Pakistan issues demarche to Taliban regime
Islamabad, Feb 19: Pakistan has issued a demarche to Afghanistan’s Taliban regime over the alleged use of Afghan soil for a recent terrorist attack that claimed the lives of 11 soldiers, the Foreign Office said on Thursday. Eleven soldiers and one civilian were killed when terrorists rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a security check post in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur area on Monday. According to a press release by the Foreign Office, the demarche was issued on Wednesday afternoon, when the Afghan deputy head of mission was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (AP)
At least 16 die in explosion due to suspected gas leakage in Pak
Karachi, Feb 19: At least 16 people, including many children, were killed and 14 others injured when a suspected gas leakage led to an explosion in a residential building in Pakistan’s Karachi on Thursday morning. “The explosion took place around 4:30 am on the first floor of the building located in the Old Soldier Bazar area when everyone was awake for Sehri time,” police official Jamshed Asher said. The police official said that the reason for the explosion apparently was a gas leakage. The explosion caused a part of the building structure to collapse due to its dilapidated condition. “We are still searching through the rubble and debris to see if there are any more bodies or survivors,” Chief Fire Officer Humayun Khan said. The deceased include at least nine children aged between two and 17 while the injured also include seven children. (PTI)
Unknown gunmen kill 3 militants in Pakistan
Peshawar, Feb 19: At least three militants were killed and four others injured on Thursday after unknown gunmen ambushed a militant group that had earlier killed two government officers in northwest Pakistan, police said. The unknown assailants challenged the militants near Tikawara in DI Khan district, they said. In an exchange of fire, three militants were killed and four others injured, police said. The slain militants were involved in attacks on the Yarik Police Station and the Customs House in the district and the killing of a policeman and a customs official, police said. The remaining militants fled the scene, abandoning their weapons. (PTI)
Ex-Korean Prez Yoon gets life term for imposing martial law
Seoul, Feb 19: Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to life in prison for his brief imposition of martial law in a dramatic culmination to the country’s biggest political crisis in decades. Yoon was ousted from office after a baffling attempt to overcome an opposition-controlled legislature by declaring martial law and sending troops to surround the National Assembly on December 3, 2024. Judge Jee Kui-youn of the Seoul Central District Court said he found Yoon guilty of rebellion for mobilizing military and police forces in an illegal attempt to seize the liberal-led Assembly, arrest politicians and establish unchecked power for a “considerable” time. (AP)
