Author: Arif ArifArman

INTERNATIONAL DESK: A China-linked fund that is a major shareholder in Australia’s Northern Minerals has filed a motion to oust the rare earth developer’s chairman after the fund’s move for a higher stake was rejected on national interest grounds early this year. Singapore-based Yuxiao Fund, which owns a near 10 per cent stake in Northern Minerals, proposed a shareholder’s resolution that Chairman Nicholas Curtis be immediately removed as a director, Northern Minerals said in an exchange filing on Tuesday. Yuxiao Fund is a private company that lists Chinese national Wu Yuxiao as its sole shareholder and director, its corporate filings…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Pakistan has been experiencing one of the worst economic crises in its history. Although many factors have contributed to the country’s current economic predicament, China’s role has largely been ignored in domestic debates. Pakistan’s economic struggles have often been attributed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which is seen as the primary cause of the country’s financial woes. However, Pakistan’s economic crisis has also deepened because of China’s increasing involvement in its economy. Numerous Chinese loans and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) contributed to Pakistan’s worsening economic crisis when the country was relieved at the eleventh hour by…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The Philippines has approached neighbors such as Malaysia and Vietnam to discuss a separate code of conduct regarding the South China Sea, its president said on Monday, citing limited progress towards striking a broader regional pact with China. Relations between the two have grown more tense under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who has increasingly complained about China’s “aggressive” behavior while rekindling strong ties with the Philippines‘ sole treaty ally, the United States. Speaking in Hawaii at a livestreamed event, Marcos said escalating tension in the South China Sea required the Philippines to partner with allies and neighbors to…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: A crackdown by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) in Karachi has revealed that pharmacies and medical stores are selling medicines at five-fold higher prices than the maximum retail price (MRP) approved by the authority. Following instructions of caretaker Health Minister Dr Nadeem Jan, the authority has launched a crackdown against drug profiteers across the country and raids are being conducted on warehouses of wholesalers, distributers, pharmacies and medical stores. According to Drap rules, pharmaceutical companies can sell medicines at any price lower than the MRP, but they cannot exceed the MRP. For increasing prices, pharmaceutical companies…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The setting up of a $10 billion state-of-the-art and deep conversion refinery with capacity to refine crude oil of 300,000 barrels per day (BPD) is in the doldrums as the vibes coming from Saudi Aramco are not up to the mark. They are all the more confusing as Pakistan authorities have notified the new green refinery policy loaded with huge incentives of 7.5 percent deemed duty for 25 years and a tax holiday of 20 years as per the wishes of the KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), senior officials privy to the development told The News. “Now, top…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Hong Kong police arrested four men on suspicion of illegally entering the city on Monday after they boarded a bus in Shek O using a damp HK$100 (US$12.8) banknote. Four other suspected illegal immigrants who accompanied the Pakistani passport holders on the double-decker bus to Shau Kei Wan were being hunted, the force said. Shortly before 8.30am, police received multiple calls from passers-by who spotted on Cape D’Aguilar Road in Shek O a group of eight non-Chinese men thought to have entered the city illegally. The group had escaped before police arrived. Officers then carried out a search…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: HUNDREDS of Afghan refugees who were rushed out of Pakistan to the UK have been languishing in military bases as the government scrambles to find accommodation, the Independent has reported. Around 3,000 Afghans, many of whom worked for the British army, were evacuated following the Afghan Taliban’s takeover of Kabul in August 2021 to be provided residence in the UK. They have been stuck in Pakistan since last year. The UK was compelled to repatriate the refugees last month after Pakistan decided that illegal foreigners should leave the country by Nov 1. According to the Independent, some relocated families have been…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Three people travelling in a car were killed when an improvised explosive device (IED) planted on roadside exploded in Hoshab area of Kech district in Balochistan on Sunday, officials said. Commissioner Mekran Division Saeed Ahmed Umrani confirmed that unidentified terrorists targeted a car using an improvised explosive device (IED) in Hoshab tehsil of district Kech, adding all three persons travelling in the car were killed on the spot. Levies and personnel of other law enforcement agencies rushed to the spot and launched investigation into the incident. The deceased were promptly transported to a nearby hospital. A huge contingent…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: