Current Final

Category: Politics

  • Ultimatum for Saudi Arabia: Trump tells MBS to cut oil supply if Kingdom wants US military support

    Ultimatum for Saudi Arabia: Trump tells MBS to cut oil supply if Kingdom wants US military support

    With the United States (US) continuing to press Saudi Arabia to end its oil price war with Russia, President Donald Trump has given the Kingdom an ultimatum.

    According to Reuters, in an April 2 phone call, Trump told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that unless the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) started cutting oil production, he would be powerless to stop lawmakers from passing legislation to withdraw US troops from the Kingdom.

    The threat to upend a 75-year strategic alliance, which has not been previously reported, was central to the US pressure campaign that led to a landmark global deal to slash oil supply as demand collapsed in the coronavirus pandemic — scoring a diplomatic victory for the White House.

    Trump delivered the message to the crown prince 10 days before the announcement of production cuts. The kingdom’s de facto leader was so taken aback by the threat that he ordered his aides out of the room so he could continue the discussion in private, according to a US source who was briefed on the discussion by senior administration officials.

    The effort illustrated Trump’s strong desire to protect the US oil industry from a historic price meltdown as governments shut down economies worldwide to fight the virus. It also reflected a telling reversal of Trump’s longstanding criticism of the oil cartel, which he has blasted for raising energy costs for Americans with supply cuts that usually lead to higher gasoline prices.

    Now, Trump was asking OPEC to slash output.

    A senior US official told Reuters that the administration notified Saudi leaders that, without production cuts, “there would be no way to stop the US Congress from imposing restrictions that could lead to a withdrawal of US forces”. The official summed up the argument, made through various diplomatic channels, as telling Saudi leaders: “We are defending your industry while you’re destroying ours.”

  • White House unfollows Modi on Twitter amid concerns over India’s treatment of minorities

    White House unfollows Modi on Twitter amid concerns over India’s treatment of minorities

    The White House has unfollowed Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on Twitter, leaving Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi ‘dismayed’ at the American administration’s decision.

    Indian media reported on Wednesday that The White House, which has 22 million followers on Twitter, followed the Indian premier till April 11, unfollowed him recently.

    “The official Twitter account of White House, the residence and workplace of the president of the US, doesn’t follow Indian PM Narendra Modi anymore on the micro-blogging site,” reported Outlook India.

    Modi was the only world leader followed by The White House on Twitter till April 11. Other Indian Twitter accounts unfollowed were those of the president of India, the Indian PM’s Office and the Indian Embassy in Washington D.C.

    The move ‘dismayed’ Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, who urged India’s External Affairs Ministry to take note of the incident.

    “I’m dismayed by the “unfollowing” of our President & PM by the White House. I urge the Ministry of External Affairs to take note,” tweeted Gandhi.

    The development took place as a US commission recommended India be placed on a list of countries that violate religious freedom.

    The US Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended that India be re-designated as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’ because of the Modi government’s policies and treatment towards the Muslim population.

    “Perhaps the steepest, and most alarming deterioration in religious freedom conditions is in India,” the vice-chair of the USCIRF vice had said after the release of the Commission’s annual report.

    The report also recommended 13 other countries to the State Department for designation as “countries of particular concern” because their governments engage in or tolerate “systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom”.

    These include nine that the State Department designated as CPCs in December last year, which were Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. The five others include India, Nigeria, Russia, Syria, and Vietnam.

    WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

    According to reports, the White House has explained that its Twitter handle typically follows the accounts of officials from host countries for a brief period during a presidential trip to retweet their messages in support of the visit.

    “The White House Twitter account normally follows senior US government Twitter accounts, and others as appropriate. For example, during the time of a presidential visit, the account typically follows for a short time, the host country’s officials to retweet their messages in support of the visit,” a senior administration official told the Press Trust of India.

  • From interior to info, health, telecom, power, civil aviation among others: Military men serving Pakistan

    From interior to info, health, telecom, power, civil aviation among others: Military men serving Pakistan

    With former military bigwig Lieutenant General (r) Asim Bajwa being appointed as the special assistant to the prime minister (SAPM) on information and broadcasting earlier this week, the list of military men discharging their duties in various sectors to serve Pakistan has been added to.

    The development falls in line with the beliefs of various members of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), including PM Imran Khan and his federal ministers such as Fawad Chaudhry, who have time and again praised the armed forces of the country for being the most powerful and well-organised national institutions.

    While some elements appear bothered by the increasing list of both former and serving military officials working with the government at a time when civil-military relations in the country “stand at their historic best”, here is what you should know about those working to revamp different sectors for the cause of ‘Naya Pakistan’.

    Interior Minister Brigadier (r) Ijaz Shah:

    The Ministry of Interior, which is primarily responsible for implementing the internal policies, state security and administration of internal affairs involving the state, is being led by Brig (r) Ijaz Ahmed Shah. Prior to entering politics, Shah has served as a spy military officer of the Pakistan Army. He has also served as the minister for parliamentary affairs.

