23-10-2025

Month: June 2023

Big powers shouldn’t make ‘terrorism a victim of geopolitics’, Bilawal advises after US-India rhetoric

Following the United States and India’s joint statement mentioning Pakistan, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said Islamabad shouldn’t be “insecure” about it but advised big powers not to make “terrorism a victim of geopolitics”.

In an address to the National Assembly, Bilawal said that the Foreign Office would issue a “detailed policy statement” on the recent US-India joint statement that mentioned Pakistan. However, he shared some “observatory notes” on the issue on the floor of the lower house of parliament.

The country’s top diplomat told parliamentarians that he believes it is “important for Pakistan to stay away from world politics and focus on itself”.

He added once political stability and economic issues are resolved, then Pakistan can achieve its “international targets in the world”.

“I don’t believe there is any reason for Pakistan to be insecure about its relationship with the world or its bilateral partnership with America as a result of increasingly close cooperation between the US and India,” the foreign minister said. He added that Pakistan was standing on its own feet yesterday and is still standing today.

 

 

Pakistan, he further said, would move forward on its own as per the people’s aspirations, not because in the US-India joint statement, “terrorism was mentioned and Pakistan would take action”.

He also reminded the world that Pakistan is the most affected nation by terrorism, even if the casualties of India, the US, Iran and the rest of the world is counted.

“Due to our national security and the people’s future, we want to fight terrorism. We have before on the people’s mandate we took up this issue in 2008 and defeated them,” Bilawal said. However, he added that the policies of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government “pushed back” Islamabad.

“And once again this issue is a problem for us and today it is our problem and God forbid might become a problem for some other country. We want to fight [terrorism] for our reasons and to establish peace in our country,” he went on to say.

‘Easy to add focus on terrorism in statement’

In a rebuke to India on the inclusion of Pakistan’s name in the statement, the foreign minister expressed concern that ever since he took charge and departure of the world from Afghanistan, terrorism has been on the back burner, and Ukraine is the main issue.

“No one is focused on terrorism. It is very easy to add that “there should be work on terrorism” in your statement.”

He added that after the fall of Kabul, for the US, Europe or any other country, their focus is on “geopolitics and then other issues”.

“We believe that terrorism is such an issue that big powers should not make it controversial. They shouldn’t make it a victim of geopolitics. If we have to face terrorism properly then we will do it ourselves in our country,” he further said.

As far as fighting the menace of terrorism in the world is concerned,  Bilawal said, Pakistan can only do it if its international partners take it seriously if they decide not to play geo politics on terrorism.

“The whole world will [have to] unite and fight this then we will be able to take out its root and end it.”

‘Terrorism entered Pakistan due to alliance with US’

The foreign minister touched on the topic of the US-India joint statement after Defence Minister Khawaja Asif spoke about it in the assembly before he was given the microphone.

Asif said that Pakistan today is paying a heavy price for serving as a frontline state in the two Afghan wars.

“Terrorism entered Pakistan because it acted as an ally of the United States in the war on terrorism,” he said, regretting that the sacrifices of Pakistan were not acknowledged.

The federal minister also recalled that it was Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who oversaw the killings of thousands of Muslims and the rape of Muslim women in Gujarat during his tenure as the chief minister of the state, and in recognition of those atrocities, the US, at that time, had imposed a ban on issuing a visa to him.

“The Indian prime minister continues to target the minorities, especially the Muslims. There is an undeclared curfew in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and the people there are living under restrictions of all sorts in blatant violation of human rights,” Asif added. He also said that the Indian government is perpetrating state terrorism in the occupied territory.

Biden, Modi jointly call on Pakistan to end ‘cross-border terrorism’

The minister spoke about the issue after US President Joe Biden and PM Modi jointly demanded Islamabad take steps to make sure that Pakistani soil is not being used in “launching terror attacks”.

A joint statement issued after the meeting of Biden with the Indian premier, who is on a state visit to the United States, said that their countries stood together against global terrorism.

The two leaders called for action against extremist groups allegedly based in Pakistan, such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad.

