GEOPOLITICS THREAD

[Premi]

https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-sikh-hindu-muslim-taliban-restrictions/32559175.html

 

August 22, 2023

• By Freshta Negah
• Abubakar Siddique

'Forced To Dress Like a Muslim': Taliban Imposes Restrictions On Afghanistan's Sikh, Hindu Minorities

When the Taliban seized power in 2021, there were concerns that some of Afghanistan's tiny non-Muslim minorities could vanish.

Two years on, those fears are becoming realized. Afghanistan's last-known Jew fled the country shortly after the Taliban takeover. Meanwhile, the Sikh and Hindu communities are believed to have shrunk to just a handful of families.

Under the Taliban, Sikhs and Hindus have faced severe restrictions, including on their appearances, and have been banned from marking their religious holidays in public, leaving many with no choice but to escape their homeland.

"I cannot go anywhere freely," Fari Kaur, one of the last remaining Sikhs in the capital, Kabul, told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi.

"When I go out, I'm forced to dress like a Muslim so that I can't be identified as a Sikh," she said, in reference to the Taliban's order that all women must wear the all-encompassing burqa or niqab.

Kaur's father was killed in a suicide attack targeting Sikhs and Hindus in the eastern city of Jalalabad in 2018. The attack reportedly led as many as 1,500 Sikhs to leave the country, including Kaur's mother and sisters.

But Kaur refused to leave and stayed in Kabul to fulfil her father's dream that she finish school.

In March 2020, 25 worshipers were killed when Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) militants stormed a Sikh temple in Kabul. Following the attack, most of the remaining members of the minority left Afghanistan.

Again, Kaur refused to leave. But now, more than two years after the Taliban seized power, she said the lack of religious freedom under the militants has left her no choice but to seek refuge abroad.

"We have not celebrated our key festivals since the Taliban returned to power," she said. "We have very few community members left behind in Afghanistan. We cannot even look after our temples."

History Of Persecution

There were up to 100,000 Hindus and Sikhs in Afghanistan in the 1980s. But the war that broke out in 1979 and the onset of growing persecution pushed many out.

During the civil war of the 1990s, the Taliban and rival Islamist groups pledged to protect minorities. But many Sikhs and Hindus lost their homes and businesses and fled to India.

During its first stint in power from 1996-2001, the Taliban caused an international uproar after the militants announced that all Sikhs and Hindus in the country would be required to wear yellow badges.

The Taliban prohibited Sikhs and Hindus from building new temples. They were also forced to pay a special tax called jizya, which was historically imposed by Muslim rulers on their non-Muslim subjects.

Following the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, Sikhs and Hindus were granted the same rights as other Afghans and also received seats in the parliament.

When the Taliban regained power in August 2021, it attempted to assuage the fears of non-Muslim Afghans. The militants visited Sikh and Hindu temples to try and assure the remaining members of the communities of their commitment to their safety and well-being.

But the Taliban's draconian restrictions on Sikhs and Hindus have forced many to seek a way out of their homeland.

'Extreme Desperation'

Many of the Afghan Sikhs and Hindus who have left the country have moved to India, where most face a life of poverty.

"We abandoned our country out of extreme desperation," said Chabul Singh, a 57-year-old Sikh man who left Afghanistan with his wife and two sons several years ago.

The family now lives outside the Indian capital, New Delhi, where Singh and his young sons eke out a living by doing menial jobs.

"In Afghanistan, our distinctive turbans gave us away, and we were killed both by the Taliban and Daesh," he told Radio Azadi, referring to IS-K by its Arabic acronym. Sikhs often wrap their hair, which they are not supposed to cut, in a turban.

Despite his family's struggles in India, Singh said returning to Afghanistan is not an option.

"In Afghanistan, our Muslim brothers often asked us, 'Why have you come from India?'" he said. "But here in India, they ask us, 'Why don't you go back to Afghanistan?'"

Niala Mohammad, the director of policy and strategy at the nonprofit Muslim Public Affairs Council in Washington, said the situation for religious minorities in Afghanistan -- including Hindus, Sikhs, Bahai's, Christians, Ahmadis, and Shi'ite Muslims -- has deteriorated sharply under Taliban rule.

"The situation continues to deteriorate as political extremist factions that claim to represent Islam, such as the Taliban, ascend to power in the region," said Mohammad, who was previously the South Asia analyst for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. "This exodus of diverse religious groups has left a void in the country's social fabric."

