Nation celebrates 73rd Independence Day as Kashmir Solidarity Day
(August 14, 2019) The 73rd Independence Day celebrated as Kashmir Solidarity Day and to express solidarity with people of occupied Kashmir and entire nation in unified voice will reiterate moral, political and diplomatic support to Kashmiri brethren.
The day dawned with 31 gun-salute in federal and 21-gun salute in the provincial capitals. Special prayers for safety and sovereignty of the country were offered. National and Kashmiri flags are hoisting on government and private buildings.
The Chiefs of Armed Forces, members of the Federal Cabinet, Parliamentarians, Foreign Diplomats and a large number of people also attended the event.
Flag hoisting ceremonies were also held in the provincial capitals. A change of guard ceremony was held at Quaid-i-Azam’s mausoleum in Karachi. Pakistan Naval Academy cadets assumed ceremonial guard duty at the mausoleum to mark the Independence Day celebrations. A floral wreath was laid by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah along with the naval staff chief as well as officers and personnel of the Pakistan Navy. Later, they offered Fateha and CM Shah wrote some remarks in the visitors’ book.
Special programs being aired to highlight the significance of independence and struggle of our forefathers for creating a separate homeland for Muslims in subcontinent.
On the occasion, President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan have expressed solidarity with the Kashmiris and said that the whole nation is supporting the Kashmiri people and reiterated the stance to extend political, diplomatic and moral support to them at all forums.
The government of Pakistan revealed a special logo for the Independence Day which reflects its theme of ‘Kashmir Banega Pakistan’ and to express solidarity with the people of Occupied Kashmir after BJP-led Indian government stripped the valley of its special status of the valley with the revocation of Article 370.
Protest rallies taken out in all small and major cities of the country and seminars are being organized to highlight the plight of oppressed people in occupied Kashmir.
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Pakistan Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa discusses situation in Kashmir with top Chinese general
Islamabad (Aug. 26, 2019 ) Pakistan Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa appreciated its all-weather ally China’s understanding and support on all important issues particularly Kashmir. Pakistan and China have signed an MoU for the enhancement of defence cooperation and capacity building of the Pakistani Army, as the top generals of the two armies discussed the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
China’s Central Military Commission Vice-Chairman Xu Qiliang visited the Pakistan Army’s General Headquarters in Rawalpindi with a high-level delegation and held a one-on-one meeting with Pakistan’s Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa. During the meeting, matters of mutual interest, regional security, avenues to enhance bilateral defence collaboration, and particularly the situation in Kashmir were discussed, the Inter-Services Public Relations, the media wing of Pakistan’s military said. Bajwa appreciated its all-weather ally China’s understanding and support on all important issues particularly Kashmir. The visiting general said China “greatly values its time tested relations with Pakistan and its Army and is looking forward to further solidify this relation”, according to the ISPR statement.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by the two sides for enhancement of defence cooperation and capacity building of the Pakistan Army. Later, General Xu called on Prime Minister Imran Khan who underlined the unique quality of the time-tested, Pakistan-China All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership, describing it as an anchor for peace and stability in the region and beyond.
Pakistan test fires surface-to-surface ballistic missile named Ghaznavi
(August 29, 2019 ) Pakistan’s military successfully carried out a training launch of a surface-to-surface ballistic missile on Thursday, at a time of heightened tension with neighbouring India over the disputed region of Kashmir, a spokesman said. The missile can deliver a warhead a distance of up to 290 km (180 miles).
Pakistan successfully carried out night training launch of surface to surface ballistic missile Ghaznavi, capable of delivering multiple types of warheads upto 290 KMs. CJCSC & Services Chiefs congrat team. President & PM conveyed appreciation to team & congrats to the nation. DG ISPR
The exercise came as hostility between Pakistan and India has increased following India’s revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, the cause of two of their three wars.
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Indian army used cluster ammunition along LoC in violation of international laws
The Indian army earlier this week used cluster ammunition to target the civilian population in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) across the Line of Control (LoC) in violation of the Geneva Convention and international law, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
According to the statement, the Indian military on the night of July 30/July 31 targeted innocent citizens including women and children in Neelum Valley through artillery using cluster ammunition. The attack left two civilians, including a 4-year-old boy, dead and 11 others were critically injured. “This is [a] violation of Geneva Convention and international humanitarian law,” the military’s media wing said, adding that the use of cluster ammunition is prohibited under the Convention on Cluster Ammunition because of its severe impact on non-combatants. Dropped from planes or fired from artillery, cluster bombs explode in mid-air, scattering bomblets, with many civilians getting killed or maimed by their indiscriminate, wide-area effect. They also pose a lasting threat as many bomblets fail to explode on impact.
According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, “Cluster munitions kill and injure large numbers of civilians and cause long-lasting socio-economic problems. The 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions prohibits the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions and requires States to ensure that they claim no further victims.”
