UK airline cites improving security situation, a decade after it suspended flights following an attack in Islamabad.by Asad Hashim4 hours ago

Islamabad, Pakistan – The United Kingdom‘s flag carrier, British Airways, will resume direct flights to Pakistan in June, a decade after suspending services to the South Asian nation over security concerns, the airline has announced.

The service will resume with three flights each week between the two countries’ capitals, London and Islamabad, British Airways head of sales for the Asia Pacific and the Middle East Robert Williams told a news conference in Islamabad on Tuesday.

“It’s exciting to be flying between Islamabad and Heathrow from next year, which we believe will be particularly popular with the British Pakistani community who want to visit, or be visited by, their relatives,” Williams said.

The UK is home to an estimated 1.17 million people of Pakistani origin, according to the British Office for National Statistics, making it one of the largest diaspora hosts for the South Asian country.

The Pakistani government has lauded the decision as an indicator of improving security and economic investment opportunities in the country.

“Pakistan is once again getting connected with the world,” said Syed Zulfikar Bukhari, the Pakistani prime minister’s special assistant on overseas Pakistanis and human resource development. Bukhari is himself a dual national of the UK and Pakistan.

“Delighted to learn British Airways will be resuming flights to Pakistan,” tweeted Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi following the announcement.

“This decision is an acknowledgement of Pakistan’s continued efforts for peace & elimination of terrorism.”

The British Airways flights will resume from June 2, 2019, it said in a statement.

Direct flights

British Airways is the first major European airline to resume direct flights to Pakistan since services were suspended due to security concerns in the mid-2000s. The airline had suspended services after a deadly truck bombing at Islamabad’s Marriot hotel in 2008 killed more than 50 people.

In the interim, Gulf-based airlines – Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways – stepped in to absorb the bulk of the country’s international air traffic.

Pakistan has been battling the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, an umbrella organisation of armed groups that has vowed to overthrow the government and enforce a strict interpretation of Islamic law, since 2007.

Since 2014, a series of military operations has seriously degraded the Tehreek-e-Taliban’s ability to launch frequent attacks targeting civilians and security forces, with violence dropping significantly as the group was displaced from its erstwhile headquarters in the northwest of the country.

Sporadic heavy-casualty attacks, however, have continued to occur, as the Pakistan Taliban has shifted its operational headquarters to eastern Afghanistan.

Dubai,  An Indian worker said that he was grateful to Dubai for hosting him and thousands of other workers and for safeguarding labour rights in their workplaces.

Acting as a representative of thousands of workers, Uday Kumar, 30, addressed top officials and managers at a ceremony here on Monday to honour companies for protecting labourers rights, Gulf News reported.

“I came to Dubai before one year to achieve my dreams. The company provided good facilities for us with best accommodation and food. I’m happy in UAE,” Kumar said during the ceremony to honour the winners of the Taqdeer (appreciation) Award Programme, an initiative that recognises companies which implement best global practices in safeguarding labour rights in the workplace.

Kumar said he has nothing but “appreciation to Dubai for the joy and progress that we proudly give our families back home”.

In its third year, the award has managed to include more than one million workers and has come to witness a 77 per cent growth in the number of participating companies in different sectors.

Islamabad,  Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday said he hoped that the Islamabad-backed US-Taliban negotiations which was held a day earlier in the UAE, could bring an end to “almost three decades of suffering of the brave Afghan people”.

“Pakistan has helped in the dialogue between Taliban and the US in Abu Dhabi,” Khan tweeted.

“Let us pray that this leads to peace and ends almost three decades of suffering of the brave Afghan people. Pakistan will be doing everything within its power to further the peace process.”

Khan’s remarks come a day after US diplomats and Taliban representatives met in the United Arab Emirates for the first round of talks facilitated by Pakistan on finding a negotiated settlement for the Afghan war, Dawn news reported.

The meeting in Abu Dhabi was also attended by officials from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

There were no statements from the participating parties at the end of the daylong meeting, although Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal had officially announced the start of the talks through a tweet.

It was the third meeting between the Taliban and US officials since the appointment of Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad as Washington’s special envoy for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan. 

Their meeting last month had continued for three days.

However, it was the first meeting sponsored by Islamabad and also the first outside Doha which hosts Taliban’s political office and was the venue of the earlier two rounds. 

Pakistan had arranged the meeting after receiving a request from US President Donald Trump for help in the peace process a fortnight ago. 

The Afghan government was not represented at Monday’s meeting because Taliban have stood firmly on not talking to them whom they call the “puppet regime” and insisted on speaking directly to the US.

London, Weekends are usually peaceful days at Westminster. But the ongoing Brexit debate has changed Britains ground zero of power.


