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Three Indian ‘Undercover Agents’ Leave Pakistan

India on Tuesday withdrew three staff members of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad who were accused of being involved in subversive activities in Pakistan. “Three of the eight officials have returned to India today,” a diplomatic source told The Express Tribune. “A decision regarding the remaining five officials is yet to be taken,” the source added. Last week, Pakistan busted a network of Indian spies ‘working under diplomatic cover’. Official documents seen by The Express Tribunerevealed that at least eight staffers of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad had been identified as serving officers of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and India’s Intelligence Bureau (IB). The latest spat started after Indian police last week detained a staff member of Pakistan’s High Commission in New Delhi for questioning over espionage charges. Mahmood Akhtar, who was working as a visa officer at the Pakistani High Commission, was later expelled from India. In what appeared to be a tit for tat move, Pakistan on Thursday confirmed that eight officials posted in India’s High Commission in Islamabad were agents of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Intelligence Bureau (IB). The disclosure left New Delhi with no other options but to withdraw the named officials. An official with knowledge of latest developments squarely blamed India for the escalation in tensions. The official, who requested to speak off the record so that he could talk freely on the subject, told The Express Tribune that India had breached an ‘understanding’ by revealing the identities of certain Pakistani officials posted in New Delhi. The official said both sides knew that certain officials worked under cover and they did so with the full knowledge of host country. Meanwhile, speaking at his weekly news briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria confirmed that eight Indian staff members of the country’s high commission belonged to RAW and IB. They were identified as Rajesh...

Three Indian 'Undercover Agents' Leave Pakistan

India on Tuesday withdrew three staff members of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad who were accused of being involved in subversive activities in Pakistan. “Three of the eight officials have returned to India today,” a diplomatic source told The Express Tribune. “A decision regarding the remaining five officials is yet to be taken,” the source added. Last week, Pakistan busted a network of Indian spies ‘working under diplomatic cover’. Official documents seen by The Express Tribunerevealed that at least eight staffers of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad had been identified as serving officers of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and India’s Intelligence Bureau (IB). The latest spat started after Indian police last week detained a staff member of Pakistan’s High Commission in New Delhi for questioning over espionage charges. Mahmood Akhtar, who was working as a visa officer at the Pakistani High Commission, was later expelled from India. In what appeared to be a tit for tat move, Pakistan on Thursday confirmed that eight officials posted in India’s High Commission in Islamabad were agents of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Intelligence Bureau (IB). The disclosure left New Delhi with no other options but to withdraw the named officials. An official with knowledge of latest developments squarely blamed India for the escalation in tensions. The official, who requested to speak off the record so that he could talk freely on the subject, told The Express Tribune that India had breached an ‘understanding’ by revealing the identities of certain Pakistani officials posted in New Delhi. The official said both sides knew that certain officials worked under cover and they did so with the full knowledge of host country. Meanwhile, speaking at his weekly news briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria confirmed that eight Indian staff members of the country’s high commission belonged to RAW and IB. They were identified as Rajesh...

China Adopts Controversial Cybersecurity Law In Face Of Overseas Opposition

China adopted a controversial cybersecurity law on Monday to counter what Beijing says are growing threats such as hacking and terrorism, although the law has triggered concern from foreign business and rights groups. The legislation, passed by China's largely rubber-stamp parliament and set to come into effect in June 2017, is an "objective need" of China as a major internet power, a parliament official said. Overseas critics of the law argue it threatens to shut foreign technology companies out of various sectors deemed "critical", and includes contentious requirements for security reviews and for data to be stored on servers located in China. Rights advocates also say the law will enhance restrictions on China's internet, already subject to the world's most sophisticated online censorship mechanism, known outside the country as the Great Firewall. Yang Heqing, an official on the National People's Congress standing committee, said the internet was already deeply linked to China's national security and development. "China is an internet power, and as one of the countries that faces the greatest internet security risks, urgently needs to establish and perfect network security legal systems," Yang told reporters at the close of a bimonthly legislative meeting. More than 40 global business groups petitioned Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in August, urging Beijing to amend controversial sections of the law. Chinese officials have said it would not interfere with foreign business interests. Contentious provisions remained in the final draft of the law issued by the parliament, including requirements for "critical information infrastructure operators" to store personal information and important business data in China, provide unspecified "technical support" to security agencies, and pass national security reviews. Those demands have raised concern within companies that fear they would have to hand over intellectual property or open back doors within products in...

