Author: Arif ArifArman

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The international humanitarian community has called on Pakistan to continue extending protection to all vulnerable Afghans who have sought safety in the country, as they could be at imminent risk if forced to return to Afghanistan. This concern was also echoed by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, who said that refugees’ right to shelter, healthcare and legal counsel must be protected and slammed reports that Afghan refugee settlements were being razed and their occupants summarily evicted. A major political player, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, also waded into the issue on Saturday, voicing his opposition to the ongoing drive…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the Israel Air Force commander Major General Tomer Bar visited the Israel Air Force control center at the Kirya in Tel Aviv on Sunday. PMO Israel shared on X, “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Israel Air Force control center at the Kirya in Tel Aviv, during the extensive attacks currently being carried out in the Gaza Strip, together with Air Force Commander Maj.-Gen. Tomer Bar.” In retaliation to the Hamas attack on Israel that claimed the lives of hundreds and left thousands injured, the Israel Air Force has launched a very…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: For about three-and-a-half decades, there has been a cycle of people’s protests, demands and sectarian riots in Gilgit-Baltistan. Sectarian riots are very brazenly set off to break people’s united demands for human rights. They demand right to food, water to drink, their land and property, electricity, their natural wealth and above all, just governance. These demands were building up since the end of last year and were stepped up this year. The current reports of Shia-sunni tension in parts of Gilgit-Baltistan are not surprising for those who keep a watch on this part of occupied Kashmir. The present…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Doctors in the illegally occupied region of Gilgit Baltistan on Saturday launched a strike, primarily led by young doctors, in protest of the government’s failure to address their grievances. The main bone of contention is the government’s decision to increase the retirement age for doctors to 65, a move the protesting doctors deem draconian and unjust. The strike, affecting both outpatient departments (OPDs) and private clinics, aims to press for a resolution and protect junior doctors’ career prospects. Dr Nasreemullah, President of the Young Doctors Association in Diamer, expressed his discontent, saying, “The assembly is there to make…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Pakistan Interim Health Minister Nadeem Jan has said that 90 per cent of polio cases in Pakistan have been “imported from Afghanistan”, a news agency reported. Nadeem’s remarks came after two more samples tested positive for the poliovirus in Pakistan, just a day after this year’s third case surfaced. As per an official at the polio laboratory of the National Institute of Health (NIH), sewage samples collected from Dera Bugti, in Balochistan, and Peshawar had tested positive for the virus. Both viruses, found in sewage samples, are similar to Afghanistan’s poliovirus. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: In a noteworthy trend sweeping China, numerous young professionals are celebrating their resignations from stable, well-paying jobs by throwing elaborate parties reminiscent of traditional marriage ceremonies. Despite the country’s challenging economic climate and soaring youth unemployment rates, individuals in their 20s are leaving positions due to reasons such as low salaries and burnout, a CNN report said. Chinese social media has seen an influx of posts about these “resignation parties.” According to Maimai, a Chinese professional networking platform akin to LinkedIn, 28% of surveyed employees across various sectors resigned in 2022, and this number doubled for those intending…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: October 7 2023 will forever remain a red-letter day in the history of Indian sports as it gave the country its sweetest century. India, on Saturday, which is the penultimate day of the 19th Asian Games – India’s participation, however, ends today itself – won its 100th medal at the Games for the first time ever. It was assured that would cross the elusive three-figure mark in the medal tally after the medals won in wrestling, archery (recurve), hockey, sepaktakraw and bridge and medals confirmed by the men’s cricket and both kabaddi teams but official stamp came on…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: As the world celebrated the 12th Rabbi-ul-Awwal, or Eid-ul-Milad-un-Nabi as the birthday of Prophet Muhammed, the radical Muslims in Pakistan’s Punjab province chose to attack and demolish Ahmadiyya Baits (Ahmadiyya places of worship), an episode marking yet another way minorities are harassed in the country. They also carried out rallies against the Ahmadiyyas, threatening them with chants of violence and death. “Groups of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) members attacked (29.09.23) Baits located in Mahmoodabad (Jhelum district) and at Okara city (Okara district) and demolished their arches and mehrabs,” sources told IBNS. The radical outfit also threatened the Baits’ caretakers…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai has strongly criticized Pakistan’s widespread expulsion of Afghan refugees. He has labelled it