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Belgium Joins Aid Airdrop Efforts for Gaza

This picture taken from a position in southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing in Gaza following Israeli bombardment on March 4, 2024, amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
This picture taken from a position in southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing in Gaza following Israeli bombardment on March 4, 2024, amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
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Belgium Joins Aid Airdrop Efforts for Gaza

This picture taken from a position in southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing in Gaza following Israeli bombardment on March 4, 2024, amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
This picture taken from a position in southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing in Gaza following Israeli bombardment on March 4, 2024, amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)

Belgium has decided to airdrop aid into Gaza and dispatched a military transport plane on Monday to begin delivering emergency support, after US cargo aircraft dropped food over the weekend.

The foreign ministry said that “due to the difficulties of access and the complex situation on the ground, the Belgian government has approved an airdrop operation for emergency aid.”

Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder in a post on X, formerly Twitter, said “40 military personnel will be deployed to carry out several drops in the coming days.”

The A400M transport plane was due to travel first to Jordan, which is coordinating efforts to supply aid by air, and from there be used to drop food and “hygiene products” into Gaza.

Since the war began, Israel has barred entry of food, water, medicine and other supplies, except for a trickle of aid entering the south from Egypt at the Rafah crossing and Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing.

The UN says a quarter of Gaza’s 2.3 million people face starvation. Aid officials have said that airdrops are not an efficient means of distributing aid and are a measure of last resort.

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Islamabad: 50,000 Pakistanis Are Missing in Iraq

Every year, millions of Shiites flock to religious sites in Iraq’s Najaf and Karbala. (EPA)
Every year, millions of Shiites flock to religious sites in Iraq’s Najaf and Karbala. (EPA)
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Islamabad: 50,000 Pakistanis Are Missing in Iraq

Every year, millions of Shiites flock to religious sites in Iraq’s Najaf and Karbala. (EPA)
Every year, millions of Shiites flock to religious sites in Iraq’s Najaf and Karbala. (EPA)

Pakistan’s Minister of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Chaudhry Salik Hussain sparked controversy when he revealed that 50,000 Pakistanis have gone missing in Iraq over the years.

He urged the Baghdad government to immediately launch a probe into how the Pakistanis entered Iraq to visit religious sites during the month of Muharram, he was quoted as saying by Pakistan’s Ummat newspaper.

Islamabad is investigating how people have traveled outside Pakistan through illegal means, he remarked.

The permanent committee for religious affairs and interfaith harmony has since proposed new policies for trips to holy sites in foreign countries, including Iraq.

In Iraq, the minister’s comments drew mockery and condemnation on social media and sparked renewed debate over illegal workers in the country.

Politician Mishaan al-Juburi urged the government to make a statement over Hussain’s comments, warning that they may impact security and the labor force.

Hussain’s comments coincided with Iraqi police announcing the arrest of six Pakistanis in Baghdad on charges of theft.

Previously, military intelligence also announced the arrest of a nine-member Pakistani kidnapping and extortion gang in Baghdad. The gang had kidnapped foreigners for ransom.

Meanwhile, Labor Minister Ahmed al-Asadi expressed his concern and condemnation over the increasing number of illegal workers in Iraq.

He said his ministry will investigate the disappearance of the Pakistanis.

He confirmed that several tourists, including Pakistanis, have flocked to Iraq in recent days, and many have taken up employment without the necessary legal permits.

He warned that this phenomenon is negatively impacting the national economy.

The ministry will not be lenient in taking the necessary legal measures against the violators, he vowed.

Iraq welcomes all tourists, whether they are here on a religious visit or otherwise, but they must respect local laws and regulations, declared Asadi.

Every year, millions of Shiites flock to religious sites in Iraq’s Najaf and Karbala.