Author: Arif ArifArman

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The United States embassy has issued letters to over 25,000 Afghan nationals under the process of relocation to and resettlement in America and shared their names with authorities in Pakistan, diplomatic and other sources told Dawn. However, these Afghan nationals face an uncertain future as Pakistan has raised objections over the list, according to a senior Interior Ministry official. At present, these Afghan nationals are living in Pakistan, awaiting resettlement in the US. The crisis emerged when Pakistan started detaining illegal Afghan refugees in holding centres after the Nov 1 deadline for their voluntary departure to Afghanistan expired.…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Two people died, including a child, in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast in Pakistan’s Bettani Lakki Marwat district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, ARY News reported. The IED blast occurred in the Bettani area of Lakki Marwat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which resulted in two dead, and three injured including a woman. According to police officials, all the injured and dead are part of one family. The blast was followed by intense firing in the market near Tank Ada, reported ARY News. The law enforcement personnel reached the crime scene. However, the nature of the blast is still unknown as…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Stanikzai said that the reaction of Afghans has been recorded in history and now Afghanistan has a strong defense force and plenty of weapons. Stanikzai also criticized the deportation process of Afghan immigrants and considered it a unilateral decision by the interim government of Pakistan. According to the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pakistani soldiers are looting the property and assets of Afghan immigrants during their deportation from the country. The official of the Islamic Emirate emphasized that Pakistan has ignored the demands of the United Nations and the world for the departure of Afghan immigrants, while for…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The Pakistani government’s deportation of unauthorised Afghan migrants has drawn criticism from Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which has said that 200 Afghan journalists are now in danger of being deported as well, according to Khaama Press. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a statement that they have spoken with a number of journalists who have reported experiencing severe violence as a result of the Pakistani government’s decision to remove Afghan migrants. Following the implementation of this expulsion programme, some journalists have had terrifying encounters. According to Khaama Press, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has urged Pakistani authorities to permit…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Pakistan has informed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that the debt servicing cost may rise to Rs8.5 trillion, marking a slippage of Rs1.2 trillion over the allocated budget. Challenges persist in arranging approximately $6.5 billion in external debt this year due to challenging economic conditions. Pakistani authorities have now requested the Fund’s assistance in bridging the external financing gap, which remains despite the IMF programme, according to sources from the Ministry of Finance. Excessive expenditures on interest payments and difficulties in raising external debt due to unfavourable domestic and global economic conditions are the two major issues in…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: A significant number of Afghan migrants who recently returned from Iran have complained of mistreatment by the Iranian security forces, according to Tolo News. In addition to physical abuse, these refugees report enduring severe psychological harm due to verbal mistreatment by the Iranian military. Local officials in Nimroz province confirmed the distressing situation and disclosed troubling statistics. In the past two months, out of the 120,000 Afghan refugees who returned from Iran, an alarming 90 per cent of them were reportedly forcibly deported. Abdullah Ryaz, the provincial head of Refugee and Repatriations in Nimroz, stated, “In the last…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Amidst the terror attacks recorded in Pakistan, Islamabad believes the majority of terror strikes could be attributed to the influx of unregistered Afghan nationals, who may be trained militants posing as civilians or refugees. In the latest incident, 14 Pakistan soldiers were killed after two vehicles were ambushed in Balochistan’s Gwadar district. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the vehicles were moving from Pasni to Ormara when they were ambushed. It said 14 soldiers embraced martyrdom in the “unfortunate incident.” Additionally, there was an attack on Pakistan’s Air Force station. In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Students of Government Degree College, Barkholzo in Mamond tehsil on Saturday staged a demonstration against the lack of security and shortage of teachers. The students, who blocked the Umary-Sewai Road for over an hour, said it was the only degree college in the entire Mamond tehsil with over 1,500 students enrolled. They alleged that the institution had no security arrangements causing fear among students and teachers. The protesting students, who chanted slogans against the relevant authorities, mentioned that not a single policeman was deployed at the college for security purposes. Ali Rehman, Luqman Khan, Riaz Khan and other…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Pakistan’s move to deport illegal migrants has put its relationship with Afghanistan at stake as the Taliban government is not happy with Islamabad and a number of their leaders, including interim prime minister, defence and interior ministers have publicly criticised Pakistan for evicting thousands of Afghans. Though Pakistan has repeatedly stated that its decision was only meant to send back those having no legal documents, the Afghan Taliban government continues to accuse Islamabad of harassing the refugees. Kabul has indicated that Islamabad’s decision may be a pressure tactic on the issue of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Afghan…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Iran’s IRNA news agency has reported that the Ministry of Intelligence of the country, in collaboration with the Taliban administration, has apprehended three Israeli intelligence operatives (Mossad) who were planning to launch suicide drones towards Iran at the Afghanistan-Iran border. This Iranian media outlet reported the detention of these three individuals on Sunday and added that the detained individuals have been transferred to Iran. According to the report, these three individuals have been detained in cooperation with the intelligence forces of the Taliban administration. It is said that the detained individuals hold Iranian nationality. This marks the first…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: A group of clerics in Pakistan’s Kohistan on Saturday announced that women working with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) would not be allowed to mingle with “na mahram” men in public and that doing so would require them to follow specific directives, depending upon their marital status, Dawn reported. In Islam “na mahram” stands for the women/men that you are allowed to marry. It includes all women/men other than mahram( including cousins). The clerics, a group of 12, said that if a married woman was found accompanying a na mahram man, she would be expelled from the area. If a…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Gallup, the polling and consulting group, is pulling out of China, making it the latest foreign company to retrench from the country amid rising scrutiny of western consultancies and whipsawing geopolitical tensions. The Washington-based advisory group, which first came to China in 1993, employed dozens of staff at its offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, according to public payroll records, many of whom work as consultants helping Chinese companies re-engineer their organisations or optimise their marketing. Gallup also has an educational and training arm in China, but it has long faced difficulties conducting the public polling it is…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Three U.N. agencies on Friday called for the protection of children and families as Pakistan has started a campaign to deport foreigners residing illegally in Pakistan, as reported by Dawn on Saturday. The U.N. agencies say children face serious protection risks while on the move in Pakistan, in detention centres, crossing borders and upon return to Afghanistan. UNHCR – the U.N. refugee agency, IOM – the U.N. migration agency, and Unicef – the U.N. children’s fund, continue to appeal to the international community to increase support for hosting vulnerable children and families and refugees in Pakistan, said a…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Saturday his country, the Philippines and the United States were cooperating to protect the freedom of the South China Sea as he committed to help enhance Manila’s security capabilities. “In the South China Sea, trilateral cooperation to protect the freedom of the sea is under way,” Kishida, on an official visit, said in an address before the Philippine congress in the capital Manila. Kishida and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr agreed on Friday to start negotiations on a reciprocal troop access deal to strengthen military cooperation as China becomes increasingly assertive in…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: In the complex world of international relations, the interplay between domestic politics and global dynamics can have far-reaching consequences. Often, neighboring countries find themselves secretly delighting in each other’s troubles. The ongoing dispute between India, Canada, and their Western allies has added fuel to the simmering Khalistan movement. While some in Pakistan may be tempted to view India’s predicament with satisfaction, it is crucial to recognize the potential dangers that this movement poses not only to India but also to Pakistan and regional stability, as highlighted in a report by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI). The Khalistan…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in buying a multibillion-dollar stake in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the world’s richest cricket league, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s advisers have spoken to Indian government officials about moving the IPL into a holding company valued at as much as $30 billion, the report said. The talks were held when the crown prince visited India in September, the report said, adding that the kingdom proposed investing as much as $5 billion into the league and help lead an expansion…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: In a significant development with geopolitical implications, the full termination of major infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been announced by the Philippine Department of Transportation in favour of competitors from the West and Japan, as reported by Asia Times on Thursday. As per the Philippine Senate, doubt now shrouds nearly all of China’s crucial investment initiatives in the Philippines, owing to economic and political factors. This has led to a new low point in Philippine-China relations, marking a drastic reversal from the six years of warm engagement during the pro-Beijing Rodrigo Duterte presidency.