Natgeo’s ‘Afghan Girl’ Opts For Afghanistan

An iconic green-eyed ‘Afghan refugee girl’ whose 1985 photo in the National Geographic became a symbol of her country’s wars has turned down a provincial government’s request to stay in Pakistan and opted to return to her native country, the home and tribal affairs department said in a statement. Sharbat Gulla was arrested by the FIA on October 26 from her house in the Nauthia area for possessing a fake CNIC. Sharbat Gula will complete her 15-day sentence on Wednesday. The forty-year-old mother of four children has spent most of the time in hospital since her arrest. In a letter, she had requested jail authorities to stay her deportation till the time Afghan refugees were given extension in their stay in Pakistan, according to the statement. The request was sent to the federal government keeping in view of legal lacunae. However, Gula decided to go back to Afghanistan, the statement said. Family members of Gula told The Express Tribune that she wanted to go back to Afghanistan and will be meeting Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. “She will probably get her passport and then apply for a Pakistani visa because she wants to sell her property in Pakistan.” Gula and the Afghan government, in an application submitted to the K-P government, pleaded for her departure from Pakistan to Afghanistan on completion of her 15-day sentence on Wednesday [November 9]. Meanwhile, the government on Monday delayed the planned deportation of Sharbat Gula. Waheedullah, a spokesman for the Afghan Consulate in Peshawar, said Afghan diplomats had convinced Pakistani authorities to allow her to stay in hospital until Wednesday. She then would be delivered to the Afghan border authorities at Torkham on Wednesday and from there she would be flown to Kabul where Afghan President Ashraf Ghani would host a function in her honour. “The Afghan president has also announced a house for her in Kabul where she will live with her children,” said Waheedullah, who like many Afghans uses only one...

A Humanitarian Crisis Looms In Afghanistan as the Number Of Displaced Climbs

Abdulhalim fled the northern city of Kunduz this month after militants and security forces had been clashing for days. Now he’s 200 miles away in Kabul, sleeping in a tent and living on aid. He is part of a looming humanitarian crisis aid agencies here are struggling to contain. Before the current crisis, more than a million people had already been uprooted last year. This year, at least another million Afghans are “on the move” inside Afghanistan and across its borders, in what the United Nations warns is an alarming new wave of displaced people. Many, like Abdulhalim, fled violence or conflict; others escaped hardships such as poverty or drought. Still others were forced to return from Pakistan and Iran. Even as the numbers grew, Afghanistan agreed to accept Afghan asylum seekers deported from the European Union. The deal, signed in October, could lead the E.U. to construct a separate terminal for deportees at Kabul’s international airport, and as many as 100,000 Afghans could return. “This sudden increase [in the displaced] has put a lot of pressure on Afghanistan, which has had 30 years of war,” said Nader Farhad, spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency in Kabul. “It’s not easy to put together the infrastructure, to provide the services that are required,” he said, adding that the displaced need everything from food and blankets to jobs and health care. “To the European countries, we say: Instead of investing in the return of Afghans to Afghanistan, tackle the root causes,” Farhad said. If the United Nations and other aid agencies fail to provide emergency assistance, “it will be a humanitarian crisis,” he said. Massive displacement has plagued Afghanistan for years, beginning with the Soviet invasion in 1979. That conflict kindled two decades of war. When the United States invaded in 2001, some 4 million Afghans were living in Pakistan and Iran. Many of those refugees later returned, driven by hopes for stability and peace. But now, Afghanistan is witnessing...

