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Imran Khan writes to PM Modi; says creation of ‘enabling environment’ imperative for dialogue

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Islamabad: Prime Minister Imran Khan has written a letter to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, saying creation of an “enabling environment” is imperative for a constructive and result-oriented dialogue to resolve all outstanding issues between Pakistan and India, in particular the Jammu and Kashmir issue.

Khan’s letter was in reply to Prime Minister Modi’s letter to him last week to extend greetings on the occasion of Pakistan Day. In his letter, Modi had said that India desires cordial relations with Pakistan but an atmosphere of trust, devoid of terror and hostility, is “imperative” for it.

In his reply to Prime Minister Modi’s letter, Khan thanked him and said the people of Pakistan also desire peaceful cooperative relations with all neighbours, including India.

While Prime Minister Modi talked about a terror free environment for peace, Khan said that peace was possible only if outstanding issues like Kashmir were resolved.

“We are convinced that durable peace and stability in South Asia is contingent upon resolving all outstanding issues between India and Pakistan in particular the Jammu and Kashmir dispute,” he wrote in the letter dated March 29.

Khan said that creation of an “enabling environment is imperative for a constructive and result-oriented dialogue.”

He also expressed best wishes for the people of India in their struggle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The militaries of India and Pakistan announced on February 25 that they have agreed to strictly observe all agreements on ceasefire along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir and other sectors.

Weeks later, both Pakistan’s Prime Minister Khan and powerful Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa made peace overtures towards New Delhi saying it was time for the two neighbours to “bury the past and move forward”.

Ties between India and Pakistan nose-dived after a terror attack on the Pathankot Air Force base in 2016 by terror groups based in Pakistan. Subsequent attacks, including one on an Indian Army camp in Uri, further deteriorated the relationship.

The ties hit rock bottom after India’s war planes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp deep inside Pakistan on February 26, 2019 in response to the Pulwama terror attack in 2019 in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed.

The relations further nosedived after India withdrew special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the State into two union territories in 2019. Since then, India and Pakistan are without high commissioners in each other’s capital — New Delhi and Islamabad, respectively.

On March 18, powerful Army chief Bajwa said it was time for India and Pakistan to “bury the past and move forward”.

Reacting to bloody coup, US suspends trade deal with Myanmar

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Reacting to bloody coup, US suspends trade deal with Myanmar

Washington: The United States on Monday suspended a trade deal with Myanmar until a democratic government is brought back to the Southeast Asian country after a bloody February 1 coup.

The military overthrew the elected government, jailed Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian leaders and killed and imprisoned protesters in the country also known as Burma.

The United States supports the people of Burma in their efforts to restore a democratically elected government,” U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a statement.

The United States strongly condemns the Burmese security forces’ brutal violence against civilians. The killing of peaceful protestors, students, workers, labor leaders, medics, and children has shocked the conscience of the international community.”

Tai’s office said the United States was immediately suspending all U.S. engagement with Burma under the 2013 Trade and Investment Framework Agreement.”

Under the agreement, the two countries cooperated on trade and investment issues in an effort to integrate Myanmar into the global economy, a reward for the military’s decision to allow a return to democracy a transition that ended abruptly with last month’s coup.

Tai’s announcement Monday doesn’t stop trade between the two countries. But the United States is separately imposing economic sanctions on Myanmar.

In response to the military takeover, for instance, the United States and the United Kingdom had earlier imposed sanctions on two conglomerates controlled by Myanmar’s military, Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd. and Myanmar Economic Corp.

Two-way trade between the two countries doesn’t amount to much: Myanmar last year was the United States’ 84th biggest partner in the trade of goods such as automobiles and machinery. U.S. goods exports to Burma came to just USD 338 million; imports to USD 1 billion. 

India, Bangladesh want stability, love and peace instead of terror and unrest in world: PM Modi

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DHAKA: India and Bangladesh want stability, love and peace instead of instability, terror and unrest in the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday as he underlined that the two friendly neighbours want to see the world progressing through their own development.