[Premi]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/13/why-israel-palestine-conflict-history

 

What are the roots of the Israel-Palestine conflict?

The horrific events over the last week are the culmination of a decades-long clash in the disputed region of the Middle East

• Israel-Hamas war – latest updates

 

Chris McGreal

Fri 13 Oct 2023 19.02 BST

 

As with almost everything to do with this conflict, it depends on whom you ask.

Some will begin with the Romans. Others will start with the late 19th-century Jewish migration to what was then the Ottoman Empire – to escape the pogroms and other persecutions in eastern Europe – and the rise of Zionism. Or the Balfour declaration by the British government in 1917 in support of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine and the ensuing conflicts with Arab communities there.

 

But the starting point for many people is the United Nations’ vote in 1947 to partition land in the British mandate of Palestine into two states – one Jewish, one Arab – following the destruction of much of European Jewry in the Holocaust.

Neither the Palestinians nor the neighbouring Arab countries accepted the founding of modern Israel. Fighting between Jewish armed groups, some of which the British regarded as terrorist organisations, and Palestinians escalated until the armies of Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan and Syria invaded after Israel declared independence in May 1948.

With Israel’s new army gaining ground, an armistice agreement in 1949 saw new de facto borders that gave the fledgling Jewish state considerably more territory than it was awarded under the UN partition plan.

What happened to the Palestinians who were living there?

About 700,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled – about 85% of the Arab population of the territory captured by Israel – and were never allowed to return.

Palestinians called the exodus and eradication of much of their society inside Israel the Nakba, or “catastrophe”, and it remains the traumatic event at the heart of their modern history.

Arabs who remained in Israel as citizens were subject to official discrimination. They were placed under military rule for nearly two decades, which deprived them of many basic civil rights. Much of their land was expropriated and Arab Israeli communities were deliberately kept poor and underfunded.

What is the Palestine Liberation Organisation?

In 1964, a coalition of Palestinian groups founded the Palestine Liberation Organisation under the leadership of Yasser Arafat to pursue armed struggle and establish an Arab state in place of Israel. The PLO drew international attention to its cause with high-profile attacks and hijackings.

How did the occupied Palestinian territories become occupied?

In 1967, Israel launched what it said was a pre-emptive defensive war against Jordan, Egypt and Syria, as they appeared to be preparing to invade. The attack caught Arab governments by surprise and saw Israel achieve rapid victories including seizing the Sinai peninsula and the Gaza Strip from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria, and the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan. The six-day war was a spectacular military success for Israel. Its capture of all of Jerusalem and newly acquired control over the biblical lands called Judea and Samaria in Israel opened the way to the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, which became central to the conflict.

Israel placed the Arab population of the West Bank under military rule, which is enforced to this day.

When did Hamas enter the picture?

The PLO was a generally secular organisation modelled on other leftwing guerrilla movements of the time, although most of its supporters were Muslim.

 

A Palestinian boy stands behind a picture of senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh during a rally marking the 28th anniversary of Hamas’s founding, in Gaza City on December 2015. Photograph: Mohammed Salem/Reuters

Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood had previously avoided armed conflict and were largely dedicated to working for a more religious society. But that position shifted under the leadership of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, a charismatic quadriplegic living in Gaza who helped found several Islamist organisations in Gaza including Mujama al-Islamiya, which won support by establishing a network of social services including schools, clinics and a library.

Shortly after the outbreak of the first intifada, Yassin used support for Mujama al-Islamiya as the foundation for the formation of Hamas in 1987 in alliance with other Islamists.

Israel has always denied encouraging the rise of the Islamist movement in Gaza but it saw the groups as a way of undermining support for the PLO and recognised Mujama al-Islamiya as a charity, allowing it to operate freely and build support. Israel also approved the creation of the Islamic University of Gaza, which became a breeding ground of support for Hamas.

What was the first intifada?

Israel regarded the Palestinian population under its control as largely quiescent even as it went on expanding Jewish settlements in Gaza and the West Bank and expropriating Arab land. Palestinians were also treated as a cheap source of largely manual labour inside Israel.

That illusion was shattered in 1987 as young Palestinians rose up. The uprising was marked by mass stone throwing. The Israeli army responded with large-scale arrests and collective punishments.