“They strongly condemned cross-border terrorism, the use of terrorist proxies and called on Pakistan to take immediate action to ensure that no territory under its control is used for launching terrorist attacks,” the 58-point statement issued by the White House read.

Biden and Modi also reiterated the call for concerted action against all UN-listed terrorist groups, including Al-Qaeda, Daesh and Hizbul Mujahideen.

They stressed bringing the perpetrators of attacks, including the bloody 2008 siege of Mumbai and the Pathankot incidents.

Nawaz Sharif to embark on visits to Saudi Arabia, UAE tomorrow

LONDON: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday (tomorrow) is set to travel to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia where he is expected to spend Eid ul Adha with his family and perform Umrah.

The three-time premier confirmed to this reporter that he will be visiting Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia for about three weeks. He will be holding meetings with members of royal families and local businessmen as well as community leaders.

Hussain Nawaz — the elder son of the former prime minister —  also told reporters that his father would be going to Dubai and travel to Saudi Arabia to perform the holy pilgrimage.

It is understood that the PML-N supremo will be joined by PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz and other family members including Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in London over the weekend after his trip to Paris. Nawaz Sharif will be meeting his younger brother before going to Saudi Arabia.

The PML-N supremo had spent the previous Eid with his family in the kingdom where PM Shehbaz and other family members joined him in the last days of Ramadan and over Eid ul Fitr.

PML-N sources said Nawaz will be returning to Pakistan in the next few months.

Kiswah: New Kaabah cover ready to embrace

King Abdulaziz Complex for the Holy Kaabah Kiswah has almost finished manufacturing the new cover (Kiswah) for the coming Hijri year 1445.

The holy Kaaba is draped with a new covering, called Kiswah, every year.

Hundreds of kilogrammes of silk, gold, and silver are used in the manufacturing of Kiswah.

The ritual used to perform on the ninth or tenth day of Dhul Hijja, the 12th and final month of the Islamic calendar.

This year, it will be replaced on the first Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar.

The lower part of the Kiswah has been raised about three meters and the area beneath has been covered with white cotton fabric in preparation for Hajj.

The same procedure is repeated annually before the Hajj season in order to protect the black cloth, as some pilgrims touch it while circling the Kaaba.

King Abdulaziz Complex has manufactured Kiswah according to an operational plan.

The complex is gearing up to complete the manufacturing process to ensure that Kiswah is produced as scheduled and installed on the holy Kaabah on the first of Muharram, the first month in the Hijri calendar.

Biden, Modi jointly call on Pakistan to end ‘cross-border terrorism’

US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have jointly demanded Islamabad take steps to make sure that Pakistani soil is not being used in “launching terror attacks”.

A joint statement issued after the meeting of Biden with the Indian premier, who is visiting the United States, said that their countries stood together against global terrorism.

The two leaders called for action against extremist groups allegedly based in Pakistan such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad.

“They strongly condemned cross-border terrorism, the use of terrorist proxies and called on Pakistan to take immediate action to ensure that no territory under its control is used for launching terrorist attacks,” the  58-point statement issued by the White House read.

Biden and Modi also reiterated the call for concerted action against all UN-listed terrorist groups including Al-Qa’ida, Daesh and Hizb-ul-Mujhahideen.

They stressed bringing the perpetrators of attacks, including the bloody 2008 siege of Mumbai and the Pathankot incidents.

 

Moreover, while discussing the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, Biden and Modi concurred on the need for uninterrupted provision of immediate assistance to the people of Afghanistan.

“The leaders reiterated their strong support for a peaceful, secure, and stable Afghanistan,” the statement read.

They also urged the Taliban to abide by UNSC Resolution 2593 which demands “Afghan territory should never be used to threaten or attack any country, shelter or train terrorists, or plan or finance terrorist attacks”.

The leaders stressed the need for the formation of an inclusive political structure, calling on the Taliban to respect the human rights of all Afghans inclusive of women and girls.

