GAZA SITUATION ‘BEYOND CATASTROPHIC’: RED CROSS In partnership with
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Monday, 22 January, 2024 I 10 Rajab, 1445
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HAMAS SAYS OCTOBER 7 ATTACKS ‘NECESSARY STEP’
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PEOPLE ARE EATING FOOD MEANT FOR BIRDS AND ANIMALS: JABALIA RESIDENT
AGENCIES
NTERNATIONAL Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ spokesperson (IFRC), Tommaso Della Longa, has said the situation in Gaza is getting “worse and worse.” “What we are seeing is what we predicted, and not because we are magicians, but because we know by experience,” he told Anadolu Agency, adding that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are in shelters without access to running water, proper food and adequate sanitation. “It is beyond the catastrophic,” said Della Longa. “We knew since the beginning that the lack of food, the lack of clean water, lack of shelter, lack of proper shelter, with running water, and sanitation would have led to what is happening now, which means respiratory diseases, diarrhea is spreading like a lion’s fire among the population,” he said. ‘BOMBING ALL AROUND US’, SAYS GAZA HOSPITAL DOCTOR Dr Ahmed al-Moghrabi, the head of the plastic surgery and burns department at Khan Younis’s Nasser Hospital, explained that shortly before speaking to Al Jazeera, the sound of Israeli bombing had been heard near the hospital. “[I expect] the ambulances will bring patients from these explosions, as a result of the bombing,” said al-Moghrabi. With fears growing that the Nasser Hospital will face an attack similar to the devastating Israeli attack on al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, thousands of displaced
people who have sought shelter in the hospital and its grounds have fled. AlMoghrabi is worried about what may come. “If it happens, it will be a real horror,” he told Al Jazeera. “I pray to God that this will not happen… We are not a target. I know that Israel has already crossed all red lines… but this is the main hospital in the south of Gaza. I hope that this will not happen. If it happens, I cannot tell you how catastrophic it will be.” PEOPLE ARE EATING FOOD MEANT FOR BIRDS AND ANIMALS: JABALIA RESIDENT Palestinians at the Jabalia refugee camp market in the northern Gaza Strip expressed their suffering as they looked to secure daily food sustenance amid dire shortages of flour and food in the mar-
kets and an absence of humanitarian aid, Al Jazeera reports. “We have no food, only some rice. We do not have flour. There is crowding over the available quantities,” AJ reports one of the Gazans as saying. “We have been living in suffering for 104 days. Today we are searching for our daily food. There is no flour or wheat. People eat corn, and this is food for birds and animals, not for humans” another person said. HAMAS SAYS OCTOBER 7 ATTACKS ‘NECESSARY STEP’ The Hamas group has said the October 7 attacks that led to conflict with Israel were a “necessary step” but “chaos” had led to “faults” in the operation. The attacks were “a necessary step and a normal response to confront all Is-
‘Drive against illegal aliens’: 472,187 Afghans return to their homeland so far: Report ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
As many as, 472,187 Afghans have been repatriated to their homeland Afghanistan as repatriation of illegal foreign nationals to their homeland continues, according to the official report on Sunday. According to the latest statistics, a total of 472,187 Afghans have been repatriated to Afghanistan. Officials said that 634 Afghan nationals returned to their country yesterday in a dignified manner. In addition to other measures for the dignified return of Afghans to their country, transit camps equipped with all facilities have been established in various districts for their temporary accommodation. According to the latest statistics, nine hundred four more illegal Afghan nationals returned to their
country yesterday. Pakistan had given a last warning to all immigrants, including Afghanis, in the country illegally to leave voluntarily to their homelands before Nov 1, 2023 deadline. The deportation order came during a dramatic surge in armed attacks in Pakistan, which the government blames on Afghanistan-based groups and nationals, allegations denied by the Afghan Taliban. The illegal immigrants are being processed at temporary centres by the government and are helped to leave to their homelands. The government says more than four million foreigners live in Pakistan, a vast majority of them Afghan nationals who sought refuge over the last four decades after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s. More recently, after the Taliban
regained power in 2021, Pakistani officials say between 600,000 to 800,000 Afghans migrated to Pakistan. The Pakistani government claims nearly 1.7 million of those Afghans are undocumented. According to UN data, Pakistan is among the largest refugee-hosting countries globally, showing remarkable generosity for over 40 years to those in search of safety. As a result of previous waves of displacement, second and third generation of Afghans are living in protracted displacement, with Pakistan providing refuge to some 1.35 million registered Afghan women, children and men. UNHCR works closely with the Government of Pakistan, UN agencies, humanitarian and development organizations, as well as civil society to provide protection and assistance to refugees and support host communities.
