India's Alleged 'Secret Nuclear City' Threatens Regional Peace

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan on Thursday said India was developing a secret nuclear city in its southern parts and working on intercontinental missiles as part of its arms spree, directly threatening Pakistan.

Addressing a weekly news briefing, Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said the India’s secret nuclear city, according to a Foreign Policy investigative report, was designed to produce thermonuclear weapons.

“Indian defence build-up, both nuclear and conventional, is a direct threat to Pakistan and the region, at large. India completed its plan of nuclear triad recently with the commissioning of a nuclear capable submarine,” he said.

Zakaria said India had been building inter-continental ballistic missiles and anti-ballistic missile system. “It has a stockpile of fissile material for producing nuclear weapons outside the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) safeguards,” he said.

The spokesperson said that the conventional weapons balance was already disturbed in South Asia and India’s nuclear weapons build-up had dangerous proportions to tip the strategic balance and endangered the peace of the region and beyond.

“The perils of such an uncalled for defence build-up should be seen in the backdrop of Indian defence minister’s statement on reviewing the ‘nuclear no-first-use’ and admission by the Indian army chief about their ‘cold start doctrine’, which confirmed Pakistan’s claims and justified our credible minimum nuclear deterrence,” he said.

Zakaria said that the international community should take note and check Indian rapid expansion in conventional and nuclear weapons.

Answering a question on Samjhauta Express terrorist attack, he said that despite India’s commitment at the highest political level, they had not shared any evidence to date with Pakistan.

“Instead, with the passage of time, they have even exonerated Swami Aseemanand, the RSS leader, who had made a public confession that he was the mastermind of that terrorist act and Col Purohit, then an active service Indian army officer, who headed another terrorist organisation Abhinav Bharat, was also involved. They worked in tandem with IB, RAW and other agencies of India,” he said.

The spokesperson said that Pakistan has and will continue to raise the issue of Samjhauta Express terrorist attack not only with India but also with the international community. “Pakistan had earlier noted with deep concern India’s attempts to exonerate those who have publically confessed to their involvement in the terrorist attack,” he said.

Answering a question about Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s notion that a referendum should be held in Pakistan whether they want to merge with India, he said: “Such remarks clearly violate the UN charter and respect for the sovereignty of a member state. Unfortunately, domestic politics in India had been used to further anti-Pakistan agenda by the Indian government.”

He said that Kashmiris have ridiculed the statement saying that India was aware of the possible results of the referendum in Kashmir and that was the reason they were resorting to such meaningless statements. “They have also rejected the home minister’s assertion that Kashmir belongs to India. The remarks by the Indian home minister do not merit further comments,” he said.

Zakaria said that India has committed more than 400 violations along the Line of Control in a few months as it was heating up the tension.

“We have raised this issue repeatedly with the international community and at various forums, and how this Indian belligerence is dangerously impacting peace and security in the region,” he said.

He rejected the alleged surgical strikes that India claimed to have conducted against Pakistan a couple of months ago, in the wake of the Uri attacks, terming it a drama.

Zakaria talked about the briefing given by the Foreign Office with reference to Kashmir Solidarity Day, “We also reiterated during the briefing, the perils of escalating tensions resulting from India’s continuous violation of the understanding of ceasefire in 2003. More importantly, the loss of innocent civilian lives is a matter of major concern.”

It is now evident that the main reason India tries to heighten tension on the LoC is to divert world’s attention from the grave human rights violations it is carrying out against defenceless Kashmiris in held Kashmir.

He said: “India lies about infiltration from across the LoC, which after the discovery of 2009 mass graves in Kashmir has proved to be a white lie. The International People’s Tribunal’s report in its findings stated that those found in the mass graves were indigenous Kashmiris and linked them to those thousands who had disappeared and were killed by Indian occupation forces in fake encounters.” He also condemned the victimisation of the Kashmiri leaders by India.

While talking about the multi-nation naval exercise in Pakistan and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claims of isolating Pakistan, the spokesperson said: “These exercises are regularly held and a number of countries including Russia are participating in it. With reference to the statement of the Indian prime minister, you can judge that they have miserably failed to isolate Pakistan. In the process, India itself stood exposed and may be feeling isolated.”

He said India was involved in supporting terrorism in Pakistan. “The dossier on Kulbhushan Yadav and other details of Indian involvement in terrorist activities in Pakistan have already been submitted to the UN Secretary-General last month,” he said.

The spokesperson said that the United States had assured Pakistan that it was not among the list of banned countries. “We are in touch with the new administration in Washington and have been assured that no proposal to include Pakistan on the list of banned countries is under consideration. The US embassy in Islamabad has also issued a statement in this regard,” he said.

Regarding Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz’s visit to the US in the coming weeks, he said: “Pakistan and the US do have regular high-level exchanges and we look forward to maintaining the momentum in our exchanges.”

He said defence cooperation between Pakistan and Russia was an important component in “our multifarious bilateral relations” which is progressing well. “Both sides are interested in enhancing cooperation in various areas of mutual interest,” he added.

The spokesperson said that the Russian energy minister was already in town, and his visit aimed at discussing the technical aspects and other related details of a gas pipeline project.

He said that Pakistan wanted peace in Afghanistan and had been invited to the meeting called by Russia. “The evolving situation in Afghanistan and its bearing on the regional peace and stability is expected to be reviewed. Pakistan is committed to peace in Afghanistan and extends sincere support to the initiatives to that end. It is a new initiative,” he said.

Asked if India’s participation in the meeting in Russia would be problematic, he said: “World had seen the attitude of one country, which actually exposed that country. Pakistan’s participation in the Heart of Asia Conference was a manifestation that Pakistan is fully committed to efforts aimed at bringing peace and stability in Afghanistan. Understandably, the meeting in Moscow is about the situation in Afghanistan. Pakistan is deeply committed to seeing a peaceful and stable Afghanistan and extend sincere cooperation in all such initiatives that are aimed at bringing peace in Afghanistan.”

He said the Economic Cooperation Organisation summit will be held on schedule next month and most of the countries had already confirmed their participation at the leadership level.

On the US sanctions on Iran, he said that Pakistan had longstanding relations with the United States and “we would like them to further strengthen them. Both sides constantly interact with each other to that end.”

He said Iran was Pakistan’s neighbour and a Muslim country with which “we cooperate on various forums besides bilaterally. Our relations are longstanding, cordial and diverse.”

To a question about the Pakistan International Airlines flight which was not allowed to land at the Heathrow airport, he said: “We have taken up this issue with the British authorities.”

On deportation of Pakistanis from Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries, Zakaria said that deportation of nationals of various countries from the Gulf and Western countries was not specific to Pakistan.

Source: The Nation

Indian cross-border fire kills civilian

A civilian injured by Indian firing along the Line of Control (LoC) on Tuesday succumbed to his injuries.

“Victim labourer of Indian fire in Khuiratta sector today succumbed to injuries. Another innocent life lost to Indian irresponsible attitude,” DG Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj-Gen Asif Ghafoor said on twitter.


