ISLAMABAD, 02 October 2021, (TON): Four trucks carrying 70 tonnes of humanitarian aid handed were over to Afghanistan as Pakistan continues to support Afghan people to avert the looming humanitarian catastrophe.

The trucks carrying flour, sugar, rice, oil and pulses were handed over by the Pak-Afghan Cooperation Forum via Ghulam Khan border.

Ameer of Khost was present to receive the aid from Assistant Commissioner of Miranshah.

Besides its own ongoing efforts, Pakistan has also been urging the international community to extend humanitarian aid to Afghanistan for the socioeconomic development of the war-torn country.

In their multiple interactions with world leaders, both Prime Minister Imran Khan and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi have asked the world community not to repeat the mistake of abandoning Afghanistan as it would lead to negative consequences of rise in terror incidents and spillover negative effects into neighbouring countries.

Earlier this month, Pakistan had delivered another consignment of relief goods to Afghanistan’s Mazar-e-Sharif.

Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmed Khan had said on Twitter "These goods were delivered by our Consul General to Governor Bulkh Maulvi Qudratullah."

WASHINGTON, 02 October 2021, (TON): Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will travel to Paris, France October 4 – 6 to chair the Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and commemorate the organization’s 60th anniversary.

The U.S. delegation will include the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, the United States Trade Representative, the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors, and the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment.

The Ministerial theme is “Shared values: Building a Green and Inclusive Future;” accordingly, advancing efforts to combat the climate crisis, promoting quality infrastructure development, and building a more inclusive and equitable future will be among U.S. priorities at the MCM.

Secretary Blinken will also meet with French counterparts to continue discussions on further strengthening the vital U.S.-France relationship on a range of issues including security in the Indo-Pacific region, the climate crisis, economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Transatlantic relationship, and working with our Allies and partners to address global challenges and opportunities.

ADDIS ABABA, 02 October 2021, (TON):  Ethiopia said “it would expel seven senior UN officials for “meddling” in its affairs, ratcheting up worries over the humanitarian response in the war-torn and famine-threatened Tigray region.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that he was “shocked” by the decision, expressed full confidence in his staff in Ethiopia and said the UN was engaging with the government “in the full expectation” that the officials would be allowed to return.

According to diplomats, an emergency UN Security Council meeting will be held behind closed doors midday to discuss the matter.

The White House condemned the ejections of the UN staffers “in the strongest possible terms” with Press Secretary Jen Psaki calling it “unprecedented action to expel the leadership of all of the United Nations organizations involved in ongoing humanitarian operations”.

The expulsions, announced by the foreign ministry, came as Africa’s second-most populous country held elections for dozens of federal parliamentary seats, the final round of voting before Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed forms a new government next week.

The seven UN officials, including the local heads of the UN children’s agency UNICEF and its humanitarian coordination office, have been declared “persona non grata” for “meddling in the internal affairs of the country”, the ministry said in a statement published on its Facebook page.

COPENHAGEN, 02 October 2021, (TON): Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs Jeppe Kofod said “Denmark was aligned with the view of the European Union and the United Nations in advocating for peaceful and diplomatic dialogue for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute.”

Kofod was addressing a press conference in Islamabad with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi after the two held delegation-level talks.

Responding to a question on whether he would take up the issue of human rights violations in Indian-occupied Kashmir (IoK) with India, he said "we are fully in line with the EU and the UN to advocate for peaceful [and] diplomatic dialogue on the Jammu and Kashmir issue. This is what we want to see and what we respect."

Qureshi had earlier shared a dossier with his Danish counterpart based on "irrefutable evidence of atrocities and war crimes committed by the Indian forces" in IoK while hosting a luncheon in honour of FM Kofod.

WASHINGTON, 02 October 2021, (TON): The US military chief has informed American lawmakers that the loss in Afghanistan was a cumulative effect of 20 years of wrong decisions and bad planning and was not caused by any single factor, such as the Taliban’s alleged sanctuary in Pakistan.

In their latest testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, top US generals also blamed the Trump administration’s agreement with the Taliban for accelerating the fall of Kabul in mid-August.

Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Mark A. Milley, however, described the Taliban’s alleged ability to escape to Pakistan during 20 years of US presence in Afghanistan as a major strategic issue.

He told the committee “not effectively dealing with Pakistan as a sanctuary, major strategic issue that we are going to have to really unpack.”

Gen Milley made a similar demand in a Senate hearing on Tuesday, saying: “We need to fully examine the role of Pakistan sanctuary.”

But in Wednesday’s hearing, his focus was on finding the root cause of the US loss and he urged the lawmakers to focus on “a whole series of decisions that take place over 20 years,” not on a single-source.

Gen. Milley said “my assessment is, this is a 20-year war, and it wasn’t lost in the last 20 days or even 20 months. There’s a cumulative effect to a series of decisions that go way back.”

