Author: Arif ArifArman

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Massive crowds gathered at Dera Gazi Khan in Balochistan as the March against Baloch genocide staged a sit-in against the arrest of several Baloch cadre as well as against the disappearance of Baloch people. Thousands of people were seen participating in the ongoing rally by the Baloch Unity Committee in Dera Ghazi Khan. Ghayur Baloch of Makran, Jhalawan, Sarawan, Kohistan, Koh-e-Sulaiman and Dera Ghazi Khan are raising their voice against state terrorism. The protestors held placards and banners with slogans like stop your terrorism in the state of Balochistan. The Protestors said the the Baloch nation will no…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Thousands of workers working in hotels, restaurants, tandoors, and the general public will besiege the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) office against a 137 per cent increase in tariff of natural gas. The protesters have decided to besiege OGRA, Islamabad office . The protesters have warned police and other law enforcement agencies not to interfere otherwise they will face the music. Last time, police not only baton-charged the protesters but registered cases against them for recording their protest against the hike in gas and electricity tariffs. In reality, the government has increased gas tariffs by over 200…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Police conducted a crackdown and detained “at least 20 participants, including women”, who joined the long march against the alleged “extra-judicial killings” by the Counter Terro­rism Depart­ment (CTD) in Turbat, Balochistan, as it entered the city on Sunday. According to details, the long march of the Baloch Yakjehti Council (BYC), led by Mohammad Asif Laghari and originating from Balochistan, was intercepted by police on Shah Sikander Road in Dera Ghazi Khan city. The police said that the participants of the march resisted, upon which they detained several men and women and transferred them to the police lines. The…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Pakistani security agencies detained a large number of protesters, a majority of them women, who joined the long march against the Baloch Genocide in Balochistan province on Sunday. The police also erected barricades on the highway in Kohlu to intercept thousands of protesters marching from Turbat to Islamabad via Quetta with an aim the draw attention to the serious issues of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings of the Baloch. The Long March was taken out a few weeks ago by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee to raise the human rights violations in Balochistan. Abdul Rahman Baloch, a member of…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The International Rescue Committee, Danish Refugee Council, Norwegian Refugee Council, Islamic Relief Worldwide, CARE, Intersos, and some other organisations have highlighted the urgent situation of 5,00,000 individuals who have returned to Afghanistan and are facing critical needs for food, shelter, and employment during the winter, TOLO News reported. In response, these organisations are urging the international community to enhance support for the families returning to Afghanistan. “Since the economic situation of Afghanistan is unfortunately dire and a large number of Afghan immigrants enter the country in the winter season, the aid of the international community must be focused…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The Pakistan Army chief, General Asim Munir’s maiden visit to the United States of America seems to have struck a discordant chord even before he had time to step into the Pentagon. As soon as the General and his entourage had departed, his spin doctors went into overdrive, passing on orders to the television channels and newspapers that coverage of Palestinians must be restricted and so should be any news of PTI and women leaders like Khadija Shah, a well-known Pakistani American fashion designer who had been locked up for tweeting against the army. But luck was not…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: In the midst of all the chaos counting achievements and failures of the organization an important voice was missed: Jamal Baloch, the representative of Balochistan. Jamal Baloch voiced his concerns and raised the issue of Pak-occupied Balochistan at the global platform. Pak-occupied Balochistan is on the frontline of climate disaster. When given the stage, Jamal said a paradoxical proverb of Pak-occupied-Balochistan—rain. He said, “In Balochistan, we have a saying: Rain is what we strive for, and rain is what we are afraid of.” This duality reflects the stark reality. Balochistan desperately needs rain to break the cycle of…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) offers trade incentives for developing countries, but Pakistan’s eligibility for this program is contentious. Despite benefiting since 2014, Pakistan’s compliance is dismal, marked by human rights violations, labour abuses, poor governance, and environmental negligence. Blasphemy cases and labour rights breaches persist, undermining GSP+ criteria. Governance crises, fostering extremism over development, led to conflicts and economic distress. A deepening economic crisis, driven by mismanagement and substantial debt, further questions Pakistan’s suitability for GSP+ extension. As the scheme’s expiration looms, Pakistan’s inability to meet standards