The Baloch House

Download map598.83 KBInnovation and the Digital Silk Road are moving to the forefront of Beijing’s efforts to develop the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). President Xi Jinping’s speech at the Second BRI Forum in April 2019 spoke of cooperation in the digital economy and innovation-driven development as priority areas for the BRI. The accompanying policy report “The Belt and Road Initiative Progress, Contributions and Prospects” echoed these sentiments.  Yet, the digital aspect of China’s international profile has become its most controversial, in the wake of US-led security concerns about the trustworthiness of Huawei as a provider of fiber-optic cables and 5G networks. In response to concerns over security risks, Australia has provided a cheaper alternative to replace the Chinese technology company in construction of an undersea fiber optic cable link to the Solomon Islands. In Europe, the UK and the Netherlands have decided to limit Huawei equipment to non-core parts of their 5G tele…

Bridging Perceptions: China in MozambiqueLauren BakerLauren Baker was an inaugural Summer Associate at MacroPolo, where she spent ten weeks in Chicago working on this project. Her work is based on on-the-ground insights and sources she cultivated during the year she spent in Mozambique as a Boren Fellow. A graduate of the University of Chicago’s Committee on International Relations, Lauren now resides in Washington, DC. All views and analysis are solely those of Lauren. All follow-up and questions about this project should be addressed to Lauren: lebaker23@gmail.com.Executive SummaryConcern about China’s role in Africa’s economic development is mounting. Chinese finance and investment on the continent is frequently folded into all-encompassing neocolonial narratives about Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and so-called “debt-trap diplomacy.” Yet African governments by-and-large do not endorse these concerns and many continue to pursue closer ties with China.Mozambique is one su…

Kuwait's ruling emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahm okad Al Sabah, center left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping arrive for the opening session of the 8th Ministerial Meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in Beijing, July 10, 2018.Image Credit: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

The China-Arab States Expo spotlights the growing economic relationship between China and the Middle East.By Eleanor AlbertAugust 31, 2019Chinese representatives are set to meet with Arab delegations for the fourth China-Arab States Expo in Yinchuan city, Ninghai Hui Autonomous Region from September 5 to 8. The gathering, intended to bolster economic and trade exchanges between Beijing and partners in the Middle East and North Africa, will focus on agricultural issues such as rural revitalization, desertification, and the further development of new technologies. China is simultaneously hosting an Online Silk Road conference in Ningxia on internet cooperation and internet related industries including cross-border…

Source: Xinhua| 2019-08-31 02:06:23|CAIRO, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Cultural Center in Cairo held late on Thursday a seminar to give a full explanation of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).The symposium was part of the monthly "China in the eyes of the Egyptians" cultural salon, which is organized by the Chinese Cultural Center in Cairo.The seminar, which was co-chaired by Chinese Cultural Counselor to Egypt Shi Yuewen and Al-Sawy Ahmad, founder of the Salon, witnessed a large attendance including the Chinese ambassador to Cairo and a number of former Egyptian ministers, diplomats and officials.Speaking at the seminar, Essam Sharaf, former Egyptian prime minister and a committee member of the Silk Road NGO Cooperation Network, said that the initiative comes in line with the principle of "the common destiny of mankind.""The world is at a crossroads ... it cannot continue under the ideas of isolationism, protectionism, populism and dominat…

TEHRAN, Aug. 31 (MNA) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, while voicing Iran's support for China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), said the program brings greater economic connectivity to participating countries.He made the remarks in an interview with China's state-run Xinhua news agency published on Friday.“We believe that the United States is pushing a new sort of violent unilateralism, an extremist unilateralism, which destroys all the foundations of global order,” said Zarif, as quoted by Press TV.He made the comment in response to a question whether he agreed with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi that the Iran 2015 nuclear deal - officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – is in fact a contest between unilateralism and multilateralism.Elaborating on the reasons why the US sticks to unilateralism and the best way to counter it, Zarif noted, “Multilateralism is the best counter-measure against unilateral tendencies by the United St…

