Islamabad, May 27 : Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan who is on a three-day visit to Pakistan hailed the China Pakistan Economic corridor (CPEC) project in bridging the gap between the two nations and further enhancing the bilateral ties.
“Pakistan and China are all-weather strategic partners and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has come a long way in further cementing this bond. I am confident the CPEC would add new impetus to development in Pakistan besides furthering the regional development. I am happy to know that supporting CPEC is a consensus among all parties and ethnic groups in across Pakistan,” he said.
He also appreciated the success of the CPEC and said that the second phase of CPEC would even bring more benefits for both Pakistan and China.
Mr Wang assured that it will continue to support Pakistan’s core interests irrespective of the developments taking place at the international landscape, reasserting its ‘strategic friendship with Islamabad based on equality and mutual benefit’, Pakistan Today reported. He also recalled that Pakistan was the first country to acknowledge New China and hence was a strategic partner of China.
Both countries also signed three agreements pertaining to cooperation in different sectors in a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Imran Khan.
“Pakistan and China have signed several Memorandums of Understanding for cooperation in different sectors. These MoUs include cooperation in Economic and Technical Affairs, Disaster Management and Assistance in the Agriculture sector of Lasbella University.” Govt of Pakistan said in a tweet.
Huawei Technical Support Center was also launched on Sunday fulfilling China tech giant’s commitment to make massive investment in Pakistan.

A bomb exploded at a mosque, killing two people, including the prayer leader in Paktia Kot area of Kabul.2 hours ago

Two people, including a senior muslim preacher, were killed and at least 16 wounded after an explosion in a mosque during Friday prayers in the Afghan capital.

The explosion took place around 01:20pm (08:50 GMT) and targeted the al-Taqwa mosque at a time when dozens had gathered for afternoon prayers.

Jan Agha, a district police official, said the bomb was planted in the microphone used by the prayer leader, Mawlawi Samiullah Raihan, during Friday prayers.

“Unfortunately in the blast, Mawlawi Raihan has been martyred and 16 other worshippers were wounded,” said Nasrat Rahimi, spokesperson for the interior ministry.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack but the Taliban and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) groups regularly stage attacks in the country’s capital.

Earlier this month, the Taliban attacked the offices of Counterpart International in Kabul, an NGO headquartered in the United States that has been operating in Afghanistan since 2005.

The Taliban has stepped up attacks across the country, even as it holds direct negotiations with officials from the US to end the 17-year war in Afghanistan.

Aljazeera

Modi’s campaign included promises to ‘punish’ Pakistan for allegedly supporting the armed revolt in Kashmir.by Asad Hashim4 hours ago

Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistani Prime MinisterImran Khan has congratulated his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on what appears to be a landslide win in his country’s general election, adding that he looked forward to working with him “for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia”.

Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won 303 seats out of the 542 that it contested in the elections, election results showed. The result means the right-wing party is set to overtake its current tally of 282 seats in parliament, further strengthening Modi’s hold on power.

Known for his support for Hindu nationalism, Modi’s campaign included strong messaging on national security and promises to “punish” Pakistan for allegedly supporting the armed revolt in the disputed region of Kashmir.

Following Khan’s tweet on Thursday, Modi thanked the Pakistani prime minister for his “good wishes”, saying he had “always given primacy to peace and development in our region”.

Tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours remain high after a military standoff earlier this year saw both countries launch air raids on each other’s territory, and an Indian fighter jet shot down in an aerial dogfight.

That skirmish followed a suicide attack in the disputed territory of Kashmir, which India and Pakistan both claim in full but administer in parts.

The attack, in the town of Pulwama in mid-February, killed at least 40 Indian security personnel, with India blaming Pakistan for “controlling” the attack. Pakistan denied the accusation. 

On February 26, Indian aircraft conducted air raids on Pakistani territory, claiming to have destroyed a training camp run by the Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) armed group.

An Al Jazeera visit to the site of the bombing found little evidence to support the claim. At least four Indian bombs appeared to have hit a hillside near a JeM-run school, wounding one man.

As a show of force, Pakistan carried out retaliatory air strikes on unpopulated areas in Indian-administered Kashmir a day later. An Indian fighter jet was shot down that same day and the pilot captured.

He was returned to India two days later, in a move aimed to defuse mounting fears of open conflict.

Modi’s BJP made the air attacks and his government’s hardline stance against Pakistan a key part of their election platform.

