24-10-2025

Month: May 2024

Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to admit Tory MP Natalie Elphicke into Labour has been met with bewilderment by some of his MPs.

The Dover MP’s surprise defection from the Conservatives has prompted reaction ranging from delight to anger by her new colleagues.

Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield said Labour MPs were “baffled” by her “really peculiar” move to swap sides.

But a senior party figure hailed her switch as “one hell of a coup”.

And Sir Keir has said he is “delighted” with her defection, telling reporters it showed his party was “the party of the national interest”.

Several sources suggested Labour’s whips, responsible for party discipline, were worried about accepting her, but Labour deny this.

 

It is the second defection to Labour for Rishi Sunak in less than two weeks, after Dr Dan Poulter also quit the Tories last month.

Normally, when an MP switches parties, their new colleagues are almost all delighted.

However, this latest defection, announced minutes before Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, has left to some Labour MPs feeling upset, let down, and shocked.

In a blistering statement, Ms Elphicke said the Tories had become a “byword for incompetence and division”.

What Ms Duffield is willing to say publicly in reaction to the defection, many many more are saying privately.

Although Ms Elphicke has made arguments in areas such as housing that are in tune with her new colleagues she has previously attacked Labour policy in a number of areas.

She has criticised the party for “grabbing more in taxes” and not being “serious” about stopping small boat crossings, a big issue in her Dover seat.

As well as her political stance, many Labour MPs are deeply uncomfortable with remarks she made about her then-husband Charlie Elphicke, whom she replaced as Dover MP in 2019.

In an interview with the Sun after his conviction in 2020 for sexual assault, she was reported to have said being “attractive” and “attracted to women” had made him an “easy target”.

She has not commented on those previous remarks since defecting on Wednesday.

Labour said “all those issues have been dealt with previously both in Parliament and in public”.

Speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield on Wednesday, Labour MP Sarah Champion said “some of the things Mrs Elphicke had said defending her ex-husband from the sexual abuse allegations” did not “sit well with me at all”.

She also said she would find it “challenging” to have former Tory MPs in the party “when it’s so close to a general election”.

“I think their policies and their belief systems are so far from mine but we are where we are I guess,” she added.

She added the fact that Ms Elphicke, like Dan Poulter, are both planning to quit Parliament at the election created a “bit of a mess” because Labour already has candidates in both their seats.

Conservative MPs have also expressed surprise at Ms Elphicke’s defection, with Transport Minister Huw Merriman branding her “shameless” and an “opportunist”.

May 9 perpetrators, facilitators will have to be punished as per Constitution, law: DG ISPR

RAWALPINDI: Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry Tuesday said that the perpetrators and facilitators of the May 9 riots need to be punished as per the Constitution and law of the land to preserve the credibility and faith in the country’s justice system.

“The issue of May 9 riots is not limited to the Pakistan Army but [in fact] concerns the whole nation,” the military’s spokesperson said while addressing a press conference in Rawalpindi.

 

 

Noting that the public was a witness to the May 9 incident the spokesperson lamented how some people were “brainwashed” against the armed forces and said: “We saw how some political leaders gave selected targets [to the mob]”.

“We saw that only military installations were attacked within a span of few hours [and] you saw the public outrage when evidence for this came to limelight.

“The lies and deceit cannot continue […] the people accused of being involved in May 9 riots need to be punished,” said the chief military spokesperson.

Commenting on the prospects of dialogue with any faction, Maj Gen Chaudhry said: “No talks will be held with any political leader, or group which attacks its own army and indulges in propaganda [against them]”.

“There can be no dialogue with an anarchist group,” he noted adding that the “only way forward for the anarchists [group] is to apologise sincerely [for their acts], abandon the politics of hate and indulge in constructive politics [instead]”.

“Talks are for political parties, not institutions,” the army’s spokesperson said.

Reacting to the demands for the constitution of a judicial commission to probe the May 9 riots, Maj Gen Chaudhry said that the army had no objection to the judicial inquiry.

However, he stressed that if a judicial commission is to be formed then this whole incident must be probed in depth.

“The [judicial] commission should also look into what were the objectives of 2014 sit-in […] how the parliament and the PTV [building] was attacked.

“And how Islamabad was stormed by using Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s resources in 2022,” the DG ISPR said.

