<p>While addressing the BJP Executive Meeting&nbsp;in Delhi, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that his government has <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/all-political-parties-need-to-cooperate-for-improving-situation-in-jk-rajnath-singh-20117" target="_blank">zero tolerance for terrorism in Jammu and Kashmi</a>r.&nbsp;</p>

<p>He added that his government is working for the development of the state.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">We raised development issues in J&amp;K and made clear that we have zero tolerance towards terrorism:Nitin Gadkari during BJP National Exec meet <a href="https://t.co/bnN1NE4dxa">pic.twitter.com/bnN1NE4dxa</a></p>
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<p>&nbsp;He praised Prime Minister by saying that PM Modi has successfully raised the issue of terrorism on the world platform and also revealed Pakistan.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="de">PM pure vishv mein atankwad ke mudde ko prathmikta dene mein safal hue aur Pakistan ko expose karne mein bhi: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari <a href="https://t.co/EMakYOCyZ4">pic.twitter.com/EMakYOCyZ4</a></p>
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<p>He also appreciated the prime minister&#39;s <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/ahead-of-pm-modis-visit-to-china-india-china-to-disengage-troops-along-doklam-19576">political diplomacy in dealing with China on the Doklam issue</a>. &nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="in"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Doklam?src=hash">#Doklam</a> ke mudde ko suljhane mein PM Modi ne raajneetik paripakta aur kuutniti ka parichay diya hai:Nitin Gadkari during BJP Natnl Exec Meet <a href="https://t.co/iNrvxFO2sA">pic.twitter.com/iNrvxFO2sA</a></p>
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<p>Talking about relations with Pakistan, the Union Minister said that his government wants to build cordial relations with the country. He even recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s&nbsp;historic stopover in Pakistan.</p>

<p>PM Modi had made a surprise stopover in Pakistan on 25 December 2016. He visited the country on his way back from Kabul.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="ht">Pakistan se hum dosti chahte hain, isliye PM protocol chorr ke Pak PM Sharif se mile gaye the: Nitin Gadkari during BJP National Exec meet <a href="https://t.co/ii65UcyYgb">pic.twitter.com/ii65UcyYgb</a></p>
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<p>Citing the recent incident that happened in BHU, Gadkari said the PM Modi and president Amit Shah have discussed the incident with the state&#39;s chief minister.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">PM Modi and BJP president Amit Shah have talked to UP CM Adityanath over BHU incident: Nitin Gadkari <a href="https://t.co/o0IXYmPXbt">pic.twitter.com/o0IXYmPXbt</a></p>
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<p>(Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/at-bjps-executive-meet-amit-shah-takes-potshots-at-rahul-gandhi-for-defending-dynasty-politics-20601" target="_blank">At BJP&#39;s executive meet, Amit Shah takes potshots at Rahul Gandhi for defending dynasty politics</a>)</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


?Talking about relations with Pakistan, the Union Minister said that his government had tried building cordial relations with the country. He even recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi's?historic stopover in Pakistan

While addressing the BJP Executive Meeting in Delhi, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that his government has zero tolerance for terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. He added that his government is working for the development of the state. We raised development issues in J&K and made clear that we have zero tolerance towards terrorism:Nitin Gadkari during BJP National Exec meet pic.twitter.com/bnN1NE4dxa — ANI (@ANI) September 25, 2017 × He praised Prime Minister by saying that PM Modi has successfully raised the issue of terrorism on the world platform and also revealed Pakistan. PM pure vishv mein atankwad ke mudde ko prathmikta dene mein safal hue aur Pakistan ko expose karne mein bhi: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari pic.twitter.com/EMakYOCyZ4 — ANI (@ANI) September 25, 2017 × He also appreciated the prime minister's political diplomacy in dealing with China on the Doklam issue. #Doklam ke mudde ko suljhane mein PM Modi ne raajneetik paripakta aur kuutniti ka parichay diya hai:Nitin Gadkari during BJP Natnl Exec Meet pic.twitter.com/iNrvxFO2sA — ANI (@ANI) September 25, 2017 × Talking about relations with Pakistan, the Union Minister said that his government wants to build cordial relations with the country. He even recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic stopover in Pakistan. PM Modi had made a surprise stopover in Pakistan on 25 December 2016. He visited the country on his way back from Kabul. Pakistan se hum dosti chahte hain, isliye PM protocol chorr ke Pak PM Sharif se mile gaye the: Nitin Gadkari during BJP National Exec meet pic.twitter.com/ii65UcyYgb — ANI (@ANI) September 25, 2017 × Citing the recent incident that happened in BHU, Gadkari said the PM Modi and president Amit Shah have discussed the incident with the state's chief minister. PM Modi and BJP president Amit Shah have talked to UP CM Adityanath over BHU incident: Nitin Gadkari pic.twitter.com/o0IXYmPXbt — ANI (@ANI) September 25, 2017 × (Also Read: At BJP's executive meet, Amit Shah takes potshots at Rahul Gandhi for defending dynasty politics)

Zero tolerance for terrorism in J&K: Nitin Gadkari at BJP executive meeting

<p>India has come down hard on Pakistan at the United Nations, calling the latter country &quot;Terroristan&quot;.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;Pakistan is now Terroristan, with a flourishing industry producing and exporting global terrorism,&quot; India said on Friday morning.&nbsp;</p>

<p>India was exercising its right of reply to answer Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi&#39;s plea to the United Nations that it appoint a special envoy to Kashmir and intervene in the state.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WATCH?src=hash">#WATCH</a>: India hits out at Pakistan calling it &#39;Terroristan&#39;-with a flourishing industry producing &amp; exporting global terrorism <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UN?src=hash">#UN</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Geneva?src=hash">#Geneva</a> <a href="https://t.co/nmFlvBeVM1">pic.twitter.com/nmFlvBeVM1</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/911070921976299520">September 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Pakistan is now &#39;Terroristan&#39;, with a flourishing industry producing and exporting global terrorism: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/India?src=hash">#India</a>&#39;s Right of Reply <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UN?src=hash">#UN</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Geneva?src=hash">#Geneva</a> <a href="https://t.co/JWomk5d68D">pic.twitter.com/JWomk5d68D</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/911064295722565632">September 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&quot;Terroristan is in fact a territory whose contribution to the globalisation of terror is unparalleled,&quot; India said.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;In its short history, Pakistan has become a geography synonymous with terror,&quot; India added.&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/pakistan-pm-urges-un-to-appoint-special-envoy-for-kashmir-20502" target="_blank">Also read:&nbsp;Pakistan PM urges UN to appoint special envoy for Kashmir</a></p>

<p>India said, &quot;However much it scales up cross-border terrorism,it will never succeed in undermining India&#39;s territorial integrity.</p>

<p>&quot;Pakistan must understand that the state of J&amp;K is and will always remain an integral part of India.&quot;&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Pakistan must understand that the State of J&amp;K is and will always remain an integral part of India: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/India?src=hash">#India</a>&#39;s Right of Reply <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Geneva?src=hash">#Geneva</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/911065133702553600">September 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>India added that the &quot;world does not need lessons on democracy and human rights from a country whose own situation is charitably described as a failed state.&quot;&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WATCH?src=hash">#WATCH</a>:In response to Pak PM Abbasi&#39;s address at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UNGA?src=hash">#UNGA</a>,India says World doesn&#39;t need lessons on democracy &amp; human rights from a failed state <a href="https://t.co/RsvJmgOM9L">pic.twitter.com/RsvJmgOM9L</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/911074232758448133">September 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">World does not need lessons on democracy and human rights from a country whose own situation is charitably described as a failed state:India <a href="https://t.co/qQ1qjpbQcA">pic.twitter.com/qQ1qjpbQcA</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/911066676572991488">September 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>And that &quot;Even as terrorists thrive in Pakistan and roam its streets with impunity, we have heard it lecture about protection of human rights in India.&quot;&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;The quest for a land of pure has actually produced &#39;the land of pure terror&#39;,&quot; India said.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Adding that &quot;it is extraordinary that the state which protected Osama Bin Laden and sheltered Mullah Omar should have the gumption to play victim.&quot;&nbsp;</p>

<p>Pakistan &quot;can only be counselled to abandon a destructive worldview that has caused grief to the entire world,&quot; India said.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;If it could be persuaded to demonstrate commitment to civilisation, order and peace, it may still find some acceptance in (the) comity of nations,&quot; it added.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">If it could be persuaded to demonstrate commitment to civilization,order&amp;peace, it may still find some acceptance in comity of nations:India</p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/911068369125744640">September 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>


India was exercising its right of reply to answer Pakistan PM Shahid Abbasi's plea to the UN that it intervene in Kashmir

India has come down hard on Pakistan at the United Nations, calling the latter country "Terroristan". "Pakistan is now Terroristan, with a flourishing industry producing and exporting global terrorism," India said on Friday morning. India was exercising its right of reply to answer Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi's plea to the United Nations that it appoint a special envoy to Kashmir and intervene in the state. #WATCH: India hits out at Pakistan calling it 'Terroristan'-with a flourishing industry producing & exporting global terrorism #UN #Geneva pic.twitter.com/nmFlvBeVM1 — ANI (@ANI) September 22, 2017 × Pakistan is now 'Terroristan', with a flourishing industry producing and exporting global terrorism: #India's Right of Reply #UN #Geneva pic.twitter.com/JWomk5d68D — ANI (@ANI) September 22, 2017 × "Terroristan is in fact a territory whose contribution to the globalisation of terror is unparalleled," India said. "In its short history, Pakistan has become a geography synonymous with terror," India added. Also read: Pakistan PM urges UN to appoint special envoy for Kashmir India said, "However much it scales up cross-border terrorism,it will never succeed in undermining India's territorial integrity. "Pakistan must understand that the state of J&K is and will always remain an integral part of India." Pakistan must understand that the State of J&K is and will always remain an integral part of India: #India's Right of Reply #Geneva — ANI (@ANI) September 22, 2017 × India added that the "world does not need lessons on democracy and human rights from a country whose own situation is charitably described as a failed state." #WATCH:In response to Pak PM Abbasi's address at #UNGA,India says World doesn't need lessons on democracy & human rights from a failed state pic.twitter.com/RsvJmgOM9L — ANI (@ANI) September 22, 2017 × World does not need lessons on democracy and human rights from a country whose own situation is charitably described as a failed state:India pic.twitter.com/qQ1qjpbQcA — ANI (@ANI) September 22, 2017 × And that "Even as terrorists thrive in Pakistan and roam its streets with impunity, we have heard it lecture about protection of human rights in India." "The quest for a land of pure has actually produced 'the land of pure terror'," India said. Adding that "it is extraordinary that the state which protected Osama Bin Laden and sheltered Mullah Omar should have the gumption to play victim." Pakistan "can only be counselled to abandon a destructive worldview that has caused grief to the entire world," India said. "If it could be persuaded to demonstrate commitment to civilisation, order and peace, it may still find some acceptance in (the) comity of nations," it added. If it could be persuaded to demonstrate commitment to civilization,order&peace, it may still find some acceptance in comity of nations:India — ANI (@ANI) September 22, 2017 ×

WATCH: India replies to Pakistan at UN, calls it 'Terroristan'

<p>Political activists and human rights defenders have blamed Pakistan for crushing voices of dissent and harbouring terrorists.</p>

<p>At a side-event titled &quot;Freedom of Expression&quot; at the 36th session of Human Rights Council in Geneva, the activists from Pakistan occupied Kashmir, Sindh, Pakhtunistan criticised Islamabad for its anti-people policies.Sardar Shaukat Ali Kashmir, Chairman of United Kashmir People`s National Party (UKPNP), said that Pakistan has suppressed every voice, which is concerning to the human rights.</p>

<p>&quot;Terror infrastructure is still intact and they are recruiting people and communities like Shia, who are being marginalised. In Pakistan, the terrorists enjoy every freedom of abusing and intimidating anyone. They are free and protected, whereas the civil society is suppressed,&quot; he said.The persecution of religious minorities, including Christians and Hindus in Pakistan, was also highlighted during the conference.</p>

<p>&quot;The basic issue that we are facing is the blasphemy law. It seems that every time some kind of conflict arises, even on the personal basis it is always ending up with blasphemy. As the whole world knows about Asia Bibi, recently a 17-year-old boy was dragged and beaten to death by his Muslim classmates,&quot; said Nighat John Urpani, Sec. General of Pakistan Minorities Alliance (PMA).</p>

<p>She added that this is the result of fundamentalist and terror outfits in Pakistan.&quot;As I said the militant groups are very free their, they are operating on social media, they are recruiting people and it seems there is no one who can stop them,&quot; she said.&nbsp;</p>


Political activists and human rights defenders have blamed Pakistan for crushing voices of dissent and harbouring terrorists

Political activists and human rights defenders have blamed Pakistan for crushing voices of dissent and harbouring terrorists. At a side-event titled "Freedom of Expression" at the 36th session of Human Rights Council in Geneva, the activists from Pakistan occupied Kashmir, Sindh, Pakhtunistan criticised Islamabad for its anti-people policies.Sardar Shaukat Ali Kashmir, Chairman of United Kashmir People`s National Party (UKPNP), said that Pakistan has suppressed every voice, which is concerning to the human rights. "Terror infrastructure is still intact and they are recruiting people and communities like Shia, who are being marginalised. In Pakistan, the terrorists enjoy every freedom of abusing and intimidating anyone. They are free and protected, whereas the civil society is suppressed," he said.The persecution of religious minorities, including Christians and Hindus in Pakistan, was also highlighted during the conference. "The basic issue that we are facing is the blasphemy law. It seems that every time some kind of conflict arises, even on the personal basis it is always ending up with blasphemy. As the whole world knows about Asia Bibi, recently a 17-year-old boy was dragged and beaten to death by his Muslim classmates," said Nighat John Urpani, Sec. General of Pakistan Minorities Alliance (PMA). She added that this is the result of fundamentalist and terror outfits in Pakistan."As I said the militant groups are very free their, they are operating on social media, they are recruiting people and it seems there is no one who can stop them," she said.