Before the election, the Pakistani president had expressed the opinion that having a hardline right-wing government in India made it easier to hold peace talks.READ MORE

Pakistan military says it test-fired ballistic missile Shaheen-II

Analysts, however, warn that it is possible that Modi, while empowered by his mandate, may also be locked into a position based on election rhetoric. 

“His whole election campaign was based on two things: national security and taking tough action on Pakistan,” Zahid Hussain, a security analyst, told Al Jazeera.

“So I don’t think the situation will change for the time being.”

Hussain said the massive election victory for Modi’s BJP may, in fact, “reinforce his hardline position”.

“He may now demand that Pakistan come to its knees to hold talks.”

Khan’s government was grappling with an economic crisis at home, the central bank raising interest rates to 12.25 percent earlier this week to attempt to curb rising inflation and the country’s current account deficit.

This week, central bank data showed the country’s fiscal deficit was up to five percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first nine months of the financial year, a 10-year high.READ MORE

India elections 2019: All the latest updates

“Pakistan seems to be quite desperate to find a way forward, also because of its economic situation and external pressures,” said Hussain. “There is certainly a willingness to move forward from Pakistan.”

On Wednesday, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi met his Indian counterpart, Sushma Swaraj, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan.

“I made it clear to her that we want to amicably resolve all issues,” Qureshi said in a statement released after the meeting.

India’s foreign ministry did not comment on that meeting.

Aljazeera

Moscow, May 24 (Sputnik) US President Donald Trump authorized the US intelligence community to engage in an investigation led by US Attorney General William Barr into surveillance activities surrounding his 2016 presidential election campaign, the White House has said.
“Today, at the request and recommendation of the Attorney General of the United States, President Donald J. Trump directed the intelligence community to quickly and fully cooperate with the Attorney General’s investigation into surveillance activities during the 2016 Presidential election,” the White House press secretary said in a statement late on Thursday.
Trump also authorized the attorney general to declassify data as part of the probe.
“Today’s action will help ensure that all Americans learn the truth about the events that occurred, and the actions that were taken, during the last Presidential election and will restore confidence in our public institutions,” the statement added.
The surveillance activities that affected some of the members of the Trump campaign team back in 2016 are seen by many as one of the origins of the probe into the alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia in the run-up to the presidential election, won by Trump.
While the probe failed to establish evidence of the alleged collusion, which was denied by both Moscow and Trump, in April, Barr announced an investigation into its origins.

In mid-May, Barr assigned John Durham, the US attorney in Connecticut, to look into the origins of the Russia probe.

A native mountaineering guide Kami Rita ascends the world’s highest peak for the second time in just a week.

A Nepalese Sherpa climber, Kami Rita, has scaled the Mount Everest for a 24th time, the second such feat in just a week after breaking his own record for the most successful ascents of the world’s highest peak.

The 49-year-old, who is a native of Thame village located in the shadow of Mount Everest, reached the 8,848-metre peak via the Southeast Ridge route on Tuesday, tourism department official Mira Acharya said.

Acharya said Rita, who goes by his first name Kami, said he wanted to climb the mountain one more time.

“I am still strong and want to climb Sagarmatha 25 times,” Kami had told Reuters news agency before leaving for his 23rd climb last week, referring to the Nepali name for the Everest.

‘Like a soldier’

Rita first scaled the Everest in 1994 and has been making the trip nearly every year since, one of many Sherpa guides whose expertise and skills are vital to the safety and success of the hundreds of climbers who head to Nepal each year seeking to stand on top of the world.

His father was among the first Sherpa guides employed to help climbers reach the summit and Rita followed in his footsteps and then some.

In addition to his nearly two dozen summits of Everest, Rita has scaled several other peaks that are among the world’s highest, including K-2, Cho-Oyu, Manaslu and Lhotse.

Rita was at Everest’s base camp in 2015 when an avalanche swept through, killing 19 people.

After that tragedy, he came under intense family pressure to quit mountaineering altogether, but in the end, decided against it.

The route was pioneered by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953 and remains the most popular snow trail leading to the highest point on the Earth.

Nearly 5,000 climbers have scaled the peak since the pioneering ascent, many multiple times.

Two other climbers, both Sherpas, have scaled Everest 21 times each. They have both retired from mountaineering.

The climbing season ends in May and hundreds of climbers are currently on the Everest, trying to reach the top from both the Nepali and Tibetan sides of the mountain.

Tourism, which includes mountain climbing, is the main source of income for cash-strapped Nepal, home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains.

Agencies

The Imran Khan-led Pakistan government is actively considering appointing a National Security Advisor to revive backchannel diplomacy with India to iron out issues hindering the resumption of peace talks between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, official sources said on Sunday.

