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Hafeez tests negative just day after PCB positive result for COVID-19

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Pakistan veteran all-round Mohammad Hafeez has revealed his COVID-19 test came negative in second opinion, just a day after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had issued a press release naming him among the 10 squad members affected from the virus.

The 39-year-old took to twitter sharing the results after undergoing second assessment for the deadly bug for his satisfaction.

“After tested positive Covid-19 according to PCB testing report yesterday, as the second opinion and for satisfaction, I personally went to test it again along with my family and here I along with my all family members are reported negative. Alhamdulillah, may Allah keep us all safe,” Hafeez tweeted.Hafeez’s negative test result has raised questions for the testing procedures followed by the board. It might also push the other players to pursue external sources for a test to confirm the findings of the earlier tests.

Gold shines as coronavirus surge unnerves investors

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LONDON: Gold prices surged to their highest in nearly eight years on Wednesday, while global shares cooled as signs of an acceleration in coronavirus cases kept investors on edge.

Fuelling concerns about sustained weakness in the pace of the economic recovery was data showing several U.S. states seeing record infections and the death toll in Latin America passing 100,000, according to a Reuters tally.

The European Union is even prepared to bar U.S. travellers because of the surge of cases in the country, putting it in the same category as Brazil and Russia, the New York Times reported.

All that and softness in the dollar, along with endless cheap liquidity from central banks, helped spot gold gain 0.2% to $1,770.92 per ounce after touching $1,773, its highest level since October 2012 in early Asian trade.

Global stocks were 0.3% lower and have been moving sideways in recent weeks after rising more than 40% from March lows on hopes the worst of the pandemic was over.

European shares were 1% lower.

There was some good news in markets, with emerging market stocks climbing to a 3-1/2 month high. They were up 0.5% on the day, while MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.5% to reach its highest since pandemic lockdowns first cratered markets in early March.

E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 reversed early losses to gain 0.1%.

“Global equity market futures are struggling to make gains today, likely for no other reason than with rising daily Covid-19 cases in the US remaining front-page news, the headlines are proving to be a weighty burden to bear this morning,” said Stephen Innes, chief global market strategist at AxiCorp. “The trough in global growth is indeed behind us, but the recovery trajectory in H2 remains uncertain.”

Against a backdrop of concerns over a weaker U.S. dollar and that a jump in infections will lead to more stimulus measures, gold should remain on a reasonably constructive path, he said.

The euro, headed for its best month against the dollar since October, inched higher to $1.1303.

The dollar was just a touch negative against a basket of currencies, just above a one-week low hit Tuesday.

“The dollar and risk sentiment are likely to remain broadly negatively correlated, barring the U.S. displaying clear and enduring leadership in the global economic recovery, something hard to square with the grim U.S. news on COVID,” said Ray Attrill, head of FX strategy at NAB.

The New Zealand dollar eased after the country’s central bank said it might have to do yet more to stimulate the economy, including cutting rates further, expanding bond purchases or even buying foreign assets.

Euro zone bond yields were broadly steady, with a focus on Austria which is expected to sell a new 100-year bond that will raise 2 billion euros, one of the longest-dated bond sales since the coronavirus crisis.

Germany will also visit the primary market with the first reopening of a 15-year bond which is expected to raise 2.5 billion euros.

Oil futures were mixed as worries about oversupply in the market, stoked by a rise in U.S. crude inventories, were offset by a drop in gasoline stocks.

Brent crude was up 0.3% at $42.75 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 1 cents to $40.34 a barrel, paring some earlier losses.

PHC takes up elephant import case, seeks detailed report

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PESHAWAR : The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday heard a petition seeking issuance of the no-objection certificate for the import of an elephant for Peshawar Zoo from Zimbabwe.

The PHC bench headed by Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan directed the climate change department to submit a detailed report on the next hearing. Federal and provincial law officers as well as the zoo’s deputy director appeared before the bench.

