Month: April 2022

ISLAMABAD: Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa Saturday reiterated that Pakistan wants to strengthen its ties with the US; however, not at the risk of its bilateral relations with other countries.

Addressing the Islamabad Security Dialogue, the army chief said that Pakistan does not believe in camp politics and its bilateral relationships with the partners are not at the expense of relationships with other countries.

He further said that Islamabad enjoys a close relationship with Beijing demonstrated by the country’s commitment to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Meanwhile, he added that Pakistan equally shares a “long history of excellent and strategic relationship” with the United States, which remains our largest export market.

“We seek to broaden and expand our ties with both countries without impacting our relations with the other,” he said.

It is worth mentioning that the two-day dialogue brought together Pakistani and international policy experts to discuss emerging challenges in international security under the theme “Comprehensive Security: Reimagining International Cooperation”.

The Islamabad Security Dialogue is hosting 17 international speakers from the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Russia, European Union, Japan, the Philippines and others.

Acknowledging the efforts of the National Security Division for organising the second security dialogue, COAS Gen Bajwa said: “I believe today more than ever we need to inculcate and promote such spaces for intellectual debate and discourse where people from around the world come together to share their ideas about the future of their country and world at large.”

He was of the view that the spaces like this hold special importance where great individuals can identify the need for global cooperation rather than confrontation.

Regarding the unprecedented challenges faced around the world, he said that the resurgence of inter-state conflicts amid shared global challenges of poverty, climate change, terrorism, cyber intrusion and scarcity of resources poses profound questions for the international system.

“The international community’s collective security rests in our ability to integrate our shared goals of global prosperity to an equitable international system resisting the external pressures.

“Pakistan, as a country located at the crossroads of economic and strategic confronts, is navigating these shared challenges in our immediate region and through our partnership in the international community,” he said.

National Security Policy

The chief of army staff further added that Pakistan’s first-ever National Security Policy places the safety, security, dignity and prosperity of its citizens at the heart of our security policy.

“It [National Security Policy] recognises the symbiotic relationship between the economic, human and traditional security, placing economic security at the core,” he said.

Gen Bajwa further went on to say that the policy’s ultimate aim is to achieve prosperity for Pakistan’s citizens and it focuses on ensuring domestic economic stability and growth augmented through development partnership with the international community under our geo-economic strategy.

COAS mentioned that in order to achieve this required peace at home and abroad, Pakistan’s security forces given innumerable sacrifices to defeat terrorism. He highlighted that since 2001 Pakistan has suffered over 90,000 causalities and more than Rs150 billion in economic losses.

“Our commitment to defeat terrorism remains unwavering,” he reiterated, adding that with the help of security and law enforcement agencies, the country has made remarkable gains against terrorism which has resulted in a remarkable improvement in the internal security situation of the country.

COAS Gen Bajwa, however, added that the threat of terrorism and violent extremism remains and the struggle will continue till “we eliminate the last terrorist and cause of terrorism from our region.”

He said: “We are committed to preserving our gains against terrorism and are working with the interim Afghan government and other neighbours to ensure that terrorist organisations are no longer allowed to use the territory of one county against another.”

“A peaceful and prosperous west and South Asia is our goal,” he said, adding that Pakistan’s National Security Policy focuses on the promotion of national security cohesion and harmony through the precepts of unity and diversity.

“Our focus remains on the elimination of intolerance and extremism by celebrating the diversity of our country. I fully realise that it is a huge challenge but we are committed and we will not relent till we make Pakistan a moderate and forward-looking country as envisioned by our founding father Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah,” he said.

Recognising the fact that it is the regions and not countries that grow, the COAS said: “We believe that peace and stability in our wider region are pre-requisites for achieving shared regional prosperity and development.”

“In this regard, our doors are open for all our neighbours,” he said.

Crisis in Afghanistan

“Decades-long conflict in our immediate west has created negative externalities and spill-over effects that have adversely impacted our economy, society and security,” he said, adding that this is why Pakistan wants to work closely with the international community to pursue peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Shedding light on the challenges, COAS Gen Bajwa said: “Unfortunately, lack of financial flows and continued sanctions are creating a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.”

