India, along with China, is the economic engine that will drive global economic growth for possibly decades to come. The whole world is keen for a slice of that action. Are we — who ironically are best placed to take advantage (both directly and indirectly) — to be the only ones to reject such a golden opportunity? Many readers are probably watching the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches these days. Like it or not, the…
Posts published in April 2010
Op-ed by Mohammad Saleem in The Dawn, Apr 14 FAISALABAD: The fresh wave of heinous crime believed to be perpetrated by a certain religious outfit against a number of Ahmedi families in Faisalabad has forced the latter to move to “safer places.” The families facing robbery, kidnap for ransom and killing incidents are having sleepless nights more so because of alleged police failure to protect them. The recent murder of Arshad, Asif and Masood has…
By David Usborne, US Editor, in The Independent, Apr 14 Washington: China is being privately reassured that its supplies of oil would be guaranteed in the event that it supports tough new UN sanctions on Iran, its third largest supplier of crude. Western sources at the nuclear security summit Washington confirmed “talks have been going in that direction” with China. Such an agreement, designed to clear a major obstacle to consensus on new measures against…
The Dawn, April 7 SYDNEY: Australia has blocked a shipment of scientific equipment to Pakistan over fears it could be used to help build weapons of mass destruction, a spokesman for Defence Minister John Faulkner said on Tuesday. The government used the 1995 Weapons of Mass Destruction (Prevention of Proliferation) Act to stop an Australian company exporting instruments and accessories to a Pakistani firm, he said. “The minister forms the view, based on advice from…
The News International While some of the events seen recently in Azad Kashmir parallel those seen in the Federation of Pakistan, the situation in the territory has quickly become even more chaotic. We have two chief justices presiding over cases, a deadlock between the president and the prime minister on the issue and an infuriated judiciary which says the CJ deposed by the acting president on the advice of the PM can only be restored…
By Zeeshan Javaid in the Daily Times, April 7 ISLAMABAD: A 12.08-kilometre lake formed by a massive landslide in Hunza valley is threatening to sweep through the area, wipe out villages and endanger 45,000 people who live downstream, but there is no chance of bursting of the lake, Daily Times learnt on Tuesday. Sources told Daily Times that the lake’s depth has reached 251.25 feet, while average water level in the water mass rises 1.4…
By Sayed Abid Hussain Shah in The News, April 7 MIRPUR: The judicial crisis in Azad Kashmir aggravated when the presidential order to restore Justice Riaz Akhter as the chief justice was struck down by the Supreme Judicial Council led by ‘acting’ Chief Justice Syed Manzoor Hussain Gillani on Monday. ‘Reinstated’ Chief Justice Riaz Akhter Chaudhry on Tuesday performed official duties in his chambers in the AJK Supreme Court Mirpur Circuit building on Tuesday for…
By Tariq Naqash in The Dawn, April 7 MUZAFFARABAD, April 6: The federal government replaced the chief secretary of Azad Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, in a move likely to further strain relations between Islamabad and Muzaffarabad. The transfer of Khalid Sultan came amid a row between the Kashmir affairs ministry of Pakistan and the AJK government over the assignment of additional charge of his office during his absence from the country. Officials said that…
HONG KONG—Two prominent members of the exiled Turkic-speaking Uyghur community, many of whom oppose Chinese rule in their homeland, are on the run from the authorities following police raids on their homes. Omer and Akbar Khan, who co-founded a charity to teach Pakistani Uyghurs their own language in the northern city of Rawalpindi, said they had fled from police after neighbors told them their close relatives had been detained for several hours. “We didn’t do…