“Both India and Bangladesh want to see the world progressing through their own development. Both the countries want to see stability, love, and peace instead of instability, terror, and unrest in the world,” Modi said.

Modi said he was waiting for this opportunity for many years and during his visit to Bangladesh in 2015, he had expressed desire to visit Orakandi, which has come true now.

This place is a pilgrimage site for the spiritual relationship between India and Bangladesh, he said.

“I was speaking to some people here. They were saying who could have thought that India’s Prime Minister would visit Orakandi,” Modi said, adding that he was feeling the same emotions as felt by the Matua community members in India after coming to Orakandi, from where Harichand Thakur disseminated his pious message.

Orakandi is the abode of Hindu Matua community, a large number of whom are residents of neighbouring West Bengal.

Prime Minister Modi announced that India will upgrade one girls’ middle school and set up a primary school in Orakandi.

Analysts said Modi’s planned temple visits carry a political significance at the time of the ongoing assembly elections in West Bengal.

The Prime Minister was accompanied by BJP MP from West Bengal Shantanu Thakur during his visit to Orakandi.

The Matua community’s vote may determine the winner in some seats in the elections to the West Bengal state assembly, the first phase of which began on Saturday.

Modi said the Matua community celebrates ‘Baroni Shanan Utshab’ every year on the auspicious occasion of the birth anniversary of Harichand Thakur and a large number of devotees from India come to Orakandi to participate in this festival.

“To make this pilgrimage easier for citizens of India, efforts will be made on behalf of the Government of India,” he said.

“We are also committed to grand events and various works reflecting the glorious history of the Matua community in Thakurnagar (West Bengal),” Modi said.

“I have always been very close to the family members of the Thakurbari,” he added.

“The way India and Bangladesh governments are working towards strengthening their ties, Harichand Thakur and Thakurbari have been doing this for ages.

This place symbolises the spiritual tryst of India and Bangladesh,” he said.

In his address, Modi said that it was important for both India and Bangladesh to come together and fight common challenges.

He said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, India and Bangladesh proved their capabilities.

“Both nations are facing this pandemic strongly and fighting it together.

India is working by considering that it is its duty that the ‘Made in India’ vaccine reaches the citizens of Bangladesh,” Modi added.

He said India is moving forward with the mantra of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, and Sabka Vishwas’, and Bangladesh is its co-passenger in it.

“Bangladesh is presenting a strong example of development and change in front of the world and India is your co-passenger in these efforts,” he added.

Last time when Prime Minister Modi visited Bangladesh in 2015, he offered puja at Dhakeshwari temple in the national capital.

Bangladesh has taken extra security measures for the Indian premier’s visit in the wake of protests by few leftist and Islamist groups.

In 2016, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) said their latest vital sample statistics report found the country’s total population to be 15.89 crore by the end of 2015 with the number of Hindus at 1.70 crore in the Muslim-majority nation.

10 people killed in Colorado supermarket shooting

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Boulder (Colorado): A shooting at a Colorado supermarket killed 10 people Monday, including a police officer who was the first to respond to the scene, authorities said.

Police arrested a suspect, but didn’t reveal his name or any details about the shooting at an evening news conference where Boulder police Chief Maris Herold fought back tears.

Investigators had just begun sorting through evidence and witness interviews and didn’t have details on a motive for the shooting at the King Soopers store in Boulder, which is about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of Denver and home to the University of Colorado, said Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty.

This is a tragedy and a nightmare for Boulder County, Dougherty said. These were people going about their day, doing their shopping. I promise the victims and the people of the state of Colorado that we will secure justice.”

Martial law imposed in parts of Myanmar city as deaths rise

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Martial law imposed in parts of Myanmar city as deaths rise

Yangon(AP): Myanmar’s ruling junta has declared martial law in parts of the country’s largest city as security forces killed more protesters in an increasingly lethal crackdown on resistance to last month’s military coup.

At least 38 people were killed Sunday and dozens were injured in one of the deadliest days of the crackdown, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an independent group tracking the toll of the violence.

