Month: July 2022

The MiG-21 came down on Thursday night in the desert of western Rajasthan state near the city of Barmer, the defence ministry said.

The crash was the sixth MiG-21 aircraft to have gone down since January last year, with five pilots killed.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) said the training aircraft “met with an accident” and said an investigation was ordered to determine the cause of the crash.

“IAF deeply regrets the loss of lives and stands firmly with the bereaved families,” the air force tweeted.

 

Local media footage showed flaming wreckage spread over a large area.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said he was “deeply anguished” by the loss of the two pilots in the crash.

“Their service to the nation will never be forgotten,” Singh said on Twitter.

 

MiG-21 jets first entered Indian service in the 1960s and for decades served as the backbone of the country’s air force.

Numerous crashes in the past few decades, however, have led to the planes being dubbed “flying coffins” because of their poor safety record.

India is investing billions of dollars in modernising its air force, an initiative motivated by its decades-old rivalry with Pakistan and increased tensions with China.

Its military has bought dozens of French Rafale fighter jets, with deliveries starting in 2020.

“We regret to announce that six people of Asian nationalities have been found dead as a result of the floods,” the interior ministry’s chief of central operations, Ali al-Tunaiji, said.

The ministry later announced the death of a seventh Asian migrant.

July temperatures in the UAE regularly hit 40 degrees Celsius but its east coast can also be affected by the Indian Ocean monsoon.

When torrential rain falls on sun-baked earth, it can lead to flash flooding.

The emergency services said they had answered hundreds of calls for help over the past two days as the floodwaters swamped the streets of the port city of Fujairah and other eastern districts.

The SCO meeting was the first multilateral event where Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and S. Jaishankar came together since the former became the foreign minister after the change of government in Pakistan in April.

Even in informal settings, for instance when the foreign ministers of SCO member countries waited for a joint call on Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the two foreign ministers sat away from each other.

Relations between the two neighbouring nuclear-armed rivals have been bitter for long. Islamabad had lowered diplomatic ties with New Delhi after the BJP government revo­ked the autonomous status of Indian-held Jammu and Kashmir in 2019.

Despite being in same room, Bilawal, Jaishankar steer clear of handshakes

Subsequent events in Kashmir and Hindu supremacists’ actions against Muslims in India have so far prevented re-engagement. Islamabad’s position has been that it wants normalisation, but it is for India to provide a conducive environment for that to happen.

Foreign Minister Bhutto-Zardari, while speaking at a government-run think tank in Islamabad last month, emphasised the need to engage India. He had argued at the time that despite a “long history of war and conflict” and Indian government’s actions in Occupied Kashmir and its anti-Muslim agenda, it was not in Pakistan’s interest to remain disengaged.

But soon afterwards, the Foreign Office clarified that there was no change in Pakistan’s policy on India, on which there is national consensus.

However, Mr Bhutto-Zardari and Mr Jaishankar, in line with SCO rules and charter, neither mentioned bilateral disputes, nor accused each other.

There is a clause in SCO charter barring member states from bringing their bilateral acrimony to the organisation’s meetings.

The Pakistani FM, in his speech at the Council of Foreign Ministers meeting, highlighted Pakistan’s perspective on important regional and international issues of concern to SCO member states. He emphasised that “shared prosperity” was essential for peace, stability and development in the SCO region and globally.

The foreign minister also shared Pakistan’s vision for the future direction and growth of SCO which could be achieved through joint efforts to enhance greater connectivity; road/rail links within the SCO region; building network of businessmen and entrepreneurs of SCO; harnessing the potential of technology and digitalization; and removing barriers to intra-SCO trade.

About strengthening connectivity in the SCO region, Mr Bhutto-Zardari proposed the construction of railways and roads, and the opening of trade routes. He said Pakistan backs the proposed “strategy for the development of interconnectedness and the creation of efficient transport corridors.”

Pakistan is working with Afghanistan and Uzbekistan on a planned railway project. This project, if it is realised, could provide an important access for Central Asian countries to the seaports of Pakistan, and will become an important component of the transport system of the SCO region.

The foreign minister also spoke about the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and reminded the member states about their responsibility to help the war ravaged country.

Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar, meanwhile, touched upon the challenges facing the region and expansion of the organization.

According to the FO, the SCO Foreign Ministers deliberated upon important topical issues facing the organization after 20 years of its establishment, including expansion in its membership; improvement in the mechanisms of the SCO Secretariat; and SCO’s stance on global economic and political developments and the challenges for SCO countries.

