Gujarat couple seeking to enter US illegally held captive in Iran by Pak agent: Police
Ahmedabad (PTI): A young couple from Naroda area in Gujarat's Ahmedabad city who planned to enter the US illegally has been held hostage in Iran by a Pakistani agent who has sought money for their release, police said.
A process was on to register an FIR in this connection at Krushnanagar Police Station in Naroda area and the Ahmedabad city crime branch has started an investigation into the matter, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Chaitanya Mandlik said on Monday.
Since the incident has taken place outside the country, the crime branch will approach the Indian Embassy in Iran with all details to secure the release of the couple, identified as Pankaj Patel and his wife Nisha Patel, both aged 29, the official said.
As per details shared with Krushnanagar police by the couple's family, the two wanted to enter the US illegally and came in contact with a Hyderabad-based agent who arranged for their air tickets.
As per the agent's plan, the couple was supposed to land at Tehran in Iran and then proceed further as per instructions, police said. However, after they landed at Tehran airport a few days back, a Pakistani agent took them to a hotel and held them hostage for ransom, officials said.
The Pakistani agent and his accomplices thrashed Pankaj Patel and sent a video to his kin and sought a huge amount of money to release the couple, they added.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismisses defence minister in surprise announcement
Jerusalem, Nov 5: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday dismissed his popular defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in a surprise announcement that came as the country is embroiled in wars on multiple fronts across the region.
Netanyahu and Gallant have repeatedly been at odds over the war in Gaza. But Netanyahu had avoided firing his rival. Netanyahu cited “significant gaps” and a “crisis of trust” between the men in his Tuesday evening announcement.
“In the midst of a war, more than ever, full trust is required between the prime minister and defence minister,” Netanyahu said. “Unfortunately, although in the first months of the campaign there was such trust and there was very fruitful work, during the last months this trust cracked between me and the defence minister.”
In the early days of the war, Israel's leadership presented a unified front as it responded to Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack. But as the war dragged on and spread to Lebanon, key policy differences have emerged. While Netanyahu has called for continued military pressure on Hamas, Gallant had taken a more pragmatic approach, saying that military force has created the necessary conditions for a diplomatic deal that could bring home hostages held by the Hamas group.
Gallant, a former general who has gained public respect with a gruff, no-nonsense personality, said in a statement: “The security of the state of Israel always was, and will always remain, my life's mission."
Gallant has worn a simple, black buttoned shirt throughout the war in a sign of sorrow over the October 7 attack and developed a strong relationship with his US counterpart, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.
A previous attempt by Netanyahu to fire Gallant in March 2023 sparked widespread street protests against Netanyahu. He also flirted with the idea of dismissing Gallant over the summer but held off until Tuesday's announcement.
Gallant will be replaced by Foreign Minister Israel Katz, a Netanyahu loyalist and veteran Cabinet minister who was a junior officer in the military. Gideon Saar, a former Netanyahu rival who recently rejoined the government, will take the foreign affairs post.
Netanyahu has a long history of neutralising his rivals. In his statement, he claimed he had made “many attempts” to bridge the gaps with Gallant.
“But they kept getting wider. They also came to the knowledge of the public in an unacceptable way, and worse than that, they came to the knowledge of the enemy - our enemies enjoyed it and derived a lot of benefit from it,” he said.
