23-10-2025

Month: June 2024

PM lauds approval of budget 2024-25 by National Assembly

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Friday hailed the swift approval of the budget 2024-25 by the National Assembly, praising the tireless efforts of Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and his team for preparing a pro-people budget that prioritizes welfare of common man and promises to steer the country towards economic prosperity.

Talking to the finance minister in the National Assembly, the prime minister expressed his satisfaction over the active participation of all the treasury and opposition members in the budget session.

He also appreciated the efforts of the officers from ministries of finance, planning, other relevant ministries and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in preparation of the budget.

The government, he said, tried its best to utilize all possible resources to provide maximum relief to the common man.

He said the government provided relief to the salaried class, pensioners and workers.

The prime minister highlighted that special attention was given in the budget to various important sectors such as health, education, agriculture and information technology.

He said the elite class and the tax evaders would be brought into the net. “It is not possible that the poor pay the taxes and the elites enjoy tax exemptions,” he added.

Expressing satisfaction over the economic situation, the prime minister said the country’s economy had now been put on the right path and that Pakistan’s journey of prosperity had begun now.

He said due to the business friendly policies, the trust of investors had been restored in the government.

The government was taking steps to bring reforms in the departments and privatize the loss making state-owned entities on priority, he added.

‘US, Pakistan relationship is in the best place it’s been in years’: State Dept official

WASHINGTON: United States Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Elizabeth Horst Friday praised Masood Khan, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States, for his services towards building “bridges between Islamabad and Washington”.

“On behalf of the State Department, I just want to note that the US-Pakistan relationship is in the best place it’s been in years, in part, in large part to what Ambassador Masood Khan has done to represent Pakistan, to build bridges between Islamabad and Washington,” said Horst at a farewell dinner.

The event was organised to honour the services of Khan with officials from the Department of State and the Department of Defense in attendance.

On behalf of the State Department, the US official acknowledged that the ties between the two countries, like any longstanding relationship, have experienced friction at times, but “because of you, we know how we can talk through this and we have a framework to talk through friction”, she added.

After serving two years as Pakistan’s top representative in the US from February 2022, Khan is set to leave one of the most coveted diplomatic posts next week on Monday with his deputy to perform envoy duties following his departure from Washington.

The seasoned diplomat was nominated for the post by then-prime minister Imran Khan in November 2021.

Additional Foreign Secretary (Middle East and SIFC) Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh has now been appointed as envoy to the United States.

In her praise for Khan and his role in strengthening the ties between Pakistan and the US, the State Department official said that both countries have achieved stability and a broadening of relationship that they haven’t seen in many many years.

“We have had new dialogues opened. We have looked for new areas of trade,” she said, adding that both nations have looked for ways in which they can cooperate on things like health and energy and climate, things that we have not been talked about for a long time.

“And all of that is because you, Masood, have been an extraordinary representative of the Pakistani people and the Pakistani government. You have been a person of integrity, You have brought creativity and hospitality.

“You have used your dining room table for delicious lunches for everybody in the government of the United States as well as Capitol Hill. You have been incredibly effective. And we have this relationship now because of the efforts that you have made.”

Horst, appreciating the ambassador’s contributions, told Khan that while he is leaving, the relationship between Pakistan and the US is better than when he arrived and “as strong as it’s been in a long time”.

“I think we are all going to benefit from the two years that you put in here. I want to thank you personally and from the State Department,” she concluded.

Delhi airport roof collapses months after inauguration

Images posted online showed vehicles crushed under giant steel girders at the departure forecourt of the airport’s Terminal 1, one of several projects Modi celebrated in March ahead of the country’s recent general election.

“Due to heavy rain since early this morning, a portion of the canopy […] collapsed around 5:00am,” airport authorities said in a statement.

The terminal is used for domestic flights only. Departures from it were cancelled until early afternoon, with later flights diverted to other terminals, which were operating as normal.

