WASHINGTON   –   The US is on high alert and actively preparing for a “significant” at­tack that could come as soon as within the next week by Iran targeting Israeli or American as­sets in the region in re­sponse to Monday’s Is­raeli strike in Damascus that killed top Iranian commanders, a senior administration official tells CNN.

Senior US officials cur­rently believe that an attack by Iran is “inevi­table” – a view shared by their Israeli counter­parts, that official said.

The two governments are working to get in position ahead of what is to come, as they an­ticipate that Iran’s at­tack could unfold in a number of different ways – and that both US and Israeli assets and personnel are at risk of being targeted.

A forthcoming Iranian attack was a major topic of discussion on Presi­dent Joe Biden’s phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Net­anyahu on Thursday. As of Friday, the two govern­ments did not know when or how Iran planned to strike back, the official said. A direct strike on Is­rael by Iran is one of the worst-case scenarios that the Biden administration is bracing for, as it would guarantee rapid escala­tion of an already tumul­tuous situation in the Mid­dle East. Such a strike could lead to the Israel-Hamas war broadening into a wid­er, regional conflict – some­thing Biden has long sought to avoid.

Iran army chief vows maximum damage in response to Israeli strike

TEHRAN   –  Iran on Saturday again threatened retaliation for the deaths of seven Revolutionary Guards in a strike on Damascus, with the army chief say­ing his country’s enemies will “re­gret” the killings and threatening to exact “maximum damage.”

Tehran has vowed to avenge Mon­day’s air strike on the Syrian capital it blamed on Israel, which has not commented.

The attack leveled the Iranian em­bassy’s consular annex in Damascus, killing seven Islamic Revolution­ary Guard Corps (IRGC) members including two generals. Iran’s re­sponse “will be carried out at the right time, with the necessary pre­cision and planning, and with max­imum damage to the enemy so that they regret their action,” Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri said on Saturday.

He was speaking at a ceremony in the central city of Isfahan to com­memorate Mohammad Reza Zahedi, one of the two dead brigadier gener­als from the Quds Force, the IRGC’s foreign operations arm.

Zahedi, 63, was believed to be the Quds Force commander for the Pal­estinian Territories, Syria and Leba­non. He had held several commands during a career spanning more than 40 years, and was the most senior Iranian soldier killed since a United States missile strike at Baghdad air­port in 2020 killed Quds Force chief General Qassem Soleimani. On Sat­urday, crowds at the gathering in Is­fahan chanted “Down with Israel!” and “Down with the United States!”

Earlier, Islamic Republic’s su­preme leader Ayatollah Ali Khame­nei said Israel “will be punished” for the killings. Bagheri’s warning came after the Iran reportedly put its mili­tary forces on “full high alert” ahead of their expected strike. Two Irani­an officials quoted on Friday by The New York Times said Iran has made a decision to directly attack Israel, in a move meant to create deterrence.

JERUSALEM  –  Israel announced on Friday that it would allow “temporary” aid deliveries into famine-threat­ened northern Gaza, hours after the United States warned of a sharp shift in its policy over Israel’s war against Hamas militants.

In a tense, 30-minute phone call on Thursday, US President Joe Biden told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that United States policy on Israel was dependent on the protection of civilians and aid workers in Gaza, the first hint of possible condi­tions to Washington’s military support.

Just hours later, in the middle of the night in Je­rusalem, Israel announced it would open more aid routes into the coastal Palestinian territory which Israel placed under siege at the start of the war nearly six months ago. “Israel will allow the tempo­rary delivery of humanitarian aid” through the Ash­dod Port and the Erez land crossing, as well as in­creased deliveries from neighbouring Jordan at the Kerem Shalom crossing, Netanyahu’s office said. The White House quickly welcomed the moves — saying they came “at the president’s request” — and said they “must now be fully and rapidly im­plemented”. Israel has come under mounting in­ternational pressure over the toll inflicted by its six-month war on Hamas, and drawn increasingly tough rebuke from its main backer Washington.

 

The US and China chip rivalry took a new turn when Beijing banned chips manufactured by American companies Intel and AMD from all state institutions.