During a meeting with Pakistan’s chief of army staff, General Syed Asim Munir, the scholars expressed their concerns about the use of Afghanistan’s territory against Pakistan and asked the current Afghan government to take action in this regard. “The forum unanimously supported Government’s measures to harden the State including repatriation of illegal foreigners, implementation of One Document Regime, anti-smuggling and hoarding measures and anti-power theft drive. It also fully acknowledged Pakistan’s position and concerns on terrorism emanating from Afghan soil and urged serious actions by Afghanistan to address Pakistan’s concerns,” Pakistan Armed Forces News said on X. Meanwhile,…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The new immigration rules for the Pak-Afghan border crossing have triggered massive protests in Chaman. On October 21, a large number of residents from across the district, gathered to stage a demonstration against the mandatory passport policy introduced by the government. Among the demands was a call to withdraw the mandatory passport policy and restore the old system (requiring only a CNIC and Tazkira for entry into Pakistan), stop the mistreatment of Afghan refugees and restore a rule allowing rotary packages for daily wage workers. As the sit-in, attended by tribal elders, political workers and local traders under…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Eleven members of the US Congress, in a letter to US Secr­e­tary of State Anthony Blinken, have urged the Biden administration to withhold future US assistance to Pakistan, until the country restores constitutional order and holds free and fair elections. The lawmakers requested a legal determination from the Department of State under the Leahy Laws and Section 502(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act to assess if US-origin security assistance had facilitated human rights violations in Pakistan. “We further request that future security assistance be withheld until Pakistan has moved decisively toward the restoration of Constitutional order, including by…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: In the shadows of innovation and criminal ingenuity, the drug trade has woven a complex web across India’s borders, with Pakistan emerging as a significant player in this illicit game. Unraveling the intricate threads of this narco-terrorism, it becomes evident that Pakistan not only facilitates the smuggling of narcotics into India but also exploits the proceeds to fund terror activities on Indian soil. The National Investigation Agency exposed a chilling connection between the drug trade and terrorism. Funds generated from the sale of heroin were traced to operatives of the notorious Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), underscoring the nefarious nexus between…

Dr Ishrat Husain: Most people don’t even read as many books in their entire lives as Dr Ishrat Husain has written in his. The latest book by the former central bank governor is Development Pathways that he co-authored with Sarah Nizamani, Shagufta Shabbar and Masood Siddiqui. The 478-page tome presents a comparative analysis of economic and social development in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh from 1947 to 2022. A crude verdict might be that India and Bangladesh have done well for themselves while Pakistan holds the dubious honour of being the slowest-growing economy in the South Asia region. But Dr Husain…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: A Rawal­pi­ndi additional district & sessions judge (ADSJ) was removed from his post on Saturday, a day after he admonished the defence secretary for not complying with a court order. A notification issued by the Lahore High Court registrar said ADSJ Waris Ali has been made an officer on special duty (OSD) and moved to Lahore, meaning that he would no longer be hearing the case. “The honourable chief justice and judges are ple­ased to post Mr Waris Ali, Additional District & Ses­sions Judge, Rawal­pin­­di as OSD at Sessions Court, Lahore in the public interest, with immediate effect,”…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), rejecting the committee on missing persons headed by caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti, staged a demonstration in front of the Press Club on Saturday. The relatives and heirs of missing persons chanted slogans, while carrying placards and banners inscribed with their demands for the recovery of all missing persons. The protest was led by Nasarullah Baloch and Mama Qadeer. Speaking to the gathering, VBMP leaders rejected the committee, stating that every government forms such bodies “to deceive the international community.” They said that Mr Bugti, who always supported atrocities in Balochistan,…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Groups of Tibet activists and pro-China supporters staged opposing demonstrations in San Francisco on Wednesday as Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the city for an APEC summit. A protest organized by the city’s Tibetan diaspora was held outside the hotel where US business leaders attended a dinner with Xi, whom they accuse of human rights violations in Tibet. The protest was met by a counter-demonstration of pro-China supporters waving the country’s flag, while police separated the two groups with fencing. Xi met with US President Joe Biden on Wednesday before the dinner, their first tete-a-tete in a year,…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Australia’s