attacked by gunmen emerged from hiding on Sunday, Israeli media reported, putting the death toll at the outdoor gathering at 260.
“The cruel reality is Hamas took hostages as an insurance policy against Israeli retaliatory action, particularly a massive ground attack and to trade for Palestinian prisoners,” said Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Biden speaks to Netanyahu
US President Joe Biden spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the second straight day on Sunday, saying in a post on the social media platform X that he expressed “my full support for the people of Israel in the face of an unprecedented and appalling assault by Hamas terrorists”.
The United States led Western denunciations of Hamas’ attack, with Biden issuing a warning to Iran and others that this was “not a moment for any party hostile to Israel to exploit these attacks”. US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said he had ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to the eastern Mediterranean as a show of support to Israel.
In Gaza, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem condemned the US announcement as “an actual participation in the aggression against our people”.
The violence may undermine US-backed moves towards normalising relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia — a security realignment that could threaten Palestinian hopes of self-determination and hem in Hamas’ alleged main backer, Iran.
Tehran’s other main regional ally, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, fought a war with Israel in 2006 and said its “guns and rockets” stand with Hamas.
The escalation follows surging violence between Israel and Palestinian fighters in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where a Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule, opposed by Hamas.
Conditions in the West Bank have worsened under Netanyahu’s hard-right government, with more Israeli raids and assaults by Jewish settlers on Palestinian villages, and the Palestinian Authority called for an emergency Arab League meeting.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said the assault would spread to the West Bank and Jerusalem. Gazans have lived under an Israeli-led blockade for 16 years, since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.
“How many times have we warned you that the Palestinian people have been living in refugee camps for 75 years, and you refuse to recognise the rights of our people?” Haniyeh said.
The UN appealed for the creation of humanitarian corridors to bring food into Gaza and said at least 70,000 Palestinians in Gaza are seeking shelter in schools it runs.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif on Friday played down any chances of a legal barrier to party supremo Nawaz Sharif’s homecoming, as speculations regarding the former prime minister take centre stage in the country’s politics.
“If Allah wills, Nawaz Sharif will return to Pakistan on October 21 by the will of Allah,” Shehbaz said, stressing that the question regarding his return shouldn’t be repeated.
The remark came during a press conference in Lahore, as the former prime minister — who led the country for 16 months after the ouster of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government in April last year — said his elder brother will arrive at the Minar-e-Pakistan following his return to Pakistan.
Nawaz, the three-time prime minister, has been living in London following a self-imposed exile since November 2019 owing to health reasons. He was disqualified for life in 2017 by the Supreme Court for not declaring a receivable salary.
Meanwhile, speaking about his government’s performance before the caretaker government took over, the former premier said: “We desperately tried to solve the problems in 16 months.
Shehbaz said, God forbid, what would be the situation had Pakistan actually gone bankrupt? “Petrol pumps would have been empty, medicines would have disappeared and daily necessities would not have been available.”
He said millions of people would have been unemployed if the country had defaulted.
“We discussed the provision of low-cost fuel to motorcyclists with the IMF. Our hands were tied as the Washington-based lender, however, turned down our proposal,” Shehbaz said.
The PML-N president also said that there’s no need to panic as good times lie ahead.
‘Nawaz not seeking revenge’
Earlier this week, Shehbaz while addressing a political gathering in Lahore had said that Nawaz Sharif is coming back to the country not taking “revenge but in fact to rescue the country out of crisis”.
Asking the party workers to get ready to welcome Nawaz to highlight the injustice done to him, Shehbaz said that the people of Pakistan — due to the ouster of Nawaz — were “in fact deprived of progress and development”.
Nawaz is coming back to serve the people of Pakistan and to once again recommence the journey towards prosperity, Shehbaz said on Wednesday.
It is pertinent to know that the former three-time prime minister will return to Pakistan on October 21 and address a public gathering at 6pm at Minar-e-Pakistan on the same day, senior PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah revealed on Tuesday.
Nawaz’s legal team has completed preparations to seek protective bail from the court ahead of his arrival.
According to party sources, the new plan was devised following discussions among the party’s top officials, including former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, PML-N Chief Organiser Maryam Nawaz, and Vice President Hamza Shehbaz.
Initially, Shehbaz, Maryam, and other party leaders were scheduled to speak at the event as well, but it has since been determined that Nawaz will be the only one to do so.