The intifada is largely recognised as a success for the Palestinians, helping to solidify their identity independently of neighbouring Arab states and forcing Israel into negotiations.

It also strengthened Arafat’s hand to make compromises with Israel, including adopting the principle of a two-state solution.

Whatever happened to the peace process?

As the first intifada wound down in 1993, the Oslo peace process started with secret talks between Israel and the PLO. Israel’s then prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin, signed an agreement with Arafat aimed at fulfilling the “right of the Palestinian people to self-determination” although Rabin did not accept the principle of a Palestinian state.

The Oslo accords established the Palestinian National Authority, granting limited self-governance over patches of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Further negotiations were intended to resolve issues such as the status of Jerusalem, the future of the Israeli settlements and the right of return for the millions of Palestinians still classified as refugees after their forebears were never permitted to return to their homes.

Some prominent Palestinians regarded the accords as a form of surrender while rightwing Israelis opposed giving up settlements or territory.

Among Israelis, the political charge against Oslo was led by future prime ministers Ariel Sharon and Benjamin Netanyahu, who fronted rallies at which Rabin was portrayed as a Nazi. Rabin’s widow blamed the two men for her husband’s assassination by an ultranationalist Israeli in 1995.

What caused the second intifada?

Peace negotiations sputtered along until the failure of Bill Clinton’s attempts to broker a final deal at Camp David in 2000, which contributed to the outbreak of the second intifada. The uprising was markedly different from the first intifada because of widespread suicide bombings against Israeli civilians launched by Hamas and other groups, and the scale of Israeli military retaliation.

By the time the uprising ended in 2005, more than 3,000 Palestinians and 1,000 Israelis were dead.

The political ramifications of the intifada were significant. It led to a hardening of attitudes among ordinary Israelis and the construction of the West Bank barrier. But it also prompted then prime minister Ariel Sharon to say that Israel could not go on occupying the Palestinians’ territory – although he did not say that the alternative was an independent Palestinian state.

Is Gaza still occupied?

One consequence of the second intifada was Sharon’s decision to “disengage” from the Palestinians beginning in 2005 with the closing of Israeli settlements in Gaza and parts of the northern West Bank. It is not clear how much further Sharon would have gone with this policy as he had a stroke and went into a coma the following year.

The status of Gaza since the disengagement remains disputed. Israel says it is no longer occupied. The United Nations says otherwise because of Israel’s continued control of airspace and territorial waters, and also access into the territory, along with Egypt. Israeli has also blockaded the enclave since Hamas came to power in 2006.

In addition, many Palestinians in Gaza do not see themselves as a separate entity from the rest of their territories in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and so argue that as a whole they remain occupied.

Why does Hamas control Gaza?

Hamas won the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections in part because of a backlash against the corruption and political stagnation of the ruling Fatah party. The Hamas leader Ismail Haniya was appointed prime minister. Israel began arresting Hamas members of the Palestinian parliament and imposed sanctions against Gaza.

Deteriorating relations between Hamas and Fatah resulted in violence. An agreement to form a national unity government fell apart and Hamas led an armed takeover of Gaza while Fatah continued to control the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. There have been no elections since.

Hamas has continued to attack Israel from Gaza, mostly using rockets until the latest ground incursion. Israel has maintained a tight blockade of the territory which has contributed to deteriorating living conditions and deepening poverty.

Where are we now?

Although western governments still pay lip service to a two-state solution, there has been no progress toward an agreement under Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has repeatedly said he will never accept a Palestinian state.

His present government includes far-right parties that openly advocate the annexation of all or part of the West Bank to Israel and the continued governance of the Palestinians without full rights or the vote. Israeli and foreign human rights groups say Israel has increasingly carved out a form of apartheid in the occupied territories.

Hamas’s killing of more than 1,200 Israelis now moves the conflict into uncharted territory.

[Premi]

Features

https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/10/3/are-kosovo-and-serbia-on-the-brink-of-war

 

Analysis: Are Kosovo and Serbia on the brink of war?

An escalation into a conflict in the Western Balkans was averted but the likelihood of future flare-ups remains high.

