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Tag: Ukraine

  • ‘How the hell was I supposed to know?’, Khan defends Russia visit

    ‘How the hell was I supposed to know?’, Khan defends Russia visit

    In an interview with Journalist Mark Austin on Sky News, former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan defended his visit to Russia and said that he didn’t know that Russia was going to invade Ukraine when he landed in Moscow. Khan visited Moscow on February 23, a trip that landed him directly into a hotbed of criticism in the international community.

    Khan during the interview said, “How the hell was I supposed to know, the day I landed in Moscow, Putin is going to attack Ukraine? My statement in Moscow was that I have never believed in military solutions so I never endorsed that [Russian invasion of Ukraine]. Ours was a bilateral meeting, it was planned long before. How could you have punished me like that?”

    “I am against all military operations. I was against Iraq War, the Americans going to Afghanistan consistently and I am against military solutions in Ukraine”, he replied when asked about Russia’s aggressive acts in Ukraine.

    Khan once again reiterated that he was removed by the United States (US) and he has a cipher to prove it. The former premier, talking about what was written in the cipher, said, “Unless you remove PM through no-confidence motion there will be consequences for Pakistan, and if you remove him all will be forgiven.”

    ‘I was not elected to correct all the wrongs in the world’: Khan

    During the interview, Khan was asked why he was on friendly terms with countries like China and Russia when they had committed alleged human rights violations. Khan replied and said, “I was elected by 220 million. My first priority was that there are 50 million people in Pakistan below the poverty line, I was not elected to correct all the wrongs that are going on in the world.”

    “My responsibility was to my country and so all my relationships, whether it was with China, with the US, with Russia, were for the benefits of our own people,” he added.

    He, further pointed out that there are atrocities going on in Kashmir, and 100,000 people in Kashmir have died. “Has anyone condemned India for that? No, because India is an ally, allow us to be neutral too so we can look after our people.”

    ‘I am not a spokesperson for Taliban’: Khan

    Answering a question about the concerning situation of women in Taliban-led Afghanistan, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman said Pakistan has never supported the Taliban. He stated: “I am not responsible or a spokesman for the Taliban, if there was any other solution after 20 years of war, you should have found some solution.”

    Twitterati praised Khan for his interview.

  • Fighter-jet gifting businessman Mohammad Zahoor and a 1990s scandal

    Fighter-jet gifting businessman Mohammad Zahoor and a 1990s scandal

    Pakistani-British businessman and former Kyiv Post owner Mohammad Zahoor has made headlines again, with his decision to buy fighter jets for Ukraine. But this is not the only time Zahoor was the talk of the town. Earlier in the 1990s he was also probed for fraud and misappropriation of funds and later, his name appeared in the Panama Papers pertaining to Ukraine. In 2015, Ukraine’s weekly magazine, Focus had marked Zahoor’s net worth at $500 million. 

    On May 18th 2020, news broke in the cybersphere that Mohammad Zahoor had bought two fighter jets for Ukraine, to help in their war against Russia. On Wednesday Ukraine’s TSN reported that Zahoor’s wife, Ukrainian singer Kamaliya Zahoor appeared in the program ‘Morning with Ukraine’ and announced that her husband gave two fighter jets to Ukraine to help fight the war with Russia which has now entered its 12th week. 

    Formerly, Zahoor was a formidable figure in the Ukranian media. Born in 1955, at the age of 19 he first headed to Ukraine on a Pakistan steel mills scholarship to study metallurgy after which he returned back to his homeland only to go back when the Iron Curtain fell in 1991.The same year, he invested in steel and set up ISTIL Group – originally a producer and trader of steel and steel products, ISTIL has now diversified its portfolio, holding investments in growth industries and sectors across the world.

    However, back in 1998, Mohammad Zahoor turned up as a principal target of an investigation linking Ukrainian politicians to a fraud investigation involving the United Energy Systems of Ukraine, which has been long drawn out for almost 15 years now. During the investigation it was discovered that two companies owned by Zahoor appeared to have a documentary trail connecting them to the fraudulent Ukrainian politicians. This was extensively reported by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). 

    One of these companies, Metalsrussia Group Ltd, was later renamed to ISTIL Group. And the authorized capital of the company as per a certificate of incumbency attached here was $5 million. Another one of his companies South East Asia Metal Limited owned a majority stake in one of the oldest metallurgic enterprises in southeastern Ukraine, the Donetsk metallurgical plant. 

    Eventually the police case against him was dropped for a lack of evidence but Zahoor’s name was listed among two dozen individuals related to Ukraine who were revealed in the hoard of documents called the Panama Papers in 2016.

    He was also involved in mobilizing funds for the aid and resettlement of Ukrainian refugees and is also currently constructing a £1m housing project in Germany. 