He mentioned that Pakistan has worked tirelessly to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Afghanistan in collaboration with the international community “but much more is needed.”

“It is our collective responsibility towards the people of Afghanistan to ensure timely and adequate flow of humanitarian aid into the country; however, the world, especially the west is preoccupied with the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Ukraine,” he stated, reiterating that we must not forget the 40 million Afghans during these times.

“Inability to address the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan will not only lead to the refugee crisis but will again make Afghanistan an epicentre of terrorism where Daesh — which is a global agenda — flourishes which may result in more than one 9/11,” he said.

“Good or bad, it is important for the international community to keep the Afghan government’s nose above the water.”

Mentioning the performance of the interim Afghan government, he said: “The performance of the present Afghan government is not satisfactory, to say the least, but we have to be patient and accommodative.”

“Instead of imposing sanctions, which have never worked, we must incentivise Afghans for their positive work and behavioural change,” he said, reiterating that disengagement with Afghanistan is “not an option.”

“We urge the international community to share their concerns directly with the Afghan interim government and continue their engagement to ensure uninterrupted flow of humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan,” he emphasised.

He highlighted that Pakistan already hosts over four million registered and unregistered Afghan refugees.

Peace in South Asia

Terming the situation on the Eastern border and the Line of Control (LOC) as “satisfactory and fairly peaceful”, he said that mercifully, no incident has taken place along the LoC in the last year which has brought relief to the people living on both sides.

He, however, mentioned that the incident of the launching of a missile in Pakistan from India on March 9, 2022, is a matter of “serious concern” for Islamabad.

Unlike other incidents involving strategic weapons, this is the first time in history that a supersonic cruise missile from one nuclear-armed nation has landed in another; “this raises serious concerns about India’s ability to manage and operate high-end weapon systems.”

“India’s indifferent attitude in not informing Pakistan immediately about an irrelevant launch of a missile is equally concerning,” he said, hoping that the international community will realise that this incident could have resulted in the loss of lives in Pakistan or an accidental shooting down of a passenger plane that was flying along the path of the cruise missile.

He reiterated that Pakistan has called for a thorough probe into the incident and “we expect India to provide evidence to ensure Pakistan and the world that their weapons are safe and secure.”

“On our part, like early 2019, when Pakistan demonstrated its role as a responsible member of the international community by returning the captured pilot of an intruding fighter aircraft we have once again demonstrated maturity and responsibility in our response,” he said.

Reiterating the country’s stance, he said: “Pakistan continues to believe in using dialogue and diplomacy to resolve all outstanding issues including the Kashmir dispute and is ready to move forward in this front if India agrees to do so with one-third of the world in the Gulf region involved in some sort of conflict and war it is important that we keep the flames of fire away from our region.”

In this regard, he added that apart from the Kashmir dispute, the Indo-China border dispute is also a matter of great concern for Pakistan and “we want it to be settled quickly through dialogue and diplomacy.”

“I believe it is time for the political leadership of the region to rise above their emotional and perceptional biases and break the shackles of history to bring peace and prosperity to almost three billion people of the region,” he said, highlighting the adamant behaviour of the Indian leaders.

‘Pakistan doesn’t believe in camp politics’

“Pakistan does not believe in camp politics and our bilateral relationships with our partners are not at the expense of our relationship with other countries,” he said.

Regarding the Pakistan-China relationship, he said that Islamabad enjoys a close relationship with Beijing demonstrated by the country’s commitment to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Meanwhile, he said adding that Pakistan equally shares a “long history of excellent and strategic relationship” with the United States, which remains our largest export market.

“We seek to broaden and expand our ties with both countries without impacting our relations with the other,” he said.

COAS for ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine

Expressing his views on the Ukrainian crisis, Gen Bajwa Pakistan is deeply concerned about the conflict in Ukraine as both countries enjoy excellent defence and economic relations since their independence.

“While with Russia, Pakistan had cold relations for a long time due to numerous reasons; however, recently there have been some positive developments in this regard,” he said.