The foreign ministers signed sixteen decisions endorsing proposals on diverse areas of socio-economic cooperation and adopted a Joint Statement on Strengthening the Biological Weapons Convention.

FM Bhutto-Zardari, on the sidelines of the conferences, also met with his counterparts from China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

“In these bilateral meetings, the Foreign Minister exchanged views on issues of common interest as well as matters relating to bilateral cooperation and further strengthening of political, economic and trade relations with these countries,” the FO said.

In a dispatch from New York, Nikkei Asia reported that “dwindling foreign reserves” have sparked “a scramble in Islamabad to avoid a default.”

Gen Bajwa’s phone call to US Deputy Secretary of State was part of Pakistan’s efforts to avoid a default, the report added.

Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar, when asked about the conversation between Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa and Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, told journalists in Islamabad on Friday: “Well, I understand conversation has taken place, but at this stage, I am not in direct knowledge of the content of this discussion.”

Bajwa-Sherman conversation on early release of IMF tranche reported by Nikkei Asia; COAS, Centcom chief discuss security

When Dawn asked the US State Department for confirmation, one of their spokespersons said: “US officials talk to Pakistani officials regularly on a range of issues.

“As standard practice, we don’t comment on the specifics of private diplomatic conversations.

 

Earlier this month, one of the prime minister’s advisers — Tariq Fatemi — also met the deputy secretary at her office and conveyed a similar message. Later, both sides issued separate statements, saying that economic matters were discussed in the meeting.

The Nikkei report said Gen. Bajwa had made an appeal for the White House and Treasury Department to push the IMF to immediately supply nearly $1.2 billion that Pakistan is due to receive under a resumed loan program.

The report noted that the present Pakistani government “does not have much credibility or political capital beyond Islamabad, and faces persistent pressure from ousted rival Imran Khan.”

That’s why observers say “power lies with Gen. Bajwa, 61, an infantry officer” although he is due to retire in November after a three-year extension.

According to the report, while Pakistan has already been granted “staff-level approval” for the loan, it will only be processed after the lender’s board grants final approval.

“The IMF is going into recess for the next three weeks and its board will not convene until late August. No firm date has been set for announcing the loan approval for Pakistan,” the report quoted an IMF official as saying.

‘Engaged but impartial’

On Thursday, the State Department had said it remains engaged with a range of stakeholders in Pakistan, but it does not support one political party over another.

Spokesperson Ned Price said this at a news briefing in Washington where he also emphasized the US policy of supporting democratic principles across the globe.

“We remain engaged with a range of stakeholders in Pakistan. With those currently in governments, in a broad array of others, but I’m just not in a position to speak to any such meeting,” said Mr. Price while responding to a question about a reported meeting between a PTI representative and senior State Department official, Donald Lu.

Mr. Lu, who heads the bureau for South and Central Asian Affairs at the State Department, is the official blamed by PTI in an alleged conspiracy to topple their government/

“If there was any such meeting, I just not in a position to speak to it,” said Mr. Price, when asked if a PTI representative had met Mr. Lu, asking him to “forget the past and move ahead.”

Mr. Price also refused to comment on PTI’s position on this issue, saying: “What we’ve said on this before remains true.”

“We support the peaceful upholding of constitutional and democratic principles, including respect for human rights. We don’t support one political party over another. We support those broader principles of the rule of law and equal justice under the law,” he added.

Gen Bajwa and General Michael Erik Kurilla, Commander United States (US) centcom had a telephonic conversation, ISPR stated. During the call, matters of mutual interests, regional stability as well as defence and security cooperation were discussed in detail.

The meeting is the latest step in the diplomatic rehabilitation of the de-facto leader of the kingdom who became a pariah in the West following the killing of Khashoggi by Saudi agents inside Saudi Arabia’s Istanbul consulate.

Macron warmly greeted the ruler universally known as MBS ahead of a dinner, with the two men enjoying a warm handshake that they emphasised by using all four hands.

Shaking off criticism from rights groups and Khashoggi’s fiancé, Macron then guided MBS up the steps on the red carpet into the Elysee Palace. MBS, seen by supporters as an ambitious and by critics as a tyrant with a ruthless streak, arrived in France following a visit from US President Joe Biden to Riyadh earlier this month. On his way to France, he stopped in Greece this week, his first trip to the EU since the murder of Khashoggi.

The killing of Khashoggi was described by a UN probe as an “extrajudicial killing for which Saudi Arabia is responsible”.

US intelligence agencies determined that MBS had “approved” the operation that led to Khashoggi’s death. Riyadh denies this, blaming rogue operatives.