CPEC Concerns: K-P Drops Objection to Route Alignment

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government on Monday withdrew its objections to the alignment of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) western route, facilitating the final approval of the 285km-long route by the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC). In April this year, ECNEC had conditionally approved the western route costing Rs124.2 billion after Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa objected to it and claimed that it was in violation of the agreement struck at the All Parties Conference (APC) held in May last year. The provincial government also withdrew its opposition to a Rs12 billion land acquisition scheme, which was also approved in April for acquiring land for the route. “ECNEC granted final approval to both the projects after it was informed that the condition of verification of the proposed route has been met after consultation between the federal and the K-P committees on the CPEC,” an official handout of the Ministry of Finance said on Monday. ECNEC approved 10 projects, costing Rs234 billion, including projects on the western route. Officials of the Planning Ministry told The Express Tribune that K-P Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak had expressed satisfaction over the proposed route during the meetings held to verify the alignment. The K-P’s endorsement of the western route during the closed-door meetings contradicted its public stance on the matter. The Ministry of Communication undertook the construction of the Burhan-Hakla Motorway on M-1 that extended to Dera Ismail Khan. The project’s cost was also rationalised from Rs124.2 billion to Rs110.2 billion. In April, K-P’s Finance Minister Muzaffar Sayyed had objected to the proposed alignment. The provincial finance minister had claimed that the alignment was not final yet. Sayyed claimed that the route was also in violation of the agreement signed after the APC. Last year, the APC recommended that the government should give priority to the CPEC’s western route, addressing the issue of poverty in...

Progress and Regress: Obama’s Mixed Afghanistan Legacy

Recent increase in attacks by the Taliban and ISIL have compromised advances in rights, Afghans say. It's America's Longest War and one that President Barack Obama promised to end in 2014. But two years later, the security situation in Afghanistan is in a downward spiral, with the Taliban and Islamic State fighters (ISIL) making gains in several provinces. Although Obama slowed his original timeline of troop withdrawals, his scaling back of troops, coupled with the rise in drone strikes - up to two a day over the summer, according to watchdog Bureau of Investigative Journalism - have increased the insecurity here, which puts the fragile gains made in Afghanistan in danger. In the past two months alone, according to a deputy spokesman from President Ashraf Ghani's office, the Taliban has destroyed 302 schools, 5,305 homes and 1,818 businesses in 12 provinces. Khalil Rufi, director of CSJWG, the country's civil society joint working group, said that under Obama's direction the US managed to kill Osama Bin Laden as well as aiding in a peaceful transition of power in Afghanistan after the 2014 presidential election, which were "good achievements". But he said that the economic and political progress that the country made before 2008 have eroded. "Our people hoped that under Obama, change would be positive and visible. Unfortunately the change has been negative - like the increase of extremism, the Taliban becoming more powerful day by day, Daesh, which right now is also becoming strong, our government mismanagement and in our provinces collapsing," said Rufi, using the Arabic acronym for ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as ISIS) . "This is the bad shadow of Barack Obama's government." Civilian casualties The country's deteriorating situation is apparent in the streets of the capital, with increased security forces making sure the streets in central Kabul are closed to traffic after 8pm with a heightened concern for suicide bombers. It's also...

Progress and Regress: Obama's Mixed Afghanistan Legacy

Recent increase in attacks by the Taliban and ISIL have compromised advances in rights, Afghans say. It's America's Longest War and one that President Barack Obama promised to end in 2014. But two years later, the security situation in Afghanistan is in a downward spiral, with the Taliban and Islamic State fighters (ISIL) making gains in several provinces. Although Obama slowed his original timeline of troop withdrawals, his scaling back of troops, coupled with the rise in drone strikes - up to two a day over the summer, according to watchdog Bureau of Investigative Journalism - have increased the insecurity here, which puts the fragile gains made in Afghanistan in danger. In the past two months alone, according to a deputy spokesman from President Ashraf Ghani's office, the Taliban has destroyed 302 schools, 5,305 homes and 1,818 businesses in 12 provinces. Khalil Rufi, director of CSJWG, the country's civil society joint working group, said that under Obama's direction the US managed to kill Osama Bin Laden as well as aiding in a peaceful transition of power in Afghanistan after the 2014 presidential election, which were "good achievements". But he said that the economic and political progress that the country made before 2008 have eroded. "Our people hoped that under Obama, change would be positive and visible. Unfortunately the change has been negative - like the increase of extremism, the Taliban becoming more powerful day by day, Daesh, which right now is also becoming strong, our government mismanagement and in our provinces collapsing," said Rufi, using the Arabic acronym for ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as ISIS) . "This is the bad shadow of Barack Obama's government." Civilian casualties The country's deteriorating situation is apparent in the streets of the capital, with increased security forces making sure the streets in central Kabul are closed to traffic after 8pm with a heightened concern for suicide bombers. It's also...

