Tag: Imran Khan

Pakistan’s ideological insecurity
30Aug By Stuart WhiteNo Comments
Opinion

Pakistan’s ideological insecurity

Pakistan is suffering from ideological insecurities, and the developments over the past few weeks are proof enough. It all began when Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan stated in the National Assembly that Osama bin Laden was a martyr. Later, a ruling party legislator accused Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) leader Khawaja Asif of blasphemy for asserting that all religions were equal.Then, the minority Hindu, Sikh and Ahmadi communities were targeted. In July, the construction of the first Hindu temple in Islamabad, possibly the first temple in Pakistan since 1947, had to be halted when several clerics and even politicians objected to its construction with Muslim taxes in an ‘Islamic Republic’.An elderly Ahmadi man, Tahir Ahmed Naseem, was shot during the hearing of a blasphemy case aga
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New China-Pakistan relationship undermines U.S. in Afghanistan
28Aug By Grace TsoiNo Comments
World

New China-Pakistan relationship undermines U.S. in Afghanistan

In an attempt to secure Beijing's influence in Afghanistan, China and Pakistan have begun an unprecedented intelligence-sharing arrangement, designed to help China exploit its economic investments in Afghanistan while also stifling outcry over its persecution of the Uighur population near China's western border with Afghanistan and Pakistan.The timing of the new relationship has become disturbing as President Donald Trump decides to pull out U.S. forces from Afghanistan. Now, American intelligence officials, who believe China will capitalize on ongoing problems in the administration's effort to secure a peace deal with the Taliban, says that Beijing will further expand its influence into other contested parts of the region."The reality is now dawning within the intelligence community," say...
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Why India revoked Kashmir’s special status one-year ago
28Aug By Stuart WhiteNo Comments
Opinion

Why India revoked Kashmir’s special status one-year ago

A year ago, on August 5, Indian President Ram Nath Kovind revoked Article 370 of the Indian constitution which protected Kashmir’s special status and in order to dissuade protests, Indian security forces imposed a curfew on Kashmir.Both Pakistan and many human rights groups reacted with outrage. Electronic billboards in Islamabad ticked off the days, hours, and minutes since India had imposed a curfew, never mind the hypocrisy of Pakistan as it did the same to Gilgit-Baltistan. Meanwhile, human rights groups’ consistent refusal to recognize that an end to terrorism is a precursor to rights improvement blunted their moral authority.Prior to India’s decision to change Kashmir’s status, Pakistan-based terrorists regularly crossed into Kashmir and India, more broadly, to attack both security a
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## Pitiful state of Pakistan ##
26Aug By Stuart WhiteNo Comments
Business, Opinion, Politics

## Pitiful state of Pakistan ##

In July 2018, Pakistan was accused by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) of not doing enough to counter terrorism and subsequently was put on FATF’s grey list. It is only after FATF’s approval that millions of dollars in grants and aid are given to countries combating terrorism.The next session of FATF, which has seen delays due to COVID 19 pandemic, is due again shortly. Pakistan’s recent admission and subsequent denial of designated global terrorist Dawood Ibrahim, who is accused by India of the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb attacks that claimed the lives of more than 250 and wounded 900 innocent civilians, is testimony to the pitiful state Pakistan has got herself into. Not only that, this demonstrates Prime minister Imran Khan’s desperation for seeking financial aid (admitting that Dawoo
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‘Political absurdity’: India slams Imran Khan over new ‘political map’
21Aug By Yusara AskariNo Comments
Asia

‘Political absurdity’: India slams Imran Khan over new ‘political map’

Reacting to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s new “political map of Pakistan” that counts Jammu and Kashmir and Junagadh in Gujarat as its territories, India has called out Pakistan PM’s obsession and termed the act as an “exercise in political absurdity.”“We have seen a so-called “political map” of Pakistan that has been released by PM Imran Khan. This is an exercise in political absurdity, laying untenable claims to territories in the Indian state of Gujarat and our union territories of Jammu Kashmir and of Ladakh,” the Government of India said in a statement.India’s foreign ministry also slammed Pakistan for their malafide intentions and said it confirms the reality of “Pakistan’s obsession with territorial aggrandizement supported by cross-border terrorism.”“These ridiculous asserti
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Pakistan nerve center of terrorism: Indian envoy to UN
21Aug By Nectar GanNo Comments
Politics

