Aside from praising Beijing’s governance system, Khan also repeated Pakistan’s support for the Chinese government regarding its policies in the Muslim-majority Xinjiang province….reports Asian Lite News
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has termed China’s one-party rule a unique model of governance that is an alternative to Western electoral democracies.
Khan made the remarks in Islamabad as part of the Chinese Communist Party’s centenary event on Thursday. “Until now, we had been told that the best way for societies to improve was through Western democracy. However, CPC introduced an alternative system and they have beaten all Western electoral democracies in the way they have highlighted merit in society,” Pakistan PM said, as quoted by The News International.
Khan said a society only succeeds when it has systems in place for holding the ruling elite accountable and ensuring meritocracy. “Until now, the feeling was that electoral democracy is the best way to bring leaders on merit and hold them accountable. But the CPC has achieved much better without democracy. Their system for sifting through talent and bringing it up is better than the democratic system.”
Aside from praising Beijing’s governance system, Khan also repeated Pakistan’s support for the Chinese government regarding its policies in the Muslim-majority Xinjiang province.
“Our interaction with Chinese officials, that version of what is happening in Xinjiang is completely different to the version of what we hear from the Western media and the Western governments,” he said on Thursday.
Despite the overwhelming evidence of China’s genocide of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, Pakistan has said it believes in Beijing’s version regarding the treatment of minorities in the region.
Pakistan Prime Minister, who projects himself as the champion of Islam or a crusader against Islamophobia, has turned a blind eye to the Chinese atrocities against Muslim minorities because of Islamabad’s “extreme proximity and relationship with Beijing”.
Xinjiang is a province in Communist China where an estimated two million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities have been detained since 2016. They are believed to have been placed in detention centres across Xinjiang.
Many former detainees allege they were subjected to attempted indoctrination, physical abuse and even sterilisation. However, China regularly denies such mistreatment and says the camps provide vocational training.
“Because of our extreme proximity and relationship with China, we actually accept the Chinese version,” Dawn quoted Imran Khan as saying.
Prime Minister Khan’s selective outrage against Islamophobia has time and again has received a lot of criticism.
When it comes to China’s treatment of Muslims, Imran Khan has remained mum since he assumed the office as prime minister of Pakistan.
Recently, in an interview with HBO Axios, when he was asked about his outspokenness about Islamophobia in Europe and the US but total silence on the genocide of Muslims in Western China,” he replied, “This is not the case, according to them (Chinese authorities).”
China has been globally rebuked for cracking down on Uyghur Muslims by sending them to mass detention camps to undergo some form of forcible “re-education or indoctrination”.
Over the past four months, the Canadian, Dutch, British, Lithuanian, and Czech parliaments adopted motions recognising the Uyghur crisis as genocide. (ANI)
A vehicle moves through a flooded street following heavy rain on the outskirts of northwest Pakistan's Peshawar,
A major environmental crisis is looming over Pakistan. The country is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. It is ranked 5th among the most affected in the world. Pakistan is facing the adverse impacts of climate change in the form of melting glaciers, floods, shifting weather patterns and droughts … A special report by Salma KouserAsif
Pakistan is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. It is ranked 5th among the most affected countries in the world. The country is facing the adverse impacts of climate change in the form of melting glaciers, floods, shifting weather patterns and droughts. Pakistan is also grappling with its worst water crisis and is predicted to suffer from water scarcity by 2040. With rising population only aggravating a fragile situation, the country which was once a water abundant entity is today facing a crisis with acute and frequent droughts. Climate change is likely to further exacerbate this condition.
Recently, the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) of Pakistan reported that the per capita water availability in Pakistan has dropped from 5650 cubic meters in 1951 to 908 cubic meters per annum in 2021.