Earlier today, the military’s media wing said Indian forces resorted to unprovoked firing at the sector, injuring 20-year-old Ashfaq who was rushed to hospital for treatment. The statement added that Pakistan Army responded to the unprovoked firing in a fitting manner.


On Monday, Indian troops resorted to firing along the Working Boundary in Zafarwal sector, with Pakistan Rangers Punjab “responding effectively” to the aggression.

Last month, Indian forces violated the ceasefire as they fired across Jandrot, Nikyal, Baroh and Khanjar areas. Indian aggression continued unabated as the violation was reported five times.

According to Pakistan Army, Indian forces committed at least 178 ceasefire violations along the LoC and Working Boundary in 2016, killing 19 civilians and injuring 80 others.

Source: The Express Tribune

No change in US visa policy for Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The United States embassy has clarified its position regarding the permit of visa policy for Pakistanis was not under consideration to be changed and President Donald Trump’s administration has not issued any exclusive instructions regarding the country.

A spokesperson for the embassy said that visa policy for Pakistanis same as it was before Trump took charge.

Trum's executive order has drawn criticism at home and abroad which sets limit for citizens hailing from seven Muslim-majority countries for travelling to the US, as well as barring the refugees. This has led to wide scale protests across US as the travellers are stranded at airports and the public is aware and sensitive to the Syrian conflict.

Despite that Pakistan’s name was not mentioned in the list, there been wide held apprehension that the country might be next on the ban list when it will be reviewed in few months.

The White House Chief of Staff, Reince Priebus, had defended Trump’s decision, “You can point to other countries that have similar problems like Pakistan and others – perhaps we need to take it further.”

Source: The Nation

Sweeden Think Tank report about CPEC

ISLAMABAD: India’s opposition to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) stems from its fear of internationalisation of the Kashmir dispute and the growing influence of China in the Indian Ocean, says a new report by one of the most influential global think tanks.

“There is considerable concern within India that China, which has been neutral on Kashmir since 1963, can no longer be so now that its economic and security interests in these territories are growing in stake,” says a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) — a Sweden-based think tank.

The report — titled “Silk Road Economic Belt – considering security implications and the EU-China cooperation prospects” — argues that India does not want a mediating role for China in these disputes.

It is the first report by any global think tank that has discussed in detail the Indian concerns on CPEC. The report has also shed light on implications of the ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative on security dynamics and its compatibility with the EU interests.

The Sipri report says CPEC has raised political temperatures between India and Pakistan. “India strictly opposes CPEC, and while the Economic Belt is not a harbinger of a new conflict, it has so far intensified historic competition over influence in South Asia,” note authors of the report.

The report argues that there is a factual and conceptual objection to CPEC in India. The factual objection is that India does not want to internationalise the Kashmir dispute it has with Pakistan. Chinese activity in the disputed areas automatically makes it a stakeholder in these disputes.

At the conceptual level, CPEC allows China to gain a toehold in the Indian Ocean through direct access to the Arabian Sea. There remain concerns that this might develop a military dimension at some stage, according to the report.

Since territorial compromise from either India or Pakistan is a political suicide for any of the ruling parties, it remains to be seen whether CPEC will contribute to a resolution of this dispute or further fan the flames. There is also a concern in India that China will use Gwadar port to observe Indian naval activity and possibly even exploit it for an expansion of China’s own naval presence.

There is also concern in India that while CPEC in the short and medium term could be an opportunity to generate jobs and growth in Pakistan, over the longer term its strategic consequences could reshape the regional balance of power in favour of China and limit India’s geopolitical reach.

The assertiveness and swiftness of Chinese actions in the South China Sea have implanted a preoccupation among China’s critics in India that if China gains a foothold in the Arabian Sea and, as an extension, in the Indian Ocean through Gwadar, it might make national interest claims in India’s maritime sphere too. “After all, if Gwadar grows to be the immense port China envisions it to become, China will need to take on a bigger direct or indirect security role,” it says.

The Sipri report noted that unlike in India, CPEC has not raised concerns in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is open to all regional initiatives that could reactivate its ailing formal economy, whether that is by way of CPEC or India-led efforts to connect with the Afghan economy through the Chabahar Port in Iran. Iran has not opposed CPEC and has expressed strong interest in the Belt and Road Initiative.

However, the report argues that Afghanistan is unlikely to benefit from CPEC unless Kabul-Islamabad relations improve. For this to happen, Pakistan’s security concerns with regard to Afghanistan need to be assuaged. The authors note that CPEC has the potential to exacerbate three fault lines in South Asian security.

The first is between China and India themselves. The second is between China-Pakistan on the one side and India on the other. The third is between China and India and its partners – the US, Japan and, to a lesser degree, Vietnam. The region of Balochistan is being geopolitically instrumentalised by these various players, they added.

It says that this is an evidence that CPEC has contributed to political and security bloc formation, but the bloc rivalry between the US-India and China-Pakistan exists regardless of CPEC. CPEC has merely strengthened the strategic Chinese-Pakistani alliance.

China’s reliance on CPEC means that it needs a stable and amicable Pakistan, underlines the report. “The Silk Road Economic Belt initiative may become one of the cornerstones of Asian economic growth and integration, and eventually of closer political and security cooperation among states, but the pathway to this scenario is long and fraught with obstacles,” it says.

Source: The Express Tribune

Future of China Pakistan Economic Corridor

If the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) wasn’t already an enigma, the recent debates regarding its pros and cons have muddled this into an even bigger mess. On one hand, there are the knockers who didn’t shy away from labelling it as the future East India Company (EIC), and on the other, we have the blind patriots – the ones that hold CPEC at the highest level of sanctity, that merely questioning the transparency regarding CPEC’s projects amounts to treason for them.

Undoubtedly, these directionless debates have a lot to do with the suspicion and political sensitivity created by the government around the CPEC framework. However, to me, both prevalent views are far-fetched and perilous to national interests.

At first, to equate China’s role, within the context of the CPEC project, with that of EIC is simply an embellishment. Such an over-statement has been countered by various writers in recent days, rather successfully. And quiet evidently, a strict comparison of both is fallacious and misplaced for the simple reason that the days of claiming ‘EIC is like colonialism’ are long gone. Since Pakistan was in a weak state, China’s investment should have been welcomed. China already has deep pockets, thus one should not expect the country to take anything away from us, the way the EIC robbed the subcontinent of its resources.


However, the EIC analogy cannot be completely disregarded. The days of colonialism might be past us, yet, states no longer employ the weapons of the colonial era to subjugate other states, as capitalism now does it for them. In the words of Kwame Nkrumah,


“Capitalism is but the gentlemen’s way of slavery.”

For a state to thrive in this era of capitalism, its financial independence is integral. When a state is financially dependent on another, the way our country was on Saudi Arabia and the United States, that is when a phenomena like that of the EIC in the subcontinent occurs.