  • Bilawal Bhutto defends ex-PM Imran Khan’s visit to Russia

    Bilawal Bhutto defends ex-PM Imran Khan’s visit to Russia

    Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Thursday strongly defended Imran Khan’s Moscow visit, saying there was no way for the former prime minister to know that Russia would invade Ukraine on the day he landed in the Russian capital.

    “As far the former prime minister’s trip to Russia, I would absolutely defend the former prime minister of Pakistan. He conducted that trip as part of his foreign policy and without knowing that — no one is psychic, no one has a sixth sense — there’s no way we could have possibly known that that would be the time [when] the current conflict will start,” Bilawal said.

    https://twitter.com/MediaCellPPP/status/1527401668916256770?s=20&t=KZ4uVQyjDUUPrLQdo_hRgA

    “And I believe it is very unfair to punish Pakistan for such an innocent action.”

    Pakistan, he said, was absolutely clear that it has to stand by the principles of the United Nations, including that of non-use of force, on this issue.

    “We are not part of any conflict. We do not wish to be part of any conflict. In fact, we would continue to emphasise the importance of peace,” he said.

    “We would continue to emphasise the importance of dialogue and diplomacy to resolve this conflict as soon as possible. And we will certainly not take any side or take the side of any aggressor within this context.”

    Twitterati praised FM Bilawal Bhutto for the way he defended not only the formal premier but Pakistan as well. Netizens did not spare this chance to compare Bilawal with Khan.

  • Bush mistakenly described the invasion of Iraq by ‘one man’ as ‘brutal and unjustified’

    Bush mistakenly described the invasion of Iraq by ‘one man’ as ‘brutal and unjustified’

    Former United States (US) President George W. Bush mistakenly described the invasion of Iraq by “one man” as “brutal” and “unjustified” before correcting himself to say he meant to refer to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

    “The result is an absence of checks and balances in Russia, and the decision of one man to launch a wholly unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq,” Bush said, before correcting himself and shaking his head. “I mean, of Ukraine.”

    He jokingly blamed the mistake on his age as the audience burst into laughter.

    In 2003, when Bush was president, the United States led an invasion of Iraq over weapons of mass destruction that were never found. The prolonged conflict killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced many more.

    Bush’s remarks quickly went viral on social media, gathering over three million views on Twitter alone after the clip was tweeted by a Dallas News reporter.

  • US First Lady makes unannounced visit to Ukraine

    US First Lady makes unannounced visit to Ukraine

    US First Lady Jill Biden paid a surprise visit to Ukraine on Sunday to demonstrate solidarity for the war-torn country in its struggle against Russia. Olena Zelenska, her Ukrainian counterpart, was also present.

    Before meeting in private, the two first ladies met in a tiny classroom, sitting across a table from one another and greeting each other in front of the media. Zelenska and her children have been kept safe in an undisclosed location.

    The school where they met has been turned into transitional housing for Ukrainian migrants from elsewhere in the country.

    “Because we understand what it takes for the US First Lady to come here during a war when the military actions are taking place every day, where the air sirens are happening every day, even today,” Olena Zelenska told Jill Biden.

    “I wanted to come on Mother’s Day. I thought it was important to show the Ukrainian people that this war has to stop and this war has been brutal and that the people of the United States stand with the people of Ukraine,” she said while talking to reporters.

    According to UN estimates, at least 1,964 people have been killed and 2,613 injured in Ukraine since the conflict began on February 24, with the true figure expected to be far higher.

  • UN chief arrives in Ukraine

    UN chief arrives in Ukraine

    Following talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced his arrival in Kyiv on Wednesday. “I have arrived in Ukraine after visiting Moscow,” he wrote on his official Twitter account as he landed ahead of talks with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.

    “We will continue our work to expand humanitarian support and secure the evacuation of civilians from the conflict zones. The sooner this war ends, the better — for the sake of Ukraine, Russia, and the world – it will be ,” Guterres tweeted.

    During talks in Moscow on Tuesday, Guterres repeated calls for both Russia and Ukraine to work together to set up “safe and effective” humanitarian corridors in war-torn Ukraine.

    “Despite the fact that the military operation is ongoing, we still hope that we will be able to reach agreements on the diplomatic track,” the Russian leader said in televised remarks.

  • Global oil prices rise amid supply concerns

    Global oil prices rise amid supply concerns

    Oil prices increased on April 20, swamped by fears about tightening supply as the European Union (EU) considers a possible ban on Russian oil imports, which would further impede global oil commerce.

    After reaching a high of $109.80, Brent oil futures finished up $1.53 to close at $108.33 a barrel. After earlier reaching a high of $105.42, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures ended up $1.60, or 1.6 per cent, at $103.79.

