BEIJING, May 19 (DNA): Pakistani students studying in China rejoiced with the response letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping, stating that it motivated them to contribute more in promoting Sino-Pak friendship.

Fifty two Pakistani students who study in University of Science and Technology Beijing (USTB), including Masters and Doctoral students, had written a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping last month.

According to China Economic Net (CEN), last Sunday, Xi replied to this letter, encouraging them to communicate more with their Chinese peers.

In his letter, the President said, learning that the students have enriched their knowledge and made quite a few Chinese friends while studying in China, Xi said he felt happy for the achievements they have made.

Pakistani students of USTB told CEN and the Economic Daily that they are so glad and excited to receive president Xi’s reply.

Ali, an Information and Communication doctoral student of USTB, said that dating to February, they had an idea on writing letter to president Xi. The cooperation between Pakistan and China on fighting against COVID-19 has shocked them. Ali said, “strengthening the friendship between Pakistan and China is our responsibility.”

Since the beginning of setting up this idea, Pakistani students of USTB have participated to write the joint letter enthusiastically. “We heard that there was an idea to write a letter to president Xi, we were so excited. Most of us immediately decided to take part in such a good thing.

My father has studied in USTB as well when he was young, I followed his steps and came to Beijing. I think the joint letter to President Xi is significative to improve the relationship between Pakistan and China. We have to do it,” Ali said.

In the letter to President Xi, Pakistani students have recalled their experiences and feelings of studying in China, meanwhile expressed their gratitude to the university for providing care and help for them after the COVID-19 outbreak.

Regarding whether they expect a reply, students said “We have never imagined that president Xi would reply our joint letter, but he did. It is the most exciting result for us, just likes an amazing dream!”

Abdul Sattar, a student of energy resource, said that Xi’s reply firmed his determination on working for friendship between Pakistan and china. He intends to go back to Pakistan after graduating from USTB and working for CPEC projects in the field of clean energy.

Ali supplemented that Xi’s reply means a lot, “He is affable and I feel like I’m having a conversation with him directly.”=DNA

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ISLAMABAD (DNA) – Sardar Masood Khan – President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir stated on Tuesday that predictions regarding Indian aggression have become true. India has introduced a law that enables the non-nativesto reside in Kashmir. This law gives them permission and further facilitates the non-natives in acquiring permanent residence in Kashmir.

He expressed these views during a seminar organized by Center for Global & Strategic Studies (CGSS) on the topic, “Latest Situation in Kashmir Vis-À-Vis Indian Policies”.

This Webinar was organized to examine the prevailing situation in Kashmir while analyzing the Indian strategies and what can be the possible policy options for Pakistan.

According to our calculations, around 2 million Hindus will be settling in Kashmir in the first wave. In this way, Kashmir will be turned into a Hindu sate and Muslim majority will be reduced. Kashmir is under a triple lockdown.

The 5^th August act is a siege and its purpose is to kill people. India has violated the ceasefire at the LOC a number of times while targeting the civilians, which has caused damage to the infrastructure also. Crimes that are being committed there can be listed as crimes against humanity, genocide war crimes and ethnic cleansing. So the International Community of the multilateral institutions are directly relevant here. Therefore, we must engage them because this lack of engagement is making India prevalent.

Lieutenant General Khalid Maqbool HI(M), (Retd) – Former Governor of Punjab shared valuable insight regarding latest situation on the LOC and possibility of a military conflict. He stated that the grand strategy of India is to destabilize Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. We can expect increased activities on the Line of Control through ceasefire violations in which our civilian population would be primarily targeted.

Dr. Maleeha Lodhi, HI – Former Pakistan Representative to UN stated that the pandemic has given an opportunity to the Indian Government to further intensify the repression and take even more draconian steps at a time when the world is preoccupied by fighting COVID-19.

At this time, countries and human rights organizations are distracted and the media attention is fixed particularly on the health crisis.Facing a health emergency with hands tied and lips sealed each one of us can now directly feel some of the pain of a lockdown as we ourselves have been practicing some degree of social isolation.The International Community has a responsibility to address this dire situation but Pakistan holds the major responsibility. The Kashmiri’s look to us and we cannot let them down. Our policy has to be consistentand need consistency in our diplomatic circle.Kashmir today lives in a state of multiple deprivations since last many years that has taken away their fundamental liberties and prevented them from exercising their right to self-determination.

Ambassador Riaz Khokhar – Former Ambassador of Pakistan to India stated that Kashmiri’s must be saluted, they have made enormous sacrifices. Modi is committed to a policy on which they may not have a national consensus but this incremental genocide policy is being supported by the majority.