The main source of water to Pakistan is the Indus River system. The entire country predominantly lies in this basin. More than half of the water in the Indus River is supplied by the melting glaciers of the Hindu Kush – Himalayan mountains. However, global warming and the consequent glacier melting are distressing the water resources on the upper Indus Basin, further upsetting the downstream irrigation projects and other water reserves dependent on it. In fact, the fast-tracked ice melting is predicted to increase the frequency of floods and GLOFs (glacial lake outburst floods) in the region, signs of which are already becoming visible. Such environmental effects could be disastrous for Pakistan where more than 80% of the agriculture is supported by the Indus River Basin and is dependent on water accessibility and irrigation systems.
Under such circumstances, the province of Sindh which originally got its name from the Indus River itself (River Sindhu), may be particularly impacted. The province has the second largest population in the country and is the second largest contributor to the country’s economy. It is situated in an intense heat zone and global warming arising out of infrastructure projects in a sensitive ecological region are likely to significantly affect both its population and agriculture. There would be a substantial decline in the production of Kharif crops like maize, rice, sugarcane, millet and cotton which require a lot of water and other water intensive crops like wheat as well. Since the province also provides its vegetable produce to the rest of the country environmental consequences of ecologically unfriendly projects will impact food availability not just in the province but the entire country as a whole. The fishing industry is also prone to being affected adversely.
The Sindh province accounts for around 70% of the total fisheries of Pakistan. The Indus River system includes a total of 19 barrages for the purpose of irrigation, and three of these are located in the Sindh province -Guddu, Sukkur and Kotri barrages. The availability of the famous Hilsa, locally known as Palla has been decimated due to construction of dams and barrages in the upstream of River Indus for diversion of water for the purpose of irrigation. This has resulted in the Indus delta, which was once a breeding place for the Hilsa fish in not receiving enough freshwater for its breeding and spawning. Previously, the fish would travel up to Multan, however with the construction of these barrages, the migration of the Hilsa fish has drastically declined and with the Kotri barrage their spawning area has also been severely reduced.
These risks are bound to be further aggravated by the construction activities being undertaken in the Hindukush Mountain region. As is known, Pakistan is projected to face acute water scarcity. The continued demand for water against the already declining resources could also be a potential cause of concern for Pakistan vis-a vis its neighbours.
This has aggravated the woes of the fishing community in the region. The reduced discharge of the fresh water into the sea is proving to be disadvantageous for the breeding of the fish and shrimp as these species primarily rely on fresh water with low salinity for their growth.
Sindh is also characterized by another famous aquatic entity popularly known as the Indus River dolphins. In fact, the Guddu and Sukkur barrages have the highest density, close to 90% of the total population of the Indus River dolphins. These dolphins being the most endangered river dolphin species in the world with a population of around 1200 have resulted in these barrages being recognized as Indus River dolphin reserves under the Sindh wildlife law. Sadly however, the construction of barrages and dams on the Indus River has substantially brought down the population of these dolphins as their natural habitat has been systemically dented.
Further, the rise in the sea level as a consequence of global warming is causing seawater intrusion (advancing of the seawater to the river canals) in the Sindh coast. The main reason for this kind of intrusion is understood to be the reduced freshwater discharge due to contracted water flows from the Kotri barrage. With the absence of regular supply of freshwater, saline sea water is percolating into the soil & the aquifers making it unfit for consumption by the human and animal populace as well as for crop cultivation. The construction of dykes in an attempt to halt the intrusion of seawater in the coastal belt has also largely failed as seawater continues to escape into the ground aquifers. This has extensively contributed towards the degradation of the land and water resources in the Sindh province. More specifically, the worst affected districts due to sea intrusion are Thatta and Badin districts, inundating about 1.2 million acres of land in the coastal areas. All this has also resulted in forced migration to already burdened cities like Karachi and other urban areas in Pakistan in search of livelihood and means to overcome poverty.
In fact, the Indus Delta being one of the largest deltas in the world is blessed with thick mangrove forests. A beautiful natural phenomenon it is the deposition of water, nutrients and silt carried by the Indus River that sustains these forests. (Waqar Ahmed and Syed Shahid Shaukat, 2015). Home to many migratory birds, wild life and fish species, they also act as a natural windbreaker and give protection against storms.