Opposition accuses Modi of opening half-finished terminal in a hurry because of elections

Infrastructure spending has been a priority under Modi, and the Delhi airport — named after assassinated former prime minister Indira Gandhi — is one of the country’s flagship projects.

The opposition Congress party slammed Modi, saying in a statement: “Because of the elections, this half-finished terminal was inaugurated in a hurry. Today this accident happened.”

Congress defied expectations and exit polls to deprive Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of its overall parliamentary majority in elections earlier this month, forcing the BJP into a coalition with allies.

Delhi airport is run by a consortium led by Indian firm GMR, which describes itself as the world’s second-largest private airport operator. It also has interests in energy and highways.

Reports say it has given millions of dollars to an electoral trust that has donated tens of millions to Modi’s ruling BJP — and has also funded Congress, albeit to a far lesser extent.

Senior Congress figure Priyanka Gandhi — sister of the opposition leader Rahul — posted on social media platform X: “Will the Chief Inauguration Minister take responsibility for this poor construction work and this corrupt model?”

At the airport, civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu told reporters that the building inaugurated by Modi was not the one where the roof collapsed, which was opened in 2009.

“Eight people have been injured, one person is dead. Rescue operations have been completed,” Atul Garg, director of Delhi Fire Services, said. A section of roof at Jabalpur airport in Madhya Pradesh — another of the projects inaugurated by Modi — also collapsed Friday, reports said, with no one injured.

Safety and construction standards remain a concern in India, with accidents happening regularly.

At least 20 workers were crushed to death when a crane collapsed above an under-construction expressway outside the financial capital Mumbai earlier this month.

Last year, more than 40 workers were trapped for nearly two weeks before they were rescued after the road tunnel they were working on in Uttarakhand collapsed.

In October 2022, more than 130 people were killed when a bridge in Gujarat collapsed soon after it was repaired.

Delhi has been hit by heavy rains in recent days as the annual monsoon reached the Indian capital after a long stretch of heatwaves and punishingly high temperatures.

The India Meteorological Department said the capital has seen 228.1mm of rain in 24 hours, the highest such figure in June since 1936.

The downpours have brought the city to a standstill, with images shared by the city’s police showing personnel clearing trees and helping residents stuck in waterlogged areas.

Monsoon rains cause deluges and flooding every year in South Asia, but experts say climate change is shifting weather patterns and increasing the number of extreme weather events.

Aid groups press to stop Sudan ‘man-made’ famine as 755,000 projected to starve

Aid groups are warning that Sudan’s “man-made famine” could be even worse than feared, with the most catastrophic death toll the world has seen in decades, without more global pressure on warring generals.

A UN-backed study said Thursday that 755,000 people are on the brink of starvation in Sudan, a death toll not seen since the 1980s when famine in Ethiopia shocked the world.

Barrett Alexander, the director of programs in Sudan for Mercy Corps, said even that figure could be an underestimate as the conflict has displaced farmers in the country’s agricultural areas, raising fears for the next harvest.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if it were a little bit higher than that number,” he said of the projection by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification initiative, or IPC.

“We’re seeing a man-made likely famine happen in front of our eyes that’s primarily conflict-induced,” Alexander, who is based in Port Sudan, told AFP on a visit to Washington.

The IPC said that nearly 26 million people — half of Sudan’s population — were facing acute food insecurity with the 755,000 in catastrophic conditions, including around the capital Khartoum and Darfur, the scene of a scorched-earth military campaign two decades ago.

Fighting erupted in April 2023 between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces after a plan to integrate them failed, with the warring generals seizing territory.

Alexander said that both sides have imposed cumbersome levels of bureaucracy, including requiring permits of aid workers.

“Getting across the frontlines is nearly impossible,” he said.

– Eating grass –

Eatizaz Yousif, Sudan country director for the International Rescue Committee, said there have already been accounts of people resorting to eating grass in South Kordofan state.