“The forum should also look into how lobbying firms were hired abroad, how letters were written to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and from where the funding was coming from and where it was being channelled to,” the military’s spokesperson added.

On the issue of terrorism, the military’s spokesperson stressed that there is “irrefutable evidence” of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) using Afghanistan’s soil against the country.

“There is irrefutable evidence of Afghan soil being used by the TTP […] recent terrorist incidents can be traced to Afghanistan, ” he added.

Reaffirming the commitment on counter-terrorism efforts, Maj Gen Chaudhry said that Pakistan will leave no stone unturned to eliminate the terrorist network.

He stressed that the security forces would go to any extent against terrorists. However, the spokesperson noted that the first priority of the Pakistan Army was to maintain law and order in the country.

“The army chief has said that there’s no place for terrorists in Pakistan,” the chief military spokesperson said while reassuring that steps are being taken to bring the miscreants to justice.

On the issue of Afghan refugees living inside Pakistan, the military’s spokesperson said: “Millions of Afghans are still living in Pakistan, while the country is fighting against terrorism. Pakistan has helped Afghan refugees, which the world has recognised.”

Highlighting that millions of Afghan citizens continue to reside in Pakistan, the DG ISPR revealed that more than 563,000 illegal foreigners have been repatriated.

The DG ISPR said the law and order situation was deteriorating because of the Afghan citizens.

“Militants are spoiling law and order situation in Balochistan, but the army is [acting as] a wall against the miscreants,” he noted.

Providing details about the army’s anti-terror efforts, he said that as many as 13,133 operations have been carried out in 2024 so far wherein 239 terrorists were naturalised, whereas two officers and 60 soldiers embraced martyrdom.

Washington voices support for Saudi crown prince’s visit to Pakistan

WASHINGTON: The United States Wednesday voiced its support for Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s (MBS) visit to Pakistan saying that Washington “encourages” such diplomatic engagements.

“We always support diplomatic engagement between our partners […] it’s a routine kind of diplomatic engagement and is something that we support and encourage,” US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said during a press briefing in Washington.

His remarks come a day after Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed that the Saudi monarch’s much-anticipated visit to Pakistan was “on the cards” and the final dates of his visit are expected to be received from the kingdom this month.

“InshaAllah, the visit is due [and] I believe we may receive final dates [of the visit from Saudi Arabia] anytime in May,” Dar said.

The crown prince had informed PM Shehbaz, during his visit to the Kingdom in the month of Ramadan, that he would visit Pakistan after initial meetings between Pakistan and Saudi officials, FM Dar said.

A 50-member high-level Saudi trade delegation led by Deputy Investment Minister Ibrahim Almubarak also visited Pakistan from May 5 to 6 with the aim of exploring various avenues of trade and investment to further strengthen and promote bilateral relations.

Meanwhile, responding to a question regarding Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi’s last month’s visit to Pakistan, the State Department spokesperson said that the US welcomes de-escalation between Tehran and Islamabad in the backdrop of cross-border strikes carried out by both countries in January earlier this year.

When asked about the meeting between US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome and a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) delegation, Miller acknowledged the development and said that the envoy met opposition members including National Assembly’s Opposition Leader Omar Ayub “to discuss a broad range of issues important to the bilateral relationship”.

Responding to reports that the PTI delegation, during the meeting, voiced concerns regarding human rights violations and false cases against party founder Imran Khan, the spokesperson reiterated that Washington does not take any position on Pakistani elections.

“We take no position with respect to any particular political party, and of course, we want to see basic human rights upheld,” he said.

The PTI delegation, comprising Ayub, party Chairman Gohar Ali Khan, Asad Qaiser and Raoof Hasan, met the US envoy in the federal capital earlier this week.

Talking to journalists after his meeting with the US ambassador, Ayub said: “Matters related to military courts and cases against the PTI founder and other leaders of the party were discussed with the US envoy.”

“We have repeatedly said that these are Pakistan’s internal issues,” the PTI leader added.

Israel seizes Rafah crossing amid global outcry

RAFAH: Israel sent tanks into Rafah in southern Gaza, seizing control of the border crossing with Egypt on Tuesday, an operation the UN said denied it access to the key humanitarian passage.

The military’s thrust into the eastern sector of the city packed with displaced civilians came with negotiators and mediators due in Cairo in the latest effort towards a prisoner release and ceasefire in the seven-month-old Israeli offensive.

