There was no pressure to release IAF pilot Abhinandan: Pakistan

Agencies
March 3, 2019

Lahore, Mar 3: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said the decision to release IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was not taken under any external pressure or compulsion.

“We wanted to send a message to India. We don’t want to increase your grief, we don’t want to mistreat your citizens, we just want peace,” he told BBC Urdu in an interview.

The pilot was captured by Pakistani troops after his jet crashed on the other side of the border on Wednesday.

In a separate interview with BBC, the Foreign Minister said both countries were still in a very serious situation. “We still are... it isn’t over!... We are on high alert.” Both India and Pakistan have issues, “but how do we resolve these issues? By firing missiles at each other? No!” he said.

Mr. Qureshi said Pakistan never wanted a crisis and was ready to cooperate with India. “We said share evidence with us; we said we are willing to cooperate; we said let’s sit and talk. That’s the only sensible way forward. Two neighbours, two atomic powers, can they afford going to war? Suicidal!”

Asked whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sent any message to Pakistan, Mr. Qureshi said he did not. “We have made the overtures but he seems under a lot of domestic pressure, he seems in a very tight position.”

Mr. Qureshi also cast doubt on the Jaish-e-Mohammad’s role in the February 14 Pulwama attack that killed at least 40 CRPF soldiers. “We are not sure of that... They [the Jaish] have not [claimed responsibility]... There is confusion on that. The confusion is that the leadership, when contacted, said no.”

Asked who contacted the Jaish leadership, the Minister said: “By people over here who are known to them. They deny that [attack]. That’s the confusion...they claimed no responsibility. What I am saying is there is confusion, there are conflicting reports on it.”

Regarding the anti-India militant groups, Mr. Qureshi said: “We have proscribed the JuD [Jamaat-ud-Dawah], and the so-called nerve centre of the Jaish-e-Mohammad at Bahawalpur has been taken over by the Punjab government.”

Asked about India’s February 26 air strikes, he said there was a madrasa in Jaba Top in Balakot, which “the world and Indians have been talking about as a training camp.” “Now the media were taken there and what did they see is in front of you. India claims that they have hit three terrorist camps. Where are they? They claimed that they killed 350 terrorists. Where are the bodies?”

Mr. Qureshi added that the government of Imran Khan would not allow “Pakistani soil to be used by any group, any organisation for terrorist activity against anyone, including India. That’s our policy. What I am saying is I don’t want to go in the past. At this stage, we want to de-escalate.”

As for Jaish chief Masood Azhar, Mr. Qureshi said: “We are willing to listen to any reasonable proposal. Now we have courts in this country, and the courts are independent. When you take action against an individual, no matter who he is, you will have to prove your point in the court of law. What we are saying to the Indians: if you have something, please share it with us. And if you do, we can articulate a case in court and we can justify action against that individual and that organisation to the people of Pakistan.”

On the dossier India has sent, he said: “It was received and we are studying the dossier... If India wants to initiate a dialogue based on this dossier, we are willing to engage with them.”

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News Network
January 20,2020

New Delhi, Jan 20: Surging inflation and slowing growth are raising serious concerns about the future growth prospects of the economy and as a remedial measure the government should resolve supply-side hurdles and ensure more stringent governance norms, a report said on Monday.

According to the Dun and Bradstreet Economy forecast, even though the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) turned positive in November 2019, it is likely to remain subdued.

"Slowdown in consumption and investment along with high inflationary pressures, geopolitical issues and uncertainty over the recovery of the economic growth are likely to keep IIP subdued," the report noted.

Dun and Bradstreet expect IIP to remain around 1.5-2.0 percent during December 2019.

As per government data, industrial output grew 1.8 percent in November, turning positive after three months of contraction, on account of growth in the manufacturing sector.

On the price front, uneven rainfall along with floods in many states and geopolitical issues have led to a surge in headline inflation even as demand remains muted.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) in December rose to about five-and-half year high of 7.35 percent from 5.54 percent in November, mainly driven by high vegetable prices.

"The sharp rise in inflation has constrained monetary policy stimulus while revenue shortfall has placed limits on the government expenditure," Dun & Bradstreet India Chief Economist Arun Singh said.

According to Singh, growth-supporting measures and deceleration in growth are likely to cause slippage in fiscal deficit target by a wider margin.

"The government should focus on taking small steps to address the slowdown; in particular, resolve the supply-side hurdles and ensure more stringent governance norms," Singh said.

Unless these concerns are addressed through a comprehensive policy framework, it will not be easy for India to clock a sustainable growth rate to become a USD 5 trillion economy, he added.

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Agencies
July 17,2020

Washington, Jul 17: US President Donald Trump's economic adviser Larry Kudlow has said that TikTok may cut off ties to its Chinese parent and become a 100 per cent American company to circumvent demands to ban it as India has done.

"I think TikTok is going to pull out of the holding company which is China-run and operate as an independent American company," he told reporters at the White House on Thursday.

The US has not made a final decision on whether to ban it - which has been suggested by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, he said.

TikTok being divested by ByteDance Technology Company "is a much better solution than banning or pushing away", said Kudlow, who is the Director of the National Economic Council.

He said that its services will be located in the US and "it will become an hundred per cent American company".

If it becomes a US company without Chinese links, India may have to reconsider the ban on the short video app wildly popular in the country.

India banned TikTok along with 58 other Chinese apps on June 29 citing threats to its defence and national security.

The ban came after a deadly clash between Indian and Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh.

Under Beijing's National Security Law, all Chinese companies have to provide intelligence requested by the government, creating risks for users and their countries.

India was TikTok's biggest market outside of China, where it operates as Douyin.

There were about 200 million users in India and over 300 million downloads.

The US comes next with over 30 million users for the app.

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News Network
January 8,2020

Sydney, Jan 8:  Authorities in Australia will begin five-day campaign to kill thousands of camels in the country as they drink too much water amid the wildfires.  The government will send helicopters to kill up to 10,000 camels in a five-day campaign starting Wednesday, The Hill reported citing The Australian.

Marita Baker, an Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) (large, sparsely-populated local government area for Aboriginal Australians) executive board member, said that the camels were causing problems in her community of Kanypi.

"We have been stuck in stinking hot and uncomfortable conditions, feeling unwell, because the camels are coming in and knocking down fences, getting in around the houses and trying to get to water through air conditioners,'' she said.

The planned killing of the camels comes at a time the country is ravaged by wildfires since November. The disaster has killed more than a dozen people and caused the displacement or deaths of 480 million animals, according to University of Sydney researchers.

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