Author: Arif ArifArman

INTERNATIONAL DESK: As a protest outside the National Press Club in Islamabad against the enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings continued, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee — organiser of the long march — gave the authorities a three-day ultimatum to quash cases registered against students and activists and release all protesters. A statement issued by the BYC on their social media platform said over 100 Baloch students were “missing” after the crackdown on the march by the police on Wed­nesday night. “Nearly 350 of our students and families were arrested…the females and 33 students were granted bail the next day, while more…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Amid low foreign direct investment (FDI) and nominal export growth, the Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front (PIAF) on Sunday said that foreign remittance flows are crucial to supporting the country’s financial balance, Frontier Post reported. The PIAF Chairman, Faheemur Rehman Saigol, said that overseas Pakistanis living in the Gulf should be further motivated to maintain upward momentum in remittances, as they contributed more than 60 per cent of the total inflows during the last couple of months. He said that remittances can help not only in financing the deficit in import payments but also in foreign debt…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Political activists from Pashtun, Balochistan, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Sindh nations gathered in Brussels Press Club Europe in Belgium to participate in an International conference “Oppressed Nations in Pakistan & Human Rights Violations”. The conference was held on Friday , to hold discussions on the human rights violations in different regions of Pakistan. Pakistan has been dealing with imminent economic, social, political and security collapse and in desperation, is using draconian laws and other harsh instruments to silence dissenting voices of the historical nations. Pakistan violates with impunity the basic fundamental rights of oppressed nations and is involved…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Taiwan’s Ministry of Defence announced on Saturday that it detected seven Chinese military aircraft and two naval vessels around the nation. The Chinese planes and naval ships were tracked between Friday, December 22, at six in the morning and Monday, December 22, at two in the morning, according to the MND. Three of the seven PLA aircraft–two Xi’an H-6s and one Shaanxi Y-8–entered the country’s southwest and southeast air defence identification zones (ADIZ), Taiwan News reported. Taiwan responded by monitoring PLA operations with planes, naval ships, and air defence missile systems. Beijing has circled Taiwan with 126 navy…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The value of China’s top 100 storied brands stretching from liquor to commercial banks dropped 4.5 per cent in 2023, battered by weak consumer sentiment and a gloomy economic outlook, according to the latest research by the Hurun Report. The consultancy known for its China Rich List found that the intangible assets of the mainland’s 100 most successful indigenous brands with at least 60 years of history were valued at a combined 9.43 trillion yuan (US$1.32 trillion) in 2023, compared to 9.87 trillion yuan the previous year. The decline resulted from deflationary pressure on the Chinese economy as…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: It did not take a crystal ball to predict that artificial intelligence would soon be used to create fake characters with fake voices disseminating fake news. It is already happening, and on a massive scale. Probably, there are other players in this game, but one has been caught red-handed, China. A very detailed report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) has traced YouTube channels whose AI-generated videos have attracted so far 120 million views back to Chinese propaganda sources. Beijing’s routine answer to ASPI reports is that ASPI is a right-wing think-tank with anti-Communist prejudices. Personally, I…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: A Hong Kong court on Friday (Dec 22) rejected a bid by the legal team for pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai to have a sedition charge against him dropped, in a closely watched national security trial. The trial began on Monday for Lai, who is charged with “collusion” with foreign forces under a Beijing-imposed national security law, a charge that carries a potential life sentence. He is also accused of “conspiracy to produce seditious publications” – a colonial-era offence that has been revived after decades of disuse – which is considered a lesser charge as it carries a shorter…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned the Philippines that any miscalculation in their escalating dispute in the South China Sea would bring a resolute response, and urged dialogue to address “serious difficulties” between the two neighbours. Beijing and Manila have traded sharp accusations in recent months over a succession of run-ins in the South China Sea, including charges that China rammed a ship earlier this month carrying the Philippine armed forces chief of staff. China in turn has accused the Philippines of trespassing on its territory. The souring of relations coincides with Manila’s moves to boost military ties…

