ISLAMABAD: Pakistan conducted strikes inside Iran on Thursday, targeting separatist Baloch militants, its foreign ministry said, two days after Tehran said it had attacked the bases of another group within Pakistani territory.
The neighbors have had rocky relations in the past, but the strikes are the highest-profile cross-border intrusion in recent years, for which Tehran has demanded an explanation, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said.
The Iran-Pakistan exchange deepens worries about instability across the Middle East since the war between Israel and Hamas started on Oct. 7, with Iran’s allies also entering the fray from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-haq Kakar will cut short a visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos and return home, a foreign ministry spokesperson said.
Earlier, Iranian media said several missiles hit a village in the Sistan-Baluchestan province that borders Pakistan, killing three women and four children, all non-Iranians.
“A number of terrorists were killed during the intelligence-based operation,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry said, describing it as a “series of highly coordinated and specifically targeted precision military strikes against terrorist hideouts.”
“Pakistan fully respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the ministry added in its statement.
“The sole objective of today’s act was in pursuit of Pakistan’s own security and national interest, which is paramount and cannot be compromised.”
Tehran has asked Islamabad for an explanation about the strikes, Iran’s Tasnim news agency said, citing an unidentified official. Pakistan’s charge’d affaires, its most senior diplomat in Tehran, has been summoned, Iranian media said.
A Pakistani intelligence source told Reuters the strikes were carried out by military aircraft.
“Our forces have conducted strikes to target Baloch militants inside Iran,” said the official in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital.
“The targeted militants belong to BLF,” he added, referring to the Baloch Liberation Front, which seeks independence for Pakistan’s Balochistan province.
Iran said on Tuesday it had hit Israel-linked militant bases inside Pakistan. Both targeted groups are ethnically Baloch, but it was not clear if they co-operate.
Nuclear-armed Pakistan said civilians had been hit and two children killed, warning of consequences for which Tehran would be responsible.
Islamabad recalled its ambassador from Iran on Wednesday in protest against what it called a “blatant breach” of its sovereignty.
Escalation fears
Iran had been flexing its muscles in the region, even before its cross-border incursion into Pakistan.
It launched strikes on Syria against what Tehran said were Islamic State sites and Iraq, where it said it had struck an Israeli espionage center. Baghdad recalled its ambassador from Tehran.
The neighbors had appeared to be improving ties, with Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and Pakistan’s Kakar meeting at Davos this week, before the Iranian strikes on Pakistan.
Pakistan’s comments after its retaliatory strikes signal a desire to keep the row contained, but analysts warned it could get out of hand.
“Iran’s motivation for attacking Pakistan remains opaque but in light of broader Iranian behavior in the region it can escalate,” Asfandyr Mir, a senior expert on South Asia security at the US Institute of Peace, told Reuters.
“What will cause anxiety in Tehran is that Pakistan has crossed a line by hitting inside Iranian territory, a threshold that even the US and Israel have been careful to not breach.”
Khwaja Asif, Pakistan’s defense minister until August, said the action was retaliatory.
“A measured response has been given and it was important,” he told Geo TV. “There should be ongoing efforts on the side that this doesn’t escalate.”
Both targeted militant groups operate in an area that includes Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan and Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province. Both are restive, mineral-rich and largely underdeveloped.
The BLF, which Islamabad targeted inside Iran, is waging an armed insurgency against the Pakistani state.
This includes hitting Chinese citizens and investments in Balochistan, which is Pakistan’s largest province by land mass, but its least populated and developed. Large portions are lawless.
The Jaish al Adl (JAA), which Iran targeted, is also an ethnic militant group, but with Sunni Islamist leanings that primarily Shiite Iran sees as a threat.
The group has carried out attacks in Iran against its powerful Revolutionary Guard Corps.
In its previous incarnation as Jundallah, the group had pledged allegiance to Iraq- and Syria-based jihadist group Daesh.
Pakistan hits 'terrorist hideouts' in airstrike on Iran
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Pakistan hits 'terrorist hideouts' in airstrike on Iran
Pakistani authorities arrest suspected human smuggler linked to last year’s Greece boat tragedy
- FIA says it found evidence of human smuggling from the suspect's mobile phone after arrest
- Abdul Salam allegedly extorted Rs4.5 million from a victim who drowned in the boat tragedy
KARACHI: Pakistani authorities on Saturday announced the arrest of a suspected human smuggler from Azad Kashmir, accusing him of involvement in last year’s Greece boat tragedy that killed five nationals and charging him with sending one victim abroad after taking Rs4.5 million ($16,200).