The two countries also voiced “deep concern about the deteriorating situation in Myanmar,” where the military ousted a fledgling civilian government in 2021. They called for the release of all those arbitrarily detained, the establishment of constructive dialogue, and the transition of the Southeast Asian country toward an inclusive federal democratic system.

President Biden highlighted the impactful participation of Prime Minister Modi in the G7 Hiroshima Summit and said that he looks forward to the G20 Summit in September in New Delhi. He also applauded India’s leadership in its ongoing G20 Presidency,

Pakistan confirms virtual participation in SCO India meeting

ISLAMABAD: After India changed the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit’s format to a virtual meeting without providing any reasons, the Foreign Office confirmed that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will attend the meeting virtually.

The regional summit will be held in the Indian capital New Delhi on July 4 but will be virtually attended by member countries, including Pakistan, Russia and China.

The two latter nations would not have been able to attend the meeting in-person either.

“We have received the official invitation from the Indian prime minister for our prime minister to attend the virtual meeting of the Heads of State of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation due to take place on July 4. Pakistan will be represented at the summit,” said FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch in the weekly briefing.

She added that the FO would announce Pakistan’s participation in the coming days.

Talks with Taliban

Moreover, the FO spokesperson also commented on the possibility of holding talks with the Afghan Taliban, who have once again proposed Pakistan enter into talks with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to take up issues of terrorist activities by the latter in the country.

“We have responded to such questions in the past as well. I would like to invite you to a statement made by our foreign minister in which he stated Pakistan will not negotiate with individuals who are responsible for killing of Pakistani civilians and law-enforcement officials,” the FO spokesperson remarked.

However, she said, Pakistan continues to engage with the Afghan interim government in Kabul, adding she would not go into the specifics of these talks.

She said the counter-terrorism threat remains high on the country’s agenda.

Pakistan regularly engages with the interim Afghan government in countering the menace of terrorism.

“And this is an ongoing process. We hope and expect the commitments made in the trilateral outcome declaration between Pakistan, Afghanistan and China will be fulfilled, so that Afghanistan is not a source of terrorism and instability faced by its neighbours, including Pakistan,” she said.

Greek shipwreck

Furthermore, commenting on the recent boat tragedy off the coast of Greece, where several Pakistanis lost their lives, the spokeswoman said: “We have been unable to verify [the] number and identity of Pakistani nationals among the deceased and missing. Greek authorities have recovered 84 bodies. Their identification will take place through DNA matching.”

Relevant authorities have started collecting DNA samples from the families of those suspected to be aboard the ship and will share this with the Greek authorities, she said.

Bilawal’s Japan visit

Meanwhile, she added Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari will visit Japan on July 2-3.

He will hold substantive talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa in Tokyo, during which they will discuss bilateral trade and investment, cooperation in science and technology, education, information technology, culture and human resource development.

Baloch said the two ministers would also deliberate over significant regional and global developments, cooperation, and multilateral dialogue.

Climate finance summit wraps up eyeing bigger progress

While host country France pitched the conference as a consensus-building exercise, leaders are under pressure to produce clear outcomes from the two-day meeting as economies stagger under growing debt after successive crises in recent years.

The summit comes amid growing recognition of the scale of the financial challenges ahead, with warnings that the world’s ability to curb global warming at tolerable levels is reliant on a massive increase in clean energy investment in developing countries.

With trust in short supply over broken climate financing promises from richer countries, developing nations are looking for tangible progress.

The V20 group of countries on the climate front lines – which now includes 58 member nations – has said restructuring the global financial system to align with climate targets must be completed by 2030.

“We come to Paris to identify the common humanity that we share and the absolute moral imperative to save our planet and to make it liveable,” said Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, whose Caribbean island nation is threatened by rising sea levels and tropical storms.

She has become a powerful advocate for revamping the role of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in an era of climate crisis.

Barbados has put forward a detailed plan for how to fix the global financial system to help developing countries invest in clean energy and boost resilience to climate impacts.

One key announcement came from IMF director Kristalina Georgieva, who said a pledge to shift $100 billion of liquidity-boosting “special drawing rights” into a climate and poverty fund had been met.