Nawaz would unveil a narrative to the PML-N workers in his address, sources said adding that the move was suggested by Chief Organiser Maryam
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir was briefed on the ‘repatriation of illegal foreigners’ among other matters during a Provincial Apex Committee meeting on his Karachi visit on Friday, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
The army chief was received by Commander Karachi Corps upon his arrival in the port city.
A statement released by the military’s media wing said that matters such as the revised National Action Plan, operation in the Kacha (riverine) area, security of foreigners employed on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects in the province and other private schemes were discussed in the meeting, where Sindh Caretaker Chief Minister Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar was also in attendance.
According to the ISPR, the high-level huddle also briefed the army chief on foreign currency regularisation measures, Karachi Transformation Plan, Progress on the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) initiatives and Green Sindh initiatives.
On the occasion, COAS Gen Munir expressed resolve on the government and law enforcement agencies’ (LEAs) behalf to curb illegal activities in the country.
“LEAs and other government departments will continue the enforcement actions against a spectrum of illegal activities with full force to deny pilferage of resources and economic losses that the country suffers due to these activities,” the army chief said.
He also underscored the need for synergy among all relevant departments for the gainful effects of the landmark initiatives.
The participants affirmed that state institutions, government departments and people are united for the progress and prosperity of the province, the ISPR added.
It is pertinent to mention that the caretaker government earlier this week had announced the November 1 deadline for the illegal “aliens” to leave the county voluntarily.
The decision came days after a deadly suicide blast in Balochistan’s Mastung, in which over 60 people lost their lives. In most of the recent terror incidents in Pakistan, Afghan nationals or soil was reportedly used.
Today, Karachi Additional Inspector General (AIG) Police Khadim Hussain Rind revealed that Afghan citizens are involved in street crimes in Karachi.
Afghan citizens have been found involved in various street crime activities especially those resulting in deaths, Rind said while speaking to Geo News.
The senior police officer said that 225 Afghan citizens involved in street crimes in Karachi were apprehended in recent times of which some are in jail facing criminal cases.
The Lhonak Lake in the mountainous north-eastern state of Sikkim overflowed on Wednesday after a cloudburst triggered torrential rains and an apparent avalanche, causing major flooding in the Teesta river.
It was one of the worst disasters in the region in more than 50 years and the latest in a series of extreme weather events that have caused widespread damage in South Asia’s Himalayas, blamed by scientists on climate change.
Authorities in Sikkim said the disaster, which came ahead of a popular festive and tourism season in the scenic state, had impacted the lives of 22,000 people.
“We got calls from people that river levels could rise at 3am and we ran for our lives,” said Javed Ahmed Ansari, 44, a resident of Teesta valley, who owns a river rafting business.
“We ran towards the hill in the jungle … We saw houses getting swept away. I can now only see the first floor of our house which is filled with sand, everything is submerged.”
Scientists and government authorities were working on an early warning system for glacial floods at Lhonak Lake which could have given people more time to evacuate if fully operational, officials involved in the project said.
As warning sirens sounded across southern and central Israel, including in Jerusalem, Israel’s military said it was on a war footing as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called an emergency meeting of security officials.
Saturday’s incident was the most serious since Israel and Hamas fought a 10-day war in 2021, with Israeli media reporting gunbattle between bands of Palestinian fighters and security forces in towns in southern Israel.
Hamas military commander Mohammad Deif announced the start of the operation in a broadcast on Hamas media, calling on Palestinians everywhere to fight.
“This is the day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on earth,” he said, adding that 5,000 rockets had been launched.
“We decided to put an end to all the crimes of the occupation (Israel), their time for rampaging without being held accountable is over,” Hamas said. “We announce Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and we fired, in the first strike of 20 minutes, more than 5,000 rockets. “
One Israeli woman was killed, according to emergency services, as ambulance crews were deployed in areas around the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military said its forces were operating inside Gaza but gave no details.
“A number of terrorists have infiltrated into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip,” the military said in a statement, adding that residents in the area surrounding the Gaza Strip had been told to stay in their homes.
Israeli media reported that gunmen had opened fire on passers-by in the town of Sderot, in southern Israel, and footage circulating on social media appeared to show clashes in city streets as well as gunmen in jeeps roaming the countryside.
Hamas media circulated video footage apparently showing a destroyed Israeli tank.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he would meet top security officials in the coming hours and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant authorised the call-up of reservists.
In Gaza the roar of rocket launches could be heard and residents reported armed clashes along the separation fence with Israel, near the southern town of Khan Younis, and said they had seen significant movement of armed fighters.
Israel’s ambulance service said teams had been dispatched to areas in southern Israel near Gaza and residents were warned to stay inside.
