International hockey returns to Pakistan as German junior team arrives in Islamabad 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces have arrested four “terrorists” in the southwestern Balochistan province who entered from Afghanistan, state-run media reported on Thursday, adding that they were planning to launch a major attack in the country. 

Pakistan has faced a surge in militant attacks in its western provinces bordering Afghanistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan since the Afghan Taliban seized Kabul in 2021. Islamabad accuses the Taliban government in Afghanistan of providing shelter to Pakistani Taliban militants, a charge Kabul denies.

The operation took place near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Toba Kakri area of the southwestern Balochistan province, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan said. 
 
“The arrested terrorists confessed to planning a major terrorist attack,” Radio Pakistan reported. “In his confessional statement, one arrested terrorist said they entered Pakistan three days ago from Afghanistan.”

Citing security sources, the state-run media said weapons such as Kalashnikovs, hand grenades and other firearms were recovered from the “terrorists.”

“The security sources said the local population played a significant role in the success of this operation against the terrorists,” Radio Pakistan said. 
The report said that defense experts are of the view that the primary reason for the surge in “terrorism” in Pakistan is the presence of militant organizations that are “flourishing” on Afghan soil. 
“They said Afghanistan has become a haven for terrorists and immediate international action is needed,” the state broadcaster said. 
Ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan deteriorated in 2023 after Islamabad launched a deportation drive against what it said were “undocumented” residents living in its country. The drive mostly affected hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, whom Islamabad blamed for a surge in suicide attacks in the country. 
Pakistan has vowed to crack down on all militants operating in the country. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday acknowledged the role Pakistani security forces played in arresting senior Daesh commander Mohammad Sharifullah from Afghanistan and handing him over to the US. 
Sharifullah allegedly helped carry out the 2021 suicide bombing outside Kabul airport during the chaotic US military withdrawal from Afghanistan. The blast at the Abbey Gate killed at least 170 Afghans as well as 13 US troops who were securing the airport’s perimeter.
The Pakistani prime minister confirmed Sharifullah was an Afghan national, saying that he was arrested after a successful operation in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region. 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson on Thursday strongly condemned Israel for blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza during the holy month of Ramadan, saying that the move could “imperil” its ceasefire agreement with Hamas. 

Israel blocked the entry of aid trucks into Gaza on Sunday amid a standoff over its uneasy truce with Hamas that has halted fighting since January. The blockade is likely to add significant pressure on the over two million Palestinians who are still suffering from shortages of essential goods following 15 months of war.

Israel’s move to block aid into Gaza has been criticized by Muslim countries, including Pakistan, who dread the move could lead to increasing hostilities and trigger a fresh war in Gaza. 

“Pakistan condemns in the strongest possible terms Israel’s decision to block critical humanitarian aid from entering Gaza during the holy month of Ramadan,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said during a weekly press briefing. 

He said Israel’s latest action is part of its systematic campaign to deny humanitarian aid to millions of Palestinians in dire need.

“This constitutes yet another blatant violation of international law by the occupying power and could imperil the ceasefire agreement,” Khan said. 

He urged the international community to ensure unrestricted access to humanitarian aid to Gaza and hold Israel accountable for imposing “collective punishment” on millions of Palestinians by denying them aid. 

Tensions between Israel and Hamas reached a boiling point after the Palestinian group launched a full-pronged attack in southern Israel on Oct.7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 people as hostages into Gaza. 

The subsequent Israeli military campaign killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, displaced almost all of its 2.3 million population and left Gaza a wasteland.

UN and other international aid agencies have been warning against the outbreak of diseases and starvation in Gaza due to Israel’s military campaign in the enclave.