WASHINGTON: The United States is conducting a military aid mission to flood-devastated Pakistan, the US armed forces’ Central Command said Friday.
“CENTCOM is sending an assessment team to Islamabad to determine what potential support DoD (the US Department of Defense) can provide... as part of the United States’ assistance to the flooding crisis in Pakistan,” spokesman Col. Joe Buccino said in a statement.
The decision followed a telephone conversation Thursday between CENTCOM commander General Erik Kurilla and Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the spokesman said.
The United States is the top arms supplier to Pakistan’s military, but relations between the two countries are often rocky.
The 2011 killing in northern Pakistan by US forces of top terror suspect Osama bin Laden — who had taken refuge near a military complex — caused deep rifts between Islamabad and Washington.
But since the American withdrawal from Afghanistan one year ago, the United States has sought to strengthen ties.
Monsoon rains have submerged a third of Pakistan, claiming over 1,200 lives since June and unleashing powerful floods that have washed away swathes of vital crops and damaged or destroyed more than a million homes.
Authorities have blamed climate change, which is increasing the frequency and strength of extreme weather events.
US military says preparing aid to flood-ravaged Pakistan
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US military says preparing aid to flood-ravaged Pakistan
- Decision followed a telephone conversation between CENTCOM commander and Pakistan’s army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa
- CENTCOM is sending an assessment team to Islamabad to determine what potential support Department of Defense can provide
Pakistan Navy seizes $3 million of narcotics in Arabian Sea under regional security patrol
- Official statement says the haul was made during an anti-narcotics operation conducted by PNS Yamama
- Seizure comes after a record haul of nearly $972 million was reported in the North Arabian Sea in October
KARACHI: Pakistan Navy said on Sunday a patrol vessel operating in the Arabian Sea had seized 1,500 kg of narcotics, the latest interdiction under a regional maritime security deployment aimed at curbing illicit activity along key shipping routes.
The operation took place under the Regional Maritime Security Patrol (RMSP), a Pakistan-led initiative that deploys naval assets across the Arabian Sea and adjoining waters to deter smuggling, piracy and other non-traditional security threats.
The framework combines independent patrols with coordination involving regional and international partners.
“Pakistan Navy Ship Yamama, while deployed on Regional Maritime Security Patrol in the Arabian Sea, successfully conducted an anti-narcotics operation, leading to the seizure of 1,500 kilograms of hashish valued at approximately 3 million US dollars,” the Navy said.
The interdiction, it added, underscored the force’s “unwavering commitment to combating illicit activities and ensuring security in the maritime domain.”
Pakistan Navy said it routinely undertakes RMSP missions to safeguard national maritime interests through “robust vigilance and effective presence at sea,” and continues to play a proactive role in collaborative maritime-security efforts with other regional navies.
The seizure comes amid heightened counter-narcotics activity at sea.
In October, a Pakistani vessel seized a haul worth nearly $972 million in what authorities described as one of the largest drug seizures ever reported in the North Arabian Sea.
Last month, Pakistan Navy units operating under a Saudi Arabia-led multinational task force seized about 2,000 kg of methamphetamine, valued at roughly $130 million, highlighting the role of regional cooperation in disrupting trafficking networks.
