The Baloch House

Charanjeet Singh, Human rights activist
Sikh peace activist gunned down in PakistanANI | Updated: May 29, 2018 20:45 ISTPeshawar [Pakistan], May 29 (ANI): A human rights activist and Sikh community leader Charanjeet Singh was shot dead by bike-borne assailants in Peshawar in broad daylight on Tuesday.Singh, who had shifted to Peshawar with his family nearly two decades ago, was a highly respectable figure in the region. He was known for promoting religious harmony and discouraging violence.
Although the exact motive behind the incident is still unknown, community and local political leaders suspect the hand of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) hand in the attack.In the run-up to the upcoming general election, which is scheduled for July 25, the political atmosphere of the country is getting increasingly turbulent. While the Pakistan Army and the ISI have been covertly supporting the extremism, a few players are contesting to bring a more liberal government in Islamabad.…

Press Trust of India | Washington | Last Updated at May 24 2018 12:55 IST /Groups representing various ethnic minorities of Pakistan has formed a joint platform South Asian Minorities Alliance Foundation against what they alleged as the massive human rights violation by security forces and ruling establishment of the country.Two Republican Congressmen Thomas Garrett from Virginia and Scott Perry from Pennsylvania extended their support to the newly formed group in their fight against human rights violations in Pakistan."You don't take American money and oppress your people with our money. That's not good," Congressman Perry told the gathering of people representing various ethnic groups of Pakistan Mohajirs, Baloch, Gilgit and Hazara. He has voted in House of Representative against funding for Pakistan."This might be the day that marks the beginning of a great movement that changes the world. You shouldn't have to be afraid in America or anywhere. You should…

CGTNPreserving literary classics and historical records, a library can also serve as a significant basement for cultural communication. More than 20 libraries from countries and regions along the Silk Road organized into an alliance Monday to cooperate on document sharing, classics protection, and digitalization. The Silk Road International Library Alliance forms in Chengdu City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 28, 2018. /VCG PhotoOn the 2nd Silk Road International Cultural Forum (SCF) held in Moscow in 2015, China firstly proposed to form a library alliance along the Silk Road and build a platform for cultural cooperation and resource sharing. The proposal comes to a real project expected to promote more communication and coordination of multiethnic cultures among the countries along the Silk Road. CGTN PhotoInitiated by the National Library of China (NLC), the alliance has the first batch of 24 members from countries and regions such as Bangladesh, Belarus, Malaysia, Mon…

Billed as a potential site of international collaboration, China also has political motives for this undertakingCaroline HaskinsMAY—29—2018 05:57PM ESTIn 2019, China will begin to build its own space station—but they don’t want the space just for themselves. According to an announcement Tuesday morning from the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, China wants to share the station with space-faring countries, developing countries, universities, and companies from around the world to conduct experiments.Michael Listner, the founder of the private space policy consulting firm Space Law & Policy Solutions, said in an email to The Outline that he believes China’s motivations are primarily power-driven. “Overall, this an effort by China to gain a stronger soft-power footing in the UN,” Listener said. “Especially among nations that do not have direct access to outer space.”China has been restricted from using the U.S. section of the ISS since 2011. And by 2025, all U.S. federal…

Harsh V. PantTuneer MukherjeeMAY 30, 2018 00:02 IST
A more concerted and intensive engagement will serve both India and Indonesia wellPrime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Southeast Asia this week has the potential to spark a new period of maritime cooperation between India and Indonesia. An uptick in India-Indonesia relations will be a welcome development for both President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and Mr. Modi, who through their respective ‘Global Maritime Fulcrum’ and ‘Act East’ policies have envisaged sharper maritime collaboration in the region.China, the common concernThe visit comes against the backdrop of an offer from the Indonesian government to grant India access to its Sabang port for the development of the port and an economic zone. Located at the mouth of the strategically important Strait of Malacca, Sabang is only 100 nautical miles from the southern tip of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. India and Indonesia share multiple common concerns, one of which is China’s growing…

