Author: EchoAsiaNews

According to Dawn, Parliamentary Secretary for Information and Broadcasting, Barrister Danyal Chaudhry, on Monday emphasized that national security is “non‑negotiable” following Pakistan’s recent strikes on terrorist targets in Afghanistan, which killed over 80 militants. “Pakistan has always chosen the path of dialogue and peaceful coexistence. But when Afghan soil continues to be used for proxy attacks, we have no choice but to defend our homeland,” Chaudhry said in a statement, stressing that the people of Pakistan “stand firmly” with their armed forces in the fight against terrorism. Chaudhry urged the Afghan government to take “decisive action to prevent its land…

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has lost another HAL Tejas light combat aircraft in an accident earlier this month, prompting the grounding of its entire fleet pending technical inspections, Indian media reported. According to reports, the aircraft was landing after a routine training sortie on February 7 at a key air base when it encountered a suspected technical malfunction or brake failure, overshot the runway and suffered severe airframe damage. The pilot ejected safely and did not sustain serious injuries, sources said. Following the accident, the IAF grounded its fleet of around 30 single‑seat Tejas jets to conduct comprehensive technical checks and…

Five terrorists were killed in an intelligence‑based operation (IBO) conducted by security forces in Pishin district of Balochistan, the Inter‑Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Monday. According to an ISPR statement, troops engaged the group after receiving actionable intelligence about their presence. During the operation, an intense exchange of fire took place, and a suspected suicide bomber detonated explosive, killing himself. Four other militants were subsequently engaged and killed by security forces. Weapons, ammunition and explosive materials were recovered from the site, the military added, noting that the eliminated militants were involved in ongoing terrorist activities in the area. Sanitization…

Greenland and Denmark have formally rejected an offer from U.S. President Donald Trump to send a hospital ship to the Arctic island, saying such aid is unnecessary because Greenland already has a functioning public healthcare system, officials said Sunday. Trump announced the proposal on social media, saying he was sending “a great hospital boat to Greenland to take care of the many people who are sick, and not being taken care of there,” and suggested the mission was being coordinated with Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, whom he appointed as special envoy to Greenland. In response, Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen…

A Palestinian-Syrian film director accused Germany of being “partners in the genocide in Gaza by Israel” during an awards ceremony at the Berlin International Film Festival, prompting a German minister to walk out of the event. Abdallah Al-Khatib made the remarks on Saturday night after his documentary, Chronicles From the Siege, won the Berlinale’s Perspectives section for emerging filmmakers. His comments came at the close of a politically charged edition of the festival, where organisers had faced criticism from some actors and directors for not taking a clear stance on the war in Gaza. Speaking on stage, Al-Khatib said he…

Pakistan carried out intelligence-based military airstrikes along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border on Sunday, targeting militant hideouts in response to a series of recent attacks on Pakistani soil, government sources and officials said. The strikes were aimed at camps and positions associated with militant groups blamed for violence inside Pakistan. According to security sources, Pakistani forces struck seven locations in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar, Paktika and Khost provinces, hitting what Islamabad described as hideouts and operational bases linked to banned armed groups. Pakistan’s State Minister for Interior, Talal Chaudhry, said in a televised statement that the operations resulted in the neutralization of nearly 80…

The Ministry of Finance on Saturday rejected claims that Pakistan is paying interest rates of up to 8 per cent on its external sovereign loans, terming the assertion misleading and taken out of context. In a statement reported by Dawn, the ministry said that while some commercial borrowings may carry higher rates, the overall average cost of the country’s external public debt remains significantly lower. According to the ministry, Pakistan’s total external debt and liabilities stand at approximately $138 billion. However, it clarified that external public debt, which refers specifically to government borrowings, is around $92 billion. Of this amount,…

A gas cylinder explosion ripped through a residential building in North Nazimabad on Sunday, killing a teenage boy and injuring four others, rescue officials and police said. The explosion occurred inside a 10th-floor apartment near the Hyderi commercial area, triggering a fire that spread to four flats on the same floor. The impact of the blast also damaged the roof of a ninth-floor apartment and affected the building’s elevator system. Emergency response teams, including four fire tenders, a water bowser and snorkel units, were dispatched to the scene. Firefighters battled the blaze for several hours before bringing it under control.…

A Russian missile struck an Oreo cookie factory in eastern Ukraine on Saturday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said, marking the second time the facility has been hit since the war began in 2022, Reuters reported. Sybiha posted on X that the strike damaged a production building at the plant in Trostyanets, but there were no casualties. The facility, which manufactures Oreo cookies, is owned by U.S.-based snack giant Mondelez International. “This is not just an attack on Ukraine,” Sybiha wrote, adding that the missile strike was also aimed at “American business interests in Europe.” The same factory was badly…

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said that Gianni Infantino, president of global soccer’s governing body Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and an IOC member, did not breach political neutrality rules by attending the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace, the IOC confirmed on Saturday, Reuters reported. Infantino appeared this week at the launch of the Board of Peace alongside Donald Trump, the U.S. president, and other world leaders. The meeting, held in Washington, focused on reconstruction efforts in Gaza, including sport-related development projects. An IOC spokesperson said the committee had been in contact with FIFA and understood…