 

By Dimitar Bechev

Published On 3 Oct 20233 Oct 2023

 

On September 24, armed Serb paramilitaries ambushed a police patrol near the village of Banjska in the northern part of Kosovo, killing one police officer. The gunmen then fled to a monastery near the Kosovo-Serbia border, where police forces engaged with them in a firefight. Three armed Serbs were killed; the rest were either arrested or managed to flee. It was one of the worst episodes of violence in the country since the end of the Kosovo war in 1999.

In the aftermath of the incident, Belgrade and Pristina traded blame. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that the Kosovo government’s “terror” had driven the Serb minority in the northern part of the country to an “uprising”. Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti accused Serbia of supporting financially and logistically “organised crime” groups attacking his country – something Belgrade denied.

On September 29, White House spokesperson John Kirby said that Serbia was massing an unprecedented number of forces at the border. With 4,500 NATO troops stationed in Kosovo through the KFOR peacekeeping mission, the threat of military showdown with the West as well as with Kosovo may have appeared real. But there was no further escalation.

After a phone call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Vucic announced he had called on some troops to withdraw from the border.

The incident did not spark an armed conflict but it did reveal a few important realities. First, Belgrade continues to use the Kosovo issue to take attention away from domestic problems; second, Vucic may be losing control over his Serb allies in northern Kosovo; and third, the momentum in the Kosovo-Serbia negotiations has been lost, which could result in more flare-ups.

After a phone call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Vucic announced he had called on some troops to withdraw from the border.

The incident did not spark an armed conflict but it did reveal a few important realities. First, Belgrade continues to use the Kosovo issue to take attention away from domestic problems; second, Vucic may be losing control over his Serb allies in northern Kosovo; and third, the momentum in the Kosovo-Serbia negotiations has been lost, which could result in more flare-ups.

Vucic’s domestic troubles

Over the past few months, the Serbian president and the cabinet, dominated by his Serbian Progressive Party, have faced growing public discontent. Two mass shootings in Serbia triggered weekly antigovernment protests.

Public anger has focused on the country’s sizable security apparatus, which was helpless in preventing a mass shooting in the very heart of the Serbian capital, and on Vucic’s loyal media which have fostered the cult of wanton violence.

Protesters have demanded resignations at the interior ministry, the Security Intelligence Agency (BIA), the media regulator and two pro-government TV channels, Pink and Happy. There have also been demands for early elections.

Facing the mounting pressure, Vucic has indicated that there may be early polls for parliament and local councils in December.

The incident in Kosovo was a welcome distraction for the president. Shifting the domestic conversation to the plight of the Serbs in northern Kosovo and flexing muscles is his trademark strategy of political survival. It was not the first time he manufactured the appearance of going to war to protect Serbs. Chances are, it won’t be the last one, either.

[Premi]

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/13/blinken-warned-lawmakers-azerbaijan-may-invade-armenia-in-coming-weeks-00121500

 

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Blinken warned lawmakers Azerbaijan may invade Armenia in coming weeks

He also said State isn’t planning to renew a long-standing waiver that allows the U.S. to provide military assistance to Baku.

 

 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, speaks during a press conference at the National Palace in Mexico City, on Oct. 5, 2023. | Marco Ugarte/AP Photo

By ERIC BAZAIL-EIMIL and GABRIEL GAVIN

10/13/2023 04:31 PM EDT

 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned a small group of lawmakers last week that his department is tracking the possibility that Azerbaijan could soon invade Armenia, according to two people familiar with the conversation.

The call indicates the depth of concern in the administration about Azerbaijan’s operations against a breakaway region in the west of the country and the possibility of the conflict spreading.

[chatanga1]

On 10/15/2023 at 9:53 AM, Premi said:

Palestinians called the exodus and eradication of much of their society inside Israel the Nakba, or “catastrophe”, and it remains the traumatic event at the heart of their modern history.

 

Great thread. The naqba of the palestinians happened in 1948, 1 year after the naqba of the Sikhs. Yet the Sikhs are generally mute to their own naqba in Panjab. It's like we have forgotten, or chosen to forget what happened in 1947.

 

On 10/15/2023 at 9:53 AM, Premi said:

The PLO was a generally secular organisation modelled on other leftwing guerrilla movements of the time, although most of its supporters were Muslim.

 

Its why Yasser Arafat was a great supporter of Nehru  and Indira Gandhi, as they claimed to be secularists as well. But the state of India also got help and advice from Israel in counter-terrorism for Operation Bluestar, as the Israelis had been conducting such like operations for years. Both enemies. Both supporting India.