ZHENGZHOU, May 29 (Xinhua) -- China has become a major driving force for the tourism in countries and regions along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, according to a UN World Tourism Organization's (UNWTO) report released on Monday.The number of tourists in the areas along the Road grew from 775,000 in 2012 to nearly 3.1 million in 2016, with 2.1 million coming from China, the report said.Released at the Belt and Road tourist city mayors' summit in Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan Province, the report focused on maritime heritage and cruises, and examined implications for UNWTO members."As a component of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative, the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road is expected to play a vital role for the maritime infrastructure development through regional cooperation, and it has a potential to favour the establishment of new maritime routes based on the ancient Maritime Silk Road heritage," said Robert Travers, a consultant with the UNW…

China’s ostensible intentions are to turn Gwadar port into a focal point of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor. But the geography of the region is a major stumbling block in the realisation of these ambitions and raises questions about the project’s underlying motivesBY Amit Bhandari and Aashna AgarwalChina plans to spend more than $1 billion to turn the port in Gwadar on Pakistan’s western edge into a hub of its proposed China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). But the investment appears economically unviable – and that raises the possibility its real purpose could be to advance China’s military interests.Pakistan says the port will provide maritime connectivity to western China, to landlocked Afghanistan and other central Asian republics. Gwadar will provide alternative shipping routes for the Chinese. Pakistan also touts Gwadar as a way to allow Chinese trade with West Asia to bypass the Malacca straits chokepoint.These arguments are debatable for several reasons.Click on the ima…

Syed Ali Shah May 28, 2018  : An 18-month-old girl has been diagnosed with crippling polio virus in Dukki district, Balochistan, officials of the provincial health department told DawnNewsTV on Monday.This is the second polio case reportedfrom Balochistan this year, and both cases have been from Dukki district.Health officials said blood samples of Bibi Farzana were sent to a laboratory for the test, which confirmed the presence of polio virus.Editorial: Polio eradicationARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER ADIt is yet to be ascertained if the child was ever administered polio drops.During 2017, three polio cases were reported in Balochistan. The cases were from Quetta and Killa Abdullah districts of the province.The Balochistan government has already imposed an emergency in the province with the objective of wiping out the crippling virus

https://www.dawn.com/news/1410554

 PARVEZ JABRI MAY 30TH, 20180QUETTA: The provincial government signed an agreement to overcome falling level of underground water due to long drought and less rain in Balochistan.The provincial cabinet meeting held here on Tuesday was briefed about this agreement made with foreign company, Client Global Control Trading.Under this agreement the company would initially cause artificial rainfall on trial basis over the four dams situated in Gwadar district of Makran Division, covering around 10,000 square kilometer area.In the event of success, the government will make a year contract with the proposed company, which will provide artificial rainfall in different areas of the province, especially in the suburban areas of Quetta, this would increase underground water levels.The cabinet was informed that the relevant company had done successful tryouts of artificial raining in Dubai and Iran, while the project had been practically implemented after consulting the technicians.The cabinet app…

London [United Kingdom], May 29 : Free Balochistan Movement (FBM) held simultaneous protests, rallies, and awareness campaigns in different cities of the world on Monday, against testing of Pakistan's nuclear weapons in Balochistan in 1998.The protests were held on the 20th anniversary of the nuclear tests, codenamed Chagai-1. In the UK, the USA, Germany, Austria, The Netherlands, Canada, Norway and Sweden, the FBM activists highlighted the dangers of Pakistani nuclear weapons to Balochistan and to world peace. Protesters carried large banners and placards inscribed with slogans and pictures of affected people after the nuclear explosions.The FBM activists also distributed leaflets and explained the Balochistan situation to those who stood by and asked about the protest. Many passersby expressed their support and sympathy for the people of Balochistan and condemned Pakistani state atrocities against Baloch people.In Germany, members of Afghan, Ahwazi Arab and Sindhi communities al…

By PTI |The order is being seen as Pakistan's efforts towards incorporating the disputed region as its fifth province.BEIJING: China today refrained from making any direct comment on Pakistan's latest move on exercising administrative authority on Gilgit-Baltistan, but said the CPEC, which traverses through the disputed region, will not affect its stand that the Kashmir issue should be resolved between India and Pakistan.Pakistan's Cabinet on May 21 approved Gilgit-Baltistan Order 2018 which was also endorsed by the region's assembly. The order is being seen as Pakistan's efforts towards incorporating the disputed region as its fifth province.The move sparked anger in the region and drew strong reaction from New Delhi which said the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir, which also includes the so-called 'Gilgit-Baltistan' areas, is an integral part of India by virtue of its accession in 1947.ADVERTISEMENTChinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told…

