The world-leading global business publication Financial Times interviewed National Security Advisor (NSA) Moeed Yusuf who said that Pakistan has other options in case US President Joe Biden continues to ignore Pakistan’s superintendent. However, Moeed Yusuf did not indicate his options.
This comment was portraying Islamabad’s increasing disappointment over Joe Biden’s snub to Pakistan’s PM Imran Khan. Since Biden holds the office he didn’t call Imran Khan. The President of the US has not spoken to the PM of such an important country which matters a lot. Make or break in some ways in Afghanistan. He says that we are struggling to understand the “signal” sent by Biden not calling PM. Moreover, Yusuf said that if the security relationship is an adjustment, if the phone call is an adjustment, then Pakistan has other options. He further said that every time we have been informed that the phone call would happen, it’s for practical reasons or whatever, but people don’t believe it.
Despite the efforts from Pakistan, relations with the US are struggling. Though Pakistan officials are holding meetings with the US administration officials, their views about Afghanistan and China clashes, which are impediments between both countries. Variant views on Afghanistan and China factors are the reason for critical ties between Islamabad and Washington. After the meeting, the US NSA tweet was more about Afghanistan while Moeed Yusuf’s tweet has no concern with it.
The US is pushing Islamabad to build pressure on the Afghan Taliban, but Pakistan has a clear stance that Pakistan does not control internal matters and the AfafghaTaliban. In an interview, Moeed Yusuf objected to the US President’s failure on contacting PM Imran Khan. Meanwhile, one of the Biden officials said that many leaders are remaining with whom Biden has not contacted yet, and when the right time comes, he will contact Imran Khan.
A four year old child Abdul Qadeer has been killed after getting abducted by unidentified motorcyclists in Balochistan. The incident reportedly occured near the Chitkan Gharibabad TV Station in the Panjgur District of Balochistan.
Abdul Qadeer was severely injured by the unidentified kidnappers after being abducted. The father of the child, Khalil Ahmed and other locals tried to chase the kidnapper but could not find him. They found the child with severe injuries and immediately shifted him to the hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
According to the sources, the locals took the body of four-year-old and protested at the main gate of the District Police Station in Panjgur, but the accused have not been arrested yet.
Balochistan Minister for Social Welfare and Non Formal Education Mir Asadullah Baloch expressed grief over the murder of the kid and demanded suspension of the District Police Officer and the SHO of the area.
Five months ago, a video got viral in which a girl named Hadiqa was proposing to a boy, Shehryar, at the University of Lahore in front of the entire university. This video was widely criticized than appreciated because of the societal norms of Pakistan. In Pakistan, adults must consult their families first to take such a decision. Deciding to marry someone is considered a sacred decision. It can’t be the mere consent of students as they are considered juvenile.
Now after 6 months, in response to interviews of the boy being proposed, the girl proposing, gave a response to the anchor of YouTube channel, in which she said that they had no contact with each other and what Shehryar said in an interview that he will reconsider his decision after 2 years sound more like he is not serious in this relationship and they haven’t been in contact with each other for a long time.
Responding to a question about the issues Hadiqa is facing following the events, she stated she has been facing problems and criticism after this incident from the family. She also added that she had no idea these videos of her would go so viral.
She also said that things have been quite easy to handle for her with the support of her father, otherwise it was too difficult for her. She also said that young ones should involve their families if they want to do something like that so that their families support them if anything goes wrong.
Denis Freedman reveals what he thinks will be the greatest thing about Kashmir Premier League (KPL) and it’s about Shahid Afridi’s sixer. More specifically about his “over the LOC Sixer” that will touch Kashmir in the 1st match.
Australian cricket journalist Dennis Freedman who is a fan of Pakistani cricket and known for his controversial remarks against Indian cricketers set the internet on fire by his tweet in which he wrote, a hit sixer by famous former Captain Shahid Afridi in the first match will be the greatest thing about KPL (Kashmir Premier League).
He also changed his name to Dennis KPL on Twitter which shows his love and affection for the League. Pakistani cricket fans reacted to his tweet amazingly and attached their humourous replies flocking the platform.
The shared tweet of Freedman fits the scenario as the Indian cricket board threatened foreign players if they participate in KPL breaching international norms. Indian act was criticized even by their people for bringing politics into sport.
In international relations there can never be permanent friends or enemies but only the permanent interest that drives states into relations with each other. This is something visible in the current geo-politics. China which has started its journey from a sick Man of Asia is now a dominant major power challenging even the hegemony of the US. This growth of China that has brought multifaceted impacts for the world at large has at the same time brought a major geopolitical shifts and is posing a threat to the US.
Specifically, in the economic sector, there has been a tariff tit-for-tat going on between two economic giants that has now escalated into a full scale trade war. Involving the world’s two largest economies, it is one of the biggest trade war in the history of international economic relations. Moreover, it’s been shaping the perception on two sides, with the US officials now referring to China as an adversary, while China has been criticizing US for ‘bullying’, and for its intentions to contain China’s rise.
