Islamabad, October 30
As the deadline loomed for all undocumented immigrants, including 1.7 million Afghan nationals, to leave Pakistan, interim Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti said the caretaker government would start expelling such people in phases from November 1 if they do not leave the country.
Pakistan this month announced October 31 as the date for the removal of the illegal immigrants. Bugti confirmed that over 20,000 illegal foreigners have left Pakistan voluntarily over the last three days. He stated that all provincial governments would play an active part in the operation against illegal foreigners.
“Committees have been formed on divisional and district levels,” he added. The interim interior minister further clarified that the expulsion of illegal foreign nationals will be carried out in phases, and people with no travel documents will be deported in the first phase. The illegal immigrants, many of whom have lived in Pakistan for years, will be processed at temporary centres being set up by the government. “The government has completed the geo-mapping and will locate illegal immigrants,” he said.
Dubai, October 30
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson on Monday said the US should refrain from blaming Tehran for the attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7 that resulted in the killing of over a thousand Israelis. “Stop it,” Nasser Kanaani said, when asked by about the statements of US officials, including President Joe Biden, accusing Iran.
Meanwhile, German-Israeli woman Shani Nicole Louk, who was taken away by Hamas from a music festival during the October 7 assault and paraded around Gaza by the Palestinian militant group, is dead, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said. “What we saw on the Gaza-Israel border goes far beyond a pogrom. We saw a slaughterhouse,” he said.
Hamas has not commented on Louk’s fate. The circumstances of her death were not immediately clear. A family source said a part of a body had been found which was matched to Louk’s DNA. Her family initially thought she was alive but injured when she was taken away from the music festival but now believe she was killed on the same day, possibly shot in the head, a German media report stated. “At least she didn’t suffer,” her mother Ricarda Louk said.
Hamas has released a video, showing three women hostages. The video shows three woman, one of whom addresses an angry message to Netanyahu, asking to be taken home in an exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Israeli PM Bejamin Netanyahu has condemned the video as “cruel psychological propaganda”.
At the same time, British PM Rishi Sunak chaired a high-level meeting at 10 Downing Street in London to assess domestic security issues amid the Israel-Gaza conflict and against the backdrop of widespread protests on the streets of the country. The meeting follows another weekend of thousands of people protesting against the conflict, resulting in many arrests and five being charged with racially aggravated crimes.— Agencies
Drone shot: Hezbollah
Lebanon’s Hezbollah said it had shot down an Israeli drone over southern Lebanon with a surface-to-air missile. The drone was hit near Khiam.
Sunak chairs meet on domestic security
Srinagar, October 30
The police renamed the Mattan police station in Anantnag in memory of DSP Himayun Muzammil, who was killed during an encounter with terrorists last month. The newly refurbished and renamed police station, now called the Himayun Muzammil Model Police Station, was inaugurated by Dilbag Singh, Director General of Police (DGP), in presence of the slain police officer’s father — retired IGP Ghulam Hassan Bhat.
During the ceremony, Singh expressed the efforts to commemorate Himayun Muzammil by associating his name with a part of Anantnag district. Singh recalled the fateful day when the encounter took place and described the challenging circumstances surrounding the DSP’s death.
Despite their best efforts, a timely evacuation of the injured officer was unattainable, he said.
On September 13, Himayun Muzammil was among the four security personnel who lost their lives in an extended encounter with terrorists in the Kokernag area. The operation, which spanned over six days, ultimately led to the elimination of two terrorists.
Killed last month
DSP Himayun Muzammil was martyred along with four security men during an encounter with terrorists in Kokernag area on September 13.
Samaan Lateef
Srinagar, October 30
Security forces killed a militant after foiling an infiltration attempt along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kupwara district, the police said on Monday. The militant was killed late Sunday evening after a team of security forces launched a counter-infiltration operation in the Jumagund area of Kiran sector in Kupwara.
“The search operation continues. It was a joint operation of the Army and the Kupwara police that commenced on Sunday. Security men successfully foiled an infiltration attempt in Jumagund area of Keran sector in which one terrorist was killed,” a police spokesman said. The identity of the slain militant has not been ascertained yet.
Last week, security forces claimed to have killed five terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Toiba during a separate operation after foiling an infiltration bid in Machhil sector of Kupwara.
Meanwhile, outgoing DGP Dilbag Singh emphasised the need for continued vigilance and caution in the face of ongoing threats. His comments followed an attack on a police official in Srinagar’s Eidgah area and also the Kupwara infiltration bid on Sunday. The injured officer, who was participating in a cricket match with colleagues, is now recuperating.
DGP Singh emphasised the importance of not taking security lightly and remaining cautious in light of persisting threats. Singh, who is retiring on Tuesday, said, “A policeman is always a policeman.”
The Special DG, CID, RR Swain will assume his role as the new DGP. With a 30-year history in the force, Singh expressed his dedication to continuing his service. Regarding the introduction of 160 modern vehicles for 43 police stations under Operation Capacity Building (Op CAP), DGP Singh outlined the initiative’s objective of ensuring zero terror. Discussing recent infiltration attempts, he acknowledged the strength of the border grid but noted that the neighboring country continued to attempt to push terrorists across the border.
In response to a query about a ceasefire violation in the Arnia sector of Jammu, the DGP mentioned that authorities were investigating the incident. He hoped that the ceasefire, which has provided relief to border residents, would persist.
Police get 160 special vehicles
New Delhi, October 30
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today called for adhering to international laws for a free and rule-based maritime order while establishing a multinational collaborative framework in the Indian Ocean Region.
“Such a framework will effectively tackle common maritime challenges such as climate change, piracy, terrorism, drug-trafficking, overfishing and freedom of commerce in high seas,” he said.
