Tag: vows

1 year after Evan Gershkovich’s arrest in Russia, Biden vows to “continue working every day” for his release


Washington — President Biden pledged Friday to “continue working every day” to secure the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich from Russian detention, as the American journalist’s time imprisoned in Russia hit the one-year mark.

“We will continue to denounce and impose costs for Russia’s appalling attempts to use Americans as bargaining chips,” Mr. Biden said in a statement released Friday that also mentioned the case of Paul Whelan, another U.S. citizen who has been held in Russia since 2018.

Gershkovich — whom the U.S. State Department deemed “wrongfully detained” soon after his arrest — is still awaiting a trial on espionage charges that the White House, his family and his employer all insist are fabricated, but which could still see him sentenced to decades in prison.

The U.S.-born son of Soviet emigres covered Russia for six years, as the Kremlin made independent, on-the-ground reporting increasingly dangerous and illegal.

TOPSHOT-RUSSIA-US-JOURNALIST
Journalist Evan Gershkovich, arrested on espionage charges, stands inside a defendants’ cage before a hearing to consider an appeal on his arrest at the Moscow City Court in Moscow, April 18, 2023.

NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP/Getty


His arrest in March 2023 on charges of spying — the first such charge against a Western journalist since the Soviet era — showed that the Kremlin was prepared to go further than ever before in what President Vladimir Putin has called a “hybrid war” with the West.

The Journal and the U.S. government dismiss the espionage allegations as a false pretext to keep Gershkovich locked up, likely to use him as a bargaining chip in a future prisoner exchange deal.

Putin said last month that he would like to see Gershkovich released as part of a prisoner swap, but the Biden administration has said Moscow rejected the most recent exchange offer presented to it.

The 32-year-old, who has been remanded in custody until at least the end of June, faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.

The Gershkovich family said in a letter published by the Wall Street Journal on Friday that they would pursue their campaign for his release.

“We never anticipated this situation happening to our son and brother, let alone a full year with no certainty or clear path forward,” they said. “But despite this long battle, we are still standing strong.”

Gershkovich reported extensively on how ordinary Russians experienced the Ukraine conflict, speaking to the families of dead soldiers and Putin critics. Breaking stories and getting people to talk was becoming increasingly hard, Gershkovich told friends before his arrest.

But as long as it was not impossible, he saw a reason to be there.


Zelenskyy on Ukraine’s ability to win war against Russia

02:15

“He knew for some stories he was followed around and people he talked to would be pressured not to talk to him,” Guardian correspondent Pjotr Sauer, a close friend, told AFP. “But he was accredited by the foreign ministry. I don’t think any of us could see the Russians going as far as charging him with this fake espionage.”

Speaking to CBS News’ Leslie Stahl last week, the reporter’s sister Danielle said the family back in the U.S. was still worried, despite Gershkovich’s repeated assurances to them of his accreditation, which he thought would keep him safe, as it always had.

But as Stahl reported, what used to be unprecedented in Russia has become almost routine under Putin. Gershkovich is only the most recent American to inadvertently become a pawn on Putin’s geopolitical chessboard against the West.

Whelan, a U.S. Marine veteran, has been jailed in Russia for five years. Russian-American ballerina Ksenia Karelina was arrested in January, accused of treason for helping Ukraine. And basketball star Brittney Griner, imprisoned for nine months on drug charges, was finally freed in an exchange for a notorious arms dealer known as the “Merchant of Death.”



Source link

Employer of missing bridge workers vows to help their families. “They were wonderful people,” exec says.


With six workers who went missing after the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge now presumed dead, attention is turning to helping their families. 

An executive with Brawner Builders, a general contractor in Hunt Valley, Maryland, told CBS MoneyWatch the workers had company-sponsored life insurance, while declining to disclose details regarding the policies. Separately, a GoFundMe campaign is aiming to raise $60,000 to help their survivors. 

“The company is doing everything possible to support the families and to counsel the families and to be with the families,” Brawner Builders executive vice president Jeffrey Pritzker said.