ative Partners and iron brothers, the Foreign Secretary reaffirmed the importance of CPEC in promoting win-win cooperation and sustainable development. He also emphasized on welcoming interested third parties to explore mutually beneficial avenues of cooperation. Recognising the evolution of CPEC, the two sides agreed to enhance focus on high quality advancements in industry, agriculture, information technology, and science and technology, and ensuring tangible socio-economic benefits for the people. They rejected the disinformation campaigns and distorted reporting on CPEC and stressed the need to counter fallacious narratives and misinformation. Recalling the deliberations of the Second and the Third Pakistan-China Think Tanks Forum in September 2022 and July 2023, the two sides expressed joint support for media and think tanks cooperation. They also agreed on sharing of best practices and generating an intellectual knowledge pool of CPEC and BRI development through enhanced international communication and cooperation. CPEC CORNER AT MOFA
UNVEILED: Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong, who is currently on a visit to Islamabad, inaugurated the CPEC Corner at the library of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Speaking on the occasion, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister said that as iron brother and trusted friend, China attached special importance to Pakistan in its foreign policy and looked forward to further strengthening strategic ties between the two countries. Thanking Pakistan’s support to China on its core issues, Vice Foreign Minister Sun reaffirmed China’s support for Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and for Pakistan’s economic development, progress and prosperity. Welcoming Vice Foreign Minister Sun to Pakistan, the Foreign Secretary said that Pakistan-China friendship enjoyed complete political, institutional and public support in Pakistan. Underscoring the salience of bilateral friendship for regional peace and stability, he expressed Pakistan’s readiness to further expand and strengthen bilateral ties in all areas of cooperation.
China, Pakistan underscore CPEC’s pioneering role in strengthening global, regional connectivity ISLAMABAD
MIAN ABRAR
China and Pakistan on Sunday underscored the pioneering role of China, Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in strengthening international and regional connectivity. The vow was made at the 4th meeting of CPEC Joint Working Group on International Cooperation and Coordination held here on Sunday. The meeting, which was cochaired by Foreign Secretary Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi and Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of China, Mr Sun Weidong, exemplifies the commitment of both countries to foster international cooperation and coordination including on CPEC. The two sides reviewed with satisfaction the progress made since the third meeting of the Joint Working Group held virtually on 21 July 2022. The meeting underscored CPEC’s pioneering role in strengthening international and regional connectivity while appreciating the open and inclusive nature of this flagship project. Noting that Pakistan and China were All-Weather Strategic Cooper-
Rs 15.00 | Vol XIV No 204 I 8 Pages I Islamabad Edition
raeli conspiracies against the Palestinian people”, the group said in its first public account about October 7, adding that “maybe some faults happened during Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’s implementation due to the rapid collapse of the Israeli security and military system, and the chaos caused along the border areas with Gaza”. ISRAELI PUBLIC SHOULD KNOW WAR WITH HEZBOLLAH WOULD BE ‘DIFFICULT’: ISRAELI GENERAL Israeli Reserve Major-General Eyal Ben-Reuven has spoken to Israel’s Maariv newspaper about the possibility of starting a war against the Lebanese armed group, Hezbollah. According to Al Jazeera, he said Israel’s political leadership should tell the public that Hezbollah is stronger than Hamas and that a war with it would be “difficult”. PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY IS ‘ON ITS KNEES’ FINANCIALLY, POLITICALLY: ANALYST Political analyst Nour Odeh has said it is the twelfth time Israel has used its leverage of Palestinian tax revenue to punish or weaken the Palestinian Authority. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Odeh said it is still unclear whether the PA would be willing to accept the transfer of tax via Norway because it would be humiliating to walk back on its pledge to not take the tax revenues with the deduction of Gaza’s share. “All of this money, given that the economy is on its knees, given that the revenues have dropped dramatically since October will probably not be sufficient for the PA to continue to meet all its responsibilities,” she added.
New Delhi has no proof of 2019 Balakot strike success, admits ex-Indian envoy ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
Former Indian high commissioner to Pakistan Ajay Bisaria admitted that India only has narratives but no concrete proof of the success of the 2019 Balakot strikes. He made this revelation during an interview with The Wire to mark the launch of his recently published book “Anger Management: The Troubled Diplomatic Relationship between India and Pakistan”. “You will perhaps never know for sure how successful the strike was,” the former envoy said during the interview. This is the first time an Indian senior diplomat who was serving as Indian high commissioner in Islamabad at the time of the Balakot strike has admitted to the media that to date India has no proof of the targets the Indian Air Force had boasted it had struck in Balakot. India had conducted an airstrike in Balakot on February 26, 2019, while Pakistan responded by conducting airstrikes in Indian-held territory and an ensuing dogfight, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) jets shot down two Indian jets and captured Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman. Earlier when the book was published, a senior source at the Pakistan Foreign Office told a section of the press that the former Indian high commissioner “has certainly given an exaggerated account of the events. The timing of the release of the book is also suspicious. Clearly, he wants to project Modi as a strong leader who has the ability to take bold decisions.” During The Wire interview, conducted by journalist Karan Thapar, Bisaria had, according to Thapar, discussed that the terrorists behind the Pulwama attack of February 2019 “lucked out in getting an unprotected target in a convoy of vehicles” and thus “met with unexpected success”. Bisaria was asked if he was echoing what Satya Pal Malik, governor of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) at the time, had said to The Wire in an interview last year when he claimed the terror attack was a result of “incompetence” and “carelessness” by the Indian system. Bisaria was also asked what proof India had to corroborate the statement made by the Indian foreign secretary of the time, who is quoted by Bisaria in his book saying that at Balakot “a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadist who were being trained for fidayeen action were eliminated.”