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Tag: Pakistan

  • INAC Expo: 27 countries, others showcase culture

    27 countries and states  were  in Abuja to display  their culture,  arts and crafts at the 11th edition of International Arts and Crafts (INAC) Expo.

    Among the participating countries were China, Hungary, Gambia, Trinidad and Tobago, Bangladesh, Chad, India, Iran, Burkina Faso, Pakistan, Sudan and many other countries.

    The impressive event was also an opportunity for many unemployed Nigerians to acquire free vocational training in arts and craft. The event  was declared open by the publisher of the Abuja-based Leadership newspapers, Mr. Sam Ndah-Isaiah. Also present at the opening ceremony were the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajia Aisha Abubakar; the Information and Culture Minister, Alhaji  Lai Mohammed, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mrs. Grace Gekpe; and a representative of the Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris.

    Delivering a paper titled: Networking for Arts and Crafts to the World: Prospects and Challenges, the Chief Executive Officer of Le Look Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Chinwe Ezenwa,  called on Nigerians to embrace the nation’s art and craft industry as a commercial venture.

    She said African art and craft industry is currently enjoying huge international acceptability and has the prospects of not only alleviating poverty, but also creating jobs. Ezenwa said  at the time she started the production of Afrocentric crafts as beauty items, European designers were the order of the day in Nigeria. But this has changed with the current huge demand for African crafts.

    Her words: “At the time we started, the prospects were not there then, as our products were competing against famous and infamous international labels. Our women    and men were preoccupied in wearing European and Western outfits. Over time, as we approached a new millennium, things began to change. Afrobeat through Fela, Ebenezer Obey, King Sunny Ade and other famous musicians started making waves outside the Nigerian shores.

    “We, on our part, invested in research to understand how and what was accepted internationally. We embraced training; we attended fairs locally and internationally. We became visible and could no longer be ignored by our own Nigerians as the Made in Nigeria campaign became the order of the day.

    “Then came the boom-Made in Nigeria, Made in Africa, the ankara revolution that we had already keyed into a long time ago and waited for the opportunity.”

    Ezenwa said Nigeria has never had the opportunity that it is having currently to expand its arts and craft to all parts of the world.

    In his welcome address, the Director- General of the National Council of Arts and Culture (NCAC), Otunba Segun Runsewe, said even though the arts of craft expo  was in its 11th edition, he saw the need to drastically improve on the expo by not limiting it to the just Africa.

    He said:“This flagship programme of the NCAC was conceived in 2008 as a platform for craft men and women all over Africa and beyond to make contact, interact, showcase their arts and crafts products , exchange ideas and skills, network for investment partners.

    “I am delighted to note that this exposition has lived up to the expectation of bringing about regional integration, continental unity as well as unveiling the economic opportunities in the arts and crafts sector.”

    Runsewe said the decision to change the expo’s name from African Festival of Arts and Culture (AFAC) Expo to International Arts and Crafts (INAC) Expo was taken last year in view of the growing popularity and the need to reflect the global relevance and outlook of the programme. He said having consolidated itself as at the regional level, it became imperative to launch into the global arena so that Nigerian craft men could network with the world.

    Speaking on the expo and their participation, the head  of the Bangladesh  from their country’s embassy in  Nigeria, Mr. Yamin Khan, said:  “The main aim of our participation is that we don’t want to stagnate in a certain place. We want to expand our traditional craft. We want to expand our traditional craft to everywhere.”

    Asked if he was satisfied with the organization and level of participation at the expo, he said: “Of course, there are many booths here. We can share with each other. It is through this kind of programme that we can share with each other.  What we are having, they can pick from us and what we are not having, we can pick from them.  This is the way to go. This is the way to show your craft and your products. This way, it will help you to expand your business all over the world.”

    Some of the participating countries took time out to celebrate their day and showcase their culture. Among these countries was the People’s Republic of China which put up a beautiful show to the admiration and satisfaction of visitors and participants.

  • Iran arrests groups planning attacks on pilgrims – Minister

    Iran on Tuesday said it has arrested three militant groups planning attacks on Shi’ite Muslims at the annual pilgrimage of Arbaeen.

    The Arbaeen marks the end of a 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammad.

    Hundreds of thousands of Iranians travel to the Iraqi city of Kerbala each year, where Shi’ites believes the remains of Imam Hussein are entombed.

    Iran’s Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi, visiting in the Iran-Iraq border area, was quoted by state television as saying that “three terrorist groups that wanted to target Arbaeen mourners were arrested.”

    He did not disclose precisely when and where the arrests had taken place.

