Author: Yusara Askari

China strengthening military base in Gilgit Baltistan by constructing mega infrastructures: Activists
27Jul By Yusara AskariNo Comments

China strengthening military base in Gilgit Baltistan by constructing mega infrastructures: Activists

Activists in the Gilgit-Baltistan region are worried that Beijing is using military power to build Diamer Bhasha Dam with an aim to counter India’s growing influence in the region as Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan takes swift steps and kicked off construction work at the mega infrastructure.“We have to look at commencement of construction of Diamer Dam in context of Chinese attacks and occupation of Indian lands in Ladakh, Uttrakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. China is concerned about India’s growing interest in acquiring control over Gilgit Baltistan,” said Senge H Sering, director of the Washington-based Institute of Gilgit Baltistan Studies.“China knows that Gilgit Baltistan is a legal part of India and if the international community helps India then Pakistan will not find many
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South China Sea Part of Global Commons, Firmly Stand For Freedom of Navigation: India
25Jul By Yusara AskariNo Comments

South China Sea Part of Global Commons, Firmly Stand For Freedom of Navigation: India

Soon after the US rejected most of China's maritime claims in the South China Sea, India has asserted that South China Sea is “part of global commons” and that India firmly stands for the freedom of navigation and overflight and unimpeded lawful commerce in these international waterways.Asked about US’ assertion, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said that India has articulated its position on South China Sea on several occasions in the past, most recently on May 21, 2020.“Our position on this issue has been clear and consistent. South China Sea is a part of global commons and India has an abiding interest in peace and stability in the region. We firmly stand for the freedom of navigation and overflight and unimpeded lawful commerce in these international waterways,
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Nepal’s ruling party leaders slam PM Oli over his ‘real Ayodhya’ remark
21Jul By Yusara AskariNo Comments

Nepal’s ruling party leaders slam PM Oli over his ‘real Ayodhya’ remark

Several political leaders of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) slammed Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli for making claims that Ayodhya is a part of Nepal and Lord Rama is a Nepali citizen.Taking to Facebook, Bamdev Gautam, deputy chair of the NCP said that he had discussed with Oli on Ayodhya and Lord Rama about two years ago. He further said that he had warned Oli against issuing any statements on the matter without substantiate proof.“Each person follows a different religion. No one should try to attack their emotions by targeting their religious beliefs. Similarly, no country or community or person should use religious scriptures for the fulfillment of their vested interest. In this pretext, we communists want to remain secular,” Gautam wrote.“As the Prime Minister’s statement over the
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‘Boycott China’ face masks distributed to oppose Chinese goods
20Jul By Yusara AskariNo Comments

‘Boycott China’ face masks distributed to oppose Chinese goods

After 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a brutal clash between India and China in the Galwan Valley on June 15, there has been a sudden rise in India to boycott Chinese products and services. Now, ‘Boycott China and Chinese products’ face masks are being worn by people in India in protest against China's expansionist policies.In New Delhi, a large number of face masks were distributed in busy market areas to make people aware about boycotting Chinese products. The traders also shouted slogans to boycott Chinese products and laid stress on buying indigenous products.The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), an apex body representing seven crore traders, recently condemned the escalating tensions between the two nations on the border and launched a flagship campaign "Bhartiya Samaan, Ha
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Experts decry proposed 14th amendment in so-called AJK Interim Act 1974 by Pakistan
20Jul By Yusara AskariNo Comments

Experts decry proposed 14th amendment in so-called AJK Interim Act 1974 by Pakistan

Political activists and experts have condemned the proposed 14th amendment Bill to the 1974 Interim Constitution of so-called Azad Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) as it further restricts the freedom of expression and opinion among the people in the occupied territory, while strengthening the grip of the Pakistani state over the region even more.In a webinar organized by the Jammu Kashmir International People’s Alliance (JKIPA), Junaid Qureshi, the director of European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS) said that Pakistan has over the years been duplicitously projecting itself as a strong votary of the now near-defunct 1948 UN Resolutions that specified a referendum in the entire erstwhile Princely State of J&K.“The reality, though, is that the onus of implementing the first stage
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Pakistan: 50 doctors resign due to lack of PPE kits amid coronavirus pandemic
17Jul By Yusara AskariNo Comments