“Sadly, the Russian invasion is very unfortunate as thousands of people have been killed, millions made refugees and half of Ukraine destroyed,” he said, stressing the need to address the issue “immediately”.

“Pakistan has consistently called for an immediate ceasefire […] we support immediate dialogue between all sides to find a lasting solution to the conflict,” he said, highlighting the humanitarian assistance sent to Ukraine from Pakistan.

“The continuation or expansion of the conflict in Ukraine will not serve the interest on any side least of all the developing countries which will continue to face the social-economic cost of the conflict — a conflict that can easily get out of hand,” the COAS said.

The army chief said he believes that the world today at this civilisational and scientific pinnacle is built by those who visualised and believed in cooperation, respect and equality instead of divisions, warmongering and dominance.

“Pakistan today has a unique position where it has very cordial historic relation with both the camps,” he said.

“The conflict gave hope to smaller countries that they could still defend their territory with smaller but agile forces against aggression by a bigger country by carrying out selective modernisation of equipment,” he concluded.

ISLAMABAD: Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa Saturday addressed the Islamabad Security Dialogue, calling for dialogue to resolve all disputes with India.

Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated the dialogue on Friday.

The two-day conference brought together Pakistani and international policy experts to discuss emerging challenges in international security under the theme “Comprehensive Security: Reimagining International Cooperation”.

The Islamabad Security Dialogue is hosting 17 international speakers from the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Russia, European Union, Japan, Philippines and others.

Acknowledging the efforts of the National Security Division for organising the second security dialogue, COAS Gen Bajwa said: “I believe today more than ever we need to inculcate and promote such spaces for intellectual debate and discourse where people from around the world come together to share their ideas about the future of their country and world at large.”

He was of the view that the spaces like this hold special importance where great individuals can identify the need for global cooperation rather than confrontation.

Regarding the unprecedented challenges faced around the world, he said that the resurgence of inter-state conflicts amid shared global challenges of poverty, climate change, terrorism, cyber intrusion and scarcity of resources poses profound questions for the international system.

“The international community’s collective security rests in our ability to integrate our shared goals of global prosperity to an equitable international system resisting the external pressures.

“Pakistan, as a country located at the crossroads of economic and strategic confronts, is navigating these shared challenges in our immediate region and through our partnership in the international community,” he said.

National Security Policy

The chief of army staff further added that Pakistan’s first-ever National Security Policy places the safety, security, dignity and prosperity of its citizens at the heart of our security policy.

“It [National Security Policy] recognises the symbiotic relationship between the economic, human and traditional security, placing economic security at the core,” he said.

Gen Bajwa further went on to say that the policy’s ultimate aim is to achieve prosperity for Pakistan’s citizens and it focuses on ensuring domestic economic stability and growth augmented through development partnership with the international community under our geo-economic strategy.

COAS mentioned that in order to achieve this required peace at home and abroad, Pakistan’s security forces given innumerable sacrifices to defeat terrorism. He highlighted that since 2001 Pakistan has suffered over 90,000 causalities and more than Rs150 billion in economic losses.

“Our commitment to defeat terrorism remains unwavering,” he reiterated, adding that with the help of security and law enforcement agencies, the country has made remarkable gains against terrorism which has resulted in a remarkable improvement in the internal security situation of the country.

COAS Gen Bajwa, however, added that the threat of terrorism and violent extremism remains and the struggle will continue till “we eliminate the last terrorist and cause of terrorism from our region.”

He said: “We are committed to preserving our gains against terrorism and are working with the interim Afghan government and other neighbours to ensure that terrorist organisations are no longer allowed to use the territory of one county against another.”

“A peaceful and prosperous west and South Asia is our goal,” he said, adding that Pakistan’s National Security Policy focuses on the promotion of national security cohesion and harmony through the precepts of unity and diversity.

“Our focus remains on the elimination of intolerance and extremism by celebrating the diversity of our country. I fully realise that it is a huge challenge but we are committed and we will not relent till we make Pakistan a moderate and forward-looking country as envisioned by our founding father Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah,” he said.