A senior Hamas official, requesting anonymity to discuss the negotiations, warned that it would be Israel’s “last chance” to free the estimated 128 prisoners still held in the Palestinian territory, including 35 the military says are dead.

A Hamas delegation was headed “shortly” to Cairo, the official said. Israel has said it would also send negotiators, and mediator Qatar announced it was dispatching a team as well.

The long-threatened Rafah operation began hours after Hamas announced late on Monday it had accepted a truce proposal, prompting cheering crowds to take to the streets despite Israel saying it was “far” from plans it had previously agreed to. Army footage showed tanks flying the Israeli flag taking “operational control” of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, the military said, in a deployment that had a “very limited scope against very specific targets”.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Tuesday Israel was prepared to “deepen” its Gaza operation if truce talks fail to secure the release of prisoners held there by Hamas fighters.

Earlier, the Palestinian Authority called on the United States to “intervene immediately” to prevent Israel from invading Rafah, the official Palestinian WAFA news agency reported on Tuesday.

UN humanitarian office spokesman Jens Laerke said Israel had denied it access to both Rafah and Kerem Shalom — the other main Gaza aid crossing, on the border with Israel — with only “one day of fuel available” inside the besieged territory.

At the UN, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Israel to “stop any escalation” and to “immediately” reopen the crossings. “The closure of both… crossings is especially damaging to an already dire humanitarian situation”, Mr Guterres said, warning that “a full-scale assault on Rafah will be a human catastrophe”.

‘Permanent ceasefire’

Hamas on Monday said it had told Egyptian and Qatari officials of its “approval of their proposal regarding a ceasefire”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the proposal was “far from Israel’s essential demands”, but the government would still send negotiators for talks.

In the meantime, it added, Israel is continuing the operation in Rafah to exert military pressure on Hamas in order to advance the release of prisoners.

Close Israeli ally the United States said it was “reviewing” the Hamas response.

Hamas member Khalil al-Hayya told the Qatar-based Al Jazeera news channel that the proposal agreed to by Hamas involved a three-phase truce. It included a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the return of Palestinians displaced by the war and a prisoner exchange, with the goal of a “permanent ceasefire”, he said.

International alarm

International alarm has been building about the consequences of an Israeli ground invasion of Rafah, where the United Nations says 1.4 million people are sheltering.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell expressed concern that an attack on Rafah began despite warnings from the European Union and the United States. “I am afraid that this is going to cause again a lot of casualties, civilian casualties,” he said.

Egypt urged Israel to “exercise the utmost restraint”, while the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) condemned Israel’s “criminal aggression”.

In a conversation with Netanyahu on Monday, US President Joe Biden restated “his clear position” opposing an invasion of Rafah, the White House said.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock urged “protection” for civilians in Rafah. “A million people cannot simply vanish into thin air,” she said in a post on X, calling for “more humanitarian aid urgently”.

Medical charity Doctors Without Bord­ers (MSF) said it had begun discharging patients from a field hospital in Rafah and was preparing “for a possible evacuation”.

Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said the Israeli operation in Rafah marks another war crime by Israel. “By carrying out a ground attack on Rafah, just a day after Hamas approved Qatar and Egypt’s proposal for a ceasefire deal, Israel has added another to the war crimes it has committed in Palestinian territories since October 7,” Mr Yilmaz said on X.

Modi’s BJP toils as Indian elections lock 52pc seats

NEW DELHI: With the third phase of the elections ending on Tuesday, the fate of 52 per cent candidates for the 543-seat parliament stands sealed, and analysts were reading the turbulence at the stock exchanges as a sign of difficulties for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Another sign of trouble for the Bharatiya Janata Party came from Haryana where three independent state MLAs ditched the BJP government to join the Congress party. Hitherto the flow of big and small political defectors had been in the other direction — from opposition groups to the BJP.

There were reports of police chasing away Muslim voters from polling booths in a constituency in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh. Elsewhere names of some voters had allegedly disappeared from the voters’ list.

In the fray on Tuesday were 94 seats spread over 12 states, including all 26 seats in Gujarat where Mr Modi and his home minister cast their votes.

