PAKISTAN: CAUGHT BETWEEN SAUDI & IRAN
Pakistan had sent jets to Saudi Arabia after Iranian strikes hit key energy infrastructure and killed a Saudi national, raising concerns that the Gulf kingdom might retaliate heavily and widen the conflict.
Pakistan has deployed 8,000 troops, a squadron of fighter jets and an air defence system to Saudi Arabia under a mutual defence pact, top military sources in Pakistan told Reuters on Monday.
Islamabad is ramping up military cooperation with Riyadh at a time when it is serving as the main mediator in the US-Iran war.
The deployment was confirmed by three security officials and two government sources, all of whom described it as a substantial, combat-capable force intended to support Saudi Arabia's military if the kingdom comes under further attack. (India Today)
Pakistan's military and foreign office and Saudi Arabia's government media office did not respond to requests for comment on the deployment.
The full terms of the defence agreement, signed last year, are confidential. Both sides have said it requires Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to come to each other's defence in the event of an attack. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has previously implied that it places Saudi Arabia under Pakistan's nuclear umbrella.
Pakistan has deployed a full squadron of around 16 aircraft, mostly JF-17 fighters made jointly with China, which were sent to Saudi Arabia in early April. Two of the security officials said Pakistan had also sent two squadrons of drones.
All five sources said the deployment includes around 8,000 troops, with a pledge to send more if needed, as well as a Chinese HQ-9 air defence system.
The equipment is operated by Pakistani personnel and financed by Saudi Arabia, they added.
The military and air force personnel deployed during the Iran conflict will primarily have an advisory and training role, according to two of the security officials, who said they had seen exchanges between the two countries and documents on the military assets' deployment.
The deployment adds to thousands of Pakistani troops with a combat role that were already stationed in the kingdom under previous agreements, all three security officials said.
Why Pakostan restored pre-Partition names of Lahore streets: Islampura is now Krishan Nagar
Across Lahore, names that survived only in memory are slowly finding their way back onto the city's walls again after 79 years.
Nearly eight decades after Partition carved the subcontinent apart,
Lahore is now putting Hindu, Sikh, Jain and colonial-era names back on its streets, alleys and roads. Many of these names had earlier been renamed after Islamic, Pakistani or local figures.
Islampura is once again Krishan Nagar.
Babri Masjid Chowk has reverted to Jain Mandir Chowk.
Sunnat Nagar is now Sant Nagar.
Mustafaabad has become Dharampura again.
Why ?
The renaming is part of Pakistan's Punjab government's effort to bring back Lahore's pre-Partition heritage that many believe were slowly erased over the decades.
"The Punjab Cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, a few days ago had approved a plan to restore the original and historical names of various streets and roads in Lahore and its neighbourhood," a Punjab government official told a news agency.
The new signboards bearing the older names have already appeared across parts of Lahore over the past two months. Nine locations have officially reverted to their earlier identities. Among them are
Lakshmi Chowk, once renamed Maulana Zafar Ali Khan Chowk;
Davis Road, which had become Sir Aga Khan Road;
and Queens Road, which was known as Fatima Jinnah Road.
Lahore’s famous Lawrence Gardens is also reclaiming its older colonial association after years as Bagh-e-Jinnah.
All will be forgiven: US orchestrated Imran Khan's ouster, leaked cable reveals
A leaked Pakistani diplomatic cable has reignited controversy over the ouster of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, with investigative outlet Drop Site publishing the original document at the centre of the cricketer-turned-politician's claims of US-backed regime change.
Investigative outlet Drop Site published the original document, known as a cypher, at the centre of the cricketer-turned-politician’s claims of US-backed regime change in Pakistan.
The document, identified as cable I-0678, records a meeting between Pakistan’s then-ambassador to Washington and senior US State Department official Donald Lu shortly before Imran Khan lost a no-confidence vote in April 2022.
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