“Definitely we will be seeing very soon people dying from a lack of food in different parts of the country,” said Yousif, who was also in Washington.

She said that the belligerents have looted food warehouses and harassed or killed humanitarian workers.

“It’s definitely a man-made hunger crisis because we don’t have a problem with the level of grain at this time,” she said.

The United States has been seeking to bring the warring sides back to the negotiating table but has seen little interest, with diplomats saying both sides believe they can win on the battlefield.

The two sides “must negotiate an immediate ceasefire to facilitate predictable and sustained humanitarian access to all Sudanese and remain at the negotiating table to end this conflict,” Samantha Power, head of the US Agency for International Development, said in a statement.

Regional players have increasingly been involved in Sudan, with the United Arab Emirates accused of funneling military support to the Rapid Support Forces, whose fighters helped the wealthy Gulf country in Yemen.

The paramilitaries have also allegedly received support from Russia’s Wagner mercenaries, while Egypt, Turkey and reportedly Iran have backed the army.

With multiple conflicts in the world, donors have provided only 17 percent of the $2.7 billion sought by the United Nations to help Sudan.

“Compare Sudan with crises like Gaza and Ukraine — maybe they are more important in the geopolitical arena,” Yousif said.

“If you see the number of displaced and the number of humans suffering, Sudan should be on the top of humanitarian attention,” she said.

US, allies condemn North Korea for sanctions-busting arms sales to Russia

Washington and its allies challenged North Korea at the United Nations on Friday over claims Pyongyang is breaching arms control measures by supplying weapons to Russia to use in its war in Ukraine.

Washington’s deputy envoy to the UN Robert Wood hit out at what he said were “unlawful arms transfers from the DPRK (North Korea) to Russia” as the two sides forge ever closer ties.

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms, those unlawful transfers, which have significantly contributed to Russia’s ability to conduct its war against Ukraine,” Wood said ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on the issue.

The supply of arms and munitions by North Korea violates Security Council resolutions on the issue from 2006, 2009 and 2016, he said.

Jonah Leff, executive director at Conflict Armament Research which tracks the use of weapons in war, told the Security Council that CAR had found evidence of North Korean ballistic missile use in Ukraine — in breach of sanctions.

“A CAR field investigation team physically documented the remnants of a ballistic missile that struck Kharkiv on January 2, 2024,” that he said investigators concluded was North Korean-made “based on several unique features.”

Leff said identical missiles had also struck Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia earlier this year.

Russia’s UN ambassador Vasily Nebenzya denied Moscow had sought to undermine sanctions, and opposed the presence of Ukraine and the European Union at the meeting.

Ties between Moscow and Pyongyang have grown rapidly in recent years, with the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hosting Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month and signing a mutual defense agreement.

Tensions are high on the peninsula with South Korea alarmed at Moscow’s embrace of its unpredictable neighbor, and the North responding to balloons carrying pro-Seoul propaganda with its own balloons carrying trash southward.

Wood said China could do more to prevent growing military ties between Russia and North Korea. That drew a rebuke from Beijing’s UN ambassador who said “the US must reflect deeply — especially on its own actions instead of blaming others” for growing tensions on the peninsula.

Pyongyang tested a ballistic missile on June 25, which Wood said showed “contempt” for the Security Council.

Washington has long claimed that Russia is using up munitions and losing heavy equipment in Ukraine, forcing the Kremlin to turn to its small pool of allies, including North Korea, for support.

North Korea’s UN ambassador Kim Song told the Security Council there was “no reason whatever to be concerned” and the agreement signed between Moscow and Pyongyang was to “promote progress” in relations.

Washington was joined by allies France and Britain in its condemnation of what it says are sanctions-busting arms shipments from North Korea to Russia.

Putin has slammed the United States for its ongoing military support for Ukraine, saying last week that he “does not rule out” sending weapons to North Korea.