The six men were filling potholes on the center span of the bridge when a massive cargo ship struck the bridge early Tuesday morning. Originally from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, the Maryland men were living with their families in Dundalk and Highlandtown, according to WJZ media partner The Baltimore Banner. 

So far, three of the missing workers have been identified:

  • Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, originally from Honduras and who has been living in the U.S. for 20 years
  • Miguel Luna, originally from El Salvador
  • Dorlian Castillo Cabrera, originally from Guatemala 

Sandoval, 38, was the youngest of eight siblings from Azacualpa, a rural mountainous area in northwestern Honduras. He had worked as an industrial technician in Honduras, repairing equipment in the large assembly plants, but the pay was too low to get ahead, one of his brothers, Martín Suazo Sandoval, told the Associated Press Wednesday.

“He always dreamed of having his own business,” he said.


What’s known about the 6 missing from Baltimore bridge collapse

07:26

Another brother, Carlos Suazo Sandoval, said Maynor hoped to retire one day back in Guatamala.

“He was the baby for all of us, the youngest. He was someone who was always happy, was always thinking about the future. He was a visionary,” he told the AP by phone Wednesday from Dundalk, Maryland, near the site of the bridge collapse.

Brawner intends to offer financial assistance to the missing workers’ families as they cope with the sudden loss of income, Pritzker said, without providing additional details on the company’s plans.

“They had families, spouses and children, and they were wonderful people who now are lost,” he said, describing the contractor as a tight-knit business where other employees were “very close” to the missing workers. 

“The company is broken,” Pritzker added.

In a statement on Brawner’s website, company owner Jack Murphy wrote that highway construction work is one of the most dangerous occupations in the U.S. 

Construction workers “go out every day on our highways to make things better for everyone,” he said. “Unfortunately, this tragic event was completely unforeseen and was not something that we could imagine would happen.”


Timeline of Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore

01:49

When performing highway work, Brawner always uses employees, rather than contractors, Pritzker said. But the company sometimes works on other projects, such as building schools, that require it to hire subcontractors. 

The GoFundMe campaign for the missing workers’ families was organized by the Latino Racial Justice Circle, an advocacy group that fights racial injustice, and had raised more than $58,000 as of Wednesday afternoon. Brawner Builders is linking to the GoFundMe on its website, directing people who wish to support the families to the fundraising effort. 

“There’s a great deal of other benefits that will be flowing to the families as a result of this tragedy,” Pritzker said, without providing further details. “Of course that can’t replace the lost of their loved ones.” 

—The Associated Press contributed to this report



Source link

US vows to keep Syria’s chemical weapons program in UN spotlight over Russian and Chinese opposition


UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States and its allies vowed Tuesday to keep Syria’s failure to account for its chemical weapons program in the spotlight at the U.N. Security Council every month despite opposition from Russia and China.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the council Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government “has repeatedly lied to the international community” and to investigators from the international chemical weapons watchdog, which has confirmed that it used these banned weapons on at least nine occasions.

She said the Biden administration will continue to demand a full accounting from Syria as it pledged after joining the Chemical Weapons Convention in September 2013, when it was pressed by its close ally Russia following a deadly chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta, which the West blamed on Damascus.

For the first time, Russia and China refused to speak at the monthly meeting on the Syria chemical weapons issue, saying they are repetitive and should be cut back.

Syria’s minister counsellor Alhakan Dandy did speak, saying his country was surprised at this month’s meeting “given that there have been no developments that would require it,” other than what he called continuous attempts by the United States “to exploit the chemical weapons file to serve their agenda of hostility against Syria.”

He repeated Syria’s condemnation of the use of chemical weapons and called claims it used such weapons in Ghouta, where more than 1,400 people were killed, “lies.” He also insisted the Syrian military doesn’t possess any chemical weapons.

Dandy said Syria has cooperated with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which monitors implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention. But he also accused its investigators of being politicized and “using unprofessional working methods and double standards.”

