Terror plot on Pakistan’s Masroor airbase thwarted, 9 held
Karachi, April 11: Pakistani intelligence agencies have foiled a major terror plot aimed at the strategically vital Pakistan Air Force Masroor Base here, which was intended to cause “maximum damage,” a media report said on Friday. According to a report in the Jang newspaper, intelligence agencies carried out raids this week and arrested nine suspected militants who were tasked with launching a terror attack on the Masroor airbase to inflict casualties and cause maximum damage to aircraft and infrastructure. The nine militants were arrested from their safe houses in Karachi, and of them, five were identified as Afghans. Citing intelligence sources, the report said that the nine militants entered Pakistan from Afghanistan a month ago and have been based in a low-income neighbourhood near the airbase for the last month, surveilling the area to execute their plans. A source said the militants were tasked with attacking the base using “heavy ammunition and explosives” to stall any operation and engage security forces for a “long time, while also causing maximum damage to the base and aircraft.” “They had no intention of coming out alive from the base and we recovered a lot of material, ammunition and explosives maps outlining their plans,” the source was quoted as saying. (PTI)
‘Take steps for return of mistakenly deported man’
Greenbelt (US), April 11: A federal judge directed the Trump administration to “take all available steps to facilitate the return” of a Maryland man who was mistakenly sent to a notorious El Salvador prison and set a status conference in the case for Friday. US District Judge Paula Xinis’ order comes after the US Supreme Courtsaid Thursday that the Trump administration must work to bring back Kilmar Abrego Garcia, rejecting the administration’s emergency appeal of her April 4 order for his return. The Salvadoran citizen had an immigration court order preventing his deportation to his native country over fears he would face persecution from local gangs. Acting on the heels of the Supreme Court ruling, Xinis directed the administration to file by Friday morning a declaration addressing Abrego Garcia’s location and custodial status and what steps the administration has taken and will take to facilitate his return. (AP)
Indian Consulate in Melbourne vandalised again
Melbourne, April 11: The Indian Consulate in Melbourne has been targeted in an act of vandalism with the Indian High Commission in Canberra raising the issue with Australian authorities on Friday. The Consulate premises in Melbourne have previously been the site of similar provocations, with slogans defacing the premises in past years during periods of heightened international tension, The Australia Today reported. Victoria Police said graffiti was discovered at the front entrance of the diplomatic premises around 1:00 am early Thursday. “Officers believe the front entry of the building was graffitied overnight, sometime between Wednesday and Thursday. An investigation into the damage remains ongoing,” a police spokesperson said. The High Commission in a post on X on Friday said it raised the issue with Australian authorities. (PTI)