World Bank president Ajay Banga said the lender would introduce a “pause” mechanism on debt repayments for countries hit by a crisis so they could “focus on what matters” and “stop worrying about the bill that is going to come”.

Separately, Senegal was promised 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion) by a group of wealthy nations and multilateral development banks to help the west African country reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.

And Zambia, which defaulted on its debt after the Covid pandemic broke out, secured some financial relief as its main lender China and other creditors agreed to restructure $6.3 billion in loans.

On Twitter, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema called it a “significant milestone in our journey towards economic recovery & growth”.

Turning ‘billions to trillions’

But much more is needed to help developing countries combat climate change.

Macron said he was hopeful that a pledge to deliver $100 billion a year in climate finance to poorer nations by 2020 would finally be fulfilled this year – although actual confirmation the money has been delivered will take months if not years.

This week, the International Energy Agency said annual investment just for clean energy in these countries will need to jump to nearly $2 trillion within a decade.

This is crucial to keep alive the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to “well below” two degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times, and below 1.5C if possible.

Ideas for how to turn “billions to trillions” for these climate and development goals include using multilateral development banks to help unlock climate investments, as well as taxation on fossil fuel profits and financial transactions to raise climate funds.

France backs the idea of an international tax on carbon emissions from shipping, with hopes for a breakthrough at a meeting of the International Maritime Organization in July.

Countries also want disaster clauses added to new debt arrangements to allow a country to pause repayments for two years after an extreme weather event.

US President Joe Biden hailed US-India ties, while rolling out the pomp and pageantry for visiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.

This included marching bands, a lavish vegetarian dinner and a 21-gun salute on the South Lawn of the White House.

Mr Modi, who is on a state visit, also addressed the US Congress, where he received a standing ovation.

The US, which denied a visa to Mr Modi over human rights concerns before he was PM, now sees him as a crucial ally.

Washington has long viewed India as a counterbalance to China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific, although Delhi has never been fully comfortable with owning the tag.

When addressing Congress, Mr Modi did not mention China by name, although he mentioned “dark clouds of coercion and confrontation casting their shadow over the Indo-Pacific”.

Mr Modi also did not mention Russia or who started the war, saying instead, “With the Ukraine conflict, war has returned to Europe”.

 

India has so far not directly criticised Russia, which analysts say is largely due to its huge dependency on Russian defence imports and its “time-tested ties” with Moscow.

This has strained relations between Washington and Delhi but Mr Biden chose to focus on the positive, saying ties between the two countries were stronger than ever. He went as far as to call it “one of the defining relationships of the 21st Century”.

Mr Modi agreed, telling the US Congress that this was a coming together of the world’s two great democracies. He also said that the friendship between the two countries would be “instrumental in enhancing the strength of the whole world”.

He added that a “new chapter” had been added to the two countries’ comprehensive and global-strategic partnership.

Mr Modi addressed the US Congress on Thursday

However, not everyone was celebrating.

The Indian prime minister has come under increasing criticism for cracking down on dissent. His Hindu nationalist government too has been accused of not doing enough to protect minorities from violence and discrimination. But even as Mr Modi’s visit to the US has seen protests, it has also been welcomed by a large and influential diaspora that includes many Silicon Valley CEOs.

A number of liberal Democrats, however, boycotted his speech at Congress. Among them was representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who said on Twitter that state visits – the highest diplomatic protocol in the US – should not be offered to individuals with “deeply troubling human rights records”.

Apart from the pomp and parades, there was also progress on the trade front.

The two countries agreed to terminate six outstanding disputes at the World Trade Organization, and announced deals with General Electric and Micron.

Mr Modi also took the rare step of answering questions from reporters – something he has almost never done since becoming India’s prime minister in 2014.

When asked about human rights concerns in India, he said “democracy runs in our veins” and there is “absolutely no space for discrimination” in India, even as protesters gathered outside the White House to oppose his visit.