Activists from PoK, Sindh blame Pakistan for harbouring terrorists, targeting minorities

<p>Apparently, it&rsquo;s quite unnatural for Bangladesh and India not to be close allies, especially with India&#39;s involvement in Bangladesh&#39;s War of Independence of 1971. And then, of course, there are the unique cultural similarities and geographical realities with regards to common Ganges-Bramhaputra plain that runs through both the countries. Despite the overt Hasina-Modi bonhomie, the political reality is, however, very different. Bangladesh&#39;s relations with India can best be described as a loose friendship with hidden mutual mistrust and suspicion.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The lack of trust between the two countries&nbsp;comes forth more in the context of Bangladesh-Myanmar tussle on persecution and expulsion of &nbsp;Rohingyas from Arakan.&nbsp;</p>

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<h5>The tensed Bangladesh &ndash;India relationship stems from a variety of issues, such as &lsquo;equitable sharing of all common river water, terrorist camps and migration.</h5>
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<p>The prime deficiency of India&rsquo;s South Asia policy has been its obsession with Pakistan. Only recently a separate desk has been introduced for Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal in the Ministry of External Affairs at the South Block of Raisina Hills in New Delhi. Pakistan became important for its nuisance value while India failed to see the constructive value of the rest, especially Bangladesh which is already the 31st largest economy in the world with more than 6 per cent average economic growth in the last couple of decades. Courtesy the economic growth, the western world has come to view Bangladesh as one of the &lsquo;Next Eleven&rsquo;. Bangladesh has come to develop relations with the west, Japan, Middle-East and China and derived great economic benefits out of those relations.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The tensed Bangladesh &ndash;India relationship stems from a variety of issues, such as &lsquo;equitable sharing of all common river water, terrorist camps and migration. Since 1996 gradual progress has been achieved by Bangladesh and India to address some of these issues. Bangladesh has destroyed the dens the Indian rebels made along Bangladesh -<br />
India borders and proactively searched and sealed all channels of logistics and arms supply to these rebels. Bangladeshi intelligence agencies are also blocking ISI or its proxies&rsquo; probable operations against India from Bangladeshi soil. &nbsp;</p>

<p>Geo-politically, in South Asia and beyond, there are several areas where an alliance between the India and Bangladesh could have brought good mutual dividend and uphold some great IR principles. One such area is Pakistan&rsquo;s export of terrorism and Islamic radicalism. Both India and Bangladesh are affected by that. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>Myanmar on the other hand hardly has any principled position. It is buying good numbers of multi-role fighter aircraft&nbsp;from Pakistan, the regional hub of Islamic terrorism, giving a boost to Pakistani military industry and technology. These are made through the collaboration between Pakistan and China, Myanmar&rsquo;s closest ally and India&rsquo;s geo-strategic nemesis. In this context, it&rsquo;s difficult to make sense as to why&nbsp;India is siding with Myanmar in its dissension with Bangladesh on an acute humanitarian crisis like Rohingya.&nbsp;</p>

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<h5>It&rsquo;s difficult to make sense as to why&nbsp;India is siding with Myanmar in its dissension with Bangladesh on an acute humanitarian crisis like Rohingya.&nbsp;</h5>
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<p>Apart from the principle and propriety angle, India hardly gains anything from Myanmar. India can&rsquo;t match the kind of investment China made in Myanmar.&nbsp;</p>

<p>A further irony is, lacs of &nbsp;Indians were expelled from Myanmar like the Rohingyas in the fifties and sixties. The remaining ones and later migrant Indian in Myanmar are still abused in that country with racial slur &#39;Kala&rsquo;. The Myanmar Indians falls in the same absurd 1982 citizenship law as Rohingyas. Myanmar is always likely to be on China&#39;s side despite India&rsquo;s disgraceful pampering.&nbsp;</p>

<p>On the other hand, India has much to lose not by standing by Bangladesh&rsquo;s side at the time of its need both in comparative and absolute terms. &nbsp;Bangladesh might again lean more towards the Islamic bondage rather than the subcontinental one. If Islamic solidarity is revived on this issue, India&rsquo;s massive stake in the Middle East might even be harmed for its direct or indirect support in Rohingya genocide and expulsion.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It seems&nbsp;some of PM Modi&rsquo;s strategic advisors have gone bonkers with anti-Muslim preoccupation and very weak Rohingya terrorism stories. Because of them, soon India might find herself on the wrong side of geopolitics and history. Bangladesh did a balancing act between concerns of India and interest of China by postponing China&rsquo;s proposal for a Sri Lanka and Pakistan like the development of a deep sea port in Sonadia of Chittagong. Now, it&rsquo;s a payback time for India and an opportunity for it to befriend Bangladesh for the long term by strongly being by the latter&rsquo;s side in this crisis.&nbsp;</p>

<p>If India is strongly by the side of Bangladesh now, much of the remaining &nbsp;Indo-Bangla mistrust in the relationship will be gone, and Bangladeshi people, as well as the political forces, will appreciate the value of India&rsquo;s friendship immensely. It will bring a defining shift in Bangladesh-India relation for a very long term. &nbsp;The question is whether PM Modi is ready for an in-depth strategic re-assessment and would his policy strategists allow him to do that?</p>


India?s massive stake in the Middle East and South Asia might be harmed for its direct or indirect support in Rohingya genocide and expulsion.

Apparently, it’s quite unnatural for Bangladesh and India not to be close allies, especially with India's involvement in Bangladesh's War of Independence of 1971. And then, of course, there are the unique cultural similarities and geographical realities with regards to common Ganges-Bramhaputra plain that runs through both the countries. Despite the overt Hasina-Modi bonhomie, the political reality is, however, very different. Bangladesh's relations with India can best be described as a loose friendship with hidden mutual mistrust and suspicion. The lack of trust between the two countries comes forth more in the context of Bangladesh-Myanmar tussle on persecution and expulsion of Rohingyas from Arakan. The tensed Bangladesh –India relationship stems from a variety of issues, such as ‘equitable sharing of all common river water, terrorist camps and migration. × The prime deficiency of India’s South Asia policy has been its obsession with Pakistan. Only recently a separate desk has been introduced for Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal in the Ministry of External Affairs at the South Block of Raisina Hills in New Delhi. Pakistan became important for its nuisance value while India failed to see the constructive value of the rest, especially Bangladesh which is already the 31st largest economy in the world with more than 6 per cent average economic growth in the last couple of decades. Courtesy the economic growth, the western world has come to view Bangladesh as one of the ‘Next Eleven’. Bangladesh has come to develop relations with the west, Japan, Middle-East and China and derived great economic benefits out of those relations. The tensed Bangladesh –India relationship stems from a variety of issues, such as ‘equitable sharing of all common river water, terrorist camps and migration. Since 1996 gradual progress has been achieved by Bangladesh and India to address some of these issues. Bangladesh has destroyed the dens the Indian rebels made along Bangladesh - India borders and proactively searched and sealed all channels of logistics and arms supply to these rebels. Bangladeshi intelligence agencies are also blocking ISI or its proxies’ probable operations against India from Bangladeshi soil. Geo-politically, in South Asia and beyond, there are several areas where an alliance between the India and Bangladesh could have brought good mutual dividend and uphold some great IR principles. One such area is Pakistan’s export of terrorism and Islamic radicalism. Both India and Bangladesh are affected by that. Myanmar on the other hand hardly has any principled position. It is buying good numbers of multi-role fighter aircraft from Pakistan, the regional hub of Islamic terrorism, giving a boost to Pakistani military industry and technology. These are made through the collaboration between Pakistan and China, Myanmar’s closest ally and India’s geo-strategic nemesis. In this context, it’s difficult to make sense as to why India is siding with Myanmar in its dissension with Bangladesh on an acute humanitarian crisis like Rohingya. It’s difficult to make sense as to why India is siding with Myanmar in its dissension with Bangladesh on an acute humanitarian crisis like Rohingya. × Apart from the principle and propriety angle, India hardly gains anything from Myanmar. India can’t match the kind of investment China made in Myanmar. A further irony is, lacs of Indians were expelled from Myanmar like the Rohingyas in the fifties and sixties. The remaining ones and later migrant Indian in Myanmar are still abused in that country with racial slur 'Kala’. The Myanmar Indians falls in the same absurd 1982 citizenship law as Rohingyas. Myanmar is always likely to be on China's side despite India’s disgraceful pampering. On the other hand, India has much to lose not by standing by Bangladesh’s side at the time of its need both in comparative and absolute terms. Bangladesh might again lean more towards the Islamic bondage rather than the subcontinental one. If Islamic solidarity is revived on this issue, India’s massive stake in the Middle East might even be harmed for its direct or indirect support in Rohingya genocide and expulsion. It seems some of PM Modi’s strategic advisors have gone bonkers with anti-Muslim preoccupation and very weak Rohingya terrorism stories. Because of them, soon India might find herself on the wrong side of geopolitics and history. Bangladesh did a balancing act between concerns of India and interest of China by postponing China’s proposal for a Sri Lanka and Pakistan like the development of a deep sea port in Sonadia of Chittagong. Now, it’s a payback time for India and an opportunity for it to befriend Bangladesh for the long term by strongly being by the latter’s side in this crisis. If India is strongly by the side of Bangladesh now, much of the remaining Indo-Bangla mistrust in the relationship will be gone, and Bangladeshi people, as well as the political forces, will appreciate the value of India’s friendship immensely. It will bring a defining shift in Bangladesh-India relation for a very long term. The question is whether PM Modi is ready for an in-depth strategic re-assessment and would his policy strategists allow him to do that?

Rohingya: Why India should side with Bangladesh and not Myanmar

<p>Pakistan has a new superhero.</p>

<p>She is called Sarah, a normal teenager with a pet cat who wakes up after a coma to find she has superpowers.</p>

<p>Then, she becomes &quot;Pakistan Girl&quot;.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The comic book has been written by Hassan Siddiqui.</p>

<p>AFP reported Siddiqui as saying he wrote the comic book so that young Pakistani&nbsp;girls could have a role model.&nbsp;</p>

<p>As could young Pakistani boys.&nbsp;</p>

<p>You see, the thing is Pakistan -- like a lot of South Asia -- is deeply patriarchal.&nbsp;</p>

<p>And Pakistan Girl takes on corrupt cops, venal officials, and men who are bad to women.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Pakistan Girl wears a green cape, the country&#39;s national colour.</p>

<p>The first series of the comic book was released in summer.</p>

<p>It depicted Pakistan Girl beating up a man beating a woman in a market, and saving a young girl taken hostage by a bribe-seeking police officer&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;There&#39;s a huge shortage of female role models and superheroes in the mainstream media here,&quot; Siddiqui told AFP.</p>

<p>&quot;We wanted to create a strong female character for the girls in Pakistan and even the young boys in Pakistan that they can look up to.&quot;</p>

<p>&quot;Pakistan Girl&quot; (the comic book) is written in English.</p>

<p>But Siddiqui says he will be working on an Urdu version soon. &nbsp;</p>


Pakistan Girl, aka Sarah, is meant to be a role model for young girls and boys in the deeply patriarchal country

Pakistan has a new superhero. She is called Sarah, a normal teenager with a pet cat who wakes up after a coma to find she has superpowers. Then, she becomes "Pakistan Girl". The comic book has been written by Hassan Siddiqui. AFP reported Siddiqui as saying he wrote the comic book so that young Pakistani girls could have a role model. As could young Pakistani boys. You see, the thing is Pakistan -- like a lot of South Asia -- is deeply patriarchal. And Pakistan Girl takes on corrupt cops, venal officials, and men who are bad to women. Pakistan Girl wears a green cape, the country's national colour. The first series of the comic book was released in summer. It depicted Pakistan Girl beating up a man beating a woman in a market, and saving a young girl taken hostage by a bribe-seeking police officer "There's a huge shortage of female role models and superheroes in the mainstream media here," Siddiqui told AFP. "We wanted to create a strong female character for the girls in Pakistan and even the young boys in Pakistan that they can look up to." "Pakistan Girl" (the comic book) is written in English. But Siddiqui says he will be working on an Urdu version soon.