    Read Also: Iran’s Supreme Leader :Trump’s speech ‘silly, superficial’

    Shi’ites is considered apostates by hardline Sunni Islamist insurgents in Iraq.

    Armed Sunni groups in Iran have also increased attacks on military and civilian targets in recent months.

    Iran stepped up security in border areas after five gunmen killed 25 people at a military parade in the southwest in September.

    Islamic State militants and an Iranian ethnic Arab opposition movement claimed responsibility for the attack, but neither claim provided convincing evidence.

    At least 10 Iranian security personnel including Revolutionary Guards were kidnapped on the border with Pakistan recently.

    A Sunni separatist group said it had seized them as revenge for the oppression of Sunni Muslims.

  • Saudi Arabia to build oil refinery in Pakistan

    Saudi Arabia will build an oil refinery in Pakistan near the Iran border, officials said on Thursday amid warnings that the move may trigger a conflict between the Persian Gulf rivals.

    The oil facility will be located near Gwadar sea port in the South-Western province of Balochistan, Petroleum Minister, Sarwar Khan, said.

    Pakistan’s cabinet approved the plan after a delegation from the Saudi Energy Ministry visited Gwadar on Oct. 2, Khan said.

    The capacity and the cost of the refinery were still to be determined, the minister added, but local media reports suggested the investment might be around eight billion dollars.

    Since taking over in August, Pakistan’s new government has been looking to Saudi Arabia to invest in the country and seeking financial assistance to avoid a looming economic crisis.

    Read Also: Pakistan invites Saudi Arabia to join China’s Belt and Road corridor

    Analysts warned that Saudi investment in a region bordering Iran could trigger a new conflict between Riyadh and Tehran.

    “It is natural that Iranians will not be comfortable to see Saudis in their backyard,” Security Analyst, Fida Khan, said.
    China could also be upset by the move, according to analysts.

    The Chinese have built a port in Gwadar as part of 62-billion dollar project to establish an overland and sea trade route through Pakistan to reach Middle Eastern, European and African markets.

    Political and defence analysts warned the investment by a U.S. ally in a project initiated by Beijing might anger the Chinese.

    “This is a risky move,” said Irfan Shehzad from the Institute of Policy Studies think tank. “The Chinese may not be pleased.”

    Pakistan’s new government said the investment plan with China that was signed by the previous administration might push the country into a “vicious debt trap.”

  • Pakistan invites Saudi Arabia to join China’s Belt and Road corridor

    Islamabad has invited Saudi Arabia to become the third partner in the Beijing-funded Belt and Road corridor of major infrastructure projects in Pakistan, Pakistan’s information minister said yesterday.

    The announcement came on the back of a two-day trip to Saudi Arabia by Prime Minister Imran Khan, who had been expected to push for financial assistance from Islamabad’s ally to help Pakistan deal with a brewing currency crisis.

    Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry did not say if Saudi Arabia would be loaning money to Pakistan to help top up its dwindling foreign currency reserves, but said he expected Saudi Arabia to invest in Pakistan in a major way.

    “Saudi Arabia is the first country whom we have invited as third country partner in CPEC,’’ Chaudhry said, referring to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the Pakistan leg of China’s vast Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.

    Beijing has pledged $60 billion to build power stations, major highways, new and upgraded railways and higher capacity ports, to help turn Pakistan into a major overland route linking western China to the world.

    Chaudhry said a Saudi delegation will be coming to Pakistan in the first week of October, including the Saudi minister for finance and energy, and that should lay down a “foundation for a very big partnership”.

    “God willing, very big investments will be coming to Pakistan from Saudi Arabia this way,” he added.

    Khan’s term began with new doubt over the CPEC projects, when his commerce minister was quoted as saying Pakistan would suspend them for a year and review them.

    The minister later said his comments were taken out of context, and Pakistani officials reassured Beijing there would be no delay.

    Pakistan has in the past suggested that other countries could join CPEC, but the response has been lukewarm due to concerns that China would dominate any relationship.

    Saudi Arabia has a history of bailing out Pakistan financially. In 2014, six months after Pakistan obtained its last IMF bailout, Saudi Arabia loaned it 1.5 billion dollars that the government used to strengthen its rupee currency.

    Ahead of Khan’s visit to Saudi Arabia speculation was rife that Islamabad will be asking for a loan to help Pakistan avoid being forced to seek another IMF bailout.

     

  • Pakistan: Imran Khan has won but real power still lies with the army

    It is now certain that Imran Khan will lead Pakistan’s next government. But how much power will he really wield, and what can Pakistan and the world expect?