The day’s contests included five seats in Bihar, four in West Bengal, 11 in Maharashtra, seven in Chhatt­isgarh, 10 in Uttar Pradesh, 14 in Karnataka and nine in Madhya Pradesh, where Congress defector and BJP candidate Jyotiraditya Scindia was in the race. Of these states, Karnataka and West Bengal are ruled by the opposition. The fate of 285 seats is now sealed.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) ordered X, formerly Twitter, to take down an animated video posted by BJP Karnataka but avoided directly sending a notice to the BJP. The video features caricatures of Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, advancing the party’s recent messaging that the Congress is diverting funds and resources away from lower caste Hindus towards Muslims.

As of Tuesday evening, the post had garnered over nine million views, and had not yet been taken down, reports said.

The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee had on May 5 complained that the video violated the code of conduct, and Manoj Kumar Meena, the chief electoral officer of the state, subsequently ordered X to take the post down.

In a setback to the ruling BJP in Haryana amid the Lok Sabha election, three independent MLAs have withdrawn their support to the Nayab Singh Saini-led government in the state, reports said.

The three MLAs — Sombir Sangwan, Randhir Gollen and Dharampal Gonder — made the announcement at a press conference held in Rohtak in the presence of senior Congress leader and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Haryana Congress chief Udai Bhan.

After their presser, Mr Hooda claimed that the Saini government had lost its majority. Their extension of support to the Congress, he claimed, proved that there is a wave for the party in the state and that “we are poised to perform well in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls”.

Mr Saini took over state reins two months ago in March after the BJP broke off its alliance with the Dushyant Chautala-led Jannayak Janata Party and dissolved the government under chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

On the other hand, the Indian stock market has been experiencing strong bouts of volatility in recent sessions, leaving investors perplexed, reports said. Analysts have linked the fall to problems Mr Modi is facing in his third term bid.

The India VIX index, which measures volatility in the Indian stock market, has surged nearly 33pc in just four sessions in May so far, following a meagre 0.30pc rise in April and a significant 18pc fall in March.

On Tuesday, after opening higher, Indian stock market benchmarks, the Sensex and the Nifty 50 soon fell almost a per cent each on an all-round selloff. Both indices, however, pared losses and ended about half a percent lower each.

Police in India have opened a case against senior leaders of the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over a social media post that opposition leaders say “demonises Muslims”.

The animated video depicts senior Congress party leaders granting benefits to Muslims at the expense of marginalised castes and tribespeople.

Hours after the police case opened, the Election Commission asked X (formerly Twitter) to remove the video.

In its order, the Election Commission says its chief electoral officer in Karnataka (the video was posted by the BJP’s Karnataka state unit) had “already directed” X to take down the post on Sunday, but that this hadn’t been done yet. Voting in Karnataka was held on Tuesday and ended in the early evening local time.

This is the second such video the BJP has posted online in the past two weeks. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also made similar claims about the opposition favouring the Muslim minority over other social groups at election rallies.

India is several weeks into a general election that ends in June, and according to the model code of conduct, parties and leaders are barred from using religious issues to seek votes.

But opposition leaders and political commentators say PM Modi, who’s seeking a rare third term in a row, and other leaders from his Hindu nationalist party are resorting to blatant Islamophobia. They have also criticised the Election Commission (EC) for not taking timely action against them.

India’s 200 million Muslims are the largest minority group in the country. Anti-Muslim hate speech has surged in the country since the BJP came to power in 2014.

The video, posted on the BJP’s social media page in Karnataka on 4 May, is captioned “Beware… Beware… Beware…!” in Kannada language which is spoken in the southern state. It has been viewed more than nine million times on X.

It shows caricatures of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Karnataka Chief Minister K Siddaramaiah, who belongs to the same party, placing an egg marked “Muslims” in a nest next to three eggs marked “SC” and “OBC” (referring to marginalised castes) and “ST” (referring to marginalised tribes).

When the eggs hatch, Mr Gandhi is seen feeding “funds” to the chick which is wearing a skullcap and has a menacing expression. The chick then grows bigger and edges out the others from the nest.

The Congress lodged a complaint against the video with the EC on Sunday, following which the Karnataka police registered a case against BJP President JP Nadda, its party chief in Karnataka, BY Vijayendra and the party’s IT department head, Amit Malviya.

In a post on X, Congress party MP Manickam Tagore criticised the video, saying that the “blatant demonisation of minorities by BJP is unacceptable”.