'Pakistan Girl', country's newest superhero, takes on corrupt cops & domestic abuse

<p>A roadside bomb killed a local government official and five policemen on Sunday in Pakistan&#39;s restive northwestern tribal area bordering Afghanistan, officials said.</p>

<p>The blast took place in the town of Mamoond, some 25 kilometres (15 miles) from Khar, the main town of Bajaur, one of the country&#39;s seven semi-autonomous tribal districts, where the army has been battling Taliban militants.</p>

<p>&quot;A local government officer and five tribal police were killed when an improvised explosive device planted on a roadside exploded when their vehicle passed,&quot; senior local government official Anwarul Haq told AFP.</p>

<p>Local security officials confirmed the attack and casualties.</p>

<p>Pakistani militant umbrella group Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) claimed responsibility for the explosion.</p>

<p>&quot;Our mission is to eliminate the black infidel democratic system in Pakistan and impose Islamic justice system. We will trample every hurdle in the way of our mission,&quot; spokesman Mohammad Khurasani said in a message sent to reporters.</p>

<p>Violence in Pakistan has declined in recent years following a series of military offensives against insurgents along the northwestern border.</p>

<p>But militant groups are still able to carry out bloody attacks, particularly in the northwest.</p>

<p><br />
&nbsp;</p>


The bombings killed a local government official and four policemen in Pakistan's restive northwestern tribal area bordering Afghanistan

A roadside bomb killed a local government official and five policemen on Sunday in Pakistan's restive northwestern tribal area bordering Afghanistan, officials said. The blast took place in the town of Mamoond, some 25 kilometres (15 miles) from Khar, the main town of Bajaur, one of the country's seven semi-autonomous tribal districts, where the army has been battling Taliban militants. "A local government officer and five tribal police were killed when an improvised explosive device planted on a roadside exploded when their vehicle passed," senior local government official Anwarul Haq told AFP. Local security officials confirmed the attack and casualties. Pakistani militant umbrella group Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) claimed responsibility for the explosion. "Our mission is to eliminate the black infidel democratic system in Pakistan and impose Islamic justice system. We will trample every hurdle in the way of our mission," spokesman Mohammad Khurasani said in a message sent to reporters. Violence in Pakistan has declined in recent years following a series of military offensives against insurgents along the northwestern border. But militant groups are still able to carry out bloody attacks, particularly in the northwest.

Pakistan: 6 dead in bomb explosion near Afghanistan border

<p>Pakistanis began casting votes on Sunday for the parliamentary seat vacated by ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, in a by-election seen as a test of support for the Sharif dynasty ahead of the 2018 general election.</p>

<p>Sharif&#39;s ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party hopes a resounding victory in the eastern city of Lahore would show that support for the family was undiminished despite the Supreme Court&#39;s removal of Sharif in July.</p>

<p>Sharif&#39;s daughter Maryam has spearheaded the PML-N campaign for her mother Kulsoom - who is the PML-N candidate despite receiving cancer treatment in London with Nawaz at her side.</p>

<p>Maryam, who some PML-N leaders see as a future leader, has framed the poll as a chance for voters to give a bloody nose to the judiciary by handing the party a thumping victory.</p>

<p>&quot;Will you take revenge for your disrespected vote?&quot; Maryam asked supporters at a recent rally.</p>

<p>Opposition leader Imran Khan, whose threats of street protests pushed the Supreme Court to launch a probe into Nawaz&#39;s wealth, is seeking to build on the success of his anti-graft crusade by making inroads into Sharifs&#39; power base in Punjab.</p>

<p>The Supreme Court in July disqualified Sharif because he did not declare a monthly salary, equivalent to $2,722, from a company owned by his son when the veteran leader, who had held power twice in the 1990s, became prime minister for the third time. Sharif denies receiving the salary.</p>

<p>Khan has turned the by-election into a plebiscite about corruption and has accused the provincial Punjab government, which is run by Nawaz&#39;s brother Shahbaz, of abusing state resources to help the PML-N campaign.</p>

<p>&quot;Your prime minister owns some of the most expensive real estate in the world, all in his daughter&#39;s name. Meanwhile half the children of this country are malnourished,&quot; Khan told a rally on Saturday.</p>

<p>Analysts predict PML-N will win again but they say Khan&#39;s party would build momentum ahead of the 2018 poll if PTI candidate Yasmin Rashid, a gynecologist from the area, substantially reduces the PML-N&#39;s 40,000 vote-winning margin from 2013.</p>

<p>&quot;PTI would be very happy if the margin ended up being small. That would be a victory for them,&quot; said Hasan Askri a political analyst.</p>

<p>Many of the 321,633 registered voters in the central Lahore NA-120 constituency are conflicted.</p>

<p>&quot;My head goes towards PTI while my heart goes towards PML-N,&quot; said Ali Raza, 25, a bank employee.</p>

<p>Kulsoom and Rashid will be competing against about 40 other candidates, including religious parties. One candidate is backed by a new party that is led by an Islamist firebrand who is subject to a $10 million bounty offered by the United States.</p>

<p>Hafiz Saeed heads the Jammat-ud-Dawa (JuD) charity, having founded and formerly led the Lashkhar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group that carried out the 2008 attacks on the Indian city of Mumbai that killed 166 people. The United States has placed Saeed, the charity and LeT on a terrorist list.</p>

<p>Voting began at 9 am (0400 GMT) and the polls are due to close at 5pm, with results likely to be announced after midnight.</p>


Sharif's ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party hopes a resounding victory in the eastern city of Lahore would show that support for the family was undiminished despite the Supreme Court's removal of Sharif in July

Pakistanis began casting votes on Sunday for the parliamentary seat vacated by ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, in a by-election seen as a test of support for the Sharif dynasty ahead of the 2018 general election. Sharif's ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party hopes a resounding victory in the eastern city of Lahore would show that support for the family was undiminished despite the Supreme Court's removal of Sharif in July. Sharif's daughter Maryam has spearheaded the PML-N campaign for her mother Kulsoom - who is the PML-N candidate despite receiving cancer treatment in London with Nawaz at her side. Maryam, who some PML-N leaders see as a future leader, has framed the poll as a chance for voters to give a bloody nose to the judiciary by handing the party a thumping victory. "Will you take revenge for your disrespected vote?" Maryam asked supporters at a recent rally. Opposition leader Imran Khan, whose threats of street protests pushed the Supreme Court to launch a probe into Nawaz's wealth, is seeking to build on the success of his anti-graft crusade by making inroads into Sharifs' power base in Punjab. The Supreme Court in July disqualified Sharif because he did not declare a monthly salary, equivalent to $2,722, from a company owned by his son when the veteran leader, who had held power twice in the 1990s, became prime minister for the third time. Sharif denies receiving the salary. Khan has turned the by-election into a plebiscite about corruption and has accused the provincial Punjab government, which is run by Nawaz's brother Shahbaz, of abusing state resources to help the PML-N campaign. "Your prime minister owns some of the most expensive real estate in the world, all in his daughter's name. Meanwhile half the children of this country are malnourished," Khan told a rally on Saturday. Analysts predict PML-N will win again but they say Khan's party would build momentum ahead of the 2018 poll if PTI candidate Yasmin Rashid, a gynecologist from the area, substantially reduces the PML-N's 40,000 vote-winning margin from 2013. "PTI would be very happy if the margin ended up being small. That would be a victory for them," said Hasan Askri a political analyst. Many of the 321,633 registered voters in the central Lahore NA-120 constituency are conflicted. "My head goes towards PTI while my heart goes towards PML-N," said Ali Raza, 25, a bank employee. Kulsoom and Rashid will be competing against about 40 other candidates, including religious parties. One candidate is backed by a new party that is led by an Islamist firebrand who is subject to a $10 million bounty offered by the United States. Hafiz Saeed heads the Jammat-ud-Dawa (JuD) charity, having founded and formerly led the Lashkhar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group that carried out the 2008 attacks on the Indian city of Mumbai that killed 166 people. The United States has placed Saeed, the charity and LeT on a terrorist list. Voting began at 9 am (0400 GMT) and the polls are due to close at 5pm, with results likely to be announced after midnight.

Pakistanis vote in by-election seen as test of support for ousted PM Sharif

<p>Pakistan has requested the World Bank to fulfil its obligation to establish a court of arbitration to settle its water dispute with India in the light of the Indus Waters Treaty.</p>

<p>The request came after delegations of India and Pakistan met at the World Bank headquarters in Washington on September 14 and 15 for the second round of talks on Ratle and Kishanganga hydroelectric projects, over which Islamabad has raised objections.</p>

<p>A media report said citing sources that despite the passage of more than a year, the World Bank is not establishing the court of arbitration.</p>

<p>Pakistan has now requested the World Bank to fulfil its duties under the Treaty by empanelling the Court of Arbitration, the paper reported.</p>

<p>Earlier, the secretary-level talks between the two countries ended without any agreement.</p>

<p>&ldquo;While an agreement has not been reached at the conclusion of the meetings, the World Bank will continue to work with both countries to resolve the issues in an amicable manner and in line with the Treaty provisions,&rdquo; the World Bank said in a statement after the talks.</p>

<p>&quot;Both countries and the World Bank appreciated the discussions and reconfirmed their commitment to the preservation of the Treaty,&quot;&nbsp;it said.<br />
<br />
The World Bank remains committed to act in good faith and with &quot;complete impartiality and transparency&rdquo; in fulfilling its responsibilities under the Treaty, while continuing to assist the countries, it said in its statement.</p>

<p>The Indus Waters Treaty was signed in 1960 after nine years of negotiations between India and Pakistan with the help of the World Bank, which is also a signatory.</p>

<p>Pakistan had raised objections to India&rsquo;s plans at the Permanent Indus Commission more than a decade ago. When the objections were not addressed, Islamabad approached the World Bank on August 19, 2016 for the court of arbitration as provided in the Indus Waters Treaty, the paper said.</p>

<p>Subsequently, on October 4, 2016, India made a request for appointment of neutral expert to adjudicate in the dispute. The World Bank initially agreed to set up both the fora but later &ldquo;paused&rdquo; the two processes, fearing their separate rulings might conflict with each other.</p>

<p>In an effort to end the impasse, the World Bank invited the water resources secretaries of the two countries for consultations. In the first round in Washington on July 31 and August 1 this year, Pakistan proposed amendments to the designs to make the Indian project treaty compliant.</p>

<p>But in the latest round of the talks in September, India not only refused to accept any of the design amendments proposed by Pakistan but also refused to agree to any of the dispute settlement options suggested by the World Bank, the paper reported.<br />
&nbsp;</p>


The request came after delegations of India and Pakistan met at the World Bank headquarters in Washington on September 14 and 15 for the second round of talks on Ratle and Kishanganga hydroelectric projects, over which Islamabad has raised objections

Pakistan has requested the World Bank to fulfil its obligation to establish a court of arbitration to settle its water dispute with India in the light of the Indus Waters Treaty. The request came after delegations of India and Pakistan met at the World Bank headquarters in Washington on September 14 and 15 for the second round of talks on Ratle and Kishanganga hydroelectric projects, over which Islamabad has raised objections. A media report said citing sources that despite the passage of more than a year, the World Bank is not establishing the court of arbitration. Pakistan has now requested the World Bank to fulfil its duties under the Treaty by empanelling the Court of Arbitration, the paper reported. Earlier, the secretary-level talks between the two countries ended without any agreement. “While an agreement has not been reached at the conclusion of the meetings, the World Bank will continue to work with both countries to resolve the issues in an amicable manner and in line with the Treaty provisions,” the World Bank said in a statement after the talks. "Both countries and the World Bank appreciated the discussions and reconfirmed their commitment to the preservation of the Treaty," it said. The World Bank remains committed to act in good faith and with "complete impartiality and transparency” in fulfilling its responsibilities under the Treaty, while continuing to assist the countries, it said in its statement. The Indus Waters Treaty was signed in 1960 after nine years of negotiations between India and Pakistan with the help of the World Bank, which is also a signatory. Pakistan had raised objections to India’s plans at the Permanent Indus Commission more than a decade ago. When the objections were not addressed, Islamabad approached the World Bank on August 19, 2016 for the court of arbitration as provided in the Indus Waters Treaty, the paper said. Subsequently, on October 4, 2016, India made a request for appointment of neutral expert to adjudicate in the dispute. The World Bank initially agreed to set up both the fora but later “paused” the two processes, fearing their separate rulings might conflict with each other. In an effort to end the impasse, the World Bank invited the water resources secretaries of the two countries for consultations. In the first round in Washington on July 31 and August 1 this year, Pakistan proposed amendments to the designs to make the Indian project treaty compliant. But in the latest round of the talks in September, India not only refused to accept any of the design amendments proposed by Pakistan but also refused to agree to any of the dispute settlement options suggested by the World Bank, the paper reported.

