RIYADH, 24 June 2021, (TON): The Saudi Human Rights Commission (HRC) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) held a meeting to further ongoing partnership between the two organizations.

HRC President Dr. Awwad bin Saleh Al-Awwad received at the commission’s headquarters in Riyadh a delegation led by Mohammed Ali Al-Nsour, chief of the Middle East and North Africa section at the OHCHR.

Al-Awwad briefed the UN delegation on the most prominent reforms and developments in the field of human rights in Saudi Arabia.

The HRC and OHCHR have been institutional partners since signing a memorandum of understanding in Geneva in 2014.

They have jointly trained some 4,500 human rights specialists, lawyers, government officials and law enforcement officers in Saudi Arabia.

KABUL, 24 June 2021, (TON): According to a senior Turkish defense official, a US military delegation will visit Ankara later this week to hold detailed consultations on a possible Turkish role in securing Kabul International Airport following Nato’s withdrawal.

Turkey has reportedly pledged to protect Hamid Karzai International Airport, as concerns persist about how security would be ensured along important transportation lines and at the airport, which is the primary entrance to the capital Kabul.

Jake Sullivan, the US national security advisor, reported that US president Joe Biden and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan decided to work together to assure the Turkish mission is established, by the US president’s September 11th deadline to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan, during their first bilateral meeting.

Ankara expressed that in order to take the leading role, other allied countries were asked to help financially, logistically, also with troops. Erdogan told reporters at the conclusion of a series of meetings with NATO leaders that Turkey is seeking Pakistan’s and Hungary’s participation in the new mission in Afghanistan once the US-led NATO force leaves.

JERUSALEM, 24 June 2021, (TON): Israel’s Supreme Court upheld the decision to destroy the family home of a detained Palestinian accused of a deadly shooting.

It rejected a petition by his estranged wife, who lives in the house with their children and says she knew nothing about the attack.

The case drew attention to Israel’s policy of demolishing the family homes of attackers after they have been killed or arrested.

Israeli officials say the demolitions deter future attacks, while rights groups view it as a form of collective punishment.

The US State Department has urged a halt to punitive home demolitions.

KABUL, 24 June 2021, (TON): The US military “can already provide the over-the-horizon support that the Afghan government will need,” Pentagon spokesman John F. Kirby said, adding that the United States leaders continually assess the progress of the retrograde from Afghanistan and the state of operations in the country and adjust accordingly.

Kirby said “those capabilities already exist. Leaders are looking for better ways to perform the missions. Other aspects of the Afghan situation are still being studied. Commanders at many levels are wrestling with what over-the-horizon counterinsurgency and over-the-horizon logistics will look like.”

He said that the US leaders continually assess the progress of the retrograde from Afghanistan and the state of operations in the country and adjust accordingly.

Kirby said that US defense secretary and military leaders in the Pentagon, at US Central Command and in Afghanistan “are constantly looking at the pace we’re going at, and the capabilities we have, and the capabilities that we're going to need throughout to complete the withdrawal.”

He further said “so as we said, from the very beginning; while there is a schedule, we are mindful that that schedule could fluctuate and change, as conditions change.”

Kirby said there are only two aspects of the Afghanistan retrograde that will not change: “The first is the US military will withdraw all US forces from the country, and the second is the withdrawal will be finished by the September deadline set by President Joe Biden.”

ISLAMABAD, 24 June 2021, (TON): Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa met Turkish Defence Minister General (retd) Hulusi Akar during his day-long visit to Turkey and discussed matters of mutual interest including the Afghan peace process.

A statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that Commander Turkish General Staff General Yasar Guler and Commander of the Turkish Land Forces General Umit Dundar were also present in the meeting.

The statement added “During the meeting, matters of mutual interests, regional security situation including recent developments in the Afghan reconciliation process and bilateral defence and security cooperation in various fields were discussed.”

Gen Qamar acknowledged the Turkish engagements with Pakistan especially the ongoing efforts for continuing the positivity for peace in the region, the military’s media wing said.

The COAS also reiterated that Turkey is one of the key Muslim countries in the region and that enhanced the Pakistan-Turkey cooperation will have a positive impact on regional peace and stability.

The Turkish officials appreciated Pakistan's positive role for regional peace and stability, especially the Afghan peace process and pledged to continue working for better relations between two brotherly countries.

KABUL, 24 June 2021, (TON): British Embassy said in a statement “British Ambassador to Afghanistan, Sir Laurie Bristow, presented his credentials to Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani at the Presidential palace.”

Ambassador Sir Laurie Bristow spoke to President Ghani and reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to Afghanistan. He emphasized that the UK will continue to support the Government of Afghanistan, including its efforts to counter terrorism, through diplomatic and development work and support to the security sector.

