ISLAMABAD: Dealing a blow to the already-strained bilateral ties between India and Pakistan, New Delhi said it would no longer participate in high-level talks to be held in New York this week, with Islamabad’s foreign ministry expressing “deep disappointment” at the move late on Friday.
The announcement made by India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) threw the spanner in the works for planned talks between Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistani counterpart, Shah Mehmood Qureshi which were scheduled to be held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
The development took place just a day after India had agreed to the meeting.
“The reasons cited by the Indian side for the decision to cancel the Foreign Ministers’ meeting, within 24 hours of its public confirmation, are entirely unconvincing,” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“The so-called ‘disturbing developments’ alluded to in the Indian statement predated the Indian agreement to hold the bilateral meeting in New York,” it added.
On Friday, India accused Pakistan of killing its security personnel in Kashmir, adding that it was “glorifying terrorism” by releasing postage stamps featuring Hizbul Mujahideen fighter, Burhan Wani, who was killed by Indian security forces in 2016.
“When the allegations of Pakistan’s involvement first appeared, the Pakistan Rangers clearly conveyed to (Indian) BSF (Border Security Force) through official channels that Pakistan had nothing to do with it,” excerpts from the statement said, adding that the “Pakistan Rangers also extended help in efforts to locate the soldier’s body. These facts were known to the Indian authorities and a part of the Indian media also reported that Pakistan had refuted its involvement.”
Accusing India of indulging in a “motivated and malicious propaganda,” Pakistan said it “categorically rejected these allegations once again and would be prepared to conduct a joint investigation to establish the truth.”
Stamps featuring Wani were issued before the July 25 general elections in Pakistan “as a result of which the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan assumed office,” the statement said.
“We believe by its ill-considered cancelation of the meeting, India has once again wasted a serious opportunity to change the dynamics of the bilateral relationship and put the region on the path of peace and development,” the Foreign Ministry said, echoing sentiments expressed by Qureshi earlier on Friday.
Reacting to India’s decision to cancel the talks, Qureshi said: “Pakistan had requested for the meeting in the larger interest of the region.”
“It seems that India is already preparing for its elections due in the country next year,” he said in comments to local news outlet Express Tribune, adding that there is a group in New Delhi that does not want the talks to take place.
In a tit-for-tat measure, Qureshi said Islamabad too would not feel the need to respond in haste if India were to approach Pakistan for dialogue in the future. “Pakistan extended the offer despite possessing evidence of Indian interference in Balochistan,” he said.
He concluded his statement by reiterating the need for a dialogue, saying that it was the only way to resolve issues.
Extending an invitation for talks between Qureshi and Swaraj, Prime Minister Imran Khan had written a letter to Indian PM Narendra Modi on September 14 as an official proposal for the meeting. At the time, he had reasoned that an informal meeting of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (Saarc), on the sidelines of the UNGA, would be the ideal platform to restart the derailed talks.
On Thursday, MEA spokesperson, Raveesh Kumar, had confirmed that India would participate in the talks but not before quickly clarifying that “this should not be confused with the resumption of any dialogue; this is just a meeting on the request of Pakistan” and that this “this does not indicate any change in our policy as far as our stand on terrorism and cross-border terrorism is concerned.”
The United States had also welcomed the meeting between Pakistan and India, expressing hope that the stage for a “good, strong relationship between the two neighbors” would be set.
Pakistan’s Information Minister tweeted his disappointment at India’s decision saying that “the world is watching, Pakistan stands for peace, while Indian policies are being guided by extremist ideologies.”
Pakistan ‘deeply disappointed’ after India calls off talks
Pakistan ‘deeply disappointed’ after India calls off talks
- Foreign ministers from both nations were to meet on sidelines of UNGA
- New Delhi has once again wasted opportunity to change dynamics of relations, Islamabad says
Pakistan farmers announce nationwide protest from May 10 over wheat import crisis
- Farmers are demanding the government stop wheat imports that have flooded markets, leading to price slump
- Agriculture contributes about 24 percent of the GDP and accounts for half of the employed labor force in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani farmers on Sunday announced a nationwide protest over the wheat import crisis from May 10, a day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif promised to address their grievances.
