IN THE NEWS: TRUMP SAYS READY TO MEDIATE ON KASHMIR IF BOTH PAKISTAN, INDIA WANT (SEPTEMBER 24, 2019)
Selected by Olivier Immig & Jan van Heugten
Trump says ready to mediate on Kashmir if both Pakistan, India want
SOURCE: Dawn
Tuesday, September 24, 2019 (Posted)
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday met US President Donald Trump in New York City ahead of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly opening on September 24.
Addressing a joint press conference alongside Prime Minister Imran ahead of their meeting, Trump once again offered to mediate between Pakistan and India on the Kashmir issue.
“If I can help, I will certainly do that,” he said. “If both (Pakistan and India) want, I am ready, willing and able to do it.”
The US president noted that Kashmir’s was a complex issue that had been going on for a long time, but emphasised that arbitration could not be carried out unless both parties involved welcome it.
Trump said he has a “very good relationship” with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as with Prime Minister Imran. He said he has never failed as an arbitrator in the past and would be available to help if asked.
Avoiding to directly answer a question about UN resolutions on Kashmir, Trump reiterated that he is ready to play his role in South Asia if both India and Pakistan are willing. (more…)
IN THE NEWS: ISLAMABAD’S SLIPPAGE (SEPTEMBER 23, 2019)
Selected by Olivier Immig & Jan van Heugten
Islamabad’s slippage
SOURCE: Dawn
Monday, September 23, 2019
By KHALEEQ KIANI
Pakistan’s majority lawmakers may not be comprehensively familiar with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) but their observations from the grass roots level are not different than the global assessment of Islamabad’s slippage on the world ranking.
The opposition members are normally known for criticising any government.
And the current ruling party is understandably under attack because of double-digit inflation, slower economic growth and resulting pay cuts and layoffs in the industry along with the poor showing on the development and social sector indicators.
Interestingly, however, the ruling party parliamentarians are also critical of the government’s performance in the social sector, even though it has initiated reforms in the health sector and aims to broaden the protection to the vulnerable segments through Ehsaas.
‘If one believes government reports presented in media, everything is going well. Otherwise, everything sucks’
Former Finance Minister Asad Umar also believes that income support programmes like Benazir Income Support Programme and Ehsaas may be a great service to the most vulnerable but expecting the social sector indicators to improve without economic growth is unthinkable. (more…)
IN THE NEWS: TRUMP, IMRAN TO TACKLE HOT-BUTTON ISSUES IN NEW YORK TODAY (SEPTEMBER 23, 2019)
Selected by Olivier Immig & Jan van Heugten
Trump, Imran to tackle hot-button issues in New York today
SOURCE: The Express Tribune
Monday, September 23, 2019
By KAMRAN YOUSAF
ISLAMABAD: When US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Imran Khan meet today (Monday) in New York, the current situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir and Afghan unrest will dominate their discussions.
This will be the second meeting between the two leaders in two months. The two leaders had met at the White House in July when Imran paid maiden visit to Washington as prime minister.
That meeting, contrary to the expectations, went quite well as Trump not only acknowledged Pakistan’s role in advancing peace talks in Afghanistan, but also offered to mediate between Pakistan and India over the Kashmir dispute.
But much has changed since. The Afghan peace process was abruptly collapsed after Trump pulled out of the almost done peace deal with the Taliban.
PM Imran in US on ‘mission Kashmir’
Also, tensions between Pakistan and India have further deepened in the wake of New Delhi’s move to strip the disputed Kashmir region of its special status.
Against the backdrop of these developments, the meeting between Trump and Imran is seen as significant.
A senior Foreign Office official told The Express Tribune that the prime minister would brief the US president about the current situation in occupied Kashmir, particularly the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the valley due to curfew and other restrictions imposed by India.
The official said while Pakistan was raising the issue at all international forums, there was a feeling that the US alone could play a decisive role in persuading India to ease restrictions in occupied Kashmir. (more…)
IN THE NEWS: TALIBAN IN CHINA TO DISCUSS AFGHAN PEACE AFTER US TALKS COLLAPSE (SEPTEMBER 23, 2019)
Selected by Olivier Immig & Jan van Heugten
Taliban in China to discuss Afghan peace after US talks collapse
SOURCE: Asia Times
Monday, September 23, 2019
*Afghan delegation and Chinese officials exchange views on ‘process of advancing peace in Afghanistan’, Beijing says
A Taliban delegation has met Chinese officials in Beijing to discuss peace efforts in Afghanistan.
The meeting on Sunday came two weeks after US President Donald Trump abruptly cancelled months-long talks between US officials and the armed group, which controls large parts of Afghanistan.