    Consumers also reacted to continued disruptions in Libya, where blockades at major fields and export terminals have resulted in a loss of about 550,000 barrels per day of oil supply.

    Brent has climbed about 8 per cent in the last seven days of trading, but the advance has been calm and steady, unlike the frenzy that surrounded Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February and again in mid-March.

    Last week, US crude exports increased to more than 4 million barrels per day, slightly countering Russian crude losses caused by US and European bans.

    Read more: Pakistani rupee plunges by Rs1.05 against the US dollar

    The oil market is still constrained, with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its affiliates, led by Russia, striving to achieve output commitments and US crude inventories plunging dramatically in the week ending April 15.

  • UK PM Boris Johnson begins his India tour from Modi’s home state Gujrat

    British Prime Minister (PM) Boris Johnson arrived in India on Thursday for his first-ever visit. He is expected to offer his help to India cut reliance on Russian oil and defense equipment, reports Reuters.

    Johnson has begun his two-day tour from Indian PM Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat. On Friday, Johnson will visit New Delhi to meet his counter partner, where the two of them will have a take on certain topics including a new defense partnership and a free trade agreement.

    Western countries have urged Delhi to speak out against the war in Ukraine. India, which imports Russian oil and is the world’s biggest buyer of its weapons, abstained in a United Nations (UN) vote condemning the invasion and has not imposed sanctions on Moscow.

    However, Indian PM Modi has expressed concern over the killing of civilians.

    Earlier this month, the United States (US) President Joe Biden told Modi that buying more oil from Russia is not in India’s interest. According to Johnson’s spokesperson, “Johnson will not lecture Modi on the matter.”

    It is pertinent to mention that the United Kingdom (UK) has been at the forefront in providing military aid and support to Ukraine. Johnson recently visited Kyiv to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky. 

    Previously, the India trip has been twice postponed because of Covid flare-ups in each country.

  • Global oil prices climb to highest in three weeks

    Oil prices increased on Monday as fears of limited global supply intensified, with the developing crisis in Ukraine raising the risk of more penalties from the West against Russia, the world’s leading exporter.

    Brent futures were up $1.50, or 1.3 per cent, at $113.20 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate futures were up 98 cents, or 0.9 per cent, at $107.93 per barrel. Both contracts surged more than 2.5 per cent on April 14, ahead of the Easter weekend holidays, on news that the European Union would phase in a ban on Russian oil imports.

    Last week, EU governments said that the bloc’s executive was working on ideas to ban Russian oil, but officials said Germany was not actively backing an immediate ban.

    Those remarks came before the Ukraine situation escalated over the weekend, with the Ukrainian military defying a Russian demand to lay down arms in the pulverised port of Mariupol on Sunday. Moscow, which refers to its efforts in Ukraine as a “special operation,” said its soldiers had nearly entirely captured the city, with no sign of a truce in sight.

    Read more: Oil prices jump following Russia’s biggest production decline

    Due to sanctions or importers voluntarily rejecting Russian shipments, the International Energy Agency has warned that around 3 million barrels per day (BPD) of Russian oil might be shut in from May onwards.

  • Oil prices jump following Russia’s biggest production decline

    Oil prices jump following Russia’s biggest production decline

    Oil prices rose on April 13, after concerns that declining output in sanctions-hit Russia may affect supply, following the Russian announcement that peace negotiations to stop its invasion of Ukraine had reached a stalemate.

    Consequently, Brent crude futures were up 59 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to $105.23 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 60 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to $101.20 a barrel. The previous session saw both contracts rise by more than 6%.

    On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin criticised Ukraine for the termination of peace talks and stated that Russia will not abandon its “special operation” to disarm its western neighbor.

    He stated that peace talks with Ukraine are at a stalemate, but that the seven-week operation is going as planned. In a note, ANZ oil experts stated that this raises the threat of the prolonged potential of supply disruptions in the oil sector.

    According to those familiar with the figures, Russian oil and gas extract output declined below 10 million BPD on April 11, the biggest drop since July 2020, as a result of sanctions imposed by numerous nations after Russia invaded Ukraine and logistical difficulties, which hindered business.

    This is quite serious as Russia is the world’s second-largest oil exporter.

    According to reports, Russia’s Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov said late Tuesday that the government was willing to sell oil and oil products to “friendly countries in whatever price range,” adding that Moscow was focused on guaranteeing the oil sector’s proper functioning.

    Read more: International oil prices declined by 4%, crashing below $100 per barrel

    Meanwhile, indications of a partial relaxation of some of China’s strict COVID-19 restrictions have fueled optimistic sentiment between some market players this week.