The Big Ben and other towers are covered with polythene sheets to shield the public from viewing the ongoing restoration work at the seat of mother of all parliaments. But it’s the government in the seat of power which needs a restorative touch.

As Parliament prepares to vote on Brexit next Tuesday, the day India looks with bated breath at the poll results from five states, there is massive lobbying in the British corridors of power to fortify the different camps. The empty corners of Westminster are occupied by TV crews from all over the world.

The British public too is watching with bated breath as new twists appear every day on the Brexit drama in Parliament. The limelight is on Prime Minister Theresa May along with her cabinet; Opposition Leader Jeremy Corbyn; seasoned politician Sir Vince Cable; maverick former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson; Tory chief Brandon Lewis; and Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee, formally known as the Conservative Private Members’ Committee.

The list of main characters, of course, keeps changing with the addition of new figures. The focus, of course is on the 650 members of the House of Commons as every vote is precious in this crucial battle. The next few days will define the legacy of May’s premiership. It could see Parliament wresting control from the ministers on the future direction of the UK’s departure from the EU.

While, the ministers are busy visiting constituencies to convince their electorate about the deal and senior politicians are hopping from one TV studio to another to win the support of audiences. Despite the threat from alliance partner Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), May is going ahead with the vote on December 11. It will be among the most contentious in recent history with MPs divided on all sides of the House. 

It comes after five days of intense debate, which was preceded by the government being found in contempt of Parliament for the first time in history. The numbers appear to be against the Prime Minister, and with amendments from across the Brexit spectrum being tabled, the vote could produce a variety of outcomes — an attempted renegotiation, a no-deal Brexit and even a second referendum. 

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) on Monday will release its judgment in a legal challenge over whether the UK can unilaterally withdraw its Article 50 notification on leaving the EU. The ECJ’s chief legal expert, Manuel Campos Sanchez-Bordona, has said that Britain should be able to cancel Brexit without needing the consent of the other EU member states. He also rejected the contention that Article 50 only allows the possibility of revocation following a unanimous decision of the European Council.

If the court’s judgment follows the advocate’s opinion, it would be a blow to May just 24 hours before MPs have their meaningful vote on the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. The judgment is due at 8 a.m. UK time (1 p.m. IST) on Monday.

The Prime Minister and her close team members are rejecting all the pleas and going ahead with the vote. As the opposition to the deal gathers momentum, the vote could be defeated by a 200 plus margin. But the TINA (there is no alternative) factor and the probability of extreme-left wing Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn grabbing power are dithering the Conservative fold. 

Sir Graham Brady, the likely consensus candidate to replace May, is trying to preserve the party unity behind the Prime Minister. He conveyed a backbenchers’ appeal to consider delaying the vote. But Downing Street remains adamant despite growing cabinet unease. 

After the vote on Tuesday, attention will turn to Strasbourg on Wednesday as MEPs hold a debate on the outcome of the Commons’ vote. EU Chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, made it clear that May’s deal is the only opportunity for the UK to leave the European Union in an orderly fashion. That means, if the Parliament reject the deal, Britain may exit EU without a deal. The Bank of England already predicted a grim picture if the country exits EU without a deal. The economy will be the worst victim in this battle.

Brexit has already taken its toll on community ties. Immigrant pockets are worried about the aggressive debate over Brexit. The Indian community is also divided over the issue. Rami Ranger, chairman of the Conservative Friends of India (CFI), a prominent businessman, is backing the Prime minister. 

“Brexit is not about my way or highway! It is about cooperation and collaboration as a sovereign nation. Britain’s economic strength underpins our sovereignty,” Ranger said. “Totally wrong to assume that Britain will be under foreign powers with May’s Brexit deal. In fact, cooperation and collaboration underpins our sovereignty,” he added.

“The objective is not to scupper the PM’s Brexit deal, instead it should be to protect the economy, jobs and influence in the world when we no longer have an empire to dictate our terms to others. Our economy is already shrinking,” he said.

Meanwhile Virendra Sharma, the Labour MP from Ealing Southall, is leading the opposition campaign.

“The way the Prime Minister has handled the negotiations with the European Union over the past two years has been disastrous,” Sharma said. “We are now facing a situation where we have a bad deal that does not work for our country and is unlikely to be endorsed by Parliament. This is a result of the government’s failure and refusal to adopt the kind of approach I have been calling for that could have safeguarded jobs and the economy.”

Still there is no clear picture about the outcome of Brexit. Good, bad or ugly, the vote on Dec 11 will decide the fate of Great Britain. 

Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday condemned the killing of seven civilians in Kashmir’s Pulwama and threatened to raise the issue at the UN.