“I am scandalised and outraged that Emmanuel Macron is receiving with all the honours the executioner of my fiancé, Jamal Khashoggi,” his widow Hatice Cengiz, who had waited outside the consulate in Istanbul when her husband disappeared, said on Thursday.

“All the international investigations carried out up to this point…recognise the responsibility of MBS in the assassination,” Cengiz said.

Amnesty International secretary general Agnes Callamard said she felt “profoundly troubled by the visit, because of what it means for our world and what it means for Jamal (Khashoggi) and people like him”. MBS is a man who “does not tolerate any dissent”, she added.

“The two sides agreed that peace and stability in Afghanistan was vital for regional development and prosperity,” Foreign Office said in a statement on the meeting between FM Bhutto-Zardari and Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Tashkent.

The two foreign ministers, while emphasising the importance of “peaceful, stable and connected Afghanistan”, noted that it could become the “fulcrum for enhanced regional trade and connectivity”.

Pakistan and China share geo-political and economic interests in Afghanistan. Both had been relieved over Taliban takeover of the war-ravaged country last August. While both may be comfortable with Taliban rule in Afghanistan, but their security concerns could cause complications.

 

Islamabad and Beijing have lately been discussing the possibility of extending China-Pakistan Econo­mic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan.

Mr Zardari and Mr Yi, the FO said, discussed the latest developments in Afghanistan.

Taliban have been encouraging Pakistan government to make peace with Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, but Beijing is wary that East Turkestan Islamic Movement, a group of native Uyghurs who want to separate Xinjiang region from China, is active in Baghlan province, where it has re-established its base, despite restrictions by Taliban. The ETIM also has close linkages with the TTP.

Mr Bhutto-Zardari and Mr Yi also discussed bilateral relations.

“The foreign ministers reviewed the progress in bilateral relations and discussed regional and international issues of mutual interest,” the FO said, adding that FM Bhutto-Zardari underscored that CPEC’s development had reached a new phase, with increasing emphasis on high-quality development of industry, agriculture, IT, and science and technology, while ensuring tangible socio-economic benefits for the people.

 

“Both sides reaffirmed their strong support for each other’s core interests and major concerns, and commitment to deepening strategic communication including at the highest political level and practical cooperation,” the FO further said.

The foreign minister also met his Taliban counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi in Tashkent.

During his first meeting with Mr Muttaqi, the foreign minister reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to a peaceful and prosperous Afgha­nistan. He also emphasised the need for promoting people-to-people contacts, providing humanitarian assistance and increasing trade and transit capacity.

Meanwhile in Islamabad, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

This was Chinese envoy’s first meeting with PM Sharif as the former was on leave when the latter succeeded Imran Khan, who was ousted through a vote of no confidence.

Mr Sharif emphasised the importance of key projects like ML-1 and KCR in Pakistan’s development plans and expressed desire to move towards finalisation of these projects in the upcoming 11th meeting of the CPEC Joint Cooperation Committee, the PMO said.

Washington and Seoul have repeatedly warned that Pyongyang is preparing to carry out its seventh nuclear test — a move that the United States has warned would provoke a “swift and forceful” response.

In Kim’s latest speech to mark the armistice that ended fighting in the Korean War — known as “Victory Day” in the North — he said the country’s armed forces were “thoroughly prepared” for any crisis.

“Our country’s nuclear war deterrent is also ready to mobilise its absolute power faithfully, accurately and promptly in accordance with its mission,” Kim said in a speech on Wednesday, according to Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency.

Speaking to war veterans on the 69th anniversary of the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, Kim emphasised the country’s “thorough readiness” to “deal with any military clash with the United States”.

His latest threats come as South Korea and the United States move to ramp up joint military exercises, which have always infuriated the North as Pyongyang considers them rehearsals for invasion.

This week, the US military held live-fire drills using its advanced Apache helicopters stationed in the South for the first time since 2019.

Kim also slammed South Korea’s new, hawkish president Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office in May and has vowed to take a tougher stance against Pyongyang — which includes a plan to mobilise a preemptive strike capability.

“Talking about military action against our nation, which possess absolute weapons that they fear the most, is preposterous and is very dangerous self-destructive action,” Kim said of the Yoon administration, which he branded a group of “gangsters”.

“Such a dangerous attempt will be immediately punished by our powerful strength and the Yoon Suk Yeol government and his military will be annihilated.”

The North has carried out a record-breaking blitz of sanctions-busting weapons tests this year, including firing an intercontinental ballistic missile at full range for the first time since 2017.

Nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington have been stalled since a summit between Kim and then-US president Donald Trump in February 2019 broke down over sanctions relief and what the North would be willing to give up in return.