Indus Water dispute: Pakistan once again requests World Bank to establish court of arbitration

<p>In a blow to Pakistan&#39;s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the Supreme Court has rejected the petitions filed by Sharif and his children challenging its July Panamagate verdict that disqualified him as the prime minister.</p>

<p>The petitions, which were filed by Nawaz Sharif, his three children - Hussain Nawaz, Hassan Nawaz, Maryam Nawaz, Captain Safdar and Ishaq Dar, sought a review of the earlier Supreme Court verdict which came in July and led to the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif as the prime minister of Pakistan.</p>

<p>The Supreme Court had ruled that Nawaz Sharif had been dishonest in not revealing his employment in the Dubai-based FZE company.</p>

<p>The top court had also asked the National Accountability&nbsp;Bureau (NAB) to file corruption cases against the Nawaz Sharif family.</p>

<p>The accountability court, on Wednesday, summoned Nawaz Sharif and his sons Hussain and Hassan on September 19. &nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


The Supreme Court of Pakistan had, in July, ordered the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif as Pakistan's prime minister

In a blow to Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the Supreme Court has rejected the petitions filed by Sharif and his children challenging its July Panamagate verdict that disqualified him as the prime minister. The petitions, which were filed by Nawaz Sharif, his three children - Hussain Nawaz, Hassan Nawaz, Maryam Nawaz, Captain Safdar and Ishaq Dar, sought a review of the earlier Supreme Court verdict which came in July and led to the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif as the prime minister of Pakistan. The Supreme Court had ruled that Nawaz Sharif had been dishonest in not revealing his employment in the Dubai-based FZE company. The top court had also asked the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to file corruption cases against the Nawaz Sharif family. The accountability court, on Wednesday, summoned Nawaz Sharif and his sons Hussain and Hassan on September 19.

Pakistan: Supreme Court rejects Nawaz Sharif's plea seeking review of Panamagate verdict

<p>A Border Security Force (BSF) constable was killed in unprovoked firing by Pakistani Rangers along the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir&#39;s Arnia and the R S Pura sector.</p>

<p>The BSF constable, who was injured in the ceasefire violation and later succumbed to his injuries,&nbsp;has been identified as&nbsp;Brijendra Bahadur Singh from Uttar Pradesh.</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Visual?src=hash">#Visual</a> of BSF Constable Brijendra Bahadur Singh killed in firing by Pakistan in Arnia area of Jammu and Kashmir&#39;s RS Pura <a href="https://t.co/fhVCJNvJBV">pic.twitter.com/fhVCJNvJBV</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/908512690649292800">September 15, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>One civilian has also been injured as Pakistani Rangers fired mortar shells which landed close to residential areas.</p>

<p>The ceasefire violation comes days after union home minister Rajnath Singh visited border areas in the Jammu region and addressed a gathering of those who left their homes along the Line of Control (LoC) owing to repeated incidents of cross-border firing.</p>

<p>He issued a stern warning to Pakistan on repeated incidents of ceasefire violation.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


The BSF constable, who was injured in the ceasefire violation and later succumbed to his injuries,?has been identified as?Brijendra Bahadur Singh

A Border Security Force (BSF) constable was killed in unprovoked firing by Pakistani Rangers along the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir's Arnia and the R S Pura sector. The BSF constable, who was injured in the ceasefire violation and later succumbed to his injuries, has been identified as Brijendra Bahadur Singh from Uttar Pradesh. #Visual of BSF Constable Brijendra Bahadur Singh killed in firing by Pakistan in Arnia area of Jammu and Kashmir's RS Pura pic.twitter.com/fhVCJNvJBV — ANI (@ANI) September 15, 2017 × One civilian has also been injured as Pakistani Rangers fired mortar shells which landed close to residential areas. The ceasefire violation comes days after union home minister Rajnath Singh visited border areas in the Jammu region and addressed a gathering of those who left their homes along the Line of Control (LoC) owing to repeated incidents of cross-border firing. He issued a stern warning to Pakistan on repeated incidents of ceasefire violation.

J&K: BSF constable killed in ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Arnia

<p>Pakistan&nbsp;on Wednesday&nbsp;told medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres&#39; (MSF) to stop work and leave its impoverished tribal areas that border Afghanistan, the health organisation said, ending its 14-year stay in the volatile region.</p>

<p>MSF works out of two health facilities in the Kurram district of Pakistan&#39;s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) region, which has been plagued by militancy over the past decade and was the location of many US drone strikes targeting commanders from al Qaeda and other militant groups.</p>

<p>Though security has improved in FATA in recent years, sectarian militant attacks, primarily targeting Shi&#39;ite Muslims, still occur. Twin blasts in the Kurram&#39;s most populous town, Parachinar killed more than 75 people in June.</p>

<p>Local officials say MSF provides essential healthcare facilities in FATA, an area with some of Pakistan&#39;s poorest health care and lowest literacy rates.</p>

<p>&quot;We have been asked to close our medical activities in Kurram Agency,&quot; MSF said in a statement to the media, adding that Pakistan had refused to issue a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the charity to work in the tribal areas.</p>

<p>&quot;MSF is saddened by the decision from the authorities responsible for NGOs working in Kurram Agency. The closure brings to an end 14 years of MSF working with the FATA Health Services in Kurram Agency,&quot; country representative Catherine Moody said in the statement.</p>

<p>Foreign nationals and organizations working in Pakistan require NOCs to operate in certain areas. Pakistani NGOs and journalists also face restrictions when working in the tribal areas.</p>

<p>&quot;MSF provides diagnosis and treatment facilities to the community for Leishmaniasis, immunisation for children, as well ... responding to emergencies, disease outbreaks, and mass casualties,&quot; the organisation said.</p>

<p>The region&#39;s health directorate did not respond to requests for comment but Dr. Mohammad Ishaq, who works there, said MSF was asked to leave because they did not have a valid NOC.</p>

<p>&quot;I personally think MSF was doing a great job for the patients in FATA,&quot; he said, adding that he did not know why its licence to work there was revoked.</p>

<p>&quot;We have been working in FATA since 2004. We were never denied an NOC in&lrm; the past. This will affect many patients in the area,&quot; one MSF employee said, asking not to be identified.</p>

<p>He added that the organization had 70 staff members working at the two health facilities.</p>

<p>The official who notified MSF that their operations would need to be shut down added: &quot;I did what I was directed to by my bosses in Peshawar but really don&#39;t know the reason behind MSF being stopped.&quot;</p>


MSF works out of two health facilities in the Kurram district of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) region

Pakistan on Wednesday told medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres' (MSF) to stop work and leave its impoverished tribal areas that border Afghanistan, the health organisation said, ending its 14-year stay in the volatile region. MSF works out of two health facilities in the Kurram district of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) region, which has been plagued by militancy over the past decade and was the location of many US drone strikes targeting commanders from al Qaeda and other militant groups. Though security has improved in FATA in recent years, sectarian militant attacks, primarily targeting Shi'ite Muslims, still occur. Twin blasts in the Kurram's most populous town, Parachinar killed more than 75 people in June. Local officials say MSF provides essential healthcare facilities in FATA, an area with some of Pakistan's poorest health care and lowest literacy rates. "We have been asked to close our medical activities in Kurram Agency," MSF said in a statement to the media, adding that Pakistan had refused to issue a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the charity to work in the tribal areas. "MSF is saddened by the decision from the authorities responsible for NGOs working in Kurram Agency. The closure brings to an end 14 years of MSF working with the FATA Health Services in Kurram Agency," country representative Catherine Moody said in the statement. Foreign nationals and organizations working in Pakistan require NOCs to operate in certain areas. Pakistani NGOs and journalists also face restrictions when working in the tribal areas. "MSF provides diagnosis and treatment facilities to the community for Leishmaniasis, immunisation for children, as well ... responding to emergencies, disease outbreaks, and mass casualties," the organisation said. The region's health directorate did not respond to requests for comment but Dr. Mohammad Ishaq, who works there, said MSF was asked to leave because they did not have a valid NOC. "I personally think MSF was doing a great job for the patients in FATA," he said, adding that he did not know why its licence to work there was revoked. "We have been working in FATA since 2004. We were never denied an NOC in‎ the past. This will affect many patients in the area," one MSF employee said, asking not to be identified. He added that the organization had 70 staff members working at the two health facilities. The official who notified MSF that their operations would need to be shut down added: "I did what I was directed to by my bosses in Peshawar but really don't know the reason behind MSF being stopped."

Medical charity MSF asked to leave Pakistan's tribal region

<p>Pakistan&#39;s sugar industry is urging the government to reinstate export subsidies after a steep fall in global sugar prices has slowed shipments, adding to a domestic surplus just as the country prepares to harvest a record crop.</p>

<p>Without revenues from exports, local mills will struggle to pay farmers for new supplies, while large stockpiles will stop domestic prices from rallying in the world&#39;s eighth-largest sugar producer, industry officials said.</p>

<p>Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi met with the politically influential industry last week and directed the Commerce Ministry and Sugar Advisory Board to work on ways to resolve &quot;the issues and problems&quot; affecting sugar, his office said in a statement.</p>

<p>Pakistan last had an export subsidy in 2015/16, set at 13,000 rupees ($124) per tonne for exports of 650,000 tonnes of the sweetener, and a similar subsidy level is needed again, the industry said.</p>

<p>&quot;Mills are not able to export sugar at the current international prices,&quot; Iskandar Khan, senior vice chairman of the politically influential Pakistan Sugar Mills Association told Reuters.</p>

<p>Global prices have fallen over a quarter so far in 2017 to around $378 a tonne as output is expected to climb in key producers like India, China and Thailand.</p>

<p>&quot;In the world market, prices need to rise by $60 per tonne to make exports viable,&quot; said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trading firm.</p>

<p>Sugar cane is a popular crop in Pakistan as the government sets procurement prices, while the industry is protected by a 40 percent import tariff which has led to high domestic prices.</p>

<p>The association says the area given over to sugar cane has risen about 30 percent over the past seven years, while output has more than doubled with the help of government subsidies for fertilizers and other aids.</p>

<p>Pakistan produced 7 million tonnes of sugar in the 2016/17 marketing year ending September 30, exceeding local demand of around 5 million tonnes, and the association pegs this year&#39;s crop at a record 8 million tonnes.</p>

<p>Pakistan controls sugar exports via quotas in an effort to ensure sufficient local supplies. So far this year it has authorised 725,000 tonnes of shipments, which would make it the world&#39;s ninth largest exporter, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.</p>

<p>However, the country has actually exported only about 350,000 tonnes, traders estimate, with current stockpiles sitting at about 1 million tonnes.</p>

<p>Mills in Pakistan usually start crushing in October, but this year plan to delay crushing by a few months as they lack the funds to settle bills for cane purchases before the new season, said a sugar miller based in Karachi.</p>

<p>&quot;Pakistan has no choice but to export surplus sugar,&quot; said the Mumbai-based dealer.</p>


Without revenues from exports, local mills will struggle to pay farmers for new supplies, while large stockpiles will stop domestic prices from rallying in the world's eighth-largest sugar producer, industry officials said.

Pakistan's sugar industry is urging the government to reinstate export subsidies after a steep fall in global sugar prices has slowed shipments, adding to a domestic surplus just as the country prepares to harvest a record crop. Without revenues from exports, local mills will struggle to pay farmers for new supplies, while large stockpiles will stop domestic prices from rallying in the world's eighth-largest sugar producer, industry officials said. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi met with the politically influential industry last week and directed the Commerce Ministry and Sugar Advisory Board to work on ways to resolve "the issues and problems" affecting sugar, his office said in a statement. Pakistan last had an export subsidy in 2015/16, set at 13,000 rupees ($124) per tonne for exports of 650,000 tonnes of the sweetener, and a similar subsidy level is needed again, the industry said. "Mills are not able to export sugar at the current international prices," Iskandar Khan, senior vice chairman of the politically influential Pakistan Sugar Mills Association told Reuters. Global prices have fallen over a quarter so far in 2017 to around $378 a tonne as output is expected to climb in key producers like India, China and Thailand. "In the world market, prices need to rise by $60 per tonne to make exports viable," said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trading firm. Sugar cane is a popular crop in Pakistan as the government sets procurement prices, while the industry is protected by a 40 percent import tariff which has led to high domestic prices. The association says the area given over to sugar cane has risen about 30 percent over the past seven years, while output has more than doubled with the help of government subsidies for fertilizers and other aids. Pakistan produced 7 million tonnes of sugar in the 2016/17 marketing year ending September 30, exceeding local demand of around 5 million tonnes, and the association pegs this year's crop at a record 8 million tonnes. Pakistan controls sugar exports via quotas in an effort to ensure sufficient local supplies. So far this year it has authorised 725,000 tonnes of shipments, which would make it the world's ninth largest exporter, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. However, the country has actually exported only about 350,000 tonnes, traders estimate, with current stockpiles sitting at about 1 million tonnes. Mills in Pakistan usually start crushing in October, but this year plan to delay crushing by a few months as they lack the funds to settle bills for cane purchases before the new season, said a sugar miller based in Karachi. "Pakistan has no choice but to export surplus sugar," said the Mumbai-based dealer.