These negotiations, which began in October 2018 in Qatar’s capital, Doha, were aimed at ending Afghanistan’s 18-year-old war.
On Monday, Geng Shuang, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, said the Taliban delegation and ministry officials exchanged views on the “process of advancing peace in Afghanistan”, without giving further details.
Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban spokesman in Qatar, said in a tweet that the group’s nine-member delegation, led by cofounder Mullah Baradar, travelled to Beijing and met Deng Xijun, China’s special representative for Afghanistan.
Trump cancels Taliban talks: What does it mean for Afghanistan? (more…)
IN THE NEWS: TRUMP TO MEET IMRAN KHAN ON MONDAY, PM MODI ON TUESDAY IN NEW YORK (SEPTEMBER 22, 2019)
Selected by Olivier Immig & Jan van Heugten
Trump to Meet Imran Khan on Monday, PM Modi on Tuesday in New York
SOURCE: Daily Outlook Afghanistan
Sunday, September 22, 2019
NEW YORK – President Donald Trump will meet Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday, a day after he joins Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the mega “Howdy Modi” event in Houston and will again hold a meeting with the Indian leader in New York on Tuesday, a senior official has said.
Both the meetings with the leaders of India and Pakistan would be held in New York on the sidelines of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, a senior administration official told reporters on Friday in a preview of Donald Trump’s engagements in the Big Apple next week.
Donald Trump is expected to arrive in New York on Sunday night after his participation with Modi at the “Howdy Modi” event in Houston where the two leaders will address over 50,000 Indian-Americans.
The US president will then travel to Ohio where he will be joined by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
“President Donald J Trump will be travelling to Houston for ‘Howdy Modi: Shared Dreams Bright Futures’ event. That will be the day wherein he will travel on to Ohio where he will be joined by Prime Minister Morrison of Australia where they will visit Pratt industry and celebrate US economic relationship with Australia,” the official said. (more…)
IN THE NEWS: AFGHAN OFFICIALS CAUSE STIR AT TORKHAM CROSSING CEREMONY (SEPTEMBER 21, 2019)
Selected by Olivier Immig & Jan van Heugten
Afghan Officials Cause Stir at Torkham Crossing Ceremony
SOURCE: TOLO News
Saturday, September 21, 2019
By HASEBA ATAKPAL
*Torkham is on the Durand Line, which Pakistan claims as its border and Afghanistan does not
* Ghani And Pakistan PM Discuss Peace Talks, Election
* Pakistan Would Not Use Nuclear Weapons First: Khan
The opening ceremony of the 24-hour crossing at Torkham was held on Wednesday, with Prime Minister Imran Khan and a number of Afghan government officials, including Nangarhar governor Shah Mahmoud Miakhail and acting Minister of Public Works Yama Yari, in attendance.
The presence of Afghan officials at the 24-hour Torkham Crossing ceremony has caused a controversy, because Torkham is on the Durand Line, which Pakistan claims as its border and Afghanistan does not.
Former national security chief and presidential candidate Rahmatullah Nabil says he has information that President Ghani has recognized the Durand Line as a border between Afghanistan and Pakistan for his own personal interests.
Nabil says that based on his information Pakistan has been pulling the fence inside Afghanistan up to 20 km and has distributed Pakistani ID cards in those areas.
“Such deals are always about gaining power. History has proven this. I think that’s the president’s reason,” Nabil said.
“”If the president really stands against Pakistan’s interference, then the President at least must issue a statement in this regard,” Nabil added. (more…)
IN THE NEWS: PAKISTAN – CPEC SHELVED? (SEPTEMBER 20, 2019)
Selected by Olivier Immig & Jan van Heugten
CPEC shelved?
SOURCE: The News International
Friday, September 20, 2019
KARACHI: The $50 billion worth China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects launched amidst lot of fanfare by the PML-N government and they soon became so expedient that practically all political parties lined to take its credit.
Some analysts laid credit of the CPEC projects with the former dictator Gen (retd) Pervaiz Musharraf and the military leadership. It became so sacrosanct afterwards that mere objecting to the project would invite the label of treachery against the country. But then the pendulum swung the other way. After the inauguration of the PTI’s government into the office, the projects first came under scathing criticism of Minister for Trade Razzaq Daud and then Minister for Communication Murad Saeed who accused PML-N’s Ahsan Iqbal of involvement in misappropriations in some CPEC projects and then all of them came to a seemingly grinding halt.
