Category: World

  • Bugti tribesmen will fight against India in Kashmir, says Shahzain Bugti

    Shahzain accused Indian forces of being involved in atrocities against the defenceless and voiceless Kashmiris, and added that the “sacrifices of the Kashmiris will not go unnoticed”

    Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) Balochistan president Nawabzada Shahzain Bugti on Sunday said Bugti tribesmen were fully prepared to fight against India in the hills of Kashmir valley.
    “Bugti tribesmen would fight against Indian troops ahead of Pakistan Army,” said the grandson of Nawab Akbar Bugti.
    Shahzain accused Indian forces of being involved in atrocities against the defenceless and voiceless Kashmiris, and added that the “sacrifices of the Kashmiris will not go unnoticed”.
    The JWP chief made the statement during a press conference at Bugti House.
    Answering a question related to his cousin, Brahamdagh Bugti, Shahzain said it was Brahamdagh’s personal decision to apply for asylum in India.

    Shahzain also lamented that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has not made efforts to rehabilitate Bugti tribesmen as promised.
    Bugti tribesmen have staged protest demonstrations in various areas of Balochistan against Indian aggression and interference in Balochistan. Courtesy; Dawn

     

  • Uri attack could be reaction to Kashmir atrocities: Nawaz Sharif

    Sharif said that India hastily blamed Pakistan without any investigation. He said India behaved in an “irresponsible way” when it blamed Pakistan “without any evidence.”

    Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has claimed that the Uri attack could be the result of a “reaction” of the people to the situation in Kashmir as he criticised India for blaming Pakistan “without any evidence”.

    “The Uri attack can be the reaction of the atrocities in Kashmir, as the close relatives and near and dear ones of those killed and blinded over the last two months were hurt and outraged,” Sharif told reporters in London where he had stopped on his way back from New York after attending the UN General Assembly session.

    Sharif said that India hastily blamed Pakistan without any investigation. He said India behaved in an “irresponsible way” when it blamed Pakistan “without any evidence.”

    “How could India accuse Pakistan only hours after the Uri incident without holding any inquiry or investigation,” Sharif was quoted as saying by Pakistani media reports.

    “The whole world knows about the Indian atrocities” in Kashmir where around “108 people have so far been killed, over 150 blinded and thousands injured,” he alleged.

    Stressing on alleged “brutalities being perpetrated against innocent Kashmiris”, the Pakistani Prime Minister said that before accusing Pakistan, India should have looked at its “atrocious role” in Kashmir.

    He called on India to also conduct a probe into the “killings” of Kashmiris.

    Sharif said the achievement of lasting peace in the region was impossible without the resolution of Jammu and Kashmir dispute.

    18 soldiers were killed when militants attacked a highly-guarded army camp in Uri in Kashmir on Sunday morning. The incident triggered a diplomatic dust-up with both India and Pakistan hitting out at each other including at the UN General Assembly. (PTI)

  • China assures Pak of support in case of ‘aggression’

    Press Trust of India

    China has assured Pakistan of its support in the event of any foreign “aggression” and also supported the country’s stance on the Kashmir issue, a media report said. Beijing conveyed the message during a meeting of its top diplomat in the provincial capital with Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the Dawn reported.

    “In case of any (foreign) aggression our country will extend its full support to Pakistan,” Consul General of China in Lahore, Yu Boren, said in a press release by the Punjab Chief Minister’s Office.

    “We are and will be siding with Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. There is no justification for atrocities on unarmed Kashmiris in (India)-held Kashmir and the Kashmir dispute should be solved in accordance with aspirations of the Kashmiris,” the report quoted Yu as saying.

    Diplomatic tensions between India and Pakistan have been rising after the September 18 attack on an army base in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 18 Indian soldiers.

    Yu, who called on Shahbaz Sharif yesterday to felicitate him on his 65th birthday, discussed with him the situation developing in Kashmir and the progress being made on various projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

    A portion of the USD 46 billion CPEC passes through a part of the disputed region because of which India has raised objections over the project.

  • Resolve differences through diplomacy: US to India, Pakistan

    “I”ve seen some of the public reports about this incident. You know, obviously, the United States strongly condemns acts of terrorism around the world,” he said.