Since assuming the office in August last year, Prime Minister Imran Khan repeatedly reached out to India for the resumption of peace talks on all outstanding issues. 

But India has made it clear to Pakistan that terrorism and dialogue will not go hand-in-hand.

The likely appointment of the NSA is meant for reviving the backchannel diplomacy with India to sort out some of the pressing issues between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, the official sources privy to the development was quoted as saying by the Express Tribune.

A senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the government was likely to appoint a retired military official as the National Security Advisor (NSA). 

He said certain names were under consideration but no final decision has been taken yet.

The relationship between the two neighbouring nations currently is at all-time low after a Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) suicide bomber attacked a CRPF convoy in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir on February 14 that killed 40 soldiers. 

Amid mounting outrage, the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting what it said was a JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26.

The next day, the PAF retaliated and downed a MiG-21 in aerial combat and captured IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was later released and handed over to India on March 1. 

Now, with the almost two-month-long election exercise getting over, the Pakistan government is considering options on how to resume talks with India.

Pakistan believes that the new government in India after the general elections would be more receptive to Khan’s offer of peace talks.

When asked about the prospects of resumption of talks given the current hostilities, the official said Pakistan was optimistic. 

The reason for this optimism stems from the fact that new government, whether it is formed by the ruling BJP or the Congress, is unlikely to follow the pre-election rhetoric, he said.

One of the options includes the appointment of the NSA to revive the backchannel with India. 

In the past, the two countries often used backchannel through the NSAs to prepare ground for any talks.

In 2015, Pakistan’s NSA Lt General (retd) Naseer Khan Janjua and his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval were instrumental in breaking the ice. 

The two held meetings in Bangkok leading to the agreement between the two foreign ministers for the resumption of the composite dialogue.

The leadership of the two countries used their respective NSAs to communicate on important issues.

Talking to foreign journalists last month, Khan had said that there might be a better chance of peace talks with India if Modi returned to power.

“If the next Indian government is led by the opposition Congress party, it might be too scared to seek a settlement with Pakistan over Indian-occupied Kashmir (IoK), fearing a backlash from the right,” the prime minister told a small group of foreign journalists in an interview.

“Perhaps if the BJP a right-wing party wins, some kind of settlement on Kashmir could be reached.”

Khan’s statement stirred a heated debate both in Pakistan as well as in India, where Modi’s opponents mocked him as Pakistan’s ally.

In Pakistan, opposition parties criticised Khan for making an ‘undiplomatic statement’ and also supporting Modi despite his hostile policies. 

Agencies

As US military warships sailed near the disputed islands in the South China Sea, China hit back at the US asserting that it should “immediately stop provocative actions” as relations between the two nations continued to remain on the boil.

“We strongly urge the United States to immediately stop such provocative actions so as not to undermine Sino-US relations and regional peace and stability,” China’s foreign ministry spokesman said,adding,”China will continue to do what it needs to protect its national sovereignty and security and uphold the peace and stability of the South China Sea.” 

A US warship had sailed across the Scarborough Shoal claimed by Chinain the South China Sea on Sunday amid heightened tensions in the area. The US destroyer Preble had carried out the operation.

A fortnight ago the US military had sent two destroyers –  Preble and Chung Hoon – within 12 nautical miles of Gaven and Johnson Reefs in the Spratly Islands.

China claims all the islands in the South China Sea, however, it is also claimed by Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said the warship had entered waters near the shoal without China’s position and the Chinese navy had warned it to leave.

The United States is trying to disturb regional peace and stability by using the issue of freedom of navigation and flight, he added.

Earlier in the month, a US destroyer had conducted drills with a Japanese aircraft carrier along with two Indian naval ships and a Philippine patrol vessel in the waterways in the South China Sea.

Japan sent one of its two big aircraft carriers, the Izumo, while India deployed a destroyer, the INS Kolkata, and a tanker, the INS Shakti.

The US navy advocates freedom of navigation to freely move warships in the region, a move disputed by China. Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea, including on the Spratlys.

Agencies

Indefinite curfew imposed in North Western Province where Muslim man was killed on Monday.3 hours ago

The Sri Lankan government has ordered nationwide curfew for a second night after anti-Muslim riots in the wake of the Easter bombings.

The curfew was earlier relaxed on Tuesday in all areas except the North Western Province (NWP) where a Muslim man was killed by a mob on Monday, police said, in a violent backlash against last month’s bombings.