Sir Laurie Bristow said “I am honored to present my credentials as British Ambassador to Afghanistan to President Ghani. The UK’s commitment to Afghanistan remains as strong as ever. We continue to support an inclusive peace process, partner on counter-terrorism activity, and provide substantial development and humanitarian support. It is a privilege to arrive at a time when this work is more important than ever.”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to President Ghani on 17 June. The Prime Minister confirmed the UK’s commitment to supporting Afghanistan to achieve a stable and democratic future following the withdrawal of NATO troops.

ISLAMABAD, 24 June 2021, (TON): A bomb explosion in Lahore's Johar Town residential area killed at least three people and caused significant damage to surrounding residences and parked vehicles.

A hospital spokesman said “at least 21 people were wounded in the attack. Some of those, including children, are in critical condition.”

Inspector General Punjab Police Inam Ghani said “the attack was conducted using a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED).”

 A car parked close to a house had exploded, setting ablaze nearby cars and motorcycles, a witness, Fahim Ahmad, told reporters at the scene.

Among those wounded in the powerful blast were some police officers manning a checkpoint next to the house of Hafiz Saeed, the jailed chief of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD).

Ghani told reporters "Apparently what we see is that our law enforcement agencies are the target.” "You can see our police officials are also wounded." Not ruling out the possibility of foreign involvement in the attack, the province’s top cop said the police has received 65 threat alerts recently.

NEW DELHI, 24 June 2021, (TON): Aday before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's all-party meeting with leaders from J&K, the delimitation commission on Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) held a meeting with deputy commissioners (DCs) of all 20 districts in J&K.

In the meeting chaired by Deputy Election Commissioner Chandra Bhushan, the DCs were asked about people's aspirations, the problems faced by the administration, ways to facilitate dialogue and current political scenario.

The commission has sought detailed data on demographics from the district commissioners.

The delimitation commission was set up six months after the Centre abrogated Article 370 and revoked J&K's special status in August 2019. The commission is headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Desai and was given an extension of one year in March.

Prior to J&K's bifurcation, the strength of the J&K Assembly was 87.

Besides these, there are 24 vacant seats in the J&K Assembly reserved for Pakistan Occupied Jammu Kashmir (PoJK).

The objective of the delimitation commission is to redraw boundaries of assembly constituencies in a way so that the population of all seats is numerically similar throughout the state. Besides changing the limits of a constituency, the process may result in change in the number of seats in J&K.

As per the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, the number of assembly seats in J&K would increase from 107 to 114.

ISLAMABAD, 24 June 2021, (TON): The Senate passed a resolution seeking the restoration of the special status of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and end to the ongoing atrocities in the disputed territory.

The House also approved the Pakistan Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which delegates powers of the cabinet to the interior ministry as well as interior secretary to issue prohibited bore arms licences.

In the ongoing debate on the budget in the House, the treasury members termed the budget as “people- and business-friendly”.

However, the opposition members sharply criticised the budget and said that it would not address the economic woes of the people.

The resolution on IIOJK was moved by Senator Dr Zarqa Taimur of the ruling PTI.

The Senate chairman directed that copies of the resolution be sent to all embassies.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAMI, 23 June 2021, (TON): India and the US on Wednesday kicked off a two-day wargame in south of Thiruvananthapuram in the Indian Ocean involving tri-services to enhance operational synergy in order to exhibit increasing military presence in the region.

Indian Navy and US Navy regularly undertake bilateral and multilateral exercises which underscore the shared values as partner navies, in ensuring international commitment and synergy to enforce international order,

The US has deployed its strike force including strike naval carrier, fleet of F-18 fighter jets and E-2C Hawkeye to strike group for the exercise. 

The Indian side would make use of Jaguar, Sukhoi-30MKI, MiG 29K fighter aircrafts, IL-78 air-to-air refuelling tanker aircraft, AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft and two Naval warships and fleet of P8I maritime surveillance aircraft during the excercise. 

The US Carrier Strike Group (CSG) comprising of number of destroyers, frigates and other ships is currently deployed in the Indian Ocean region.

A carrier battle group or carrier strike group is a mega naval fleet comprising an aircraft carrier, accompanied by a large number of destroyers, frigates and other ships.

Confirming the commencement of excrcise Indian authorities said, "the two-day exercise aims to strengthen the bilateral relationship and cooperation and coordination in maritime operations. The important ingredient of the exercise would be advanced air-defence drills, cross-deck helicopter operations and anti-submarine manoeuvres." 

 In October last year, India and the US sealed the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) to further boost the bilateral defence ties.