Pakistan's PM Warns Country Getting Closer To 'Military Confrontation' With India

Pakistan's PM warns country getting closer to 'military confrontation' with India

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan warned that his country and India could be moving closer to a "direct military confrontation" as tensions escalate between the two nations over the disputed region of Kashmir.

Khan, in a Friday New York Times op-ed, called for the international community to get involved in the dispute over Kashmir, a territory claimed by both nations.

Khan, in a Friday New York Times op-ed, called for the international community to get involved in the dispute over Kashmir, a territory claimed by both nations.

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"If the world does nothing to stop the Indian assault on Kashmir and its people, there will be consequences for the whole world as two nuclear-armed states get ever closer to a direct military confrontation," he wrote.

He also accused India of issuing a "not-so-veiled nuclear threat to Pakistan" after the country's defense minister said the future of its "no first use" nuclear doctrine will “depend on circumstances."

Khan expressed hope that the countries could reach a dialogue, but said India first has to reverse its "illegal annexation of Kashmir."

"Through dialogue and negotiations, the stakeholders can arrive at a viable solution to end the decades of suffering of the Kashmiri people and move toward a stable and just peace in the region. But dialogue can start only when India reverses its illegal annexation of Kashmir, ends the curfew and lockdown, and withdraws its troops to the barracks," he wrote.

The Pakistani leader compared the situation to World War II in his call for global action. 

"It is imperative that the international community think beyond trade and business advantages," Khan wrote. "World War II happened because of appeasement at Munich. A similar threat looms over the world again, but this time under the nuclear shadow."

Pakistan and India have fought two wars over Kashmir, a Muslim-majority region, and both control a portion of the territory.

India's longstanding position is that the status of Kashmir should be resolved by bilateral talks between the two countries. India rejected President Trump's offer to negotiate between the two countries earlier this year.

Tensions in Kashmir were exacerbated after more than 40 Indian solders were killed in a suicide attack in February in the Indian-controlled part of the region. 

India earlier this month also revoked the special status of the part of Kashmir it administers and placed it under a communications blackout.

India vs Pakistan Rumors Of War: On Guard For Terrorist Attacks At Major Ports

India On Guard For Possible Terrorist Attacks At Major Ports  

Officials at India's two main ports warned Thur., that Pakistan-trained commandos are in the vicinity of those ports and are preparing terrorist attacks against vessels, Reuters reported. 

The Mundra Port, the largest private port of India located on the north shores of the Gulf of Kutch near Mundra, in the Kutch district, and the state-owned Kandla Port, also located on the Gulf of Kutch, have had government advisories posted at both facilities warning employees and ship operators to be extra vigilant in the weeks ahead for Pakistani terrorists. 

We have reported for most of the year about the rising tensions between India and Pakistan on the Line of Control (LoC) in the Himalayan region of Kashmir.

Earlier this month, India revoked the special status of its portion of Kashmir and moved to shut down communications and bring the area to a standstill. 

Pakistan responded with cutting trade and transport routes into India and even ejected India's ambassador. 

Both countries almost sparked a massive regional conflict near Kashmir in February/March after Indian aggression led to Pakistan shooting down two Indian Air Force jets.  

On Thursday, Pakistan tested new surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, which was viewed as hostile by India.

India has spent the last month moving troops and heavy artillery pieces to the LoC, in preparation for a full out conflict with Pakistan. 

In recent weeks, both countries have been involved in cross-border skirmishes along the LoC. If the conflict picks up steam, this could be one of the most dangerous nuclear flashpoints for 2020. 

Venu Gopal, secretary of a trust that runs Kandla Port, confirmed the threat to Reuters.

"We've reviewed the situation and instructed our security personnel to beef up security at vital installations and vulnerable areas," he said.

A vessel advisory issued by the Mundra Port told all vessels to "take utmost security measures and maintain a vigilant watch."

A spokesman for Pakistan's military told Reuters that "India is trying to divert the attention of the world from Kashmir. There has been no such movement."

The threat of war between India and Pakistan comes at a time when India's economy is imploding. The country's automobile market accounts for more than 50% of the country's manufacturing output, just had its steepest decline in auto sales since December 2000. Automobile companies, directly and indirectly, employ more than 35 million people, which already, hundreds of thousands of people have been laid off.  

The current manufacturing slowdown in India is cyclical and isn't expected to trough for the next few years. This could mean India would be willing to respond with a shooting war with Pakistan if vessels were blown up at its ports. War is the best fiscal stimulus, and it might be the right prescription to revive India's crashing manufacturing sector.

PM Netanyahu: "I'm Doing Everything To Defend Our Nation..."

Netanyahu says he's doing everything to defend Israel, including 'in Iraq'

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday appeared to drop the biggest hint yet that Israel was operating in Iraq against Iranian interests.

Netanyahu, during a Facebook live stream to supporters, said: “I am doing everything to defend our nation’s security from all directions: in the north facing Lebanon and Hezbollah, in Syria facing Iran and Hezbollah, unfortunately in Iraq as well facing Iran. We are surrounded by radical Islam led by Iran.”

His comments came after the Iraqi government accused Israel of being behind an attack on a powerful Iran-backed paramilitary force in its territory earlier this week.

Israeli officials have so far avoided confirming suspicions that the Jewish state was behind a series of recent strikes targeting the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq, though Netanyahu had hinted at the possibility earlier this month.

A string of PMF bases across Iraq have been hit by explosions and have reported drone sightings over the past five weeks which the Iran-backed force has blamed on Israel and the US.

Baghdad has fumed over the series of mysterious attacks.

On Monday the Fatah Coalition, which represents the PMF in the Iraqi parliament, said it holds the United States fully responsible for the reported Israeli strikes, “which we consider to be a declaration of war on Iraq and its people.” It called for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.