Nevertheless, it is the second view that seems more precarious. Nonsensical patriots, who are trying to make CPEC a sacred cow, are forgetting that it is not China’s gift via the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government to the people of Pakistan. If that were the case, then there would be nothing to ponder over. But to our dismay, most of the projects under CPEC are loans which we, the public exchequer, will have to pay back. Unfortunately, the mysterious CPEC framework agreement has not been revealed yet, thereby, we do not know about the terms and conditions encircling the proposed $51 billion investment. In the words of the Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan,


“I don’t know out of $46 billion [in CPEC deals] how much is debt, how much is in equity, and how much is in kind.”

Thus, turning a blind eye to the whole thing is not patriotism, but on a very conservative scale, it is imprudence.

Both the views advanced in the CPEC debate have been poles apart. Ignoring the fact that we as a nation are currently facing a paradox – where on one hand, there is the necessity for such an extravagant investment in our country and on the other, the fear of subjugation at the expense of such an investment.

The antidote for this problem lies with the government, who is primarily responsible for the smooth and uncontroversial functioning of the corridor projects. Unfortunately, the PML-N government has made this matter more ambiguous by building a smokescreen around the CPEC framework agreement. Secondly, and more recently, the ignorance towards Public Procurement Rules in CPEC projects means that the impetus for speculations has been renewed. There is an inherent need for the government to step up and put an end to all the speculations by implying transparency in the CPEC projects.

It is unfortunate that the Sino-Pak friendship is being questioned at a time where a collaboration between the two friendly states is at an unprecedented high – the reason being the lack of transparency around this collaboration. Thus, an onus also lies on the Chinese counterparts as well; they must realise that giving loans through backdoor channels won’t help their cause. For the success of their ‘One Belt One Road’ plan, of which CPEC is an integral part, they need to make sure that the people of Pakistan are engaged and given a sense of ownership in the corridor. The US-Pakistan relationship must serve as a lesson to be learnt – despite the fact that the US injected billions of dollars into Pakistan over the last decade, they were still disliked as a country.

For now, as a nation, we have to redeem ourselves from this state of disunity and realise that by labelling CPEC as a form of colonialism, or making it contentious, might dissuade our foreign investors. Similarly, turning a blind eye to accountability would mean renting Pakistan out on the terms and conditions of investors. Therefore, positive criticism and calculated pressure must be exerted on the authorities to ensure that we are provided with the chance to utilise our strategic location. Firstly, to warrant a profit out of the loans we are availing, and secondly, to result in economic prosperity rather than a burden of unpayable debts.

Source: The Express Tribune

Eliminate terms of 'Sadiq' and 'Ameen' from Article 62, 63

The government has started deliberations on Wednesday to reshape Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution that deals with eligibility and disqualification of parliamentarians, it has been learnt.

State Minister on Information Technology and Telecommunication Anusha Rehman told reporters that the sub-committee on electoral reforms, headed by Zahid Hamid, in its meeting at the parliament house in Islamabad, started discussions on the Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution.

She said that political parties have submitted their suggestions on the issue. The state minister added that the committee was deliberating on restoring the Articles 62 and 63 into their original forms as per the Constitution of 1973, further amending the Articles or to keep them as they are.

"In its initial form, the Articles 62 and 63 of the 1973’s Constitution had not made it mandatory for a legislator to be ‘Sadiq’ and ‘Ameen’. Later, in the tenure of Ziaul Haq, the terms were made part of the Articles. So, if the Articles were reshaped to their original form, legislators could not be prosecuted for not being ‘Sadiq’ and ‘Ameen’," she said.

The committee also discussed the format of Senate elections and agreed to keep dual nationals out of the Senate. It also considered the suggestion that Senators be selected, instead of elected.

If the suggestion is approved, political parties would submit respective priority lists of senators, on the pattern of special seats, before the Election Commission of Pakistan and the commission would announce the selection of senators as per the lists, provided by political parties.

The minister further said that the committee would take Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani and senate secretariat onboard in connection with the issue.

The subcommittee was formed by the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms, headed by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.
Echo of Articles 62 and 63 in SC

The applicability of Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has largely been discussed in connection with the Panamagate case, being heard in the country's top court.

Petitioners in the case wanted the Supreme Court to dislodge the prime minister under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution, where as the premier's lawyers argued that the Articles need scrutiny and that disqualification of the premier under these Articles is not possible.

Source: The Dawn News

Nadra omitted column of Gujrati as mother tongue

The Gujarati language is facing an uncertain future in this country, to put it mildly. At least its written form is in danger of a slow death. Although a living and vibrant language in India, Gujarati is suffering from an apparent indifference from the very people who speak it as their native language in Pakistan.

A recent decision by the National Database and Registration Authority sums up the plight this language now finds itself in. Nadra has omitted Gujarati from the column asking the applicant about his mother tongue.


Interestingly enough, both Quad-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi spoke Gujarati. Mr Jinnah, by the way, knew Persian as well because his mother spoke the language.

Spoken by over 50 million people, Gujarati is the 26th most widely spoken language in the world. The majority of native speakers of Gujarati lives in the Indian state of Gujarat. Apart from Gujarat, the regions where the language is spoken as first language include some area of Maharashtra (like Mumbai), Pakistan (especially Karachi), Bangladesh, a few African countries — where Gujarati-speaking Indians had settled centuries ago — and, of course, countries where Gujarati-speaking immigrants live in large numbers, such as the United Kingdom and the United States.

A branch of the Indo-Aryan family of languages, Gujarati evolved from Sanskrit and Prakrit, according to linguists. But modern Gujarati took shape in the early 19th century. It has its own script that has evolved from Sanskrit and Hindi scripts and many letters in the Gujarati alphabet are almost like the ones in Hindi’s Devanagari script. However, the Gujarati script does not have a horizontal line that is put above every word in Hindi.

The Gujarati literature’s oldest written record dates back to the 17th century. But it was Alexander Kinloch Forbes, a British officer and scholar in the government of British India, who gave a fillip to the language and literature of Gujarati by encouraging local writers.

Forbes was instrumental in getting the first Gujarati play written, the first Gujarati newspaper and literary magazine published. He also established a library in Surat in 1850 and Gujarati Sabha in Mumbai in 1865.

The number of Gujarati speakers in Pakistan is declining fast and one of the reasons is that the new generation of Gujarati-speaking does not use it. The few who do so speak it strictly within the family or community. Since most of the youth, the descendants of Gujarati-speaking communities, cannot read the script, Gujarati-language publications in Pakistan face an imminent death.

Gujarati is spoken in Pakistan by those who migrated from present-day India after the creation of this country. Some of the communities that had settled here before 1947 and did not migrate to India after Partition, still speak Gujarati. The communities that still speak Gujarati are the Bohras, Parsis, Hindus, Ismailis, Kutchi Memon and Kathiawari Memon. They are mainly settled in Karachi, adding colour to the city’s multi-lingual, multi-ethnic scene.

Although a minority language in Pakistan, Gujarati is the official language of India’s Gujarat state, where Hindi is the “additional official language”.

Many senior citizens would recall that Gujarati was taught at many schools in Karachi. There used to be Gujarati-medium schools and students were allowed to use it as the medium of answer in secondary and higher secondary examinations. Special arrangements were made to assess such answer scripts. This was in vogue from independence till the early 1970s, when schools were nationalised.