French PM in final appeal to stop far-right victory

France’s lightning-quick election campaign is over, and despite last-ditch appeals not to back the far right, voters appear ready to hand the National Rally party a historic victory in parliamentary elections.

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal warned it would unleash “impulses of hate and aggression”.

But the party of Marine Le Pen and 28-year old Jordan Bardella, who could be the next prime minister, has if anything cemented its lead in the opinion polls.

National Rally has fended off a series of accusations of racism, involving party members as much as supporters. The big question now is whether it can win an absolute majority in two rounds over the next two Sundays.

They have a significant chance, after European elections on 9 June turned most of the electoral map of France dark blue. That was the moment Emmanuel Macron chose to stun the French people with a decision to call a general election in just three weeks.

National Rally (RN) is gearing up for a big night on Sunday, with one opinion poll hours before the campaign ended showing support at 36.5%.

Its candidates are hoping to win dozens of seats in the National Assembly outright on the night, with more than 50% of the vote. But most seats will be decided in run-off votes on 7 July, between two, three or even four contenders.

So opinion polls do not tell the whole story, and a hastily arranged left-wing alliance, the New Popular Front, also has its eye on victory, only a few points behind RN with 29%.

The Ensemble alliance, led by Gabriel Attal, lies in third on 20.5%, according to the Ifop poll. He argues both the other main blocs are extreme.

No area of mainland France backed National Rally in the European vote more than L’Aisne, a rural department in the north with just over 50% support.

Since 2022, L’Aisne has already had three RN MPs, and in the historic town of Villers-Cotterêts, they have had a National Rally mayor, Franck Briffaut, for a decade.

A party veteran of more than 40 years, going back to its old National Front days under Jean-Marie Le Pen, he feels the path to power has been inevitable, in the same way that Giorgia Meloni won elections in Italy.

Franck Briffaut says his party has evolved over time and victory is inevitable

But like many in his party, he won’t settle for anything less than an absolute majority in the National Assembly, which would require at least 289 of the 577 parliamentary seats.

“I won’t be part of it, because it’s a trap set by Macron. I’m also convinced that if we get an absolute majority, he has to be made to leave. As long as he’s there, we can’t put through the entirety of our programme. Because we need changes to the constitution.”

President Macron has promised he is not going anywhere until his term ends in 2027, and it is his task to appoint the next prime minister after the second round of these elections on 7 July.

Jordan Bardella, whose campaign posters have “prime minister” written underneath his name, insists he won’t settle for less than an absolute majority.

That does leave open the question of who Mr Macron will choose if RN falls short. “There’s no point in Emmanuel Macron naming a prime minister nobody would want,” says constitutional expert Prof Dominique Rousseau. But if there’s no absolute majority, he says the president has room to manoeuvre.

It would usually come from the biggest party, but if they refused, he could look for a consensus figure instead, who could pull together what remains of the centre right and centre left.

For now, it is Jordan Bardella who is doing all the running, announcing during a TV debate two nights ago that he has some kind of “government of national unity” in waiting.

Mr Bardella has promised a government of all the talents, including as yet unknown “sincere patriots who have France’s sovereignty at heart”. However, he did name former conservative leader Eric Ciotti, who alienated most of his colleagues when he struck up an alliance with RN.

It may not sound convincing, and the prospect of power-sharing – or “cohabitation” – with President Macron sounds like three highly difficult years in French politics.

National Rally chief Marine Le Pen has already raised tensions by appearing to call into question the president’s role as commander-in-chief of the armed forces as merely “honorary”.

The intensity of this election campaign, and its importance, have prompted Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin to warn of the risk that the “ultra-left and ultra-right” may try to sow chaos after both rounds of the election. He has called on local prefects to exercise vigilance.

Away from the tempestuous politics of Paris. a Greens campaigner handed out leaflets to a handful of passers-by in the northern town of Soissons, run by a National Rally MP for the past two years.