Israel’s military has said it does not comment on “foreign reports,” but several Israeli leaders have hinted at Jerusalem’s involvement in the strikes. On Monday, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon said Israel was responsible for some, but not all, of the strikes around the region blamed on it.

Two unnamed senior US officials told The New York Times last week that Israel was responsible for at least two attacks on PMF positions.

Regional tensions have shot up in recent days after Israel carried out airstrikes on Iranian and Iran-backed fighters in Syria to thwart what it said was a plot to fly explosives-laden drones into the country.

Jerusalem has also been blamed for an airstrike in Lebanon, prompting Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah to give a fiery speech Sunday in which he vowed revenge.

IDF Prepares For Hezbollah Strike - High Alert For Attack

IDF chief tours tense northern border as army braces for Hezbollah strike 

Army Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi toured Israel’s tense northern border on Friday, a day after the army canceled leave for combat soldiers in the area and the military’s commander in the north warned Israel would offer a “harsh” response to any Hezbollah attack.

Kohavi met with Northern Command chief Maj. Gen. Amir Baram and other military officials in the area for a situational assessment, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

IDF soldiers in northern Israel have been on high alert this week over fears of a reprisal attack from Hezbollah or another Iranian proxy following Israeli airstrikes against Iran-linked targets in Syria, and an armed drone attack on Hezbollah’s south Beirut stronghold, which has been blamed on Israel.

The Northern Command on Thursday canceled all leave for combat brigades on Israel’s northern border, just hours after the military’s commander in the north warned Israel would offer a “harsh” response to any Hezbollah attack.

The IDF believes Hezbollah intends to attack Israeli soldiers or a military installation on the border, and not civilians.

The freeze on soldiers’ leave in the north will be in effect until further notice, the army said.

Earlier Thursday, Baram, who ordered the move, met with mayors of northern communities in a bid to calm jitters over the escalating tensions.

Several mayors asked him if they should open municipal bomb shelters in anticipation of possible conflict with Lebanon. Baram replied that such a step was not yet necessary.

He then seemed to threaten Hezbollah with war.

“You should be preparing not for Hezbollah’s response against the IDF, but for their response to our response” to such an attack, he quipped.

He vowed that “if an IDF soldier is so much as scratched, our response will be harsh.”

The Lebanese frontier was especially tense Thursday, following an incident the night before where Lebanese troops fired on Israeli drones, claiming they had entered Lebanon’s airspace.

Also on Friday, residents of the northern village of Ghajar, on Israel’s border with Lebanon, complained that the IDF had closed the main road to the village.

They said the road had been closed since Thursday afternoon and that they had been requested to use an alternative route for IDF vehicles that was not suitable for civilian vehicles, according to a report from the Ynet news site.

Village residents said they had been told to stay inside their homes, except in emergency situations.

Florida To Have Major Power Outages, Flooding From Hurricane

7.5m Florida residents could be without power as Hurricane Dorian is expected to hit as a Category 4

• A new model predicts that 7.5 million Florida residents will lose power as a result of Hurricane Dorian 
• The storm's maximum sustained winds increased on Friday morning to near 110mph near the Bahamas
• Dorian became an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm on Friday night and is gaining momentum 
•  The Trump administration said it is preparing for Dorian's arrival by shipping supplies to affected areas
• Meteorologists say the storm could be comparable to Hurricane Andrew, which devastated Florida in 1992 
• Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for all of Florida's 67 counties on Thursday 
• Some meteorologists warned that Dorian could hit as a Category 5 because it has developed an eye

Forecasters upgraded Hurricane Dorian to an 'extremely dangerous' Category 4 storm on Friday night as it has 'gained new strength' in recent hours. 

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami claims Dorian, which powered toward Florida with increasing fury Friday, has maximum sustained winds near 130 mph.

It said  in an updated statement at 8:30 p.m. EDT Friday that hurricane hunter aircraft detected the change in strength recently.

The storm is centered about 400 miles east of the northwestern Bahamas. 

Some forecasters say there is a chance the storm will become the highest classification on the scale because Dorian has now developed an eye.

'Hurricane #Dorian has developed an eye...Expecting it to become a major hurricane today,' said meteorologist Ryan Maue on Twitter on Friday. 'Nothing currently stopping storm from reaching Category 5. There I said it.' 

KRQE meteorologist Christopher Nunley added: 'Hurricane Dorian developing an eye. Major hurricane likely today. Wouldn’t be surprised if Dorian intensifies into a Category 5 over the weekend. Florida, take this seriously, this is a life threatening hurricane.' 

Dorian is becoming more powerful as it passes the warm waters off of Florida's coast, and maximum sustained winds increased Friday morning to near 110 mph.

As of 8am on Friday, Dorian was about 260 miles east-northeast of the southern Bahamas. On Friday afternoon, the hurricane became a classified as a major Category 3 hurricane.  

As many as 10 million people will be caught in the crosshairs when it makes landfall in the US. 

The news comes not long after 7.5 million Florida residents were warned they could be left without power as a result of Dorian. 

A new model, from the University of Michigan, Industrial & Operations Engineering program, predicts at least 35 percent of the Sunshine State's population will lose electricity.   

By the time Dorian hits Florida, it is likely to hit as Category 4 or Category 5 storm. If it becomes a Category 5, Floridians will have to battle wind speeds of more than 156mph.

That makes the storm comparable to Hurricane Andrew, which was was the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida where it made landfall, with wind speeds as high as 165mph, killing 65 people and causing $27.3billion in damage. 

'[The hurricane is] going to impact the entirety of Florida, and residents need to be prepared,' Acting Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Pete Gaynor told CNN on Friday. 'So, take the time now...to understand what your local risk is."