The court directed the relevant committee to take up the issue with the ministry and address the petitioner’s reservations at the earliest. It directed the authorities to include the Peshawar Zoo’s additional director in the committee.
Justice Khan asked whether the atmosphere was favourable for the elephant here. What will happen if the elephant dies after being imported, he further questioned.

The hearing was adjourned till July 8.

Last year in Sept, A Lahore High Court (LHC) bench had directed the authorities concerned to issue the no-objection certificate (NOC) for the import of an elephant for the Lahore zoo.

A petitioner contended before the court that no elephant has been brought to the zoo since the death of Suzi two years back. He said he approached the department concerned, requesting it to purchase an elephant but no heed was paid.

A government lawyer had informed the court that an African state has agreed to export the elephant to Pakistan but the federal government had been dragging its feet to issue a permit for the purpose.

Holding backs Pakistan team touring England

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The Men-in-green have suffered a major blow ahead of their departure for England on June 28, as 10 squad members were tested positive for coronavirus.

West Indies legend Michael Holding has backed Pakistan cricket team to perform well in England rather than playing in home.

The Men-in-green have suffered a major blow ahead of their departure for England on June 28, as 10 squad members were tested positive for coronavirus.

Despite the fact, the legendary pacer from the Carrabin backed the visitors as he claimed that England was safer than Pakistan as they were set to relax restrictions, caused by the virus, in the near future.

“Well, it would seem that England are safer than whatever is happening in Pakistan right now. As of the fourth of July England are set to have relaxations in their restrictions,” the 66-year-old said on his YouTube channel.

“They will be reducing the six feet apart rule that was being insisted on, bringing it down to three feet or one meter apart. Things are getting a little bit easier there.”

He added, “They are perhaps better off coming to England as opposed to staying in Pakistan because it is even worse there. Once they get to England, they will be in a bio-secure area. Once they arrive they will have to do their two weeks of quarantine as I am doing at the moment. They will be moved to a bio-secure area to make sure they are not infected. They should be ok from there on.”

The former pacer further claimed that it should be the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the people in England that should have a problem with the Pakistan team arriving on their shores than the other way around.

“If anyone should say that the tour should not go ahead, it should be the ECB or the people here in England because Pakistan is among the top countries in terms of positive tests,” he said.

Experts call for deepening of Pakistan, Azerbaijan defence ties

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DNA

ISLAMABAD: Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Islamabad, and Center for Global & Strategic Studies (CGSS), Islamabad jointly organized a Webinar titled “Azerbaijan-Pakistan Defence Cooperation: Successes & Opportunities” dedicated to the 102ndAnniversary of Azerbaijan Armed Forces.

The session was commenced with the opening remarks by Lieutenant Colonel Khalid TaimurAkram (Retd), Executive Director, CGSS. He stated that it is an honor for CGSS to organize this Webinar and honoring the Armed forces of Azerbaijan. He stressed the strong bond that the two countries share.

Guest of Honor, Lt Gen Nasser Khan Janjua HI(M), (Retd), Former National Security Advisor of Pakistan stated that it is a great occasion to commemorate the sacrifices and contributions of Azerbaijan Armed Forces. He further stressed that Azerbaijan’s ability to maintain national security is exceedingly praiseworthy. He also mentioned that Pakistan extends unconditional support to Azerbaijan on the NagornoKarabakh issue. Pakistan envisions a great and common future with Azerbaijan in multiple sectors.

Making his remarks in the webinar Ali Alizada, Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Pakistan stated that Azerbaijan and Pakistan are bound by the relations of strong friendship and strategic partnership which have solid roots and reflect the will of our fraternal nations. One of the most important and main pillars of this brotherly relationship is also our cooperation and strategic partnership in defence, security and military fields and thanks to the efforts and positive views of the leadership of both countries our relations are in upward trajectory in these fields as well.

Extending congratulations on Armed Forces Day of Azerbaijan to the people of his country, Supreme Commander in Chief and staff members of Azerbaijan Armed Forces, Ambassador Ali Alizada said that despite having the conflict with aggressor country Armenia which occupied 20% of internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan in the early independence years of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Azerbaijan has made greatest strides in Armed Forces building and by the leadership of Supreme Commander in Chief Azerbaijan Army became one of the strongest armies in the region and are capable to liberate occupied territories any time.