Most of those killed 34 were in Yangon, where two townships, Hlaing Thar Yar and neighboring Shwepyitha were being placed under martial law.

Video from Hlaing Thar Yar township showed people running away after gunfire was heard. Those fleeing carried one injured person and tried to revive two others, one who seemed to be dead or dying, the footage from independent Democratic Voice of Burma showed.

Hlaing Thar Yar was the location of 22 civilian deaths Sunday, according to the aid group, which said more than a dozen civilians were wounded and described a large number of junta forces engaged in the township.

Since the takeover six weeks ago, Myanmar has been under a nationwide state of emergency, with its civilian leaders ousted and detained and military leaders in charge of all government.

But the announcement on state broadcaster MRTV late Sunday appeared to be the first use of the term martial law since the coup and suggested more direct military control of security, instead of local police.

The announcement said the State Administrative Council acted to enhance security and restore law and order and said the Yangon regional commander has been entrusted with administrative, judicial and military powers in the area under his command.

Four other deaths were reported in Bago, Mandalay, and the northern city of Hpakant in Kachin state, according to the aid group and local media.

In Yangon, video posted on social media showed crowds of people, some wearing hard hats and gas masks, running down a street amid sounds of gunfire.

The demonstrators quickly sprayed vapor from fire extinguishers as they retreated a tactic widely used to smother tear gas and create a vapour screen that makes it harder for police to pursue or shoot demonstrators.

There were also reports of injuries from live rounds and rubber bullets in other parts of Yangon, including Insein district, where billows of black smoke could be seen after security forces reportedly set roadblocks on fire.

In a new tactic, anti-coup demonstrators used the cover of darkness to hold mass candlelight vigils Saturday and Sunday nights in a Yangon commercial area that was usually the scene of their daytime protests. After-dark rallies were also held in Mandalay and elsewhere.

The protest movement has been grounded in non-violent civil disobedience from the start, with marches and general strikes among its main features. But some protesters have advocated stronger, more agile methods of self-defense such as holding small rallies that are quick to disband and reunite, and devising cover from fire extinguishers and billowing laundry.

On Saturday, the civilian leader of Myanmar’s government in hiding vowed to continue supporting a revolution to oust the military leaders who seized power in the Feb. 1 coup. Mahn Win Khaing Than, who was named the acting vice president by Myanmar’s ousted lawmakers and is a member of deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s political party, addressed the public for the first time since the coup.

This is the darkest moment of the nation and the moment that the dawn is close, he said in a video posted on the shadow government’s website and social media.

In order to form a federal democracy, which all ethnic brothers who have been suffering various kinds of oppressions from the dictatorship for decades really desired, this revolution is the chance for us to put our efforts together,” he said.

He added: We will never give up to an unjust military, but we will carve our future together with our united power. Our mission must be accomplished.

At the end of the message, he flashed the three-finger salute that has become a symbol of resistance to the military rulers.

The aid group’s tally of Sunday’s victims appeared to raise beyond 100 the number of civilians killed by security forces since the coup. Confirmation is nearly impossible in the country due to the security situation and a crackdown on independent media, but various groups have carefully compiled tallies with similar figures.

The actual death toll is likely higher, as police apparently seized some bodies, and some victims have had serious gunshot wounds that medical staff at makeshift clinics would be hard-pressed to treat. Many hospitals are occupied by security forces, and as a result are boycotted by medical personnel and shunned by protesters.

Police have also aggressively patrolled residential neighborhoods at night, firing into the air and setting off stun grenades as an intimidation tactic. They have also taken people from their homes in targeted raids with minimal resistance. In at least two known cases, the detainees died in custody within hours of being hauled away. 

Paris may face new lockdown as ICUs fill up

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PARIS: Officials say the Paris region may be headed toward a new lockdown as new variants of the virus fill up intensive care units and limited vaccine supplies drag down inoculation efforts.

Special medical planes dispatched patients from the Paris area to less-saturated regions over the weekend.