Muhammad Siddique Ali Pirzada: Corruption casts its ominous shadow upon the very core of Pakistani society, inflicting immeasurable harm on the nation’s progress and the livelihoods of its people. The recent revelation from Transparency International Pakistan (TIP) with the support of its partner organizations in Sindh, Punjab, KP, and Balochistan. The survey was conducted from October 13th to October 31st, 2023. The National Corruption Perceptions Survey lays bare the magnitude of this malignant blight, underscoring an urgent and uncompromising need for a sweeping overhaul to combat the insidious grip of corruption. This piece delves deep into the survey’s findings, unearths…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The chairs of two bipartisan congressional panels are urging America’s top diplomat to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and Chinese officials involved in issuing arrest warrants and bounties last week on five opposition figures in the former British colony. In a letter dated December 19, the top Democrats and Republicans on the House select committee on China and on the Congressional-Executive Commission on China asked US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to determine by January 19 whether seven Hong Kong-based officials were eligible for sanctions under existing law or executive order. Officials targeted by the panels included the…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Chinese activist Li Qiaochu has been tried for “inciting subversion of state power” in a case seen as part of China’s sprawling crackdown on dissent. Ms Li’s lawyer Li Guobei said she was denied entry to the closed-door trial held in Linyi, Shandong on Tuesday. The 32-year-old faces a possible jail term of five years or more. She has been in custody since March 2021, after tweeting about the harsh detention conditions of her partner and fellow activist Xu Zhiyong. Her trial concluded at 15:00 local time (07:00 GMT) on Tuesday without a verdict, according to a Facebook…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Member of Opposition of the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly and former provincial finance minister Javed Ali Manwa has said bad governance in Pakistan has reached its peak and the government has failed to solve the public’s problems, which is provoking the people, DailyK2 reported. The former provincial finance minister said the Pakistani government is running on the signals of minor assistants due to which the problems are increasing day by day. At this time, Gilgit-Baltistan is in darkness and the government has no policy on how to bring the people out of the darkness, he said. The minister further said…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The Head of Coordination Committee of Islami Tehreek Pakistan (ITP) Sheikh Mirza Ali and other leaders have said that the facilities that were given to the people of Gilgit-Baltistan are being gradually removed, DailyK2 reported. The remarks were made during a joint press conference in Skardu in Paksitan-occupied Kashmir. Ali said that until the constitutional status is determined, any initiative taken by the federal or provincial government regarding the abolition of any kind of tax or wheat subsidy will not only be rejected but will also receive a strong response. Mirza Ali said that Gilgit Baltistan, being a…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The authorities in Pakistan’s Dera Ghazi Khan have attempted to stop hundreds of Baloch protesters from marching towards their destination, Islamabad, The Friday Times reported. The Friday Times is a Pakistani English-language newspaper based in Lahore. As many as 20 Baloch activists have been arrested, while transporters in the district have allegedly been directed to refuse service to participants of the march who decided to continue on foot. Hundreds of residents from Balochistan started a long march from Turbat last month as they protested against the enforced disappearance and extrajudicial killing of their loved ones without any judicial…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: On December 18, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom released a new report on “Assessing Blasphemy in Pakistan.” The USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission created by the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). Its commissioners are appointed by the President and by Congressional leaders of both political parties. The report starts by commenting an incident familiar to readers of “Bitter Winter.” In August 2023, a mob attacked the Christian community of Jaranwala, Punjab, burning and demolishing dozens of churches and homes following ill-founded accusations of blasphemy. “The attacks in Jaranwala represent the…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The witnesses against Hong Kong media tycoon and activist Jimmy Lai were strongly mistreated by the Chinese authorities to bring out the ‘desired’ confessions, raising questions about whether his testimony will be voluntary and reliable, an investigative report by The Washington Post stated. Hong Kong’s highest-profile trial since the 2020 crackdown will begin on Monday, with Andy Li Yu-hin as the key witness. Li’s testimony will be crucial to the government’s case against Jimmy Lai, the billionaire media mogul and founder of Apple Daily. Lai is charged under the national security law with “colluding with foreign forces.” Hong…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Vietnamese activism has always revolved around anti-China rallies, but the reaction to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Vietnam on December 12-13 was subdued since Hanoi has imprisoned critics, and activists and academics point to a culture of fear among those who are still at large, Voice of America (VOA) reported. Vietnam consented to become a part of Beijing’s “community with a shared future” during the visit last week. As leaders of China, and Vietnam; 36 agreements focused on heightened cooperation were inked by the nations, including ones pertaining to security and cooperative efforts to advance the development…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: In the end it was the thriving online scam centers that finally forced China to lose patience with Myanmar’s brutal military rulers. The impoverished Southeast Asian nation has long been a trouble spot on China’s southwestern border. For decades Beijing’s leaders have played a careful game of backing Myanmar’s military regimes – lending them much-needed economic, military and diplomatic support, including at the United Nations – whilst also maintaining close ties to powerful rebel militias along its borders. But Beijing’s frustration has been building with Naypyidaw’s generals who seized power in 2021, overthrowing a democratically elected government that…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Scores of doctors and paramedical staff of three hospitals functioning under public-private partnership (PPP) mode have been ‘forced’ to leave their jobs owing to non-payment of their salary for the last 11 months, sources in the health department said here on Sunday. They told Dawn that a number of doctors and paramedical staff of the Tehsil Headquarters Hospitals, Nawagai, Pashat Salarzai and Category-D Hospital, Larkholozo Mamond, which were running under the PPP mode, had quit their jobs in protest against non-payment of their salary for last 11 months. The sources though did not mention the exact number of…

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: The Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) has warned that it would launch demonstrations in all. Pakhtun-dominated areas of Balochistan from Tuesday (tomorrow) if the demands of protesters staging a sit-in in the border town of Chaman for the last two months were not accepted. Speaking at a press conference along with former provincial minister Dr Hamid Achakzai and other party leaders, PkMAP Secretary General Abdul Rahim Ziaratwal lamented that people were being punished in the name of democracy. Thousands of tribe members and traders have set up a protest camp in Chaman after the provincial administration refused to…

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…