With the reduced freshwater flow from the Indus River these mangrove forests have drastically reduced in the Sindh province. Traditionally, mangroves have been a valuable resource for the villages situated in the coastal areas as the coastal population is dependent upon them for their livelihood. But with receding mangroves, the situation is fast deteriorating.
There is an immediate need for Pakistan to pay attention to its water management – firstly, to avoid droughts and floods and secondly, to lower the chances of another latent cause of tension in the neighbourhood. How it engages with environmental issues in general, and the CPEC issue in particular is going to be extremely important in the times to come
Contributing to this existential threat of climate change, Pakistan’s foreign policy and developmental trajectory too are adversely influencing the Sindh region and the economic and ecosystem services that it sustains on. For example, the impact of projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has the capacity of snowballing into environmental disasters. Around 75 percent of the newly planned energy projects under CPEC are supported by the coal powered plants (Thar-I and Thar-II coal plants) located in the Sindh Province. Apart from playing a part in increasing the carbon emissions it is also largely responsible for seasonal smog that has been reported in Sindh and the neighboring Punjab province. The situation is likely to further worsen when the coal power plants become fully operational.
It is hardly a secret that the Punjab-backed bureaucrats connive with the IRSA (Indus River System Authority), the regulator of Indus waters in Pakistan and the WAPDA to get more than the approved share of allocated water for their province. As per the Water Apportionment Accord of 1991, 37% water share was settled each for Punjab and Sindh and the rest was to be distributed between Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. However, this accord is continually disregarded, and Sindh faults the Punjab province for not releasing the agreed allocated water share to them. This issue has been perennially plaguing the Pakistani government from more than a decade.
However, irrespective of Sindh voicing out its genuine concerns, the ruling party and politicians at the Centre have largely favoured the Punjab province, when it comes to allocation of fair share of Indus waters, owing to the dominance of this region in the nation’s polity. For instance, in May 2021, the IRSA had suspended the water supply from Mangla dam to the Sindh province citing low water level. Punjab, meanwhile continued to receive water from the Taunsa-Punjnad Canal. Interestingly, the yearly rainfall in the Punjab province is always more than what Sindh receives. Hence the groundwater table of Punjab is not as bad as in Sindh.
Nevertheless, this did not deter the authorities from giving concessions to Punjab. Instead, Sindh continued to suffer from water shortages and no freshwater was released downstream the Kotri barrage which is otherwise extremely vital to preserve the Indus Delta.
Admittedly, the Sindh province that is reeling under the impacts of climate change will be further dangerously impacted by the CPEC projects that are capable of disturbing the balance in the Indus River Basin. The upcoming major CPEC projects in the Sindh Province like the Dhabeji Special Economic Zone, Keti Bandar seaport development project, Karachi Circular Railway have the potential to cause environmental hazards, locally resulting in the cutting of trees and augmenting air pollution. The construction of large dams in the province is already being opposed by the people of Sindh. Thus, unless and until the principles of environmental sustainability are applied to the CPEC projects, there is a great risk to the climate and ecosystem balance of the place.
These risks are bound to be further aggravated by the construction activities being undertaken in the Hindukush Mountain region. As is known, Pakistan is projected to face acute water scarcity. The continued demand for water against the already declining resources could also be a potential cause of concern for Pakistan vis-a vis its neighbours. There is an immediate need for Pakistan to pay attention to its water management – firstly, to avoid droughts and floods and secondly, to lower the chances of another latent cause of tension in the neighbourhood. How it engages with environmental issues in general, and the CPEC issue in particular, is going to be extremely important in the times to come.
The report further warns that Islamabad’s failure in persuading the Taliban to opt for a peacefully-negotiated political settlement, would strain its ties with Washington….reports Hamza Ameer
The quick withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan and increasing terror attacks and claiming of various areas by the Taliban would undermine Islamabad’s efforts to facilitate Taliban’s return to Kabul through power-sharing arrangements, says a report compiled by the International Crisis Group.
The report titled “Pakistan: Shoring Up Afghanistan’s Peace Process”, compiled by the Washington/Brusselsbased think tank, warns that the quick withdrawal of foreign troops would have a direct impact on Pakistan-US and Pakistan-Kabul ties.