“This blatant Indian aggression against all international norms exposes true character of Indian Army and their moral standing,” the ISPR statement said.
It added that it was time for the international community to take notice of “this Indian blatant violation of international laws” on use of cluster ammunition for the purpose of targeting innocent citizens. The military’s media wing also shared images of civilians who sustained gruesome injuries from the Indian troops’ use of cluster munitions.
The ISPR director general, Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, condemned the Indian army’s use of cluster bombs in violation of international conventions.
“No weapon can suppress [the] determination of Kashmiris to get their right of self-determination,” he said in a tweet.
“Kashmir runs in [the] blood of every Pakistani. Indigenous freedom struggle of Kashmiris shall succeed, IA.”
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India martyrs 4 Pakistani soldiers as rallies mark black day
Islamabad (15 Aug. 2019) At least three Pakistani soldiers were martyred in unprovoked Indian firing along the Line of Control (LoC) on Thursday, as Pakistanis marked Aug 15 the independence day of India as a black day across the country. The martyred soldiers were Lance Naik Taimoor, Naik Tanveer, and Sepoy Ramazan.
On 16 Aug. 2019, a soldier of the Pakistan Army Sepoy Muhammad Sheraz was martyred in firing by Indian forces from across the Line of Control (LoC), Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor , a day after three soldiers were martyred in shelling from across the LoC.
In a post shared on Twitter early today, Ghafoor said Sepoy Muhammad Sheraz was martyred due to Indian firing in the Battal sector along the LoC. The incident comes a day after three Army soldiers and two civilians were martyred in two sectors of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) as Indian troops resorted to heavy shelling from across the restive LoC. A civilian was also injured.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistan Army retaliated, killing five Indian soldiers, wounding several, and destroying several of their bunkers along the LoC.
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Kashmir Conflict
Islamabad Policy Institute
Press Release
Former Pakistani diplomats and experts have stated that without Kashmir policy there is no Pakistan policy. They were speaking at a roundtable discussion on the ‘Abrogation of Article 370: Implications and Policy Options for Pakistan’ on Wednesday, August 7, 2019, organized by the Islamabad Policy Institute (IPI).
Pakistan’s two former High Commissioners to India Ambassador Ashraf Jahangir Qazi and Ambassador Abdul Basit, Former Director General Arms Control and Disarmament Branch of Strategic Plans Division Khalid Banuri, Assistant Professor Quaid-e-Azam University Dr. Raja Qaiser Ahmed and Altaf Hussain Wani, Chairman Kashmir Institute of International Relations spoke on the occasion.
In his opening address Prof Sajjad Bokhari, Executive Director IPI stated that the Indian action would destabilize the region and add to the miseries of Kashmiris living in Occupied Valley. It could also lead to New Delhi gradually changing the demographic character of Jammu and Kashmir and the fundamental nature of the international issue.
Dr Raja Qaiser said that abrogation of Article 370 is a violation of the Indian constitution and it is unlikely to survive a legal challenge in the Indian Supreme Court. It is also a violation of the 1972 Simla Accord between Pakistan and India and UN Security Council resolutions.
Altaf Hussain Wani shared the sentiments and concerns of the Kashmiri people on this development and said that Kashmiri people will continue their freedom struggle against the Indian occupation but expect Pakistan to increase its support for the cause.
Khalid Banuri advised that International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion should be sought through United Nations General Assembly. He, however, cautioned that Pakistan at the same time needed to be ready if a conflict is thrust upon us.
Ambassador Ashraf Jahangir Qazi warned against having unrealistic expectations of support from China and US. He cautioned that Washington is likely to side with India on this issue. ‘The future of Kashmir now depends upon the resistance by Kashmiris.’ The Indians can resort to any means to control Kashmir while U.S. economic pressure through FATF would constrain Pakistan’s options against India.
Ambassador Abdul Basit said that as Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India he had forewarned in 2014 about the likely abrogation of Article 370 by the BJP government. He stressed the need to evolve a political consensus on Kashmir policy and suggested downgrading of Pak-India bilateral relations to the Charge de Affairs level.
Policy Analyst Syed Muhammad Ali said that Pakistan’s future Kashmir policy must be shaped in accordance with a comprehensive approach that simultaneously addresses the concerns of the Kashmiris and Pakistan’s security interests, besides commanding credibility in New Delhi and enjoying acceptability in the international community.
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Pakistani military plane crashes in residential area, martyred 17
Rawalpindi (30 Jul, 2019) The military plane crashed into a residential area near Rabi Plaza in the early hours of Tuesday morning killing the two pilots and three crew members on board and sparking a conflagration that soon engulfed five houses, according to local media. At least 17 people have been reported killed and 18 more wounded.
The aircraft was on a training flight when it crashed and set off a fire across several homes. One witness said the plane was ablaze before the crash.