The incident occurred in December when a wooden vessel carrying migrants, which departed from Libya, sank off the southern Greek island of Gavdos. The government has intensified its crackdown on human smugglers in recent months, leading to several arrests.
The latest detention comes just days after another boat capsized off Morocco’s coast, where over 40 Pakistanis are feared to have drowned.
“The smuggler involved in the Greece boat tragedy has been arrested,” the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said in a statement. “The accused, Abdul Salam, was apprehended during a raid in Bhimber, Azad Kashmir.”
“He was part of a gang involved in human trafficking and extorted Rs4.5 million from victim Ahsan Ali for facilitating his travel to Europe,” it added.
The FIA said the suspect and his associates had kept the victim in safe houses in Libya before coercing him to board the ill-fated boat to Greece. Ali, who hailed from Jalalpur Jattan, died in the shipwreck.
The FIA informed that evidence related to human smuggling was recovered from the suspect’s mobile phone, and investigations were ongoing to track down his accomplices.
“We are using all resources to ensure the arrest of those involved in these tragic incidents,” said Abdul Qadir Qamar, Director of FIA’s Gujranwala Zone. “Raids are being conducted to apprehend the remaining suspects.”
The FIA reiterated its commitment to bringing human smugglers to justice.
“No one will be allowed to play with the lives of innocent people,” the statement said. “Those responsible will face severe punishments based on solid evidence.”
Netanyahu says Israel will not proceed with Gaza ceasefire until it gets hostage list
- Israel reserves right to resume war with American support, warns Netanyahu
- Statement comes days after US, other states broker hostage and ceasefire deal
JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that Israel reserves the right to resume fighting in Gaza with US support, as he pledged to bring home all hostages held in the Palestinian territory.
“We reserve the right to resume the war if necessary, with American support,” Netanyahu said in a televised statement, a day before a ceasefire is set to take effect.
“We are thinking of all our hostages ... I promise you that we will achieve all our objectives and bring back all the hostages.
“With this agreement, we will bring back 33 of our brothers and sisters, the majority (of them) alive,” he said.
He said the 42-day first phase, which starts on Sunday, was a “temporary ceasefire.”
“If we are forced to resume the war, we will do so with force,” Netanyahu said, adding that Israel had “changed the face of the Middle East” since the war began.
South Korea’s impeached president is arrested over a martial law declaration as his supporters riot
- The crisis began when Yoon, in an attempt to break through legislative gridlock, imposed military rule and sent troops to the National Assembly and election offices
- After managing to get through a blockade, lawmakers voted to lift the measure. The opposition-dominated assembly then voted to impeach Yoon on Dec. 14
SEOUL,: South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol was formally arrested early on Sunday, days after being apprehended at his presidential compound in Seoul. He faces possible imprisonment over his ill-fated declaration of martial law last month.
Yoon’s arrest could mark the beginning of an extended period in custody, lasting months or more.
The decision to arrest Yoon triggered unrest at the Seoul Western District Court, where dozens of his supporters broke in and rioted, destroying the main door and windows. They used plastic chairs, metal beams and police shields that they managed to wrestle away from officers. Some were seen throwing objects and using fire extinguishers, destroying furniture and glass doors. They shouted demands to see the judge who had issued the warrant, but she had already left.
Hundreds of police officers were deployed and nearly 90 protesters were arrested. Some injured police officers were seen being treated at ambulance vans. The court said it was trying to confirm whether any staff members were injured and assess the damage to its facilities.
A court deliberated for 8 hours
Following eight hours of deliberation, the court granted law enforcement’s request for an arrest warrant for Yoon, saying he was a threat to destroy evidence. Yoon and his lawyers on Saturday appeared before the court and argued for his release.
Yoon, who has been in detention since he was apprehended Wednesday in a massive law enforcement operation at his residential compound, faces potential rebellion charges linked to his declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, which set off the country’s most serious political crisis since its democratization in the late 1980s.
The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, which is leading a joint investigation with police and the military, can now extend Yoon’s detention to 20 days, during which they will transfer the case to public prosecutors for indictment.
Yoon’s lawyers could also file a petition to challenge the court’s arrest warrant.