The two major economic powers’ struggle for technological dominance is intensifying as they compete for an advantage in a variety of fields, such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, and digital infrastructure.

The US considers China’s significant expansion in global chip production as a threat, and the Biden administration has announced that it is preparing to blacklist chip manufacturers linked to the Chinese tech conglomerate Huawei as part of its ongoing assessment of national security measures.

China is reportedly preparing a $27 billion chip fund, the largest to date, to counter US chip regulations.

Furthermore, the Chinese government has begun to ban Intel and AMD chips from being used in state institutions and has begun to nationalize all of its systems.

The Chinese government also intends to ban Microsoft, the US-based Windows manufacturer, and some foreign database products to replace them with 18 domestic companies, such as Huawei and Phytium.

Following China’s move, Intel and AMD’s global figures began to plummet, as the country is a significant market for both companies, accounting for 27% of total sales and 15% for AMD.

Sanctions on chipmakers point to new era

Ersin Cahmutoglu, a cybersecurity specialist at Türkiye-based firm ADEO Cyber Security, told Anadolu that China’s ban on chips manufactured by Intel and AMD, both of which are state-owned enterprises, and the US sanctions on chipmakers linked to Huawei herald a new era in the industry.

“The ongoing technology war between the US and China is gaining momentum, as both countries are making great efforts in the struggle for semiconductor production, which means that new steps can be taken in this rivalry,” said Cahmutoglu.

He emphasized that many experts believe these decisions could harm the global supply chain and the technology sector.

He recalled that there have been chip crises in recent years, saying: “The chip crisis persisted post-pandemic, and while the cost of production and raw material problems were the main reasons, the struggle for dominance between the US and China also contributed to the crisis. We can see similar crises today after the US announced that it will put pressure on its allies and other Western countries not to buy chips from China.

“China, in turn, is expected to do the same to its neighboring countries, and therefore, it is thought that the supply chain and the chip industry will be negatively affected,” he added.

Both countries believe foreign chipmakers collect data   

Cahmutoglu underlined that the US sees Chinese companies and their products in the country as a national security issue, as Huawei and related firms are accused of collecting data on foreign citizens and organizations on behalf of the Chinese government.

“The US and the UK intelligence services believe that there are backdoors to Chinese products, and they collect data through them in the US and its allied states, as well as in NATO countries. Similarly, China claims that Intel and AMD are working directly for the US,” he said.

“Therefore, China has attempted to completely ban such US products on grounds of security,” he added.

Cahmutoglu warned that these developments could pose a risk to countries and multinational corporations that rely on foreign chipmakers, as well as economic problems in the event of a major crisis and a supply chain halt.

He emphasized that some countries and firms are considering reducing their dependency to avoid being impacted by the current situation.

“Other countries and companies can step in as third party and cooperate, otherwise, as long as the chip rivalry continues, crises may arise,” he stressed.

“The whole world is closely monitoring where the chip rivalry between the US and China will go as governments and multinational firms are aware that someone has to step in to prevent a serious crisis in the technology sector, and currently, it is difficult to predict what will happen,” he added.

Russia says ready for ‘honest’ peace agreement with Ukraiussian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday that Moscow is ready for an “honest” peace agreement with Ukraine that would take into account Moscow’s security interests.

Speaking at a meeting with ambassadors of foreign countries in Moscow, Lavrov put forward another condition for the peace treaty – Kyiv has to recognize Russia’s territorial gains over Ukraine’s territory.

The minister called an “ultimatum” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s 10-point peace plan, pushing Russia to surrender and return to the 1991 borders.

Meanwhile, the West is actively involved in promoting Zelenskyy’s initiative, and the goal is to gather 140 countries at the upcoming meeting on Ukraine in Geneva where Russia is not invited, he said.

According to him, the West is employing deceitful tactics to make countries back Zelenskyy’s plan.

Lavrov said Russia has no plans to hinder other states’ participation in the event in Switzerland, adding: “We told our colleagues (ambassadors) everything. We will not hinder the participation of other countries in the summit, as the West tries to prevent participation in the events that we organize. We don’t have such habits.”

The minister noted that Russia and Ukraine had a real chance of peace at the talks in Istanbul in March 2022, but British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and American officials disrupted it.