U.N. deputy disarmament chief Adedeji Ebo told the council, however, that Syria has failed again to provide the OPCW with a full accounting of its program, citing “gaps, inconsistencies and discrepancies” in its declaration.

He singled out unanswered questions about activities at Syria’s Scientific Studies and Research Center “and the declaration of quantities of nerve agents produced at one chemical weapons production facility that was declared by the Syrian Arab Republic as never having been used to produce chemical weapons.”

Ebo reiterated the U.N.’s repeated call on Syria “to respond with urgency” to all OPCW questions.

Syrian representatives did meet a delegation from the OPCW’s technical secretariat in Beirut on June 22 and 23, and Ebo said Syria committed to present proposals for better implementing its obligations. He said the OPCW is waiting to hear from Damascus about resuming consultations.

Thomas-Greenfield expressed regret that two permanent council members, which she didn’t name, didn’t speak. Russia and China were the only countries to remain silent.

“The Assad regime is betting that this council will simply move on,” she said. “It is hoping we will change the subject.”

“We must not succumb to fatigue or, worse, indifference. The Assad regime used weapons of mass destruction against its own people. … And we will not move on, and the regime will not escape accountability,” the U.S. ambassador said.

There was widespread support from other council members that Syria must answer all questions from the OPCW, although the United Arab Emirates, the Arab representative on the council, said the council should discuss the Syria chemical weapons issue every three months, not every month.



Source link

Putin’s deputy accuses NATO of ‘openly fighting’ Russia, vows all enemies will be ‘vanquished’


A senior Russian official said Tuesday that Russia is “strong enough” to defeat NATO countries who are assisting Ukraine amid Russia’s ongoing military invasion. The official also reaffirmed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s commitment to conquerer Eastern Ukrainian territories.

Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation directly under Putin, accused NATO of “openly fighting” against Russia and vowed enemies of Russia would be “vanquished” in a post on Telegram Tuesday.

“The entire NATO system is almost openly fighting against us. We are strong enough to achieve all of the goals of the special military operation,” Putin’s deputy wrote according to a translation. He also compared the current occupation of Ukraine to Moscow’s invasion of neighboring Georgia in 2008.

He added, “Just like in August 2008, our enemies will be vanquished and Russia will secure peace on its own terms. Victory will be ours!”

UKRAINE SAYS RUSSIA HAS LOST 250K TROOPS SINCE PUTIN FIRST INVADED, ZELENSKYY SHARES TRIUMPHANT MESSAGE

Putin, Medvedev

Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation directly under Putin, accused NATO of “openly fighting” against Russia.

NATO has 31 member countries, with Finland being added earlier this year. Some NATO members include the U.S., U.K., France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Poland and Portugal.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Ukraine is seeking to join NATO and received a pathway to membership. Still, world leaders said the country would only be added after its war with Russia ends, as membership requires NATO countries to also declare war on Russia.

Medvedev’s comments come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced early Tuesday that he had a phone call with Prime Minister Mark Rutte of Netherlands, also a NATO member.

“I am grateful for the accession of the Netherlands to the G7 Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine. We discussed future bilateral security guarantees in the framework of this declaration, which should be based on the key role of the Netherlands in the coalition of fighter jets,” Zelenskyy said.

US TROOPS IN UKRAINE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE HAZARD PAY IN MOVE THAT MAY RILE PUTIN: EXPERT

He added, “I spoke about the situation on the battlefield and outlined the current defense needs, including artillery, armored vehicles, and air defense systems to protect the infrastructure of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.”

The comments also come as Russia launched a “double tap” missile strike into the downtown area of the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk Monday evening, leaving at least seven dead. The deceased included five civilians, one rescue worker and one soldier.

At least 39 victims were left injured in the attack.

The “double tap” attack — or striking an area twice within a short period — specifically targeted rescue workers in the war, Ukrainian officials said.

Donetsk Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said a barrage of Iskander missiles struck the city. About 40 minutes later, another barrage struck as rescue workers were tending to the victims of the first attack.

