Pakistan: 34 dead in the last week in operations on the border with Afghanistan

Today's headlines: Jimmy Lai wins appeal against 2022 fraud conviction, but remains in prison for national security law conviction. Burmese rebels of the Arakan Army (AA): 17 civilians killed by army air strike in Rakhine. International Committee for the Protection of Journalists: Israeli army killed 84 journalists in 2025. OpenAI bans China-linked account for operations against Sanae Takaichi.

PAKISTAN

Pakistan has stated that 34 people were killed this week during counter-terrorism operations near the border with Afghanistan. Pakistani security forces killed 34 militants in the southwestern province of Balochistan and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), amid a resurgence of militant attacks in the country. Twenty-six militants belonged to the Pakistani Taliban or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group.

HONG KONG

Jimmy Lai, Hong Kong's pro-democracy tycoon, has won an appeal against a fraud conviction in 2022, which saw him sentenced to nearly six years in prison. The Hong Kong Court of Appeal overturned the convictions of Lai and another defendant. But the 78-year-old, who has been in detention since 2020, will remain in prison. Earlier this month, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for colluding with foreign forces under the city's national security law.

MYANMAR

Burma's Arakan Army (AA) rebels have accused the army of killing 17 people, including women and children, in an air strike. Another 14 people were injured when a Burmese military jet struck a market in the village of Yoe Ngu, Ponnagyun Township, Rakhine, at approximately 2:07 p.m. on 24 February. Local volunteers said the attack hit the busiest area of the market, where many internally displaced people had taken refuge.

ISRAEL

In the context of the war in Gaza, Israel killed more journalists than any other nation in 2025. According to data from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which conducts annual international monitoring, Tel Aviv is responsible for 84 of the 129 murders of journalists recorded in 2025, the deadliest year on record for the media since records began in 1992. In its annual report, the CPJ highlights “a persistent culture of impunity for attacks on the press” by the Israeli army, almost all of which were directed at Palestinian media workers.

CHINA - JAPAN - USA

OpenAI said it had banned the ChatGPT account of an individual linked to Chinese law enforcement who had attempted to use the chatbot to plan an influence operation against Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. The US company said that ‘a covert influence operation against domestic and foreign adversaries’ was at stake. The official's activity on the chatbot also indicated broader “special cyber operations”.

ARMENIA - IRAN

Armenian Defence Minister Suren Pakinyan visited Tehran, where he met with his Iranian counterpart, General Aziz Nasirzade, to confirm the cooperation between the two countries on defence issues, continuing joint work considered “high level” and discussing various regional and international security issues, declaring themselves ready to develop new bilateral relations projects.

RUSSIA - UKRAINE

Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a further sign of the continuation of the war in Ukraine, speaking of a possible new mobilisation during the celebrations on 23 February, “Defenders of the Fatherland Day”, stating that “we bear an enormous responsibility for the defence of the Russian people and the future of Russia”, repeatedly emphasising the term “responsibility” not only for soldiers, but for the sacrifice of all Russians.