Since then, the situation has changed, and new “territorial realities” formed, the minister said, adding: “We are of course ready for an honest agreement based on Russia’s security interests first of all, based on new realities. Of course, it will also take into account the security interests of other countries, including Ukraine.”

TAIPEI  –  At least nine people were killed and more than 900 injured Wednesday by a powerful earthquake in Taiwan that damaged dozens of buildings and prompted tsunami warnings that extended to Ja­pan and the Philippines before being lifted.

Officials said the quake was the strongest to shake the island in decades, and warned of more tremors in the days ahead. “The earthquake is close to land and it’s shallow. It’s felt all over Tai­wan and offshore islands,” said Wu Chien-fu, direc­tor of Taipei’s Central Weather Administration’s Seismology Center. Strict building regulations and widespread public disaster awareness appear to have staved off a major catastrophe for the earth­quake-prone island, which lies near the junction of two tectonic plates. Wu said the quake was the strongest since a 7.6-magnitude struck in Sep­tember 1999, killing around 2,400 people in the deadliest natural disaster in the island’s history. Wednesday’s magnitude-7.4 quake hit just before 8:00 am local time (0000 GMT), with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) putting the epi­centre 18 kilometres (11 miles) south of Taiwan’s Hualien City, at a depth of 34.8 kilometres.

Israeli airstrike on Iran’s consulate in Syria kills military commanders

DAMASCUS/GAZA  –  Seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) officials were killed in the attack on Da­mascus, including senior Ira­nian commanders Mohammed Reza Zahedi and Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, according to an official IRGC statement.

Haji Rahimi was named as the second commander killed in the attack on Iran’s consul­ate building in the Syrian capi­tal, according to the statement shared by state news agency IRNA on Monday night.

Speaking to reporters in Da­mascus, Iranian ambassador Hossein Akbari alleged that the building “was targeted with six missiles from Israeli F-35 warplanes.”

“Between five and seven people were killed in the at­tack. I was in my office in the embassy at the time and wit­nessed the destruction myself,”  Akbari said. Akbari added that Iranian diplomatic staff and mil­itary advisers were killed in the attack, and their names will be announced later. In a separate interview later on Monday, he said two Syrian policemen were among the people injured.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Monday that at least 32,845 people have been killed in the territory during the war be­tween Israel and Palestinian militants. The toll includes at least 63 deaths over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, add­ing that 75,392 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7.

Monday’s toll update was released hours after the Israeli mili­tary withdrew from Gaza’s biggest hospital, Al-Shifa, after a two-week operation that saw heavy fighting. A spokesman for Gaza’s Civil Defence agency said Monday that Israeli forces killed about 300 people in and around the hospital over the two weeks of the operation. The Israeli military said Saturday that “approximate­ly 200 terrorists have been eliminated in the area of the hospi­tal since the beginning of the activity”. Israeli forces on Monday pulled out of Gaza’s largest hospital complex after an intensive two-week military operation, leaving behind charred buildings and bodies strewn at the sprawling complex. Israel said it had bat­tled Palestinian militants hiding inside Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospi­tal, killed at least 200 enemy fighters and recovered large stock­piles of weapons, explosives and cash.

Economy (world)

PAKISTAN

Politics

PTI adds five more members in party’s Political Committee

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has announced addition of five more members to the PTI’s Political Committee.

According to a party notification Firdous Shamim Naqvi and Haleem Adil Sheikh from Sindh and Azam Swati from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will now be members of the PTI’s political committee. Salar Khan Kakar and Qasim Khan Suri from Balochistan, have also been included in the party’s committee.

The members of the PTI’s Political Committee have now reached to 19 with addition of five new members.

The party leadership had on Friday constitued a 14-member political committee with Omar Ayub its chairman.

Other members of the committee included Barrister Gohar Ali, Senator Shibli Faraz, Ali Amin Gandapur, Asad Qaiser, Sher Afzal Marwat, Shah Farman, Raoof Hasan, Aon Abbas, Hammad Azhar, Atif Khan, Hafiz Farhat, Mian Aslam Iqbal and Khalid Khurshid.

