ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that India can resort to a “false flag operation” to divert attention from Jammu and Kashmir after its diplomatic defeat at a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on Friday.
“To divert international attention, most probably India can resort to some false flag operation. We want to timely inform the international community that we have doubts on Indian intentions. We know their plans and the nation is ready for it,” he said.
In a letter to the UNSC dated August 13, Qureshi had asked for an urgent meeting on Jammu and Kashmir after India unilaterally revoked its Article 370 which had accorded a special status to the Valley. Indian-administered Kashmir has remained under lockdown, with phone and Internet services suspended since the decision on August 5.
The UNSC took up the matter when it convened a meeting on Friday.
Addressing a joint press conference with the Director General Inter-Services Public Relations, Major General Asif Ghafoor – following the UNSC’s meeting on Kashmir – he said that Pakistan’s army and the nation were ready to defend any misadventures on part of India.
Qureshi, for his part, added that the committee had decided for a special cell to be set up for Kashmir at the Foreign Office which could devise the future course of action on the matter.
Additionally, the members also agreed on the need to increase lobbying at the international level. For the purpose, specific Kashmir desks will be established at various Pakistani embassies across the world “in order to carry out effective communication on the matter.”
The purpose of the meeting was to send out a message that Pakistan was on the same page on all matters pertaining to Kashmir and India’s actions there.
“The committee on Kashmir has members from all concerned parties, including members of opposition parties,” he said.
Qureshi lauded the “historic” UNSC meeting held on Friday which saw the council members urge all parties involved to refrain from any unilateral action which could further aggravate the situation.
“We achieved a milestone yesterday, which shocked India. The Kashmir issue was raised at a platform which is responsible for resolving the dispute,” he said, adding that the committee agreed that India’s strategy revolved around the “Doval doctrine.”
“Indian PM Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and National Security Adviser Ajit Kumar Doval are the three main characters of this strategy. Modi has murdered Nehru’s Hindustan. Today, it is not Nehru’s Hindustan. It is Modi’s Hindustan,” Qureshi said.
Commending the indomitable and unbroken spirit of residents in Indian-administered Kashmir, Qureshi noted that despite the curfew, Kashmiris came out of their houses on Friday to offer special prayers. “It was a glimpse into their emotions, into what it would be like after the curfew lifts,” he said.
He said the world bodies have responded positively to Pakistan’s call to discuss the issue at hand. “The OIC and UNSC have both responded positively to Pakistan’s call for the Kashmir issue to be taken up. The OIC has called for an immediate end to the curfew in occupied Kashmir,” he said.
Throwing light on India’s move to do away with Article 370 of the constitution, Qureshi said: “Pakistan does not recognize Article 370 of the Indian constitution, it is not our concern. Our concern is with the forceful change in Kashmir’s demographic and violation of the rights of the people of Kashmir.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan army’s spokesman Maj Gen Ghafoor reiterated that the military, with the help of the entire nation, were ready to respond to any act of aggression by India. “Pakistan army is fully prepared to confront every misadventure by India. India’s provocation continues across the Line of Control [LoC].”
Responding to a question on Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh’s statement, he said that the world needs to take note of the irresponsible comments made by him.
“Pakistan is a responsible state, but India has always threatened us. Responsible states do not make statements like Rajnath Singh,” he said, adding that Pakistan was sending more forces to the LoC. “We are planning how to manage the threats from India,” he said.
He added that Indian soldiers have been deployed at every nook and corner of the Valley, even as the world keenly observes human rights abuses by the troops.
“At the present stage, the biggest issue in Jammu and Kashmir is about human rights’ violations. The entire region has been turned into a prison,” Maj Gen Ghafoor said, urging the international community to make more efforts for the resolution of the dispute which he termed as “a nuclear flashpoint” between Pakistan and India.
Talking to the media separately, he made it clear that Pakistan would not take any action which may lead to the international opinion changing against Islamabad.
“With the number of Indian troops present in the Kashmir region at the moment, even if a single person enters there [without them knowing] it would be a huge failure on India’s part,” he said.