Hitherto, this trade war has given rise to an important conception of economic decoupling between the US and China that entails both states ending their economic dependence on other. The insinuation of which can be found the 2017 rejection by the US government of China’s bid for ‘market economy’ status in documents submitted to the World Trade Organization. However, it was until the National Security Strategy paper which call china a ‘strategic competitor’ that China realized of the US intentions.
Looking into the trade war, it started back in 2018 when the former US President, Donald Trump imposed 25% tariffs on $50 billion-worth of Chinese goods. Not limiting to this, he in 2019 threated to extend it further to $200 billion worth goods. However, for the time being both states through negotiations carved a way out using the G-20 platform. Yet, it wasn’t meant to last longer and soon their talks collapsed. Resultantly, US imposed 25% tariff on $200 billion-worth of Chinese goods, and in return China raise tariffs on $60 billion-worth of US goods.
Nevertheless, this tariff fight between the two brought multiple implication for the world economy and specifically for the US and China. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Chief, Christine Lagarde, stated that the trade war will shave 0.5% off the global growth in 2020, which means a loss of $455 billion. Likewise, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) predicted the economic output to be reduced by 0.2-0.3% with global GDP is further expected to decline by 0.7%.
Conversely, beholding the insinuations of this trade war on China and the US, we can very well say that the de-coupling of economy is not going to benefit either state. At the end they both have to come on a common ground to avoid the adverse effects on economy. Looking into some facts, according to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) China, the industrial output has declined to 5% from 5.4%, a 17 years low. Moreover, Chinese fixed-asset investment has depreciated to a 5.6 % growth rate. The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) showed a 0.7-point dip since tariffs imposed.
Yet, to deal with this all, Beijing has opted for consumer tax breaks, started supporting private companies by easing the restriction. Moreover, has been working on its domestic production to fill in the vacuum. Nevertheless, none of them is proving fruitful rather the impact of this economic decoupling can be felt across energy, and technological sectors as well with China still been unable to find a way out.
Same goes for the US as according the official reports, the GDP would see a loss of $500 billion if the US companies will end foreign direct investment (FDI) in China by half. Likewise, no access to China’s semiconductor market will make the US lose up to $124 billion with putting 100,000 jobs at risk. In the sectors like aviation, decoupling will have a cost of $875 billion for the US by 2038. Therefore, in a recent China’s International Import Expo total 197 US exhibitors presented 1,373 commodities, ranking No.1 among the 135 exhibiting countries, and 90% of these US companies are having no plans of leaving China in the near future.
To conclude, the debate regarding US-China decoupling has gain heights. All states around the world are concerned about the consequences of such an act, since it’s going to come in their way as well. Hence, they are now looking for a deal between these two states to end such an economic iron curtain as China–US trade volume fell to $258.3 billion. Keeping in mind the changing geopolitical scenarios with such a pandemic situation where states have suffered a lot because of economic downfall, it’s believed to have created an opportunities for cooperation. A ray of hope exist for both states to move towards the economic integration reckoning the consequences attached. Conclusively, both the US and China have to co-opt as no states can sail alone.
Author: Ayesha Zafar
Ayesha Zafar is pursuing her Bachelors in International Relations from National Defence University, Islamabad. She has authored multiple academic publications including research articles and book chapters. Her areas of interest include Middle Eastern politics, the geopolitics of Central Asia, and Indo-Pacific region.
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Pakistan Frontier.
The Afghanistan President, Ashraf Ghani on Monday blamed the US for the current deteriorating security situation of the state, highlighting, in particular, the abrupt withdrawal of the US troops from the country. However, the president mentioned that he has a plan to control the surge of events by focusing on the safety of the provincial capitals and major urban areas from the terrorist strikes.
Over the past couple of days, Taliban attacks have escalated in the three provincial capitals of Afghanistan, including Lashkar Gah, Kandahar, and Herat. The attack happened soon after days of heavy fighting, which was briefly followed by the evacuation of thousands of civilians.
The US and NATO troops had been in Afghanistan for the last twenty years. However, the sudden decision to pull out the armed forces from the already crumbling state has left Afghanistan vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Thus the focus has been shifted to coping with the security threats in the major areas, and Afghan troops thus have been deployed in various zones.
Afghan Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen gave an exclusive interview to Indian Media. Suhail Shaheen denied all the claims made by Indian Media about their link with ISI. In the interview, the anchor asked Suhail Shaheen that how much support you are having from Pakistan and especially from ISI. He further said that we heard that mujahideen are sending to help the Taliban and their forces are also supporting them. Suhail Shaheen replied to him that this is the propaganda which is in your media outlines and there is no fact in it.
He said in my view it is not in your public, and even in your country’s interest to spread the baseless report and enlarge which is not fact. He further said that these are not ground realities in Afghanistan. Indian media should reflect ground realities instead of propaganda. Afghanistan’s public wants peace in their country, in their region but if your media will continue this propaganda it will serve none.