President Zardari calls for strengthening bilateral ties with Turkiye

President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday discussed the strengthening of bilateral ties with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, during a phone call.

According to a statement issued on X, formerly Twitter, President Zardari and Turkish President Erdogan spoke over the phone and discussed matters of mutual interest.

“The two called for further strengthening bilateral relations in various fields,” the statement added.

During their phone call, President Zardari facilitated the Turkish president on the forthcoming Eid-ul-Fitr — which is expected to fall on April 10 (Wednesday).

Moreover, the head of state also extended an invitation to Erdogan, inviting him to visit Pakistan. He also expressed his best wishes for the president of Turkey and its people.

Pakistan slams Indian minister’s remarks, says resolute to safeguard sovereignty

Pakistan has denounced the provocative remarks made by Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during a recent televised interview.

In a statement, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan stands resolute in its intent and ability to safeguard its sovereignty against any act of aggression, as demonstrated by its robust response to India’s reckless incursion in February 2019, which laid bare India’s hollow claims of military superiority.

The spokesperson said India’s ruling dispensation habitually resorts to hateful rhetoric to fuel hyper-nationalistic sentiments, unapologetically exploiting such discourse for electoral gains.

Such myopic and irresponsible behaviour not only undermines regional peace but also impedes the prospects of constructive engagement in the long term.

Baloch said Pakistan had always demonstrated its commitment to peace in the region. However, Islamabad’s desire for peace should not be misconstrued as weakness. “History attests to Pakistan’s firm resolve and ability to protect and defend itself,” she said.

The spokesperson recalled that Pakistan had provided irrefutable evidence, elucidating India’s campaign of extrajudicial and transnational assassinations on Pakistani soil.

She said India’s assertion of its preparedness to extrajudicially execute more civilians, arbitrarily pronounced as “terrorists”, inside Pakistan constitutes a clear admission of culpability.

She urged the international community to hold India accountable for its heinous and illegal actions.

Dar, Blinken express satisfaction at positive momentum in Pak-US ties

ISLAMABAD   –  Pakistan and United States have reiterated their dedica­tion to strengthening bilat­eral cooperation across all spheres of mutual interest.

The resolve was ex­pressed by Foreign Min­ister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar and U.S Secretary of State, Antony Blinken during their telephonic conversation on Friday. A wide range of bilat­eral issues including enhancing trade and investment relations, climate change, agricul­ture and security came under discussion. Vari­ous matters of regional importance such as situ­ation in Gaza, the Red Sea and developments in Afghanistan were also discussed. Both sides ex­pressed satisfaction at the current positive mo­mentum in bilateral re­lations. During the fresh contact, Islamabad and Washington reiterated their dedication to strength­ening bilateral cooperation across all spheres of mutual interest. “Pleased to receive a congratulatory telephone call from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken,” Dar wrote on his official X handle. Im­portant bilateral issues were discussed in the telephonic conversation, he added.

Hafiz Naeemur Rehman elected new JI Emir for five-year term

LAHORE   –  Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has been elected as the Emir of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan for a five-year term. The announce­ment was made by the Head of the JI Election Commission, Rashid Nas­eem, along with members of the election cell during a press confer­ence at Mansoorah on Thursday.

Rashid told the media that the majority of the JI members, known as Rukn, cast their votes in favour of Hafiz Naeem to lead Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan. A professional engineer by trade, Hafiz Naeem currently serves as the Emir of the JI Karachi chapter. His tenure as JI Emir Pakistan will end on April 8, 2029. Prior to his in­volvement in national politics, Hafiz Naeem was actively engaged in stu­dent politics and previously held the position of elected Nazim-e-Aaala (president) of the Islami Jami­at Talba. Naseem revealed that over 82 percent of the members partici­pated in the election of the JI Emir. JI has over 45,000 members (Rukns), including approximately 6,000 women, and they take part in the election of the JI Emir. The JI Elec­tion Commission, an elected body it­self, was responsible for overseeing election process of JI Emir.