In those days Gujarati journalism in Karachi was doing well. At least two daily news papers, Millat and Dawn Gujarati, were brought out from this city. In addition, there used to be an evening newspaper, Vatan.

Daily Millat and Vatan are still alive, but face a bleak future as the number of readers is falling steadily .

‘Millat’, launched by Fakhr Matri in 1948, added a few pages in Urdu about 20 years ago to win over younger readers, but the experiment does not seem to have paid off.

A few Gujarati magazines, too, appeared from this city till the 1990s. Newspapers, magazines and books were imported from India and some of them enjoyed immense popularity.

For instance, many people (this writer among them) would recall that their elders used to read Chakram and Chitralekha, magazines imported form Indian Gujarat. These were very popular among Gujaratis in India and Pakistan. N.J. Golibar, the editor of Chakram, was a well-known figure among Gujaratis of Karachi back in the 1960s. Some columnists of Chitralekha were household names.
Mushaeras

Gujarati ‘mushaeras’ were a regular feature in Karachi. And attendance at such events used to be good. But with the passage of time, all this seems a distant memory.

The second generation of Gujarati-speaking migrants from India, who settled in Karachi, knew Gujarati and were able to read and write it.

The later generations, however, lost interest in this language as they did not see any prospect while the Urdu and English languages offered lucrative jobs and were useful in education as well as for everyday communication in society.

Nowadays only the elderly read and write Gujarati while most of the younger ones (young only in a relative sense) cannot even speak it fluently.

The loss of a language is indeed a matter of concern — not for linguists or anthropologists alone but also for anyone interested in culture.

Growth of E-Commerce in Pakistan

Chief Executive Officer of eBay, an American Inc and e-commerce company, has termed Pakistan among the fastest growing e-commerce markets in the world.

In a Facebook Live session on the page of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Devin Wenig was asked a question regarding his thoughts on Pakistan and emerging markets.


“It's the fastest growing markets we have around the world. Anywhere where wealth is growing and technology is being adopted, e-commerce is being adopted like crazy,” said Wenig in his remarks also carried by a section of media here.

The eBay CEO said that the perfect opportunity for e-commerce was in countries where people were growing in wealth and do not have access to goods.

“People use e-commerce to get access to those goods”.

When asked as to why eBay was not in Pakistan, Devin Wenig said eBay did not have a local Pakistani version, however, there were customers shopping from the country on various eBay sites.

“We absolutely encourage you to shop, and we will get our goods and services in Pakistan for sure. Go and use eBay in Pakistan,” Wenig said.

Source: The Dawn News

Suzuki Vitara: CBU Imported from Hungary

The compact and subcompact crossover vehicle category is steadily gaining momentum in the local automobile market. Buyers looking for new vehicles in this market segment are getting a wider range of options from a number of automobile manufactures.

Pak Suzuki had launched the Vitara in December 2016, taking market trends at the time into consideration.

Pak Suzuki is currently offering two variants of the 4th generation Suzuki Vitara;
GL+: PKR; 3,490,000/=
GLX: PKR; 3,790,000/=

Both variants are sold as CBU (completely built units), imported from Hungary in accordance with Pakistani specifications and both come with a 60,000 kilometer or 3-year warranty.

I got a chance to personally test drive the all-new Vitara at Carachi Motor Company, located in Karachi.

The model I got to test was the Vitara GLX, the top-of-the-line variant on offer.

Exterior

The front of the Vitara welcomes you to a mix of the SX4 sedan and a hint of the 3rd generation Swift. The grill comprises of a chrome finish which gives the front end a busy look and feel.

Towards the bottom there are day-time running lights (GLX only) accompanied with fog lights and parking sensors. The headlights are projector LEDs on low beam (GLX only) and Halogen on high beam.

Moving towards the sides, there are chrome garnishes over the front fenders (GLX only) and fully powered and retractable side-view mirror with LED indicators.




One of my favorite features of the vehicle is the large dual-pane panoramic glass roof (GLX only), which is uncommon to see in this segment of Japanese compact crossovers as well as the aluminum roof rails (GLX only).

The shoes it wears surprised me at first glance, the GLX comes with 17’’ inch alloy wheels finished off in matte silver and gloss grey wrapped in 215/55/R17 Continental ContiPreimum Comfort tires, which have little to no road noise and great grip quality. The wheels may not be the prettiest set of wheels you would see but they blend in well enough with the rest of the car.
Interior

The quality of interior is an improvement from our local Suzuki options but there is still usage of low quality hard plastics on the dashboard, door panels and centre console. However, options such as a multi-function leather stitched steering wheel, cruise control, hill descent control, multi-information display, 10’’ inch Android OS based infotainment system, paddle shifters and climate control take your attention away from the sub-par quality of these plastic fixtures.

The panoramic roof from the inside gives a premium view of the sky and brightens up the interior heavily once the shade is moved back.

The seats are a blend of suede and leather, with centre suede inserts and leather side bolsters. They are surprisingly comfortable for both short and long distance driving.

Locking and unlocking of the doors is controlled by a smart key access system, which works even when the smart key fob is in your pocket. It uses push button ignition instead of a conventional ignition key cylinder which is becoming standard for cars throughout the automotive industry.

An auto-dimming rear-view mirror is pre-installed (GLX only) to reduce the high beam glare of the vehicle behind you during night-time driving.

I myself being 6 foot tall did not have much leg or head room in the rear seating cabin, my knees hit the front seats once they were moved all the way back and I had to lower my head a bit due to the panoramic roof.

Trunk space is pretty much similar to its competitors, 375 litres. This means you can fit nearly three medium sized suitcases after tucking the parcel shelf away.

Something which bothered me a lot on the test drive was the fact that there was no armrest for the driver seat. After driving for a while you want to rest your fatigued arm on to something, well you can’t with this Vitara unless you buy the armrest as an option from the list of available add-ons.

The infotainment system is based on Android operating software. The screen size is 10.1’’ inches and the system is powered by a 1.4 GHZ Quad Core Processor with 1GB RAM and 16GB built-in memory. Some of its key features are a Sygic based GPS Navigation system, DVD playback, Bluetooth, Mirror Link, Air Play, USB/SD input and built-in Wi-Fi.

It is a pretty impressive head-unit with all modern resources which fill our daily needs and then some. The feedback of the touch-screen is very responsive and has no lag, very easy to use menu with a bunch of different settings to choose from.The screen does however bounce sunlight back a lot which causes discomfort while driving.

The climate control is a single zone unit which is very straight forward to control. There are two 12V sockets below the air conditioning unit but unfortunately there is none at the back, which is necessary for a long trip with multiple passengers.

Places to hold your drinks and bottles? There is one in every door panel, and two additional ones in the centre console, only if there was an armrest instead of more cup holders.
Engine

Both the GL+ and GLX are offered with a 1.6L M16A in-line four cylinder naturally aspirated engine equipped with VVT (Variable Valve Timing). It produces 118HP at 6,000RPM and 156 NM of torque at 4,400RPM.