makes its renewal unjustifiable. The EU must uphold…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: According to their accounts, even though they have legal documents for staying in the country, the police harass them. They want the Islamic Emirate to pay serious attention to their issue. “They are harassed a lot when they go out or want to do their work, some of them are harassed by the police, and ask for documents,” said Farhad, an Afghan refugee in Pakistan. “The UNHCR, in general, pays no attention to the refugees, we can’t appeal to them, because this is a symbolic organization and pays no attention to refugees,” said Samiullah Azizi, a human rights…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The run up to the National Assembly election Bhutan has not carried any encouraging news for Beijing. With the media in China cheering over the fond hope of the Bhutan government stepping up its engagements with Beijing, India will be keenly watching the results of the ongoing National Assembly election in the Himalayan kingdom. But, the result of the primary round of the two-stage process of election in Bhutan is rather encouraging for New Delhi and to the detriment of Beijing. In the primary round of the poll, the People’s Democratic Party led by former Prime Minister of…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Australia has condemned China’s “pattern of dangerous actions” in Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in West Philippine Sea (WPS) over the weekend. In a statement on X (formerly twitter) shared by Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Hae Kyong Yu (pic) on Wednesday (Dec 13), Australian government said the actions of Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) create “risks of miscalculations.” “The Australian Government shares the grave concerns of the Philippines Government about a pattern of dangerous actions conducted by Chinese vessels against Philippines vessels and crew in the South China Sea, including incidents near Scarborough Shoal and at Second Thomas…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo vowed Monday to take the “strongest action possible” in response to a semiconductor chip-making breakthrough in China that a House Foreign Affairs Committee said “almost certainly required the use of U.S. origin technology and should be an export control violation.” In an interview with Bloomberg News, Raimondo called Huawei Technology’s advanced processor in its Mate Pro 60 smartphone released in August “deeply concerning” and said the Commerce Department investigates such things vigorously. The United States has banned chip sales to Huawei, which reportedly used chips from China chip giant Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp.,…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Taiwan’s military drove away four attempts by Chinese forces to approach the island’s sensitive contiguous zone last month, Taiwan security officials said, in what they see as a ramped-up Chinese campaign to “intimidate” voters before key elections. Taiwan officials have repeatedly warned that China is trying to sway voters toward candidates seeking closer ties with Beijing, whose government has framed the Jan. 13 presidential and parliamentary elections as a choice between “peace and war” and urged Taiwanese to make the “right choice”. Taiwan has complained during the past four years of regular Chinese military incursions as Beijing increases…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Anti-Chinese sentiment was again shown by the anti-coup protesters of Myanmar’s military throughout November 2023. This happened after the documents of the meeting between the PLA Navy’s warships and the Myanmar military regime in December 2023 were leaked to the public. In the document, it was stated that China asked the Myanmar military to provide better security, as well as intelligence (data) on ethnic minority armed groups in the oil and natural gas (Migas) pipeline belonging to China that crosses Myanmar. “Safeguarding the security of bilateral cooperation projects is a shared responsibility of both China and Myanmar. This…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Villagers set ablaze the wheat shortage facility of a farmer who allowed his daughter to study and ride a motorcycle with her younger brothers to school in Ratodero town of Larkana district in Sindh province of Pakistan, The Express Tribune reported on Monday. It reported that the incident took place in Zangeja village, within the limits of Lashari police station on Sunday. Aushaq Zangejo alleged that he was threatened by the villagers to stop his daughter Zainab Zangejo from riding the motorbike but he did not pay heed to their warnings. The girl told the local media that…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Turkey is cracking down on Chinese electric vehicle imports, the latest country to do so after the European Union launched its own probe into the Asian country’s EV subsidies. Companies importing EVs to Turkey must have at least 140 authorized service stations spread evenly across the country and open a call center for each brand, according to a Trade Ministry decree published last month. The onerous requirement is widely seen as targeting Chinese vehicles. Imports from the EU and countries that have free-trade agreements with Turkey are exempt from the decree. Importers have only until the end of…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: One in four iPhones could soon be manufactured in India as Apple joins a growing list of companies seeking to reduce their reliance on China. The tech giant is aiming to build more than 50 million phones in India annually within the next two to three years, according to the Wall Street Journal. Despite the mass expansion, China will remain the largest producer of iPhones – which cost up to $1,599 – thanks to its mammoth Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou. Firms have become increasingly worried about their overdependence on China, fueled by diplomatic efforts by the US and…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The Baloch Human Rights Council (BHRC) organised a conference in London to address the human rights violations in Balochistan and to provide a platform where impassioned voices could highlight the ongoing human rights issues in Pakistan. The conference was organised at the Sindhi Centre in London on Sunday. According to an official statement by the BHRC, the gathering brought together esteemed scholars and representatives from various oppressed regions in Pakistan and Iran. It helped in “providing a platform for them to illuminate the severe human rights abuses perpetrated by oppressive regimes in these regions,” the statement read. BHRC…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Naveed Walter, President of Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP), stressed that even after 75 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was created in Pakistan, it has not been fully practised and implemented in the country. HRFP observed Human Rights Day at the Vision Hall in Pakistan’s Faisalabad on Sunday and the event was conducted on “Freedom, Equality and Justice for All”. The “theme of December 10, 2023, marks 75 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was created in 1948,” HRFP said in an official release. “Unfortunately, even after 75 years, the UDHR…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Canada is broadening a probe of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and freezing its participation in the multilateral organization indefinitely, the government said Friday. Ottawa had temporarily suspended its involvement in the AIIB in June after a whistleblower asserted that China’s ruling party pulls the strings at the bank. The AIIB, a project pushed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, was launched in 2016 to counter Western dominance of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. It has 106 global members, including Australia, Canada, France and Germany. “In consultation with some of our closest international partners, Canada is…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: China has felt pressure from the United Kingdom and the European Union as a dozen Chinese firms were accused of supplying Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war machine. After the Group of Seven (G7) leaders discussed the Ukraine war in a virtual meeting on Wednesday, the UK sanctioned 46 companies and individuals, most of which are based in Russia while three are Hong Kong-registered. It’s the first time that the UK has sanctioned Chinese firms on account of the Ukraine war. During the meeting, the G7 leaders reaffirmed a commitment they’d made at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima in…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Taiwan’s Defense Ministry says a Chinese military surveillance balloon was spotted in the Taiwan Strait, as well as a large-scale movement of military aircraft and ships. The ministry said the balloon passed southwest of the northern port city of Keelung on Thursday night, then continued east before disappearing, possibly into the Pacific Ocean. However, there seemed to some uncertainty about whether the balloon was operated directly by the People’s Liberation Army, the military branch of China’s ruling Communist Party. The ministry referred to it both as a “PLA surveillance balloon” and as “1 PRC’s balloon,” using the acronym…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Even as China battles an unprecedented surge in respiratory illness, Ireland and France are now among several European countries to be recording similar spikes in child pneumonia cases. In Denmark and France, the infections have surged to an epidemic level. Denmark has witnessed a three-fold increase in cases since October. The Netherlands has seen a 124% increase as compared to last year’s peak. Several South Asian countries, such as India, Taiwan, and Singapore, have also ramped up measures to tackle any potential outbreak. In China, the issue came into the spotlight in late November, when the World Health…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: China is a major global player that presents a dual environmental threat. Despite being the largest greenhouse gas emitter, it prioritizes economic growth over climate concerns. Following the expiration of a coal ban, the alarming threefold increase in new coal-power construction in 2020, underlines its gross disregard for global climate goals. As the world’s primary financier of fossil fuel infrastructure through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China’s support exacerbates global climate challenges, potentially surpassing the limits set by the Paris Agreement. Moreover, China’s extensive infrastructure initiatives, notably the BRI, contribute to biodiversity loss, imperilling ecosystems and endangered…