Pakistan struggles to export sugar surplus as global prices plunge

<p>Pakistan&#39;s Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said on Monday (September 11) it would be counter-productive for the United States to sanction Pakistani officials or further cut military assistance, warning it would hurt both countries&#39; fight against militancy.</p>

<p>US-Pakistan relations have frayed since President Donald Trump last month set out a new Afghanistan policy and lashed out at nuclear-armed Pakistan as a fickle ally that gives safe haven to &quot;agents of chaos&quot; by harbouring the Afghan Taliban and other militants.</p>

<p>The United States has already begun conditioning future aid to Pakistan on progress Islamabad makes in tackling the Haqqani network militants who it alleges are Pakistan-based and have helped the Taliban carry out deadly attacks inside Afghanistan.</p>

<p>Pakistan denies hosting militant sanctuaries, and Islamabad bristles at claims it has not done enough to tackle militancy, noting it has borne the brunt of violence in the so-called war on terror, suffering more than 60,000 casualties since 2001.</p>

<p>Former petroleum minister Abbasi, 58, who was installed as prime minister last month after the Supreme Court ousted veteran premier Nawaz Sharif over undeclared income, told Reuters that any targeted sanctions by Washington against Pakistani military and intelligence officials would not help US. counter-terrorism efforts.</p>

<p>The Trump administration&#39;s tougher stance is seen as pushing Islamabad closer to Beijing, which has pledged about $60 billion in roads, rail and power infrastructure in Pakistan as part of its ambitious Belt and Road initiative to build vast land and sea trade routes linking Asia with Europe and Africa.</p>


U.S.-Pakistan relations have frayed since President Donald Trump last month set out a new Afghanistan policy and lashed out at nuclear-armed Pakistan as a fickle ally that gives safe haven to "agents of chaos" by harbouring the Afghan Taliban and other militants.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said on Monday (September 11) it would be counter-productive for the United States to sanction Pakistani officials or further cut military assistance, warning it would hurt both countries' fight against militancy. US-Pakistan relations have frayed since President Donald Trump last month set out a new Afghanistan policy and lashed out at nuclear-armed Pakistan as a fickle ally that gives safe haven to "agents of chaos" by harbouring the Afghan Taliban and other militants. The United States has already begun conditioning future aid to Pakistan on progress Islamabad makes in tackling the Haqqani network militants who it alleges are Pakistan-based and have helped the Taliban carry out deadly attacks inside Afghanistan. Pakistan denies hosting militant sanctuaries, and Islamabad bristles at claims it has not done enough to tackle militancy, noting it has borne the brunt of violence in the so-called war on terror, suffering more than 60,000 casualties since 2001. Former petroleum minister Abbasi, 58, who was installed as prime minister last month after the Supreme Court ousted veteran premier Nawaz Sharif over undeclared income, told Reuters that any targeted sanctions by Washington against Pakistani military and intelligence officials would not help US. counter-terrorism efforts. The Trump administration's tougher stance is seen as pushing Islamabad closer to Beijing, which has pledged about $60 billion in roads, rail and power infrastructure in Pakistan as part of its ambitious Belt and Road initiative to build vast land and sea trade routes linking Asia with Europe and Africa.

Pakistan PM warns US sanctions would be counter-productive

<p>Pakistan army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation opening fire on the Indian army in the Poonch sector along the Line of Control(LoC), news agency ANI reported.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The firing along the LoC occurred on Monday afternoon.</p>

<p>The Indian army has been retaliating, reports said.</p>


Pakistan resorted to unprovoked firing along the Line of Control in Poonch

Pakistan army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation opening fire on the Indian army in the Poonch sector along the Line of Control(LoC), news agency ANI reported. The firing along the LoC occurred on Monday afternoon. The Indian army has been retaliating, reports said.

J&K: Pak army opens fire along LoC, Indian army retaliates

<p>In a joint address with Pakistan&#39;s foreign minister Khwaja Asif, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi has reiterated Beijing&#39;s continuing support for Pakistan&#39;s fight against terrorism.</p>

<p>Yi asserted that China recognises Pakistan&#39;s efforts in countering terrorism.</p>

<p>He said that China will continue to support the development process in Pakistan.</p>

<p>Khwaja Asif thanked China for its support and affirmed Pakistan&#39;s support for China&#39;s ambitious &quot;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/sino-india-relations-heads-for-freezer-over-cpec-dispute-11472" target="_blank">China-Pakistan Economic Corridor</a>&quot; project.</p>

<p>The statement by the Chinese foreign minister comes days after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China&#39;s President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Xiamen.</p>

<p>The <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/brics-leaders-declaration-signed-at-the-summit-in-xiamen-china-19854" target="_blank">Xiamen declaration expressed concern</a> over violence in the region caused by groups like Taliban, ISIS and also terrorist organisations including Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad.</p>

<p>The mention of Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba in the joint declaration signed off by China was considered a diplomatic triumph for India.</p>


Chinese and Pakistani foreign minister addressed a joint press conference

In a joint address with Pakistan's foreign minister Khwaja Asif, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi has reiterated Beijing's continuing support for Pakistan's fight against terrorism. Yi asserted that China recognises Pakistan's efforts in countering terrorism. He said that China will continue to support the development process in Pakistan. Khwaja Asif thanked China for its support and affirmed Pakistan's support for China's ambitious "China-Pakistan Economic Corridor" project. The statement by the Chinese foreign minister comes days after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China's President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Xiamen. The Xiamen declaration expressed concern over violence in the region caused by groups like Taliban, ISIS and also terrorist organisations including Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad. The mention of Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba in the joint declaration signed off by China was considered a diplomatic triumph for India.

China vows support for Pakistan's efforts in war against terrorism

<p><a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/indonesian-minister-to-meet-suu-kyi-amid-protests-over-rohingya-19834">Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi</a> has come under pressure from countries with large Muslim populations including Bangladesh, Indonesia and Pakistan to stop violence against Rohingya Muslims after nearly 125,000 of them fled to Bangladesh.</p>

<p>Indonesian foreign minister met the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Myanmar army chief Min Aung Hlaing on Monday to call on Myanmar to halt the bloodshed. The minister, Retno Marsudi, was due in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, on Tuesday.</p>

<p>&quot;The security authorities need to immediately stop all forms of violence there and provide humanitarian assistance and development aid for the short and long term,&quot; Retno said after her meetings in the Myanmar capital.</p>

<p>The latest violence in Myanmar&#39;s northwestern Rakhine state began on Aug. 25, when Rohingya insurgents attacked dozens of police posts and an army base. The ensuing clashes and a military counter-offensive have killed at least 400 people and triggered the exodus of villagers to Bangladesh.</p>

<p>The treatment of Buddhist-majority Myanmar&#39;s roughly 1.1 million Muslim Rohingya is the biggest challenge facing Suu Kyi, who has been accused by Western critics of not speaking out for the minority that has long complained of persecution.</p>

<p>Myanmar says its security forces are fighting a legitimate campaign against &quot;terrorists&quot; responsible for a string of attacks on police posts and the army since last October.</p>

<p>Myanmar officials blamed Rohingya militants for the burning of homes and civilian deaths but rights monitors and Rohingya fleeing to neighbouring Bangladesh say the Myanmar army is trying to force Rohingya out with a campaign of arson and killings.</p>

<p>&quot;Indonesia is taking the lead on this and ultimately there is a possibility of ASEAN countries joining in,&quot; H.T. Imam, political adviser to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, told <em>Reuters</em>, referring to the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations, of which both Myanmar and Indonesia are members.</p>

<p>&quot;If we can keep the pressure on Myanmar from ASEAN, from India as well, that will be good.&quot;</p>

<p>CONSCIENCE AWAKENED?</p>

<p>Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi begins a visit to Myanmar later on Tuesday, during which he is due to meet top officials, including Suu Kyi.</p>

<p>&quot;PM Modi is going there and our foreign secretary has already briefed the foreign secretary of India on this. If international conscience is awakened then that would put pressure on Myanmar,&quot; said H.T. Imam.</p>

<p>The latest estimate of the number of people who have crossed the border into Bangladesh since Aug. 25, based on calculations by U.N. workers on the Bangladeshi side, is 123,600.</p>

<p>That takes to about 210,000 the number of Rohingya who have sought refuge in Bangladesh since October, when Rohingya insurgents staged much smaller attacks on security posts, triggering a major Myanmar army counteroffensive and sending about 87,000 people fleeing into Bangladesh.</p>

<p>The new arrivals - many sick or wounded with burns or bullet wounds - have strained aid agencies and communities already helping hundreds of thousands of refugees from previous spasms of violence in Myanmar.</p>

<p>Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif expressed &quot;deep anguish at the ongoing violence against the Rohingya Muslims&quot; and urged the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to take &quot;immediate and effective action to bring an end to all human-rights violations against innocent and unarmed Rohingya Muslim population&quot;.</p>

<p>Pakistan is home to a large Rohingya community.</p>

<p>Malala Yousafzai, the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, on Monday called on Suu Kyi to condemn the &quot;shameful&quot; treatment of the Rohingya, saying &quot;the world is waiting&quot; for her to speak out.</p>


Indonesian foreign minister met the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Myanmar army chief Min Aung Hlaing on Monday to call on Myanmar to halt the bloodshed. The minister, Retno Marsudi, was due in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, on Tuesday.

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has come under pressure from countries with large Muslim populations including Bangladesh, Indonesia and Pakistan to stop violence against Rohingya Muslims after nearly 125,000 of them fled to Bangladesh. Indonesian foreign minister met the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Myanmar army chief Min Aung Hlaing on Monday to call on Myanmar to halt the bloodshed. The minister, Retno Marsudi, was due in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, on Tuesday. "The security authorities need to immediately stop all forms of violence there and provide humanitarian assistance and development aid for the short and long term," Retno said after her meetings in the Myanmar capital. The latest violence in Myanmar's northwestern Rakhine state began on Aug. 25, when Rohingya insurgents attacked dozens of police posts and an army base. The ensuing clashes and a military counter-offensive have killed at least 400 people and triggered the exodus of villagers to Bangladesh. The treatment of Buddhist-majority Myanmar's roughly 1.1 million Muslim Rohingya is the biggest challenge facing Suu Kyi, who has been accused by Western critics of not speaking out for the minority that has long complained of persecution. Myanmar says its security forces are fighting a legitimate campaign against "terrorists" responsible for a string of attacks on police posts and the army since last October. Myanmar officials blamed Rohingya militants for the burning of homes and civilian deaths but rights monitors and Rohingya fleeing to neighbouring Bangladesh say the Myanmar army is trying to force Rohingya out with a campaign of arson and killings. "Indonesia is taking the lead on this and ultimately there is a possibility of ASEAN countries joining in," H.T. Imam, political adviser to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, told Reuters, referring to the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations, of which both Myanmar and Indonesia are members. "If we can keep the pressure on Myanmar from ASEAN, from India as well, that will be good." CONSCIENCE AWAKENED? Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi begins a visit to Myanmar later on Tuesday, during which he is due to meet top officials, including Suu Kyi. "PM Modi is going there and our foreign secretary has already briefed the foreign secretary of India on this. If international conscience is awakened then that would put pressure on Myanmar," said H.T. Imam. The latest estimate of the number of people who have crossed the border into Bangladesh since Aug. 25, based on calculations by U.N. workers on the Bangladeshi side, is 123,600. That takes to about 210,000 the number of Rohingya who have sought refuge in Bangladesh since October, when Rohingya insurgents staged much smaller attacks on security posts, triggering a major Myanmar army counteroffensive and sending about 87,000 people fleeing into Bangladesh. The new arrivals - many sick or wounded with burns or bullet wounds - have strained aid agencies and communities already helping hundreds of thousands of refugees from previous spasms of violence in Myanmar. Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif expressed "deep anguish at the ongoing violence against the Rohingya Muslims" and urged the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to take "immediate and effective action to bring an end to all human-rights violations against innocent and unarmed Rohingya Muslim population". Pakistan is home to a large Rohingya community. Malala Yousafzai, the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, on Monday called on Suu Kyi to condemn the "shameful" treatment of the Rohingya, saying "the world is waiting" for her to speak out.