Ambassador Abdul Basit – Former High Commissioner of Pakistan to India stated that Hindutva is nothing new. We need to pursue a consistent policy on Kashmir as it has cost us and the Kashmiri’sto a large extent. Kashmiri’s are determined and have never given up and will continue to do so. Pakistan requires coherent efforts and come up with a consolidated Kashmir policy. In this pandemic, India is taking advantage by pursuing illegal policies aimed at targeting the right of self-determination of Kashmiri’s. The point is how Pakistan should be countering these Indian policies and need clarity in this regard.

Dr Muhammad Khan – Professor, Department of Politics and IR, International Islamic University stated that Pakistan has been frequently warning International Community about India’s False Flag Operations in Jammu and Kashmir.

 In 21st century, India conducted small and large scale false flag operations against Pakistan. The broader objective of India with regard to these false flag operations was to malign the image of Pakistan, both regionally and globallyThere is a specific objective pertaining to each false flag operation, but different depending upon situation in the design of this the broad objective.

The Webinar was attended by approximately 52 participants and was moderated by Lieutenant Colonel Khalid Taimur Akram (Retd), Executive Director, CGSS.

WUHAN (CHINA), May 19 (DNA): Pakistani student Faheem has qualified his Ph.D. thesis defense online, and become the first international student that has went through his higher studies from China University of Geosciences (CUG) in 2020.

According to China Economic Net, Faheem was a doctoral candidate at the School of Environmental Studies of CUG. He has been studying in Wuhan since 2017. He returned to Pakistan for the winter vacation at the beginning of 2020.

However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Faheem had to stay at home and wrote his thesis under the remote guidance of his supervisors in China,

Faheem has completed on time his research article for graduation purpose . Then, he was worried about the Ph.D. thesis defense. Fortunately, CUG rolled out a customized policy in a timely manner which allowed the students to make online thesis defense. Faheem has finally succeeded in completing his thesis defense via a video conference call.

“I was very happy when I got the good news that I had successfully passed my Ph.D. thesis defense. I am very grateful for the school’s online defense policy for graduates during this special period so that we can graduate as scheduled,” said Faheem.

Recalling the three years’ study here, Faheem told CEN, “I put my all efforts into carrying high-level research work to obtain useful findings for the sake of humankind’s benefits. During this duration, I have nominated as Student of the Year consecutively in 2018 and 2019. I have also won high-level paper published awards. I am proud of my research contribution to CUG.”

Faheem said, “I sincerely thank my tutors Prof. Bao Jianguo and Dr. Du Jiangkun for their careful guidance and strong support. I should also thank the teachers of the School of Environmental Studies and the International Education College for their help and care in my studies and life in CUG.”

Professor Bao said, “Faheem is a diligent and excellent student. He has published four SCI papers as the first author in only three years, while it is usually done in four years for a doctoral candidate. He has demonstrated outstanding study capacity and scientific research potential.”

When asked how he made such academic achievements, Faheem said, “I just say that nothing is impossible to achieve if you are in the right direction and keep moving. The slow, consistent, and steady behavior is key to success. Every day, I learned different tools to make myself stronger to get my targeted research objectives. Mostly, I joined online courses related to my research interest.”

He added that “Some people think that luck is a factor behind the SCI publication. But, I would like to quote, ‘Luck favors the prepared mind’. So, we should fully prepare to achieve our research target in a given period. Finally, I shall say that do not just attach with luck factor and keep in mind that hard work pays off.”

He told, “I have drawn my priority graph, which assists me in judging whether something is a priority or not. During the working day, I remain in the laboratory to accomplish assigned research tasks from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. At night, I am used to taking online short courses. On weekends, I usually participate in sports activities, which is the main source to entertain myself.”

Besides following effective time management policy and drawing a priority graph, Faheem also advises students to put together a realistic plan and establish a routine at the beginning of a new semester to realize their expectations.

Faheem thinks China is a symbol of ambition, hard work, and success around the globe. His decision to study in CUG was based on the amazing academic facilities, global standards of education and research, friendly Pak-China relations, and above all, the love and hospitality of the Chinese people.

Faheem told, “Currently, I am physically in my hometown in Pakistan. However, mentally, I am still in my second hometown Wuhan. My sincere and best wishes are with Wuhan people.”

He said, “The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC) projects have opened windows for education, research, trade, economic and social exchanges, which has further strengthened and promoted our bilateral relations. I am convinced that China is the best place for studying engineering-related degree programs for Pakistani students.” =DNA

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