Posts published in “Day: May 19, 2016”

KARACHI: : Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has expressed serious concern over Indian move for diverting the direction of more than 30 rivers. PPP MNAs Nawab Yousuf Talpur, Mir Ejaz Hussain Jakhrani and Imran Zafar Leghari expressing serious concern overIndia’s move for diverting the direction of more than 30 rivers said the federal government of PMLN has totally failed to protect and defend the interest of Pakistan. The change in direction of rivers would leave Pakistan’s…

The visit of Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif to China turned out to be propitious as the Chinese leadership reiterated that “challenges to Pakistan are challenges to China”. General Sharif met various political and military leaders of China, and he discussed issues relating to national security and regional stability. This visit needs to be taken in the larger context of the military development in the region in which Pakistan-China friendship has become all…

THE decision by a Chinese sponsor to withdraw from a coal-based power project in Punjab reminds us of two crucial facts. First, the investments arriving in Pakistan under the CPEC bouquet are entirely commercial; they come on a profit basis and are not exactly the ‘gift horse’ they are sometimes referred to as. Second, at least in some respects, the government’s much-vaunted push towards coal as the fuel of choice for Pakistan’s power generation could…

China’s interest in maritime trade dates back to early 15th century when, between 1433 and 1495 during Ming era, Admiral Zheng undertook seven ocean voyages to coastal territories of Indian Ocean and beyond. Historians credit him as well accustomed to battle and having sound knowledge about warfare. Over the course of these voyages, Ming China became a pre-eminent naval power and traded with then major centers of commerce such as Qui Nhon (Vietnam), Surabaya, Palembang,…

The writer is a freelance columnist. The good news is that the army chief was in Beijing earlier this week where he met the Chinese prime minister and military leaders. The media bazaar is obsessively buzzing these days with news about the parliamentary circus around Panama leaks, so this important visit didn’t receive the attention it deserved. The visit is bound to have significant ramifications, not only within the international context but also within Pakistan.…

HONG KONG — The heart of this global financial hub resembled an armed camp on Wednesday as thousands of police officers deployed around a hotel and convention center where a senior Chinese official was visiting. For many in Hong Kong, the show of force only increased their fears that the city’s civil liberties and autonomy are under assault by the government in Beijing. Across the Taiwan Strait, final preparations were underway for the inauguration on…

BEIJING — Amid the opacity of China’s social systems, the clichés can sometimes pile up: Game of smoke and mirrors. Wild-goose chase. Stumbling block. A recent high-profile court case involving Apple and a Chinese company, Xintong Tiandi, which sells leather goods under the iPhone trademark, involved all of those. Here’s a summary: On March 31 the Beijing Higher People’s Court upheld earlier rulings by a lower court and China’s trademark arbitration board that Xintong Tiandi…

By GORDON LUBOLD and  PAUL SONNE WASHINGTON—Two Chinese jet fighters intercepted an American reconnaissance aircraft flying over the South China Sea in what U.S. defense officials characterized as a potentially unsafe maneuver. The incident comes as tension increases between Washington and Beijing over the disputed waterway, a critical fishing and trade hub in Asia. If a final U.S. review of the incident deems the Chinese maneuver unsafe, it would mark the first such dangerous midair…

There is no telling what possessed Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah to come out so openly and rule out legal action against JuD and JeM because the “state itself is involved”. Surely, being a politician for so long, he realises that his words in capacity as minister reflect upon the government he represents; especially when he is talking about extremely sensitive matters. But, then, it’s not as if Pakistani politicians have not been known to…

LAHORE: Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah’s statement about Punjab government’s “inaction” against some banned outfits has drawn ire of one of the groups the minister mentioned in his interview to a foreign channel. “Rana is deliberately creating confusion in order to support a concocted agenda,” a Jamaat-ud-Dawah spokesman said while responding to the minister’s statement that the “State is responsible for inaction against JuD and Jaish-e-Muhammad”. The spokesman said that the Lahore High Court and…