Recognising the fact that it is the regions and not countries that grow, the COAS said: “We believe that peace and stability in our wider region are pre-requisites for achieving shared regional prosperity and development.”

“In this regard, our doors are open for all our neighbours,” he said.

Crisis in Afghanistan

“Decades-long conflict in our immediate west has created negative externalities and spill-over effects that have adversely impacted our economy, society and security,” he said, adding that this is why Pakistan wants to work closely with the international community to pursue peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Shedding light on the challenges, COAS Gen Bajwa said: “Unfortunately, lack of financial flows and continued sanctions are creating a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.”

He mentioned that Pakistan has worked tirelessly to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Afghanistan in collaboration with the international community “but much more is needed.”

“It is our collective responsibility towards the people of Afghanistan to ensure timely and adequate flow of humanitarian aid into the country; however, the world, especially the west is preoccupied with the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Ukraine,” he stated, reiterating that we must not forget the 40 million Afghans during these times.

“Inability to address the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan will not only lead to the refugee crisis but will again make Afghanistan an epicentre of terrorism where Daesh — which is a global agenda — flourishes which may result in more than one 9/11,” he said.

“Good or bad, it is important for the international community to keep the Afghan government’s nose above the water.”

Mentioning the performance of the interim Afghan government, he said: “The performance of the present Afghan government is not satisfactory, to say the least, but we have to be patient and accommodative.”

“Instead of imposing sanctions, which have never worked, we must incentivise Afghans for their positive work and behavioural change,” he said, reiterating that disengagement with Afghanistan is “not an option.”

“We urge the international community to share their concerns directly with the Afghan interim government and continue their engagement to ensure uninterrupted flow of humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan,” he emphasised.

He highlighted that Pakistan already hosts over four million registered and unregistered Afghan refugees.

Peace in South Asia

Terming the situation on the Eastern border and the Line of Control (LOC) as “satisfactory and fairly peaceful”, he said that mercifully, no incident has taken place along the LoC in the last year which has brought relief to the people living on both sides.

He, however, mentioned that the incident of the launching of a missile in Pakistan from India on March 9, 2022, is a matter of “serious concern” for Islamabad.

Unlike other incidents involving strategic weapons, this is the first time in history that a supersonic cruise missile from one nuclear-armed nation has landed in another; “this raises serious concerns about India’s ability to manage and operate high-end weapon systems.”

“India’s indifferent attitude in not informing Pakistan immediately about an irrelevant launch of a missile is equally concerning,” he said, hoping that the international community will realise that this incident could have resulted in the loss of lives in Pakistan or an accidental shooting down of a passenger plane that was flying along the path of the cruise missile.

He reiterated that Pakistan has called for a thorough probe into the incident and “we expect India to provide evidence to ensure Pakistan and the world that their weapons are safe and secure.”

“On our part, like early 2019, when Pakistan demonstrated its role as a responsible member of the international community by returning the captured pilot of an intruding fighter aircraft we have once again demonstrated maturity and responsibility in our response,” he said.

Reiterating the country’s stance, he said: “Pakistan continues to believe in using dialogue and diplomacy to resolve all outstanding issues including the Kashmir dispute and is ready to move forward in this front if India agrees to do so with one-third of the world in the Gulf region involved in some sort of conflict and war it is important that we keep the flames of fire away from our region.”

In this regard, he added that apart from the Kashmir dispute, the Indo-China border dispute is also a matter of great concern for Pakistan and “we want it to be settled quickly through dialogue and diplomacy.”

“I believe it is time for the political leadership of the region to rise above their emotional and perceptional biases and break the shackles of history to bring peace and prosperity to almost three billion people of the region,” he said, highlighting the adamant behaviour of the Indian leaders.

‘Pakistan doesn’t believe in camp politics’

“Pakistan does not believe in camp politics and our bilateral relationships with our partners are not at the expense of our relationship with other countries,” he said.

Regarding the Pakistan-China relationship, he said that Islamabad enjoys a close relationship with Beijing demonstrated by the country’s commitment to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Meanwhile, he said adding that Pakistan equally shares a “long history of excellent and strategic relationship” with the United States, which remains our largest export market.