 

On 10/15/2023 at 9:53 AM, Premi said:

Israel has always denied encouraging the rise of the Islamist movement in Gaza but it saw the groups as a way of undermining support for the PLO and recognised Mujama al-Islamiya as a charity, allowing it to operate freely and build support. Israel also approved the creation of the Islamic University of Gaza, which became a breeding ground of support for Hamas.

 

It seems like their plan to create infighting between Palestinians backfired as one side came out very dominant. And then decided to kill 1000 Israelis.

[chatanga1]

On 10/15/2023 at 9:57 AM, Premi said:

Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned a small group of lawmakers last week that his department is tracking the possibility that Azerbaijan could soon invade Armenia, according to two people familiar with the conversation.

The call indicates the depth of concern in the administration about Azerbaijan’s operations against a breakaway region in the west of the country and the possibility of the conflict spreading.

 

I'd be surprised if Azerbaijan invaded Armenia. They have got what they wanted for 20 years in taking over Nagorno Karabagh. Azerbaijan has also been warned by Iran that it should not overplay it's hand with Armenia. Turkey and Russia in the meantime have given strong support to Azerbaijan. Yet Iran is still supporting Russia against Ukraine. Israel has supported Azerbaijan in retaking Nagorno Karabagh, as they are not on good terms with Iran.

 

It's a mess isn't it lol?

[Premi]

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/17/sweden-warns-country-facing-biggest-threat-after-brussels-attack

 

Sweden warns country facing biggest threat after Brussels shooting

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson says Europe cannot be ‘naive’ after killing of two Swedes in Belgian capital.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has called on the European Union to bolster its border controls and internal security [TT News Agency/Fredrik Sandberg via Reuters]

Published On 17 Oct 202317 Oct 2023

 

 

 

Sweden’s prime minister has warned that his country is facing the biggest threat in its modern history after a gunman in Brussels killed two Swedes in an attack that authorities are investigating as terrorism.

“Sweden has in modern times never been under as big a threat as now,” Ulf Kristersson told reporters on Tuesday.

Kristersson said Sweden and the European Union needed to bolster their borders and internal security to prevent dangerous individuals from staying in the bloc.

 

“Every indication is that this is a terror attack, targeting Sweden and Swedish citizens, just because they are Swedes,” he said, adding that the region “can’t be naive.”

Two Swedes were shot dead in Brussels and another was wounded on Monday night as Belgium hosted Sweden in a Euro 2024 qualifying football match.

The accused gunman, a 45-year-old Tunisian national, was shot dead by Belgian police on Tuesday.

 

Belgian Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne said the suspect was living in the country illegally and was known to Belgian police in connection with people smuggling.

A man who identified himself as a member of the armed group ISIL (ISIS) earlier posted a video of himself claiming responsibility for the attack.

[Premi]

Interesting discussion here

https://www.sikhsangat.com/index.php?/topic/90982-isreal-attacks-the-changing-face-of-the-world/

[Premi]

Interesting perspective

https://www.sikhsangat.com/index.php?/topic/90982-isreal-attacks-the-changing-face-of-the-world/&do=findComment&comment=79236

Many people side with Jews not because of any love of the Jews or because of all the Muslim countries but primarily because they have been attacked by Muslims or have some historical animosity with Muslims.

If it is really boiled down to the it's essential ingredients: it is muslim vs non muslim.

The thing that worries us kafirs is that if Israel and Jews are done with, the Muslims will get emboldened and start on the rest of us.

The Jews are a buffer against the Islamic onslaught. 

This is what could possibly happen:

The whites of Europe at this current moment in time have no stomach for a fight, however  if push come to shove, they will start to get organised and fight back. It is the government and the institutions like the media that allow Muslims to get away with all the actions. 

The European people and society is built on some degree of trust with their institutions but this is getting eroded. 

People talk about demographics but this is dependant on the democratic system. However, if the media and institutions were completely discarded by the host community and they take things into their own hands, no amount of muslim breeding is going to save the Muslims.

They live in enclaves which can easily be enclosed and held under seige. For every terrorist attack, I would expect muslim enclaves to be completely extinguished.

I expect eventually there will be a ban on Islam in society or at least a severe curtailment. The goal would be reduce the demographics considerably. 

New rules will be enforced on Muslims. 

Something of this effect:

Leave Islam or leave for a muslim country.