Farmers in Pakistan’s Punjab province, which produces most of the wheat crop, are demanding the government stop wheat imports that have flooded the market at a time when they expect bumper crop.
They say the import of wheat in the second half of 2023 and the first three months of this year has resulted in excess amounts of the commodity in the country, leading to reduced prices.
On Saturday, PM Sharif took notice of the matter and formed a committee under the Ministry of National Food Security and Research to address farmer grievances, Pakistani state media reported.
“On the 10th [of May], after the Friday prayers, we are initiating protest from Multan and this protest will be expanded to the whole of Pakistan,” Khalid Khokhar, who heads the Kissan Ittehad Pakistan, said at a press conference.
“Thousands of farmers will come, there will be hundreds of tractors, trailers. Animals, cattle and children and women will also be accompanied.”
Agriculture is the backbone of Pakistan’s economy and constitutes its largest sector. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), agriculture contributes about 24 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and accounts for half of the employed labor force in the country.
However, the prices of wheat have dropped in Pakistan in recent weeks and are much below the government’s support price of Rs3,900 per 40-kilogram bag.
“We do not have any option other than this. The mafia made Rs100 billion, Pakistan’s $1 billion worth of foreign exchange was spent and the farmers incurred around Rs400 billion losses,” Khokhar said.
“They slaughtered 60 million farmers just for the sake of corruption.”
Pakistan’s Dr. Shahzad Baig makes it to TIME’s 100 world leaders in health
- Before arriving in Pakistan, Baig was a technical adviser to Nigeria’s polio eradication effort, which remained successful
- Pakistan, Afghanistan are only two countries in world where polio continues to threaten health and well-being of children
ISLAMABAD: US news magazine TIME has included Dr. Shahzad Baig, the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme’s national coordinator, to its list of 100 most influential people across the world in the field of health in 2024.
The list, titled ‘TIME100 HEALTH,’ this week honored individuals from across the world for their services for fresh discoveries, novel treatments, and global victories over disease.
Baig was recognized for his efforts for the eradication of poliovirus, which mainly affects children under the age of ten years by invading their nervous system, and can cause paralysis or even death.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where polio continues to threaten the health and well-being of children.
“On the front lines in the effort to stamp it [polio] out is Dr. Shahzad Baig, national coordinator of Pakistan’s polio-eradication program,” TIME wrote on its website.
“In 2019, polio disabled or killed 147 people in Pakistan; since Baig assumed the position, in 2021, case counts have plummeted, with only six children stricken in 2023.”
Before arriving in Pakistan, Baig was a technical adviser to Nigeria’s polio eradication effort, which succeeded spectacularly, according to the US magazine.
In 2020, the African country became the most recent one in the world to be declared polio-free.
“If Baig has his way, Pakistan will be the next,” it added.
Canada has ‘political compulsion’ to blame India for Sikh slaying — New Delhi
- Canadian police on Friday arrested three for the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, saying they were investigating their links to Indian government
- The killing soured Ottawa-New Delhi diplomatic ties after PM Trudeau said there were ‘credible allegations’ linking Indian intelligence to crime
NEW DELHI: Canada’s investigation into alleged Indian involvement in the assassination of a Sikh separatist in Vancouver last year is a “political compulsion,” New Delhi’s foreign minister said after three Indian citizens were arrested over the killing.
Canadian police on Friday arrested the trio for the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, saying they were investigating their links to the Indian government, “if any.”
The killing sent diplomatic relations between Ottawa and New Delhi into a tailspin last autumn after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there were “credible allegations” linking Indian intelligence to the crime.
India vehemently rejected the allegations as “absurd,” halting the processing of visas for a time and forcing Canada to significantly reduce its diplomatic presence in the country.
“It is their political compulsion in Canada to blame India,” the Press Trust of India news agency quoted external affairs minister S. Jaishankar as saying on Saturday.