CHINA WATCH [OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 4] ACTIVATING CHINA-PAKISTAN ECONOMIC CORRIDOR

The first formal trade activity between China and Pakistan on CPEC was prominent in the news this week. A report by China’s State Information Center (SIC) categorized Pakistan among the top five countries ‘highly’ cooperating with China on the One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative. The Express Tribune reported that China is keen to finance and develop Pakistan’s portion of Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline. As always, politicians from Sindh, KP and Balochistan raised the issue of their respective provincial share in CPEC. Beginning Trade on CPEC: Trade on CPEC was formally operationalized on Monday as hundreds of Chinese trucks were unloaded at Sost dry port in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB). The first consignment of 150 to 300 trucks from China was received by GB Chief Minister Hafeezur Rehman and the commander of the Force Command Northern Areas Major General Saqib Mehmood.[1] The containers will be moved to Gwadar port with Pakistani trucks after obtaining customs clearance. Police personnel escorted the consignment as per the security plan under CPEC. Addressing the inaugural ceremony, GB Chief Minister said that “[T]his activity will bring prosperity and end unemployment in the region.” Belt and Road Initiative Report: A data report titled “Belt and Road in Big Data 2016” about China’s “belt and road initiative” was released by China’s State Information Centre (SIC) in Beijing. This is an annual report which presents a comprehensive analysis of the implementation of the initiative and authoritative evaluation of the cooperation between China and the 64 countries involved and the engagement of its 31 provinces.[2] The report categorized Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, Kazakhstan and Indonesia as “highly” cooperative countries in advancing China’s connectivity plans via road, rail, air and sea links under the belt and road initiative.[3] There are two volumes of this report. The first one is about ‘Belt and Road Initiative” and the second one evaluates important issues...

Over 5.6 Million Children to be Vaccinated Against Polio Across Afghanistan

The Ministry of Public Health along with its partners UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) will tomorrow launch a polio vaccination campaign in all provinces of the Southern, Eastern and South-eastern regions as well as selected high-risk districts across the country, including Kabul city. The campaign aims to reach over 5.6 million children and will run until 11 November. Polio is a crippling disease that is incurable and can only be prevented through vaccination. Every child under the age of 5 in Afghanistan should be vaccinated during each vaccination round. “Wherever children are not immunized, children’s lives are at risk everywhere in Afghanistan. We urge all caregivers to vaccinate their children against polio because the polio vaccine is the only way to protect children from permanent paralysis and even death,” said H.E. Minister of Public Health Dr. Ferozuddin Feroz. “Afghanistan is closer than ever to stopping the circulation of the wild poliovirus and our focus remains on reaching and immunizing every single child.” The polio vaccine is safe and the only effective prevention for polio disease. Polio vaccines are halal and have been specifically endorsed by leaders of the Islamic community, most recently in a conference attended by over 80 Ulama in Nangarhar last week. The vaccine is completely safe for newborn, sleeping and sick children and it has no side effects. The campaign is carried out by around 25,000 trained vaccinators and it runs for four days with an additional day on Friday for vaccinators to revisit children who were missed when the vaccinators first visited. These vaccinators and other frontline health workers are trusted members of the community and they have been chosen because they care about children. Parents who miss having their children vaccinated over the next four days are urged to visit local health centres where their children can be vaccinated against polio. So far 10 wild poliovirus cases have been reported...