“If we have to lock down, we will do it,” the head of the national health agency, Jerome Salomon, said on BFM television Sunday.

“The situation is complex, tense and is worsening in the Paris region.”

Salomon acknowledges that a nationwide 6 p.m.curfew “wasn’t enough” in some regions to prevent a spike in cases, notably of the variant first identified in Britain.

The French government has been relying on curfews for months — along with the long-term closures of restaurants and some other businesses — to try to avoid a costly new lockdown.

But localised outbreaks are raising questions about the government’s virus-fighting strategy.

Salomon says France has more people in intensive care for COVID-19 and other ailments – about 6,300 — than the overall number of ICU beds it had going into the pandemic.

France has reported 90,315 virus-related deaths, among the world’s highest death tolls.

Sri Lanka brings in ‘deradicalisation’ detention, bans burqa

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Sri Lanka had used emergency laws to impose a temporary ban on the garment soon after the April 2019 jihadi bombings against three churches on the island killed 279 people.

Burqa wearers are not commonly seen in Buddhist majority Sri Lanka where Muslims are a small minority accounting for 10 percent of the country’s 21 million population.


COLOMBO: Sri Lanka Saturday announced using a controversial anti-terror law to deal with religious extremism and gave itself sweeping powers to detain suspects for up to two years for “deradicalisation”.

Separately, the government also said it will soon outlaw the burqa, formalising a temporary ban imposed in April 2019 after deadly bomb attacks blamed on local jihadists.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa promulgated regulations allowing the detention of anyone suspected of causing “acts of violence or religious, racial or communal disharmony or feelings of ill will or hostility between different communities”.

The rules, effective Friday, have been set up under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), which both local and international rights groups have repeatedly asked Colombo to repeal.

Sri Lanka’s previous government, which was defeated by Rajapaksa at 2019 elections, had pledged to repeal the PTA after admitting it seriously undermined individual freedoms, but failed to do so.

Rajapaksa, who came to power with a promise to battle Islamic extremism, announced the “deradicalisation from holding violent extremist religious ideology” measures in a gazette notification seen by AFP Saturday.

Meanwhile, Public Security Minister Sarath Weerasekera announced Saturday that the burqa, a loose garment covering from head to toe and worn in public in many Islamic states, was a threat to Sri Lanka’s national security.

“The burqa is something that directly affects our national security,” Weerasekera told reporters in Colombo. “This (dress) came into Sri Lanka only recently. It is a symbol of their religious extremism.”

Weerasekera said he signed documents outlawing the burqa, but they need to be approved by the cabinet of ministers and parliament where the government has a two-thirds majority to see its bills through.

Sri Lanka had used emergency laws to impose a temporary ban on the garment soon after the April 2019 jihadi bombings against three churches on the island killed 279 people.

Burqa wearers are not commonly seen in Buddhist majority Sri Lanka where Muslims are a small minority accounting for 10 percent of the country’s 21 million population.

The moves come ahead of the second anniversary of the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks that killed 279 people and wounded over 500.

The coordinated suicide bombings, against three churches and three high-end hotels, were blamed on a local Islamic extremist group.

But the new regulations do not only target Islamic extremism and could apply to any religious group or community.

A presidential commission that probed the attacks called for the banning of both Islamic extremists as well as ultra-nationalist Buddhist groups, which were accused of feeding off each other.

Tensions between Sri Lanka’s minority Muslims and the majority Buddhists resurfaced after the 2019 bombings, which also seriously damaged the country’s tourism-reliant economy.

India ticks off UK for holding debate on farm protests, summons envoy

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Earlier in the day, the Indian High Commission in London dismissed the debate as being based on false assertions and without substantiation of facts.

NEW DELHI:  A day after the UK Parliament held a debate on the farm protests and the three farm laws, the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday summoned British High Commissioner Alex Ellis to express New Delhi’s opposition to the “gross interference”. 

“Foreign Secretary summoned the British High Commissioner and conveyed strong opposition to the unwarranted and tendentious discussion on agricultural reforms in India in the British Parliament.”