BY APPBEIJING: Commenting on India’s protest to Pakistan against issuance of the Gilgit-Baltistan Order, China on Tuesday said that the Kashmir issue was a legacy issue between Pakistan and India and should be properly handled by the two countries through dialogue and consultation.“First of all, I will like to say that the Kashmir issue is a legacy issue between Pakistan and India and should be properly handled by the two countries through dialogue and consultation,” Chinese foreign ministry’s spokesperson Hua Chunying said during her regular press briefing held here.Pakistan government has already categorically rejected India’s protest against the Gilgit-Baltistan Order and its claim over Indian occupied State of Jammu Kashmir as an ‘integral part’ of India. When asked to respond that the move was aimed at advancing the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project through the region, she said, “China has taken note of relevant reports.”Hua said that the China-Pakistan Economic C…

Dear reader,The signal-to-noise ratio is a scientific measure that compares the level of a desired signal with the level of background noise.Engineers use this ratio for electrical signals, but in the time of Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump, the concept is very important for the news business. U.S.-China trade tensions and whatever you call the developments on the Korean Peninsula are two of the biggest news stories of the year, and both are generating a din, a hubbub, a clamor, a racket, and a commotion. But that’s really all we have. The parties involved are making a fuss, but nothing has really changed. America’s economic ties to China are much as they were last year, while Kim Jong-un still has his nukes and his gulags.So while at SupChina, our aim is to keep you on top of the very latest news from and about China every day, sometimes news from the margins tells you a lot more than the headlines do. So as you read about North Korea and the trade war covfefe, consider that stories of …

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Russia and China are eager to dance with Iran after U.S. President Donald Trump rtore up his government’s commitment to the Iran nuclear deal. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will attend a regional summit for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Qingdao next month, where discussions will cover economic, energy, and security cooperation throughout Central Asia.▶Iran currently is an SCO observer, but has long sought full SCO membership, for which Russia and China have voiced approval.▶Beijing will push for cooperation to combat the “three evil forces” — terrorism, extremism, and separatism — in addition to economic cooperation related to Belt and Road at the SCO Summit in June, the SCMP reports, but in general China wants to “push forward development of bilateral cooperation,” Reuters reports.▶Chinese support for Iran also has a lot to do with oil. The Wall Street Journal reports (paywall) that “Sinopec...sent a delegation to Tehran this month to complete a $3 billio…

Duterte remains a popular leader. But he is not a king and he lacks the power to unilaterally decide the fate of the Philippines’ external relations, particularly vis-à-vis China and America.Richard Javad HeydarianMay 28, 2018TweetShareShareIn recent months, Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has seemingly abandoned strategic diversification in favor of “strategic leaning” towards China. To the Filipino leader, China is an indispensable geographical reality, which has to be accommodated with clear-eyed realism. He sees American primacy in Asia as a geopolitical anomaly, which will soon disappear from the regional landscape.Amid festering disagreements with traditional partners over human-rights issues, Duterte has also come to rely on China as his main strategic patron in the international system. In fact, Beijing has been among the most vociferous defenders of Dutetre’s war on drugs, which has allegedly led to widespread human-rights violations, in the United Nations. Above all, Du…

WorldVinay Kaura May 28, 2018tWhile the shifting of the global balance of power towards the East is in New Delhi's interests, India is not unmindful of the implications of China's growing dominance on regional geopolitics. Whether taking inflexible positions on the long-standing border dispute, or denying India a seat at the Nuclear Suppliers Group or shielding Pakistan-based terrorists from UN sanctions, Beijing's actions have often exerted a negative influence on India-China ties. No surprise, India is pushing for deeper partnerships with many Southeast Asian countries while strengthening its existing bonds with the United States.New Delhi's attitude to India's security has largely been shaped by the way in which the turbulent frontiers left over from the British era have interacted with an increasingly challenging internal political environment. Partly because of India's security circumstances and partly due to geographical imperatives, the Narendra Modi gov…