“Should the Afghan peace process continue to sputter or altogether fail, Islamabad’s relations with Kabul and Washington would sour,” it warns.
“Further instability or Taliban gains in Afghanistan could embolden Pakistani militants aligned with their Afghan counterparts, deepening insecurity in Pakistan,” the report added.
It is pertinent to mention that the US had expected Pakistan to persuade the Taliban to announce a ceasefire and show some flexibility on their reinstating their version of Islamic governance.
The report further warns that Islamabad’s failure in persuading the Taliban to opt for a peacefully-negotiated political settlement, would strain its ties with Washington and the Kabul administration.
“Pakistan should double its efforts to convince the Taliban to scale back both their attacks and their aspirations to reinstate their version of Islamic governance,” read the report.
The report raises serious concerns over the probable worsening situation in Afghanistan after the foreign troops’ withdrawal, and that it could only reassure and bolster factions of the Pakistani Taliban and could also trigger massive influx of Afghan refugees.
It claims that Pakistan has facilitated and played an important role in the Afghan peace process, because it wants to ensure existence of a power-sharing arrangement with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
However, the Biden administration’s announcement to withdraw all US troops by September 11 has put difficult timelines and deadlines for the peace process to materialise and tackle a probable intensified conflict.
Pakistan’s position remains pivotal to the Afghan peace process. Even though its ties with the Taliban are not as strong as they used to be, but since the Taliban shura still operates out of Pakistani havens, Islamabad could still use its efforts and pressure to persuade the Taliban to break the deadlock in the peace talks and reduce violence in Afghanistan.
Hashtags like #KashmirRejectsModiAPC already on to ramp up negative sentiments by Pakistan ….reports Asian Lite News
In the run up to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session, the Indian listening posts have picked up chatters that the ISI and the Pakistan Foreign Office are asking their station chiefs and diplomatic missions to drum up negative media coverage on Kashmir after the recent initiatives taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The 76th session of the UNGA will open on September 14 and continue till September 30. In the run up to the UNGA, Indian listening posts have come across messaging to ensure negative publicity about Kashmir and also proliferate it in the international media.
Pakistan seems to be uneasy about the progress made in the fields of education, health and the other developmental initiatives take by the Modi government, along with the impending restoration of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir for which an all-party meeting was convened recently in New Delhi.
A process is already on to ramp up negative sentiments by Pakistan as #KashmirRejectsModiAPC is trending on Twitter.
Soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir. (Photo: IANS)
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has described Narendra Modi’s all-party meeting with top political leaders from Jammu and Kashmir as a “drama” and a “PR exercise”.
“In my view, it was a drama. Why was it a drama? Because at best it could be called a public relations exercise, but nothing was achieved,” Qureshi said a day after the high-level meeting on Jammu and Kashmir in New Delhi on June 24.
Qureshi said the Kashmiri leaders at the meeting “unanimously demanded full-fledged restoration of statehood”.
But the fact is that the Government of India is already contemplating such a move at the earliest. In fact, the delimitation exercise has already been jumpstarted.
Under Westphalian sovereignty laws, India is clear as daylight that Jammu and Kashmir is legally, ethically and constitutionally a part of India and no external interference will be brooked. However, Pakistan continues to daydream that it can get this to change diplomatically, militarily and by launching a 30-year long proxy war.
It has failed on all counts and yet it hankers for Kashmir as the unfinished business of Partition and as a reprisal for the brutal defeat in the 1971 war when it was vivisected, and a new nation called Bangladesh was born.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi (PIB)
Pakistan daily ‘Dawn’ said in an editorial that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has also said that Pakistan is ready for talks with India should the latter provide a roadmap for restoration of Kashmir’s special status.
“Therefore, India must take solid steps to not only address Kashmiris’ concerns, but also to push the peace process with Pakistan forward. Moreover, India needs to halt its efforts to change Kashmir’s demographics by settling outsiders in the region. India must show that it respects the wishes of the people of Kashmir, or else such meetings will be little more than a political pantomime,” Dawn said.
