UPDATE - Malaysia, Pakistan condemn pager explosions in Lebanon

UPDATES WITH REACTION FROM PAKISTAN, CHANGES LEDE, HEADER

By Riyaz ul Khaliq and Aamir Latif

ISTANBUL / KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Malaysia and Pakistan on Thursday condemned the radio and pager explosions in Lebanon that killed 37 people.

Malaysia condemned what it called “weaponization” of communication devices amid explosions in Lebanon.

Expressing “grave concern” over explosions of pager devices, Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry said such incidents “undermine Lebanon’s security, stability and sovereignty.”

At least 37 people were killed and more than 3,250 injured on Tuesday and Wednesday in wireless device explosions that targeted thousands of pagers and Icom wireless units used by members of the Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah and medics across Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry.

“Malaysia stands in solidarity with Lebanon in this crisis and will work with the international community to defuse and de-escalate the already tense situation,” said the ministry in a statement.

Condemning the attacks, Pakistan said the “terror attacks are a manifestation of Israel’s alarming adventurism in the region, which has endangered regional peace and security.”

Addressing a weekly briefing in Islamabad, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch reaffirmed Pakistan’s support to Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, calling upon the international community to take urgent steps to hold Israel to account on its acts of “international terrorism and violations of international law.”

“Use of cyber and electronic means to commit terrorism in foreign countries is reprehensible," she added.

Israel has not commented on the blasts, but it has been widely blamed, especially in the Middle East. Unconfirmed reports say the devices had explosives implanted inside them.

The blasts came amid mounting border escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, which have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Tel Aviv’s deadly onslaught against the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 41,000 people, mostly women and children, following a Hamas attack last Oct. 7.

Icom, a Japanese firm, Thursday said it had stopped producing and exporting the model of walkie-talkies which exploded in Lebanon while Taiwanese firm Gold Apollo on Wednesday denied making pager devices that exploded in Lebanon.

It said the pagers that exploded in Lebanon were manufactured by firm BAC Consulting KFT, based in Budapest, the capital of Hungary.

However, the government in Budapest said the devices that exploded in Lebanon "have never been in Hungary."

The BAC is shrouded in mystery as no company officials returned Anadolu's phone calls or emails. Later on Wednesday afternoon, the company's website also became inaccessible.​​​​​​​