government said on Saturday it had expressed serious concerns to China after an “unsafe and unprofessional” interaction between an Australian navy vessel and Chinese warship left Australian military divers injured. Defence Minister Richard Marles said the HMAS Toowoomba – a long-range frigate – was conducting a diving operation in Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone on Nov. 14 to clear fishing nets from its propellers when the incident occurred. “While diving operations were underway a PLA-N destroyer (DDG-139) operating in the vicinity closed towards HMAS Toowoomba,” Marles said in a statement, referring to a ship of the People’s Liberation…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Dolkun Isa, dissident and president of the World Uyghur Congress (WUC), has taken on Xi Jinping, China’s ruthless leader and the world’s most powerful man. He’d like Britain – and Britain’s new Foreign Secretary – to show his support. His message for David Cameron is clear. “Britain should lead the way in standing up to China,” he says. “I know that when Cameron was prime minister he was very pro-China. The need to do business is understandable, but not any amount of business at any cost.” Only eight years ago, Prime Minister Cameron was enjoying fish and chips…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Afghans are confronting multiple crises nowadays. The ruling Taliban militant group does not have national or international legitimacy, and Afghans are facing enormous challenges internally due to the authoritarian rule of the Taliban. Half of Afghanistan’s population, women, are deprived of their basic rights of education, work, and freedom. The recent earthquake in western Herat province killed over 3,000 people and displaced over 30,000. Afghanistan is facing acute drought and poverty. At the same time, Pakistan is trying to exploit Afghanistan’s Achilles heel. Against international laws and refugee conventions, it wants to deport 1.2 million Afghans by force.…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Amnesty International has called on Pakistan to stop deportations and detentions of Afghan refugees, TOLO News reported. In a statement, Amnesty International said the action by Pakistan began while Afghanistan was in a humanitarian crisis. Amnesty International stressed that Pakistan must respect the rights of Afghan refugees. It asked Pakistan to stop the process of deporting and detaining Afghan refugees. It stated that the deportation poses a significant threat to the human rights of Afghan women and girls. In a statement, Amnesty International said, “For decades, tens of thousands of Afghan refugees have made Pakistan their home. However,…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Pakistan’s cruel and callous deportation of innocent Afghan women, children and men is attracting global attention with protests highlighting the crackdown. Hundreds and thousands of poor Afghans are being driven out of Pakistan like cattle with armed soldiers and police keeping a close watch on their movements. According to the UNHCR, Pakistan is currently hosting 3.7 million Afghan refugees, out of whom 775,000 are without valid documents. The deportation is ordered by the Pakistan Army and its crony, caretaker government to hide its failure to prevent terrorist attacks from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). With scores of army soldiers, officers…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: In January next year, the United Nations will hold its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) where it will scrutinise the human rights conduct of its member states, assess their claims on upholding human rights and also invite NGOs and other stakeholders to give their views on the country in question. It could be a particularly uncomfortable time for China, which is under increasing international criticism over its record in Tibet where denial of human rights is accompanied by efforts to wipe out Tibetan culture, faith and traditions. This includes forcibly removing Tibetan children from their homes and communities and…

INTERNATIONAL DESKL: Taiwan will take part in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in San Francisco this week, a rare opportunity for the self-governing island democracy of 23 million people and its high-tech economy to break the diplomatic embargo on it imposed by authoritarian China. Taiwan’s chief delegate will be a civilian rather than a government figure or head of state, under an unwritten rule that satisfies China’s contention that members of the organization participate as economic entities rather than state players. For the seventh time, Taiwan will be represented by Morris Chang, the 92-year-old founder of the world-leading Taiwan Semiconductor…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: China’s consumption rebound slowed and private business confidence lost momentum in October, according to independent surveys and alternative data that suggested the economic recovery remains bumpy. An indicator of Chinese consumer demand for recreation and transport published by Paris-based QuantCube Technology and an independent survey of consumer sentiment by United States company Morning Consult both fell in October from the previous month. A poll of private business sentiment from the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB) also declined in October. Those measures – together with official data showing weak services sector growth and falling consumer prices in…