CAREC Meeting

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday reiterated Pakistan’s resolve to promote economic cooperation through regional integration and achieve the goal of poverty reduction. Addressing the 15th ministerial meeting of Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC), the premier said that for the collective benefit of the region it is necessary for the government member countries to work towards betterment of their people.

Nawaz said CAREC was an important programme that encouraged regional countries to develop physical network, infrastructure, peace, stability and economic development. He mentioned that the forum was significant in poverty reduction by facilitating trade policies among its member countries. He welcomed the delegates from 200 countries and expressed confidence that their attendance at the meeting would help realize the dream of the region’s prosperity and development. Proposing measures for the promotion of CAREC’s vision, he said a pool of experts could be established in CAREC countries to work on knowledge in human resource.

“Knowledge of these experts in sectors of finance, banking, marketing, energy and infrastructure could be utilized, which would result in intra-regional transfer of information,” he added.

He said Pakistan complied with international standards in trade activities and mentioned the improved economic conditions of the country. He appreciated that CAREC had mobilized $29 billion in regional development projects and expressed hope that the mid-term review of CAREC in next 10 years would prove as an opportunity to fast-track economic cooperation. He said Pakistan is a key facilitator of CAREC, bridging South Asia and Central Asia.

“The situation has never been more challenging, however, we are cognizant of dealing with them effectively,” he added.

The premier mentioned that the government was experiencing an economic revival at present, with a greater momentum gained in energy, transport and infrastructure activities under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). He hoped that besides Pakistan, CPEC would benefit CAREC countries.

Credits: express tribune

Pakistan requests UK's help on Kashmir

ISLAMABAD -  Pakistan yesterday urged the United Kingdom and other Permanent-five members to help solve the Kashmir issue with India as human rights were grossly being violated in the held territory.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi held a meeting with the British National Security Adviser Sir Mark Lyall Grant here to discuss the regional and international issues, the foreign ministry said.

Officials said Grant asked Pakistan to ‘do more’ in its fight against terrorism. “Grant said his country backed Pakistan’s stance over the Kashmir issue and asked Pakistan to prove its sincerity with the anti-terror war,” said an official.

He said Fatemi convinced the visiting British NSA that India was not ready to hold talks despite several offers by Pakistan.

The special assistant also said UK had a special obligation to intervene on the Kashmir issue as it ruled the sub-continent before the 1947 partition.

The special assistant briefed Grant about the current situation in Indian-held Kashmir. “He also stressed that as a country with historic links to this region, and as a member-state of UN Security Council’s P-5, it was incumbent on Britain to urge India to end its human rights violations in the occupied territory and to enter into a sustained dialogue process with Pakistan, so as to enable the two countries to peacefully resolve their differences,” said the foreign ministry statement.

Grant acknowledged the important role being played by Pakistan in promoting peace and stability in the region, it added.

Fatemi also briefed the visiting dignitary about Pakistan’s serious efforts to promote lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan, including the Afghan-owned and Afghan-led reconciliation process through the Quadrilateral Coordination Group, it said.

The special assistant underscored the importance Pakistan attaches to its relations with the United Kingdom and noted that partnership between the two countries was moving in the right direction.

In this context, he recalled the recent warm and cordial meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Prime Minister Theresa May, in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Fatemi highlighted the improved security situation and its positive impact on economic revival in Pakistan.

Lyall Grant acknowledged the significant achievements made by Pakistan and the sacrifices rendered by the people of Pakistan in their fight against terrorism. He reaffirmed the UK’s continued support to Pakistan, said the ministry.

Defence analyst Lt General (r) Amjad Shoaib said Pakistan had raised the Kashmir issue well among the global community.

He said UK and the P-5 members needed to come forward to stop the human rights violations in Kashmir and bring India to the talks table.

credits: shafqat ali (the nation)

India on the Backfoot

Indian Army continues to kill innocent un-armed Kashmiris in the name of terrorism and the current uprising started when they martyred another of their beloved Kashmiri Leader Burhan Wani and called him a terrorist Commander. Kashmiris in large numbers gathered at his funeral to pay homage to him and call for the revolution once again and rejected Indian state’s oppression & terrorism in the valley. They carried Pakistani flags to the rallies to show the world & Indian Army that “Hum Pakistani Hain, Pakistan hamara hai”. Media agencies were not allowed to work in the valley freely, print media also has been barred and TV channels are put off air. Telecommunication services are suspended just because India does not want the World to know the reality of what is happening in Kashmir.

Over 70 years have gone by but Kashmiris have never called themselves Indians. It is nothing new, Indian occupied forces are doing this since ages, killing innocent Kashmiris who only ask for their rights, rape their women, destroy their property and deprive them of basic human rights. India has made Occupied Kashmir one of the most highly militarized zone in the world where free media/reporting is at peril.

