Press "Enter" to skip to content

Posts published in “Day: September 22, 2016

The gathering storm: Editorial in The Express Tribune, September 22nd, 2016.

The UN General Assembly and attack on the Indian military base which left 17 personnel dead have precipitated matters in the deteriorating relationship between Pakistan and India. Both countries have been engaged in a war of words which they had threatened to escalate during their respective visits to the UN General Assembly. Lobbying on both sides is now being reflected in statements issued by various countries that have begun to take sides on the Kashmir…

Nearly two dozen flights from Islamabad cancelled due to PAF exercises: report in The Express Tribune, September 22nd, 2016

RAWALPINDI: Nearly two dozen flights from the Benazir Bhutto International Airport were suspended on Wednesday due to exercises carried out by Pakistan Air Force. Since midnight to afternoon on September 22, as many as 23 flights were cancelled. Among these, 18 flights were of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and five were of other airlines. Of the 18 PIA flights of PIA, 10 were scheduled to fly to the northern areas including Sakardu, Chitral, and Gilgit.…

‘Exercise’ fuels Indo-Pak escalation fears, drives stocks down: by Baqir Sajjad Syed & Asif Chaudhry in Dawn, Sept 22, 2016

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: Despite official insistence that the activities had been planned in advance, Wednesday’s closure of airspace over the country’s northern areas and flights by Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fighter planes participating in exercises fuelled rumours that the country’s armed forces were preparing for a possible Indian attack, driving the stock market down. The exercises, coming at a time when tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours are running high following a terrorist attack on a military…

Sabre-rattling aside, India unlikely to go for military adventure By Shabbir Mir / Kamran Yousaf in The Express Tribune, September 22nd, 2016

GILGIT / ISLAMABAD: Notwithstanding sabre-rattling and chest-thumping in India following the Uri military base assault, military escalation between the two bitter rivals is not expected, at least for now, according to a strategic assessment of Pakistani security agencies. Hawkish politicians and retired military officials have been calling for a military response since four gunmen killed 18 servicemen in the brazen attack on a corps headquarters in India occupied Kashmir on Sunday. According to the strategic…

State Dept’s presser puts PM’s media team in hot water: By Our Special Correspondent in Daily Times, Sept 22, 2016

NEW YORK: The US State Department issued a contradictory statement on the meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and US Secretary of State John Kerry after the PM’s media team concealed some important matters deliberately by issuing fragmentary handout about the meeting. There is a lot of difference between the statements issued by the two sides. Earlier, a press release issued by the PM’s media team tried to give an impression that only the Kashmir…

Does China’s debt signal an impending crisis? Edit in Global Times Chinese Edition, Sept 21, 2016 .

elements in the economy will eventually cooperate under the guidance of government policies. Some Western institutions and media outlets have never ceased predicting a hard landing for the Chinese economy or even a cliff-diving crisis in the country. Most of the predictions have been proved wrong. The main reason is that they don’t understand the fundamental features of China’s economy. Sometimes, these observers don’t even really understand China’s economic data but draw a conclusion by…

China’s troubled north-east provinces face political headwinds: by Atul Aneja in The Hindu, Sept 22, 2016

BEIJING: China’s Liaoning province has been rocked by a major corruption scandal that has paralysed the provincial administration, bringing into focus the political and economic woes of north-east China. Earlier this month, 523 members of the Liaoning Provincial People’s Congress were accused of large scale bribery that was apparently critical in enabling them become local law makers. All of them have either resigned or have been disqualified. Consequently, the entire provincial administration has become virtually…

China to put more focus on retrieving illicit assets overseas in global hunt for corruption fugitives Report in South China Morning Post, Sept 21, 2016

China will step up efforts to recover stolen money taken overseas as part of its crackdown on corruption, state media said, after officials warned of the difficulty of tracking graft suspects and their illicit assets abroad. Securing ill-gotten wealth from corrupt officials who have fled the country has been part of China’s multi-agency “Sky Net” campaign launched in 2014, although the authorities have touted the return of hundreds of fugitives. China has been trying to…

Mastering the waves: East China Sea fleet at the cutting edge By Guo Yuandan in Global Times, Sept 18, 2016

The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)’s East China Sea Fleet has drawn attention in recent years over its growing number of modern destroyers. The destroyer flotilla, as part of the frontline group guarding the East China Sea, conducts regular patrol missions and provides strategic support in political and diplomatic disputes in the area. Can they adapt to new developments brought by the strategic shifts facing the Chinese navy? The Global Times reporter visited the flotilla…

New Chinese radar capable of detecting ‘invisible’ targets 100km away by Stephen Chen in South China Morning Post, Sept 21, 2016

A top Chinese military technology company shocked physicists around the world this week when it announced it had developed a new form of radar able to detect stealth planes 100km away. The breakthrough relies on a ghostly phenomenon known as quantum entanglement, which Albert Einstein dubbed “spooky action at a distance”. China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC), one of the “Top 10” military industry groups controlled directly by the central government, said on Sunday that…

Northeast China builds first nuclear power plant: By Leng Shumei in Global Times, Sept 21, 2016

China has finished constructing its first nuclear power station in Northeast China as part of an “aggressive” nuclear power development strategy amid continuing debate over the industry’s safety and security. The first phase of the Hongyanhe nuclear power station, located in Donggang township, Liaoning Province was completed on Tuesday. The station, which was initiated in 2007, is the first nuclear power station and the biggest energy investment project in Northeast China. According to the Xinhua…