He complained the RN had done nothing for this ancient and now disadvantaged town since he came to office.

In the main shopping street, people still refer to the party as National Front, despite the best efforts of Marine Le Pen to rebrand her party and shed its old image of racism and antisemitism.

Jonathan says the RN is no different from its predecessor, but is not unduly worried: “There are locks in place in the Assembly, in the constitution, so it’s not like they’re going to start a dictatorship here.”

This mother said she did not expect RN to win such a high proportion of the vote

One mother said that living as a black family in a nearby village, it was worrying that the RN vote was so high: “It’s immense. We didn’t expect RN to win the most votes in L’Aisne.”

She too believes the far right will struggle to change the constitution, but she is more concerned about their rhetoric.

One of RN’s key platforms is “National priority”, restricting social welfare to French citizens, alongside tax cuts on energy and income tax exemptions for under-30s.

The party also says dozens of sensitive, strategic jobs would not be open to dual nationals in France, who make up an estimated 5% of the population.

Former Socialist education minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem (L) came to France aged four

One outgoing MP suggested the appointment of Moroccan-born former Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem had been “a mistake”.

Marine Le Pen quickly slapped him down, but it is clear that the issue of 3.3 million French citizens with a second nationality is not going to go away.

“We’re not really in favour of dual nationals,” Mayor Franck Briffaut told the BBC in Villers-Cotterêts, stressing it was only his personal view.

“It’s like bigamy. We’re in a civilisation where you can’t have bigamy. I don’t get dual citizenship – you belong to either one or the other. You can’t love two countries – just like you can’t be married to two women.”

Two Scottish councils are allowing postal voters who have not yet received their ballots to vote in person at an emergency facility this weekend.

Fife and City of Edinburgh Council also said that residents still waiting, who will not be at home on polling day, can have their voting pack reissued.

In Edinburgh the City Chambers is open from from Friday until Sunday.

Fife Council said Fife House in Glenrothes would be open on Saturday between 09:00 and 16:00.

The rare move follows calls for a review of the postal voting system across Scotland after voters reported not receiving their ballots just one week before polling day.

The Electoral Management Board for Scotland (EMB) said there had been “many difficulties experienced with the delivery of postal votes” across the country.

Other councils around the country are issuing updates on their websites.

East Renfrewshire Council said it would be delivering replacement packs over the weekend to people who had already been in touch over non-delivery.

Voters in Edinburgh can collect their new pack at the City Chambers and, if required, can vote there up to 17:00.

The facility will also be open from 09:00 to 17:00 on Saturday and Sunday.

Voters are asked to bring photo ID to the building on High Street.

The council said it was prioritising people who will not be at home next week and urged anyone who is not leaving the country to wait for delivery of their postal vote.

But it added that anyone who has not had their pack by early next week should contact the council.

More than 92,000 postal votes were sent out in Edinburgh last week – although it is not known how many have not been received. The council said another 11,000 should reach people on Friday or Saturday.

The surprise decision by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to call a July election has posed additional challenges in Scotland as schools broke up this month for the summer holidays.

As a result many families will be out of the country on polling day.

Paul Lawrence, returning officer for Edinburgh, said: “I appreciate the concerns of voters on this issue and my absolute priority is to ensure everyone has the opportunity to exercise their democratic right to vote in this general election.

“That’s why we’ve taken the decision to put in extra resources and open the City Chambers this weekend.

“Please only attend if you haven’t received your postal vote and you’re going on holiday or won’t be at home next week.”

Mr Lawrence also encouraged anyone who has already received their postal vote to return it as soon as possible, through Royal Mail.

He added: “The timing of this election has been challenging as have other circumstances beyond our control, but our teams are working hard to ensure it passes off as smoothly and successfully as possible.”

The polling both at the City Chambers will be open until 17:00 and then from 09:00 to 17:00 on Saturday and Sunday

The returning officer for Fife, Ken Gourlay, said: “The printers and Royal Mail are doing everything they can to ensure that all postal packs are delivered by Monday July 1.