The 45-year-old died of injuries sustained when a crowd stormed his carpentry workshop in the Puttalam district in the NWP and slashed him, official sources said.

Police chief Chandana Wickramaratne warned of stern action against rioters, and said that constables have been issued orders to use “maximum force”.

Elsewhere in the province, mobs torched dozens of Muslim-owned shops, vandalised homes and mosques in a day of rioting.

“The curfew in the NWP will be continued until further notice,” police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said.

Al Jazeera’s Minelle Fernandez, reporting from Colombo, said “an uneasy calm prevailed in the northwestern province”.

“There are complaints that some of the police and military stood helpless daunted by the sheer scale of the mobs that were going around burning properties. That is something of concern here,” she said.

Fernandez said that there are reports of 11 individuals arrested for their alleged involvement in the violence.

On Monday, police imposed the island-wide curfew from 9pm local time (15:30 GMT) to 4am, according to a police statement.

Sri Lankan Muslims fear for safety after Easter Sunday attacks (2:42)

Curfews were previously limited to specific areas where attacks had taken place, including Puttalam, Kurunegala and Gamphala districts near Colombo.

In an address to the nation on Monday night, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said a countrywide curfew was declared to prevent unidentified groups orchestrating communal violence.

Wickremesinghe said the unrest would hinder investigations into the April 21 attacks that targeted three churches and three luxury hotels, killing 257 people and wounding nearly 500.

Sri Lanka also temporarily banned some social media networks and messaging apps, including Facebook and WhatsApp, after a posting sparked anti-Muslim riots across several towns.

A Facebook post has sparked anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, with Christian and Muslim community leaders calling for calm.9669:49 PM – May 13, 2019947 people are talking about thisTwitter Ads info and privacy

The attacks came during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan.

Residents in NWP said crowds attacked mosques and damaged Muslim-owned businesses for a second day on Monday.

“There are hundreds of rioters, police and army are just watching. They have burnt our mosques and smashed many shops owned by Muslims,” a resident, who asked not to be identified, told the Reuters news agency. “When we try to come out of our house, police tell us to stay inside.”

Glass was strewn across the Abrar mosque in the town of Kiniyama that was attacked overnight. All the windows and doors of the soft-pink building were smashed and copies of the Quran were thrown onto the floor.

‘Several shops attacked’

“Over the last 24 hours there were localised police curfews to contain tensions between Christians and Muslims in these particular areas,” Al Jazeera’s Fernandez said. “The authorities are trying very hard to clamp down on this.”

The latest wave of unrest started when a mob targeted Muslim-owned shops in the town of Chilaw, 70 kilometres north of Colombo, on Sunday in anger at a Facebook post by a shopkeeper.

“Don’t laugh more, 1 day u will cry,” was posted as a comment on Facebook by a Muslim shopkeeper, and local Christians took it to be a warning of an impending attack.

Mobs smashed the man’s shop and vandalised a nearby mosque prompting security forces to fire in the air to disperse the crowd.

Authorities said they arrested the author of the post.

Muslims make up around 10 percent of Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka’s 21 million population and Christians about 7.6 percent.

‘Worrying trend’

Rights group Amnesty International said there was “a worrying trend of attacks against the Muslim community coming out of Sri Lanka” following the Easter Sunday bombings. 

The country’s main body of Islamic scholars, the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU), said there was increased suspicion of Muslims. 

“We call upon the members of the Muslim communities to be more patient and guard your actions and avoid unnecessary postings or hosting on social media,” the ACJU said.

On Twitter, Sri Lanka’s leading mobile phone operator Dialog said it had also received instructions to block Viber, IMO, Snapchat, Instagram and Youtube until further notice.

The latest unrest came as Catholic churches resumed their public Sunday masses for the first time since the bombings.

Sri Lanka has been under a state of emergency since the attacks. Security forces and police have been given sweeping powers to arrest and detain suspects for long periods.

Aljazeera

The Sri Lankan authorities on Monday reimposed the curfew, few hours after it was lifted on four towns in the northwestern region following communal violence in the area.

“Curfew was lifted at 6 am this morning from Kuliyapitiya, Hettipola, Bingiriya and Dummalasuriya towns,” a police official said.

“However, following a communal clash in the afternoon at Hettipola, the curfew was re-imposed with immediate effect till 4 am tomorrow on the area and its neighbouring towns of Kuliyapitiya, Bingiriya and Dummalasuriya,” the official added.

