Pakistan observes 70th death anniversary of Quaid-e-Azam
The role of Quaid-e-Azam for creating a separate country for the oppressed Muslim minority in Sub-continent cannot be denied at any level. A stunning fact of his life was his continuous struggle despite suffering from tuberculosis. From the 1930s, Jinnah suffered from tuberculosis; only his sister and a few others close to him were aware of his condition. Jinnah believed public knowledge of his lung ailments would hurt him politically and also benefit the enemies as it was confessed by Mountbatten, many years later, stating that if he had known Jinnah was so physically ill, he would have stalled, hoping Jinnah’s death would avert partition.
Fatima Jinnah later wrote, “even in his hour of triumph, the Quaid-e-Azam was gravely ill … He worked in a frenzy to consolidate Pakistan. And, of course, he totally neglected his health …”
The founder of the nation died at 10:20 pm in Karachi on 11 September 1948 at the age of 71, just over a year after Pakistan’s creation.
—————————————————
Pakistan Stands Ready To Further Strengthen Its Partnership With IAEA
By : Sadia Abbas
Chairman Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), Muhammad Naeem has said that Pakistan stands ready to further strengthen its partnership with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in energy and climate change.
ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 19th Sep, 2018 ) :Chairman Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), Muhammad Naeem has said that Pakistan stands ready to further strengthen its partnership with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in energy and climate change.
“We believe that in the era of climate change, nuclearpower is a promising option to generate electricity, the Chairman PAEC said while addressing the 62nd IAEA General Conference in Vienna, said in statement issued by PAEC here Wednesday.
He said we acknowledges the great contribution of the IAEA for the promotion of peaceful use of nuclear technology in Pakistan. The PAEC was encouraged by the positive remarks of DG, IAEA during his visit to Pakistan about the robust measures relating to nuclear safety and security put in place by
Pakistan, the Chairman PAEC expressed.
—————————————————
Talks to ban nuclear materials need a fresh start
By : Tariq Rauf
Ambassador Paul Meyer’s commitment to the FMCT is to be admired and such a treaty obviously would have been a positive gain for the broader structure of nuclear governance in times past. As stated by Paul Meyer, the original objectives of an FMCT were to contain further nuclear weapons proliferation and to contribute to nuclear disarmament. On the international nuclear arms control agenda since the 1950s, it was in 1993, that the United Nations General Assembly adopted a Resolution calling for the negotiation of a FMCT in the Conference on Disarmament (CD). The CD took up the matter in 1994 and by March 1995, a compromise-negotiating mandate (CD/1299) was cobbled together by Ambassador Gerald Shannon (Canada) that envisaged negotiations in the CD on a treaty with the proviso that any delegation could raise any relevant matter during the negotiations. Until now States have not been able to coalesce around a common negotiating mandate. In this context, it needs to be recalled that the Shannon mandate was cobbled together rather quickly as many Western delegations felt it important to achieve some consensus on a FMCT negotiation at the CD before the opening of the critically important 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPTREC). Hence, Western delegations that were opposed to the notion of including existing stocks in the negotiating mandate successfully manoeuvred consensus on the so-called ‘Shannon mandate’ contained in the report of Ambassador Shannon to the effect that while existing stocks of military nuclear material were not included specifically, any delegation could raise the matter during negotiations in an ad hoc committee. This in-built defect in the ‘Shannon mandate’ has blighted discussions on a FMCT for decades. The “non-proliferation” benefits of a FMCT were pulverized by the nuclear tests carried out first by India and then by Pakistan in May 1998, and remaining embers were extinguished by the nuclear test by the DPRK in 2006. Thus, an FMCT no longer had any non-proliferation benefits, as except for the five nuclear-weapon States and DPRK, India, Israel and Pakistan, all other States are bound by the NPT not to develop nuclear weapons. The remaining benefit of an FMCT since 1998 would be the contribution to nuclear disarmament, IF existing stocks of nearly 1,500 metric tons of HEU and nearly 500 metric tons of plutonium, in military uses in the nine above-mentioned States, are brought under an international system of accounting, control, verification and irreversible elimination. Even after five nuclear security summits (1996, 2010-2016), 83% of the world’s “dangerous nuclear materials” remain outside of any international accountability. While Canada is to be commended for its efforts to push for an FMCT, the two reports of 2015 and 2018 only reflect the wide differences in approach, scope, definitions and verification existing between States. Furthermore, only 25 selected States were asked to participate in the two “expert: exercises > this is regarded by many States as being unrepresentative and therefore not credible. Going outside the CD to negotiate yet another treaty, such as the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear weapons (TPNW), will add to further divisiveness rather than bringing the international community together and possibly result in a third treaty languishing in the void (in addition to the CTBT and TPNW) as a victim of deception by the nuclear-armed States and their allies. In sum, now the need for an FMCT has been overtaken by the TPNW and related efforts to reduce and eliminate nuclear weapons, and to save the NPT in 2020.