A group representing military reservists who had planned to refuse to attend training over their objections to the government’s plans to overhaul the judiciary called on reservists to report for duty.
Reports of Israelis taken captive
Palestinian media also reported that a number of Israelis had been taken captive by fighters and Hamas media circulated video footage apparently showing a destroyed Israeli tank.
The Israeli military was aware of reports of captives, a security source said, but provided no further details.
A group representing military reservists who had planned to refuse to attend training over their objections to the government’s plans to overhaul the judiciary called on reservists to report for duty.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad group said its fighters were joining Hamas in the attack.
“We are part of this battle, our fighters are side-by-side with their brothers in the Qassam Brigades until victory is achieved,” said Islamic armed wing spokesman Abu Hamza in a post on Telegram.
Palestinians in Gaza expressed disbelief at the infiltration into Israel. “It is like a dream. I still can’t believe it, fighters inside our occupied land? said one Gaza shopkeeper.
The attack came a day after Israel marked the 50th anniversary of the 1973 war that brought the country to the verge of catastrophic defeat it a surprise attack by Syria and Egypt.
Earlier border protests
Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza since 2007 after the Hamas militant group took power.
Palestinian militants and Israel have fought several devastating wars since.
The latest fire follows a period of heightened tensions in September when Israel closed the border to Gazan workers for two weeks.
The shutdown of the crossing came as Palestinian protests rocked the heavily-militarised border.
Protesters had resorted to burning tyres and throwing rocks and petrol bombs at Israeli troops, who responded with tear gas and live bullets.
Critics had slammed the border closure as collective punishment against thousands of Palestinian workers, who have far greater earning potential in Israel than Gaza, where unemployment is rife.
Resuming their passage on September 28 had raised hopes of calming the situation in Gaza, home to 2.3 million people.
In May, an exchange of Israeli air strikes and Gaza rocket fire resulted in the deaths of 34 Palestinians and one Israeli.
So far this year at least 247 Palestinians, 32 Israelis, and two foreigners have been killed in the conflict, including combatants and civilians on both sides, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials.
The vast majority of fatalities have occurred in the West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict.
There has been a rise in army raids, Palestinian attacks targeting Israelis, and Israeli settler violence against Palestinians and their property.
Several far-right Israeli ministers live in settlements in the West Bank, which are deemed illegal under international law.
Sir Keir told a rally in the constituency that voters had become disillusioned with both the SNP government in Scotland and the Conservative government at Westminster.
He said: “Scottish voters looked at the Tory government in Westminster and saw something that didn’t represent them – they turned their backs on that.
“But they also, not so long ago, saw a Labour that had drifted away from them.
“We’ve changed, and because we’ve changed, we are now the party of change.”
He added: “As for the SNP, this isn’t about just a few months of turmoil in the SNP, it is about years and years of non-delivery.”
Keir Starmer celebrated the election of new Labour MP Michael Shanks
Scotland’s first minister Humza Yousaf said there were “a number of difficult issues around this by-election which made it a very difficult night.”
The SNP leader said the “reckless actions” of their former MP during Covid and police investigations into SNP finances played a part in the poor result.
SNP candidate Katy Loudon’s 8,399 votes represented a 27.6% share, down by 16.6% on the SNP result at the 2019 general election.
Michael Shanks took victory for Labour with 58.6% of the votes cast.
The newly elected MP described the result as “remarkable”, and said it was the “honour of my life” to speak to thousands of voters during the campaign.
Turnout for the vote was just 37.19%, a dramatic fall from the 66.5% at the last general election.
Conservative candidate Thomas Kerr managed only a 3.9% share of the vote, a fall of more than 11% since 2019.
The chairman of the Scottish Conservatives, Craig Hoy MSP, denied that the result was “compelling evidence of a significant Labour revival”.
He said: “The result was what we expected. We knew that our vote would be squeezed as the third party in a contest between Labour and the SNP.”
Keir Starmer told BBC Scotland that Labour would lay out its “positive case for change” at the party’s annual conference, which begins on Sunday.
“People wanted to come out and vote for a changed Labour party,” he said.
Humza Yousaf said the SNP would ‘re-group’ after losing Rutherglen
Sir Keir promised that the party would “repay that faith and trust with the change that I know they desperately want to see.”
He added: “We have to earn every vote across Scotland and we will only do that if we have a positive case of change to put before Scotland and the UK.
“Having changed our party, I want to change politics.”
He also used the opportunity to attack “nodding dog” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak over the cancellation of the HS2 and “circus” of the Tory conference in Manchester.