The acceleration isn’t outstanding but for city driving and merging on to open roads, it gets the job done. The Vitara will do 0-100 Km/hr in approximately 12 seconds, which is sluggish if you consider the displacement of the engine and the overall light weight of this crossover.

The fuel economy is said to be 15.5-17.5 Km/L depending on your driving mode, road condition and driving style.
Transmission

The engine is paired to a 6-speed automatic gearbox with a manual mode which can be used via the steering mounted paddle shifters marked Plus (+) for up-shift and Minus (-) for downshift.

The response time is reasonable and it gives a good level of feedback to the driver unlike CVT transmissions which can get annoying at times. The transmission is fun to play with and does not show any signs of hesitation while shifting gears, which makes for a great driving experience on the open road.
Safety

Both variants come with a total of seven SRS airbags which include dual front airbags, front side airbags, curtain airbags and a driver-side knee airbag.

An Immobiliser is also a standard feature for both the GL+ and GLX, even though the GL+ does not come with a smart key access system or push button ignition. Parking sensors are standard for both and each bumper comes with four parking sensors.
Brakes, suspension & drive-train

The Vitara GL+ and Vitara GLX both come with 4-wheel disc brakes with ABS (Anti-Lock Braking System), EBD (Electronic Brake Distribution), ESP (Electronic Stability Program) and TRC (Traction Control System). The brakes are very responsive and have a decent amount of bite to them upon sudden braking on both even and uneven surfaces.

The suspension does feel bumpy while passing over small ditches, bumps and patched roads at higher speeds, but that is something that can be expected from 17’’ inch wheels on a crossover vehicle. Both variants come standard with Suzuki’s AllGrip 4WD drive system.

The only feature which I did not get to personally test out was the Hill Descent Control or Hill Hold Control. Living in Karachi there aren’t many inclines to deal with on the road but for those living in more hilly or mountainous parts of the country, it could be a vital inclusion.

There are four different driving modes in the AllGrip 4WD system which you can select using the dedicated control knob located behind the gear shifter; Auto, Sport, Snow and Lock.

In Auto mode, the vehicle is mostly in 2 wheel drive unless it detects no traction or slippage, it engages 4WD depending upon the traction of the tires.

Lock mode locks up the front and rear differentials to maximise traction in muddy terrain or if it detects the vehicle to be stuck. It would switch itself to Snow mode automatically if the speed is above 60 Km/hr.

In Snow mode, the drive-train reacts to your throttle and steering movement. It engages ESP and sends power to the rear wheels before it feels the vehicle is about to lose traction.

In Sport mode, all four wheels come into play to provide ultimate handling for navigating bends and corners, letting you shift gears from the paddle shifters at the RPM of your choice.

On an open stretch of road, I got the chance to take it up to 140km/hr and the vehicle felt very stable throughout. There was minimal crosswind coming in from the A-pillar and C-pillar but it effortlessly maneuvered the bends and curves on the road, thanks to the very impressive AllGrip 4WD system.
Verdict

Having experienced driving other compact crossovers, the new Vitara certainly brings much needed value into this market segment. There is no doubt it will face tough competition this year from rivals but taking into account the added value and attention to detail provided through the various options and after sales service it has to offer, the Vitara can really be a ‘game changer’ for Pak Suzuki.

Source: The Dawn News

EX COAS in WEF

Former army chief General (retd) Raheel Sharif said 2016 witnessed a significant decrease in terrorism and that "intelligence sharing is a very important component of strategy to combat terrorism."

Addressing a session at the World Economic Forum (WEF) titled 'Terrorism in the digital age', he said: "Terrorism is a global issue and the global community will have to get united if it wants to defeat terrorism."


Talking in reference to the achievements of Pakistan Army in fighting terrorism, he said the military cleared 8,000 square kilometres area after recapturing it from militant control. He apprised the gathering that tens of thousands of affected people were rehabilitated in the area.

Raheel Sharif went on to say that terrorism has become a "gangrene for the world". He added that terrorists attack in a well planned manner and intelligence sharing is a very important component of strategy to combat terrorism.

Pakistan bears tragedies such as the Army Public School (APS) because of terrorism, he added. "However, we can not take such negative measures against terrorists like they do."

Source: The Dawn

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Historical Facts

HOW does one get a grip on the proposed China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and its associated investments without any hard information except for the hype? In the absence of any mechanism for credible evaluation I suggest we hold it up against a historical parallel and see what emerges by way of tentative conclusions. Some discussion grounded in real experience may be better than taking sides in the dark.

Around the turn of the 20th century, the British invested vast sums of money in the part of the subcontinent that now comprises Pakistan. Amongst these investments were the network of canals and barrages, the post and telegraph, and roads and railways. All included it would have likely added up in real terms to be bigger than the $56 billion associated with CPEC.

What came of all that investment and what economic transformations did it sustain? At the macro level, Pakistan remains a desperately poor country with around a third of its population struggling to survive below the poverty line. Almost half the population is functionally illiterate without access to safe water and sanitation or adequate healthcare. Stunting, malnutrition and infant and maternal mortality are at levels considered unacceptable in the rest of the world.

The sobering conclusion would be that even if the investments had huge economic payoffs, extremely venal governance ensured that while some people became phenomenally rich very few of the benefits trickled down to the majority in any meaningful sense.
What came of all the colonial-era investment and what economic transformations did it sustain?

Notwithstanding the issues of governance and distribution, which remain as critical now as then, the question remains: did the investments have huge economic payoffs? Even to speculate intelligently on the question one would need to disaggregate the investments and consider them separately.

Take the canal colonies and the barrages. I believe most people would accept that the outcomes were positive and significant. One can assess the outcomes in terms of crop outputs, crop yields, employment created, or incomes generated for farming households.

Next, consider the railways where the comparisons become more interesting. The link between Karachi and Peshawar via Hyderabad, Sukkur, Multan, Lahore, and Rawalpindi can be considered the central artery of the Pakistani economy capable of transporting people and products efficiently and economically. Once again, I believe there would be agreement that the outcomes were positive and the payoffs significant.

Now consider some other investments in the railways that turned out differently. Among these were the links between Peshawar and Landikotal on the Afghanistan border, the link between Quetta and Chaman that was intended to have been extended to Kandahar in Afghanistan, and the Trans-Balochistan railroad from Quetta to Zahedan, inside Iran.

All these could be considered as economic corridors of their time. Even if they were not intended as such, they could have become so after the independence of Pakistan. The Trans-Balochistan railroad extended 455 miles (732 kilometres) with 38 stops linking very friendly countries between which much trade was possible. Indeed, under the Regional Cooperation for Development there was the possibility of extending the link to Turkey and thereby into Europe, an opening with immense economic potential. Today, the Peshawar-Landikotal link is inoperative, and the Quetta-Zahedan link operates on a nominal frequency of twice a month. None of these corridors had any transformative impact on the local or national economies.

