Author: Yusara Askari

China feels threatened by India’s infra building in Ladakh, says Gilgit Baltistan activist
21Jun By Yusara AskariNo Comments

China feels threatened by India’s infra building in Ladakh, says Gilgit Baltistan activist

Political activist Senge H Sering from Gilgit Baltistan has condemned Chinese aggression in Ladakh which recently led to the death of 20 Indian soldiers saying Beijing is feeling threatened by India's infrastructure projects in the Union Territory.Sering, the director of Institute of Gilgit Baltistan Studies said, "India is improving its infrastructure and making its access to Karakoram Pass much easier. That means India will be able to access G219 (China National Highway 219) from Galwan Valley, because it is very close to the watershed of the Galwan River. Then you will be able to cut Tibet from Xinjiang, in case India tries to move forward towards East and North. And you will also be able to cut the Eastern route, the second route of CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor)."His remarks ...
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Gwadar port contract is ‘confidential’, Pakistani federal secretary informs Senate panel
20Jun By Yusara AskariNo Comments

Gwadar port contract is ‘confidential’, Pakistani federal secretary informs Senate panel

Pakistan’s Senate standing committee on finance led by Senator Farooq Hamid Naek on Thursday was left shocked when a federal secretary declared that the contract governing affairs of the Gwadar port was “confidential” and its particulars couldn’t be disclosed publicly.The Senate panel on Wednesday had requested federal Secretary of Maritime Affairs Rizwan Ahmed to share copies of contracts and associated paperwork on award of contracts and sub-contracts concerning Gwadar free zone.In response, Ahmed said that the paperwork couldn’t be shared with the Senate committee chairman and skim out one paragraph from the settlement which says the contents of the settlement might be stored confidential.Senators Dr Musadik Malik, Ayesha Raza, Talha Mehmood and Ateeq Shaikh expressed their anger and di
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“An honorable army doesn’t fight with stones, batons, spikes”
20Jun By Yusara AskariNo Comments

“An honorable army doesn’t fight with stones, batons, spikes”

As India continues its fight against China over a contested boundary, Former Ladakh Corps Commander Lieutenant General Rakesh Sharma (retd) has said that he is ashamed that India has to deal with an army which fights with sticks, batons and spikes.“Mature nations with professional armies do not act this way,” he said.Lt. General Rakesh Sharma said that over the years, there have been incidents of fist-cuffs and fights and it has been gradually rising.“The level has escalated several notches higher in the past month. What happened on June 15 is one more escalation in the new normal,” he said.“There is lot of anguish in the Indian Army about the loss of lives of the commanding officer and men. The position of a commanding officer is sacrosanct. He is the most important person in the entire m
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Indian Foreign Minister talks tough with his Chinese counterpart on Galwan skirmish
20Jun By Yusara AskariNo Comments

Indian Foreign Minister talks tough with his Chinese counterpart on Galwan skirmish

Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday conveyed a clear message to Chinese counterpart Foreign Minister Wang Yi that what happened in Galwan was a "pre-mediated and planned action that was directly responsible for the resulting violence and casualties."This was the first time Jaishankar spoke to Wang since the stand-off began in early May and marked the highest political contact to address the tensions after talks between military commanders failed to break the impasse.In a strong tone, Dr Jaishankar's told Wang Yi that this "unprecedented development will have a serious impact on the bilateral relationship." The Indian Foreign Minister further told his counterpart "the need of the hour was for the Chinese side to reassess its actions and take corrective steps."India wants resto...
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Pained by academic loss, J&K teachers start community classes for poor students in remote areas
20Jun By Yusara AskariNo Comments

Pained by academic loss, J&K teachers start community classes for poor students in remote areas

Ever since the Coronavirus struck India, all institutions and schools were closed shut. While other states managed to continue educating students online, Jammu and Kashmir with 2G internet networks faced a hard time to educate its children.But in Katainwali village of Baramulla district of Srinagar, some government school teachers have taken it upon themselves to continue schooling through COVID community classes - a unique initiative by local teachers to impart education to the poor students in far-flung areas.At exactly 10 am children in Katainwali village put their school bags on their shoulders and walk to a nearby grassland where a group of government school teachers welcomes them as they sit down to scribble the notes.“We were pained to see the plight of the children, who were missin
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Why conventional wisdom giving China the military edge over India may not be true
20Jun By Yusara AskariNo Comments