Seven civilians died Saturday when security forces opened fire at an unruly mob that thronged the site of an encounter in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district in which three terrorists and an army man were killed.

In Srinagar, the army urged people not to march towards the headquarters of its Chinar Corps on the call of separatists to protest the killing of the civilians.

Jammu and Kashmir unit of the BJP said the responsibility of such deaths lies with separatists and supporters of militants, including the mainstream political parties.

Khan took to Twitter to condemn the incident, saying only dialogue and not violence and killings will resolve this conflict.

He threatened to raise the Kashmir issue at the UN and said the country will demand that the UN Security Council fulfil its plebiscite commitment in Jammu and Kashmir.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Foreign Office condemned the incident and said that Jammu and Kashmir was an internationally recognised dispute, pending on the agenda of the UN Security Council and the dissociation of India from reality was alarming.

The Government and the people of Pakistan reaffirm their continued and resolute moral, diplomatic and political support to the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their struggle, it said.

Damascus,(IANS) Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir arrived in Syria’s capital Damascus, the first Arab leader to do so since the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011, state news agency SANA reported.

The Sudanese President was received by his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad at the international airport of Damascus, Xinhua news agency cited a report by SANA on Sunday.

Al-Bashir arrived in Damascus for an official working visit.

During their meeting, the two leaders agreed that the crises in many Arab countries require new approaches based on the respect of the sovereignty and the policy of non-interference in their internal affairs.

Al-Bashir wished Syria a quick recovery, hoping that its people can determine their own future without foreign interventions.

The Sudanese president also highlighted his country’s support to Syria, saying Sudan is ready to provide whatever needed to support the territorial integrity and unity of Syria.

For his part, Assad said al-Bashir’s visit will give a strong push toward restoring the bilateral relations to what they were before the war.

Al-Bashir arrived in the afternoon and left the country hours later in the evening.

Throughout the Syrian crisis since 2011, most Arab countries have cut or downgraded their diplomatic relations with Syria.

But in recent months, reports emerged that some Arab countries had requested the resumption of their diplomatic relations with Syria.

The fresh nudge in the diplomatic relations comes amid a succession of victories of the Syrian army, which enabled the Syrian government to control much of the country.

Pakistan, China and Afghanistan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) vis-a-vis anti-terrorism cooperation during a second trilateral ministerial dialogue in Kabul on Saturday.

The MoU was signed by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and his Chinese as well as Afghan counterparts Wang Yi and Salahuddin Rabbani, respectively. The signing of the document was witnessed by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

Speaking at the trilateral dialogue, Rabbani said that collective efforts were required to address the common challenge of terrorism. “We desire to strengthen our relations with Pakistan,” he said and also appreciated the Chinese One Belt One Road initiative.

Qureshi, during a joint press conference, called for a joint strategy to eradicate terrorism from the region. He said he was visiting Kabul to bridge the trust deficit between the two countries, the Express Tribune reported.

“We all want peace and stability in Afghanistan,” the minister said, adding that Pakistan will continue to play facilitative role in Afghan reconciliation process. 

“We will do everything to support the growing momentum towards reconciliation provided others play their due role and share responsibility and create an enabling environment towards that end.”

Calling Afghanistan and Pakistan as “friends of China”, Wang said that Beijing will extend “every possible cooperation to build trust and confidence between the two countries”.

China will also assist in establishing connectivity projects including a rail line between Peshawar, Kabul and Kandahar, he said, adding that Beijing “desires to make Afghanistan a part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor”.

“We support an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process,” Wang said.

This was the second meeting of the three foreign ministers after their kick-off meeting in Beijing last year. 

IANS

A petition for the statue’s removal cited Gandhi’s writings calling Indians ‘infinitely superior’ to black Africans.

A statue of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi has been removed from Ghana’s most prestigious university following complaints that he was racist against the black Africans.

The statue, installed at the University of Ghana in capital Accra, was removed in the middle of the night earlier this week after protests from students and faculty.

India’s former president Pranab Mukherjee had unveiled the statue two years ago as a symbol of ties between the two nations.READ MORE

Ghana: Call to remove Gandhi statue over ‘racist views’

But professors at the university soon began a petition calling for its removal. They cited passages written by Gandhi depicting Indians as “infinitely superior” to black Africans and using the racist pejorative “kaffirs” to describe them.

One of Gandhi’s writings cited in the petition read: “Ours is one continual struggle against a degradation sought to be inflicted upon us by the Europeans, who desire to degrade us to the level of the raw Kaffir whose occupation is hunting, and whose sole ambition is to collect a certain number of cattle to buy a wife with and, then, pass his life in indolence and nakedness.”