“We seek to broaden and expand our ties with both countries without impacting our relations with the other,” he said.

The fate of 100 children who had been detained in a Syrian prison is unknown more than two months after jihadists attacked the facility, United Nations experts said on Friday.

International rights groups, including Save the Children and Human Rights Watch, have previously said 700 boys had been in the Kurdish-run jail in northeastern Hassakeh province before it was attacked by the Islamic State group.

“We are extremely concerned that since the January 2022 attack, the fate and whereabouts of at least 100 of those boys remain unaccounted for, which raises serious concerns,” the UN human rights experts said in a statement.

“Some of these cases might amount to enforced disappearance,” they added.

Aged 12-18, the detainees included many who had adult relatives inside Ghwayran prison and were transferred from nearby displacement camps housing thousands of children of jihadist fighters.

The independent experts called on the de facto authorities to allow all humanitarian actors to have full and unimpeded access to children still held at Ghwayran.

“Harm to these children must be identified, and those responsible must be held accountable to prevent impunity,” the UN experts said.

The IS prison break attempt from Ghwayran triggered a week of clashes inside and around the Kurdish-run facility, leaving hundreds dead, before Kurdish-led forces recaptured the jail.

“Many of the boys detained in the prisons were seriously injured during the jailbreak and their wounds are not receiving critical medical treatment,” the UN experts said.

Kurdish authorities maintain that no one escaped but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said several jihadists had fled.

The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on a North Korean research organization and four subsidiaries for their role in developing intercontinental ballistic missiles, after recent tests by the nuclear-armed state.

North Korea said a launch on March 24 was a successful test of a Hwasong-17 missile — a long-range ICBM that analysts say may be capable of carrying multiple warheads — which it first unveiled at a military parade in 2020.

But South Korea’s defense ministry has since said that the launch was actually of a Hwasong-15, an ICBM that Pyongyang test-fired in 2017.

Experts say the launch still indicated significant progress for North Korea.

The US Treasury, in its third round of sanctions since March, targeted the Ministry of Rocket Industry and four subsidiaries for supporting North Korea’s “weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, in violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions.”

The US statement said tests on February 26 and March 4 “involved a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system that the DPRK (North Korea) is developing.

“The purpose of these tests is likely to evaluate this system before the DPRK conducts a test at full range in the future, potentially disguised as a space launch.”

“On March 24, 2022, the DPRK conducted a test of an ICBM,” it added.

The United States last week failed to get a UN Security Council resolution passed to strengthen the sanctions regime against Pyongyang in the wake of the isolated regime’s first ICBM launch since 2017.

North Korea announced the purported Hwasong-17 launch with a slick, Hollywood-style video featuring leader Kim Jong Un in a black leather jacket and sunglasses, flanked by generals.

Israeli forces killed three members of the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad during a raid Saturday in the occupied West Bank, police said, the latest in a surge of violence.

The three men opened fire when troops tried to arrest them near the northern city of Jenin, and they were killed in the ensuing shootout, the police said, adding that four soldiers were wounded, including one seriously.

The Israeli forces intercepted “a terrorist cell on its way to an attack and stopped the car in which they were travelling between Jenin and Tulkarem”, the police said in a statement.

The Islamic Jihad confirmed the three deaths.

“We mourn the death of our three hero fighters,” the armed wing of Islamist movement said, adding that two of them were from Jenin and one from Tulkarem.

The bloodshed comes amid heightened tensions ahead of the start of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan that has seen a spike in violence in Israel and the West Bank.

On Friday, Israeli forces shot dead a 29-year-old Palestinian during clashes in the West Bank city of Hebron, the Palestinian health ministry said.

The Palestinian Wafa news agency identified him as Ahmad al-Atrash, who it said was taking part in a protest against Israeli settlements and had previously served six years in an Israeli prison.

The Israeli army said that during a “riot” in Hebron, “a suspect hurled a Molotov cocktail” at soldiers, who “responded with live fire”.