The anchor said that we are having our representatives in Afghanistan should we send them to you. Suhail Shaheen replied that text me about your journalists we will consider them. The anchor then asked that what is the relationship between Tahreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and the Taliban. Suhail Shaheen replied to him that we are having our program, our policies which are very clear you and even the whole world know about our policies, and asked from Tahreek-e-Taliban Pakistan about their policies I am not their spokesman. There is no relation between both.
The anchor asked him about Danish Siddiqui that clarify what happened to him. In answer to this question, he replied that Danish was embedded with the Kabul forces. He did not inform us he didn’t coordinate with us as other journalists do. He came into the fight with the Kabul military and was killed during the fight and doesn’t know from whose firing.
Suhail Shaheen secondly talked about mutilation he said it’s against our rules. We do not modulate anyone. Even Kabul Administration or occupying troops in Afghanistan when killed we do not modulate them even.
The anchor asked him that where do you place China? He said China is our neighbouring country we want China to play role in the reconciliation of peace in Afghanistan. He said China has been playing role in keeping the peace for years. He further said that we want China to play a constructive role in Afghanistan. He also said that they want a government that is acceptable by Afghanistan’s public and the government which came after the occupation is not representing Afghanistan’s public and that’s why there is a war for 20 years.
The last question asked by the anchor was about the American role. He answered that we had signed an agreement last year in February with America so they should leave Afghanistan and he further said that America has come to know that there is no result of the military approach they gained.
The Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Monday certified their stance on the Afghan issue. He said that we have no favourites in Afghanistan and emphasized the misinterpretation of the Foreign Minister’s recent comments on the neighbouring Islamic State and the Afghan Taliban.
Pakistan repeatedly denied taking sides in Afghan conflict. During the inaugural session of the Pak-Afghan Bilateral dialogue in Islamabad, Shah Mehmood said that Pakistan has a very clear view and no second opinion about the Afghan issue. Moreover, he said that he is Pakistan’s representative and not of the Afghan Taliban.
Qureshi was also questioned in the press conference on the reports of IS militants moving into Afghanistan, to which he replied that the Afghan government has to keep eye on IS militants from Syria and Iraq. It is their responsibility to keep check and balance. Moreover, he said that neither Afghan government nor the Afghan Taliban and also none of neighbouring countries of Afghanistan want IS revival in Afghanistan. There is unity over this opinion.
Foreign Minister’s statement was misinterpreted by media in the Afghan press and on social media too. They showed his statement that as he expected the Taliban to control the situation. However, The Foreign office reviewed the remarks of the Foreign Minister and said that it is mournful that how media manipulated the statement and interpreted it in their desired context.
Moreover, Foreign Minister stated that there is harmony among the International community, regional players and Afghani People about the threat of terrorism. A spokesperson said that his clear remarks cannot be misinterpreted. He said that Pakistan has no second opinion on the Afghan issue and we have no favourites in Afghanistan. Foreign Office emphasized the long-term extensive solution and political settlement to the Afghan conflict.
Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan had also cleared his stance about the Afghan issue. During question and answer session with Afghan journalists, He said that the internal happenings of Afghanistan has no concern with Pakistan and we are not responsible for Taliban and their spokespersons.
Another opportunity for India to be under the bird’s eye view of the global camera, again taking a central stage for doing a timely and efficient duty by capturing another intruder in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. It is the second incident in two months that activity of this nature has happened to make India do a fire-walk on its toes. It is good for balance, ballet and to achieve good shape, sources claim.
Indian officials, apparently having nothing else to do, scurried to a scene of terror where a “balloon-like” object was found floating in the air. In March 2021, another balloon with PIA written on it was taken into custody by Indian officials.
Looking in the rear-view mirror, “an alien ” iron-man shaped balloon of unknown origin took India by storm and was arrested by Indian police in October 2010 UP’s Greater Noida for further analysis. Even if everybody does not watch Netflix, all and sundry know about “aliens” giving due credit to Bollywood movies.
Considering the ongoing hate campaign by India against the Kashmir Premier League, it may have come as a shock for India to witness a balloon carrying nobody else but the image of Quide-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, with accompanying hearts on it in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. It is still unknown whether India feels more affronted with the image or hearts.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that the Afghan Taliban would counter ISIS in Afghanistan. While speaking to a press conference, Qureshi added that peace in Afghanistan was necessary for regional peace. Afghan Taliban, Kabul Regime and Iran don’t want ISIS to infiltrate their borders, he added.
Foreign Minister further said that Pakistan is consulting Afghanistan for permanent peace which is necessary for the development and prosperity of the war-torn country. He said that stability of the region is only possible in a peaceful environment and it will be collectively beneficial for the region.
He also talked about the future of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor that some people were conspiring against the project and the recent attack on Chinese Engineers was also a part of that conspiracy. No one can harm CPEC despite conspiracies, he affirmed.
He further told the media that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is taking substantial measures for the establishment of South Punjab Province.