Comprising Head Rashid Naseem, secretary Qudratullah Butt, and members Dr. Ata-ur-Rehman, Sardar Zafar Hussain, and Engineer Akhlaq Ahmed, commission was specifically elected by the JI Majlise Shura for the purpose of conducting the Emir election. Naseem affirmed that com­mission’s duties culminated with the successful election of the JI Emir. JI Shura is also a 100 plus members elected body. Rashid Naseem said that election of the JI Emir was con­ducted through secret balloting.

The process for JI Emir election commenced on February 19 with printing and distribution of ballot papers among Rukns, concluding on March 25. Rashid Naseem said the election process was smooth and peaceful, culminating on April 3. The JI Shura had proposed three names for the consideration of the JI members: the current Emir Sira­jul Haq, vice-emir Liaqat Baloch, and Hafiz Naeem. However, mem­bers were also free to suggest any other name as well. It’s noteworthy that Jamaat-e-Islami is the only po­litical party in Pakistan that regu­larly conducts intra-party elections since its establishment in 1941. The party’s founding Emir was Syed Maududi, a renowned reli­gious scholar, writer, and politician. Subsequently, Mian Tufial Muham­mad, Qazi Hussain Ahmad, Syed Munawar Hassan, and Sirajul Haq served as the second, third, fourth, and fifth Emirs of JI, respectively.

PM Shehbaz says govt will probe ‘suspicious letters’ issue

 Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said the federal government will investigate the issue of ‘suspicious letters’ received by judges.

 According to sources, four SC judges including CJP Justice Qazi Faez Isa, eight judges of Islamabad High Court and four judges of Lahore High Court have received ‘threatening letters with suspicious powder’.

Chairing a federal cabinet meeting in Islamabad today, he said this matter will be taken up with a sense of responsibility. He emphasized there should be no politics on this matter.

PM Shehbaz Sharif recalled that an inquiry commission was formed after the consent and consultation of former chief justice of Pakistan Justice (retired) Tassaduq Hussain Jillani to look into the issues raised by the six judges of Islamabad High Court.

He said the former chief justice however late recused himself from heading the inquiry commission. He said the Supreme Court has now taken suo motu notice of this matter.

Alluding to his meeting with different ministries the other day, the premier said he has decided to conduct a sectoral review of these ministries to solve their problems. He emphasized this is important to take the economy towards self-reliance.

Shehbaz Sharif expressed satisfaction over the gradual decrease in inflation.

He said steps are afoot to reduce inflation and alleviate unemployment and poverty.

He also expressed confidence that the IMF will release the last tranche of 1.1 billion dollars under the standby agreement this month after the approval of its board.

The premier said Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb is visiting Washington where talks will be held with the IMF for a new program.

 

Pakistan facing 30 percent water shortage for sowing season

Pakistan is facing a 30 percent water shortage at the start of the sowing season for cash crops such as rice and cotton, the country’s water regulator said.

The Indus River System Authority (IRSA) said the gap is based on lower-than-normal winter snowfall in Pakistan’s northern glacier region, affecting catchment areas of the Indus and Jhelum Rivers that are used for irrigation.

Kharif crops, or monsoon crops, including rice, maize, sugarcane and cotton are sown in April and require a wet and warm climate with high levels of rainfall.

“There was less snow than normal as a result of climate change affecting the country’s glaciers,” Muhammad Azam Khan, assistant researcher with IRSA, which regulates the distribution of water resources along the Indus river, told AFP on Wednesday.

“This will have a direct impact on the availability of water for kharif crops in the summer.”

The water shortage gap is expected to narrow as the monsoon rains arrive later in the season.

However, the country’s meteorological department has also forecast higher than normal temperatures during monsoon season, increasing uncertainty.

Agriculture is the largest sector of Pakistan’s economy, contributing about 24 percent of its GDP.

But it has been criticized for being water inefficient.

“What this current water shortfall means for the crops is that authorities will have to better plan on how to utilize the water that is allotted to them,” said IRSA’s Khan.

Pakistan, the world’s fifth-largest country with a population of more than 250 million, has recently been grappling with the profound impacts of climate change which includes shifting and unpredictable weather patterns.

Devastating floods in 2022 — which scientists linked to climate change — that affected more than 30 million people also severely impacted Pakistan’s cotton crop that year.

ECONOMY (PAKISTAN)