    SAPM on Information & Broadcasting Lt Gen (r) Asim Bajwa:

    Lt Gen (r) Bajwa, who replaced former information minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan as the premier’s media aide on Monday, is a retired three-star general. During his military career, he has served as the director general (DG) of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) as well as the commander of Pakistan Army’s Southern Command. He is also the chairman of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority.

    NDMA Chairman Lt Gen Muhammad Afzal:

    Lt Gen Muhammad Afzal of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) — a federal authority mandated to deal with disasters and their management in the country — has risen to the occasion over the past few weeks as the coronavirus situation in Pakistan started worsening. Other than his experience with the Frontier Works Organization (FWO), he is qualified in international law of conflict with a special focus on civilian casualties and displaced persons.

    FROM CIVIL AVIATION TO HEALTH AND BEYOND:

    Among other not so familiar names are Squadron Leader (r) Shahrukh Nusrat, who is serving as an executive at the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) after he was reappointed as the authority’s DG last year; National Institute of Health (NIH) Executive Director Maj Gen Dr Aamer Ikram, Air Marshal Arshad Malik, who is serving as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA); Water & Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Chairperson Lt Gen (r) Muzammil Hussain and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) chief Maj Gen (r) Amir Bajwa.

  • President Alvi endorses video removed by YouTube for spreading coronavirus misinformation

    President Alvi endorses video removed by YouTube for spreading coronavirus misinformation

    President Arif Alvi retweeted a tweet by his son, Awab Alvi, on April 26, and said: “Lockdown or No Lockdown? Coronavirus is new so there is a major difference of opinion in the world & in Pakistan on how to handle it. As data comes in, opinions change. So please keep an open mind. This is long but a must-watch for all our opinion-makers including politicians.”

    The tweet was a video by doctors who were arguing that people should develop resistance to COVID-19.

    In a Twitter thread, President Alvi’s son Dr Awab Alvi goes on to say: “Historically of the human race and medical outbreak We’ve always “quarantined the sick” NEVER have we “quarantined the healthy” In the panic of the unknown we are reacting (may have been right earlier) but now we know this better and we need the population to develop resistance. [sic]”

    But if you click on the YouTube video shared by Dr Awab Alvi, it says the video has been removed. Link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfLVxx_lBLU&feature=youtu.be

    The video has been taken down by YouTube for violating YouTube’s Community Guidelines. YouTube has recently been taking down videos spreading misinformation about the novel coronavirus.

    Twitter recently also updated its guidelines on misinformation regarding COVID-19. Last month, Twitter and Facebook removed posts shared by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for including coronavirus misinformation that violates the social media companies’ rules against posting harmful content.

    Facebook said it took down a video that had been shared on both Facebook and Instagram, in which Bolsonaro said the anti-malaria prescription drug hydroxychloroquine was an effective treatment for COVID-19.

    Twitter earlier had removed two videos that also showed Bolsonaro praising hydroxychloroquine and encouraging the end of social distancing. It is rare for Facebook to take down a post from a head of state, but the coronavirus pandemic has led tech companies to move aggressively to filter out unfounded medical advice, hoaxes and other false information that they say could risk public health.

    Facebook has a policy against sharing posts that could cause users physical harm, a spokesperson said.  “We remove content on Facebook and Instagram that violates our Community Standards, which do not allow misinformation that could lead to physical harm,” the company said in a statement. Twitter, too, has a policy that requires people to remove tweets that recommend cures or advice that goes against the recommendations of public health authorities.

    As coronavirus cases continue to increase in Pakistan and across the globe, the World Health Organization (WHO) recently warned that COVID-19 cases in Pakistan can rise to 200,000 by July.

  • VIDEO: Fawad Ch removes successor Firdous Ashiq Awan from Imran cabinet’s WhatsApp group

    VIDEO: Fawad Ch removes successor Firdous Ashiq Awan from Imran cabinet’s WhatsApp group

    Incumbent Federal Minister for Science & Technology and former information minister Fawad Chaudhry has removed his successor Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan from the WhatsApp group of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s cabinet after Awan, who had been handed the reins of the Information Ministry last year, was removed as the special assistant to the PM on information and broadcasting.

    Ever since Fawad was replaced by non-elected Awan in 2019, reports had hinted at a possible rift among the ranks of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The now science & tech minister had also discussed with a media outlet the cold war that was going on within the ruling party, saying that “non-elected people had the power to change portfolios of ministers” and “important decisions were made without many team members knowing about them”.

    Among several other reported spats between Fawad and Awan, with the ex-SAPM even complaining of some lawmakers’ behaviour to PM Imran, Fawad’s statements of a battle going on between elected and non-elected members was followed by Awan “admiring Fawad’s ‘struggle to always stay in headlines“.