as inappropriate and inconsistent with the principles of good neighbouring and humanitarian values, Khaama Press reported. Karzai asserted that Pakistan’s problems are unrelated to Afghanistan and Afghan migrants. He further said that Pakistan’s action starkly contrasts the country’s four-decade-long history of extending brotherhood and hospitality to Afghan migrants. He highlights the significant positive impact of Afghan migrants on Pakistan’s economic and social sectors. Karzai then urged Pakistan to reevaluate its stance towards Afghanistan, advocating for a more forward-looking and prudent…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: In a landmark development aimed at revolutionizing cross-border remittances, India’s National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the UAE’s Al Etihad Payments have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This strategic partnership is set to make remittances between the two nations as smooth and cost-effective as domestic transactions, ushering in a new era of financial connectivity. The crux of this groundbreaking agreement is the introduction of a beneficiary identifier, be it a mobile number or Virtual Payment Address (VPA), for users in both countries. This move will drastically simplify the remittance process, enabling individuals to send and receive…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Taiwan is set to announce this year a list of critical technologies it wants to protect from the reach of China, a top Taiwanese official told Nikkei Asia. “Before the end of the year, the National Science and Technology Council will announce what are considered core technologies that need to be protected,” Wellington Koo, secretary-general of Taiwan’s National Security Council, told Nikkei Asia. “The policy will define national core technologies and cover industries including semiconductors, agriculture, aerospace and ICT [information and communication technology],” Koo said. “It will deal with investments, manpower, operations and technology transfer in these areas.”…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The federal and provincial authorities of Pakistan authorities are scrambling to put together a plan to deport more than a million undocumented Afghans and other foreigners, Dawn reported on Thursday. This comes as a deadline looms to undertake one of the biggest deportation operations in modern times. Following up on the recommendations of the apex committee of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on September 27, the federal apex committee on Tuesday set an ultimatum to all undocumented immigrants, including a proportionately large number of Afghans, to leave by October 31 or face imprisonment and deportation. The short deadline has caused ripples…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: A shutter-down and wheel jam strike was observed across Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) as protests against high inflation and illegal taxes on electricity bills intensified. Shops in Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Rawalakot, Kotli and other major cities remained shut and trades and locals carried out protest marches with slogans against the Pakistan government. Protesters shouted slogans like “Riyasat Hamari – Kabza Tumhara – Namanzoor Namanzoor” (Our land – your ownership – unacceptable unacceptable) and “Gundagardi nahi chalege” – State (sponsored hooliganism not acceptable). People in the region are incensed due to the brutal behaviour of security forces, violations of human rights…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: At least two people including a 12-year-old child were killed and at least one was injured as a result of a shooting at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the Pakistani Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said Wednesday. “On October 4, at 4 pm, an Afghan sentry employed at Friendship Gate of Chaman Border Crossing along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Balochistan opened unprovoked and indiscriminate firing at pedestrians moving from Pakistan to Afghanistan,” Pakistani newspaper Dawn quoted the ISPR as saying in a statement, adding that two people have been killed, including a child, and one child has been injured. The wounded…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: On 18 August, Pakistan’s media watchdog directed all TV channels to stop giving airtime to 11 people: a group including journalists considered close to former Prime Minister Imran Khan, individuals accused of criticising the military or the government, and others that have been ‘proclaimed offenders’ or absconders by courts. It was not the first time that the watchdog, PEMRA, whose members are bureaucrats, media professionals and members of civil society, was in the news in recent months. PEMRA has banned Khan three times from TV channels since he was ousted from power in April 2022. Nearly two hours after…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Ray Dalio, founder of hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, said on Tuesday that the relationship between China and the United States is “on the brink of red lines,” although he does not see a war on the way. Speaking at the Greenwich Economic Forum, Dalio said that there are irreconcilable differences between the world’s two biggest economies, citing as examples the independence of Taiwan, the battle for chips and geopolitics. “U.S.