Ambassador also noted that Pakistan Armed Forces’ and its leaderships’ support to Azerbaijan on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and demand of unconditional withdrawal of Armenian occupational forces from internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan is commendable and very much appreciated by the government and people of Azerbaijan. He thanked Pakistan Armed Forces and its leadership for continued cooperation and expressed his confidence for further strengthening bilateral relations in the years ahead.

Major General Syed Khalid Amir Jaffery HI(M), (Retd), President CGSS stated that Pakistan has brotherly relations with Azerbaijan and great prospects of cooperation especially in defense and military areas. He congratulated Azerbaijan on the 102nd Anniversary of their Armed Forces.

Col MehmanNovruzov, Defence Attaché, Azerbaijan spoke about historical background of Azerbaijan Armed Forces, the role of Heydar Aliyev, the National Leader of Azerbaijan in Azerbaijan army building process, security challenges in the South Caucasus region, and priorities of Azerbaijan Army. He said that, under the leadership of H.E. IlhamAliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan Army has undergone rapid developments and at the present is ranked 64th among the armies of the other countries of the world.

Col Nadeem Choudhry, DefenceAttaché, Pakistan discussed that Pakistan and Azerbaijan are extending cooperation in the field of security, military technology, and educational spheres. Many visits have been carried out between representatives of both countries in this regard.

The Webinar was moderated by Ms. Palwasha Nawaz – Project Executive, CGSS, and was attended by 45 participants from diverse backgrounds. The Webinar was also broadcasted live on different social media platforms.

Experts call for deepening of Pakistan, Azerbaijan defence ties

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admin
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DNA

ISLAMABAD: Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Islamabad, and Center for Global & Strategic Studies (CGSS), Islamabad jointly organized a Webinar titled “Azerbaijan-Pakistan Defence Cooperation: Successes & Opportunities” dedicated to the 102ndAnniversary of Azerbaijan Armed Forces.

The session was commenced with the opening remarks by Lieutenant Colonel Khalid TaimurAkram (Retd), Executive Director, CGSS. He stated that it is an honor for CGSS to organize this Webinar and honoring the Armed forces of Azerbaijan. He stressed the strong bond that the two countries share.

Guest of Honor, Lt Gen Nasser Khan Janjua HI(M), (Retd), Former National Security Advisor of Pakistan stated that it is a great occasion to commemorate the sacrifices and contributions of Azerbaijan Armed Forces. He further stressed that Azerbaijan’s ability to maintain national security is exceedingly praiseworthy. He also mentioned that Pakistan extends unconditional support to Azerbaijan on the NagornoKarabakh issue. Pakistan envisions a great and common future with Azerbaijan in multiple sectors.

Making his remarks in the webinar Ali Alizada, Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Pakistan stated that Azerbaijan and Pakistan are bound by the relations of strong friendship and strategic partnership which have solid roots and reflect the will of our fraternal nations. One of the most important and main pillars of this brotherly relationship is also our cooperation and strategic partnership in defence, security and military fields and thanks to the efforts and positive views of the leadership of both countries our relations are in upward trajectory in these fields as well.

Extending congratulations on Armed Forces Day of Azerbaijan to the people of his country, Supreme Commander in Chief and staff members of Azerbaijan Armed Forces, Ambassador Ali Alizada said that despite having the conflict with aggressor country Armenia which occupied 20% of internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan in the early independence years of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Azerbaijan has made greatest strides in Armed Forces building and by the leadership of Supreme Commander in Chief Azerbaijan Army became one of the strongest armies in the region and are capable to liberate occupied territories any time.

Ambassador also noted that Pakistan Armed Forces’ and its leaderships’ support to Azerbaijan on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and demand of unconditional withdrawal of Armenian occupational forces from internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan is commendable and very much appreciated by the government and people of Azerbaijan. He thanked Pakistan Armed Forces and its leadership for continued cooperation and expressed his confidence for further strengthening bilateral relations in the years ahead.