Myanmar's Suu Kyi under pressure as almost 125,000 Rohingya flee violence

<p>Invoking history in the everyday politics of a post-colonial state is an insane thing to do. On almost every occasion it is done, the objective is to create or expand fissures among communities for mean gains. Manipulators interpret history partially or irrationally.&nbsp;It&rsquo;s an absurd thing to live in the past, ignoring the realities and the established universal values of today. Unfortunately, all these negatives are being manifested in present day&rsquo;s Myanmar and especially in its western Rakhine State, which is also known as Arakan, in the form of an utterly irrational citizenship rule created by 1960s military dictator.</p>

<p>The Myanmar citizenship rule is in complete contrast with all international norms and conventions of the citizenship. And this citizenship rule makes an unprecedented cut off line that needs to date back to the 19th century as the criterion for citizenship, turning most Rohingya ethnic people of Rakhine State illegal immigrant.&nbsp;</p>

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<h5>The Myanmar citizenship rule is in complete contrast with all international norms and conventions of the citizenship.</h5>
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<p>Now, Rohingyas are fleeing Arakan again like the seventies. Already about half of their close to 3 million population are refugees in Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Thailand, Malaysia, India and Indonesia from the past exodus. The poor civilians of this highly persecuted and discriminated community are again on the run following the crack down on them by the Myanmar army. Accused of indulging in acts of political militancy by some elements of this desperate community, the usual Myanmar over reaction is brutal and cruel.</p>

<p>However, to understand the context of the crisis, it is imperative to revisit a bit of history and geography. Arakan rather has more geographical contiguity with Chittagong of Bangladesh in the north than the Bamar (the dominant ethnic group in Myanmar who constitute about 66 per cent&nbsp;of the country&rsquo;s population)&nbsp;hinterland in southern and central Myanmar. Rakhine State is a coastal province, elongated like a tail from north to south. The state is separated from rest of Myanmar by Arakan Mountains located on the east of the state. The mountains also run parallel from north to south to the coastal plains of the state.</p>

<p>There are two major ethnic groups living in Arakan. One is the Rakhine, after whom the state is named, and the other is the Rohingya. The Rakhine are culturally and linguistically close to the Bamar and Rohingya to the Bengali. Racially also, these two ethnicities are different. Rakhines are Mongoloid, Rohingyas are Caucasoid &ndash; Austro Asiatic mixed like most people of the eastern part of Indian sub- continent.</p>

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<h5>Separatist armed movements were waged by the Rohingyas in northern Arakan in the 1950s and 1960s which Burmese army quelled with brute force.</h5>
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<p>Historically, both the people lived and&nbsp;moved freely around this Chittagong-Arakan coastal plains and adjacent hills. There are about 200000 Rakhines too in the Chittagong Hill District of Bandarban and some in the southern Bangladeshi district of Patuakhali. Rakhines are also known as Mogh or Marma in Bangladesh. For the most part of the history, there were independent Mogh/ Rakhine kingdoms in Arakan which sometimes expanded up to Chittagong. There were early Bengali/ Rohingya courtiers and royal poets in Arakan courts. In the 18th century, forces of Bamar kingdoms crossed Arakan mountains, invaded and annexed Arakan. But it didn&rsquo;t last long as within a few decades the British gained Arakan and later the entire Burma and kept Arakan annexed to its Burmese dominion.</p>

<p>During British period there was a wave of Bengalis moving into Arakan for work, and under British patronage, they merged with old Rohingyas.&nbsp;In the World War II, the Rohingyas sided with the British whereas the Rakhines generally sided with the Japanese. Around the time of independence of Burma, there were communal tensions and riots between Rohingyas and Rakhines. Rohingyas wanted the Muslim majority of northern Arakan which had the border with Chittagong to merge with East Pakistan. Separatist armed movements were waged by the Rohingyas in northern Arakan in the 1950s and 1960s which Burmese army quelled with brute force. The same happened in the 1970s which met the same fate. The armed movement found resurgence since the 1990s and some elements are still continuing that.</p>

<p>Interestingly, there were separatist movements&nbsp;from the Rakhine side also against the Burmese. At least two groups operated in the 1960s and 1970s and some remnants still exist although at the marginal level. Burma or the present Myanmar is ethnically quite diverse a country. There are several dozens of ethnic groups other than the dominant Bamars. Some of these ethnicities are sizable and they form a majority in their own areas e.g. Kachin, Karen Shan etc. A long military rule, hegemony of the Bamar community and lack of channels for political expressions have led to the&nbsp;number of armed separatist movements in Myanmar many of which still persists. &nbsp;</p>

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<h5>A long military rule, hegemony of the Bamar community and lack of channels for political expressions have led to the&nbsp;number of armed separatist movements in Myanmar.</h5>
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<p>For the most part of its post-colonial history, Myanmar leadership has been self-secluded, secretive and regressive. Like the Pakistani army, Myanmar army captured the polity of the country right after its independence and continued to be at the helm till date. They haven&rsquo;t allowed much modern liberals thoughts of rights, democracy or institutions to enter their domain of imposed nominal socialism. Inside, they kept the Burmese society orthodox,&nbsp;stagnant and economically under developed.</p>

<p>The Buddhist monks of Myanmar, like their Sri Lankan counter parts, espouse a kind of religious nationalism. They are quite aggressive and violence-inciting and receives patronage from Myanmar army and political forces. It&rsquo;s a huge irony in light of fundamental non-violent tenets of Buddhism. The difference between Myanmar and other nations of south Asia is quite stark. Myanmar expelled its sizable Indian population right after its independence. It also had anti-Muslim turned anti-South Asian riots in the central part of it in recent past.</p>

<p>Aung San Suu Kyi, after decades of struggle, has only attained a limited political power. And despite the criticism of her in the Rohingya episode for remaining silent, it has to be understood that Suu Kyi&#39;s hands are actually tied. The Myanmar army has clearly taken the side of the Rakhine, who are ethnically and communally close to the Bamars, and they won&rsquo;t allow Suu Kyi much leeway in this. However, Suu Khi should at least have taken a middle stand and put some indirect pressure on the military. Then the international community could have done more.</p>

<p>The Rohingyas are politically quite disorganised and the high degree of persecution has suppressed their natural political expressions. Due to this oppression, some Islamist militants have found their way into this community. And that, in turn, has become more of a reason for the Myanmar army to conduct heavy handed crack down at the cost of high civilian causality.</p>

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<p>Geopolitically, it seems no country is interested to do much for the Rohingyas as yet. Bangladesh doesn&#39;t have enough strength to do much on its own- be it diplomatic or military.&nbsp;Bangladesh has close relations with China, but China has even closer relations with Myanmar. Despite the overt bonhomie with Hasina government, the BJP government&nbsp;in India has hardly any empathy towards Muslim sufferings anywhere in the world. Nehruvian principle based foreign policy is a thing of past for India.</p>

<p>The foreign policy is now narrow nationalistic interest based and the current Indian government&nbsp;will easily sacrifice Rohingyas for a little strategic leverage with Myanmar. The Indian government has already declared that it will deport the 40 thousand Rohingyas from neighbouring Myanmar, about 0.33 or one-thirtieths of the entire Rohingya refugee and that too against its own home ministry policy of giving shelter to persecuted communities and defying UNHCR measures.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Apart from Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have taken in sizable numbers of Rohingya refugees and Turkey is quite vocal against Myanmar atrocities against Rohingyas. But the Islamic world itself is in chaos and Islamic solidarity is in decline.&nbsp;Trump&rsquo;s US is no more reliable for anything good and many will probably count only on the EU and UK in the west on this matter. UN has been the lone consistent international voice for these distressed people. ASEAN countries certainly have some influence on Myanmar although not as much as China.</p>

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<h5>Bengalis are culturally close to the Rohingyas, and there is internal pressure on Bangladesh government to do something, but the government&nbsp;as of now has been careful not to antagonise Myanmar despite the atrocities and tried to solve the matter bilaterally with very limited success.&nbsp;</h5>
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<p>Bangladesh is in a difficult dilemma at this point. Bengalis are culturally close to the Rohingyas, and there is internal pressure on Bangladesh government to do something, but the government&nbsp;as of now has been careful not to antagonise Myanmar despite the atrocities and tried to solve the matter bilaterally with very limited success.&nbsp;It seems now that only a Bangladesh, Turkey, Saudi Arabia led diplomatic drive including measures like sanctions on Myanmar, if necessary, and with help from ASEAN countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia and perhaps the EU and UN is the only way forward. Bangladesh has to be careful while taking the help of the Islamic world in not giving in to any demand of Islamic radicals to operate in Arakan from its soil. That can have serious ramifications for Bangladesh, Arakan and even the entire sub-region.</p>

<p>But the big question is to what extent these countries will be ready to coordinate with each other and invest in this crisis? Can China be pressurised substantially to put pressure on Myanmar in turn? As of now, it appears that there isn&rsquo;t&nbsp;much hope for the destitute and internationally abandoned Rohingyas - the most persecuted community in the world as declared by the UN. Humanity continues to be humiliated in that wretched land.</p>


There isn?t?much hope for the destitute and internationally abandoned Rohingyas - the most persecuted community in the world as declared by the UN.

Invoking history in the everyday politics of a post-colonial state is an insane thing to do. On almost every occasion it is done, the objective is to create or expand fissures among communities for mean gains. Manipulators interpret history partially or irrationally. It’s an absurd thing to live in the past, ignoring the realities and the established universal values of today. Unfortunately, all these negatives are being manifested in present day’s Myanmar and especially in its western Rakhine State, which is also known as Arakan, in the form of an utterly irrational citizenship rule created by 1960s military dictator. The Myanmar citizenship rule is in complete contrast with all international norms and conventions of the citizenship. And this citizenship rule makes an unprecedented cut off line that needs to date back to the 19th century as the criterion for citizenship, turning most Rohingya ethnic people of Rakhine State illegal immigrant. The Myanmar citizenship rule is in complete contrast with all international norms and conventions of the citizenship. × Now, Rohingyas are fleeing Arakan again like the seventies. Already about half of their close to 3 million population are refugees in Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Thailand, Malaysia, India and Indonesia from the past exodus. The poor civilians of this highly persecuted and discriminated community are again on the run following the crack down on them by the Myanmar army. Accused of indulging in acts of political militancy by some elements of this desperate community, the usual Myanmar over reaction is brutal and cruel. However, to understand the context of the crisis, it is imperative to revisit a bit of history and geography. Arakan rather has more geographical contiguity with Chittagong of Bangladesh in the north than the Bamar (the dominant ethnic group in Myanmar who constitute about 66 per cent of the country’s population) hinterland in southern and central Myanmar. Rakhine State is a coastal province, elongated like a tail from north to south. The state is separated from rest of Myanmar by Arakan Mountains located on the east of the state. The mountains also run parallel from north to south to the coastal plains of the state. There are two major ethnic groups living in Arakan. One is the Rakhine, after whom the state is named, and the other is the Rohingya. The Rakhine are culturally and linguistically close to the Bamar and Rohingya to the Bengali. Racially also, these two ethnicities are different. Rakhines are Mongoloid, Rohingyas are Caucasoid – Austro Asiatic mixed like most people of the eastern part of Indian sub- continent. Separatist armed movements were waged by the Rohingyas in northern Arakan in the 1950s and 1960s which Burmese army quelled with brute force. × Historically, both the people lived and moved freely around this Chittagong-Arakan coastal plains and adjacent hills. There are about 200000 Rakhines too in the Chittagong Hill District of Bandarban and some in the southern Bangladeshi district of Patuakhali. Rakhines are also known as Mogh or Marma in Bangladesh. For the most part of the history, there were independent Mogh/ Rakhine kingdoms in Arakan which sometimes expanded up to Chittagong. There were early Bengali/ Rohingya courtiers and royal poets in Arakan courts. In the 18th century, forces of Bamar kingdoms crossed Arakan mountains, invaded and annexed Arakan. But it didn’t last long as within a few decades the British gained Arakan and later the entire Burma and kept Arakan annexed to its Burmese dominion. During British period there was a wave of Bengalis moving into Arakan for work, and under British patronage, they merged with old Rohingyas. In the World War II, the Rohingyas sided with the British whereas the Rakhines generally sided with the Japanese. Around the time of independence of Burma, there were communal tensions and riots between Rohingyas and Rakhines. Rohingyas wanted the Muslim majority of northern Arakan which had the border with Chittagong to merge with East Pakistan. Separatist armed movements were waged by the Rohingyas in northern Arakan in the 1950s and 1960s which Burmese army quelled with brute force. The same happened in the 1970s which met the same fate. The armed movement found resurgence since the 1990s and some elements are still continuing that. Interestingly, there were separatist movements from the Rakhine side also against the Burmese. At least two groups operated in the 1960s and 1970s and some remnants still exist although at the marginal level. Burma or the present Myanmar is ethnically quite diverse a country. There are several dozens of ethnic groups other than the dominant Bamars. Some of these ethnicities are sizable and they form a majority in their own areas e.g. Kachin, Karen Shan etc. A long military rule, hegemony of the Bamar community and lack of channels for political expressions have led to the number of armed separatist movements in Myanmar many of which still persists. A long military rule, hegemony of the Bamar community and lack of channels for political expressions have led to the number of armed separatist movements in Myanmar. × For the most part of its post-colonial history, Myanmar leadership has been self-secluded, secretive and regressive. Like the Pakistani army, Myanmar army captured the polity of the country right after its independence and continued to be at the helm till date. They haven’t allowed much modern liberals thoughts of rights, democracy or institutions to enter their domain of imposed nominal socialism. Inside, they kept the Burmese society orthodox, stagnant and economically under developed. The Buddhist monks of Myanmar, like their Sri Lankan counter parts, espouse a kind of religious nationalism. They are quite aggressive and violence-inciting and receives patronage from Myanmar army and political forces. It’s a huge irony in light of fundamental non-violent tenets of Buddhism. The difference between Myanmar and other nations of south Asia is quite stark. Myanmar expelled its sizable Indian population right after its independence. It also had anti-Muslim turned anti-South Asian riots in the central part of it in recent past. Aung San Suu Kyi, after decades of struggle, has only attained a limited political power. And despite the criticism of her in the Rohingya episode for remaining silent, it has to be understood that Suu Kyi's hands are actually tied. The Myanmar army has clearly taken the side of the Rakhine, who are ethnically and communally close to the Bamars, and they won’t allow Suu Kyi much leeway in this. However, Suu Khi should at least have taken a middle stand and put some indirect pressure on the military. Then the international community could have done more. The Rohingyas are politically quite disorganised and the high degree of persecution has suppressed their natural political expressions. Due to this oppression, some Islamist militants have found their way into this community. And that, in turn, has become more of a reason for the Myanmar army to conduct heavy handed crack down at the cost of high civilian causality. Despite the criticism of her in the Rohingya episode for remaining silent, it has to be understood that Suu Kyi's hands are actually tied. × Geopolitically, it seems no country is interested to do much for the Rohingyas as yet. Bangladesh doesn't have enough strength to do much on its own- be it diplomatic or military. Bangladesh has close relations with China, but China has even closer relations with Myanmar. Despite the overt bonhomie with Hasina government, the BJP government in India has hardly any empathy towards Muslim sufferings anywhere in the world. Nehruvian principle based foreign policy is a thing of past for India. The foreign policy is now narrow nationalistic interest based and the current Indian government will easily sacrifice Rohingyas for a little strategic leverage with Myanmar. The Indian government has already declared that it will deport the 40 thousand Rohingyas from neighbouring Myanmar, about 0.33 or one-thirtieths of the entire Rohingya refugee and that too against its own home ministry policy of giving shelter to persecuted communities and defying UNHCR measures. Apart from Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have taken in sizable numbers of Rohingya refugees and Turkey is quite vocal against Myanmar atrocities against Rohingyas. But the Islamic world itself is in chaos and Islamic solidarity is in decline. Trump’s US is no more reliable for anything good and many will probably count only on the EU and UK in the west on this matter. UN has been the lone consistent international voice for these distressed people. ASEAN countries certainly have some influence on Myanmar although not as much as China. Bengalis are culturally close to the Rohingyas, and there is internal pressure on Bangladesh government to do something, but the government as of now has been careful not to antagonise Myanmar despite the atrocities and tried to solve the matter bilaterally with very limited success. × Bangladesh is in a difficult dilemma at this point. Bengalis are culturally close to the Rohingyas, and there is internal pressure on Bangladesh government to do something, but the government as of now has been careful not to antagonise Myanmar despite the atrocities and tried to solve the matter bilaterally with very limited success. It seems now that only a Bangladesh, Turkey, Saudi Arabia led diplomatic drive including measures like sanctions on Myanmar, if necessary, and with help from ASEAN countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia and perhaps the EU and UN is the only way forward. Bangladesh has to be careful while taking the help of the Islamic world in not giving in to any demand of Islamic radicals to operate in Arakan from its soil. That can have serious ramifications for Bangladesh, Arakan and even the entire sub-region. But the big question is to what extent these countries will be ready to coordinate with each other and invest in this crisis? Can China be pressurised substantially to put pressure on Myanmar in turn? As of now, it appears that there isn’t much hope for the destitute and internationally abandoned Rohingyas - the most persecuted community in the world as declared by the UN. Humanity continues to be humiliated in that wretched land.