In recent days, there is a bump up in terrorist activity to break Jammu and Kashmir’s peace with encounters almost every other day. The drone attacks in Jammu are also seen as attempts to scuttle the prevailing peace.
This statement comes in response to the Afghan foreign ministry’s remarks about TTP’s presence on Afghan territory…reports Asian Lite News
Amid the recent surge in violence in Afghanistan, Pakistan has said that some 5,000 terrorists belonging to the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were posing a threat to its security from their “sanctuaries” in the neighbouring country.
“The assertions of the Afghan side are contrary to facts on ground and various reports of the UN, which also corroborate the presence and activities of over 5000-strong TTP in Afghanistan,” the Pakistan Foreign Office was quoted by Dawn newspaper.
It further claimed that the TTP has over the past few years launched several gruesome terrorist attacks inside Pakistan using Afghan soil without any retribution from its hosts.
This statement comes in response to the Afghan foreign ministry’s remarks about TTP’s presence on Afghan territory. On Sunday, the Ashraf Ghani government denied the presence of the terrorist group in Afghanistan after Pakistan expressed apprehensions regarding a possible spillover of TTP.
“According to the national security policy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, this movement along with other terrorist groups is recognized as the enemy of peace, stability, and prosperity in Afghanistan and the region, and the Afghan government fights against this terrorist outfit like any other terrorist group without discrimination,” the Afghan foreign ministry said.
The statement said that Afghanistan has consistently stressed upon implementation of UNSC resolutions and the Doha agreement which calls on the Taliban to cut ties with regional and international terrorist groups including the TTP.
“In order to establish lasting peace in Afghanistan and to ensure stability and prosperity in the region, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan calls on all countries, especially Pakistan, to treat all terrorist outfits equally and without discrimination, and not allow these closely linked and organized groups to collude with each other to jeopardize the security and stability of our countries,” the statement added.
Earlier this month, Pakistan Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid had said that Islamabad is expecting that the Taliban will not allow terrorist groups like TTP to carry out activities against Pakistan.
Pakistan has finished over 80 per cent of the Durand Line fencing along with Afghanistan despite facing backlash from the people on both sides of the line. Despite the absence of a concrete agreement with the Afghan government, the Pakistan government has been declaring the Durand Line as an official border. (ANI)
A World Bank (WB) release said that the USD 400 million Pakistan Program for Affordable and Clean Energy (PACE) focuses on measures to improve the financial viability…reports Asian Lite News
The World Bank on Tuesday approved USD 800 million in financing for two programs in Pakistan–the Pakistan Program for Affordable and Clean Energy and the Second Securing Human Investments to Foster Transformation.
A World Bank (WB) release said that the USD 400 million Pakistan Program for Affordable and Clean Energy (PACE) focuses on measures to improve the financial viability of the power sector and support the country’s transition to low-carbon energy.
“Power sector reforms are critical to resolving Pakistan’s fiscal challenges,” said Rikard Liden, World Bank Task Team Leader for the PACE program. “Decarbonizing the energy mix will reduce the dependence on fossil fuel imports and vulnerability to price fluctuations because of movement in exchange rates. PACE prioritizes action on such reforms, which must be sustained to address circular debt and set the power sector on a sustainable path.”
The release said the USD 400 million Second Securing Human Investments to Foster Transformation program (SHIFT II) supports a federal structure to strengthen basic service delivery for human capital accumulation.
The program will help improve health and education services, increase income-generation opportunities for the poor, and promote inclusive economic growth.
NEWS: The $400m Pakistan Program for Affordable & Clean Energy #PACE focuses on measures to improve the financial viability of the power sector & support the country’s transition to low-carbon energy. Read more about the program here: https://t.co/0gEmMGsxOspic.twitter.com/8k3Eqc85ym
“Strengthening services that build human capital in a coordinated manner between provincial and federal authorities, along with improved targeting of social safety nets, will better support families to recover from the COVID-19 crisis, and pave the way for more robust crisis preparedness in the future,” said Tazeen Fasih, World Bank Task Team Leader for the SHIFT II program.
