Pakistan appoints Mueenul Haq as India's new envoy
Islamabad: Pakistan on Monday appointed career diplomat Mueenul Haq as the High Commissioner to India. Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday approved appointments of over two dozen ambassadors in various countries including India, China and Japan.
Haq, the current ambassador to France, has previously served as chief of protocol at the Foreign Office.
The post of High Commissioner to India fell vacant after Sohail Mehmood was appointed Pakistan's new foreign secretary.
The decision came after a detailed meeting with Prime Minister Khan, who formally approved the new appointments, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said in a video message.
Qureshi said, "New Delhi, India, is very important After consultation I have decided to appoint Mueenul Haq, the current ambassador in France, who will be sent to (New) Delhi, and I hope that he (Haq) will deliver."
Qureshi said that Indian elections were coming to end and it was possible that after the elections a new process of engagement could start.
He expressed hope that Haq would perform his new job with best of his abilities.
Since assuming the office in August last year, Prime Minister Khan repeatedly reached out to India for the resumption of peace talks on all outstanding issues. But India has made it clear to Pakistan that terrorism and dialogue will not go hand-in-hand.
Confirming the major appointments, the foreign minister said Naghmana Hashmi, career diplomat, is being sent to China, which is "very important" country for Pakistan.
She will replace Masood Khalid, the incumbent envoy to China, after completion of his tenure.
Additional Secretary Imtiaz Ahmad was appointed ambassador to Japan while Zaheer Janjua, currently serving as additional secretary to Europe, was sent to Pakistani mission in Brussels.
Additional Secretary Amina Baloch was appointed Ambassador in Malaysia, Javed Khattak in Portugal, Saqlain Sayeda in Kenya, Rukhsana Afzal in Singapore, Khalid Jamali in Czech Republic and Ataul Munim in Algeria.
Sarfaraz Ahmad appointed as ambassador to Sudan, Imran Haider was appointed as ambassador in Tajikistan, Major General Abdul Aziz Tariq in Brunei and Major General Muhammad Khalid Rao in Bosnia Herzegovina.
Qureshi said council generals appointed included Khalid Majeed in Jeddah, Ayesha Abbas Khan in New York.
Ambassador in Kuwait Ghulam Dastagir will replace Muazzam Ali Khan in Abu Dhabi, while Qazi Khalilullah, serving as ambassador in Russia, was being given an extension of six months.
Qureshi hoped that the newly-appointed ambassadors and consul generals will play a pivotal in promoting the soft image of Pakistan and will adopt the best behaviour with Pakistani community living abroad.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