The ambitious CPEC links China's Kashgar city in Xinjiang province with Pakistan's Gwadar port in Baluchistan through a network of roads, railways and highways.By PTI | Aug 30, 2019, 05.53 PM ISTAgenciesResponding to a question about security, Wang said there was no economic development without security.Karachi: China plans to launch 27 new projects in Pakistan under the second phase of the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) this year, a media report on Friday quoted a senior Chinese diplomat as saying. The ambitious CPEC links China's Kashgar city in Xinjiang province with Pakistan's Gwadar port in Baluchistan through a network of roads, railways and highways."There will be 27 new projects in the second phase of the CPEC," said Consul General of China in Karachi, Wang Yu during a meeting organised by the Karachi Council on Foreign Relations on Thursday.
Following the signing of the memorandum of understanding between China and Pakistan for…

Aug 30, 2019Current BalochistanThe Central Spokesperson Baloch Students Organization Azad (BSO-A) said on the occasion of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances that the issue of missing person in Balochistan is being more and more serious; and the incidents of enforced disappearances are continuously being reported; among the victims political activists, students, human rights activists, lawyers and the journalists are included."While talking about the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the spokesperson said that the enforced disappearance is a crime in accordance to the International Law. Against this crime, the General Assembly of United Nations had approved a law on 20th December 2006, and this law gives the relatives of the victim the right to know the reality about the disappearance of their beloved ones, and the right to search and trace them".   BSO-A statement further read that An arrest, custody or abduction, or, …

TAHA SIDDIQUISource: The Quint, India

Today, on 30 August, the Pakistani government and the military will begin its first public solidarity campaign for Kashmir, themed at raising awareness about the revocation of the ‘special’ status the region enjoyed under India, and the subsequent lockdown in the valley.On Monday, 26 August, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that all Pakistanis would have to dedicate half an hour of their time every Friday to express solidarity with their Kashmiri brethren. Then, on Wednesday, the head of the Pakistan military's media wing, General Asif Ghafoor, said that in line with the government's announcement to observe 'Kashmir Hour', national anthems and sirens would blare across the country at noon on Friday.30 August also marks the UN-recognised International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, which will be observed by the leading human rights organisations in Pakistan.

fbtw

Also Read : Kashmir Lockdown & Army…

Author: *Dostain Baloch*
Spokesman of Baloch Republican Guards*Baloch*:his name might be so familiar, and people add certain adjectives with it to describe us: valiant, warrior, compassionate, hospitable etc. The Baloch have reasons for all them: reasons which force us to fight for our nation, reasons which teach us to stand for our rights, reasons which make us brave, and a history filled with black summons, inked in the blood of martyrs.The Baloch have understood their rights and fought for them. If they were not granted to us honourably, with a pen, we have taken up the sword. For that we have been abused and marginalized. We have fought for not just our rights, but for also for our land, our identity, and our culture. They fought against great kings, from the time of the Great Seljuks to the time of the Mughals, and then the British Raj. Now we’re fighting against Pakistan. Past uprisings have been suppressed, mutual ground was met between the tribal lords and the state. But now w…

Khurram HusainUpdated August 29, 2019

The writer is a member of staff.NOW here is something interesting. On Friday, a devious little piece of mischief was perpetrated by an Indian wire service, and it spread to Pakistan and roiled the capital markets for a full day. It took nearly 24 hours to eradicate this virus from our news flow, and in the course of doing so, an important vulnerability was exposed.Pakistan was one of the countries whose evaluation report was up for discussion at the Asia Pacific Group (APG) meeting in Canberra that ran from Aug 18 to 23 last week. Once that discussion concluded, word from the government here was that all had gone well, that the Mutual Evaluation Report “has been adopted” notwithstanding a few gaps which are scheduled to be addressed soon.Pakistan’s evaluation ended early during the meetings, and by Wednesday word was out that the report has been adopted. By Thursday it was in the papers. Then on Friday the virus broke out. A story was put out by th…