Former Pakistani Ambassador to India, Abdul Basit seconded the Foreign Minister’s false flag operation claim by saying that there is a possibility of a staged terrorist attack by India to divert attention from Jammu and Kashmir, especially with an increase in international pressure.
“It is possible that India can stage a Pulwama or Pathankot-type attack. I think it can be outside Jammu and Kashmir especially in Indian Punjab side to damage Kartarpur corridor as well,” he told Arab News.
He said any direct attack on Pakistan by India would be a huge mistake. “They (India) might have worked out their strategies but when the situation in IOK is so much tense and deteriorating, it would not be wise to open another front. The actual situation will be cleared after lifting of curfew but I don’t see direct conflict anytime soon.”
Commenting on Pakistan’s future course of action, he said that Pakistan should arrange for an OIC foreign ministers’ summit in Islamabad as quickly as possible. “Along with arranging the summit, Pakistan should also hold a big convention of Kashmiri diaspora in London or somewhere which can come up with some resolution. Pakistan should also deploy a special envoy on Kashmir,” Basit said.
India can conduct “false” operations after defeat at UN, Pakistan’s FM says
India can conduct “false” operations after defeat at UN, Pakistan’s FM says
- Qureshi says Islamabad will intensify lobbying to highlight situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
- Pakistan will send more troops to LoC to manage threats from India, army spokesperson says
Fire erupts at Karachi garment factory, no loss of live reported
- The biggest Pakistani city, known for poor fire safety protocols, witnesses hundreds of such incidents annually
- In November last year, a blaze at a shopping mall in Karachi killed around a dozen people and injured several others
KARACHI: A broke out at a garment factory in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi on Saturday, rescue officials said.
The blaze erupted on the ground floor of the garment factory in Zarina Colony in the New Karachi area, according to Rescue 1122 service.
“One fire truck is actively participating in the operation,” a Rescue 1122 spokesperson said, adding that another fire tender has been called to the site.
No loss of life has been reported in the wake of the fire.
Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and the main commercial hub, is home to hundreds of thousands of industrial units and some of the tallest buildings in the South Asian country.
The megapolis, known for its fragile firefighting system and poor safety controls, witnesses hundreds of such incidents annually.
In Nov., a blaze at a shopping mall killed around a dozen people and injured several others. In April last year, four firefighters died and nearly a dozen others were injured after a fire broke out at a garment factory, while 10 people were killed in a massive fire at a chemical factory in the city in August 2021.
In the deadliest such incident, 260 people were killed in 2012 after being trapped inside a garment factory when a fire broke out.
Canada arrests three Indians over killing of Sikh activist
- The murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar plunged Canada, India into a serious diplomatic crisis last fall
- Nijjar, who immigrated to Canada in 1997, advocated for a separate Sikh state, known as Khalistan
VANCOUVER: Canadian police on Friday arrested three men over the killing last year in Vancouver of a Sikh separatist, whose death has been linked to the Indian government.
The murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar plunged Canada and India into a serious diplomatic crisis last fall after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested Indian government involvement in the homicide.
India dismissed the allegations as “absurd” and responded furiously, briefly curbing visas for Canadians and forcing Ottawa to withdraw diplomats.
Three Indian nationals, two aged 22 and one aged 28, were arrested Friday and charged with first degree murder and conspiracy charges. They are accused of being the shooter, driver and lookout on the day Nijjar was killed.
They were arrested by police in Edmonton, in the neighboring province of Alberta, where they reside, and are being held pending further proceedings.
All had been in Canada for between three and five years, police said at a news conference.
“This investigation does not end here. We are aware that others may have played a role in this homicide,” said Mandeep Mooker of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s homicide investigations team.
Nijjar — who immigrated to Canada in 1997 and became a citizen in 2015 — advocated for a separate Sikh state, known as Khalistan, carved out of India.
He was wanted by Indian authorities for alleged terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder.
On June 18, 2023, he was shot dead by masked assailants in the parking lot of the Sikh temple he led in suburban Vancouver.
