Pakistan has denounced the US State Department for its “biassed and arbitrary assessment” and labelled it as “a Country of Particular Concern.” “We categorically reject Pakistan’s designation as ‘a Country of Particular Concern’ by the US State Department,” a Foreign Office (FO) spokeswoman declared. We are shocked to learn that the classification is based on an assessment that is arbitrary and biassed and is not grounded in the actual world. She went on to say that Pakistan is a diversified nation with a long history of religious peace. “Pakistan has implemented extensive measures to safeguard minority rights and advance religious freedom in accordance with its Constitution.” “We note with deep concern that India, the biggest and serial violator of religious freedom, has once again been excluded from the US State Department’s designation list,” Baloch stated, voicing objections to the list.
Despite low voter turnout and a boycott by the main opposition, Bangladesh’s prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, emerged victorious in the general election on Monday, securing an absolute majority and a fourth consecutive term, as many had projected. The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which did not cast a ballot in 2014 but did so in 2018, chose not to participate in the general election in protest of Hasina’s unwillingness to resign and allow an impartial body to monitor it. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the prime minister of Bangladesh since 1996, is the father of Hasina, who is 76 years old. She has garnered international attention for providing refuge to Rohingya Muslims who are escaping persecution in Myanmar, and she has been credited with revitalising the economy and the clothing sector.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) announced that, due to a lack of security assurances, it was forced to postpone a mission to deliver medical supplies to northern Gaza on Sunday. Since December 26, WHO said, it had been forced to postpone four times a scheduled expedition to deliver critically needed medical supplies to Al-Awda Hospital and the primary pharmacy in northern Gaza. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of WHO, expressed his dismay at the extent of the devastation and health needs in northern Gaza. “Further delays will lead to more death and suffering for far too many people,” he wrote in a post on X. As part of a diplomatic drive, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken continued his meetings with Arab leaders on Monday.
By Abdul Hameed Lone Antonio Gutters Dear Sir Jammu and Kashmir is a UN-recongized disputed territory. The people of Jammu and...
The military in Gaza reported deadly midnight strikes on Friday. Israel’s minister of defence has now made plans for the post-war administration of Gaza public for the first time. The plan for the “day after” that Defence Minister Yoav Gallant presented with the media late on Thursday has not yet been approved by Israel’s war cabinet. It states that future Jewish settlements in Gaza will be rejected and that neither Israel nor the Palestinians will rule the territory. The general framework of the minister’s plan was revealed the night before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s fourth visit to the area following the October 7 bombing that started the war. Many people are concerned about what will happen to the besieged Palestinian area in the future, especially as calls for a ceasefire after over three months of brutal fighting have increased.
According to Anadolu, the US has deemed it futile for South Africa to file a genocide lawsuit against Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), claiming that no acts of “genocide” have been witnessed. According to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, “We don’t think it’s productive,” he told reporters. Miller stated, “Genocide is, of course, a heinous atrocity, one of the most heinous atrocities that any individual can commit,” emphasising that such claims “should not made lightly”. Miller however note that the US is “not seeing any acts that constitute genocide.” When asked if it believed that any war crimes had been committed, Miller responded, “We continue to collect information and gather it as we always do, but I don’t have an assessment to offer.”
After killing Hamas deputy head Saleh Al Arouri in Lebanon with a drone strike, Israel’s spy director pledged on Wednesday to hold the terrorist organisation accountable for its attacks against Israel. According to David Barnea, the Mossad espionage organisation “is committed to settling the score with the murderers who descended upon the Gaza envelope on October 7″ and with Hamas. “It will take time, just like after the Munich [incident], but we will lay our hands on them wherever they will be.” Barnea gave a speech during the funeral of Zvi Zamir, the former head of Mossad who directed Israel’s reprisals against Palestinian militant organisations following the massacre on Israeli Olympic athletes in Munich in 1972.
A special military aircraft from Pakistan arrived at El-Arish International Airport in Egypt with 20 tonnes of much needed medical and humanitarian supplies for the people of Gaza. The aid was sent to the Egyptian Red Crescent Society by representatives of the Pakistani embassy in Egypt, who then arranged for its transfer to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in Gaza. Thus far, Pakistan has sent over 200 tonnes of medical and humanitarian aid to the Gaza population. An Israeli government official has announced that Israel will go before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague to refute South Africa’s allegations of genocide related to the fighting with Hamas in Gaza.
Pakistan and India, who have been bitter adversaries since their independence in 1947, renewed their years-long agreement on Monday by exchanging lists of prisoners as well as nuclear plants and infrastructure. Following their separation from the British, the two countries exchange prisoner lists on January 1st and July 1st of every year. They also communicate information about nuclear plants and facilities on the first day of the calendar year. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a statement that, among other things, the Agreement on Prohibition of Attacks against Nuclear Installations and Facilities between Pakistan and India stipulates that both nations must notify one another of any nuclear installations and facilities that fall under its purview.
With no sign of an end in sight to the worst Israeli assault on Gaza, Palestinians mark the end of a difficult year on Sunday. To the dismay of the Palestinians who are still alive, Israel has not stopped its airstrikes, artillery fire, or ground combat with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. “We were hoping that 2024 would arrive under better auspices and that we would be able to celebrate the new year at home with our families,” Mahmoud Abou Shahma stated in a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah, near the border with Egypt. The 33-year-old from Khan Yunis stated, “We hope that the war will end and that we will be able to return to our homes and live in peace.”