No country for a Rohingya

<p>Pakistan on Tuesday rejected the BRICS declaration saying that there was no &quot;safe haven&quot;&nbsp;for terrorists on its soil.</p>

<p>Pakistan&#39;s Defence Minister&nbsp;Khurram Dastgir&nbsp;dismissed the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/in-first-pak-based-terror-groups-named-in-brics-declaration-19862">BRICS declaration&nbsp;naming terrorist groups in the region by leaders of member countries at the BRICS Summit in&nbsp;China</a>&nbsp;on Monday.</p>

<p>&quot;We reject the declaration released by member countries at the&nbsp;BRICS Summit,&quot;&nbsp;Geo News quoted Dastagir as saying during a meeting of the National Assembly&#39;s Standing Committee on Defence.</p>

<p>Highlighting that 40 percent of Afghanistan is a safe haven for terrorists, the minister said Pakistan has taken action against all groups on its soil and only the remnants of some are left.</p>

<p>He further said that the Pakistan will consult regional partners and then proceed to the US for talks on the recent &#39;anti-Pakistan&#39; comments by US President&nbsp;Donald Trump.</p>

<p>Dastagir said this will result in better engagement as Pakistan is in favour of resolving all matters peacefully since any American action in&nbsp;Pakistan&nbsp;will cause instability in the region.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/brics-leaders-declaration-signed-at-the-summit-in-xiamen-china-19854">BRICS leaders on Monday unveiled the Xiamen Declaration</a> in which member countries unequivocally condemned terrorism in all of its forms and manifestations and called upon all states to adopt a comprehensive approach in combating the menace, including countering radicalisation, recruitment, and movement of terrorists, including foreign terrorist fighters.</p>

<p>The Xiamen BRICS Declaration signed by the BRICS members specifically stated, &quot;BRICS express concern on the security situation in the region and violence caused by the Taliban, ISIL/DAISH, Al-Qaida and its affiliates including Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the Haqqani network, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, TTP and Hizb ut-Tahrir.&quot;</p>

<p>&quot;BRICS deplore all terrorist attacks worldwide, including attacks in BRICS countries, and condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations wherever committed and by whomsoever and stress that there can be no justification whatsoever for any act of terrorism. We reaffirm that those responsible for committing, organising, or supporting terrorist acts must be held accountable,&quot; it added.</p>


'We reject the declaration released by member countries at the?BRICS Summit,'?Geo News quoted Pakistan defence minister Khurram Dastagir as saying

Pakistan on Tuesday rejected the BRICS declaration saying that there was no "safe haven" for terrorists on its soil. Pakistan's Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir dismissed the BRICS declaration naming terrorist groups in the region by leaders of member countries at the BRICS Summit in China on Monday. "We reject the declaration released by member countries at the BRICS Summit," Geo News quoted Dastagir as saying during a meeting of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Defence. Highlighting that 40 percent of Afghanistan is a safe haven for terrorists, the minister said Pakistan has taken action against all groups on its soil and only the remnants of some are left. He further said that the Pakistan will consult regional partners and then proceed to the US for talks on the recent 'anti-Pakistan' comments by US President Donald Trump. Dastagir said this will result in better engagement as Pakistan is in favour of resolving all matters peacefully since any American action in Pakistan will cause instability in the region. BRICS leaders on Monday unveiled the Xiamen Declaration in which member countries unequivocally condemned terrorism in all of its forms and manifestations and called upon all states to adopt a comprehensive approach in combating the menace, including countering radicalisation, recruitment, and movement of terrorists, including foreign terrorist fighters. The Xiamen BRICS Declaration signed by the BRICS members specifically stated, "BRICS express concern on the security situation in the region and violence caused by the Taliban, ISIL/DAISH, Al-Qaida and its affiliates including Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the Haqqani network, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, TTP and Hizb ut-Tahrir." "BRICS deplore all terrorist attacks worldwide, including attacks in BRICS countries, and condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations wherever committed and by whomsoever and stress that there can be no justification whatsoever for any act of terrorism. We reaffirm that those responsible for committing, organising, or supporting terrorist acts must be held accountable," it added.

Pakistan rejects BRICS declaration, says no 'safe haven' for terrorists on its soil

<p>Pakistan&#39;s cattle markets have been crammed for weeks as the Muslim country prepares for the sacrificial festival of Eid al-Adha this weekend, but in Islamabad and Karachi crowd-weary residents are ordering animals by app instead.</p>

<p>Muslims slaughter an animal, a goat, sheep, cow, bull or camel, on the annual festival in a ritual that stems from the story of the prophet Abraham, commanded by God to slaughter his beloved son Ismail.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The meat is then distributed in equal parts to the poor, to relatives, and consumed by the family themselves.</p>

<p>The centuries-old festival is steeped in tradition, but this year some middle-class Pakistanis are turning to technology to skip the packed markets and ordering their animals via the ride-sharing app Careem.</p>

<p>The app, which is growing in popularity in Pakistan, introduced a &quot;Bakra (goat) on wheels&quot;&nbsp;initiative in the run-up to Eid, with specially-painted trucks ferrying the animals to customers.</p>

<p>The response was &quot;substantial&quot;, Careem marketing executive Abuzar Khan told <em>AFP</em>, adding they have sold nearly 30 goats so far.&nbsp;</p>

<p>But there was little chance of it threatening demand for animals at the country&#39;s&nbsp;bustling cattle markets.</p>

<p>At one market set up temporarily in Islamabad, this week farmers from across the country soaped and shampooed goats and camels, some shaving patterns into their coats to make them look more appealing in the eyes of judicious customers.</p>

<p>Social media was flooded with videos showing camels being transported by rickshaw and sheep clinging to the back of motorcycles as Pakistanis shepherded their purchases home.</p>

<p>Experts say that the livestock market in Pakistan is growing by up to four per cent annually as more young entrepreneurs are taking interest, and volume is high during Eid, explained trader Syed Hayat Raza Naqvi.</p>

<p>&quot;The minimum price of a bull, which takes two and a half years to groom, is 65,000 rupees ($650) and it goes higher than five or 600,000 rupees ($6,000),&quot; he said.</p>

<p><img src="https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/images/cleardot.gif" /></p>


The app, which is growing in popularity in Pakistan, introduced a 'Bakra (goat) on wheels' initiative in the run-up to Eid, with specially-painted trucks ferrying the animals to customers

Pakistan's cattle markets have been crammed for weeks as the Muslim country prepares for the sacrificial festival of Eid al-Adha this weekend, but in Islamabad and Karachi crowd-weary residents are ordering animals by app instead. Muslims slaughter an animal, a goat, sheep, cow, bull or camel, on the annual festival in a ritual that stems from the story of the prophet Abraham, commanded by God to slaughter his beloved son Ismail. The meat is then distributed in equal parts to the poor, to relatives, and consumed by the family themselves. The centuries-old festival is steeped in tradition, but this year some middle-class Pakistanis are turning to technology to skip the packed markets and ordering their animals via the ride-sharing app Careem. The app, which is growing in popularity in Pakistan, introduced a "Bakra (goat) on wheels" initiative in the run-up to Eid, with specially-painted trucks ferrying the animals to customers. The response was "substantial", Careem marketing executive Abuzar Khan told AFP, adding they have sold nearly 30 goats so far. But there was little chance of it threatening demand for animals at the country's bustling cattle markets. At one market set up temporarily in Islamabad, this week farmers from across the country soaped and shampooed goats and camels, some shaving patterns into their coats to make them look more appealing in the eyes of judicious customers. Social media was flooded with videos showing camels being transported by rickshaw and sheep clinging to the back of motorcycles as Pakistanis shepherded their purchases home. Experts say that the livestock market in Pakistan is growing by up to four per cent annually as more young entrepreneurs are taking interest, and volume is high during Eid, explained trader Syed Hayat Raza Naqvi. "The minimum price of a bull, which takes two and a half years to groom, is 65,000 rupees ($650) and it goes higher than five or 600,000 rupees ($6,000)," he said.

Pakistan's 'goat on wheels' app is a big hit this Eid

<p>The Trump-led US administration has notified the US Congress that it was giving $255 million to Pakistan in military assistance on the condition that it can access the money only if it takes <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-tough-talk-unlikely-to-move-pakistan-us-experts-19341" target="_blank">action against terror groups</a>, The New York Times said in a report.</p>

<p>The money will be put into the equivalent of an escrow account, the report added.</p>

<p>Pakistan&#39;s access to the money has been made conditional based on its action&nbsp;against terror outfits.</p>

<p>The development comes a week after Trump put Pakistan on notice saying that &quot;we can no longer be silent about Pakistan&#39;s safe havens for terrorist organisations&quot;.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Pakistan has been a traditional US ally in its war against terrorism.</p>

<p>Pakistan has taken serious note of the statements emanating from Washington. In a rare move, Islamabad suspended bilateral talks with Washington and its <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pakistan-national-assembly-passes-resolution-rejecting-trumps-hostile-statements-19694" target="_blank">National Assembly condemned President Trump</a> for his &quot;hostile and threatening&quot; statements.<br />
&nbsp;</p>


The development comes after US President Trump castigated Pakistan for its alleged support to terror outfits

The Trump-led US administration has notified the US Congress that it was giving $255 million to Pakistan in military assistance on the condition that it can access the money only if it takes action against terror groups, The New York Times said in a report. The money will be put into the equivalent of an escrow account, the report added. Pakistan's access to the money has been made conditional based on its action against terror outfits. The development comes a week after Trump put Pakistan on notice saying that "we can no longer be silent about Pakistan's safe havens for terrorist organisations". Pakistan has been a traditional US ally in its war against terrorism. Pakistan has taken serious note of the statements emanating from Washington. In a rare move, Islamabad suspended bilateral talks with Washington and its National Assembly condemned President Trump for his "hostile and threatening" statements.

Trump's condition for $255 million aid to Pak: Crack down on terror outfits

<p>Pakistan has resorted to ceasefire violation in Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir&#39;s Rajouri district.</p>

<p>The unprovoked firing by the Pakistani side started at 10.30 am, ANi reported.</p>

<p>The Indian Army is retaliating to the provocation&nbsp;from the Pakistani side.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


Pakistani side started targeting the Indian posts on the LoC at 10.30 am

Pakistan has resorted to ceasefire violation in Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district. The unprovoked firing by the Pakistani side started at 10.30 am, ANi reported. The Indian Army is retaliating to the provocation from the Pakistani side.