Pakistan nerve center of terrorism: Indian envoy to UN

India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, TS Tirumurti, has lashed out at Pakistan for harboring terror groups, saying it is home to the largest number of listed terrorists internationally and designated terrorist entities.Ambassador Tirumurti said that it is a well-known fact that Pakistan is the “nerve center of terrorism”. “Pakistan is home to the largest number of listed terrorists internationally designated terrorist entities and individuals, including Jamat-ud Dawah, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed and Hizbul Mujahideen, they are continuing their operations from Pakistan,” he said.Referring to United Nations' 26th report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team concerning ISIS, Tirumurti said that there is a clear acknowledgement that the leadership
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Let us rise
19Aug By Stuart WhiteNo Comments
Opinion

Let us rise

“No one is above the law and every citizen, including the state, is subservient to the rule of law and the supremacy of the Constitution,” said the chief justice of the Islamabad High Court in his verdict on the kidnapping of senior journalist Matiullah Jan in broad daylight on July 21.The court held that the case of kidnapping was a challenge to the federal government and public office holders. “They have to demonstrably show that there is a political will to put an end to impunity for crimes against citizens and to protect journalists from harm for exercising the right to free speech,” said the chief justice. “Abduction or enforced disappearance of any citizen is one of the gravest offences,” he lamented.It is heartening to note that the reaction from civil society, media, diplomats, pol
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‘Pakistan’s attempt to reconcile with Bangladesh will fall flat’
12Aug By Nectar GanNo Comments
Politics

‘Pakistan’s attempt to reconcile with Bangladesh will fall flat’

The recent telephonic interaction between Pakistan and Bangladesh has worried India over the next course of action Dhaka might take.On July 22, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan called Bangladesh’s Sheikh Hasina wherein they discussed the flood and COVID-19 situations in both countries, Bangla News 24 quoted statements released from the prime minister's office.During the interaction, they also reportedly discussed strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries and boosting regional cooperation through South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Reportedly, Khan also stated his stance on issues with India and hoped for a peaceful resolution.Several believe that improvement of bilateral ties between Islamabad and Dhaka is highly likely to happen given their past h
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Second-class citizens of Sindh: Women
11Aug By Stuart WhiteNo Comments
Opinion

Second-class citizens of Sindh: Women

The incidents of honor killings in Pakistan’s Sindh are no less than gruesome horror stories – women burned, shot, strangled, drowned, decapitated in cold-blood every year. One such case came to limelight on July 4, when Sindh police discovered a severely beaten body with the disfigured face on Indus Highway. Initially unrecognizable to police, it was finally found to be of a 24-year-old married girl, Waziran. Her father and husband accuse each other of her murder. A joint investigation team (JIT) has been set to investigate the incident. According to local witnesses, the murder was carried out in the name of honor.Marks on the body show that Waziran was pelted with stones and repeatedly hit with a wooden stick. Waziran is another innocent soul that has lost her life to the menace of honor
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Xi’s attempted coup against Pakistan
8Aug By Stuart WhiteNo Comments
Opinion

Xi’s attempted coup against Pakistan

In order to expand his direct influence over the political and economic processes of Pakistan, Chinese President Xi Jinping is all set to sideline the democratically elected representatives and civil servants of the people of the country.Since 2016, Xi has been forcing the Pakistani establishment to put pressure on the government (it was Nawaz Sharif’s government back then) to sideline the Planning Ministry’s role in the implementation and monitoring of the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).He pushed for the creation of a supra-constitutional CPEC Authority that would freelance the management of the predatory infrastructure and power-generation projects under his direct command.The proposal was rejected then, but in 2019, it was again presented before the current
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