The online protest was one of a number on university campuses in Africa and beyond about the enduring symbols of the continent’s colonial past.

‘Victory for black dignity’

The Gandhi statue on the university’s Legon campus in Accra appeared to have been removed overnight on Tuesday, students and lecturers told AFP news agency.

The head of language, literature and drama at the Institute of African Studies, Obadele Kambon, said the removal was an issue of “self-respect”.

“If we show that we have no respect for ourselves and look down on our own heroes and praise others who had no respect for us, then there is an issue,” he said.READ MORE

Gandhi: 125 years since whites-only train incident

“If we indeed don’t show any self-respect for our heroes, how can the world respect us? This is a victory for black dignity and self-respect. The campaign has paid off.”

Adelaide Twum, a student, said the move was “long overdue”.

“I’m so excited. This has nothing to do with diplomatic ties,” she added.

Another student, Benjamin Mensah, said, “It’s a massive win for all Ghanaians because it was constantly reminding us of how inferior we are.”

The university authorities refused to comment. An official at Ghana’s foreign affairs ministry said it was “an internal decision by the university”.

Ghana’s former government had said the statue would be relocated “to avoid the controversy … becoming a distraction from our strong ties of friendship” with India.

Campaigners in Malawi are currently trying to stop a statue of Gandhi going up in the capital, Blantyre, arguing that he used racial slurs against black people.

Though Gandhi is more commonly remembered for his non-violent resistance to British colonial rule in his native India, his legacy in Africa is mixed.

Born in 1869, Gandhi lived and worked as a lawyer in South Africa from 1893 to 1915 before he left for India to continue his anti-colonialism struggle.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will be on a four-day India visit from December 21 to attend the first people-to-people exchange agreed between Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at their icebreaking meet in Wuhan earlier this year.

After witnessing chill in their ties over the military stand-off in Doklam last year, the two countries came closer later and pledged that bilateral ties would not be affected by a border dispute between them.

“At the invitation of India’s Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit India from December 21 to December 24 and co-chair the first China-India people to people mechanism,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said.

The forum is the outcome of Modi-Xi meet at Chinese city Wuhan in April this year. The two countries stepped up their engagements after the Wuhan summit.

Wang is also likely to meet other leaders of the country given the current world situation, especially China’s trade war with the US. This will be the last high profile visit by the Chinese leader this year.

India and China have the world’s 9th longest border which is largely disputed. The two went to war in 1962 and have had military skirmishes since then.

Their latest and one of the most serious showdowns was last year at Doklam, a contested region between China and Bhutan close to India’s arterial highway where the Chinese were building a road.

Both sides are in talks to set up a military hotline to avert a Doklam-like crisis in the future.

IANS

A top court in Pakistan on Thursday gave a one-month deadline to the federal government to complete formalities to deport Indian prisoner Hamid Nihal Ansari, whose three-year jail term will end on December 15.

Hamid Nihal Ansari, a 33-year-old Mumbai resident, is currently in Peshawar Central Jail after being sentenced by a military court to three years’ imprisonment for allegedly possessing a fake Pakistani identity card on December 15, 2015.

He was arrested reportedly from Pakistan in 2012 and accused of illegally entering the country from Afghanistan, to meet a girl he had befriended online.

A two-judge Peshawar High Court bench, comprising Justice Roohul Amin and Justice Qalandar Ali Khan, on Thursday heard an appeal filed by Hamid Ansari through a senior lawyer. The petition said that the federal government hasn’t taken any steps for his release.

Hamid Ansari’s lawyer, Qazi Muhammad Anwar, said that his client’s prison term will end on December 15 and he should be released on the morning of December 16.

Mr Anwar informed the bench that the sentence of the 33-year-old would complete after two days and both the Ministry of Interior (Pakistan) and authorities of the prison, where he was lodged, were completely silent about his release and deportation to India.

After hearing this, Justice Khan asked the Additional Attorney General to explain how would they keep the prisoner in jail after completion of his term.

“I wonder that after two days the jail term of the prisoner would be completed and the government did not complete requirements for releasing and deportation of the prisoner,” the judge observed after additional attorney general informed the court that documents for release and deportation of the prisoner were not ready.

An officer, representing Pakistan’s interior ministry, informed the court that a prisoner could be kept for one month while the legal documents were being prepared.

After knowing the legal position, the court directed the ministry to make all the arrangements within a month for releasing and deportation of Hamid Ansari.

Pakistan’s deputy attorney general recorded his statement on behalf of the interior ministry and said that Hamid Ansari would be handed over to Indian authorities at Wagah border after completion of his term.

Hamid Nihal Ansari had gone missing after he was arrested by Pakistani intelligence agencies in 2012.

PTI