Senior US diplomat Alice Wells has rubbished news claiming Washington was well aware of New Delhi’s move to strip Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) of its special status. In a Tweet, Wells clarified that ‘India did not consult or inform’ US government. Sources inside Indian government had told ThePrint that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had apprised Mike Pompeo of India’s plan.
The United States informed Pakistan that it has removed a 25-mile travel ban and other restrictions imposed last year on Pakistani diplomats and diplomatic staff stationed in the country. In return, Islamabad also has restored facilities that US diplomats had enjoyed in Pakistan until last year. Trump administration imposed these restrictions on May 10, 2018 and on May 11, Islamabad imposed similar restrictions.
Pakistan’s top civil and military leadership have decided to suspend bilateral trade in with India in the aftermath of its illegal move of revoking occupied Kashmir’s special status. The meeting also concluded with a decision to expel Indian High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria. Pakistan has also informed Indian government that Pakistan will not be sending its High Commissioner-designate to India.
PML-N leader and former finance minister, Miftah Ismail was arrested outside Islamabad High Court (IHC) by National National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Wednesday. Miftah was arrested after IHC rejected his request for an extension in his pre-arrest interim bail in the LNG import case. NAB is charging Miftah in connection with illegal awarding of LNG terminal-1 to Engro Energy Terminal Private Limited.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz lawmaker Attaur Rehman, accused of rape and blackmail of a university student in Multan for 11 months, has apparently fled the country. The Punjab Assembly lawmaker flew from Multan to United Arab Emirates (UAE) in order to avoid a possible arrest. Rehman had allegedly raped a first-year MSCS student and was using video of the rape to threaten her.
China has shown serious concern and taken strict stance on the Kashmir issue, saying it opposes India’s decision to revoke Kashmir’s special status. “India’s action is unacceptable and would not have any legal effect,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement. China urged India to strictly abide by agreements reached by both countries in order to avoid any boundary issues.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leader Sushma Swaraj passed away on Tuesday at the age of 67. The Former Indian external affairs minister passed away “after suffering a heart attack in the evening”. Swaraj, who had suffered from chronic diabetes, had also been admitted to hospital in 2016 when she suffered kidney failure. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed her demise “a personal loss”.
Saudi ministry of health has rejected Pakistan’s MS/MD degree, claiming it lacks structured training programme, a mandatory requirement to hire medics against important positions. This comes as a shock to hundreds of highly qualified medics who are now rendered jobless. After KSA, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain also removed the degrees from eligibility list of highest paid tier.
Bollywood actor Anupam Kher in a Tweet last night referred to the situation in Kashmir as ‘Kashmir Solution’, often alluded as the Nazi plan for the genocide of Jews. Kher wrote, “Kashmir solution has begun,” and in common usage, “final solution” usually refers to Final Solution to the Jewish Question, which was the official code name for the policy.
The National Assembly is decorated with a massive national flag, prepared by the country’s Hindu community with over 60,000 balloons. Installed on one side of the main entrance, the 40-feet flag covers the whole area from floor to ceiling of the assembly hall. Students belonging to different educational institutions across the country are also invited to visit the Parliament House on August 14.