“The Election Commission must wake up to its responsibility and address the divisive tactics of the BJP. Unity, not division, should be the goal for a thriving democracy,” he wrote.

Professor Nitasha Kaul, a British academic of Indian origin who teaches politics at the University of Westminster, described the video on X as “a straightforward 1930s Germany-style cartoon” and called it a violation of election rules.

Several opposition leaders and civil society groups have flagged campaign videos and speeches by BJP leaders, particularly the prime minister, as “unacceptable” and “divisive”.

“Shame is an understatement. This election officially has no rules left anymore for BJP or Modi,” Saket Gokhale, an MP from the Trinamool Congress party, wrote on X.

Congress leader Salman Anees Soz said the BJP’s “hatred of us Muslims has never been more blatant”.

Last week, an animated video posted by the BJP on Instagram falsely accused the Congress of wanting to take wealth from non-Muslim Indians to distribute it to the Muslim community.

It garnered over a million views and remained online for at least 48 hours before it was taken down. Several users who reported the video later shared a notification from Instagram saying it had been removed.

The video was released just a week after opposition parties accused Mr Modi of making Islamophobic remarks for referring to Muslims as “infiltrators” and “those who have many children” in a campaign speech.

Beginning and ending with a call to support Mr Modi, the video showed an animated version of Rahul Gandhi holding a copy of the Congress manifesto, which then morphs into Pakistan’s national flag.

“The Congress manifesto is nothing but the Muslim League’s ideology in disguise,” an accompanying voiceover says, adding that Mr Modi alone can stop this from happening.

The video also refers to a 2006 speech by former prime minister Manmohan Singh – of the Congress party – in which he speaks about empowering minority communities in the country.

Mr Modi had referred to the speech during his election campaign in Rajasthan state last month. “Their earlier [Congress] government had said that Muslims have the first right over the nation’s wealth,” he had alleged.

His claim was debunked by several fact-checkers who said he had misquoted the former prime minister.

The Congress lodged a complaint with the Election Commission, seeking action against Mr Modi. The commission declined to comment on the matter, but issued a notice to the BJP chief for the alleged violation of the poll code by the PM.

Mr Modi and other BJP leaders have repeated the claim at other rallies. Last month, in the southern Telangana state, the prime minister once again said that he would “not allow the Indian Constitution-mandated reservations” for historically marginalised caste groups to be distributed to Muslims.

In a letter to Mr Modi on 2 May, Congress party chief Mallikarjun Kharge accused him of “repeated lies in the election campaign”.

“When the elections are over, people will only remember you as the prime minister who indulged in divisive and communal speeches filled with lies to avoid an inevitable defeat,” he wrote.

Despite the criticism, Mr Modi has continued to make remarks that many of India’s millions of Muslims find offensive.

On Tuesday, the prime minister himself shared a video clip from his election speech in Madhya Pradesh state where he spoke of “vote jihad”. He also claimed the Congress’s interests were aligned with those of Pakistan.

John Swinney will be sworn in as the seventh first minister of Scotland later.

He is then expected to form his government, with cabinet posts confirmed in parliament on Thursday.

A “significant” role has been promised to former finance secretary, Kate Forbes, who chose not to run for the SNP leadership and backed Mr Swinney.

Overall he was backed by 64 MSPs and seven Green MSPs abstained, guaranteeing him the required majority.

Mr Swinney’s appointment as first minister will be rubber-stamped by the King before he is officially sworn in at the Court of Session.

 

Following a tumultuous two weeks for the SNP, Mr Swinney became party leader on Monday.

A contest was narrowly avoided, with a rival candidate – veteran SNP activist Graeme McCormick – withdrawing his bid at the 11th hour.

This paved the way for Humza Yousaf to formally resign as first minister on Tuesday – a move prompted by his tearing up of the power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens.

He had been in post for just over a year, having taken over the role from Nicola Sturgeon.

Humza Yousaf formally resigned as first minister on Tuesday

Mr Swinney has 16 years’ cabinet experience and led the SNP between 2000 and 2004.

He will take office in the week the Scottish Parliament marks 25 years since devolution.

Previously, he said he would not be an “interim leader” or a “caretaker” and that he intended to see out a full term.