Thousands of people were killed in the 1980s during a separatist insurgency aimed at creating a Sikh homeland known as Khalistan, which was put down by security forces.
The movement has largely petered out within India, but in the Sikh diaspora — whose largest community is in Canada, with around 770,000 people — it retains support among a vocal minority.
New Delhi has sought to persuade Ottawa not to grant Sikh separatists visas or political legitimacy, Jaishankar said, since they are “causing problems for them (Canada), for us and also for our relationship.”
He added that Canada does not “share any evidence with us in certain cases, police agencies also do not cooperate with us.”
Nijjar immigrated to Canada in 1997 and acquired citizenship 18 years later. He was wanted by Indian authorities for alleged terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder.
The three arrested Indian nationals, all in their twenties, were charged with first degree murder and conspiracy.
They were accused of being the shooter, driver and lookout in his killing last June.
The Canadian police said they were aware that “others may have played a role” in the murder.
In November, the US Justice Department charged an Indian citizen living in the Czech Republic with plotting a similar assassination attempt on another Sikh separatist leader on American soil.
A Washington Post investigation reported last week that Indian foreign intelligence officials were involved in the plot, a claim rejected by New Delhi.
PCB chief announces $100,000 reward for each player if Pakistan wins T20 World Cup
- Mohsin Naqvi made the announcement during his visit to Qaddafi Stadium, where the Babar Azam-led side has been practicing
- The Pakistan side is scheduled to travel to Ireland, England for T20 tours later this month, followed by the World Cup in June
ISLAMABAD: Mohsin Naqvi, chief of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), has announced $100,000 reward for each player in case the national side wins the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup, the PCB said on Sunday.
Naqvi made the announcement during his visit to the Qaddafi Stadium in Lahore, where the Babar Azam-led side began the national camp on Saturday, according to the PCB.
He stayed there for two hours and held a detailed discussion with Pakistan players on the strategy of upcoming games.
“This reward is nothing compared to Pakistan’s victory,” Naqvi was quoted as saying.
“I hope you will raise the green flag. Play without any pressure and compete hard. God willing, victory will be yours.”
The Pakistan side is scheduled to travel to Ireland and England for T20 tours later this month.
The tours will help the side prepare for the T20 World Cup scheduled to be held in the United States and the West Indies in June.
IMF says its mission will visit Pakistan this month to discuss new loan
- Pakistan last month completed a short-term $3 billion program, which helped stave off sovereign default
- But the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has stressed the need for a fresh, longer-term program
KARACHI: An International Monetary Fund mission is expected to visit Pakistan this month to discuss a new program, the lender said on Sunday ahead of Islamabad beginning its annual budget-making process for the next financial year.
Pakistan last month completed a short-term $3 billion program, which helped stave off sovereign default, but the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has stressed the need for a fresh, longer-term program.
“A mission is expected to visit Pakistan in May to discuss the FY25 budget, policies, and reforms under a potential new program for the welfare of all Pakistanis,” the IMF said in an emailed response to Reuters.
Pakistan’s financial year runs from July to June and its budget for fiscal year 2025, the first by Sharif’s new government, has to be presented before June 30.
The IMF did not specify the dates of the visit, nor the size or duration of the program.
“Accelerating reforms now is more important than the size of the program, which will be guided by the package of reform and balance of payments needs,” the IMF statement said.
Pakistan narrowly averted default last summer, and its $350 billion economy has stabilized after the completion of the last IMF program, with inflation coming down to around 17 percent in April from a record high 38 percent last May.
It is still dealing with a high fiscal shortfall and while it has controlled its external account deficit through import control mechanisms, it has come at the expense of stagnating growth, which is expected to be around 2 percent this year compared to negative growth last year.
Earlier, in an interview with Reuters, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said the country hoped to agree the contours of a new IMF loan in May.
Pakistan is expected to seek at least $6 billion and request additional financing from the Fund under the Resilience and Sustainability Trust.