    The US today asked India and Pakistan to resolve their differences through diplomacy and not through violence. “We have long urged India and Pakistan to find ways to resolve their differences, not through violence, but through diplomacy,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at his daily news conference.

    He was responding to a question on the death of 18 Indian soldiers at an army camp in Uri.

    “I’ve seen some of the public reports about this incident. You know, obviously, the United States strongly condemns acts of terrorism around the world,” he said.

    Earnest said over the years, India and Pakistan made some important progress in that pursuit of resolving differences through diplomacy.

    “And you know, we’re hopeful that they’ll be able to continue to make the kind of progress that will bring greater stability to what is a rather volatile region of the world,” he said.

  • Sharif hopes all members will attend SAARC summit in Pak

    The 19th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit is scheduled to be held in Islamabad from November 9 to 10.

    Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today said he hopes all SAARC members would attend the regional summit, amid reports that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may not attend it after the terror attack in Uri.

    Pakistan was making preparations for the SAARC summit, Sharif, who arrived here after attending the UN General Assembly in the US, said as he hoped that all member states would attend the meet, the News International reported.

    The 19th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit is scheduled to be held in Islamabad from November 9 to 10.

    Diplomatic tensions between India and Pakistan have been rising since the September 18 attack on an army base in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 18 Indian soldiers. Pakistan has rejected allegations of its involvement in the assault.

    Recent media reports said that India may boycott the SAARC summit after the Uri terror attack which led to tensions between the two neighbouring countries. There is, however, no official confirmation over India’s decision. (PTI)

  • Israel offers to assist India in fencing Pakistan border

    Carmon said Union home minister Rajnath Singh, during his last visit to Israel, was shown the country’s preparedness level at the borders.
    Israel on Friday offered to India its expertise for strengthening border fencing, stressing that the two countries share “similar challenges” on many fronts, including cross-border terrorism.
    The comments made by Israeli ambassador to India Daniel Carmon assume significance in the wake of last Sunday’s attack in Uri.
    The top Israeli diplomat said his country is following the development with concern and affirmed that cooperation on terrorism shall be a permanent feature of bilateral ties.
    Carmon said Union home minister Rajnath Singh, during his last visit to Israel, was shown the country’s preparedness level at the borders.
    “Our message is, yes, Israel has the expertise, because it has been under threat. We do share similar challenges. We have the solutions. We can work together on the solution. “We have shown in other areas that we can cooperate and this might and should be the case here as well,” Carmon said during a media briefing on the upcoming HLS and Cyber Conference in Tel Aviv.
    Asked about the Uri attacks, which claimed the lives of 18 soldiers, Carmon said Israel’s cooperation with India on a daily basis on anti-terrorism, defence and homeland security “is there, was there and will continue to be there”. “There is a need to confront terrorism. There is a tactical way to do this. There is an international, diplomatic way to do this and I am sure and confident that India knows exactly what it needs to do,” he said.
    Carmon said that Israel was willing to share conceptual and technological knowledge on how it was countering cyber threats, which he said can emanate from anywhere and not any particular country.
    The conference will be held between 14-17 November where a number of Indian companies are expected to participate.
    Press Trust of India

     

  • Pak warns India against giving asylum to Bugti

    “India granting asylum to Bugti will amount to harbouring a terrorist by a State…Thus (India) becoming official sponsor of terrorism,” Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif tweeted.

    Pakistan today warned India that by granting asylum to Baloch leader Brahamdagh Bugti, it will become an “official sponsor of terrorism.”
    “India granting asylum to Bugti will amount to harbouring a terrorist by a State…Thus (India) becoming official sponsor of terrorism,” Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif tweeted.

    Asif’s remarks came after it emerged that Bugti’s application seeking political asylum in India was yesterday received by the Home Ministry which is examining it.
    Bugti, who has been living in Switzerland, on Tuesday approached the Indian Embassy in Geneva seeking asylum in India and exuded confidence of a positive response from New Delhi.
    Bugti is the President and founder of Baloch Republican Party. The decision of seeking asylum was taken at a meeting of the Baloch Republican Party on Sunday in Geneva.

    He is the grandson of Nawab Akbar Bugti, a Baloch nationalist leader killed by the Pakistani army in 2006.
    Pakistan government had blamed India for helping Bugti flee Pakistan to Geneva in 2010 via Afghanistan.