“All of (the police) were there because they were needed, putting their efforts into rescuing people after the first strike,” Ivan Vyhivskyi, chief of Ukraine’s National Police, said Tuesday. “They knew that under the rubble were the injured — they needed to react, to dig, to retrieve, to save. And the enemy deliberately struck the second time.”

Russia’s military has used “double tap” attacks with missiles, drones or artillery throughout its invasion of Ukraine. It used the same tactic when fighting in Syria’s civil war.

The head of the Pokrovsk City Administration, Serhii Dobriak, described the attacks on Pokrovsk as “a typical Russian scenario: 30-40 minutes between missiles.”

“When rescuers come to save people’s lives, another rocket arrives. And the number of casualties increases,” he said in a video comment to local media.

Ukraine’s presidential office said Russia launched separate attacks overnight on the town of Kruhliakivka, leaving three civilians dead, and on a village near Kupiansk, killing two civilians.

Russia first invaded its neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. The invasion crossed 530 days earlier this week.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.



Source link

North Korea’s Kim tours weapons factories and vows to advance war readiness


North Korean leader Kim Jong Un toured the country’s key weapons factories, including those producing artillery systems and launch vehicles for nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, and pledged to speed up efforts to advance his military’s arms and war readiness, state media said Sunday.

Kim’s three-day inspections through Saturday came as the United States and South Korea prepared for their next round of combined military exercises planned for later this month to counter the growing North Korean threat.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest level in years as the pace of North Korea’s missile tests and the joint U.S.-South Korea military drills, which Kim portrays as invasion rehearsals, have both intensified in a tit-for-tat cycle.

Some experts say Kim’s tour of the weapons factories could also be related to possible military cooperation with Moscow that may involve North Korean supplies of artillery and other ammunition as Russian President Vladimir Putin reaches out to other countries for support in the war in Ukraine.

Koo Byoungsam, spokesperson of South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, said Friday that Kim’s staged visits to the arms factories are possibly aimed at both demonstrating North Korea’s military might in the face of U.S.-South Korean drills and also communicating an intent to export weapons.

“We express deep regret that North Korea continues to develop nuclear weapons and ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles) as well as conventional weapons at the expense of the wellbeing of its citizens,” Koo said during a briefing.

During a visit to an unspecified factory producing large-caliber artillery systems, Kim stressed the facility’s “important responsibility and duty” in further boosting his military’s “war preparations,” North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said.

Kim praised the factory’s efforts to employ “scientific and technological measures” to improve the quality of shells, reduce processing times for propellent tubes and increase manufacturing speed. He also urged the factory to move ahead with development and large-scale production of new kinds of ammunition, the KCNA said.

Kim Jong Un speaking to aides in front of military vehicles at an undisclosed location.
Kim Jong Un speaking to aides in front of military vehicles at an undisclosed location. KCNA / AFP – Getty Images

Kim echoed the message in visits to two other factories, calling the delivery of launcher trucks designed to transport and fire ballistic missiles “a top priority” for the military and urging for the “rapid expansion” of production of more reliable engines for cruise missiles and drones.

North Korean photos showed Kim walking past huge launcher trucks designed for intercontinental ballistic missiles which recent tests indicated they could potentially reach the U.S. mainland. Other photos showed Kim firing scoped rifles during a visit to a small arms factory where he said soldiers’ firearms need to be modernized, according to KCNA.

In the face of deepening confrontations with Washington and Seoul, Kim has been trying boost the visibility of his partnerships with Moscow and Beijing as he tries to break out of diplomatic isolation and insert himself into a united front against the United States.

His tour of the weapons factories comes after a giant military parade last month in North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang, where Kim was joined by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and a Chinese ruling party official while rolling out his most powerful missiles designed to target South Korea and the United States.

Shoigu’s presence at the July 27 parade, which came after Kim took him on a tour of a domestic arms exhibition, demonstrated North Korea’s support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and added to suspicions the North was willing to supply arms to Russia to support its war efforts.

Cheong Seong Chang, an analyst at South Korea’s Sejong Institute, said Kim’s visits to the factories likely had a dual goal of encouraging the modernization of domestically produced weapons and examining artillery and other supplies that can possibly be exported to Russia.