The King Air 350 turboprop reportedly took a steep turn near its destination airport before coming down.
Witnesses at the scene said the aircraft crashed into a family home in a residential area around 02:00 local time (07:00 GMT).
“I was awake when the plane flew over my room and it was already on fire in the air,” said resident Ghulam Khan. “The sound was so scary, it was only a small plane. It then fell on a house where a family used to live.”
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Brother of ‘Afghan Taliban leader’ killed in Kuchlak mosque blast
by Sami Yousafzai & Shereena Qazi | Quetta: 16 Aug. 2019)
The brother of Afghan Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhunzada has been killed in a powerful bomb blast at a mosque in southwestern Pakistan, Taliban sources have confirmed. A senior Taliban source said that Hafiz Ahmadullah was the imam of the Khair Ul Madarais mosque in the town of Kuchlak, on the outskirts of Quetta, that came under attack during Friday prayers. At least four people were killed in the bomb explosion, according to police.
A council of Taliban leaders called the Quetta Shura took refuge in Quetta, the capital of Balochista province near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, after the group was overthrown by United States-led forces in 2001, five years after seizing power. “This mosque was a place where most of the Taliban members used to meet and discuss issues,” another Taliban source told Al Jazeera. “The duties of the mosque were handed over to Ahmadullah by Haibatullah after he was appointed as the emir of the Taliban group [in 2016].”
Haibatullah, in his late 50s and originally from Kandahar province, fought against the Russians during the 1980s and then joined the Taliban movement in 1994 under the leadership of late Taliban leader Mullah Omar, who established strict Islamic law in Afghanistan.
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BNP’s Amanullah Zehri among four killed in Khuzdar attack
QUETTA: (August 18, 2019) Balochistan National Party (BNP) leader Nawabzada Mir Amanullah Khan Zehri among four people were gunned down by unknown armed assailants near Crash Plant area of Khuzdar district here on Saturday. According to Deputy Commissioner Khuzdar Major ® Muhammad Ilyas Kabzai, the victim Nawabzada Mir Amanullah Khan Zehri along with his 15-year-old grandson Mardan Niaz Khan Zarakzai was on way home to Noorgama Zehri area from Bulbul area in vehicles when his convoy was passing Crash Plant areas as some armed assailants opened indiscriminately fire at the convoy and managed to escape from the scene. As a result, Nawabzada Mir Amanullah Khan Zehri, his grandson and his two security guards namely Sikandar Khan resident of Manjushori area of Nasirabad district and Nisar Ahmed resident of Zehri died on the spot after receiving multiple bullets injuries.
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In another setback, US cuts $440 million financial aid to Pak
(Aug 17, 2019) In another jolt to Pakistan, the United States slashed the aid to the cash-strapped nation by nearly USD 440 million, bringing down its commitment to just $4.1 billion. The aid was disbursed under Pakistan Enhanced Partnership Agreement (PEPA) 2010, reported Express Tribune. The US apprised Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan about its decision to cut aid three weeks before his planned visit to Washington.
Notably, the PEPA was signed in September 2010 to make operational the Kerry Lugar Berman (KLB) Act that was passed by the US Congress in October 2009 to disburse $7.5 billion to Pakistan over a period of 5 years. Earlier the aid under the KLB stood at nearly USD 4.5 billion. Following the cut, the aid will come down to USD 4.1 billion. Last year in September, the United States’ military cancelled the financial aid worth USD 300 million to Pakistan due to the growing concerns regarding Islamabad’s failure to tackle terrorism. In January that year, Pentagon had cut USD 1 billion worth financial aid to Pakistan, with Defense Secretary James Mattis and other officials citing Islamabad’s failure to crack down on the Haqqani terror outfit as the reason behind it, Fox News reported.
Pakistan’s Fiscal Deficit Rises to Highest Level in 28 Years
By Faseeh Mangi (August 27, 2019) Pakistan’s budget deficit rose to the highest in almost three decades, ahead of the International Monetary Fund’s first quarterly review of a bailout program that sought to curtail a fiscal blowout.
The deficit increased to 8.9% of the nation’s gross domestic product in the year ended June compared with 6.6% a year earlier, according to provisional numbers released by the Finance Ministry. That’s a big miss for the government, which targeted a narrower 5.6% gap. The South Asian nation must also increase government revenue by more than 40% in the fiscal year that began in July, as part of the conditions for a $6 billion loan. Pakistan’s loan from the IMF could be in jeopardy if the trend of the government missing revenue target continues.
“It seems an uphill task,” said Samiullah Tariq, director research at Arif Habib Ltd., in Karachi. “If they’re unable to meet the target for the quarter, then a mini budget to raise taxes is possible in order to clear the next IMF quarterly review.”
The total revenue declined by 20% in the latest quarter due to a 98% decline in non-tax revenue, according to Tariq.
(Source:Bloomberg)