Major General Syed Khalid Amir Jaffery HI(M), (Retd), President CGSS stated that Pakistan has brotherly relations with Azerbaijan and great prospects of cooperation especially in defense and military areas. He congratulated Azerbaijan on the 102nd Anniversary of their Armed Forces.

Col MehmanNovruzov, Defence Attaché, Azerbaijan spoke about historical background of Azerbaijan Armed Forces, the role of Heydar Aliyev, the National Leader of Azerbaijan in Azerbaijan army building process, security challenges in the South Caucasus region, and priorities of Azerbaijan Army. He said that, under the leadership of H.E. IlhamAliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan Army has undergone rapid developments and at the present is ranked 64th among the armies of the other countries of the world.

Col Nadeem Choudhry, DefenceAttaché, Pakistan discussed that Pakistan and Azerbaijan are extending cooperation in the field of security, military technology, and educational spheres. Many visits have been carried out between representatives of both countries in this regard.

The Webinar was moderated by Ms. Palwasha Nawaz – Project Executive, CGSS, and was attended by 45 participants from diverse backgrounds. The Webinar was also broadcasted live on different social media platforms.

India using terrorism as state policy to destabilize Pakistan: FO

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  • Aisha says Pakistan had proposed to declare four Indian nationals as terrorists under the United Nations 1267 Sanctions List as they were providing financial, technical and material support to TTP and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar

Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqi has said that India is “using terrorism as a state policy” to destabilise Pakistan and other neighbouring countries. She added India supports terrorist groups and banned outfits for carrying out terrorist activities inside Pakistan.

In a statement on Wednesday, she said Pakistan had proposed to declare four Indian nationals as terrorists under the United Nations 1267 Sanctions List as they were providing financial, technical and material support to terrorist groups including TTP, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and others.

She said that the individuals were identified as Venumadhav Dongara, Ajoy Mistry, Gobinda Patnaik, and Angara Appaji.

Aisha maintained that the UNSC Sanctions Committee objected to declaring Dongara as a terrorist. The spokesperson observed that Pakistan hopes the listing requests of other three Indian nationals will be given due consideration in an objective and transparent manner.

She said India took advantage of regional situation and promoted terrorism inside Pakistan by providing training and financial support to terrorist groups to kill innocent people in Pakistan.

She said these Indian nationals are now residing in India with impunity which indicates Pakistan’s position that India is a state that sponsors terrorism.

With JKT gone, hyenas chase Tania Aidrus

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After the ouster of Jahangir Tareen due to the sugar scandal, opposing PTI factions want Ms Aidrus out too.

In February 2020 Ms Tania Aidrus was notified the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Digital Pakistan. Before coming back to Pakistan Ms Aidrus had been working for Google for 12 years in various leadership roles, her last one being “Director, Product, Payments for Next Billion Users”.

Ms Aidrus’ return to Pakistan, according to various sources within the government, was facilitated by Mr Jahangir Khan Tareen, the erstwhile PTI party stalwart. However, after the ouster of Jahangir Tareen due to the sugar scandal, opposing PTI factions want Ms Aidrus out too.

Conflict of interest or line of attack?

Long before Ms Aidrus’ notification as the SAPM on Faberuary 27, 2020, she and her former Google colleague Mr Khurram Jamali had been in talks with the government since early 2019. These talks were facilitated by Mr Jahangir Khan Tareen who was unofficially leading many of the reforms initiatives of the PTI government. According to the finalized plan, both Ms Aidrus and Mr Jamali would leave Google to join Prime Minister’s Digital Pakistan Initiative. Mr Jamali formerly worked under Ms Aidrus as “Head Partnerships – Payments for Next Billion Users” at Google.

Finally, in a grand ceremony in December 2019 held in Islamabad, the Prime Minister announced that Ms Aidrus would lead the Digital Pakistan Initiative. Ms Aidrus spoke on the occasion and gave an outline of her plan for Digital Pakistan. The presentation that both Ms Aidrus and Mr Jamali had earlier given the Prime included a plan to create a non-profit organization called Digital Pakistan Foundation. Both Ms Aidrus and Mr Jamali had given the outline of what Digital Pakistan Foundation was going to be.