He has said he will seek to govern on a “moderate centre left” platform, and will be open to working with any other political party in the parliament to pass legislation

This was reflected in his speech to MSPs on Tuesday in which he struck a conciliatory note, praising the achievements of other major parties in the devolved parliament.

He pledged to be the “first minister for everyone in Scotland”, adding: “I am here to serve you, I will give everything I have to build the best future for our country.”

The economy, the NHS and other public services, and “a drive to lift children out of poverty” are his priorities for government.

 

Kate Forbes is expected to make a return to cabinet but it is unclear where other ministerial roles will be allocated.

Kate Forbes decided not to run for SNP leader, and backed John Swinney

It is also not clear which roles Mr Swinney will keep, though The Times previously reported he intended to have a “slimmed-down” government.

Having confirmed he has no intention of resurrecting a deal with the Greens, Mr Swinney will attempt to pass a budget and other key bills with a minority administration of 63 MSPs.

Until recently Mr Swinney’s career on the frontbenches looked to be over.

He stepped down from the cabinet in 2023 after 16 years in key roles under both Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon.

Following the collapse of the Bute House Agreement, and Mr Yousaf’s resignation, Mr Swinney was publicly urged to stand for first minister by senior party members – which he said he accepted out of a “profound sense of duty”.

The SNP leader said the decision had been made with his family, expressing “eternal gratitude” to his wife Elizabeth Quigley, who has multiple sclerosis and relies on him for support.

Two terrorists linked to ‘Indian spy agency RAW’ caught in Karachi

KARACHI: Two terrorists linked to Indian premier intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), were caught during a targeted operation by the police and spy agencies in Karachi, Korangi Superintendent of Police (SSP) Hasan Sardar said on Monday.

The joint operation by Korangi police and intelligence agencies foiled a major terrorist plan targeting the metropolis, he added.

The SSP said two hand grenades, a 9mm pistol and ammunition had been seized from the arrested terrorists.

Sardar further said that the nabbed terrorist had been involved in the recce of a target pointed out by foreign elements. He said that the terrorists used to send the images and information gathered during the recce abroad and received millions of rupees from foreign bank accounts for that.

Indian infiltration inside Pakistani territory for intelligence and terrorist purposes is not something known as a number of incidents of extra-territorial activities by RAW and arrest of its agents have been reported in the past.

Earlier this year, Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Syrus Qazi exposed the “sophisticated and sinister” Indian campaign of extra-territorial and extra-judicial killings.

Pakistan has “credible evidence” for Indian agents’ link to the killings of two of its citizens on Pakistani soil, Qazi had revealed in January.

These claims were provided further credence by British daily newspaper, The Guardian, through a report that revealed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Indian government “ordered killings” on Pakistan’s soil.

Quoting intelligence operatives, the report stated that New Delhi has adopted a policy of targeting those it considers hostile to India on foreign soil.

Already strained by historical baggage and border disputes, Islamabad and New Delhi’s ties hit new lows after 2016’s Kulbushan Yadav spy arrest and the 2019 revocation of Indian Illegal Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s (IIOJK) special status.

The Kashmir move, a blatant violation of international laws, froze diplomacy and choked trade between the two adjoining countries. Pakistan has, for more than four years, conditioned restoring ties with its nuclear neighbour to the restoration of IIOJK’s special status.

India’s notorious spy agency RAW, which is directly controlled by the office of PM Modi, allegedly began to carry out assassinations abroad following the 2019 Pulwama attack.

Saudi Crown Prince MBS likely to visit Pakistan between ‘May 10 to 15’

As Pakistan and Saudi Arabia engagements have been at their peak in recent weeks following Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit in March, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is likely to pay his much-anticipated visit to Islamabad between May 10 to 15.

The visit of the top dignitary possesses vital importance to Pakistan eyeing big investment from Saudi Arabia in diverse fields which would be cemented via Prince Salman’s forthcoming visit this month.

It would be the first visit of Saudi Prime Minister Salman, also known as MBS, to Pakistan in five years as he last time visited the country in February 2019 during the rule of former prime minister Imran Khan.

It would also materialise the understanding between both countries in Makkah for attracting Saudi investments worth $5 billion in Pakistan in the coming days.

However, the official announcement for the definite dates of MBS’ visit is due to be made.

It emerged that MBS was due to arrive in Pakistan in 2023 as part of his visit to the region but it was called off at the 11th hour.