Yoon’s appearance in court triggered chaotic scenes in nearby streets, where thousands of his fervent supporters rallied for hours calling for his release. Even before the court issued the warrant for Yoon’s arrest, protesters repeatedly clashed with police who detained dozens of them, including about 20 who climbed over a fence in an attempt to approach the court. At least two vehicles carrying anti-corruption investigators were damaged as they left the court after arguing for Yoon’s arrest.
Yoon’s lawyers said he spoke for about 40 minutes to the judge during the nearly five-hour closed-door hearing Saturday. His legal team and anti-corruption agencies presented opposing arguments about whether he should be held in custody.
Yoon’s defense minister, police chief and several top military commanders have already been arrested and indicted for their roles in the enforcement of martial law.
Yoon’s lawyer decries his arrest
The crisis began when Yoon, in an attempt to break through legislative gridlock, imposed military rule and sent troops to the National Assembly and election offices. The standoff lasted only hours after lawmakers who managed to get through a blockade voted to lift the measure. The opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on Dec. 14.
His political fate now lies with the Constitutional Court, which is deliberating whether to formally remove him from office or reinstate him.
Seok Dong-hyeon, one of Yoon’s lawyers, called the court’s decision to issue the warrant “the epitome of anti-constitutionalism and anti-rule of law,” maintaining Yoon’s claim that his martial law decree was a legitimate act of governance. He pointed to the chaos at the Seoul Western Court and said Yoon’s arrest would inspire more anger from his supporters.
Yoon’s People Power Party regretted his arrest but also pleaded for his supporters to refrain from further violence.
The liberal opposition Democratic Party, which drove the legislative effort to impeach Yoon on Dec. 14, said his arrest would be a “cornerstone for restoring the collapsed constitutional order.” Kim Sung-hoi, a party lawmaker and spokesperson, called for stern punishment of Yoon’s supporters who stormed the court.
“I urge police to firmly enforce the law so that forces supporting rebellion will never even think of causing turmoil again,” he said.
The country’s acting leader, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, expressed “strong regret” about the violence at the court, saying it “directly undermines democracy and the rule of law.” He asked for heightened security at the sites related to Yoon’s case and measures to ensure order during protests.
Yoon was transported to the court from a detention center in Uiwang, near Seoul, in a blue Justice Ministry van escorted by police and the presidential security service, to attend the hearing at the court ahead of its warrant decision.
The motorcade entered the court’s basement parking space as thousands of Yoon’s supporters gathered in nearby streets amid a heavy police presence. Following the hearing, Yoon was transported back to the detention center, where he awaited the decision. He did not speak to reporters.
After its investigators were attacked by protesters later on Saturday, the anti-corruption agency asked media companies to obscure the faces of its members attending the hearing.
Yoon insists his martial law decree was legitimate
Yoon and his lawyers have claimed that the martial law declaration was intended as a temporary and “peaceful” warning to the liberal opposition, which he accuses of obstructing his agenda with its legislative majority. Yoon says the troops sent to the National Election Commission offices were to investigate election fraud allegations, which remains unsubstantiated in South Korea.
Yoon has stressed he had no intention of stopping the functioning of the legislature. He stated that the troops were sent there to maintain order, not prevent lawmakers from entering and voting to lift martial law. He denied allegations that he ordered the arrests of key politicians and election officials.
Military commanders, however, have described a deliberate attempt to seize the legislature that was thwarted by hundreds of civilians and legislative staff who helped lawmakers enter the assembly, and by the troops’ reluctance or refusal to follow Yoon’s orders.
If prosecutors indict Yoon on rebellion and abuse of power charges, which are the allegations now being examined by investigators, they could keep him in custody for up to six months before trial.
If the first court convicts him and issues a prison term, Yoon would serve that sentence as the case possibly moves up to the Seoul High Court and Supreme Court. Under South Korean law, orchestrating a rebellion is punishable by life imprisonment or the death penalty.
Nigerian gasoline tanker explosion kills at least 70 people
- Authorities said the blast happened after individuals attempted to transfer gasoline from one tanker into another truck using a generator
ABUJA, Nigeria: At least 70 people have died in north-central Nigeria after a gasoline tanker exploded, the country’s emergency response agency said.
The blast happened in the early hours of Saturday near the Suleja area of Niger state after individuals attempted to transfer gasoline from one tanker into another truck using a generator.
The fuel transfer sparked the explosion, resulting in the deaths of those transferring the gasoline and bystanders, Hussaini Isah, of the National Emergency Management Agency, told the Associated Press.
Search and rescue operations were underway, Isah said.
With the absence of an efficient railway system to transport cargo, fatal truck accidents are common along most of the major roads in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country.
