ISLAMABAD: Authorities have doused forest fires that had erupted on three different locations on Margalla Hills in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, an Islamabad district administration official said on Saturday.
The fires erupted on Friday at two different spots close to the famed Faisal Mosque and the Naval headquarters, as well as near a village within the limits of the neighboring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to authorities.
Several firefighters and army helicopters participated in the hours-long operation to put out the raging flames, according to a spokesperson of the Islamabad district administration.
“The fire on Margalla Hills is controlled and extinguished after hours-long struggle,” Nasir Butt, the Islamabad district administration spokesperson, told Arab News on Saturday, without detailing the cause of the fire.
The Margalla range, part of the Himalayan foothills, has experienced bush fires relatively often in the summer months. There have also been multiple fires during this month, largely attributed to the extreme heat wave affecting the region.
Bush fires erupted at 15 different locations on Margalla Hills on Tuesday, prompting authorities to order a probe to ascertain if they were started deliberately.
On Friday, officials announced the arrest of three people as residents of the city saw plumes of smoke rising from the hills, which stretch along the northern edge of Islamabad.
“We will ensure all those responsible are held accountable,” Muhammad Ali Randhawa, chairman of the Capital Development Authority, said in a social media post.
He said the authorities would protect the beauty of the hills “at any cost.”
Forest fires on Islamabad’s Margalla Hills doused after hours-long efforts — official
https://arab.news/zhhz5
Forest fires on Islamabad’s Margalla Hills doused after hours-long efforts — official
- Several firefighters and army helicopters participated in the operation to put out the raging flames
- Incidents come at a time when Pakistan is experiencing heatwave, with temperatures soaring above 52°C
Pakistan condemns Sudan attack that killed Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers, calls it war crime
- Six peacekeepers were killed in a drone strike in Kadugli as fighting between Sudan’s army and the RSF grinds on
- Pakistan, a major troop contributor to the UN, says perpetrators of the attack must be identified, brought to justice
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday extended condolences to the government and people of Bangladesh after six United Nations peacekeepers from the country were killed in a drone strike in southern Sudan, condemning the attack and describing it as a war crime.
The attack took place amid a full-scale internal conflict that erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a powerful paramilitary group, following a power struggle after the collapse of Sudan’s post-Bashir political transition.
Omar Al-Bashir, who ruled Sudan for nearly three decades, was ousted by the military in 2019 after months of mass protests, but efforts to transition to civilian rule later faltered, plunging the country back into violence that has since spread nationwide.
The drone strike hit a logistics base of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) in Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan state, on Saturday, killing the Bangladeshi peacekeepers. Sudan’s army blamed the RSF for the attack, though there was no immediate public claim of responsibility.
“Pakistan strongly condemns the attack on @UNISFA in Kadugli, resulting in the tragic loss of 6 Bangladeshi peacekeepers & injuries to several others,” the country’s permanent mission to the UN said in a social media message. “We honor their supreme sacrifice in the service of peace, and express our deepest condolences to the government and people of #Bangladesh.”
“Such heinous attacks on UN peacekeepers amount to war crimes,” it added. “Perpetrators of this horrific attack must be identified and brought to justice. As a major troop-contributing country, we stand in complete solidarity with all Blue Helmets serving the cause of peace in the perilous conditions worldwide.”
According to Pakistan’s UN mission in July, the country has deployed more than 235,000 peacekeepers to 48 UN missions across four continents over the past eight decades.
Pakistan also hosts one of the UN’s oldest peacekeeping operations, the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), and is a founding member of the UN Peacebuilding Commission.
More than 180 Pakistani peacekeepers have lost their lives while serving under the UN flag.
Pakistan and Bangladesh have also been working in recent months to ease decades of strained ties rooted in the events of 1971, when Bangladesh — formerly part of Pakistan — became independent following a bloody war.
Relations have begun to shift following the ouster of former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina last year amid mass protests.
Hasina later fled to India, Pakistan’s neighbor and arch-rival, creating space for Islamabad and Dhaka to rebuild their relationship.
