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Remarks by Masatsugu Asakawa, President, Asian Development Bank, at the 30 Years of Kazakhstan-ADB Anniversary Reception, 8 November 2024

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Senior Secretariat Assistant in the Office of the Secretary. The deadline for submitting applications is on 18-NOV-2024.

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ADB has a vacancy for the position of Senior Administration and Communications Assistant in the Strategy, Policy and Partnerships Department. The deadline for submitting applications is on 26-NOV-2024.

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BEYOND rhetoric, unity is rare within the Muslim world. Yet it was reassuring to see Muslim states speak with one voice at the extraordinary OIC-Arab League summit in Riyadh on Monday, specifically concerning the genocidal wars that Israel has unleashed in Palestine and Lebanon.

Although it would have been better if the Muslim bloc had announced practical measures to punish Israel and its supporters for their murder of tens of thousands of Palestinian and Lebanese civilians, in the current circumstances, even coming together on one platform to denounce the genocidal violence is an achievement. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman vowed to stand by “our brothers in Palestine and Lebanon”, while warning Israel to respect Iran’s sovereignty.

In view of the acrimony that has often marked ties between the kingdom and the Islamic republic, this show of solidarity is creditable. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif sought an arms embargo against Israel; indeed, such an embargo, as well as Muslim states’ freezing of economic and diplomatic ties with Israel, should have happened as soon as Tel Aviv began its butchery in Gaza. The summit also reiterated the need for Israel to vacate all occupied Arab land, including the held Palestinian territories and the Golan Heights.

As the Muslim-Arab bloc was pledging solidarity with Palestine in Riyadh, the Israelis were busy pouring cold water over any prospect of a sovereign Palestinian state. The new Israeli foreign minister said that statehood was not a “realistic” position, while Tel Aviv’s extremist finance minister has asserted that plans are ready to annex the occupied West Bank. This is a clear message that the Israelis are not ready for peace and Tel Aviv’s bloodthirsty, expansionist policies will continue.

Moreover, Donald Trump is assembling a mortifying line-up of pro-Israel, anti-Iran hawks to head positions in the UN and the State Department. It is safe to say that peace-making will not be a priority, unless this ‘peace’ entails total capitulation of the Arab side.

Exactly 50 years ago, Yasser Arafat told the world while speaking at the UN that he held forth an olive branch as well as a freedom fighter’s gun. “Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand,” Arafat warned. Sadly, in their arrogance, the Israelis have effectively cut off the hand holding the olive branch, which has left the Palestinians clasping only a gun.

What occurred on Oct 7, 2023, was the result of the Israelis repeatedly dismissing the olive branch. Today, Gaza is a massive graveyard, Lebanon is on fire and the entire Middle East is on the brink of a conflagration. The only solution is for Israel to stop its slaughter, and recognise the reality that Palestine cannot be erased.

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2024

Beijing is pushing Pakistan to allow its own security staff to provide protection to thousands of Chinese citizens working in Pakistan during talks, after a car bombing near Karachi’s airport that was seen as a major security breach, sources said.

Last month’s airport bombing that killed two Chinese engineers returning to work on a project after a holiday in Thailand was the latest in a string of attacks on Beijing’s interests in Pakistan.

The attacks have angered China, which has pushed Pakistan to begin formal negotiations for a joint security management system.

Reuters spoke to five Pakistani security and government sources with direct knowledge of the previously unreported negotiations and demands on condition of anonymity, as the talks are sensitive, and reviewed a written proposal sent by Beijing to Islamabad.

“They (Chinese) want to bring in their own security,” said one official, who sat in on a recent meeting, adding that Pakistan had not so far agreed to such a step.

According to the official, a written proposal sent to Islamabad by Beijing, and forwarded to Pakistani agencies for review, mentioned a clause allowing the dispatching of security agencies and military forces into each others’ territory to assist in counter-terrorism missions and conduct joint strikes.

The dispatching would be done after discussions, but Pakistan was averse to the proposal, one official said.

Neither Beijing nor Islamabad confirmed the talks officially.

Dawn.com has also reached out to the Foreign Office for a comment.

The source, and two other officials, said there was a consensus on setting up a joint security management system, and that Pakistan was amenable to Chinese officials sitting in on security meetings and co-ordination.

But there was no agreement on their participating in security arrangements on the ground.

The first official said Pakistan had asked China for help in improving its intelligence and surveillance capabilities instead of direct involvement.

A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry told Reuters it was not familiar with talks on a joint security scheme, but added, “China will continue to strengthen co-operation with Pakistan and make joint efforts to do its utmost to maintain the security of Chinese personnel, projects and institutions.”

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, declined to comment to Reuters while the interior and planning ministries did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

In a statement last week, Pakistan’s interior ministry said both sides agreed to develop a joint strategy to prevent similar incidents in the future.

‘Grave security breach’

The nature of the Karachi bombing has angered Beijing, which is now pushing harder to achieve a long-standing demand to control security arrangements for its citizens.

A pick-up truck rigged with nearly 100 kilogrammes of explosives waited unchecked for about 40 minutes near the outermost security cordon of the heavily guarded airport before its driver rammed it into a vehicle carrying Chinese engineers, officials said.

“It was a grave security breach,” admitted one of the officials investigating the bombing, which came just a week before Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s visit to Islamabad, the first such trip in a decade.

The official said investigators believe the attackers had “inside help” in securing details of the itinerary and route of the engineers, who had returned from a month off in Thailand.

They were to be escorted back to a power plant set up as part of plans for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Longtime Pakistan ally China has thousands of nationals working on projects grouped under the CPEC, a $65-billion investment in President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, which seeks to expand China’s global reach by road, rail and sea.

‘Chinese frustrations’

Publicly, China has mostly backed Pakistan’s arrangements, even as it calls for enhanced security.

Privately, Beijing has expressed frustration. At one recent meeting, the Chinese side provided evidence that Pakistan had failed to follow security protocols agreed on twice in recent months, three officials said. Such protocols usually feature high standards for the deployment and movement of Chinese officials.

However, earlier this month, China’s Ambassador to Pakistan, Jiang Zaidong, while speaking at an event, had expressed frustration over the attacks, stating it was “unacceptable” and urging Islamabad to strengthen security measures for Chinese nationals and crack down on anti-China elements.

In response, Foreign Office Spokes­person Mumtaz Zahra Baloch had called the statement “perplexing” and a stark departure from the longstanding diplomatic norms between the two nations.

Chinese nationals have been in the crosshairs of banned outfits who accuse Beijing and Pakistan of exploiting minerals in Balochistan, where China has a strategic port and mining interests.

Thousands of Pakistani security officers from the army, police and a dedicated force called the Special Protection Unit are posted to guard Chinese nationals.

Only China’s embassy in Islamabad and its consulates are allowed Chinese official security personnel, the Pakistani officials said.

Tremors were felt in various cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well as Islamabad on Wednesday after a quake jolted Afghanistan’s Badakhshan region.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake had a magnitude of 5.1, while the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) reported it as having a 5.3 magnitude.

The USGS said the quake’s centre was located 37 kilometres west-southwest of Afghanistan’s Ishkashim town and had a 220.7km depth.

The earthquake struck at 10:13am (Pakistan time), both the USGS and PMD confirmed.

No casualties have been reported so far.

DawnNewsTV reported that the tremors were felt in Peshawar and its adjoining areas, as well as Islamabad.

Speaking to DawnNewsTV, two correspondents based in the cities said the quake caused people to evacuate buildings.

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