by Mohammad Ali Babakhel in Dawn, February 20th, 2023The writer is author of Pakistan: In Between Extremism and Peace.PAKISTAN has long faced extremism, insurgency and terrorism. After 9/11, a number of legal, administrative and policy interventions were made, but despite the expanded counterterrorism (CT) apparatus, the goals have yet to be met. In practice, terrorism has interprovincial, interstate and international linkages, and so cannot be prevented or countered by provinces alone. During the last two…
Posts tagged as “international”
report in The Island, Feb 11, 2023The International Monetary Fund said its approval of the $2.9 billion loan bailout of the crisis-riddled Sri Lanka will depend on the country securing assurances on debt relief from its bilateral creditors, Bloomberg reported yesterday Bloomberg quoted an IMF spokesperson who said “Sri Lanka continues to engage with official bilateral creditors to obtain financing assurances and also continues to advance domestic reforms. As soon as adequate assurances are obtained…
Report in The Kathmandu Post, Feb 8, 2023On her first day of Nepal visit, US Agency for International Development Administrator (USAID) Samantha Power announced that the agency would provide up to $58.5 million to advance democratic progress in Nepal, subject to the availability of funds. According to the US Embassy in Kathmandu, $40.2 million of this announcement is part of the $659 million development objective agreement announced in 2022. Power arrived in Kathmandu on Tuesday…
report in The Mirning, Feb 5, 2023The Sri Lankan Government has informed the Chinese Government of the expectations of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from Sri Lanka’s key bilateral creditors in order to proceed with Sri Lanka’s planned Extended Fund Facility (EFF) with the fund, The Sunday Morning learns. A highly-placed Government source told The Sunday Morning that the Government had last week conveyed to the Chinese envoy in Sri Lanka of the IMF’s expectation…
by Purushottam Poudel in The Kathmandu Post, Feb 5, 2023The CPN (Unified Socialist) party in its political document has criticised the country’s communist forces while also being critical of the international democratic forces. The document sympathises with the northern neighbour, China, and its flagship project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The document, which was presented to the party’s central committee on Saturday, criticised forums that are supported by democratic countries. A section of UML…
by Mohammad Farshad Daryosh in TOLOnews, Feb 4,2023 at 9:50 PMJohn Kirby, the US National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, said that the Islamic Emirate will continue to isolate itself from the international community by reneging on their promises. In an interview with the VOA, Kirby emphasized that if the Islamic Emirate wants to be recognized by the international community and wants financial aid and investment, it must fulfil its commitments. “So, if the…
report in Daily FT, Jan 27, 2023International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Director Dr. Krishnamurthy Subramanian yesterday said the political will displayed by the Sri Lankan leadership to speed up reforms and implement difficult tax increases in order to revive the economy is highly appreciable. Dr. Subramanian, who called on Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena yesterday said almost all the requirements for the IMF relief package for Sri Lanka have been completed and the moment the final…
By Damih Wickramasekara in The Sunday TimesChina Harbour Engineering Corporation (CHEC) has expressed interest in completing work on the new passenger terminal at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) after the Japanese pulled out of funding it. The US$ 1bn (Rs 366bn) project, known as the BIA Development Project Phase II Stage 2 (BIADP PII S2), has been suspended since July 2021 after the Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA) decided not to make further disbursement of…
by Agha Iqrar Haroon in Pakistan Today, Jan 23, 2023(The writer is an international award winning journalist who has been in the field since 1988 and appears in national and international media as analyst and political scientist)On January 19, in response to the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) directive to provide details with regards to Toshakhana gifts, the PML(N)-led Federal Government excused itself from complying with the orders, arguing that it may lead to damaging Pakistan’s…
As Sri Lanka continues to face delays in securing the much sought-after bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the government admitted this week that the situation is becoming increasingly difficult for the people of the country. State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe told an international forum on Thursday that while all is on track to firm up the relief package, the current economic crisis is impacting individuals and businesses in the island nation. “.……
report in Daily FT online, Jan 14, 2023A high-level delegation of the Communist Party of China (CPC) led by its International Department Vice Minister Chen Zhou will visit Sri Lanka from 14 to 18 January. This will be the first official visit of the Chinese party to Sri Lanka in the New Year of 2023, after the 20th CPC National Congress. The delegation is scheduled to meet leaders of the Government and political parties and…