“However, we appreciate that voters are concerned and that’s why we’re opening Fife House tomorrow.

“Please only attend if you haven’t received your postal vote and you’re going on holiday or won’t be at home next week.”

The Electoral Commission has said anyone who applied before the deadline on Wednesday 19 June, and had their application approved, should receive their ballot pack through the post “in the coming days”.

A spokesperson said: “As is the case at all elections, given the electoral timetable, there is a short window of time for administrators to prepare and dispatch postal votes.

“It is not uncommon for all postal ballots to not have arrived at this point. If a voter’s postal ballot pack does not arrive in time, there may still be options available to voters, such as requesting a replacement from their local authority.

“If voters are concerned their postal vote won’t be sent back in time, they also have the option of handing their postal pack to their polling station on polling day.”

Christine Walker is not impressed by the authorities’ response

Christine Walker, who lives in Dumfries and Galloway, is one of the thousands of people around the country who have been affected.

She is going on holiday on Monday and feels she has been denied the right to vote by the “ineptitude” of the authorities.

“I’m 77 years old. This is the first time I’ve ever had to apply for a postal vote and I’m not impressed,” she told BBC Radio Scotland’s Drivetime programme.

“I applied in good time and got a reply to say I had been approved and now, two weeks later, nothing.

“They are all blaming each other – from the printers to Westminster, to the schools breaking up. It is gross inefficiency.

“I don’t have any options now because I am going to be down in Surrey and won’t be able to vote.”

Earlier, First Minister John Swinney described the situation as “deeply unacceptable” and said he was not surprised the timing of election was causing problems.

A number of Scottish councils have also reported delays in ballots being received by voters, including Fife and West Lothian.

Perth and Kinross Council said on social media it felt “a comprehensive review of capacity and systems is necessary after the election”.

Royal Mail said it had investigated concerns over the delivery of postal votes in some areas but had found no backlogs in any of its offices in Scotland.

Many councils have been sending out postal ballots in tranches, with people who applied after 7 June having to wait longer before the ballot packs are despatched.

Pakistan to ‘participate’ in UN-hosted Doha talks on Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has decided to participate in the United Nations-hosted talks on Afghanistan in the Qatari capital scheduled for this weekend.

Earlier this month, Taliban authorities also confirmed their participation in the third round of the Doha talks scheduled to start on June 30, a Taliban spokesperson had told AFP after snubbing an invitation to the previous round.

The sources said Pakistan’s Special Representative on Afghanistan Asif Durrani and Ahmad Naseem Warraich, assistant secretary for West Asia in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will represent Pakistan in the talks.

It should be noted that Pakistan has times and again requested the Taliban government to stop cross-border terrorism from Afghanistan into Pakistan by preventing its territory from being used by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other terrorist groups.

The diplomatic sources said the Afghan Taliban’s interim government had boycotted the second Doha talks of 2024 over the participation of women and civil society representatives.

It would be the first time that Afghanistan’s interim administration will sit face to face with special representatives on Afghanistan from different parts of the world, they maintained.

The sources said prior to the Doha talks, the United Nations held consultations with representatives of the Afghan civil society present inside and outside Afghanistan.

After completion of the talks, representatives of the civil society members and women would hold discussion with the special representatives on Afghanistan on July 2.

“In the third Doha talks, progress on recognising the Afghan Taliban and Afghanistan’s interim government is out of the question,” the diplomatic sources added.

Restrictions on women’s rights continue to prevent Afghanistan’s “reintegration” into the international community, a senior UN official said on June 21, noting the Taliban’s participation in upcoming talks in Doha is not legitimisation of the isolated government.

Since their 2021 return to power, Taliban authorities have not been formally recognised by any nation.