Pakistan violates ceasefire in Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir

<p>Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif announced on Tuesday&nbsp;that Islamabad has suspended talks and bilateral visits with Washington.with Washington.</p>

<p>The talks were suspended to express disapproval of US President Trump&#39;s comments criticising&nbsp;the nation, media reports said.</p>

<p>Asif informed the Senate on Monday that the South Asian nation has taken President Trump&#39;s remarks in serious light.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Trump has announced a new South Asia policy&nbsp;which has condemned Pakistan.</p>

<p>Last week, during his very first speech as the commander-in-chief, Trump called for more troop deployment in Afghanistan&nbsp;and spoke about India&#39;s role in the country.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, he attacked Pakistan and accused the country of offering a safe haven to &quot;agents of chaos&quot;.</p>

<p>This led to a series of protests and as a consequence, Pakistan postponed the visit by a US acting assistant secretary of State.<br />
<br />
According to the previous schedule, US Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Alice Wells was supposed to arrive in Pakistan on Tuesday, while Asif was to travel to the US last week.</p>

<p>In context to Trump&#39;s South Asia policy, Asif does not foresee a&nbsp;military role for India in Afghanistan. The minister said that it was rather a role of economic development.</p>

<p>The minister said that India would not be allowed to use Afghan soil to destabilise Pakistan.&nbsp;This particular remark took most committee members by surprise as they were under the impression that India was already using Afghanistan to plan subversive activities in Pakistan. The members sought information on the terror events in Pakistan that were sponsored in India, with emphasis on Indian intelligence agent Kulbhushan Jadhav case.</p>

<p>Members wanted to understand that what mechanism would be put in place to check if Indian presence was not being abused to instigate terrorism in Pakistan.</p>

<p>They were also keen on understanding why there were an unusually high number of Indian consulates in Afghanistan--more than those it had in the US.</p>

<p>Additionally, the members demanded the government to share a fact-sheet on US assistance received after 9/11, the reimbursed amount of coalition support fund (CSF) and the financial loss incurred by the country as a frontline state against the war on terror.</p>

<p>According to media reports, Foreign Secretary Teh&shy;mina Janjua told the Senate that a meeting of Pakistan`s representatives had been convened from September 5 to September 7 to draw a strategy over the new US policy on South Asia.</p>

<p>It was decided that the Senate will have another meeting on Tuesday to standardise the policy guidelines, keeping in mind the emerging realities and the role of the US, curated by a six-member committee of the house.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The policy guidelines are likely to be passed on Wednesday.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, Pakistan&#39;s newly-appointed Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is to make a trip to the US in the second half of September.</p>

<p>The visit will be his first visit to the US as Prime Minister and he is expected to meet American officials on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York.</p>


Trump accused the country of offering a safe haven to 'agents of chaos'

Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif announced on Tuesday that Islamabad has suspended talks and bilateral visits with Washington.with Washington. The talks were suspended to express disapproval of US President Trump's comments criticising the nation, media reports said. Asif informed the Senate on Monday that the South Asian nation has taken President Trump's remarks in serious light. Trump has announced a new South Asia policy which has condemned Pakistan. Last week, during his very first speech as the commander-in-chief, Trump called for more troop deployment in Afghanistan and spoke about India's role in the country. On the other hand, he attacked Pakistan and accused the country of offering a safe haven to "agents of chaos". This led to a series of protests and as a consequence, Pakistan postponed the visit by a US acting assistant secretary of State. According to the previous schedule, US Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Alice Wells was supposed to arrive in Pakistan on Tuesday, while Asif was to travel to the US last week. In context to Trump's South Asia policy, Asif does not foresee a military role for India in Afghanistan. The minister said that it was rather a role of economic development. The minister said that India would not be allowed to use Afghan soil to destabilise Pakistan. This particular remark took most committee members by surprise as they were under the impression that India was already using Afghanistan to plan subversive activities in Pakistan. The members sought information on the terror events in Pakistan that were sponsored in India, with emphasis on Indian intelligence agent Kulbhushan Jadhav case. Members wanted to understand that what mechanism would be put in place to check if Indian presence was not being abused to instigate terrorism in Pakistan. They were also keen on understanding why there were an unusually high number of Indian consulates in Afghanistan--more than those it had in the US. Additionally, the members demanded the government to share a fact-sheet on US assistance received after 9/11, the reimbursed amount of coalition support fund (CSF) and the financial loss incurred by the country as a frontline state against the war on terror. According to media reports, Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua told the Senate that a meeting of Pakistan`s representatives had been convened from September 5 to September 7 to draw a strategy over the new US policy on South Asia. It was decided that the Senate will have another meeting on Tuesday to standardise the policy guidelines, keeping in mind the emerging realities and the role of the US, curated by a six-member committee of the house. The policy guidelines are likely to be passed on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Pakistan's newly-appointed Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is to make a trip to the US in the second half of September. The visit will be his first visit to the US as Prime Minister and he is expected to meet American officials on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York.

Pakistan suspends talks with US in protest against Trump's fiery comment

<p>Eight security forces personnel lost their lives in an encounter in Kashmir&#39;s Pulwama.</p>

<p>Three militants have also been killed in the encounter which started on early Saturday morning.</p>

<p>The militants had attacked the police lines early on Saturday morning.</p>

<p>Militants entered the family quarters of the District Police Lines in Pulwama.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Security forces said families had been evacuated from the quarters and that there was no hostage situation.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">We brought families out of blocks. Troops are continuing with ops. It is a fidayeen attack.We don&#39;t have hostage situation: Lt Gen JS Sandhu <a href="https://t.co/OWTyAVIBad">pic.twitter.com/OWTyAVIBad</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/901340384571269120">August 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>ANI had earlier reported Lt Gen JS Sandhu, GoC 15 Corps, as saying, &quot;Two terrorists entered family quarters at District Police LInes, Pulwama.&quot;</p>

<p>&quot;We brought families out of blocks. Troops are continuing with ops. It is a fidayeen attack. We don&#39;t have hostage situation,&quot; ANI added Lt Gen Sandhu as saying.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UPDATE?src=hash">#UPDATE</a>: Another CRPF jawan lost his life during encounter in Pulwama&#39;s District Police Lines; security personnel&#39;s death toll reaches 3.</p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/901319045491728384">August 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Visuals?src=hash">#Visuals</a>: Encounter underway at District Police Lines building in Pulwama; one Policeman has lost his life (visuals deferred) <a href="https://t.co/EpqHau4q6E">pic.twitter.com/EpqHau4q6E</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/901278015287459840">August 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>ANI reported that two to three militants were hiding inside the Police Lines and that the encounter was ongoing.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UPDATE?src=hash">#UPDATE</a> J&amp;K: 2-3 terrorists are hiding inside DPL, Pulwama; encounter underway (visuals deferred) <a href="https://t.co/w04e5NvPuD">pic.twitter.com/w04e5NvPuD</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/901263335512973312">August 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>ANI reported earlier that two policemen and 2 CRPF jawans had been injured in the encounter.&nbsp;</p>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FLASH?src=hash">#FLASH</a> J&amp;K: Terrorists attack District Police Lines in Pulwama. 2 policemen and 2 CRPF jawans injured. <a href="https://t.co/lGwNWSFdNi">pic.twitter.com/lGwNWSFdNi</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/901248683051597824">August 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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A Jammu and Kashmir police constable and two CRPF jawans have been killed

Eight security forces personnel lost their lives in an encounter in Kashmir's Pulwama. Three militants have also been killed in the encounter which started on early Saturday morning. The militants had attacked the police lines early on Saturday morning. Militants entered the family quarters of the District Police Lines in Pulwama. Security forces said families had been evacuated from the quarters and that there was no hostage situation. We brought families out of blocks. Troops are continuing with ops. It is a fidayeen attack.We don't have hostage situation: Lt Gen JS Sandhu pic.twitter.com/OWTyAVIBad — ANI (@ANI) August 26, 2017 × ANI had earlier reported Lt Gen JS Sandhu, GoC 15 Corps, as saying, "Two terrorists entered family quarters at District Police LInes, Pulwama." "We brought families out of blocks. Troops are continuing with ops. It is a fidayeen attack. We don't have hostage situation," ANI added Lt Gen Sandhu as saying. #UPDATE: Another CRPF jawan lost his life during encounter in Pulwama's District Police Lines; security personnel's death toll reaches 3. — ANI (@ANI) August 26, 2017 × #Visuals: Encounter underway at District Police Lines building in Pulwama; one Policeman has lost his life (visuals deferred) pic.twitter.com/EpqHau4q6E — ANI (@ANI) August 26, 2017 × ANI reported that two to three militants were hiding inside the Police Lines and that the encounter was ongoing. #UPDATE J&K: 2-3 terrorists are hiding inside DPL, Pulwama; encounter underway (visuals deferred) pic.twitter.com/w04e5NvPuD — ANI (@ANI) August 26, 2017 × ANI reported earlier that two policemen and 2 CRPF jawans had been injured in the encounter. #FLASH J&K: Terrorists attack District Police Lines in Pulwama. 2 policemen and 2 CRPF jawans injured. pic.twitter.com/lGwNWSFdNi — ANI (@ANI) August 26, 2017 ×

Kashmir: 8 security forces personnel, 3 militants killed in Pulwama encounter

<p>The United States must value Pakistan&#39;s role in Afghanistan and respect its security concerns, China&#39;s top diplomat Yang Jiechi told US secretary of state Rex Tillerson in a phone call, according to Chinese state media.</p>

<p>China&#39;s Foreign Ministry defended its ally Pakistan earlier this week after President Donald Trump said the United States could no longer be silent about militants using safe havens on Pakistani soil.</p>

<p>On Monday, Trump committed the United States to an open-ended conflict in Afghanistan, signalling he would send more troops to America&#39;s longest war and vowing &quot;a fight to win&quot;.</p>

<p>He insisted that others - the Afghan government, Pakistan, India and NATO allies - step up their own commitment to resolving the 16-year conflict, but he saved his sharpest words for Pakistan.</p>

<p>Yang, who outranks China&#39;s foreign minister, told Tillerson on Wednesday that China was willing to coordinate with the United States on Afghanistan and make joint efforts to realise peace and stability there and in the region, according to a Chinese statement issued late that night.</p>

<p>&quot;We must value Pakistan&#39;s important role on the Afghanistan issue, and respect Pakistan&#39;s sovereignty and reasonable security concerns,&quot; Yang told Tillerson.</p>

<p>Pakistan has been battling home-grown Islamists for years. It sees Afghanistan as a vital strategic interest and a bulwark against old rival, India. Islamabad denies harbouring militants, who move across the porous border with Afghanistan.&nbsp;</p>

<p>China and Pakistan consider each other &quot;all-weather friends&quot; and have close diplomatic, economic and security ties.</p>

<p>Beijing has its own security concerns in the region, in particular any links between militants in Pakistan and Afghanistan and Islamist groups China blames for violence in its far western region of Xinjiang.</p>

<p>Foreign minister Wang Yi met Pakistani foreign secretary Tehmina Janjua in Beijing on Tuesday, according to a statement on Thursday.</p>

<p>He praised Pakistan&#39;s efforts to combat extremism and to secure the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a development initiative central to President Xi Jinping&#39;s global Belt and Road development plan.</p>

<p>&quot;Given the current complicated and changing international and regional situation, the strategic significance of China-Pakistan relations is even more prominent,&quot; Wang said.</p>

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China's top diplomat told US?secretary of state Rex Tillerson that the country is willing to coordinate with the US on Afghanistan and make joint efforts to realise peace and stability there and in the region

The United States must value Pakistan's role in Afghanistan and respect its security concerns, China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi told US secretary of state Rex Tillerson in a phone call, according to Chinese state media. China's Foreign Ministry defended its ally Pakistan earlier this week after President Donald Trump said the United States could no longer be silent about militants using safe havens on Pakistani soil. On Monday, Trump committed the United States to an open-ended conflict in Afghanistan, signalling he would send more troops to America's longest war and vowing "a fight to win". He insisted that others - the Afghan government, Pakistan, India and NATO allies - step up their own commitment to resolving the 16-year conflict, but he saved his sharpest words for Pakistan. Yang, who outranks China's foreign minister, told Tillerson on Wednesday that China was willing to coordinate with the United States on Afghanistan and make joint efforts to realise peace and stability there and in the region, according to a Chinese statement issued late that night. "We must value Pakistan's important role on the Afghanistan issue, and respect Pakistan's sovereignty and reasonable security concerns," Yang told Tillerson. Pakistan has been battling home-grown Islamists for years. It sees Afghanistan as a vital strategic interest and a bulwark against old rival, India. Islamabad denies harbouring militants, who move across the porous border with Afghanistan. China and Pakistan consider each other "all-weather friends" and have close diplomatic, economic and security ties. Beijing has its own security concerns in the region, in particular any links between militants in Pakistan and Afghanistan and Islamist groups China blames for violence in its far western region of Xinjiang. Foreign minister Wang Yi met Pakistani foreign secretary Tehmina Janjua in Beijing on Tuesday, according to a statement on Thursday. He praised Pakistan's efforts to combat extremism and to secure the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a development initiative central to President Xi Jinping's global Belt and Road development plan. "Given the current complicated and changing international and regional situation, the strategic significance of China-Pakistan relations is even more prominent," Wang said.

China asks US to respect Pakistan's security concerns

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