ISLAMABAD: Pakistan criticized the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday for its “incorrect and misleading assertions” about the legal proceedings in the case of an Indian naval official, Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was captured in Balochistan in March 2016 on charges of spying and terrorism.
“It is evident that by casting aspersions on the Indian High Commission’s own legal Counsel, the Indian government is looking for an escape from the legal proceedings in Commander Jadhav case,” said the foreign office in its statement.
Jadhav was sentenced to death by a military court in Pakistan in April 2017, though the International Court of Justice issued a stay order within weeks and asked Pakistan to review his conviction and provide India consular access to him.
“The Government of India is reminded that in pursuance of the judgment of International Court of Justice (ICJ), Pakistan had invited the Indian High Commission to meet with Commander Jadhav and appoint a lawyer on his behalf so that proceedings to review and reconsider Commander Jadhav’s conviction could commence,” the foreign office added.
“However, during the course of diplomatic exchanges, the Indian High Commission refused to instruct a lawyer itself, as in their view this would amount to a waiver of India’s sovereign immunity,” it continued. “Resultantly, the government of Pakistan was constrained to initiate proceedings for appointment of a state counsel for Commander Jadhav.”
The foreign office also denied that Pakistan was trying to link Jadhav’s case with any other legal proceeding since the Indian authorities had accused Islamabad of linking it to another case involving an Indian national, Muhammad Ismail, who is currently in Pakistan’s custody.
The Indian High Commission has engaged a local lawyer, Shahnawaz Noon, to plead Ismail’s case, though it refused to do the same in the Jadhav case.
“Contrary to the false statement by the MEA, no attempt was made to link the cases of Commander Jadhav with another Indian prisoner Ismail. The two cases are and remain entirely distinct. Reference to the case of Mr. Ismail was only for purpose of showing the discrepancy and inconsistency in the Indian position,” the foreign office elaborated.
It also reminded the Indian authorities that Pakistan had provided consular access to the Indian High Commission twice in line with the ICJ judgment and taken all necessary steps for effective review and reconsideration in the case. The foreign office also noted that the offer of a third consular access was still on the table.
“The Indian side is once again urged to desist from the use of its usual diversionary and dilatory tactics and instead take practical steps so that legal proceedings could be duly concluded and full effect could be given to the judgment of ICJ,” said the official statement.
At a media briefing last week, Indian Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava claimed that its lawyer in Pakistan had overstepped his brief by suggesting that India’s Deputy High Commissioner Gaurav Ahluwalia wanted to explain New Delhi’s position in Jadhav’s case.
“Our Mission in Islamabad has written to Mr. Noon reiterating that he has no authority to represent Mr. Jadhav and has no basis to suggest that the Indian Cd’A would appear in the court,” Srivastava was reported as saying by Indian media.
He also maintained that Noon “appears to have acted under pressure from the Pakistani establishment to make such statements.”
Pakistan says New Delhi trying to 'escape' legal proceedings in Indian spy case
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Pakistan says New Delhi trying to 'escape' legal proceedings in Indian spy case
- India accused Pakistan of linking Jadhav’s case to legal proceedings involving another one of its nationals
- Pakistan’s foreign office says the comparison was only made to show the ‘discrepancy and inconsistency in the Indian position’
Two-day Pakistan-Saudi Arabia investment conference begins in Islamabad today
- The development comes amid the visit of a high-level Saudi business delegation to Pakistan
- The conference is expected to foster growth and prosperity for the people of both countries
ISLAMABAD: A two-day Pakistan-Saudi Arabia investment conference is set to begin in Islamabad today, Monday, to promote trade and investment between the two countries, Pakistani state media reported.
It comes a day after a 50-member Saudi delegation, led by Assistant Minister of Investment Ibrahim Al-Mubarak, arrived in Pakistan to explore investment opportunities.
The investment conference is expected to foster a new era of growth and prosperity for the people of both countries, the state-run APP news agency reported.
"During the first half of the current financial year, bilateral trade between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia was recorded at $2,482.37 million, with Pakistan’s exports of $262.58 million and Saudi exports of $2.219 billion," the APP report read, citing a Pakistani commerce ministry official.
"Pakistan would welcome and fully facilitate investments and partnerships from Saudi Arabia in IT, minerals, textiles, food security, engineering and energy sectors."
At present, Saudi Arabia's exports include oil, plastics and organic chemicals, while Pakistan exports rice, bovine animal meat, fruit and vegetables, tents and camping goods.
The official noted Pakistan and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) had agreed on a Free-Trade Agreement last year and Islamabad was also planning to organize a Single Country Exhibition and Lifestyle Show in the Kingdom.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong ties rooted in shared culture, religion and economic cooperation, and have witnessed a flurry of official visits in recent weeks.
The two countries have lately been working to increase bilateral trade and investment, and the Kingdom recently reaffirmed its commitment to expedite an investment package worth $5 billion for Pakistan.
Pakistan farmers announce nationwide protest from May 10 amid 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.
