Press "Enter" to skip to content

Posts published in “Day: July 19, 2016

Afghan refugees suffering for no fault of theirs :By Rustam Shah Mohmand in The Express Tribune, July 18th, 2016.

The writer has served as ambassador to Afghanistan and is a former interior secretary. Perhaps nowhere is the absence of a viable government dealing effectively with core issues of national import, more visible than in the recent tirade launched against Afghan refugees by ministers, politicians and a section of the bureaucracy. It is pathetic to observe how ill-informed most of our leaders are on issues that are so relevant to the country and society. In…

Dealing with the Afghan imbroglio: By Shahid Javed Burki in The Express Tribune, July 18th, 2016.

The writer is a former caretaker finance minister and served as vice-president at the World Bank When the transfer of power occurs in Washington in January 2017, the new administration will undoubtedly research a number of policy areas. Among the more important ones will be the role the Americans should play in Afghanistan and in that context how should they deal with Pakistan. Over time, it became obvious to President Barack Obama that the use…

Kabul’s plan for Afghan refugees: edit in Daily Times, July 18, 2016

In a surprising move that has been termed as a positive development by geostrategic experts, the Afghan government has launched a national campaign to persuade its citizens to return home. This is the first instance in the last two decades the Afghan government has formally launched a campaign to encourage its citizens to leave their refugee life in Pakistan. The announcement comes ahead of the meeting of the tripartite commission consisting of Pakistan, Afghanistan and…

Government’s missing strategy: EDITORIAL in Dawn, July 18th, 2016

A PHONE conversation will not change foreign policy. Nor will strong statements in favour of a foreign government. Nevertheless, now that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has returned to Pakistan, there is some semblance of leadership being displayed by the political class once again. The telephone call from Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to Prime Minister Sharif was officially about confirmation of the killing in eastern Afghanistan of the mastermind of the APS Peshawar tragedy. Yet, it…

Terror Attacks Down, Casualties Up in First Six Months of 2016: Report by Tamim Hamid in ToloNews.com, July 17, 2016

Security incidents and terror attacks have been reduced by 12 percent during the first six months of 2016, according to TOLOnews’ bi-annual security report for January to June 2016. However, Afghan forces have suffered an increase of 15% in casualties (1,706). Casualties in the Army are up by 1,086 (37% higher) and the police 453 (30% down), says the TOLOnews report. Anti-government elements suffered 7 000 casualties, the Afghanistan National Security Forces (ANSF) 1 700.…

‘Pakistan must reform itself to be heard on Kashmir issue’, ex-diplomats tell Sharif govt REPORT in Dawn, July 18th, 2016

ISLAMABAD: At a round table discussion on Saturday, former diplomats said Pakistan will have to improve its international standing for its voice to be heard on the Kashmir issue and that it has to try out other ways to morally and politically support the uprising in the valley. The discussion was hosted by the Strategic Vision Institute (SVI) to discuss the options Pakistan has to back the latest revolts in Kashmir against the Indian occupation,…

Scholar wants foreign capital expelled from China’s social media By Huang Jingjing in Global Times, July 18, 2016

A leading Maoist ideologue publicly announced that he plans to seek wider support to lobby the government to force foreign capital off the shareholder lists of Chinese social media companies. Zhang Hongliang, a professor at Beijing’s Minzu University of China, said on his WeChat account on Saturday that he is preparing to sue Chinese Internet titan Tencent for yielding to commercial pressure to “arbitrarily” block public WeChat posts. Tencent – WeChat’s parent company, whose largest…

Narcotics provides war budged for militants: Danish By Akhtar M.Nikzad in Afghanistan Times, July 18, 2016

KABUL: Senior official said that armed militants gain their major financial support from cultivation, production and smuggling of narcotic and threat security of Afghanistan. Second Vice of President Mohammad Sarwar Danish said that Taliban insurgents and the terrorist networks comprise the largest smugglers of the narcotics in Afghanistan. Danish stressed that security of the regional and world countries relevant to smuggling against narcotics and it requires the international community to assist Afghan government in the…

Turkey’s failed coup might affect Xinjiang: By Shan Jie in Global Times, July 18, 2016

Turkey’s failed coup attempt will have an impact on anti-terrorism efforts in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, analysts said. “We have decided on all necessary measures. We are in charge. No need for worry,” Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek posted on Twitter Sunday after the coup was announced a failure. According to a Reuters report on Sunday, 6,000 people have been detained in Turkey in connection with the failed coup, with more detentions expected,…

Parliament Hits Another Deadlock In Reforms Move by Abid Joenda in Tolonews.com. July 16, 2016

The Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of Parliament) Saturday made its third attempt to finalize members of the joint parliamentary commission for electoral reforms, but the process once again hit a deadlock when some MPs accused others of taking President Ashraf Ghani’s legislative decree on electoral reforms hostage for their personal motives. Ghani has called on the lawmakers to finalize the decree before going for their summer recess. “The House of Representatives has taken the decree…

7,872 unregistered Afghan nationals arrested in Peshawar in 2016 By Javed Aziz Khan in the News, July 17, 2016

PESHAWAR: As many as 4,139 cases were lodged and 7,872 Afghan nationals illegally residing in the provincial capital were arrested under the 14 Foreigners Act during the current year, officials told The News. The police also arrested 11 Afghan nationals for having fake Pakistani computerised national identity cards (CNICs). The arrests are likely to increase after the government announced cash rewards for those helping to identify Afghan nationals having fake CNICs. The Hayatabad Police Station…