…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Following the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, many observers highlighted the potentially explosive nature of the region at a recently held event in London. To consider the extent of this, and to explore the link between religious extremism and radicalisation in Central Asia, The Democracy Forum convened a panel of experts at a recently held virtual seminar titled ‘Extremism and Radicalisation in Central Asia’. The revival of Islam in Central Asia was one of the many unforeseen consequences of the collapse of the USSR in 1991, said TDF President Lord Bruce, adding that the rebirth of Islam in the…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: China has, of course, denied the incident ever occurred, but some 55 Chinese sailors aboard a submarine designated 093-417 are presumed dead after an accident in the Yellow Sea, off of China’s Shandong Province. British intelligence reports the submariners died after a “catastrophic” failure of the vessel’s oxygen systems on August 21, 2023. “Our understanding is death caused by hypoxia due to a system fault on the submarine. The submarine hit a chain and anchor obstacle used by the Chinese PLA Navy to trap US and allied submarines,” the report read. “This resulted in systems failures that took…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Stating that the US is committed to an Indo-Pacific that is free and open, Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen said that Washington is increasing its trade with countries like India, Vietnam and Mexico reducing its dependence on China. Yellen said that she along with President Biden will head Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Week later this month in California. “Recognizing this big picture, the Biden Administration is pursuing an approach to the Indo-Pacific that furthers our country’s long history of engagement and does justice to the region’s importance for our and the world’s future,” Yellen said in a…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: In order to prevent “foreign interference,” a group of British lawmakers has proposed mandatory security for all members of parliament and parliamentary personnel, Radio Free Asia reported on Wednesday. David Alton, among several British MPs who put forward the training proposal to the Speaker of the House of Lords and the Speaker of the House of Commons, said, “The new geopolitical axis, consisting of Iran, the Kremlin, Pyongyang and Beijing, brings with it many new challenges, including sanctions targeting lawmakers who oppose authoritarian regimes, digital attacks on their online and mobile networks, and malicious intent on social platforms…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Bhutan and India share a remarkable and enduring relationship deeply rooted in history, spirituality, and common values. This multifaceted partnership has evolved over the years and encompasses various crucial areas, from energy security to technology, space exploration, and conservation biology, The Bhutan Live reported. The strong bond between these two nations is evident not only in times of prosperity but also during challenging times, demonstrating the depth of their friendship. The connection between Bhutan and India runs deep, with roots in centuries of shared civilisation. This relationship is further fortified by a profound spiritual kinship, as Bhutan considers…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: As Pakistan announced its decision to expel 1.7 million foreign nationals, primarily Afghans, the Taliban condemned the decision, and called it “inhumane”, Khaama Press reported. They further have warned that if the Pakistgovernment does not address this issue, they will be forced to take action against it. The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Taliban administration, Shir Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, in a statement regarding Pakistan, has issued a warning and emphasized that the Pakistani government must halt the expulsion of immigrants, reported Khaama Press. Abbas Stanikzai further restated that they are trying to resolve this issue through…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: China will begin polling 1.4 million people on Wednesday in a survey on population changes, as authorities struggle to incentivise people to have more children amid a declining birth rate and the first population drop in more than six decades. The poll, which was announced on Oct. 10 in an unexpected move, will focus on urban and rural areas throughout the country. The survey will be based on a sample of 500,000 households and last for around two weeks until Nov. 15, China’s National Bureau of Statistics said. It will help provide a basis to monitor China’s population…