Pak raises Kashmir issue at UN Committee on Information

Agencies
May 3, 2018

United Nations, May 3: Pakistan has raked up the issue of alleged human rights violation in Kashmir at the UN's Committee on Information to which India raised a strong objection, saying it was irrelevant to the work of the panel.

Pakistan’s delegate Masood Anwar, addressing a session of Committee on Information yesterday, raised the issue of Kashmir alleging that human rights violations are taking place against the people of Kashmir.

"The world we live today is marred by conflict and strife while we maintain unity in fighting terrorism and extremism. Countering the narrative of this twisted ideologies is imperative,” Anwar said during a General Debate on Committee on Information.

He said the UN’s Department of Public Information (DPI) can play an important role in defusing tensions and promoting interfaith harmony.

“Human rights violations, in particular, are a matter of serious concern to the international community," he said.

He urged DPI to highlight situations where "grave violations of human rights are taking place", especially against the Rohingya, Kashmiris and Palestinians.

India strongly rejected Anwar’s reference to Kashmir, saying his remarks are irrelevant to the work of the Committee.

“We have seen another attempt here today to make reference to issues extraneous to the agenda of the Committee. We completely reject these remarks as they have no relevance to the work of the Committee,” S Srinivas Prasad, Minister in the Indian Mission to the UN, said during the session.

In his statement, Prasad said India supports the DPI’s work on counter-terrorism. “India is opposed to all forms of terrorism and believes that effective cooperation among countries is necessary to combat the threat,” he said.

He referred to the production of the documentary ‘Surviving Terrorism: Victim’s voices’ on the survivors of the Norway terror attack of 2011, saying civilians affected by terrorism is an "untold story” and hoped that the DPI will pick up more such stories from terrorist violence-affected countries.

He, however, voiced concern over declining financial resources that have presented a serious constraint on the ability of the DPI to carry out its mandated tasks especially in non-official languages.

DPI needs to look at innovative ways to raise resources beyond the regular budgetary allocations, including through voluntary contributions to continue and expand its global outreach activities, especially in the widely-spoken non-official languages, he said.

Prasad voiced appreciation for expansion in the number of languages in which UN guided tours are offered. He pointed out that guided tours of the world body have been very popular with Indian tourists in the city, urging the addition of a guided tour in Hindi to facilitate Indian tourists.

Prasad also noted that the Department facilitated the on-location filming of Bollywood film ‘Padman’ at the United Nations headquarters in November 2017.

Akshay Kumar-starrer Padman was the second movie after ‘Half Girlfriend’ to use the UN as a backdrop of its story. The film is based on menstrual hygiene, an issue relating to the Sustainable Development Goal number four that focusses on achieving inclusive and equitable quality education for all.

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News Network
June 29,2020

Karachi, Jun 29: Four heavily-armed militants attacked the busy Pakistan Stock Exchange on Monday morning, killing four security guards and a police sub-inspector before being shot dead in an exchange of fire, media reports said.

The unidentified militants opened indiscriminate fire and lobbed hand grenades at the main gate of the building as they tried to storm it, Geo News reported.

Police said that all the terrorists have been killed while five persons injured in the attack.

Four security guards and a police sub-inspector were also killed in the attack.

"An unfortunate incident took place at the Pakistan Stock Exchange. They made their way from our parking area and opened fire on everyone," said Abid Ali Habib, Director of Pakistan Stock Exchange.

The firing by militants caused panic among the people in the building.

Sindh province Governor Imran Ismail condemned the incident.

"Strongly condemn the attack on PSX aimed at tarnishing our relentless war on terror. Have instructed the IG & security agencies to ensure that the perpetrators are caught alive & their handlers are accorded exemplary punishments. We shall protect Sindh at all costs," he said on Twitter.

Police and rangers have arrived on the spot and surrounded the area.

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Agencies
January 4,2020

Stockholm, Jan 4: “I’m not the kind of person who celebrates birthdays,” Greta Thunberg said as she turned 17 on Friday, marking the occasion in inimitable style - with a seven-hour hour protest outside the Swedish parliament.

The climate activist braved winter conditions in her native Stockholm to continue the weekly Friday School Strike for the Climate campaign that helped catapult her to international fame.

“I stand here striking from 8am until 3pm as usual ... then I’ll go home,” Thunberg, Time magazine’s Person of the Year for 2019, told Reuters.

“I won’t have a birthday cake but we’ll have a dinner.”

It’s been a busy 12 months for Thunberg, who crisscrossed the globe by car, train and boat - but not plane - to demand action on climate change.

“It has been a strange and busy year, but also a great one because I have found something I want to do with my life and what I am doing is having an impact,” she said.

When she was 15, Thunberg began skipping school on Fridays to demonstrate outside the Swedish parliament to push her government to curb carbon emissions. Her campaign gave rise to a grassroots movement that has gone global, inspiring millions of people to take action.

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News Network
March 29,2020

Beijing, Mar 29: In a rare display of public anger in China, dozens of people in central Hubei province, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak till recently, attacked official vehicles after they were stopped from crossing a bridge and travel to neighbouring Jiangxi after the lifting of the lockdown.
Hubei province with over 56 million people was kept under lockdown from January 23 as part of aggressive measures to bring down COVID-19 cases which rapidly spread in the area.

Videos on Chinese social media on Friday showed unprecedented scenes of police from Hubei and Jiangxi clashing on the bridge connecting the two provinces over barricades erected from stopping Hubei people from moving out over fears of coronavirus spreading.

Policemen from both sides argued over how to verify if people were allowed to enter Jiangxi, according to local media reports.

It was a major relief for millions of people in Hubei province, when the Chinese government which kept it under lockdown lifted the restrictions on travel.

The government will permit people from the province to travel if they hold a green health code, meaning no contact with any infected or suspected COVID-19 cases.

But people of Hubei to their shock on Friday found roadblocks on the 1st Yangtze River Bridge that separates Huangmei county in Hubei erected by Huangmei county of Jiangxi province.

In local media reports, witnesses were quoted as saying that Huangmei police in Jiujiang erected roadblocks on the bridge to stop people from Hubei from crossing it, a move they alleged stigmatised them.

Video footage shared online showed rows of police armed with riot shields holding back the crowds, while members of the public could be seen damaging and even overturning police vehicles.

In a clip published by the Huanggang city government, which administers Huangmei, the county's Communist Party chief Ma Yanzhou could be heard speaking to the people through a loud hailer, warning them that by gathering in a large group they were increasing their chances of contracting the virus, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.

While it is unclear exactly how the clash started, police from the two sides published separate official statements online, which were quickly deleted, it said.

The incident underlines the problems China faces as it seeks a return to normalcy after months of lockdown, the Post said.

After the incident, the governments of Huangmei and Jiujiang on Friday issued a joint statement saying they had agreed to remove the barriers set up to restrict travel during the lockdown, and also to recognise each other's health screening codes to make it easier for people in good health to get to where they needed to be, the Post report said.

An article by the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) mouthpiece, People''s Daily acknowledged the problems in getting the country back on its feet.

"In the past few days, all walks of life have called for governments to accept workers from Hubei," it said.

"However, it is undeniable that some places, intentionally or not, have set up obstacles for Hubei migrant workers to return to their posts and hold prejudices against them."

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