‘Seed Of Pakistan Will Be Destroyed': Foreign Affairs Expert Warns Islamabad After Nuke Threat
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
3 hours ago
- The Hindu
Military airstrike on gem mining town kills at least 21 in Myanmar
An airstrike by Myanmar's military on the town of Mogok, the centre of the Southeast Asian country's lucrative gem-mining industry, has killed at least 21 people including a pregnant woman, an armed opposition group, local residents and Myanmar's online media said on Saturday (August 16, 2025). The incident was the latest in a series of frequent and deadly military airstrikes, often causing civilian casualties, that have intensified in a bid to reclaim territory from resistance groups amid the ongoing civil war that erupted after the Army seized power in February 2021. The attack occurred on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. in Shwegu ward in Mogok township, about 115 kilometres northeast of Mandalay, the country's second-largest city, said Lway Yay Oo, a spokesperson for the the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA). The TNLA is one of the powerful ethnic militias fighting against the Army near the Chinese border. 'About 21 civilians were killed. Seven others were injured. Homes and Buddhist monastery buildings were also damaged,' Lway Yay Oo said. Mogok, the ruby-mining centre in the upper Mandalay region, was seized in July 2024 by the TNLA, a member of an alliance of ethnic militias that seized a large swath of territory in northeastern Myanmar in an offensive that began in late 2023. The group's statement released on Friday night on its Telegram social media channel said 16 women were among the victims killed in the airstrike that appeared to target a Buddhist monastery in Mogok's Shwegu ward. It said 15 houses were also damaged when a jet fighter dropped a bomb. Two Mogok residents told The Associated Press on Saturday that the death toll had risen to nearly 30, though the exact casualties could not be independently confirmed. The residents, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were afraid of being arrested by the military, said the death toll was high because one of the bombed houses had been hosting visitors to the pregnant woman. Independent online media, including Myanmar Now and Democratic Voice of Burma, released pictures and videos said to be of debris in the aftermath of the airstrike. The military did not comment on the incident in Mogok. In the past, the Army has said it only attacks legitimate targets of war, accusing the resistance forces of being terrorists. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the Army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. After peaceful demonstrations were put down with lethal force, many opponents of military rule took up arms, and large parts of the country are now embroiled in conflict. The military government has stepped up airstrikes against the armed pro-democracy People's Defence Force and ethnic militias that have been fighting for greater autonomy for decades. The resistance forces have no defence against air attacks. The TNLA's statement said that another 17 people including two Buddhist monks had been killed and 20 others were injured in the first two weeks of August by airstrikes in areas controlled by the group. About 16 people, mostly truck drivers, were killed in airstrikes last Monday on a convoy of trucks that were parked on the road due to heavy fighting near the town of Sagaing in central Myanmar, according to independent Myanmar media reports. Opponents and independent analysts estimate the Army now controls less than half the country while maintaining a tenacious grip on much of central Myanmar, including the capital, Naypyidaw. It has accelerated counter-offensives ahead of the election it has promised to hold at the end of this year in order to retake areas controlled by opposition forces. Critics say the elections won't be democratic because there is no free media and most leaders of Suu Kyi's party have been arrested. The plan is widely seen as an attempt to legitimise and maintain the military's rule. Several opposition groups have said they would seek to derail the election.
India.com
3 hours ago
- India.com
Bangladesh belongs to all, says army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman during Janmashtami celebration at Dhaka's Dhakeshwari temple
(Image: New Delhi: Bangladesh Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman has said that Bangladesh is a country of people of all religions and communities. All citizens living in Bangladesh are equal, irrespective of their religion or region. He said this while addressing the Hindu devotees gathered on the occasion of the inauguration of the Janmashtami rally at Dhaka's Dhakeshwari temple. What did Waker-Uz-Zaman say? General Zaman's drawing attention towards the secular structure of the country from the Dhakeshwari temple is a veiled message for the Yunus government. After Yunus took over the command of the interim government in August last year, minority Hindus and temples have been targeted in Bangladesh. In such a situation, the Army Chief has given a strong message to the fundamentalists in his speech. People of all religions should live together General Zaman thanked the temple committee for inviting him to the Janmashtami celebrations and said, 'Bangladesh is a country of harmony, where Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Paharis, and Bengalis have been living together peacefully for centuries. On this auspicious occasion of Janmashtami, our resolution should be to always maintain this brotherhood.' 'Bangladesh belongs to everyone; there will be no division here. There can be no discrimination based on religion, caste or sect. We are all citizens of this land, and we all have equal rights in it. We all wish for a golden future together,' said Zaman. Bangladesh army will maintain unity Waker-Uz-Zaman said that the army is committed to maintaining the spirit of unity. He told the Hindu devotees, 'Armed forces are deployed throughout Bangladesh for your security and order. You celebrate your religious festivals with joy, and we will also join you in this moment of joy.'
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
3 hours ago
- First Post
Pakistan Army chief Munir rejects speculation over President Zardari's ouster
Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir dismissed rumours about President Asif Ali Zardari's removal as false, stressing unity between the government and the establishment. Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir has ruled out any change in the leadership, describing rumours about the removal of President Asif Ali Zardari as completely false and against both the government and the establishment, a media report said on Saturday. In July, social media reports began to circulate that President Zardari may be asked to step down and that the army chief would take over the top office. However, top government officials — Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi — rejected such claims. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Suhail Warraich, a columnist for the Jang media group, claimed in an article published Saturday that the army chief had spoken to him in person on the matter during a recent meeting in Brussels. Munir briefly stayed in Belgium on his return from last week's visit to the United States. 'The talk started with politics, especially on rumours that there is some effort to change the president of Pakistan as well as the prime minister. Field Marshal Munir clearly said, during both the Brussels gathering and in his two-hour discussion with me, that the rumours about a change were completely false,' Warraich claimed in the column published in the Urdu daily Jang. 'There are elements behind this (rumour) who oppose both the government and the authorities and wish to create political anarchy,' the army chief was quoted as saying. The article claimed that Munir also outlined his ambitions in the Brussels gathering, saying that: 'God has made me protector of the country. I do not desire any position other than that.' 'On a question about politics, he [Munir] said that political reconciliation is possible only if there is a sincere apology,' the report read. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Although it was not clear who Munir was referring to, it can be inferred that he may have been referring to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf: and its incarcerated leader, Imran Khan. On foreign relations, Munir was said to have expressed confidence in maintaining equilibrium between the US and China. 'We will not sacrifice one friend for the other,' Munir was quoted as saying. The army chief also described President Donald Trump's efforts for peace as 'genuine', and said Pakistan had taken the lead in nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize, which was then followed by other nations.