Najy Benhassine, WB Country Director for Pakistan said, “The reforms underpinning PACE and SHIFT can contribute to facilitating sustainable investments and generate welfare gains for those most in need.”
Pakistan has been a member of the World Bank since 1950. Since then, the World Bank has provided $40 billion in assistance.
Recently, the World Bank had estimated that poverty in Pakistan has increased from 4.4 per cent to 5.4 per cent in 2020, as over two million people have fallen below the poverty line.
Using the lower-middle-income poverty rate, the WB estimated that the poverty ratio in Pakistan stood at 39.3 per cent in 2020-21 and is projected to remain at 39.2 per cent in 2021-22 and might come down to 37.9 per cent by 2022-23, reported The News International.
Moreover, by using the upper-middle-income poverty rate, the global financial institution estimated that the poverty stood at 78.4 per cent in 2020-21 and it would be standing at 78.3 per cent in 2021-22 and is projected to come down to 77.5 per cent in 2022-23.
As per the Bank’s estimates, 40 per cent of households suffered from moderate to severe food insecurity in Pakistan.
At a time when the WB has been showing rising trends in poverty, the government has just released poverty figures for 2018-19 and indicated that the poverty declined from 24.3 per cent in 2015-16 to 21.9 per cent in 2018-19 in the pre-COVID-19 period, according to The News International.
According to the WB, the containment measures adopted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic led to a collapse in economic activity during the final quarter of FY20. As a result, the GDP growth is estimated to have contracted by 1.5 per cent in FY20.
During the period, half of the working population saw either job or income losses, with informal and low-skilled workers employed in elementary occupations facing the strongest contraction in employment. (ANI)
The inbound United Arab Emirates (UAE) flights have been suspended for travellers from Pakistan as part of the COVID-19 precautionary measures…report Asian Lite News
Dubai-based carrier Emirates on Sunday suspended Pakistan-Dubai flights as part of COVID-19 precautionary measures.
While responding to passengers’ queries about travel updates, Emirates said flights from Pakistan to Dubai are suspended till further notice, reported Gulf Today.
The inbound United Arab Emirates (UAE) flights have been suspended for travellers from Pakistan as part of the COVID-19 precautionary measures.
“Our flights from Pakistan remain suspended. We don’t have a resumption date yet as it’ll depend on government mandate. Please continue to monitor our website for travel updates,” the national carrier said on Twitter.
Many Pakistani expats are stuck in their native country due to the suspension of flights. Similarly, those who wish to visit their families back home have postponed their travel plans as uncertainty prevails over the flights’ status, reported Gulf Today.
The UAE has taken strict measures to contain the spread of coronavirus, which has claimed nearly four million lives across the world.
Meanwhile, the total number of cases in Pakistan has risen to 955,657 and the death toll is 22,231 on Monday. The positivity rate is 2.05 per cent, reported Dawn.
The airline also said passengers who have connected through Pakistan, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka in the last 14 days will not be accepted to travel from any other point to the UAE, reported Gulf Today.
Further, the UAE nationals, UAE Golden Visa holders and diplomatic missions’ officials who comply with updated COVID-19 protocols are permitted to enter the country. (ANI)
Ahmed, well known for his outspoken attitude, has admitted that families of Taliban fighters reside in the country…reports Hamza Ameer
Pakistan has for long completely rejected assertions of having Taliban footprints on its soil. However, incumbent Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed has admitted that Islamabad not only hosts families of the Taliban, but it also is aware of fighters getting medical treatment in the country.
Ahmed, well known for his outspoken attitude, has admitted that families of Taliban fighters reside in the country and many of the group’s members receive medical treatment in local hospitals.
In an interview to a local television network, the Minister said many of those familiesreside in the surrounding areas Pakistan’s capital Islamabad.
“Taliban families live here, in Pakistan, in Rawat, Loi Ber, Bara Kahu and Tarnol areas. Sometimes their (fighters) dead bodies arrive and sometimes they come here in hospital to get medical treatment,” he added.
