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Posts published in “Day: September 20, 2016

Four ISIS men arrested in Lahore raid : by Ashraf Javed in The Nation, Sept 17, 2016

LAHORE –  Four members of the self-styled Islamic State group have been arrested during a successful operation in Lahore’s Iqbal Town, a counter official told The Nation yesterday. The security and law enforcement agencies jointly conducted the raid on Ya-Rasool-Ullah Park located near Moon Market in Iqbal Town on a tip off, he said. The official confirmed the arrests but did not mention further de tails because of security reasons. It was not clear yet…

Shikarpur Imambargah attackers trained in Afghanistan: report

KARACHI: One of the two suicide bombers who planned to attack Shikarpur Imambargah, has confessed to have arrived in Pakistan from Afghanistan, a report compiled by intelligence agencies said. The suicide bombers had been trained in a Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan camp for a month in Nangarhar province, a source said. Investigators said a terrorist named Abdullah brought the two suicide bombers from Afghanistan to Pakistan on the second of Ramazan. Prior to the blast the last…

Provinces indifference delaying CPEC security ToRs: by Fawad Yousafzai in The Nation, September 16th, 2016

ISLAMABAD – The unresponsiveness of the provinces is delaying the process of finalising Term of Reference (ToRs) for the deployment of Special Security Division (SSD) for the security of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). “The Ministry of Interior has contacted all the provinces but except Punjab none of the provinces has so far replied the request to finalise the ToRs,” an official told The Nation yesterday. The meeting on CPEC review held here last week…

Canadian Kevin Garratt, Held 2 Years on Spy Charges in China, Is Released By IAN AUSTEN in The NY Times, Sept 16, 2016

OTTAWA — A Canadian man who worked with a charity that provided food to North Koreans returned to Canada on Thursday after being held in China on espionage charges for just over two years. The family of the man, Kevin Garratt, who is from Vancouver, British Columbia, said in a brief statement that he was deported after a court hearing in Dandong, China, on Tuesday. “The Garratt family thanks everyone for their thoughts and prayers,…

CCDI strengthens fight against mooncake bribes By Leng Shumei in Global Times, Sept 14, 2016

China’s top graft buster is stepping up the fight against holiday corruption with a website allowing the public to report mooncake-related abuses on Tuesday, as China gets ready to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival on Thursday. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on September 8 unveiled a new platform on its website, encouraging the public to report excessive spending by officials during the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival holiday (September…

The Iran factor: By Ayaz Ahmed in The News, September 16, 2016

The writer is an independent researcher and columnist based in Karachi. After considering the long-term feasibility and effectiveness of the CPEC, Iran has displayed its inclination to join the grand economic corridor. If the CPEC is converted into the China-Pakistan-Iran Economic Corridor (CPIEC), it will make the corridor a greater and safer game-changer in terms of regional trade and connectivity. Both Pakistan and China should give serious consideration to the Iranian request of joining the…

Free trade agreement wins Iran’s support: edit in The Express Tribune, Sept 16th, 2016.

Pakistan and Iran have taken a step towards streamlining commerce-rated matters between the two countries, after the latter gave its input to the initial draft of the free trade agreement (FTA). Pakistan shared its version of the draft after Iran’s president expressed the desire for free trade between the two countries during his visit to Islamabad in March this year. Both countries also agreed to move on from the current preferential trade agreement in place…