Earlier today, the Lankan government temporarily blocked some social media network and instant messaging apps after violent incidents marred the country in the fallout of Easter suicide bombings

Several dozen people threw stones at mosques and Muslim-owned stores and a man was beaten in the town of Chilaw on the west coast on Sunday in a dispute that started on Facebook, news agency Reuters reported.

Some temporarily blocked apps include Facebook Messenger and Whatsapp.

Agencies

Saudi Arabia’s energy minister says two Saudi oil tankers hit in ‘sabotage attack’ off UAE have ‘significant damage’.4 hours ago

Saudi Arabia says two of its oil tankers were sabotaged off the coast of the United Arab Emirates(UAE) in attacks that caused “significant damage” to the vessels.

One of the ships was en route to pick up Saudi oil to take to the United States, Saudi Energy MinisterKhalid al-Falih said on Monday.

The announcement by al-Falih came as the UAE’s regional allies condemned the reported sabotage on Sunday of four ships off the coast of the port city of Fujairah.

On Sunday, Iranian and Lebanese media outlets aired reports of explosions at the city’s port but UAE authorities said the reports were inaccurate.

Emirati officials have declined to elaborate on the nature of the sabotage to the ships or say who might have been responsible.

The reports come as the US warned ships that “Iran or its proxies” could be targeting maritime traffic in the region, and as the US is deploying an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the Gulf to counter what it called “threats from Tehran”.

UAE says four ships subjected to ‘sabotage’ off east coast

Shortly after the Saudi announcement, Iran’s Foreign Ministry called for further clarification about what exactly happened with the Saudi tankers.

The ministry spokesman, Abbas Mousavi, was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying there should be more information about the incident.

Mousavi also warned against any “conspiracy orchestrated by ill-wishers” and “adventurism by foreigners” to undermine the maritime region’s stability and security.

Tensions have risen in the year since President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, restoring US sanctions that have pushed Iran’s economy into crisis.

Last week, Iran warned it would begin enriching uranium at higher levels in 60 days if world powers failed to negotiate new terms for the deal.

In his statement, al-Falih said the attacks on the two tankers happened at 6am on Sunday.

“One of the two vessels was on its way to be loaded with Saudi crude oil from the port of Ras Tanura, to be delivered to Saudi Aramco’s customers in the United States,” al-Falih said.

“Fortunately, the attack didn’t lead to any casualties or oil spill; however, it caused significant damage to the structures of the two vessels.”

Saudi Arabia did not identify the vessels involved, nor did it say whom it suspected of carrying out the alleged sabotage.

Underlining the regional risk, the general-secretary of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council described the alleged sabotage as a “serious escalation” in an overnight statement.

“Such irresponsible acts will increase tension and conflicts in the region and expose its peoples to great danger,” Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani said.

Bahrain, Egypt and Yemen’s internationally recognised government similarly condemned the alleged sabotage.

A statement on Sunday from the UAE’s Foreign Ministry put the ships near the country’s territorial waters in the Gulf of Oman, east of the port of Fujairah.

It said it was investigating “in cooperation with local and international bodies.”

Earlier on Sunday, Lebanon’s pro-Iran satellite channel Al-Mayadeen, quoting “Gulf sources”, reported that a series of explosions had struck Fujairah’s port.

State and semi-official media in Iran picked up the report from Al-Mayadeen, which later published the names of vessels it claimed were involved.

AP news agency, after speaking to Emirati officials and local witnesses, found the report about explosions at the port to be unsubstantiated.

Fujairah’s port is about 140km south of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Gulf through which a third of all oil at sea is traded.

The facility handles oil for bunkering and shipping, as well as general and bulk cargo.

It is seen as strategically located, serving shipping routes in the Gulf, Indian subcontinent and Africa.

Sunday’s incident comes after the US Maritime Administration, a division of the US Transportation Department, warned on Thursday that Iran could target commercial sea traffic.

“Since early May, there is an increased possibility that Iran and/or its regional proxies could take action against US and partner interests, including oil production infrastructure, after recently threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz,” the warning read.READ MORE

US sends Patriots, warship to Middle East amid Iran tensions

“Iran or its proxies could respond by targeting commercial vessels, including oil tankers, or US military vessels in the Red Sea, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait or the Persian Gulf.” 

Early on Sunday, the agency issued a new warning to sailors about the alleged sabotage, while stressing “the incident has not been confirmed”.

It urged shippers to exercise caution in the area for the next week.

It remains unclear if the previous warning from the US Maritime Administration is the same perceived threat that prompted the White House to order the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group and B-52 bombers to the region on May 4.

Agencies