Ahmed’s admission bcompletely negates Islamabad’s outright rejection of allegations leveled by Kabul and Washington that Taliban terrorists use Pakistani soil to direct and sustain their activities in Afghanistan.
On the other hand, Pakistan has counter-blamed Afghanistan for facilitating militants and other illegal movements from its 2,600 km-long open border into Pakistan.
Pakistan has also maintained that it facilitates about three million Afghan refugees for decades, which at times does serve as a hiding place for the Taliban insurgents.
Recently, the Pakistan Foreign Office had categorically rejected the remarks of the Press Office of the Afghan Minister of Foreign Affairs, regarding activities of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Afghanistan.
“The assertion of the Afghan side are contrary to facts on ground and various reports of the UN, which also corroborate the presence and activities of over 5000-strong TTP in Afghanistan”” said the Pakistan Foreign Office.
“Over the last many years, TTP has launched several gruesome terrorist attacks inside Pakistan using Afghan soil without any retribution from its hosts. The 12th Report of the UN Monitoring Team issued in June 2021, acknowledges TTP’s distinctive anti-Pakistan objectives and notes its location within Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan.
Taliban
“The TTP following its orchestrated reunification with its splinter groups with the help of Hostile Intelligence Agencies (HIAs), its continued presence in Afghanistan with impunity and its cross-border attacks against Pakistan pose persistent threat to our security and stability,” the Office added.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has stated that Pakistan’s gains against terrorism, could be undermined severely if the security situation worsens in Afghanistan, and lead towards a civil war.
“We are already hosting and looking after almost three million Afghan refugees and we cannot take more because we are not in a position to shoulder the burden,” said Qureshi, insisting that the worsening security situation in Afghanistan could also trigger another exodus of refugees into Pakistan.
However, the statement by the Interior Minister certainly has raised many eyebrows, who are now questioning the Imran Khan-led government and reminding it of its claims of now allowing terrorists to operate from its soil.
It was on June 26, 1987 that the 8 JAK LI captured the Quaid Post (named after Muhammad Ali Jinnah) in Siachen at an altitude of 21,153 feet, a virtually impregnable glacier fortress with ice walls as high as 1500 feet on both sides which was occupied by Pakistani forces to dominate the entire region, reports Ateet Sharma
Thirty-four years after their exemplary valour created history on the highest battleground in the world, the heroics of Captain Bana Singh, Param Vir Chakra, Major Varinder Singh, Vir Chakra, Sena Medal and his team from the 8th Jammu & Kashmir Light Infantry (Siachen) are being recalled with a huge sense of pride by many Indians today.
It was on June 26, 1987 that the 8 JAK LI captured the Quaid Post (named after Muhammad Ali Jinnah) in Siachen at an altitude of 21,153 feet, a virtually impregnable glacier fortress with ice walls as high as 1500 feet on both sides which was occupied by Pakistani forces to dominate the entire region.
Naib Subedar Bana Singh, who volunteered to be a member of the team tasked to capture the Quaid Post, displayed conspicuous gallantry and leadership under severe adverse conditions and was awarded India’s highest gallantry award, the Param Vir Chakra and the post was renamed as ‘Bana Top’ in his honour.
A memorial at the headquarters of the Dogra Regiment of the Indian Army in remembrance of members of the regiment who died or served in the Siachen Conflict.(WIKIPEDIA)
Along with Subedar Sanjay Kumar and Subedar Yogendra Singh Yadav, Captain Bana Singh is the only living recipient of the award.
Temperatures in the upper reaches of the 76 km glacier with mountain ranges on either side ranges between minus 30 degrees to minus 80 degrees centigrade and the average winter snowfall is 35 feet.
Bane Singh
It was in these extremely difficult and hazardous conditions that Singh, with a thin razor sharp ridge line on the flank, led his men through the dangerous route and inspired them by his indomitable courage and leadership.
Using ropes to climb the ice walls in numbing chillness, the heroic JCO and his men crawled and closed in on the enemy. In an unparalleled feat of raw courage and valour he moved from trench to trench, lobbing hand grenades and charging with his bayonet killing all the remaining enemy soldiers to capture the strategic post.