Take roads as another example. The British upgraded and extended the Grand Trunk Road, an ancient trade route linking populated habitations, to great and sustained benefit. Contrast the limited economic impact of the more recent Lahore-Peshawar motorway. The equally recent Karakoram and Thar-Karachi highways have had virtually no significant transformative impacts on the local economies except to make it easier for local labour to migrate to more prosperous areas for employment.

Some tentative conclusions can be adduced. For investments to yield economic benefits, it seems a necessary, if not a sufficient, condition for them to either generate employment or to connect populated locations at relatively comparable levels of economic development. The historical evidence suggests that routing corridors through sparsely populated territory even with associated investments that create very few jobs is unlikely to be transformative. And linking disproportionately developed areas without prior complementary investments may just accelerate a drain of people and resources from the less developed regions.

It is indeed possible that investments in roads in some sparsely populated areas, eg, in the northern areas or along the Makran coast, would pay off economically if as a result a significant inflow of people is facilitated as would be the case with a major boost to tourism. But such prospects are scarce given Pakistan’s security conditions and increasing social conservatism.

It will no doubt be argued that the unsuccessful rail corridors mentioned here were not made by the British for economic but for strategic military purposes and therefore comparisons with CPEC are invalid. However, as mentioned before, there was nothing to prevent the conversion of the readymade investments to economic purposes after 1947. There was significant trade potential both with Afghanistan and Iran and the latter was a very friendly country at the time. The shrivelling of the corridors should prompt serious questions inquiring what went wrong after all the investments were made.

At the same time it could be argued that CPEC is an equally strategic initiative of the Chinese presented as one with transformative economic payoff for Pakistan. The latter remains to be demonstrated independently and objectively. The historical evidence cautions that mere hand-waving is not enough.

One should also consider what might be the fate of CPEC if relations with China turn sour in the future. This may seem a far-fetched concern at this time but the evolution of the relationship with Iran should provide a reality check. Pakistan’s abysmal relations with all its primary neighbours do not leave much room for complacency and demand a credible fall-back alternative.

If the national objective is to further the development of the lagging provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it might be better to think in terms of employment-generating investments in the regional economies much as the canal colonies created jobs in the Punjab in the 20th century. It might make more sense for economic corridors to follow and not precede such investments.

Source The Dawn News

Fined for selling harmful beauty products in London

London Trading Standards has fined fifteen businesses for selling harmful beauty products, including Pakistani skin whitening creams, according to the BBC.

The businesses were fined £168,579 for selling unsafe cosmetics, the majority of them skin lightening products.

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Some of the products contained enough harmful chemicals to cause organ damage, officials said. The products said to be harmful include Pakistani skin products such as Faiza Beauty Cream, Golden Pearl, Stillman’s, Maxi Light and Face Fresh.

Officials said the prolonged use of these products could cause cancer, skin discolouration and skin thinning. These products contain hazardous and prohibited levels of hydroquinone, mercury or corticosteroids. Faiza Beauty Cream reportedly contains 0.54 per cent of toxic mercury.

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London Trading Standards said officers found and seized “hundreds of thousands” of the products in a coordinated campaign.

Further, the Trading Standards said at least 15 online sellers offering prohibited skin lightening products have been identified using eBay. Efforts are being made to locate them, said the officials.

Officers in Waltham Forest recently seized more than 3,000 products from one such seller. Company bosses, who sell banned cosmetic products can be sent to prison and fined up to £20,000 per offence.

Source: The Express Tribune

Om Puri Tribute by Moonis Elahi, Meesha Shafi, Fahad Mustafa and Others

Om Puri, a veteran Bollywood actor passed away on 6th January 2017 after a massive heart attack which proved to be fatal for the 66 years old. His close friend and film maker Ashoke Pandit was the first to announce the sad news on Twitter.
The new year 2017 proved to be a woeful start for the family and actors from both sides of the border mourned the great loss. The social media site Twitter was flooded with his admirers both Indians and Pakistani expressing grief over the news of the demise of the legendary actor. He was a versatile actor who had played many roles during his career and became liked by everyone who watched his movies.
According to Times of India, Om Puri has returned yesterday from a film shooting and in the morning, when he didn't answer the door bell, the driver became curious and raised the alarm. Puri's body was taken to Cooper Hospital where he was announced dead and a postmortem revealed the cause of his untimely death. According to his friends, his funeral will be held at 6 PM.
His versatility knew no boundaries and he had worked with many Pakistani actors and actresses. The Actor In Law co-star Fahad Mustafa said — remembered him for his work and "humble and loving nature", it was a Pakistani film and OM Puri was a catalyst for its success. Others within the industry also poured in their love for the veteran saying he was a role model for spreading love and peace between the two countries.
 Aside from his Bollywood activities, he is also known to have raised his voice against the ongoing brutalities in Kashmir at the hands of Indian Army. His statement in the favor of innocent Kashmiris and contradicting state policies left him in hot waters. It wasn't taken lightly and people from all walks of life started condemning him saying he had spoken ill against the Indian army. His brave move to speak up the truth landed him in a miserable condition.
Moonis Elahi had appreciated his remarks and had said he had spoken for the unheard voices. He said the actor gave their media a frenzy and the Hindu extremists had a hay day over it. Nevertheless, a single person cannot fight against his nation and he had to apologize for it. The demise of the actor has caused grief on both sides of the border and people are paying tribute to the legend who not only did well in the movies, but also tried to be helpful to the helpless Kashmiris.

Launch of the nuclear-capable Babur-3 missile

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan on Monday successfully test-fired its first-ever Submarine Launched Cruise Missile (SLCM) Babur-3, having a range of 450 kilometers.

The missile was fired from an undisclosed location in the Indian Ocean, said the ISPR in a statement. The missile was fired from an underwater mobile platform and hit the target with precise accuracy.

Babur-3 is a sea-based variant of the Ground Launched Cruise Missile (GLCM) Babur-2, which was successfully tested earlier in December, last year. Babur-3 SLCM incorporates state of the art technologies including underwater controlled propulsion and advanced guidance and navigation features, duly augmented by Global Navigation, Terrain and Scene Matching Systems.

The missile features terrain hugging and sea skimming flight capabilities to evade hostile radars and air defenses, in addition to certain stealth technologies, in an emerging regional Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) environment.

Babur-3 SLCM in land-attack mode is capable of delivering various types of payloads and will provide Pakistan with a credible second strike capability, augmenting deterrence. While the pursuit and now the successful attainment of a second strike capability by Pakistan represents a major scientific milestone, it is manifestation of the strategy of measured response to nuclear strategies and postures being adopted in Pakistan’s neighborhood.

The test was witnessed by the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Zubair Mahmood Hayat, DG Strategic Plans Division (SPD) Lieutenant General Mazhar Jamil, Commander Naval Strategic Force Command (NSFC), senior officials, scientists and engineers from scientific strategic organizations.

The CJCSC and three services chiefs congratulated all the officials involved on achieving this highly significant milestone. He also highlighted that the successful test-fire of SLCM also demonstrated confidence ‘in our scientists and engineers in fostering the technological prowess, through indigenization and self-reliance’. Pakistan eyes this hallmark development as a step towards reinforcing policy of credible minimum deterrence.