Now it has become a forgone conclusion that the CPEC projects have been shelved for all practical purposes. The former spokesman of Balochistan government’s Jan Muhammad Buledi told Deutsche Welle the incumbent government does not accord any priority to CPEC. Buledi said no progress was witnessed on the CPEC projects for Balochistan in the last one year adding the projects have seemingly been frozen. No development has been undertaken on the land acquired for Gwadar Airport, he said and added same goes with the 300MW electricity generation plant in Gwadar that was to be built by China for which land was also acquired but the development work is yet to start. Gwadar Port remains similarly frozen. (more…)
IN THE NEWS: PAKISTAN COURT GRANTS BAIL TO TWO PASHTUN POLITICAL LEADERS (SEPTEMBER 19, 2019)
Selected by Olivier Immig & Jan van Heugten
Pakistan Court Grants Bail To Two Pashtun Lawmakers
SOURCE: Gandhara
Thursday, September 19, 2019 (Posted)
A court in northwestern Pakistan has granted bail to two lawmakers incarcerated for months for an alleged attack on an army check post near the Afghan border.
Lawyers for Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar said a judge in Bannu, a southern city in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, accepted their bail pleas at a September 18 hearing.
“It is big news that the court granted them bail,” Sangeen Khan, a lawyer and member of the legal team representing Wazir and Dawar, told Radio Mashaal. “Now they should be released soon.”
The two are senior leaders of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), a civil rights movement demanding security and rights for Pakistan’s Pashtuns, the country’s largest ethnic minority.
Abdul Latif Afridi, a senior lawyer heading the legal team for the lawmakers, said Justice Nasir Mehmood, a judge on the Peshawar High Court’s Bannu bench, granted his clients conditional bail, which will require them to report to the police every month.
“The judge gave a verbal order; we are waiting for the written one,” he told Pakistan’s daily Dawn. (more…)
IN THE NEWS: KHAN WARNS PAKISTANIS AGAINST JIHAD IN KASHMIR (SEPTEMBER 19, 2019)
Selected by Olivier Immig & Jan van Heugten
KHAN WARNS PAKISTANIS AGAINST JIHAD IN KASHMIR
SOURCE: Newsweek Pakistan
Thursday, September 19, 2019
*PRIME MINISTER SAYS INDIAN AUTHORITIES ARE ‘LOOKING FOR ANY EXCUSE’ TO CRACK DOWN ON KASHMIRIS
Prime Minister Imran Khan warned citizens on Wednesday that anyone who goes to fight jihad in Kashmir would hurt the territory’s cause, as anger simmers between Islamabad and New Delhi over the disputed region.
Indian authorities are waiting for “any excuse” to crack down in the Himalayan region, he warned, promising again to raise the issue at the United Nations General Assembly next week.
Tensions have spiked over Kashmir, parts of which are administered by both India and Pakistan, since Delhi moved on Aug. 5 to revoke the autonomy of the portion it controls. Since then, leaders in both countries have engaged in an escalating war of words, with Delhi warning that Pakistan—long alleged to be using proxy militant groups in Kashmir—was planning attacks.
Islamabad has promised to stand by the Kashmiris following the move and publicly accused India of carrying out a potential “genocide” in the region. India has flooded its side of Kashmir with troops in a security clampdown to prevent any violence, igniting outrage in Pakistan. (more…)
IN THE NEWS: TALIBAN MUST DEMONSTRATE COMMITMENT TO PEACE: POMPEO (SEPTEMBER 18, 2019)
Selected by Olivier Immig & Jan van Heugten
Taliban Must Demonstrate Commitment To Peace: Pompeo
SOURCE: TOLO News
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
*Pompeo condemns the recent Taliban attacks on the people, institutions, and infrastructure of Afghanistan
* Suicide Attack at Ghani Campaign Rally Kills 26, Wounds 42
* Trump Could Meet Iran’s Rouhani At UN: Pompeo
The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has condemned the Taliban’s Tuesday suicide attacks in Parwan province and Kabul, saying: “Taliban must begin to demonstrate a genuine commitment to peace rather than continue the violence and destruction.”
“Just today, the Taliban has claimed responsibility for a terrorist attack carried out by a suicide bomber in Kabul that killed more than 20 Afghans,” Pompeo said in the statement, adding that they also claimed responsibility for the blast at President Ashraf Ghani’s campaign rally. This explosion in Charikar killed more than two dozen people waiting to hear President Ghani speak.
Pompeo said that Afghanistan has endured blackouts and other challenges as a result of Taliban attacks, referring to the downed power lines that carry electricity from Uzbekistan to hospitals, schools, and homes in many areas of the country.
“Through these attacks, the Taliban demonstrate blatant disregard for the people and institutions of Afghanistan,” Pompeo said, insisting that for “Afghans to truly reconcile” they must not “continue the violence and destruction that causes such inordinate harm to the Afghan people and the future of their country.” (more…)