The route to independence used to seem simple for SNP members.

The route to independence used to seem simple for SNP members.

There was a widespread expectation in the party that election victories would lead to a second referendum.

But the continued UK government refusal to grant another vote, and last year’s Supreme Court confirmation that Holyrood doesn’t have the powers to legislate for one, has left the party looking for a new direction.

And that’s why members will descend on Dundee this weekend.

At the party’s Convention on Independence, they hope to flesh out a new strategy.

So what are the alternative paths to independence?

This isn’t an exhaustive list, but here are three options the SNP may consider this weekend.

A gradualist approach

Option one could be called the gradualist approach.

This involves taking time to drive up support for independence, ultimately reaching a level that means Downing Street can’t ignore referendum demands.

It’s rare for anyone in the SNP to publicly put a number on the level of support needed for this, but a sustained period of 60% pro-independence polling is thrown around privately.

The MSP Ben Macpherson is a former Scottish government minister. He stresses that he’s as dedicated to independence as anyone in the SNP, but he believes that patience is required.

He’s urged fellow members to focus on convincing more undecided voters to support independence, which he believes will create “overwhelming” pressure on the UK government to grant a second referendum.

De facto referendums

But others feel another referendum won’t happen, and that brings us to option two. This involves using elections to secure independence.

It’s a tactic that’s gained prominence in SNP circles in recent years.

Towards the end of her leadership, Nicola Sturgeon floated the idea of running an election as a “de facto” referendum.

The concept is fairly simple: the SNP would contest an election (or elections) insisting that a vote for them is a vote for independence. This could be stated in the opening line of a manifesto.

Ash Regan, who ran to replace Nicola Sturgeon earlier this year, backs this approach.

Former SNP leadership contender Ash Regan backs the de facto referendum strategy

She believes the SNP could even team up with other pro-independence parties, meaning that more than 50% of the vote combined would lead to independence.

She thinks it’s time to move away from relying on the referendum path, saying “we’ve been thinking of it as the gold standard, but in fact it’s the ballot box that’s the gold standard route”.

But there are potential weaknesses with this option.

Why would the UK government agree to this? Would the international community recognise it?

Most advocates of such a Plan B feel that Westminster intransigence on a second referendum means that a radical alternative is needed.

But others fear it won’t deliver independence and would alienate the middle-ground of Scottish politics.

Public demonstrations

Option three involves taking to the streets – mass demonstrations calling for independence.

Perhaps this option should be seen as complementing others, rather than being a route to independence in itself.

The cross-party All Under One Banner movement will march from Stirling to Bannockburn at the very same time the SNP gathers in Dundee.

Patrick McCarthy is organising Saturday’s All Under One Banner march

As a party member, Patrick McCarthy could have attended the convention. But he worries the SNP is simply “talking to themselves” .

He’ll be “speaking to the mass movement” by organising the march instead.

He says “the hearts and minds and belief in independence is the thing that’s going to get us over the line”.

The first minister will set out his preferred route to independence at Saturday’s convention.

The first minister must show SNP members that he has an indy plan

Humza Yousaf wants to drive up overall support, but he’s also said that elections must be used to advance the cause of independence.

This convention won’t rubber-stamp any strategy. That would have to come at the SNP’s autumn conference.

There are political risks for Humza Yousaf in this weekend’s convention.

It could highlight splits within his party. And it exposes him to accusations that he’s prioritising the constitution over day-to-day problems.

But, given that independence is his party’s fundamental aim, it’s important for him to show party members that he’s formulating a plan to achieve the ultimate goal.

The SNP may emerge closer to defining their strategy on independence, but making that a reality feels a harder task for the party right now.

Pak-Japan literary and cultural relations highlighted at lecture in Karachi

Dr Aqeel said usually it’s the diplomatic relations between two countries that are often strengthened, which is important. Cultural ties are even more important. Pakistan [from the time when it was a part of the subcontinent] and Japan enjoy such an association for the past 150 to 175 years.