UN chief offers to mediate between India, Pakistan

WASHINGTON - A prominent Kashmiri leader has called on the new United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, to address with "supreme urgency" the decades-old Kashmir dispute between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan so as to promote peace and security in South Asia.


In a statement, Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary-General of World Kashmir Awareness, dismissed New Delhi's claim that Kashmir was an integral part of India, stating its stand, which was in violation of UN resolutions envisaging self-determination for the Kashmiri people, had prolonged and exacerbated the conflict between India and Pakistan.

"The alignment of States on both sides - for and against India - has serious global implications and poses the threat of another nuclear war."

In his statement, Fai gave background of the Kashmir dispute, drew attention to the gross human rights violations taking place there and made a strong case for the implementation of United Nations resolutions that call for a UN-sponsored plebiscite in the Himalayan state to determine the wishes of the people of Kashmiris.

He fervently urged the UN chief to help resolve the conflict over Kashmir where the situation had worsened since last July when Indian occupation forces killed a popular Kashmiri youth leader, Burhan Wani, heightening tensions between India and Pakistan.

"There cannot be a better agency than the Secretary-General of the United Nations himself to mediate or facilitate between the parties concerned," Fai said.

"Yes, there will be resistance from India, but if India is impressed with what she would gain by a just settlement of the Kashmir dispute, her negativity may not be insurmountable."

Guterres, a national of Portugal, assumed his functions as world's top diplomat on January 1.

"As a native of Portugal, you are no doubt familiar with the seizure of Goa in 1961, a State formerly part of the sovereignty of Portugal," Fai recalled.

"There are similarities between India’s actions toward Goa and its current behaviour toward Kashmir.

Portugal sought to secure a referendum in which the people of Goa would decide the fate of that State, when the issue arose over India’s claim to it. India instead used force to take it, despite international Opposition to military alternatives. Such is the case with Kashmir," he said.

"A plebiscite has been promised to the people of Kashmir since 1948, but through various ploys, India has not permitted it, and now claims that Kashmir is an integral part of India," the Kashmiri leader added.

Source: The Nation

A New threat to Karachi city

While recurrent floods and droughts have wreaked havoc across different provinces of the country over the past few years, global warming temperatures accompanied by rising sea levels pose a particular threat to Karachi — our largest city by the sea. This past year, evidence from various national and international sources, has cautioned that the biggest threat facing Pakistan is not terrorism but climate change instead.

One major impact of unchecked climate change is the potential havoc it can unleash on Karachi. With a population of approximately 17 million people, Karachi is not only our largest city, but also the economic hub for the country. It accounts for over 40 per cent of the nation’s GDP, and contributes around half of the country’s entire tax revenues. Therefore, environmental destruction of it would be a shock that Pakistan may understandably not be able to recover from.

Besides witnessing changing precipitation levels, and record high heatwaves in recent years, the looming threat to Karachi is the rising sea levels due to global warming. Karachi is located next to the Indus River Delta, where the Indus flows into the Arabian Sea. This delta is now almost at the same level as the Arabian Sea, which is causing seawater intrusion and creating havoc to the complex ecosystem of mangroves in the region. Mangrove forest cover has decreased from 400,000 hectares around the time of independence to 70,000 hectares due to not only rising sea levels, but also due to land grabbing and ill-planned development schemes. Development of the Port Qasim Power Project along the coastline of the Arabian Sea, is one such example.

Changes in the Indus delta’s ecosystem, caused both by man-made developments and climate change, have already displaced millions of Pakistanis who once lived in this region. Mangrove deforestation is particularly alarming since it plays a vital role in preventing erosion and buffering against natural calamities like cyclones and tsunamis.

While Karachi did experience a devastating tsunami back in the mid-1940s, a similar natural disaster would now be much more devastating. The UN recently conducted simulations based on a hypothetical 9.0 magnitude quake in the Indian Ocean, where the Arabian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet off the coast of Pakistan. This simulation event in turn triggered a catastrophic tsunami that could reach Karachi within one and a half hours, and be powerful enough to destroy the entire city. No early warning system could effectively evacuate the massive city, if such a natural calamity were to suddenly strike.

Moreover, the threat of rising sea levels exacerbated by climate change continues to loom over the city. Some parts of Karachi’s Malir are apparently going under water. With the current rate of climate change and the accompanying sea level rise, Karachi has an estimated 35 to 45 years before it completely submerges into the Arabian Sea, according to recent research by our National Institute of Oceanography.

Despite a range of pressing problems plaguing the country, Pakistan thus has little choice but to patronise its response to climate change in order to mitigate major environmental threats, such as that facing Karachi. Yet, compared to the annual defence budget, our government allocates a meagre proportion of funds to combat climate change, despite the potential seriousness of the threat, and the demonstrated damage already wreaked on our country due to climate-related disasters. Besides greater financial and political resolve to tackle climate change, Pakistan also needs greater assistance from specialised international agencies to help design and effectively implement comprehensive mitigation programmes, to avert unprecedented levels of hardship and catastrophe, which would be unleased, if a city like Karachi were to be lost to the sea in the coming decades.

Source: The Express Tribune

Contractor suspend Tarbela-4 Extension Contract

ISLAMABAD: The contractor of Tarbela-4 extension project has issued a contract suspension notice to the Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) and has threatened to approach the international court following the government’s move to recover the incentive money paid under a work acceleration plan.

The contractor said it would reclaim in the international court the disputed amount of $130 million, which had been settled earlier with the government.

Tarbela-4 extension project: WAPDA chief says $25m recovery from contractor not easy

The government had committed to paying $50 million as an incentive to the contractor if it succeeded in completing the Tarbela hydroelectric power fourth extension project by June 2017.

However, the contractor appears to have failed to meet the time frame given the work done so far on the project.

The use of taxpayer money as an incentive has surprised many. Normally, a reward is given after the completion of work ahead of schedule. However, in this case, the contractor has already been paid $25 million.

Talking to The Express Tribune, a senior Wapda official revealed that the contractor had spent $23 million on stepping up activities at the Tarbela-4 extension site. As a result of the $50-million incentive, he said, a dispute with the contractor involving $130 million had been settled.



As the government has now decided to take back $25 million from the contractor, the latter has slowed down the pace of work on the project and issued the contract suspension notice.

Earlier, in a high-level meeting held on November 29, 2016 and chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Wapda Chairman Muzammil Hussain had called for stopping the recovery of millions of dollars from the contractor, who could not meet the commitment to making the Tarbela-4 extension project ready ahead of the set time frame.

He suggested that the decision should be reviewed as the recovery would not be easy because of various reasons beyond the control of the contractor.

The Wapda chairman also proposed that it should be allowed to undertake the acceleration programme to fast-track work on the project.

Under Tarbela-4 extension, three units of 470 megawatts each totalling 1,410MW were being installed on the T-4 tunnel, which would enhance total capacity of the Tarbela power station to 4,888MW from the existing 3,487MW.