No muslim will be allowed to have more than 2 children. Any extra children, the child will be given to a non muslim family. 

Muslim men cannot have non muslim women to convert. Every Muslim female should marry non muslim man and no longer be muslim.

Any threats by the muslim community means that those muslim men cannot breed and should be castrated, then further efforts should be taken to take more of their muslim women.

Every sh1t stirring mullah will be taken away.

Any bit of taqqiyah will be dealt with.

These are a hotchpotch of stuff but these kind of things may eventually be implemented. 

Legally, Islam will be redefined as a banned political ideology rather than a religion.

Once you take a Muslims ability to breed and to spread their ideology, they lose all their power

 

[Premi]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-67110193

 

1977

By Hannah Ritchie

BBC News, Sydney

 

Australia has overwhelmingly rejected a plan to give greater political rights to Indigenous people in a referendum.

All six states voted No to a proposal to amend the constitution to recognise First Nations people and create a body for them to advise the government.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said defeat was hard: "When you aim high, sometimes you fall short. We understand and respect that we have."

Opposition leader Peter Dutton said the result was "good for our country".

The referendum, dubbed "The Voice", was Australia's first in almost a quarter of a century. With the majority of ballots counted, the No vote led Yes 60% to 40%.

...

The Voice to Parliament was proposed in the Uluru Statement from the Heart, a 2017 document crafted by Indigenous leaders that set out a roadmap for reconciliation with wider Australia.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people - who make up 3.8% of the nation's 26 million population - have inhabited Australia for at least 65,000 years but are not mentioned in the constitution. They are, by most socio-economic measures, the most disadvantaged people in the country.

The referendum marked the 45th time Australia has attempted to change its founding document - but only eight proposals have cleared. It was also the second time the issue of Indigenous recognition was put to a national vote - the last attempt was in 1999 which sought to alter the constitution to allow for the establishment of a republic and to add a preamble "honouring" First Nations people.

[Premi]

 

 

[Premi]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-68014882

 

By Frances Mao, Caroline Davies and Paul Adams

in Singapore, Islamabad and London

 

Pakistan has launched missile strikes into Iran, killing nine people, after Iran carried out strikes in Pakistan late on Tuesday.

Pakistan said its strikes had hit "terrorist hideouts" in Iran's south-eastern Sistan-Baluchestan province.

Iran condemned the attack, which it said killed three women, two men and four children who were not Iranian.

The country's foreign ministry later said it was committed to good neighbourly relations with Pakistan.

However, it called on Islamabad to prevent the establishment of "bases and armed terrorist groups" on its soil.

The reciprocal attacks come as tensions in the Middle East are high with several overlapping crises.

...

Iran and Pakistan have complicated but cordial relations. Their ministers met at Davos this week and their navies conducted joint exercises in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf.

The two countries have similar concerns about the lawless border area, where drug smugglers and militant Baloch groups are very active.

After both sets of air strikes, each side seemed anxious to emphasise that these did not represent attacks on a brotherly neighbour.

Tehran's reaction to the Pakistani strike appears relatively muted and the authorities have said that the victims, who included women and children, were not Iranian nationals.

 

[Premi]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-68014882

 

By Frances Mao, Caroline Davies and Paul Adams

in Singapore, Islamabad and London

 

Pakistan has launched missile strikes into Iran, killing nine people, after Iran carried out strikes in Pakistan late on Tuesday.

Pakistan said its strikes had hit "terrorist hideouts" in Iran's south-eastern Sistan-Baluchestan province.

Iran condemned the attack, which it said killed three women, two men and four children who were not Iranian.

The country's foreign ministry later said it was committed to good neighbourly relations with Pakistan.

However, it called on Islamabad to prevent the establishment of "bases and armed terrorist groups" on its soil.

The reciprocal attacks come as tensions in the Middle East are high with several overlapping crises.

...

Iran and Pakistan have complicated but cordial relations. Their ministers met at Davos this week and their navies conducted joint exercises in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf.

The two countries have similar concerns about the lawless border area, where drug smugglers and militant Baloch groups are very active.

After both sets of air strikes, each side seemed anxious to emphasise that these did not represent attacks on a brotherly neighbour.

Tehran's reaction to the Pakistani strike appears relatively muted and the authorities have said that the victims, who included women and children, were not Iranian nationals.