Pakistan: 50 doctors resign due to lack of PPE kits amid coronavirus pandemic

As coronavirus continues to spread through Pakistan, 50 doctors put in their resignations due to lack of personal protective equipment (PPEs), an essential for them combating deadly virus.According to media reports, the resignations of almost 50 doctors across Punjab have been accepted by the provincial government, a notification said, amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.According to a notice by the Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education (SHCME) Department, dated June 27, the 48 doctors who stepped down had tendered in their resignations at various times this year.Of the 48 to have resigned, 11 had handed in their resignation letters before Pakistan reported its first coronavirus case on February 26, 2020.Doctors in Pakistan have protested over the lack of personal protective equip...
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‘UN should intervene to stop the ethnic cleansing of the indigenous people of Balochistan’
17Jul By Yusara AskariNo Comments

‘UN should intervene to stop the ethnic cleansing of the indigenous people of Balochistan’

Pakistan-born Canadian author Tarek Fatah has called on the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and said that indigenous communities in Balochistan will lose their identities if their slaughter and ethnic cleansing is not stopped.“The indigenous communities will lose their identities if these inhuman acts are not stopped immediately. All these acts are carried out by the Pakistani military, which is an industrial mafia that controls everything,” Fatah said.However, he said, this would require the over a dozen Baloch political parties and guerilla groups to join hands to issue a “Balochistan Declaration about their future where the enemy is no longer the Pakistan Army, but China.”Describing the condition in Balochistan and the Chinese influence on the region, Fatah said: "Almost a decade
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In Pakistan’s Islamabad, a centuries-old temple where Hindus are not allowed to pray
17Jul By Yusara AskariNo Comments

In Pakistan’s Islamabad, a centuries-old temple where Hindus are not allowed to pray

For centuries, Hindus traveled a long way just to worship at a tiny sixteenth century temple built against the foothills of the Himalayas in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad where Hindus believe ancient god Ram lived with his family during 14 long years of exile.  To continue their journey, Hindus used to stay peacefully in an adjoining dharamshala, or rest house for pilgrims, in what is today called Saidpur Village.According to official records dating as far back as 1893, a fair was held each year at a pond near the site to commemorate that Ram and his family had once sipped water from it.But since 1947, Hindus have not been allowed by authorities to worship at the temple and the compound in which it is housed.Visitors can tour the temple, but all idols have been removed and the shrine
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Pakistan must protect religious freedom for Hindus: Human Rights group
17Jul By Yusara AskariNo Comments

Pakistan must protect religious freedom for Hindus: Human Rights group

A human rights panel has called on the Pakistani authorities to protect the right to freedom of religion and belief for the country’s beleaguered Hindu community, including the construction of temples to exercise that right.“The respect for the right to freedom of religion was promised to Pakistan’s Hindus by the country’s founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Those who deny a long-marginalized community the right to practise their faith freely not only betray his legacy, but also violate the human rights of religious minorities protected under Pakistan’s constitution and its international human rights obligations,” said Omar Waraich, Head of South Asia at Amnesty International.The human rights organization’s call came as authorities in Islamabad capitulated to pressure from a discriminatory campa
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Women risk the blasts or sexual assault in Pakistani-held Kashmir
17Jul By Yusara AskariNo Comments

Women risk the blasts or sexual assault in Pakistani-held Kashmir

Ever since the abrogation of Article 370 by the Indian government, cross-border shelling between Pakistan and India has intensified along the Line of Control in Kashmir, sending more families rushing to community bunkers when the alarm sirens ring, particularly on the Pakistani side.But some girls and young women are being left behind by their families — choosing to risk the falling shells rather than face the sexual assault in the cramped bunkers.One of those staying home is Mehnaz, a 25-year-old, who says she will not be going back to a bunker unless things change.When mortars started slamming into her village in the Neelum Valley on the Pakistani-held side in August, Mehnaz and her family fled to a musty bunker owned by her neighbor, she said. Dozens of people were crammed in for hours
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