According to Ms Aidrus, the government’s Digital Pakistan Initiative has no Federal Budget assigned to it, neither is it under the ambit of Ministry of IT or Ministry of Science and Technology, leaving it high and dry. The plan, since day one, and as presented to the Prime Minister, was to create a non-profit foundation called Digital Pakistan Foundation in parallel to the government’s Digital Pakistan Initiative.

Talking to Business Recorder, a source close the the developments said, “She has been talking about the Digital Pakistan Foundation since day one, she has been pretty transparent about it. She had been saying that she will make a foundation, and raise money to attract Pakistani talent abroad with good salaries because the Government of Pakistan isn’t spending anything on the Digital Pakistan Initiative. This was her plan from the very beginning and I think Khan was aware of it.”

The same was being said be both Mr Jamali and Ms Aidrus at various webinars and talks they were giving to industry group. One such webinar, given to Open Silicon Valley group, a group of tech Pakistani expatriates in USA working in tech, Mr Jamali gave his outline. According to Mr Jamali, this was not a novel structure unique to Pakistan and they did not come up with the idea on their own. According to Mr Jamali, India also has a similar structure where a non-profit think-tank called iSpirit works as an industry group in parallel to the government from policy formulations to execution of digital projects.

Hence, on 27th February 2020, a day before Ms Aidrus was officially notified as SAPM, Digital Pakistan Foundation was registered with SECP as a non-profit foundation. The foundation had Mr Jamali as its CEO; Ms Aidrus ad the Chairperson of the board; and Mr Mudassir Ilyas Shaikha, Mr Sikandar Bashir Mohmand, and Mr Jahangir Khan Tareen as board members. Pertinent to mention here is that Mr Mohmand is Mr Tareen’s lawyer in court for the sugar scandal.

Later in April, when sugar scandal came out and it became obvious that Mr Tareen was being ousted from PTI, both Mr Mohmand and Mr Tareen resigned from the board of Digital Pakistan Foundation.

While technically a conflict of interest on holding both roles does exist, however, there have been no indications that Ms Aidrus had kept her involvement with Digital Pakistan Foundation secret at any point. In fact, both Ms Aidrus and Mr Jamali had been touting the benefits of this structure very publicly.

Why now?

The Digital Pakistan Foundation was made in February, both Mr Aidrus and Mr Jamali had been talking about it publicly since then in various interviews and webinars, so why has it suddenly become a scandal? This, according to investigations by Business Recorder, has to do with Mr Tareen’s ouster.

Jahangir Khan Tareen was a PTI party stalwart, he was a patron to many position holders within the PTI government and was extremely close the Prime Minister. When the sugar scandal came out, the Prime Minister Imran Khan grew disillusioned with Mr Tareen for prioritizing his sugar business over national interest. This let to the estrangement of the PM and Mr Tareen, who, according to sources, are not on talking terms any longer. Mr Tareen has reportedly left Pakistan and does not hold sway in the government any longer.

Consequently, all those brought into the party and the government by Mr Tareen stand vulnerable to PTI’s faction wars and infighting. Ms Aidrus is one of the casualties.

The attacks on Ms Aidrus seem to be emanating from the office of Shabahat Ali Shah, CEO of NITB. From day one, Ms Aidrus and Mr Shah have not been getting along. Since both work for IT side of the government, there has been an overlap of their turfs, leading to turf wars. A close friend of Mr Shah, Ms Sabeen Sultan has been leading social media attacks against Ms Aidrus. Taking advantage of Ms Aidrus’ fresh vulnerability, they allegedly want her ousted from her role as SAPM. To that end, the Digital Pakistan Foundation scandal was intentionally leaked to a journalist on Twitter, whose thread about the scandal was later picked up by various media outlets.