Trudeau announced several months later that Canada had “credible allegations” linking Indian intelligence to the killing and expelled an Indian official, spurring the diplomatic tit-for-tat with New Delhi.
Mooker said Canadian police are still investigating the ties of the suspects, “if any, to the Indian government.”
“It is a bit of a sigh of relief that the investigation is moving forward,” Moninder Singh, a close friend of Nijjar, told AFP.
“It is ultimately India who is responsible and hiring individuals to assassinate Sikh leaders in foreign countries,” said Singh, spokesperson for the British Columbia Council of Gurdwaras.
In November, the US Justice Department charged an Indian citizen living in the Czech Republic with allegedly plotting a similar assassination attempt on American soil.
Prosecutors said in unsealed court documents that an Indian government official was also involved in the planning.
The shock allegations came after US President Joe Biden hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a rare state visit, as Washington seeks closer ties with India against China’s growing influence.
US intelligence agencies have assessed that the plot on American soil was approved by India’s top spy official at the time, Samant Goel, The Washington Post reported this week.
Canada is home to some 770,000 Sikhs, who make up about two percent of the country’s population, with a vocal minority calling for an independent state of Khalistan.
Saleem Haider Khan, Faisal Kundi named governors of Pakistan’s Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces
- Nominations come as part of power-sharing deal between PM Sharif’s party and ex-FM Bhutto-Zardari-led faction
- According to the deal, the PPP backed Sharif for the prime minister’s office in return for constitutional positions
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), a coalition partner in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government, has nominated Saleem Haider Khan and Faisal Karim Kundi as governors of Pakistan’s eastern Punjab and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, the PPP chairman announced on Friday.
The PPP forged an alliance with PM Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party after Pakistan’s national election on February 8 failed to present a clear winner.
According to the power-sharing deal, the PPP backed Sharif for the prime minister’s office in return for the presidency, chairman of Senate and other important constitutional positions.
In a post on X, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari congratulated Khan and Kundi, and extended his good wishes to them
“I am confident they [Khan and Kundi] will perform their duties with the dignity their new office demands,” he said on X.
In Pakistan, a governor is a representative of the state to a province, who is appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister.
Such positions may seem ceremonial and symbolic, but they do hold significant constitutional importance.
At present, PML-N’s Balighur Rehman has been serving as the Punjab governor, while JUI-F’s Hajji Ghulam Ali holds the post in KP.
Bhutto-Zardari also called on PM Sharif in Islamabad, following the nominations, Pakistani state media reported.
“During the meeting, views were exchanged on overall political situation in the country and matters of national interest,” the Radio Pakistan broadcaster said.
Pakistan Cricket Board confirms details of national side’s South Africa tour
- The side will depart for Durban on December 2 after returning from Australia in Nov.
- The ODIs will be played from December 17-22 in Paarl, Cape Town, and Johannesburg
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday announced details of the Pakistan men’s cricket team’s tour of South Africa for three Twenty20, three one-day international and two Test matches in the second half of 2024.
Durban, Centurion, and Johannesburg will host the T20Is from December 10-14, according to the PCB. The ODIs will be played from December 17-22 in Paarl, Cape Town, and Johannesburg, while the two ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 matches will be held at Centurion (December 26-30) and Cape Town (January 3-7).
The side will depart for Durban on December 2 after returning from Australia on November 19, having featured in a series of three ODIs and three T20Is from November 4-18. After completing their African safari on January 8, Pakistan will take on New Zealand and South Africa in a three-nation ODI tournament on home turf, which will be followed by the eight-team ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan.
“Prior to the tours of Australia and South Africa, Pakistan will host Bangladesh and England for two and three Tests, respectively,” the PCB said in a statement. “This means they will play seven Tests, minimum of 10 ODIs, and six T20Is in the six-month period from August 2024 to January 2025.”
This will be Pakistan’s seventh Test tour of South Africa since 1994-95. Their two Test wins were in the 1997-98 and 2006-2007 series.