He said when Western powers came to South Asia they used education to change the local or indigenous system because education entailed western concepts. Urdu had an important role to play in the creation of Pakistan as well as in furthering the country’s ideology.

Dr Aqeel said Pakistan and Japan have learnt a great deal from each other. One of the things that brought the two nations closer was literature, especially in the form of travelogues.

The first travelogue in that connection was penned by a ruler of Rampur named Hamid Ali Khan. For six months in 1893 he travelled across the world. Unlike the usual practice of globetrotters from west to east, he began his journey from the east.

It was after visiting Japan that he left for the US. In 1896, he published his Japan journey from Agra. It’s an important cultural document which became very popular at the time of its publication.

The other aspect that the scholar emphasised was the various Islamic movements that the British suppressed. He said before the 1857 war, there was one such movement which due to lack of resources couldn’t succeed.

One of the exiled men was Maulvi Barkatullah Bhopali, who first went to America from India and then to Japan from where he took out a magazine that generated interest of the Japanese people in Islam.

After giving examples of how some individuals popularised Urdu in Japan, the scholar said the Urdu novel is fondly read in that country and no fewer than 300 Urdu short stories have been translated into Japanese. He also mentioned the name of Sir Syed’s grandson Ross Masud who visited Japan three times.

In his closing remarks, which were delivered in Urdu, Nakagawa Yasushi, deputy consul general of Japan in Karachi, thanked Dr Aqeel for giving an informative talk. He then talked about how he was introduced to the Urdu language and how he got to learn it.

M Iqbal Burma spoke on the genesis of the PJIF at the event, which was moderated by Shakil Khan.

US to ease visas for skilled Indian workers as Modi visits

The State Department could announce as soon as Thursday that a small number of Indians and other foreign workers on H-1B visas will be able to renew those visas in the US, without having to travel abroad, one of the sources said, part of a pilot program that could be expanded in coming years.

Indian citizens are by far the most active users of the US H-1B program and made up 73 per cent of the nearly 442,000 H-1B workers in fiscal year 2022.

“We all recognize that mobility of our people is a huge asset to us,” said another US official.

“And so our goal is to approach that in a sort of multifaceted way. The State Department already has been working very hard to find creative ways to make changes to things.”

A State Department spokesperson declined to comment on questions about which visa types would qualify or the timing of the pilot launch. Plans for a pilot program were first reported by Bloomberg Law in February.

“The pilot would begin with a small number of cases with the intention to scale the initiative over the following one to two years,” the spokesperson said while declining to define small.

The steps could change and are not finalised until they are announced. The White House declined to comment.

Each year, the US government makes 65,000 H-1B visas available to companies seeking skilled foreign workers and 20,000 visas for workers with advanced degrees. The visas last for three years and can be renewed for another three years.

The companies using the most H-1B workers in recent years include the Indian-based Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services as well as Amazon, Alphabet and Meta in the US, according to US government data.

The ability for some of the temporary foreign workers to renew visas in the US would free up resources for visa interviews in consulates abroad, the spokesperson said.

The pilot program would also include some workers with L-1 visas, which are available to people transferring within a company to a position in the US, one of the sources said.

A separate initiative to clear a backlog of visa applications at US embassies in India is finally showing signs of progress, according to another one of those sources, and is expected to figure into the discussions between the two countries’ delegations in Washington this week.

India has long had concerns with the difficulty its citizens face in receiving visas to live in the United States, including technology industry workers. More than 10 million jobs stood open in the United States at the end of April, according to the Labor Department.

Some H-1B visa holders in the US have been among the thousands of tech workers laid off this year, sending them scrambling to find new employers within a 60-day “grace period” or return to their home country.

 

The Biden administration has spent months working to improve visa access for Indians, trying to get around the lack of political will in Congress to comprehensively reform US immigration policy. President Joe Biden wants to knit together the world’s two largest democracies, partly in a bid to better compete with China.

US visa services are still attempting to clear a backlog after Washington halted almost all visa processing worldwide in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The visa backlog has led to some families being separated for extended periods of time, with some taking to social media to lament their situation.

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