The cost of Infighting

While two of the arguably most important government departments are involved in infighting, it is Pakistan that is suffering. Due to this infighting, the development of critical and key software infrastructure aimed at leading the government’s war against Coronavirus was also made controversial, as reported by Business Recorder earlier. It seems like in many other projects of the PTI government, the important work in the IT sector of Pakistan will also be sacrificed to the clash of egos and turf wars.

As with everything, the buck of this too stops with the Prime Minister.

PIAF for concrete steps to attract investment to save jobs

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DNA

LAHORE, JUNE 24 – The Pakistan Industrial and Traders Association Front has asked the government to take concrete steps to attract foreign investment, saving the livelihood of millions of workers associated with various sectors, as foreign investment in Pakistan’s long-term projects like power plants, oil and gas exploration and 3G/4G internet has dropped to a nine-month low at $120 million in May 2020.

PIAF chairman Mian Nauman Kabir, in a joint statement with the senior vice chairman Nasir Hameed and vice chairman Javed Siddiqi, observed that the government will have to make visible reduction in taxes in the budget to help revive the businesses, which are near to bankruptcies owing to prolonged worldwide lockdowns amidst coronavirus.

He said that like the domestic industry Covid-19 crisis has also forced the global investors to put their new investment plans on hold, foreign direct investment (FDI) was 10% lower than the $133.2 million recorded in April 2020 and 53% lesser than the $254 million registered in May 2019.

He said that there is no visible improvement in employment a month after the business activities were allowed and countrywide lockdown eased. The small and medium industries (SMEs) -the main providers of jobs are still struggling because of lack of funds and demand.

PIAF chairman said that the larger industries are also operating partially. Textile sector that was the major provider of permanent and daily wage jobs has lost 50 percent of both domestic and export market. The auto sector is operating at less than half capacity. The job losses at the original equipment manufacturers not significant but at auto venders, where bulk of auto-related jobs exist are operating with minimum possible staff.

According to reports, in the 11-month period, the power sector got the largest investment of $749.6 million, followed by the communication sector $583.8 million, oil and gas exploration $275.9 million, financial business $256.8 million and electrical machinery $153.4 million.

The communication sector, mostly the 3G/4G service providers, attracted the largest foreign investment of $73.5 million in May 2020, followed by oil and gas exploration firms $18.6 million and financial businesses $15.5 million.

Mian Nauman Kabir said that the global lockdown imposed to contain the virus badly impacted economic activities, businesses, people’s income and their purchasing power. As a result, the demand for many products, except for food and pharmaceuticals, dropped sharply. Most of the foreign investment during the Covid-19 pandemic went to the ongoing projects in Pakistan.

The revival of demand for products like cement, textile and chemical would attract foreign investment in future, he said. The financial health of companies around the globe is deteriorating. Many of them are filing for bankruptcy. The return of stability to the financial health of global firms is a must to attract new foreign investment in Pakistan.

PIAF senior vice chairman Nasir Hameed said that with a view to save the economy from the impacts of the slowdown due to the COVID-19 the government should announce special incentives for a cash-strapped SMEs, which represents more than 90 percent of around 3.2 million business enterprises in Pakistan, contributing 40 percent to the GDP, employing more than 80 percent of non-agricultural workforce, and generating 25 percent of export earnings.

PIAF vice chairman Javed Siddiqi, expressing dissatisfaction over the financial packages announced so far by the government for industry to deal with the challenges posed by coronavirus, called for a significant cut in import duties and waiver of sales tax, income tax and additional income taxes which are still being charged in this time of grave crisis.

A war has been imposed on us by fascist BJP-RSS regime in Delhi: Masood Khan

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DNA

Islamabad; 24 June: Sardar Masood Khan, President Azad Jammu and Kashmir, while citing the reoccupation of Jammu and Kashmir by India in August 5, said that a war has been imposed on us and we will have to fight this war for our existence. “This is a war for our sovereignty; for protecting our cultural and religious identity, and the rights of our Kashmir brothers and sister”, he said.

The President made these remarks while addressing a web-conference on “Solidarity with Kashmir during Covid-19 and lockdown effects on Kashmir and Pakistan” organized by the National Youth Empowerment (NYE). Students from Lahore and Sahiwal were present at the conference. Mr Abdullah Hamid Gul, Chief Patron NYE also addressed the conference.