(Source: Bulletin Daily)
—————————————————
Pakistan, Russia ink $10bn offshore gas pipeline deal
ISLAMABAD (27 September,2018) : Pakistani and Russian officials on Thursday signed a historic $10-billion offshore gas pipeline agreement in Moscow. Inter State Gas Systems (ISGS), a state-owned Pakistani company, will work alongside Russia’s energy giant Gazprom, to execute the multibillion-dollar project. According to the agreement, Pakistan will import some 500 million to 1 billion cubic foot of gas from Russia daily, which would be transported via sea link. The pipeline construction is expected to be completed in three to four years. SGS Managing Director Mobin Saulat had earlier said Gazprom would conduct the feasibility study on its own expenses to assess economic viability and cost of the project. “The CPEC project has now entered the industrialisation phase and needs gas for duty and tax-free Special Economic Zones (SEZs),” he said.
“The offshore gas pipeline will meet energy needs of industries being set up in the economic zones along CPEC route.”
—————————————————
Govt. decides to abolish NSA’s office
Mateen Haider | SEPTEMBER 26, 2018
Prime Minister Imran Khan has decided in principle to abolish the office of the National Security Adviser and has announced that powers conferred upon the office will be gradually transferred back to the Foreign Ministry. Before Lt.Gen (r) Naseer Janjua was appointed as the NSA two years ago by former PM Nawaz Sharif, the National Security Division was located at the Foreign Office. The division moved to the PM’s Office during Janjua’s stint as the NSA.
Sources privy to consultations leading up to the decision say that Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi was among those who expressed concerns about conflicting natures of tasks assigned to the NSA and the Foreign Ministry.
Already after the decision, key officers working on senior positions in the National Security Division have been transferred to other departments, and the division lies completely dormant. NSD additional secretary Fazeel Asghar has been posted out to the Government of Punjab, while JS Darya Khan has been sent back to the Foreign Office. Syed Iftikhar Babar, the NSD secretary, and a few section officers have yet to be given new assignments. Speaking to Daily Times, the NSA secretary confirmed that most officers had been posted out of the division and said that he would meet the PM’s secretary soon to discuss the future of the division. ‘ Courtesy Daily Times’’
—————————————————
Six army officers promoted to Lt-General rank
RAWALPINDI ( Fri. 28 Sep. 2018) According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
The military’s media wing said that the promoted officers include Maj-Gen Shaheen Mazhar, Maj-Gen Nadeem Zaki Manj, Maj-Gen Abdul Aziz, Maj-Gen Asim Munir, Maj-Gen Mohammad Adnan and Maj-Gen Waseem Ashraf.
In June, the Promotion Board of Pakistan Army had also approved promotion of 37 brigadiers including nine from the Army Medical Corps to the rank of major general.
Fighter Sukhoi-35 for Pakistan!
So, it is, indeed, every bit ‘damage control’ trip by EAM to Moscow on Thursday. EAM cancelled previously scheduled trips to Syria and Lebanon (Sept 11-14) and is instead proceeding to Moscow (Sept 13/14) so that she can catch Russian FM Sergey Lavrov as he passes through Moscow after EEF summit in Vladivostok (Sept 11-12) — which is attended by Xi Jinping and Shinzo Abe — en route to Berlin on Sept 14. Clearly, Sept 13 is only date available for snatching a conversation with Lavrov — and EAM won’t miss it, for sure. Why such unseemly hurry? Of course, mood in Moscow is getting darker and darker regarding Sanghis’ Chanakyan foreign policies in Modi era. Konstantin Makienko, long-time India supporter among Moscow pundits, just voiced support for Russia agreeing to Pakistan’s request for 4++ generation fighter Sukhoi-35.
—————————————————
69th National Day of the People’s Republic of China
The PRC was founded on September 21, 1949. After a heroic struggle, the people of China secured a communist republic under the charismatic leadership of Mao Zedong. The People’s Republic of China was founded on 1st October 1949. Notwithstanding, a slow start and a cold reception by most of the world and having been through an era of International isolation, the peoples’ republic today stands as a military and economic giant, reshaping the world order.
Celebrate 69th anniversary of China at the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad
ISLAMABAD (28 Sep, 2018) – The Chinese ambassador Yao Jing celebrated the 69th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China by holding a reception at the beautiful and spacious lawn of the embassy which is the best embassy constructed by any country in any capital. This embassy symbolizes the friendship between the two nations and also reminds us of the struggle and courage of a great nation for building the great wall. Chairman of the Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani was the chief guest on the occasion. The opposition Leader Shahbaz Sharif, Former PM Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani,Federal Minister for Planning & Reform Khusro Bakhtiar,Special Advisor to PM Zulfi Bukhari,Additional Foreign secretary Asia Pacific Imtiaz Ahmed ,Deputy Chairman Senate Saleem Mandviwalla, Federal Minister for Information & Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry,Former Information Minister Mariam Aurangzeb, Former DG ISI Gen. Ahsan-Ul-Haq attended the event alongside other senior officials, a number of diplomats and members of the business community. National anthems of both the countries were sung by students of Pak-China Government Primary School Gwadar which was a unique effort to bring students from Gwadar as a part of Pakistan China Friendship event.
—————————————————