Why conventional wisdom giving China the military edge over India may not be true

It was decades ago when India and China went to war in 1962 over the same Himalayan region where at least 20 soldiers were killed on June 15 in a bloody confrontation between the two sides. One month of combat resulted in a Chinese military victory, with Beijing declaring a cease-fire after securing de facto control of Aksai Chin, an area claimed by both countries.The battle claimed the lives of around 700 Chinese troops and double that on the Indian side. But the militaries that face off in the Himalayas in 2020 are far different from those that fought 58 years ago.Conventional wisdom has it that China holds a significant military advantage over India, but recent studies from the Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in Boston and the Center for a New American Security...
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Why Indonesia is reaffirming its position on the South China Sea and turning down China’s offer for bilateral talks
19Jun By Yusara AskariNo Comments

Why Indonesia is reaffirming its position on the South China Sea and turning down China’s offer for bilateral talks

Amid recent activities in the South China Sea, the Indonesian government has reiterated its position on the rule of international law addressed to the United Nations, while declining China's offer to hold bilateral talks on overlapping claims.In a diplomatic note dated May 26, Indonesia reiterated that it is not a party to the territorial dispute in the South China Sea. “The nine-dash line map which China uses as a basis for its claims in the waters lacks an international legal basis,” it added.Beijing responded by sending a diplomatic note pointing out that there is no territorial dispute between China and Indonesia in the South China Sea.The note on June 2 said: “However, China and Indonesia have overlapping claims on maritime rights and interests in some parts of the South China Sea. Ch
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Pakistan: Number of jobless people to reach 6.65m in 2020-21
18Jun By Yusara AskariNo Comments

Pakistan: Number of jobless people to reach 6.65m in 2020-21

Marred by economic instability and coronavirus outbreak, the number of unemployed people in Pakistan has been estimated to reach 6.65 million during the fiscal year 2020-21, compared to 5.80m of the outgoing financial year.According to the Labour Force Survey 2017-18, unemployment rate for the next year (2020-21) has been estimated at 9.56 per cent.Pakistan has the 9th largest labour force in the world which is increasing every year. During next year, the number of employed persons will increase to 69.2 million in 2020-21 from 62.1 million in 2019-20.The country is currently experiencing the phenomenon of unemployed educated people, particularly jobless graduates.The unemployment rate among degree-holders is almost three times higher than the other overall unemployed people. The reason beh...
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18Jun By Yusara AskariNo Comments

India, China face off in first deadly clash in decades

The worst border clash between India and China in more than 40 years killed dozens of troops on both sides, raising tensions between nuclear-armed rivals who have increasingly been flexing their diplomatic and military muscle over a contested area of their shared border.Chinese state media described the incident on Monday night in the Galwan River valley where both countries have deployed troops in recent weeks as "the most serious clash between Chinese and Indian soldiers so far," confirming casualties but offering no further details about them.Indian government officials speaking on the condition of anonymity informed that 20 Indian army personnel had died in the fighting.As for China, American intelligence believes 35 Chinese troops died, including one senior officer.The incident took p...
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Hong Kong police blame youngsters for committing crimes under shadow of protest
17Jun By Yusara AskariNo Comments

Hong Kong police blame youngsters for committing crimes under shadow of protest

Justifying its aggressive tactics towards pro-democracy demonstrators, the pro-China Hong Kong police are now accusing young Hong Kongers of committing crimes under the shadow of unrest.Expressing his concerns, Commissioner of police of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, Chris Tang Ping-keung said that young people committing crimes have become a trend in the territory amid protests against China.The Hong Kong police have been called out of its excessive use of forces against the demonstrators in the territory. On June 12, the police arrested 35 people protesting against China's plan to impose national security legislation on the territory.In 2019, a total of 4,268 young people were arrested, an increase of more than 50 per cent from 2018. Of the 8,057 people a...
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