WASHINGTON: The United States of America is aware of the tensions at Pak-India border, said State Department Spokesman John Kirby. During a daily media briefing, John Kirby, while replying to a question about killing of soldiers and civilians on both side of border during the last couple of months said, “We’re certainly aware of them. And in at least one case, investigations are just now beginning. We want to respect that process.” He said US…
Posts published in November 2016
The business dealings of all Beijing city officials’ spouses and children will be investigated by the end of 2017, the official Xinhua News Agency said, as part of a push to restore party discipline and battle graft. The extended families of Communist Party cadres have become a key battleground in President Xi Jinping’s war on corruption, which has punished thousands of officials since he came to power in late 2012. Many cases of corruption have…
Proxies for growth once favoured by China’s premier are bouncing back amid a stabilisation in smokestack industries. Electricity use, rail cargo volume and bank loans – combined in a weighted average known as the Bloomberg Intelligence Li Keqiang Index – are collectively at the highest level in three years. While the strength shows fiscal and monetary stimulus is putting a floor under expansion, it is also evidence that stabilisation is reviving industries such as steel…
Nov. 24, 2015 marked a fresh start in the history of the Chinese Armed Forces, as the nation embarked on a long march of deepening military reform. One year on, the blueprint of the reform are clearer, and the commitment to building a strong military has become stronger. Amid profound and complicated changes in the international situation and the country’s ongoing efforts in revitalizing the Chinese nation, China has entered a key stage of transforming…
ISLAMABAD: Coalition partner of the ruling party in the National Assembly JUI-F on Tuesday criticised the government for its failure to end gas load shedding in its three and a half year tenure. Presenting a motion, JUI-F MNA Naeema Kishwar Khan said still the country was confronting gas loadshedding. She demanded the government take immediate measures to overcome gas shortages. Supporting the JUI-F, the ruling party’s Tahira Aurangzeb informed the house that gas load shedding…
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar will chair a meeting of the National Finance Commission on Monday (today) — only a third in 20 months — in the absence of at least three provincial finance ministers. The meeting comes amid provincial demands for more power and resources. The Constitution requires the commission to submit two progress reports every year to parliament. The commission is also required to finalise its biannual report for the period ending June…
LAHORE – Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif yesterday included 11 new ministers in his cabinet, besides appointing four new advisers. The total number of ministers in the provincial cabinet comes to 31 following the expansion which the analysts believe has been made keeping in view the next general elections. Besides strengthening party position in some constituencies, the move also aims at preventing the disgruntled elements from joining other parties. Some of the new ministers were…
The writer is a former ambassador, political analyst and Advisor to CRSS, an independent think tank. The Taliban are still dithering over whether they should resume talks with the Afghan government to promote national reconciliation. Consequently, Afghanistan continues to wallow, occasionally in blood and perpetually in chaos and instability. The new Taliban victories, incidentally on the rise, inversely affect the prospects for talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. In certain quarters, opinion prevails…
At least 12 Taliban insurgents were killed in an operation in western Farah province, local officials said on Tuesday. In addition, six other insurgents were injured. Iqbal Bahir, a spokesman for the provincial police chief said that the security forces launched a military operation in Balablook district of the province and also seized a number of vehicles and motorbikes belonging to the insurgents. However, Bahir did not provide more details about the operation nor of…
A top leader of the loyalists of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group was killed along with at least 43 other militants in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan. The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said the militants were killed during the joint military operations conducted by the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces. MoD further added that the operations were conducted in Pacher Agam district of Nangarhar and Deh Bala. According to MoD,…
At least 37 Deash insurgents were killed in joint Afghan and foreign troops operations in eastern Nangarhar province in the past 24 hours, local officials said. In addition, three other insurgents were injured. Attaullah Khoghyani, a spokesman for the provincial governor said that the security forces have launched a military operation in Pacheragam district of the province in which 30 insurgents were killed in the past 24 hours. “During the operation one of the judges…