WASHINGTON, 02 October 2021, (TON): A top US official called for Pakistan to take action against all extremist groups ahead of a visit to Islamabad, which has sought reconciliation with militants both at home and in Afghanistan.

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will meet with Pakistani officials during her October 7-8 visit.

Sherman told reporters “we seek a strong partnership with Pakistan on counterterrorism and we expect sustained action against all militant and terrorist groups without distinction.”

“Both of our countries have suffered terribly from the scourge of terrorism and we look forward to cooperative efforts to eliminate all regional and global terrorist threats,” she said from Switzerland, her first stop on a trip that will also take her to India and Uzbekistan.

Prime Minister Imran Khan, a longtime critic of US military campaigns, said in an interview aired on Friday that the government had opened talks with some groups of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) about laying down their arms.

He told Turkey's TRT World television “Some of the Pakistani Taliban groups actually want to talk to our government for some peace, for some reconciliation.”

He said “the discussions were taking place in Afghanistan with sections of the TTP, which has waged years of deadly attacks.”

The premier said “I repeat, I do not believe in military solutions.”

Prime Minister Imran has encouraged the world to engage Afghanistan's Taliban and provide economic support, although he has stopped short of backing recognition, a step opposed by the United States.

Sherman praised Pakistan's calls for an inclusive government in Afghanistan.

She said “we look to Pakistan to play a critical role in enabling that outcome.”

COPENHAGEN, 02 October 2021, (TON): Denmark lauded Pakistan's significant role in evacuation operations from Afghanistan and efforts for regional stability.

These remarks were expressed by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark Jeppe Kofod during a meeting with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.

The military's media wing said that during the meeting, matters of mutual interest, regional security, current situation and collaboration and partnership in humanitarian measures in Afghanistan were discussed.

On the occasion, General Qamar said that Pakistan values its relations with Denmark. "We earnestly look forward to enhance mutually beneficial multi-domain relations based on common interest," he was cited by the ISPR as saying.

FM Kofod pledged to further improve cooperation with Pakistan at all levels.

Earlier today, the Danish foreign minister also called on Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said.

The premier recalled his earlier conversation with Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Fredericksen and said that they had a fruitful exchange of views on the situation in Afghanistan as well as bilateral relations.

It added “according to the PMO, PM Imran stated that a peaceful and stable Afghanistan was vitally important for Pakistan and the region. He stressed the need for the international community’s constructive engagement to prevent humanitarian crisis and economic collapse in Afghanistan and to help build durable peace and stability in the country.”

The prime minister underlined that an inclusive political structure is important for the stability of Afghanistan. He stressed that positive messages and constructive measures by the international community would help prevent instability and mass exodus of refugees.

MANAMA, 02 October 2021, (TON): Anti-Israel protests broke out in Bahrain on Friday, a day after Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid's visit to open the Jewish state's first embassy in the country.

Police fired tear gas during one rally as scattered, small-scale protests took place around the tiny Gulf state.

Protesters marched waving Palestinian and Bahraini flags, chanting "Death to Israel" and "No to Israeli embassy in Islamic Bahrain". No arrests were reported.

Lapid's visit on Thursday came a year after Bahrain normalised ties with Israel, breaking with decades of Arab consensus that there should be no relations without a resolution to the Palestinian question.

NAYPYITAW, 02 October 2021, (TON): A village in Magway Region’s Gangaw Township was raided for the fifth time since June, according to residents and resistance fighters based in the area.

Residents of Hnan Khar said “the village was shelled for a full hour from around 9am before regime forces arrived and set fire to eight houses a few hours later.”

The barrage appeared to be aimed at flushing out resistance groups operating in the area.

A member of a local People’s Defence Force (PDF), daid “they kept firing into the forest and areas where we were engaging in defensive warfare. They also used machine guns.”

According to the PDF member, there were no clashes in the area before the attack, but 15 soldiers traveling south towards the village had recently been killed by landmines.

He added that besides burning down houses, the troops who raided the village also stole eight motorcycles and abused some elderly people who were taking shelter at a monastery in the eastern part of the village.

“They threatened some feeble old people, took their phones, and also broke some things at the monastery,” he said, adding that one 60-year-old man was beaten and arrested.

DHAKA, 02 October 2021, (TON): The Malaysian immigration authorities have detained 297 illegal immigrants, including Bangladeshis, living inside seven containers in Semenyih town of Selangor state.

The authorities checked 326 people at the spot before detaining 297 of them during the raid carried out early on Friday, Free Malaysia Today quoted the chief of the Immigration Department as saying.

Some 96 of the detainees hail from Bangladesh, according to media reports.

The others include illegal immigrants from several countries, including Indonesia, Ghana, Myanmar and Vietnam.

The raid was carried out after receiving complaints from locals, said Immigration Department Director General Khairul Dzaimee Daud.

Some residents had complained that there were settlements in the area that were overcrowded, did not adhere to hygiene guidelines and had potential to be breeding grounds for Aedes mosquitoes, Daud said.