ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Munir Akram, has demanded “strict accountability” for Israeli crimes against Gaza’s children, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Friday.
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher briefed the UN Security Council meeting on Thursday via video from Stockholm and bluntly assessing the past 15 months of war in Gaza said: “Children have been killed, starved, and frozen to death … They have been maimed, orphaned, separated from their family. Conservative estimates indicate that over 17,000 children are without their families in Gaza. A generation has been traumatized.”
The continued lack of basic shelter combined with winter temperatures pose serious threats to children. With more than a million children living in makeshift tents, and with many families displaced over the past 15 months, children face extreme risks, UNICEF has said. The UN Human Rights Office has said nearly 70 percent of fatalities it had verified in Gaza were women and children.
“Heinous crimes have been committed in this brutal [Israel-Hamas] war, particularly against children in violation of international humanitarian law, the Geneva Conventions, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Convention on Genocide,” Akram said at the briefing to the UN Security Council this week.
“There must be accountability for these crimes. This is essential to restore international legitimacy. We must try to ensure that such a brutal slaughter of children never happens again.”
Palestinian health authorities say Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 47,000 people, with another 10,000 believed to be dead and uncounted under the rubble. A United Nations damage assessment released this month showed that clearing over 50 million tons of rubble left in the aftermath of Israel’s bombardment could take 21 years.
Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal to halt fighting in Gaza and exchange Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners on Jan. 15, opening the way to a possible end to a 15-month war that has upended the Middle East.
Pakistan demands accountability for Israel’s ‘heinous crimes’ against Gazan children
https://arab.news/6na2f
Pakistan demands accountability for Israel’s ‘heinous crimes’ against Gazan children
- UN Human Rights Office has said nearly 70 percent of fatalities it had verified in Gaza were women and children
- Over a million children live in makeshift tents, many families have been displaced over 15 months, UNICEF says
Pakistan to introduce new navigation system to cut flight delays at Skardu, Gilgit and Chitral
- Pakistan Airports Authority says satellite-guided RNP-AR procedures will be in place by June 2026, pending a feasibility study
- The system is expected to reduce weather-related delays and cancelations in Pakistan’s most popular mountain destinations
KARACHI: Pakistan said on Sunday it would introduce a new satellite-guided navigation system for flights to Skardu, Gilgit and Chitral by June 2026, aiming to curb chronic weather-related delays and cancelations at the three remote northern airports.
The destinations are among Pakistan’s most visited tourist sites and serve as gateways to the Himalayan and Karakoram ranges. Gilgit-Baltistan, which borders China, also holds strategic significance as part of the northern corridor linking the two neighbors.
Marking International Civil Aviation Day, the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said it was accelerating aviation-sector upgrades, including the rollout of Required Navigation Performance – Authorization Required (RNP-AR) procedures.
RNP-AR is a high-precision, satellite-based approach system that enables aircraft to fly accurate, terrain-avoiding paths in low visibility, reducing weather-related disruptions at mountain airports.
“Pakistan Airports Authority is rapidly working on major projects for safe, efficient and modern aviation in the country,” the PAA said.
It added that RNP-AR flight procedures for Skardu, Gilgit and Chitral “will be implemented by June 2026,” subject to the findings of a consultant’s feasibility study.
The authority said the system would “significantly reduce weather-related flight delays and cancelations.”
The PAA also announced timelines for several other major upgrades, including terminal expansion at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport by September 2026 and runway modernization at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport by January 2026.
Further works include the next upgrade phase at Skardu Airport and phase two of Muridke General Aviation Aerodrome, both due to begin next year.
New greenfield airports in Dera Ismail Khan, Sukkur and Faisalabad have also entered planning stages, the statement said.
Final sites have been approved for a new air-traffic control tower and rescue fire station at Karachi Airport, infrastructure the PAA said would strengthen air-traffic management and safety.
“Pakistan Airports Authority is leading the aviation sector toward a safer and more accessible future,” it said.