A 50-member high-level Saudi trade delegation — led by the Deputy Investment Minister of Saudi Arabia Ibrahim Almubarak — is already present in Pakistan which landed in Islamabad yesterday on a two-day official visit to explore various avenues of trade and investment ahead of Prince Salman’s expected arrival in the coming days.

The companies which are part of the delegation represent different economic sectors, including information technology, telecoms, energy, aviation, construction, mining exploration, agriculture and human resource development.

Prior to the trade delegation, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan arrived in Pakistan on a two-day visit last month in which he vowed that the kingdom would play its all-out role in the economic development of its brotherly country.

Amid Rafah evacuation order, Hamas accepts truce proposal

RAFAH: Hamas on Monday said it had accepted a proposal for a truce in the seven-month-old war in Gaza, after Israel told Palestinians in Rafah to evacuate ahead of a long-threatened invasion of the city.

The Hamas announcement brought cheering crowds onto the street amid tears of happiness, chants of “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) and celebratory shooting in the air.

There was no immediate official response from Israel, and its close ally the United States said it was “reviewing” Hamas’s response.

Hamas in a statement said that its leader Ismail Haniyeh had informed mediators Qatar and Egypt “of Hamas’s approval of their proposal regarding a ceasefire agreement”.

A senior Hamas official said Israel must now decide whether it accepts or “obstructs” a truce in the Palestinian territory after seven months of war.

“The ball is now in the court of Israeli occupation, whether it will agree to the ceasefire agreement or obstruct it,” the official told AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss the negotiations.

Earlier in the day, Israel called on Palestinians to leave eastern Rafah, amid increasing global alarm about the consequences of an Israeli ground invasion of the southern Gaza city bordering Egypt.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Anto­nio Guterres, condemned the order and said it would be “impossible to carry out safely”.

The evacuation call followed disagreement between Israel and Hamas over the Palestinian group’s demands to end the war, during weekend negotiations in Cairo.

Egyptian state-linked media said the talks stalled after a rocket attack claimed by Hamas’s armed wing killed four Israeli soldiers on Sunday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to send ground troops into Rafah regardless of any truce, defying international concerns.

‘Thousands’ leaving

Cairo’s foreign ministry warned in a statement of “grave humanitarian risks” for more than one mil­lion Gazans sheltering there and urged Israel to “exercise the utmost restraint”.

US President Joe Biden and Netanyahu spoke and Biden restated “his clear position” against an invasion of Rafah, the White House said. It also said the Israeli premier “agreed to ensure the Kerem Shalom crossing is open for humanitarian assistance for those in need”.

The two leaders spoke as Biden mounts a diplomatic offensive to get ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas back on track, with Jordan’s King Abdullah II due at the White House for lunch.

The White House said Biden also briefed the Israeli leader on talks to free Israeli prisoners held by Hamas.

The United States said it was reviewing a response from Hamas to a ceasefire proposal as it renewed calls on Israel not to attack the packed Gaza city of Rafah.

“I can confirm that Hamas has issued a response. We are reviewing that response now and discussing it with our partners in the region,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

CIA Director Bill Burns “is in the region working on this in real time”, Miller said.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk in a statement called Israel’s evacuation order on Monday “inhumane” and “contrary to the basic principles of international humanitarian and human rights laws”.

About 1.2 million people are sheltering in Rafah, the World Health Organisation says.

Gazan civil defence and aid officials said Israeli jets on Monday struck areas of Rafah, including Al Shuka and Al Salam, both of which had been told to evacuate.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said “thousands” of Gazans were leaving eastern Rafah.

‘Where can we go?’

Israel’s military in a statement urged eastern Rafah residents to head for the “expanded humanitarian area” at Al Mawasi, on the coast.

But aid groups said the Israeli-designated safe zone was not ready for such an influx.

“The area is already overstretched and devoid of vital services”, said Norwegian Refugee Council director Jan Egeland.

Asked how many people should move, an Israeli military spokesman said: “The estimate is around 100,000 people.” The Red Crescent said the designated evacuation zone hosts around 250,000 people, many of them already uprooted from elsewhere.

Palestinian man Abdul Rahman Abu Jazar, 36, said the area “does not have enough room for us to make tents” because it is already full. “Where can we go?” he asked.

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