-China relationship relations are in a number of areas on the brink of red lines,” he told the audience of investors, adding that a war is unlikely. “Neither country…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: China responded with mocking derision when Taiwan unveiled its first Indigenous Defense Submarine (IDS), which displaces approximately 2,700 tons, at a ceremony in Kaohsiung on 28 September. Taiwan is planning to construct up to eight such submarines and, despite China’s rhetoric, they will present significant challenges to China’s military in any potential conflict. Senior Colonel Wu Qian, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of National Defense, described Taiwan’s submarine program as “a broom attempting to hold hack the tide”. He also called the effort “idiotic nonsense”. With bluster typical of Chinese officialdom whenever it comes to the topic of…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: In the midst of escalating tensions between Manila and Beijing over territorial disputes in the South China Sea, the US military began two weeks of multilateral exercises on Monday with its Philippine allies and other foreign partners, according to CNN. As per a US Navy news release, Sama Sama 2023 will be the sixth and largest version of the drills as participants from Australia, Canada, France, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Malaysia join the US and the Philippines in the defence exercise. “In Tagalog ‘Sama Sama’ is a phrase that means ‘together’ and there could not be a…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The World Sindhi Congress (WSC) expressed solidarity with the ongoing struggle against the Marhi Jalbani Massacre in Sindh, Pakistan by holding a protest on October 1 opposite 10 Downing Street, the residence of the UK Prime Minister. A large number of Sindhi, Baloch, and other human rights advocates from across the UK joined the protest. On September 28, Pakistan Rangers and the Police fired indiscriminately at innocent villagers in Marhi Jalbani, Sakrand, Sindh, resulting in many casualties. The participants chanted slogans condemning the Marhi Jalbani massacre. The speakers emphasized that Pakistan operates as a security state devoid of…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Sunday barred a group of alleged beggars/human traffickers from travelling to Saudi Arabia on the pretext of performing Umrah at the Multan airport. An FIA spokesperson said that eight passengers, possessing Umrah visas, were primed for their journey to Saudi Arabia. However, during the standard immigration procedure, they failed to provide substantiated reasons for their travel. Following intense questioning by immigration officials, the passengers disclosed their true intention – to beg in the name of charity in Saudi Arabia. The offloaded passengers hailed from Punjab’s Lodhran district and comprised five men and…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Indian universities have made strides in the Times Higher Education’s (THE) World University Rankings 2024, with five of the nation’s leading institutions showcasing remarkable improvements. The Indian Institute of Science catapulted from its previous ranking in the 251-300 band to an elevated position in the 201-250 range. Similarly, Anna University surged from the 801-1000 category to a more prominent 501-600 ranking, while Aligarh Muslim University made noteworthy progress, advancing from the 801-1000 band to the 601-800 tier, according to an official release. Bharathiar University also saw a commendable ascent, climbing from the 801-1000 band to the 601-800 category.…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: light services of the Pakistan International Airlines’ (PIA) were disrupted after five three Boing 777 aircraft were grounded as they had no engines, ARY News reported on Saturday, adding that the fleet included two permanently grounded aircraft. According to the ARY News, a total total of 7 aircraft out of 12 are currently operational while another is lying dysfunctional in Jeddah. The national airline needs $60 million for the maintenance of its aircraft. Pakistan caretaker Prime Minister Anwarul haq Kakar has asked his minister for Privatisation, Fawad Hasan Fawad, to fast-track the privatisation process of Pakistan International Airlines…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Protests have erupted across Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) as citizens voice their discontent against exorbitant electricity bills. In response to a call by local leaders, residents from all corners of PoK have taken to the streets, demanding an end to what they perceive as an unjust burden of high power costs. Protesters have issued a stern warning, expressing their determination to bring the entire region to a standstill if their demands are not met immediately. A protester passionately exclaimed, “As you all know, since last night, a curfew-like situation has been created by the administration in certain areas and…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz senator Afnan Ullah Khan got an FIR filed against the former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s lawyer, Sher Afzal Khan, for allegedly assaulting him on a live media show, Dawn news reported on Saturday. The Pakistan-based news daily reported that the FIR was registered at the Aabpara police station on Friday under Sections 352 (punishment for criminal force otherwise than on grave provocation) and 506ii (criminal intimidation) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). Dawn News reported that PML-N senator stated in the FIR, “During the heated debate, Sher Afzal Marwat suddenly attacked me and tried to…