    Amid rumours that the two weren’t best of friends ever since Fawad’s removal and Awan’s subsequent appointment, the federal minister had earlier this year even called out PM Imran’s former aide on “illiterate” remarks regarding Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Sardar Usman Buzdar.

    With Awan being replaced by former military bigwig Lt Gen (r) Asim Bajwa on Monday and PTI Senator Shibli Faraz being handed the reins of the Information Ministry, senior journalist and analyst Arshad Sharif asked if Fawad, being an admin of the WhatsApp group of PM Imran’s cabinet, had added Faraz and removed his successor, cracking the minister up.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    “That is how it is. If they go, they have to be removed,” a smiling Fawad told the journalist, adding that he was shocked to know that Sharif knew about the group, its admins and whatever happened in it.

  • PM’s spokesperson ‘confuses’ Lt Gen (r) Asim Bajwa with Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor in congratulatory message

    PM’s spokesperson ‘confuses’ Lt Gen (r) Asim Bajwa with Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor in congratulatory message

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s spokesperson on trade and investment for the United Kingdom (UK) and Europe, Sahibzada Jahangir, has confused two of the military’s former spokespersons while congratulating one of them over his appointment as the special assistant to PM (SAPM) on information and broadcasting.

    Former Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) director general (DG) Lt Gen (r) Asim Bajwa on Monday replaced Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan as the premier’s media aide while Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Shibli Faraz was appointed as the new federal minister for information.

    With the new appointments being reported, congratulatory messages starting pouring in on Twitter, among which was that of Jahangir, who is also the elder brother of former PTI senior leader Fauzia Kasuri.

    The now-deleted tweet by Jahangir, a screenshot of which is available with The Current, congratulated Asim Bajwa while the picture attached along with the tweet showed the PM’s spokesperson with Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor instead.

    Ghafoor had replaced Bajwa as the ISPR chief in late 2016.

    The congratulatory message has once again been tweeted by Jahangir, but this time without a picture.

    https://twitter.com/ChicoJahangir/status/1254807812317855746

    “Congratulations to Lt.Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa on his desrved appointment as SAPM for Broadcasting & Information. I extend best wishes to him. @ImranKhanPTI @AsimBajwaISPR [sic],” it states.

    Jahangir, who is among PM Imran Khan’s oldest friends, was appointed as the premier’s spokesperson on trade and investment for the UK and Europe on an honorary basis in July 2019.

    PTI leaders say that Jahangir has always played a central role in raising funds for PTI, Shaukat Khanum Hospital and NAMAL University. They say his appointment was an acknowledgment of the loyal workers of PTI who have always stood by Imran.

    According to Jahangir, who had in 2018 refused to take charge as SAPM on foreign investment after criticism over social media, he does not take any salary or privileges while acting on behalf of the PM to take trade and business to Pakistan and generate more interest in investment in the country.

  • Ex-ISPR chief Asim Bajwa replaces Firdous as PM’s special assistant, new info minister also appointed

    Ex-ISPR chief Asim Bajwa replaces Firdous as PM’s special assistant, new info minister also appointed

    Former Inter-Services Public Relation (ISPR) director-general (DG) and military bigwig Lieutenant General (r) Asim Bajwa has replaced Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan as Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s special assistant on information and broadcasting, while Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Shibli Faraz has been handed reins of the Information Ministry.

    According to the details, while Firdous has been removed from her position, Faraz has been appointed as the federal information minister — a post that had lied vacant ever since the premier removed incumbent Federal Minister for Science & Technology Fawad Chaudhry last year.

    Faraz is an investment banker by profession and was a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) pilot and then a civil servant. He contested the election for the Kohat district mayor in 2002 and his uncle Barrister Syed Masood Kausar is a former governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). He is the son of the late poet Ahmad Faraz.

    Firdous’s successor, Bajwa, on the other hand, is currently also serving as the chairman of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority.

    During his military career, Bajwa has served on multiple instructional and command-level posts, such as leading the 111th Infantry Brigade. Besides serving as a brigade major at an infantry brigade and serving as the chief of staff at a strike corps, Bajwa has also instructed courses at the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) Kakul and the Command and Staff College in Quetta.

    He has also served as the deputy military secretary to the president of Pakistan.

    In December 2010, he was promoted to the rank of a major general and in June 2012, as the ISPR chief — preceding former military spokesperson Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor.

    In September 2015, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general, appointed inspector general (arms) at General Headquarters (GHQ) in December 2016 and later Southern Command commander.

  • South Korea says North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un is ‘alive and well’

    South Korea says North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un is ‘alive and well’

    Officials in South Korea are calling for caution amid reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has died after a botched heart surgery or may be severely ill, emphasising that they have detected no unusual movements across the border in the north.

