International News
1st female suicide bomber signifies new direction for Baloch insurgency
Shari Baloch, a 31-year-old mother of two, reportedly became the first woman to carry out a suicide bombing for the secular, ethnic Baloch rebels seeking independence for Pakistans largest and resource-rich province of Balochistan.
She killed three Chinese citizens and their Pakistani driver in front of the Confucius Institute in Karachi on April 26, RFE/RL reported.
The attack raised questions about what motivated an educated, happily married, middle-class woman to blow herself up. Many in Pakistan wonder whether the attack signifies a new direction for the two-decade-old Baloch insurgency that is locked in a violent stalemate with Islamabad, the report said.
Kiyya Baloch, an exiled journalist covering Balochistan, says the first attack by a female suicide bomber heralds the possibility of similar attacks in the future.
“It is a paradigm shift because until recently, the Baloch nationalists prided themselves in being secular and opposed to the kind of radicalization that results in extreme violent acts such as this one,” he said.
Kiyya Baloch says a wide-ranging Pakistani crackdown that has included military operations, forced disappearances, and even extrajudicial killings of the insurgency’s supporters fuels extreme desperation among those affected by the abduction or killing of their loved ones, RFE/RL reported.
“Both the state and the Baluch insurgents have adopted extreme positions,” he told RFE/RL.
“The state appears unwilling to give up its security-centric approach to Balochistan as it continues to prop up an artificial political leadership (in the region). On the other hand, the insurgents have been radicalised to an extent that they are now resorting to suicide bombings.”
Since 2000, Baloch rebel groups have been engaged in conflict with the Pakistani security forces in the vast southwestern province bordering Afghanistan and Iran and hemmed in by the Arabian Sea.
Islamabad blames the rebels for attacks on government forces, installations, immigrants, and labourers from the eastern Punjab Province and even pro-Islamabad Baluch figures.
Baloch nationalists and human rights watchdogs accuse Pakistani security forces of grave human rights violations by adopting harsh methods such as forced disappearances and killings to crush the insurgency.
Continuing violence during the past two decades has transformed the insurgency. It began as a tribal rebellion but has evolved into a handful of shadowy groups now attracting educated, middle-class Baloch professionals, the report said.
International News
Iran rejects US ceasefire offer, issues 10-point plan calling for permanent end to war

Tehran, April 7: Iran has rejected a US-proposed 15-point peace plan, calling instead for a permanent end to the conflict, the official news agency IRNA reported.
Tehran delivered its response in a 10-point document, citing past experiences as the reason it would not accept a ceasefire, Xinhua news agency reported.
The response outlines Iran’s demands, including ending regional conflicts, establishing safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, reconstructing war-affected areas, and lifting international sanctions.
The IRNA claimed the text was presented following recent developments in Iran’s western and central regions and the unsuccessful outcome of a US heliborne operation, with US President Donald Trump extending a previously set deadline again and adjusting earlier threats.
In a press conference on Monday, Trump called Iran’s 10-point response a “significant step” but said it was “not good enough.”
Also on Monday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said a ceasefire would only give opponents time to regroup and commit further crimes, and “no sane” person would accept it.
In late March, US media reported that Washington sent a 15-point plan to Iran through Pakistan to try to end the war. Iran later rejected the plan, calling it “excessive and disconnected from the realities on the battlefield.”
The Islamic Republic set several preconditions for peace. These include ending US and Israeli aggression, creating mechanisms to prevent future attacks, compensating for war damage, stopping fighting across all fronts in West Asia, and recognizing Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.
On February 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, senior military commanders, and civilians. Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes targeting Israeli and US assets in the Middle East.
International News
Iran’s supreme leader condemns assassination of IRGC intelligence chief

Tehran, April 7: Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei extended condolences for a senior general of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), saying that “assassinations and crimes” against Iranian leadership will not halt the country’s course.
In a written statement, Khamenei praised Majid Khademi, head of the IRGC’s Intelligence Protection Organization, for decades of “silent efforts in the security, intelligence, and defence fields” of Iran, Xinhua news agency reported.
He also accused Israel and the United States of turning to “terrorism and assassination” after “successive defeats.” Khademi was killed in Tehran on Monday in an airstrike claimed by Israel.
Khamenei extended condolences to Khademi’s family and comrades, as well as the other commanders of the IRGC’s Intelligence Organization.
Khademi was appointed as the head of the intelligence organization in June last year following the 12-day war between Iran and Israel, in which Mohammad Kazemi, the organization’s former chief, had been killed.
Before his appointment, Khademi served as the head of the IRGC’s Intelligence Protection Organization.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi strongly condemned a US and Israeli attack on the Sharif University of Technology in the capital Tehran, which severely damaged the building of its information technology center and a gas substation near the academic center’s mosque.
Iran’s army said Sunday it has targeted petrochemical industries and petroleum products storage facilities in southern Israel, as well as US equipment depots, satellite communication units and troops in a base in Kuwait.
On February 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded by launching waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and US bases and assets in the Middle East.
International News
Israel says Iran’s intelligence chief killed in Tehran air strike

Tel Aviv, April 6: The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Monday claimed to have killed Majid Khatem-Hosseini Khadami, Chairman of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ (IRGC) intelligence organisation, in an air strike in Tehran on Sunday night.
“Eliminated: Majid Khademi, the Head of Intelligence of the IRGC. Khadami was one of the most important commanders of the Revolutionary Guards and had accumulated military and security experience over the years,” read a statement issued by the IDF.
It mentioned that the Israeli Air Force, under precise intelligence guidance from the Intelligence Directorate, attacked during the night in Tehran and killed Khadami.
According to the IDF, Khadmi was appointed to his position after the assassination of Muhammad Khatami in Operation ‘Am Kalavi’. As part of his role, he worked to gather intelligence to form an intelligence picture for the regime’s senior echelons during Operation ‘Roar of the Harrier’.
“Khademi worked to advance terrorist attacks worldwide, and was responsible for monitoring Iranian civilians as part of the regime’s suppression of internal protests. He was a key figure in the campaign, the intelligence he collected was used to promote and execute terrorist operations,” the IDF stated.
“Alongside this, Khadami worked to promote terrorist acts against the State of Israel and against Jews around the world and took part in attempts to harm American targets, and was even responsible for monitoring Iranian citizens as part of the suppression of internal protests in Iran,” it added.
The Israeli defence ministry mentioned that Khadami’s “elimination” constitutes another serious blow to the command and control systems of the Revolutionary Guards, and to its ability to “conduct terrorist activity” against the State of Israel and countries around the world.
On Sunday, the IDF announced that it had killed Mohammad Reza Ashrafi Kahi, the Head of Commerce at the IRGC’s Oil Headquarters in Tehran.
“Ashrafi managed the commercial operations of the Oil Headquarters, estimated at billions of dollars annually, and advanced the development of the IRGC’s military capabilities, as well as those of the Houthis, Hezbollah & Hamas,” the IDF posted on X.
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