The minister was delivering the keynote address on the second day of the fourth edition of the Goa Maritime Conclave.
Goa conclave
The event is being attended by Mohamed Ali Youssoufa, Delegate in Charge of Defence, Comoros, and chiefs of navies or heads of maritime forces from 11 other Indian Ocean nations — Bangladesh, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Common maritime priorities need to be addressed unitedly, said the minister, underlining the importance of respecting international maritime laws, as laid down under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), 1982.
Without naming China, the minister said, “‘Might is right’ has no place in a maritime order. Adherence to international laws and agreements must be our lodestar.”
China has refused to accept the directions of UNCLOS in the South China Sea maritime dispute.
“Fair rules of engagement are crucial to fostering collaboration and ensuring that no single country dominates others in a hegemonic manner,” Rajnath said.
In his address, Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar said the nature of threats, both traditional and non-traditional and those emanating from the sea, had changed.
Sandeep Dikshit
New Delhi, October 30
Fighting between Israeli troops and Hamas fighters intensified on Monday, three days after the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) began a major ground offensive in the Gaza Strip amid worldwide calls to protect civilians. The Israeli assault is being bolstered by the steady flow of arms and ammunition with 50 US military transport planes flying into West Asia within 24 hours.
Israel’s military claimed to have struck over 600 militant targets in the past few days while the resulting civilian death count put out by the Palestinian Health Ministry has crossed 8,300, half of them women and children. In what Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu said was the second stage of the conflict, additional infantry and artillery units entered Gaza.
Hamas said it had repelled a push by IDF tanks into Gaza City and were not fighting them on the border with Israel while Israel claimed it had killed four commanders of the militant group, besides scores of fighters. Hamas and Islamic Jihad said pitched battles with the IDF were on in the West Bank city of Jenin.
“IDF troops killed dozens of terrorists who barricaded themselves in buildings and tunnels, and attempted to attack the troops,” said the IDF. To the partial relief of the blockaded civilians of Gaza, 33 trucks carrying water, food and medical supplies entered on Sunday but they are proving to be inadequate. However, all 10 hospitals remained under the threat of bombing, especially the Shifa and Al Quds hospitals. Reports said Gaza’s infrastructure was about to collapse with no power making it difficult to operate incubators and other life-saving equipment. The UN said it was trying to keep water pumps and bakeries running even as it admitted that hunger was growing.
Meanwhile, domestic pressure increased on Netanyahu to secure the release of hostages. Desperate family members of the Israeli captives had also met with Netanyahu on Saturday and expressed support for an exchange.
Ajay Banerjee
New Delhi, October 31
A parachute with a military-type load that landed near Yamunanagar Haryana on Monday night and caused panic has been identified as the Indian Army’s own parachute, which was used for a training mission.
On Monday night, a parachute, carrying an military-use object, landed in southern Yamuna canal near Hamida Head in Yamunanagar.
Sources said this was one of the four Army’s GPS-aided Precision Air Drop System (GPADS) dropped last evening from the Indian Air Force (IAF) C130 special operations plane around 5.15 pm. All the four parachutes had been dropped from an altitude of 12,000 feet. Other than the one that landed near Yamuna canal, the other three have been accounted for as they landed at the designated spot.
The C-130 had taken off from Sarsawa air base in Uttar Pradesh, some 19 kms south west of Yamunanagar. The intended drop was Behat, near Yamuna river, close to Sarsawa.
These parachutes are auto guided by an onboard system and drop the load to the designated area.
In the case of this astray parachute, the system seems to have malfunctioned ata height of 3,000 ft that caused the parachute and the load to reach Yamuna canal and not Behat.
“It was a routine training to drop these loads”, sources said.
Sandeep Dikshit
New Delhi, October 30
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday met some of the family members of eight former Navy personnel sentenced to death in Qatar. He said the government would make all efforts to secure their release.
Worked with security firm
The family members responded by pointing out that they had been raising the issue for quite some time. They said at this late stage, the government must move quickly as time was of essence.
In Goa, Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar said every effort was being made to ensure relief for the eight former Navy personnel in Qatar, who were working with a private security company Al Dahra. “Every effort is being made by the government to ensure relief for our personnel. We have heard the MEA statement on this,’’ he said while acknowledging that he was yet to see the court orders.
PM’s help sought
We request and plead with the PM to personally intervene to bring our eight veterans back. Meetu Bhargava, sister of Cdr Purnendu Tiwari (retd), one of eight veteran sentenced to death
Describing the ruling as “deeply” shocking, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has vowed to explore all legal options. “We are deeply shocked by the verdict of death penalty and are awaiting the detailed judgment. We are in touch with family members and the legal team, and we are exploring all legal options,’’ it had said. “Met this morning with the families of the eight Indians detained in Qatar. Stressed that the government attaches the highest importance to the case. Fully share the concerns and pain of the families,” Jaishankar said on X. “Underlined that the government will continue to make all efforts to secure their release. Will coordinate closely with the families in this regard,” he added. The Indian nationals were sentenced to death on October 26 in a case of alleged espionage.
“We don’t have much time left. We request and plead with the PM for his personal intervention to bring our eight veterans back. We cannot think of anyone else,’’ Meetu Bhargava, sister of Cdr Purnendu Tiwari (retd) who is among the eight sentenced to death. It was Bhargava who had brought the matter to public notice after the arrested Indians were allowed to briefly call their relatives. Till then, Delhi had kept the matter under wraps, hoping to resolve it with behind-the-scenes negotiations.
The charges were filed against the eight Navy veterans on March 25 and they were tried under Qatari law.