The AJK President in his remarks said that many still are not aware of the gravity of the situation in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, especially post-August 5, when India re-occupied the disputed territory. India, he said, has even issued fake maps showing AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan as part of India. “These fake maps are now available all over the internet”, he said while condemning these actions as a grave violation of international law and UN SC resolutions.

Masood Khan said that IOJK despite being an internationally recognized the disputed territory has been divided into two parts – Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir – by the Indian government and that too without the consent of the people living there. Resultantly, he said, India has brought these two newly divided areas under the direct control of Delhi and in turn inadvertently internationalized Kashmir.

“The area now occupied by India is actually a part of Pakistan as its people had wished to accede to Pakistan and despite all efforts of India to coerce them into submission they have rejected their rule and writ”, said President Masood.

Terming August 5 and October 31 actions taken by India in IOJK as lebensraum, irredentism and expansionism, the President said that the rights to permanent residence, ownership of property, livelihoods and education – as protected by international law – have been usurped by Delhi. Since April, this year, after the introduction of the New Domicile Rules the Kashmiris have been made homeless in their own homeland, he said. Masood Khan said that Hindus from all over India are being allowed to settle in IOJK and their domiciles are being made ready in a period of only 15 days on the instructions of Delhi.

The President informed his audience of the dire situation in IOJK. He said that according to a recent report, over 13,000 Kashmiri boys have been picked up by Indian forces. These young Kashmiris – some as young as 9 years-old – have been imprisoned in prison houses all over IOJK and northern India where they are being subjected to unimaginable torture. Under the cover of the Covid-19 pandemic, numerous Kashmiris have been killed in staged encounters and so-called cordon and search operations.

“The Kashmiris people are fighting for their lives and this act of self-defence is an inherent right acknowledged in the UN Charter [Article 51]”, he said.

Masood Khan said that not only are Kashmiris being targeted but under the fascist rule of the RSS-BJP regime, Muslims all over India are being lynched, mobbed and – under the Citizen Amendment Act – are at risk of becoming stateless.

Responding to a question, the President said that the recent standoff between China and India has exposed the latter’s incapacity to face an equal military power. Having lived in China for eight years during his diplomatic career, the President said that he had the opportunity to witness the steely resolve of the Chinese people. He added that the People’ Liberation Army is a far more professional, committed and resolute army as compared to the Indian army. “India has never triumphed in a war with an equal. Their experience entails fighting and killing its own people, and that too after disarming them”, he said.

To another question on the role of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in the resolution of the Kashmir issue, the AJK President said that the OIC has openly and resolutely supported the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people and has staunchly reinforced Pakistan’s stance on the issue. He added that the OIC has issued strong communiqués on Kashmir condemning Indian actions. “This support of 57 brotherly countries cannot be undermined”, he said

“A convict has become a cop”, said Masood Khan while referring to India’s entry to the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member. He added that this was an anomaly in itself that the tormentor has been elevated to such a position. He said that India has to be de-seated from that position as grave human rights violations have been documented against it in reports published by leading international human rights organizations, and globally recognized bodies like the UN Office of the High Commission for Human Rights, OIC-IPHRC, Amnesty International, Genocide Watch, and the UK Parliament’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Kashmir among others.

To the youth, the President said that they are the future of the nation and they should think passionately about the destiny of Pakistan. He urged them to contemplate on the current challenges faced by Pakistan and plan for the future. The youth, he said, must have a passion for excellence and should aim to be second to none. We must all envision Pakistan as the top 10 economies of the world by the year 2050, he said. He also urged the participants to reach out to their peers around the globe and raise awareness on the plight of the Kashmiri people.

President Khan said that for becoming a great nation, we must excel on all fronts and achieve the full spectrum – military, diplomatic and economic. Developing countries of the yester-decades, like Argentina, Indonesia, Malaysia, to name a few, have progressed due to sheer struggle towards a collective commitment for development.

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