“Foreign Secretary made it clear that this represented a gross interference in the politics of another democratic country. He advised that British MPs should refrain from practising vote bank politics by misrepresenting events, especially in relation to another fellow democracy,” a terse statement from the ministry read. 

Earlier in the day, the Indian High Commission in London dismissed the debate as being based on false assertions and without substantiation of facts.

British parliamentarians held the debate on Monday in response to the e-petition initiated by Liberal Democratic Councillor Gurch Singh. 

UK law mandates that any petition which garners over one lakh signatures must be debated in Parliament.

According to a former diplomat, the harsh tone of British MPs indicates India’s handling of the farm protests has not gone down well with them. Another diplomat said that any country can discuss any issue in their Parliaments but it will affect India’s image if a resolution is passed. 

“If the debate had resulted in a resolution against the government and had there been any government-to-government communication on this, only then it is a cause of worry else such debates keep happening around the world,” he said. 

Dismissing aspersions about lack of press freedom in India, the Indian mission in London said, “Foreign media are present in India and have witnessed the events first-hand”.

Indian Embassy temporarily suspends consular services in Poland after spike in COVID-19 cases

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The information about the suspension of consular services was shared by the Indian Embassy through its Twitter handle

WARSAW: The Indian Embassy in Poland on Sunday decided to temporarily suspend all its consular services up to March 19, 2021, following an upsurge in COVID-19 cases in Poland.

The information about the suspension of consular services was shared by the Indian Embassy through its Twitter handle. It tweeted, “Kind Attention!!! In view of the recent upsurge in COVID cases in Poland, it has been decided to temporarily suspend all consular services up to March 19, 2021. Only emergency cases will be entertained on a prior appointment basis.”

In Poland, from January 3, 2020, to 3:02 pm Central European Time (CET), March 6, 2021, there have been 1,766,490 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 44,912 deaths, reported World Health Organisation (WHO).

As of 22 February 2021, a total of 3,346,626 vaccine doses have been administered.

Indian-origin Naureen Hassan becomes first vice president, COO of Federal Reserve Bank of New York

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New York: An Indian-origin veteran of the financial services industry has been appointed as the first vice president and chief operating officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Naureen Hassan has been appointed by the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as the first vice president and chief operating officer, effective from March 15. The appointment was approved by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in a statement.

As the first vice president, Hassan will be the New York Fed’s second ranking officer as well as an alternate voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee.

Hassan, whose parents had immigrated from India, is a 25-year veteran of the financial services industry with expertise in strategy, digital transformation, cybersecurity and regulatory/risk management.

She was, most recently, the Chief Digital Officer for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management (MSWM).

President and Chief Executive Officer of the New York Fed John Williams said Hassan’s leadership background, deep commitment to fostering diverse teams, and extensive technology and financial experience will be critical to her role as a Bank leader.

Denise Scott, executive vice president of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and chair of the New York Fed’s board of directors, said Hassan’s leadership experience and operational expertise are “fully aligned with what the search committee and he envisioned for this role.

Scott said Hassan will be taking on the role that is critical to advancing the Bank’s mission and strategic priorities.

The statement added that Hassan has served in various capacities in the financial services industry, focusing primarily on digital and business process transformation.

Prior to working at Morgan Stanley, she was at Charles Schwab Corporation beginning as a vice president of corporate strategy and ending her tenure as executive vice president of investor services, segments and platforms.

According to her profile provided by the Bank, Hassan was formerly a member of the Board of Directors at OneSpan, a USD 250MM revenue public security software and hardware firm, and Ascensus, the largest independent record keeping services provider, third-party administrator, and government savings facilitator in the United States.

Hassan also serves on the board of the California Academy of Sciences and the Cathedral School for Boys in San Francisco. She was previously on the board of the Charles Schwab Bank and the Women’s Initiative for Self-Employment.

She holds a BA from Princeton University and a Masters of Business Administration from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

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