Tarbela-4 extension: Govt looking to recover $51m from contractor

The original deadline for completion of the project was February 2018, but under the accelerated programme, it was brought forward to June 2017. In that regard, a variation order was also signed and payment made to the contractor.

However, the contractor is unlikely to complete the project by the deadline.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, in a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Energy held on August 30 last year, had also raised the issue of payment made for the acceleration plan.

Since the project would now be commissioned according to the original plan, the money already dished out needed to be recovered from the contractor, he said.

Source: The Express Tribune

Geography of Asia

Higher than the mountains, deeper than the oceans, stronger than steel, dearer than eyesight and sweeter than honey”.

These are the words that have been spoken time and again commemorating the prestigious alliance between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Peoples Republic of China.

As unusual as it sounds, today, it is a reality that is set to shape the future of Asia, if not the global order.

Pakistan- China relations have now come of age.

All the doubts and reluctance stand cleared.

On November 30, 2016, a consignment worth 500 tonnes of goods left Kunming in China for Karachi as part of the direct rail and sea freight service and a 100 containers have already left from Gwadar to Europe.

This is part of the $46 Billion investment plan between Pakistan and China as part of CPEC.

If China succeeds in its initiative, Pakistan and its influence in region will undergo a complete transformation.


The long and mutually beneficial relationship between the two countries can be aptly described as the phrase, “opposites attract”.

Pakistan and its socio-political systems began with a British legacy alongside being an Islamic Republic whereas China was and still remains a Red revolution-inspired communist state.

Pakistan from the start was a door to the world for China.

The Sino-Indian war of 1962 added a military outlook to the relationship.

In the following years, Pakistan actively became the voice of support for China in the International community on diplomatic fronts like Tibet, Taiwan and Xinjiang.

Pakistan formally played a role in the 1972 Nixon visit to China.

On the other hand, Pakistan received diplomatic, economic and military assistance against Indian aggression.

The highest leadership of the two countries frequently arranged visits and warm diplomatic relations were always kept as a vital agenda of the foreign policy.

So much so, the last visitor to meet Mao Zedong before his death, aged 83, was none other than Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan.

With the Soviet invasion and alignment of Pakistan with US interests, there was a period of reluctance.

Soon after, the American favours upon India and its “war on terror” campaign made it crystal clear that Pakistan’s best interests were with Beijing.

China lived up to its expectations with its assistance in the nuclear programs and supplies that made Pakistan a strong military power in the region.

The most recent example of this counter-measure strategy is the provision of Chinese Chengdu J-10B fighter aircrafts which have been developed to counter the most advanced American fighter jet Lockheed Martin F-16C.

As stated by the Chinese Premier Le Keqiang to the people of China, “If you love China, love Pakistan too”.

The development of Al-Khalid Tank, F22 Frigate, Nuclear Power plants and armaments are but a few examples of co-operation between Islamabad and Beijing.

According to Pew Research Center, Pakistanis have the most favourable view of China after China itself.


Security is now the single most imperative concern of Asian states.

With the spread of terrorism, extremism and insurgency on the rise, China and Pakistan have realised that security lies in development.

Pakistan has been a direct victim of terrorism and extremism while the threat of a similar conflict looms over China, with the Uighar militant group operating within.

The intelligence of both countries agrees that East Turkestan Islamic Movement and the Uighar groups have joined hands with the Taliban.

It is only a matter of time before militancy will raise its ugly head in not one but many cities in China.

CPEC and OBOR is an effort to ensure security through development and economic progress along the lines where terrorism is likely to flourish.


CPEC will be a win-win position for both countries.

Gwadar is to become the jewel of world trade and Pakistan will be able to assert itself as a powerful economy independent of Western influence.

The power and capability that will arise from CPEC and OBOR will make way for a new geopolitical environment in Asia.

Pakistan is China’s only real friend; Beijing has realised that a country cannot become a superpower without having a strong ally in its backyard.

Rightly so, a high ranking official on the Chinese army, while defending China’s stance on Pakistan said, “Pakistan is China’s Israel”.

A strong Pakistan will not only keep terrorist groups from Afghanistan in check but also check any untoward hostility from India.

The geopolitics of Asia is now witnessing the constellation of stars aligning themselves to give rise to a China-Pakistan nexus that has the potential to massively change regional politics.

China is taking its only ally seriously and intends to take the trophy of being a world superpower in Asia and the Middle East.

It is in the best interest of both states, and if done right, will change the face of Asia in a way never perceived before.




Source:The Nation

Turkish police have recovered six Pakistani electorate abducted for ransom

ISLAMABAD/ANKARA: Turkish police have recovered six Pakistani citizens abducted for ransom and arrested four of their Afghan captors and their Turkish abettors, sources said Wednesday.

According to details, the Pakistani hostages were recovered from Usman Pasha area today (Wednesday) by Turkish police.

Pakistan’s foreign office has confirmed the reports of the release of Afzal Ameen, Adil Ahmed, Muhamamd Zeeshan, Abid, Usman Ali and Abshar Ahmed.

The Foreign Office, in a statement, thanked Turkish government for extending cooperation in the recovery of Pakistani citizens.

Sources said Pakistanis were abducted by a Afghan-Turk gang for ransom.

The Pakistanis, hailing from Gujranwala and Wazirabad, were travelling to Europe on a Turkish vessel, when they were intercepted and abducted.

The kidnappers reportedly subjected the captives to inhuman torture and sent the footage of torture to the relatives of these people. The captors demanded a sum of Rs2 million each for the release of the abducted Pakistani citizens.

Pakistan Foreign Office on Tuesday said the government was aware of the media reports regarding kidnapping of Pakistanis on a Turkish vessel for ransom.

The spokesman in a statement said the diplomatic missions of Pakistan in Ankara and Istanbul had taken necessary measures to apprise the Turkish authorities, who were extending cooperation.

Source: The News

Moonis Elahi says PMLN Needs a Scapegoat to Cover Incompetency

It isn't the first time PIA's failed policies, incompetence or corruption scandal has surfaced. The national flag carrier has become the most controversial institution in the country with a constant debate to whether it should be privatized or not. PMLN clearly has no plans to run the country and it seems they are busy raking in all the money they can before its time to go aboard and impose a self exile. The latest crash of a PIA ATR plane which killed all 47 people on-board has stirred controversy over the ability of the national flag carrier. Moonis Elahi said the recovered black box of the ill-fated PK661 clearly points to the inability of the decision makers to direct the pilot to make an emergency landing.

"PIA CEO Bernd Hildenbrand, who was scheduled to leave for Germany to spend Christmas and New Year’s holidays with his family, has been 'asked' to stay in the country till completion of further inquiries and other important work." - Dawn News

While the CEO has been asked not to leave the country, the real culprits are still at large who in fact are the PMLN. Their policies outshine all internal agendas and plans of the institution and unless politics is squeezed out of it, PIA can never be stabilized. "It seems now PMLN will make the CEO a scapegoat to save their face from the issue and it will also be pushed under the carpet", said the young PMLQ parliamentarian Moonis Elahi.