Hebron, the biggest city in the West Bank, is home to about 1,000 Jewish residents living under heavy Israeli military protection, among more than 200,000 Palestinians.

The West Bank, which has been occupied by Israeli forces since the 1967 Six-Day war, is home to nearly 500,000 Jewish settlers, living in communities regarded as illegal under international law.

Russia accused Ukraine of carrying out an air strike against a fuel depot in the Russian city of Belgorod on Friday, an incident the Kremlin said could affect peace talks, but a top Kyiv security official denied responsibility.

Russia’s defence ministry said two Ukrainian helicopters struck the facility in Belgorod, some 35 km (22 miles) from the border with Ukraine, after entering Russia at extremely low altitude at around 5 a.m. Moscow time (0200 GMT).

The resulting blaze forced the evacuation of some people but late in the day Belgorod mayor Anton Ivanov said fire services were extinguishing the last remnants.

“There is no threat to human life and health. All residents can return to their homes,” he said in an online post.

Ukraine’s top security official rebuffed the Russian accusation – the first by Moscow of an air strike on Russian soil since Moscow launched its invasion on Feb. 24. Belgorod is one of Russia’s main logistics hubs for the war.

“For some reason they say that we did it, but according to our information this does not correspond to reality,” said Security Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov.

Earlier, defence ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said he would neither confirm nor deny a Ukrainian role.

“Ukraine is currently conducting a defensive operation against Russian aggression on the territory of Ukraine, and this does not mean that Ukraine is responsible for every catastrophe on Russia’s territory,” he said.

The White House had no comment on Kremlin allegations that Ukraine had bombed the depot, press secretary Jen Psaki said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said President Vladimir Putin had been briefed about the incident. Peskov said the strike could jeopardise Moscow’s peace negotiations with Kyiv.

Ukraine’s Danilov retorted: “He says it doesn’t help talks, but does it help talks when they kill our children, our women – these outrages they commit on our land? These people are kind of sick.”

Security camera footage, from a location verified by Reuters, showed a flash of light from what appeared to be a missile fired from low altitude in the sky, followed by an explosion on the ground.

Regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said the resulting blaze injured two workers.

In an online post, Gladkov said a second blast damaged a power line near the village of Nikolskoye but that no one was hurt. Pictures he posted showed a crater in a field.

Russian oil firm Rosneft, which owns the fuel depot, said no one was hurt in the fire. Russia’s defence ministry said the facility was exclusively for civilian use.

An ammunition depot near Belgorod caught fire on Wednesday, causing a series of blasts. At the time, Gladkov said authorities were waiting for the defence ministry to establish its cause.

Moscow calls its intervention in Ukraine a “special military operation.”

NEW YORK: A 12-year-old boy was shot and killed as he sat in a parked car Thursday night in New York City, police said, shining a light on surging gun violence in the US megacity.

A young woman in the driver’s seat was also shot multiple times, while an eight-year-old girl in the back of the vehicle was uninjured, police added.

The three had been waiting for food in the city’s Brooklyn neighbourhood when gunfire was reported at about 8pm, police inspector Michael Kemper told a late-night press briefing.

“In the passenger seat, there was a 12-year-old boy who had been shot multiple times. He died on the spot,” Kemper said.

The driver, 20, was “expected to survive” after being taken to hospital for surgery, he added.

Police did not say whether the victims had been targeted or hit by stray bullets.

Crime in the city of nearly nine million has risen sharply since 2020, according to official statistics, particularly acts involving firearm violence.

New York Mayor Eric Adams, a former police officer who was elected in January on a platform of tackling crime including the illegal spread of guns, expressed dismay while speaking to reporters Thursday night.

“What about the innocent people? What about people that are sitting in their cars and are shot and killed?” he asked.

“When are we going to start fighting for the innocent people of this city?”

“As long as we have guns and a revolving door (prisons) system, we will continue to have crime scenes like this,” he added.

In January, Adams called on the federal government to help “stop the flow of weapons” in the city after a police officer was killed and another wounded in a shooting.

Last month, police turned to the public for help identifying a man who shot at least two homeless people, killing one of them as he slept on the street.