    At a closed-door forum on Sunday, South Korea’s Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul, who oversees engagement with the North, said the government has the intelligence capabilities to say with confidence that there was nothing unusual happening, Al Jazeera reported.

    Rumours and speculation over the North Korean leader’s health began after he did not appear at a key state holiday on April 15. He has not been seen in public since.

    READ: North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un reportedly dead after botched heart surgery

    “Our government’s position is firm,” Moon Chung-in, a special adviser on national security to the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, said in an interview with CNN on Sunday. “Kim Jong-un is alive and well.”

    The adviser said that Kim had been staying in Wonsan – a resort town on the country’s east coast – since 13 April, adding, “No suspicious movements have so far been detected.”

    “We have nothing to confirm and no special movement has been detected inside North Korea as of now,” the South’s presidential office said in a statement last week.

    Speculation about Kim grew after Daily NK, a Seoul-based online media outlet that employs North Korean defectors, claimed he was recovering after undergoing a “cardiovascular procedure” earlier this month.

    Citing a single unidentified source inside the country, it said Kim, who is believed to be 36, had required urgent treatment due to heavy smoking, obesity and fatigue.

    Soon afterwards, CNN reported that Washington was “monitoring intelligence” that Kim was in “grave danger” after undergoing surgery, quoting what it said was an anonymous US official.

    Meanwhile, it has also been reported that Kim has sent a message of gratitude to workers building a tourist resort in Wonsan.

  • North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un reportedly dead after botched heart surgery

    North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un reportedly dead after botched heart surgery

    North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un has died, or is on his death bed with no hope for recuperation, multiple Chinese and Japanese media outlets have reported.

    As per the details, a vice director of Hong Kong Satellite Television (HKSTV) — a Beijing-backed broadcast network in Hong Kong — claimed that Kim was dead, citing a “very solid source”. Her post on the Chinese messaging app Weibo has been shared widely on social media, according to a report in the International Business Times.

    The claim comes hours after a Japanese magazine reported that the North Korean dictator was in a “vegetative state” ever since he underwent heart surgery earlier this month.

    Other unconfirmed reports, attributed to senior party sources in Beijing, said an operation to insert a stent went wrong because the surgeon’s hands were shaking so badly.

    The weekly Shukan Gendai reported Friday that a Chinese medic sent to North Korea as part of a team to treat Kim believed a delay in a simple procedure left the leader severely ill, Reuters reported.

    A Chinese expert told the magazine that Kim, believed to be 36, clutched his chest and fell to the ground on a visit to the countryside earlier this month. A doctor accompanying Kim performed CPR and took him to a nearby hospital.

    North Korean media hasn’t mentioned Kim’s health or whereabouts, even though reports by foreign media outlets have sparked international speculation about his well-being.

    The hashtag #KimJongUndead continues to trend on Twitter without any proof of the leader’s death.

    According to Independent, if rumours of Kim’s health are true, his sister, Kim Yo-jong, will emerge as the custodian of power in North Korea.

    She is the youngest daughter of former supreme leader Kim Jong-il and an alternate member of the politburo — principal policymaking committee. Yo-jong is also the vice director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department of the Workers’ Party of Korea.

  • Coronavirus: ‘Pakistan to start conducting 50,000 tests a day,’ says Lt Gen Afzal

    Coronavirus: ‘Pakistan to start conducting 50,000 tests a day,’ says Lt Gen Afzal

    National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lieutenant General Muhammad Afzal has said that Pakistan will start conducting 50,000 coronavirus tests a day from next week as a meeting held at the National Command and Operations Centre has decided that virus detection kits would be provided to all departments concerned at the earliest.

    Speaking to journalists, the NDMA chairman said that earlier only those who showed symptoms of the coronavirus were being tested, but the authorities are now shifting to randomised testing for effective implementation of the government’s plans to curb the menace of COVID-19 that has so far claimed 251 lives in Pakistan and left over 12,000 people sick across the country.

    Lt Gen Afzal added that 800,000 testing kits were available and efforts were being made to procure more.

    On April 11, the NDMA received a medical consignment from China consisting of 59 ventilators, about 936 kilogrammes (kg) of surgical masks, protective suits, safety lenses, thermometers, and 1,720 kg of unstitched cloth for surgical gowns, all of which were distributed among provinces.

    Meanwhile, according to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major General Babar Iftikhar, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has instructed the military to help civilian administration during the holy month of Ramzan that has arrived amid the global coronavirus pandemic.  

    “COAS held a special conference at General Headquarters (GHQ) today where the overview of the coronavirus deployment and situation was taken into account. COAS instructed all commanders to ensures border security and carry out routine activities as per schedule,” the military spokesperson said while addressing a press conference on Friday.

    “The army chief gave the instruction to work with civil authorities to ease the difficulties being faced by the people during Ramzan,” he said.