Kim’s comments at the artillery factory about improving the quality of shells and the need to develop new types of ammunition, which he described as key to the country’s “national defense economic work,” clearly communicate an intent for exports to Russia, Cheong said.

When asked whether North Korea has ever used the term “national defense economic work” in government comments before, Koo didn’t answer directly but described it as “very rare.”

“If they meant arms exports with this, then they are openly pledging to violate U.N. Security Council resolutions, and I think that would be deplorable,” Koo said.

North Korea has been aligning with Russia over the war in Ukraine, insisting that the “hegemonic policy” of the U.S.-led West forced Moscow to take military action to protect its security interests. But Pyongyang has denied U.S. accusations that it has been providing arms to Russia to aid its fighting in Ukraine.

Cheong said Kim’s comments at the factory about making missile-launch trucks could indicate that the North is seeing some progress in increasing the production of those vehicles, which would possibly improve the operational range of its ballistic weapons designed to target neighboring rivals and the U.S. mainland.



Source link

North Korean leader Kim tours weapons factories and vows to boost war readiness in face of tensions


SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un toured the country’s key weapons factories, including those producing artillery systems and launch vehicles for nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, and pledged to speed up efforts to advance his military’s arms and war-readiness, state media said Sunday.

Kim’s three-day inspections through Saturday came as the United States and South Korea prepared for their next round of combined military exercises planned for later this month to cope with the growing North Korean threat.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest level in years as the pace of North Korea’s missile tests and the joint U.S.-South Korea military drills, which Kim portrays as invasion rehearsals, have both intensified in a tit-for-tat cycle.

Some experts say Kim’s tour of the weapons factories could also be related to possible military cooperation with Moscow that may involve North Korean supplies of artillery and other ammunition as Russian President Vladimir Putin reaches out to other countries for support in the war in Ukraine.

During Kim’s visit to an unspecified factory producing large-caliber artillery systems, he stressed the factory’s “important responsibilities and tasks in perfecting (the North’s) war readiness,” North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said.

Kim praised the factory’s efforts to employ “scientific and technological measures” to improve the quality of shells, reduce processing times for propellent tubes and increase manufacturing speed, but also called for the need to develop and produce new types of shells, KCNA said.

At another factory manufacturing launcher trucks designed to transport and fire ballistic missiles, Kim said increasing the supply of the vehicles is a top priority for the military and complimented workers for establishing a “solid foundation” for production.

At a factory producing engines for cruise missiles and drones, Kim called for “rapidly expanding” production, KCNA said. Kim’s stops also included a small arms factory, where he stressed the need to modernize the weapons carried by soldiers. Photos published by state media showed Kim firing at least two different scoped rifles from a table.

In the face of deepening confrontations with Washington and Seoul, Kim has been trying boost the visibility of his partnerships with Moscow and Beijing as he tries to break out of diplomatic isolation and insert himself into a united front against the United States.

His tour of the weapons factories comes after a giant military parade last month in North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang, where Kim was joined by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and a Chinese ruling party official while rolling out his most powerful missiles designed to target South Korea and the United States.

Shoigu’s presence at the July 27 parade, which came after Kim took him on a tour of a domestic arms exhibition, demonstrated North Korea’s support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and added to suspicions the North was willing to supply arms to Russia to support its war efforts.

Cheong Seong Chang, an analyst at South Korea’s Sejong Institute, said Kim’s visits to the factories likely had a dual goal of encouraging the modernization of domestically produced weapons and examining artillery and other supplies that can possibly be exported to Russia.

Kim’s comments at the artillery factory about improving the quality of shells and the need to develop new types of ammunition, which he described as key to the country’s “defense economic projects,” clearly communicate an intent for exports to Russia, Cheong said.

North Korea has been aligning with Russia over the war in Ukraine, insisting that the “hegemonic policy” of the U.S.-led West forced Moscow to take military action to protect its security interests. But Pyongyang has denied U.S. accusations that it has been providing arms to Russia to aid its fighting in Ukraine.