Salvation Army volunteer Douglas Macdonald from Rutherglen said that he voted tactically in the by-election to get the SNP out.
The 81-year-old said: “I am most definitely happy that there was a big change in the by-election. I wanted rid of the SNP because of their reputation here in Rutherglen.
“I always vote, if you don’t vote you can’t complain about who gets in and what they’re doing.”
Douglas Macdonald voted against the SNP in Rutherglen
Conor Campbell voted for the SNP but said he was not surprised that they lost to Labour.
“It’s to be expected after the recent issues with the party,” he said. “I think a lot of people lost faith a little bit.”
He said the SNP needed to stop pushing for a second referendum and focus on current issues in Scotland. He pointed to problems facing young people, and domestic violence and homelessness.
Kieran Paterson, 26, was one of the more than 51,000 people in the constituency who chose not to cast their vote.
“Everything that’s been promised doesn’t seem to manifest at all, so a vote’s kind of useless at this point,” he said.
The security worker said politicians need to prioritise tackling crime in the area to persuade voters like him to visit the polling station.
Interim Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani Thursday apprised his Afghan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi about challenges confronting regional peace, as Pakistan faces an uptick in terror activities — that also involved Afghan nationals.
The caretaker government has given a 28-day deadline (November 1) to all illegal immigrants, including Afghan refugees, to leave the country or face forceful expulsion.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Jilani “underscored that challenges confronting regional peace & stability be addressed in collaborative spirit thru collective strategies”.
“The FM reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to further strengthen bilateral ties with Afg[hanistan],” the ministry said.
Their meeting was held in Tibet, China, where the foreign minister is visiting China to participate in the Third Trans-Himalaya Forum for International Cooperation — being held from October 4 to 5.
The major decision to ask illegal migrants to leave the country came after Pakistan witnessed an uptick in unlawful and terror activities.
“We have given them a November 1 deadline,” said interim Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti on October 3, adding that all illegal immigrants should leave voluntarily or face forcible expulsion after that date.
The interior minister revealed that 14 of 24 suicide bombings in the country this year were carried out by Afghan nationals.
Bugti said some 1.73 million Afghan nationals in Pakistan had no legal documents to stay, adding a total of 4.4 million Afghan refugees lived in Pakistan.
Islamabad has received the largest influx of Afghan refugees since the Soviet invasion of Kabul in 1979.
But the country has seen a rise in terrorism after outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — a group that has safe havens in Afghanistan — revoked a ceasefire with the government late last year.
Two suicide bombings targeted religious gatherings in Pakistan last week, killing at least 57 people. Bugti said that one of the suicide bombers had been identified as an Afghan national.
Taliban authorities have been trying to tempt back those who left, despite the nation suffering from a massive scaleback of aid following the collapse of the US-backed government.
Also, in response to Pakistan’s plan to evict hundreds of thousands of Afghan migrants, Taliban authorities said it was “unacceptable”.
ISLAMABAD: Amid reports of terror threats to Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Pakistan has called upon India to provide security to the national team during the ICC World Cup 2023.
The statement came after Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch was asked to comment on visa delays for Pakistani fans and journalists and media reports regarding terror threats during a weekly press briefing in the federal capital on Thursday.
The Indian government hasn’t granted visas to media persons even though they had applied for it much ahead of the mega tournament.
“The host country should provide protection to our cricket team in the ICC World Cup 2023,” she said, adding that it is the responsibility of the Indian government to create a favourable environment.
Baloch stated that they are in touch with Indian authorities and hoped that the visas would be issued soon.
The FO spokesperson warned New Delhi against mixing politics with sports
“As the host, India should not hinder Pakistani fans from watching the World Cup.”
Security beefed up in Ahmedabad
Meanwhile, the Indian authorities have jacked up security preparations and are on high alert amid a terror threat pertaining to Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi stadium.
As reported by the Indian media, authorities have beefed up security protocols with more than 3,000 police personnel deployed in and around the venue — scheduled to host a total of five fixtures including the opening match, Pakistan-India clash, and the tournament’s final.
As part of the strict security measures, spectators will not be allowed to carry anything in the stadium other than their mobile phones, per the reporters.
Furthermore, the road leading to the stadium will remain closed during the matches, a move aimed at minimising security risks.
The mega event will commence on Thursday with England taking on New Zealand at the very stadium.
The ICC World Cup 2023 will take place in India with 10 teams fighting for the elusive title across 10 venues from October 5 to November 19.
The tournament will be played in a round-robin format with all teams playing against each other for a total of 45 league matches.