The JAK LI Infantry Regiment with 17 battalions, is one of the most battle hardened and decorated Regiments of the Indian Army.
The battalion was raised as the First Battalion Border Scouts by volunteers who took up arms in the aftermath of communal passion and the smouldering embers of Partition to check the multitude of Kabailies intruding into Poonch on 18 December 1947.
‘Born in Battle and Purified in Blood’, the battalion was re-designated as 8th Jammu & Kashmir Militia on April 15, 1948. The Regiment, raised on December 2, 1972 from J&K Militia – and rechristened Jammu & Kashmir Light Infantry on April 27, 1976 – has fought gallantly in the 1947-48, 1965 & 1971 Indo-Pak wars.
Siachen In the 1971 War, the battalion was outnumbered but never outclassed in valour and fought the defensive battle successfully despite the enemy’s passion for Chhamb. For this the battalion was awarded the Battle Honour � Laleali and Picquet 707.
The battalion yet again proved its mettle during its 2008 tenure at Kupwara in Jammu & Kashmir when Naib Subedar Chuni Lal, Vir Chakra, Sena Medal, who laid down his life following the highest traditions of the Indian Army while fighting terrorists, was bestowed with the highest peacetime gallantry award, the Ashok Chakra (Posthumous).
With this, the battalion joined the elite group of �Bravest of the Brave’ battalions.
(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
There have been various reports of people from KPK, gradually advancing from Kohistan to occupy large territories near Basra Chilas in GB….reports Asian Lite News
In a notification dated June 14, 2021, issued from Khyber Pakthunkhwa (KPK) Culture and Tourism Authority on the Shandur Polo Festival- 2021, KPK informed that the annual Polo festival stands cancelled for this year.
Although the notification is regarding the cancellation of the event, it indicated that the KPK government was hosting this event despite the fact that the area of Shandur falls under the jurisdiction of Gilgit Baltistan (GB). This came as a rude shock for the people and the GB establishment as the event used to be organized by the GB government previously.
Shandur region which falls under the District Ghizer (GB), is near the GB-KPK (Chitral) border. For the past few years, especially under the PTI government, the Government of KPK has been raising claim for the Shandur region. Meanwhile, the people of GB are unequivocal in its claims that Shandur is part of GB, right from ancient times. The GB activists have even produced documentation supporting their territorial claim, but have had no effect on the KPK establishment. This recent act of aggression from the KPK government is part of the nefarious designs by the Imran Khan-led PTI government at the centre, in ensuring continual skirmishes between the people of KP and GB. The attitude of the government towards the GB protests has been only namesake, while it has been actively encouraging KPK to continue with its aggressive stance towards its smaller neighbours.
Gilgit Baltistan.
Another case that surfaced in recent times has been the territorial claims over the Daimer-Basha dam. The 10 km area of Gandlo Nallah, where the dam’s power plant is to be installed is claimed by both the Harban tribe of Kohistan (Kohistan district is in KPK) and the Thor tribe of Daimar (Daimar district is in GB). Instead of mediating over the issue and settling the rightful claims of the Daimar tribe, the government has resorted to stony silence, while the people from both districts are on verge of violent confrontation.
There have also been various reports of people from KPK, gradually advancing from Kohistan to occupy large territories near Basra Chilas. People from GB are now fed up of the constant incursion by KPK, which seems to be hell bent on altering the boundaries of GB, which is a special province.
In reality, the whole scenario of constant skirmishes between the two provinces helps the cause of Imran Khan’s PTI government. With criticism against the government at an all time high and Pakistan’s economy at an all time low, Imran Khan badly needs distractions that would divert questions about his leadership.
As people in all of the provinces are up in arms against each other and against its provincial government, Imran Khan is quietly biding his government’s time.
In short, Pakistan Government through its proxies in KPK is playing a dangerous game of meddling with the emotions of its own people in KPK and GB. The consequences of such sinister plots may not bode well for the PTI government. (ANI)