Cheong said Kim’s comments at the factory about making missile-launch trucks could indicate that the North is seeing some progress in increasing the production of those vehicles, which would possibly improve the operational range of its ballistic weapons designed to target neighboring rivals and the U.S. mainland.



Source link

Trump attorney vows strong defense against latest indictment: “We are in a constitutional abyss”


Former President Donald Trump’s attorney John Lauro characterized the second federal indictment of his client as an unprecedented criminalization of political speech and argued that Trump noticed irregularities and saw “the rules being changed” in the middle of the 2020 presidential election.

“This is the first time that political speech has been criminalized in the history of the United States,” Lauro told “CBS Mornings” a day after a federal grand jury indicted Trump on felony counts related to his efforts to remain in power after losing the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

“It’s the first time where a current president is using the criminal process to attack a former president on policy issues,” Lauro said. “We are in a constitutional abyss right now. We’ve never seen this … the president wants his day in court. Most importantly, he wants to get to the truth, which we will do in this case.”

A federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted Trump on four felony counts related to his efforts to remain in power after the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Investigators from special counsel Jack Smith’s office allege Trump and six unnamed co-conspirators tried to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory at the polls, leading to the U.S. Capitol being stormed on Jan. 6, 2021.

The 45-page indictment charged Trump with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights. Trump has been charged by the Manhattan district attorney’s office in a case centering around hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the run-up to the 2016 election.

In addition, prosecutors allege that Trump asked a staffer to delete camera footage at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, in an effort to obstruct the federal investigation into his possession of classified documents.  Trump denies any wrongdoing.

In connection with the most recent indictment, Lauro maintained that Trump’s actions were protected by the First Amendment as he voiced concerns about the election process. 

The indictment also brings to light the relationship between Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence. Lauro said that Trump expects Pence to be a witness, but believes Trump’s actions were constitutional.  

“Not once did he [Pence] say, ‘Mr. Trump, what you’re asking me is criminal. Don’t do that,'” Lauro said. 

Meanwhile, Trump is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday. Lauro addressed concerns about whether Trump would indeed appear in court, stating that the decision hinges on the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Marshals Service. 

“He’s required to appear either virtually or in person on Thursday, and he’ll do that,” he said. 

Lauro said that to ensure a fair trial, [note deletion] the defense team may seek a change of venue to West Virginia or another part of the country.

“The president, like everyone sitting in this room, is entitled to a fair trial. And we’re gonna get that,” he said.  

In regards to whether he will continue his bid for president in the upcoming 2024 election, Lauro said Trump’s plans haven’t changed.

“In a case where there’s a political prosecution, there’s no doubt that he’s going to continue to run,” Lauro said. “None of these charges preclude him from being president of the United States. Not one.” 



Source link

Pakistan holds funerals as government vows to hunt down those behind deadly suicide bombing


Pakistan held funerals on Monday for victims of a massive suicide bombing that targeted a rally of a pro-Taliban cleric the previous day as the government vowed to hunt down those behind the attack.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for Sunday’s bombing, which killed at least 43 people and wounded nearly 100. Police said their initial investigation suggests the Islamic State group’s regional affiliate could be behind the attack.

The victims were all from the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, which is headed by hard-line cleric and politician Fazlur Rehman. He did not attend the rally, held under a large tent close to a market in Bajur, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan.

The IS regional affiliate — known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province — is based in neighboring Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province and is a rival of the Afghan Taliban.

Bajur was a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban — a close ally of Afghanistan’s Taliban government — before several Pakistani army offensives that ended in 2016 claimed to have driven them out of the area.

The cleric’s supporters had gathered in Bajut on Sunday as part of their party’s preparations for the next parliamentary elections, expected sometime in October or November after the current parliament’s five-year term ends.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to dissolve the parliament in August to pave the way for the vote. Rehman’s party is part of Sharif’s coalition government, which came to power in April 2022 by ousting former Prime Minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence vote in the legislature.