In September, an explosion killed at least 48 people in Niger state after gasoline tanker collided with another truck conveying cattle.
There were 1,531 gasoline tanker crashes in 2020 resulting in 535 fatalities and 1,142 injuries, according to Nigeria’s Federal Road Safety Corps.
Israeli forces start withdrawing from areas in Gaza ahead of ceasefire, say pro-Hamas media
- Gaza ceasefire and release of hostages set to begin with 3 females on Sunday afternoon
- Hamas hostages to be released in return for 30 Palestinian prisoners each
JERUSALEM/CAIRO: Israeli forces started withdrawing from areas in Gaza’s Rafah to the Philadelphi corridor along the border between Egypt and Gaza ahead of the start of the ceasefire agreement, pro-Hamas media reported early on Sunday.
A ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas is set to come into effect on Sunday morning with a hostage release to follow hours later, opening the way to a possible end to a 15-month war that has upended the Middle East.
The agreement followed months of on-off negotiations brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, and came just ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump.
The three-stage ceasefire will come into effect at 0630 GMT on Sunday.
Its first stage will last six weeks, during which 33 of the remaining 98 hostages — women, children, men over 50, the ill and wounded — will be released in return for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
They include 737 male, female and teen-aged prisoners, some of whom are members of militant groups convicted of attacks that killed dozens of Israelis, as well as hundreds of Palestinians from Gaza in detention since the start of the war.
Three female hostages are expected to be released on Sunday afternoon through the Red Cross, in return for 30 prisoners each.
After Sunday’s hostage release, lead US negotiator Brett McGurk said, the accord calls for four more female hostages to be freed after seven days, followed by the release of three further hostages every seven days thereafter.
During the first phase the Israeli army will pull back from some of its positions in Gaza and Palestinians displaced from areas in northern Gaza will be allowed to return.
US President Joe Biden’s team worked closely with Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to push the deal over the line.
As his inauguration approached, Trump had repeated his demand that a deal be done swiftly, warning repeatedly that there would be “hell to pay” if the hostages were not released.
Post-war Gaza?
But what will come next in Gaza remains unclear in the absence of a comprehensive agreement on the postwar future of the enclave, which will require billions of dollars and years of work to rebuild.
And although the stated aim of the ceasefire is to end the war entirely, it could easily unravel.
Hamas, which has controlled Gaza for almost two decades, has survived despite losing its top leadership and thousands of fighters.
Israel has vowed it will not allow Hamas to return to power and has cleared large stretches of ground inside Gaza, in a step widely seen as a move toward creating a buffer zone that will allow its troops to act freely against threats in the enclave.
In Israel, the return of the hostages may ease some of the public anger against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing government over the Oct. 7 security failure that led to the deadliest single day in the country’s history.
But hard-liners in his government have already threatened to quit if war on Hamas is not resumed, leaving him pressed between Washington’s desire to see the war end, and his far-right political allies at home.
And if war resumes, dozens of hostages could be left behind in Gaza.
Mideast shockwaves
Outside Gaza, the war sent shockwaves across the region, triggering a war with the Tehran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah movement and bringing Israel into direct conflict with its arch-foe Iran for the first time.
More than a year later, the Middle East has been transformed. Iran, which spent billions building up a network of militant groups around Israel, has seen its “Axis of Resistance” wrecked and was unable to inflict more than minimal damage on Israel in two major missile attacks.
Hezbollah, whose huge missile arsenal was once seen as the biggest threat to Israel, has been humbled, with its top leadership killed and most of its missiles and military infrastructure destroyed.
In the aftermath, the decades-long Assad regime in Syria was overturned, removing another major Iranian ally and leaving Israel’s military effectively unchallenged in the region.
But on the diplomatic front, Israel has faced outrage and isolation over the death and devastation in Gaza.
Netanyahu faces an International Criminal Court arrest warrant on war crimes allegations and separate accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice.
Israel has reacted with fury to both cases, rejecting the charges as politically motivated and accusing South Africa, which brought the original ICJ case as well as the countries that have joined it, of antisemitism.
The war was triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. More than 400 Israeli soldiers have been killed in combat in Gaza since.
Israel’s 15-month campaign in Gaza has killed nearly 47,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health ministry figures, which do not distinguish between fighters and civilians, and left the narrow coastal enclave a wasteland of rubble.
Health officials say most of the dead are civilians. Israel says more than a third are fighters.