In the Durban Test in 1997-98, Pakistan won by 29 runs at the back of centuries from Azhar Mahmood (132) and Saeed Anwar (118), match figures of nine for 149 by Mushtaq Ahmed and a first innings five-fer by Shoaib Akhtar. In the 2006-2007 Port Elizabeth Test, Pakistan won by five wickets with Inzamam-ul-Haq being named as Player of the Match for his 92 in the first innings.
In ODIs, Pakistan has won two of the last three series in 2013-2014 and 2020-21, while South Africa triumphed in 2002-2003 (4-1), 2006-2007 (3-1), 2012-2013 (3-2), and 2018-2019 (3-2).
In 12 T20Is to date, Pakistan leads 6-5 in head-to-head encounters, with one match ending in no-result.
Tour schedule:
10 Dec – 1st T20I, Durban
13 Dec – 2nd T20I, Centurion
14 Dec – 3rd T20I, Johannesburg
17 Dec – 1st ODI, Paarl
19 Dec – 2nd ODI, Cape Town
22 Dec – 3rd ODI, Johannesburg
26-30 Dec – 1st Test, Centurion
3-7 Jan – 2nd Test, Cape Town
Pakistani brothers inspire new volunteers after rescuing over 200 in UAE floods
- Affan and Suleiman Tanvir pulled families to safety during the cloudburst and provided them with food
- Their team has been rescuing tourists, adventure-seekers stranded in the desert over the past four years
ISLAMABAD: Since their move to the United Arab Emirates in 2008, Pakistani brothers Affan and Suleiman Tanvir have passionately devoted themselves to rescuing stranded travelers in different parts of the desert. But last month, their mission took an unexpected turn when the region experienced its heaviest rainfall in 75 years.
The brothers were suddenly thrust into a critical role, rescuing hundreds from waterlogged roads and submerged vehicles, as unprecedented floods transformed the streets into rivers. Alongside their team, they not only provided food and water but also pulled numerous cars to safety, navigating the chaotic aftermath of the storm in Dubai.
“We are proud of our work and glad to be recognized by the people for our rescue mission,” Affan told Arab News on Friday from Dubai over the phone. “We are honored and delighted to help people stranded on the roads during the torrential rains.”
Affan and his team rescued over 200 people and pulled out some 80 vehicles, including cars and minivans, during the rescue operation in Dubai and Sharjah that started in the morning on April 16 and continued for about two days.
Besides his brother Suleiman, the three other members of his rescue team included Alay Zaidi, Shahid Ibrahim Gul and Muhammad Owais.
Currently settled in Al-Hoshi in Sharjah, Affan brothers were born in Saudi Arabia while their parents belong to Karachi, Pakistan. In the UAE, they have set up a company for import and export of steel and transport.
The two brothers and their team were mentioned by several media houses for their heroic work, and the Pakistani consulate in Dubai acknowledged them by awarding certificates of appreciation.
“This rescue mission was not a new thing for us as we have been helping people stranded in the deserts for the last four years,” Affan said while narrating their extensive experience of saving people stuck in the desert terrain.
Affan said that they would receive frequent calls from adventure-seekers stuck in Ras Al-Khaimah desert for the rescue and relief as this was some 50-minute drive from their residence.
“We have a purpose-built vehicle along with all the accessories to pull out stuck cars, change their tires or toe them to main roads,” he said, adding that they had linked themselves to a local app, Rescue UAE, for people in need to get in touch with them.
“We use walkie-talkie to speak with the stranded people as there are no mobile phone signals in the desert,” he said, adding that they sometimes receive two or three rescue requests in a day from people stuck in the desert, especially during the winter season.
Talking about his team, he said that he started the rescue and relief work in 2020 along with his brother, but gradually his team started to grow with more people joining them.
“We are a 15-member team now and more people are joining us after getting inspired by our recent rescue work during the rains,” he added.
His team member Alay Zaidi told that two of their team members got shards in their feet during the rescue work, but they continued their mission to alleviate the sufferings of the families stuck on the roads along with children and women.
“It is a passion for us to help people in need, and we will continue doing our work with the same zeal and zest,” he continued. “We have received appreciation from the UAE people and officials for our work, and this is nothing less than a medal for us.”