At least 44 people were killed and more than 100 others wounded on July 30 by a suicide bombing at a political gathering of a leading Islamic party in northwest Pakistan, officials said.
A boy mourns the death of a relative in Bajaur district on Monday.Abdul Majeed / AFP – Getty Images

Khan later on Sunday also condemned the bombing, as condolences continued to pour in from across the country.

Dozens of people who received minor injuries were discharged from hospital while the critically wounded were taken to the city of Peshawar by army helicopters.

Local police chief Akhtar Hayat Gandapur told NBC News on Monday that they have confirmed 43 deaths, with around 90 people injured and under treatment in different hospitals.

Jalil Jan, a spokesperson for the Jamiat Ulema Islam political party, said earlier that the death toll was 55.

Sharif called Rehman to express his condolences and assure the cleric that those who orchestrated the attack would be punished. The bombing has also drawn nationwide condemnation, with ruling and opposition parties offering condolences to the families of the victims. The U.S. and Russian embassies in Islamabad also condemned the attack.



Source link

Pakistan holds funerals as government vows to hunt down those behind the weekend’s suicide bombing


KHAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan held funerals on Monday for victims of a massive suicide bombing that targeted a rally of a pro-Taliban cleric the previous day as the death toll climbed to at least 45 and the government vowed to hunt down those behind the attack.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for Sunday’s bombing, which also wounded nearly 200 people. Police said their initial investigation suggests the Islamic State group’s regional affiliate could be behind the attack.

The victims were all from the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, which is headed by hard-line cleric and politician Fazlur Rehman. He did not attend the rally, held under a large tent close to a market in Bajur, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan.

The IS regional affiliate — known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province — is based in neighboring Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province and is a rival of the Afghan Taliban. Bajur was a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban — a close ally of Afghanistan’s Taliban government — before several Pakistani army offensives that ended in 2016 claimed to have driven them out of the area.

The cleric’s supporters had gathered in Bajut on Sunday as part of their party’s preparations for the next parliamentary elections, expected sometime in October or November after the current parliament’s five-year term ends.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to dissolve the parliament in August to pave the way for the vote. Rehman’s party is part of Sharif’s coalition government, which came to power in April 2022 by ousting former Prime Minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence vote in the legislature.

Khan later on Sunday also condemned the bombing, as condolences continued to pour in from across the country. Dozens of people who received minor injuries were discharged from hospital while the critically wounded were taken to the city of Peshawar by army helicopters. The death toll on Sunday was reported to be 44 but rose to 45 on Monday as a critically wounded person died at a hospital, physician Gul Naseeb said.

Sharif called Rehman to express his condolences and assure the cleric that those who orchestrated the attack would be punished. The bombing has also drawn nationwide condemnation, with ruling and opposition parties offering condolences to the families of the victims. The U.S. and Russian embassies in Islamabad also condemned the attack.

Abdul Rasheed, a senior leader in Rehman’s party said the bombing was aimed at weakening the party but that “such attacks cannot deter our resolve.”

The Pakistani Taliban also distanced themselves from the attack. The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, said the attack aimed to set Islamists against each other. Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Afghan Taliban, posted on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that “such crimes cannot be justified in any way.”

The bombing came hours before the arrival of Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Islamabad, where on Monday he was to participate in an event to mark a decade of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a sprawling package under which Beijing has invested billions of dollars in Pakistan.

In recent months, China has helped Pakistan avoid a default on sovereign payments. Some Chinese nationals have also been targeted by militants in northwestern Pakistan and elsewhere.

Feroz Jamal, the provincial information minister, said police were “investigating this attack in all aspects.”

Sunday’s bombing was one of the four worst attacks in northwestern Pakistan since 2014, when 147 people, mostly schoolchildren, were killed in a Taliban attack on an army-run school in Peshawar.

In January, 74 people were killed in a bombing at a mosque in Peshawar. And in February, more than 100 people, mostly policemen, died in a bombing at a mosque inside a high-security compound housing Peshawar police headquarters.



Source link