Restrictions on women and girls, particularly in education, “deprive the country of vital human capital” and lead to a brain drain that undermines the impoverished country’s future, Roza Otunbayeva, head of the UN mission in the country, UNAMA, told the UN Security Council.

Operation Azm-e-Istehkam: Pakistan envoy to US stresses need for sophisticated small arms

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Masood Khan has said that the South Asian country needs small arms and other modern equipment to ensure that Operation Azm-e-Istehkam is a success.

The federal government this week approved the fresh operation, a reinvigorated and re-energised national counter-terrorism drive, to eliminate terrorism from the country.

While there were concerns about the move affecting the local population in the areas which will be focused on in the drive, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has clarified that it was not a large-scale military operation and that there would be no population displacement.

“Pakistan has launched Azm-e-Istehkam […] to oppose and dismantle terrorist networks. For that, we need sophisticated small arms and communication equipment,” Khan told an event organised by Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute in partnership with the International Academy of Letters USA in Washington, DC.

Addressing the conference titled ‘Looking Back, Looking Forward: Assessing the US-Pakistan Relationship’, the ambassador stressed that Pakistan and the United States should continue to invest in the “reset” of their relationship, maintain strong security links, enhance intelligence cooperation, resume sales of advanced military platforms and sustainment of Pakistan’s US-origin defence equipment.

“This is crucial for regional security and opposing the rising tide of terrorism that also threatens the interests of the US and its allies,” he said.

Khan said the bilateral ties should be anchored in ground realties, even as they aim for stronger security and economic partnerships. “Secondly, one or two issues should not hold the entire relationship hostage,” said the ambassador.

Highlighting Pakistan’s demographic dividend, technological advancements and huge market opportunities, he invited US investors and businesses to tap the country’s potential.

Projecting security, economic and strategic component as the new domains of cooperation between the two countries, the ambassador observed that security cooperation had its importance. “It equals trust building,” he observed.

The ambassador highlighted high level defence talks, frequent meetings, military exercises including Inspired Union-2024, Falcon Talon and Red Flag that promoted defence cooperation between the two countries.

He also proposed that the US should make Pakistan a partner for a diplomatic comeback in Kabul, if that is what is being planned, and work with Pakistan, in an inclusive setting, on counterterrorism and the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan.

Indonesia arrests over 100 Taiwanese for alleged cyber fraud

Indonesian police have arrested more than 100 Taiwanese at a villa in Bali over alleged cyber fraud, authorities said Friday.

The proliferation of cyber fraud groups in Southeast Asia has become a growing concern in recent years, and authorities in countries including China, Indonesia and Malaysia have stepped up efforts to stop them.

Bali immigration authorities said that after a tip-off from Indonesian police, they raided the villa in Tabanan Regency on Wednesday, where the group of 12 women and 91 men was found with hundreds of mobile phones and other electronic devices.

They were accused of abusing immigration permits and conducting online scams targeting Malaysians, said Indonesian immigration official Safar Muhammad Godam.

He added that officials could not charge them because the alleged crimes fell outside their jurisdiction, but were “closely working together” with related authorities, including those in Malaysia.

“Their activities target individuals outside the country, making it very difficult to meet the elements of a criminal offence in such cases,” Godam said in a press conference.

“They are subject to administrative immigration actions. In the near future, we will proceed with deporting all of the 103 foreign nationals.”

They are currently being held at an immigration detention centre in Bali for further questioning, he added.

Indonesia, with tip-offs from Chinese authorities, has previously confronted international cyber fraud networks targeting victims in China.

In 2018, Bali Police arrested 103 Chinese nationals, along with 11 Indonesians allegedly working for them, for running a multi-million-dollar cyber fraud syndicate that targeted wealthy businessmen and politicians in China.

This came a year after the deportation of 153 Chinese nationals involved in a network accused of fraudulently impersonating Chinese police or law officials, making around six trillion rupiah ($365.5 million) since launching operations in late 2016.

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