Pakistan, the only voice of Kashmiris to the world, condemns the brutal acts of Indian Forces and calls the international community to take notice of human rights abuses in Indian Occupied Kashmir & asks India to settle the issue in accordance with the resolution passed by UN for their right of self-determination for the people of Kashmir and asks UN to take steps to implement its pending resolution.

India on the other hand on the same floor of UN in the last UNSC session denied its resolution and called Kashmir an integral part of India. What was expected from the UN & World powers that they would respond sharply to the Indian stance and take strict action against India and resolve the issue in accordance with its resolution. But no major response from any of the world leaders could be seen. US, the major power player in the world, called it the issue between the two neighboring countries and that they should mutually settle it. Champions of Human Rights are all unmoved when it comes to Indian Brutality in Occupied Kashmir. Only Nations condemning the Indian brutality are the friends of Pakistan.

India continues to fabricate news to put blame on Pakistan. Creating disturbance at the Line of Control in Kashmir to divert world attention from its human rights abuses in Kashmir. Blaming Pakistan for the Uri attack. False flag of Surgical Strikes. In the madness of power India is creating risk for billions of people living in this region. US backed India & its strong media thinks itself as the power house of Asia to dictate their terms on the smaller nations like Bhutan, Bangladesh and wants to put Pakistan in the same line. SAARC conference scheduled to be held in Islamabad has also been called off because of the same reasons. But Pakistan is not Bhutan or Bangladesh, it’s an independent, sovereign, nuclear powered state.

Pakistan should team up with its friends to highlight the Indian brutality in Occupied Kashmir at the world forums and let the world know the ground realities and human rights abuses in Occupied Kashmir. Indian false claims of Pakistani hand in Uri attack and Surgical Strike inside Azad Kashmir has shamed India in the World and put a question mark on their credibility. Pakistan should seize this opportunity and it should send delegations to major power players of the world to tell the truth & seek favor for the rights of innocent people of Kashmir. Concrete steps are needed to move towards resolution.

India in trouble

India really likes to interfere in Pakistan’s internal affairs; whether it’s about politics in Pakistan or relations of Pakistan with other countries, it’s about the water of Pakistan or the terrorism Pakistan is facing. India loves to interfere in all kinds of matters. Nowadays India is raising Baluchistan’s Independence issue. Narendra Modi claims that Pakistan supports terrorism and himself openly accepts support of rebels to divide Pakistan. However, Pakistan is an independent country and Baluchistan is its integral part. Therefore India should stop poking their nose in Pakistan’s matters and first resolve their own internal affairs. As a prominent Sikh leader Dr. Amarjit Singh recently said:

“India was never a state and it would never be a state due to the existence of multi-cultural communities. With the help of Pakistan, Sikh community can make Khalistan a separate state to get rid of Indian state terrorism.”

Khalistan’s issue is not a new one. At the time of separation in 1947, Hindus deceived the Sikh community of India by promising them their rights and self-governance in their region, but afterwards used them for their own interests. Just after separation, when India was done with their interests with Sikhs, they started showing their real face. First of all, they totally forgot the promises to provide them an autonomous region and their constitutional rights. Then after a few years, the total of 12,000 Sikhs were arrested for demanding Punjabi to be the official language of the Punjab.

In June 1984 under Operation Blue Star, Indian government desecrated and damaged the Akal Takht (which is the holiest Sikh shrine) and killed hundreds of Sikhs. Indian armed forces use their latest weapons, machine guns and also tanks for this operation. That was a major and the most tragic incident in Sikhs’ history. Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her two Sikh bodyguards in retaliation.

That was not the end of Indian terrorism after that Indian government started Operation Wood rose under which thousands of innocent Sikhs were abducted and killed. More than seven thousand Sikhs were burned alive in Delhi afterwards.

In India, no one can raise their voice against injustice and if they do, they are brutally slain. There are several separatist movements ongoing across India. Additionally, India wants to camouflage the Kashmir issue by interfering and highlighting Pakistan’s internal non-issues. Conversely, India not only likes to interfere in other countries’ internal matters, but it also conducts organizes state sponsored terrorism against its own people. Well, in the case of Baluchistan, before talking about it India should focus and resolve Khalistan’s matter.

who am i

i am a soldier in my own world. i keep on fighting with myself hoping to get some sort of answer for who i want to be. it feels weird not knowing what i want to do but i feel like i have too much free time without any direction of what i want to do or where i want to go. i feel that these labels attached to me from when i was younger are slowly disappearing and are being replaced with a sense of foreboding doom. i do not know what i want to do and there is nothing worse than a feeling of emptiness in ones life. but in all honesty, there is nothing.