    Press Trust of India

  • Russian troops arrive in Pak for first-ever joint drills

    “A contingent of Russian ground forces arrived in Pakistan for first ever Pak-Russian joint exercise from September 24 to October 10,” army spokesman Lt-Gen Asim Bajwa tweeted along with some photographs of the Russian and Pakistan troops.

    A mechanised infantry unit of the Russian military Friday arrived in Pakistan to participate in the first-ever joint military drills dubbed ‘Friendship-2016’ starting from Saturday, reflecting growing military ties between the two former Cold War rivals.

    “A contingent of Russian ground forces arrived in Pakistan for first ever Pak-Russian joint exercise from September 24 to October 10,” army spokesman Lt-Gen Asim Bajwa tweeted along with some photographs of the Russian and Pakistan troops.

    A statement by Russia’s Southern Military Command said the drills will involve over 70 servicemen of the Southern Military Command, including the Mountain Mobile Brigade’s personnel deployed to the Karachay-Cherkessia Republic (North Caucasus), and also officers from the headquarters’ staff.

    “The joint military drills are aimed at bolstering and building up military cooperation between the two countries,” it said ahead of the opening ceremony Saturday which is scheduled to take place at Pakistan Army’s High Altitude School in Rattu, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

    About 200 troops from the two countries will take part in the two-week long military drills which have been termed as a sign of growing military ties between the former rivals of Cold War era.

    The joint drill is seen as another step in growing military-to-military cooperation, indicating a steady growth in bilateral relationship between the two countries, whose ties had been marred by Cold War rivalry for decades.

    Press Trust of India

  • Mushaal urges UN, world to pressurize India for provision of RSD to Kashmiris

    ISLAMABAD (NNI): Chairperson Peace & Culture Organization Mushaal Hussein Mullick has strongly condemned the bigot statement about Kashmir Conflict made by the Indian diplomat Mianicjoshi at United Nations, declaring it another bamboozle act from India.
    In a press release Mushaal Hussein Mullick pointed out that when United Nations has declared Kashmir as a disputed territory, the behavior of the Indian diplomat was completely undemocratic, undiplomatic, unethical, unlawful and irresponsible. Mushaal said that India has left no stone unturned through nefarious designs to suppress the Kashmiris’ legitimate right to self-determination but has failed to break the will of the Kashmiri people. The presence of such a large number of Indian troops certainly incites unnecessary incidents of violence which further aggravates the populace, serves as an explanation for warlike situations, violation of ceasefire line, draconian laws, disappeared persons, half widows, half mothers, rape victims, economic blockades, lockdowns and curfews that last for weeks and weeks. She expressed utter disappointment and shock over the contradictory behavior of the Indian Diplomat at the UN Assembly where a war of words was exchanged with his Pakistani counterpart Diyar Khan over Kashmir Conflict.
    “India has been putting a blanket ban on religious processions during the month of Muharram since 1989,the argument put forward by the world’s largest democracy which claims, has the capacity to accommodate cultural, religious, linguistic, ethnic and other diversities is security risk in the name of Religion. Quiet clearly it is an absolute brazen violation of international law, freedom of religious practices and right to worship.” Mushaal Hussein Mullick stressed that if India has respect for Democracy, why is it not allowing Kashmiri people to cast their votes to decide their future according to the Security Council resolutions of United Nations.
    The Kashmir dispute is one of the oldest issues on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council. The United Nations has passed resolutions that have given the people of Jammu & Kashmir the right to decide their future. She added that If Kashmir is not a Dispute, why has India deployed 700,000 troops in Indian Occupied Kashmir, why the troops from the two sides are sitting eye-ball to eye-ball on Line of Control (LoC).

  • KEY KEEPER OF HOLY KAABA DIES

    Jeddah: Sheikh Abdul Qadir Taha Al- Sheibi, who held the traditional key to the Kaaba, died in Makkah on Thursday. He was 74. The Al- Sheibi family has been holding the position of key- keeper since pre- Islamic times. The family of the present custodians is linked to Sheiba bin Othman Abi Talha who lived during the time of Prophet Muhammad ( SAW).