    Khan’s victory speech struck a conciliatory note, a welcome surprise to many after a vicious election campaign.

    He pledged to improve relations with Pakistan’s neighbours, India and Afghanistan, to widen the country’s tax base, stamp out corruption and improve governance.

    Pakistan has been directly ruled by the military for more than half of its 71 years. In this nascent democracy, each election is a milestone: this was only the second transition from one democratically elected government to another. But Khan’s victory comes against a troubled backdrop. Over the past few months, the country has seen drastically ramped up censorship, with widespread allegations of military interference in favour of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. Every single opposition party has rejected his win, alleging vote-rigging.

    Regardless, 22 years after entering politics, the former cricketer is to be the country’s prime minister. I have spent the past few weeks in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, and have heard countless people say something along the lines of “He can’t be worse than the others”. This is a symptom of a growing malaise with dynastic Pakistani politicians, who have swapped power between themselves for generations, appearing to do little more than enrich themselves.

    Khan is, first and foremost, a populist. He has long railed against corruption. During the last election campaign in 2013, he pledged that he would eliminate major corruption in Pakistan in 90 days. Given Pakistan is currently ranked 117 out of 180 countries on the Transparency International index, this is quite the promise.

    It is also worth looking at Khan’s bedfellows. A big factor in his victory this time around was defections by popular politicians from the other main parties. Khan refers to these politicians as “electables”. They might also be referred to as “corruptibles”, deeply enmeshed in the system that Khan wants to overhaul.

    Another eye-catching promise he made was to create 10 million jobs over five years, but as Pakistan rattles towards an economic crisis and a possible international bailout, it is not clear how those jobs will emerge.

    Around the world, Khan is still most famous as a cricket champion and international playboy who led Pakistan to victory in the 1992 World Cup. However, over the years, Khan’s attitudes have drastically shifted. He has embraced conservative Islam, recently marrying a spiritual teacher who wears a full face veil, giving interviews saying that he had never seen her face before they got married.

    He raised eyebrows in Pakistan earlier this year when he defended the Taliban’s system of justice during an interview with BBC Hard Talk. For several years, he has been dubbed “Taliban Khan” in reference to his overtures to religious hardliners, and this interview appeared to confirm those suspicions. Over the last parliament session, the PTI has vehemently opposed a series of women’s rights bills in different provinces, including one in Punjab that criminalised domestic violence. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where Khan’s party has led the provincial government since 2013, a similar bill failed to pass.

    Khan has shown himself willing to work with more or less anyone in the pursuit of power

    Perhaps one of the biggest questions about Khan’s government is how much power he will actually have. There is significant evidence of political manipulation by the military establishment during the run-up to the election. Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister and leader of one of Pakistan’s main parties, the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N), was jailed earlier this month on corruption charges, in a move human rights advocates describe as selective targeting. In the days before Sharif’s arrest, nearly 500 members of his party were detained as the military took steps to prevent a protest. Sharif has consistently asserted civilian supremacy and tried to reduce the army’s role in public life. The military’s apparent support for Khan and the PTI is most likely down to a desire to keep Sharif out of power, rather than any special liking for Khan.

    But his relationship with the military, coupled with the fact that he is likely to either be heading a coalition or to have a very small majority in parliament, will limit his power. Even when it is not in direct control of Pakistan, the army pulls strings behind the scenes, particularly on foreign policy and domestic security. It is unlikely that we will see serious steps towards the rapprochement with India and Afghanistan that Khan alluded to in his victory speech, given that it runs directly counter to the military’s strategy overseas.

    In his courting of both hardline religious elements and the military establishment, Khan has shown himself willing to work with more or less anyone in the pursuit of power. It remains to be seen whether he will carve out a unifying path, making good on his promises to improve governance and take on the country’s crippling economic crisis – or whether the political expediency he has demonstrated thus far will leave him hamstrung.

     

    • This article was originally published by The Guardian (UK) with the title ‘Imran Khan has won over Pakistan. But real power still lies with the army.’

     

  • Israel bombed Iranian-backed militias in Syria – Netanyahu

    Israel has attacked Iranian-backed Shi’ite Muslim militias in Syria, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday, casting such actions as potentially helping to stem a Syrian Sunni Muslim refugee exodus to Europe.

    Israeli officials have previously disclosed scores of air strikes within Syria to prevent suspected arms transfers to Lebanon’s Shi’ite Hezbollah guerrillas or Iranian military deployments.

    But they have rarely given detail on the operations, or described non-Lebanese militiamen as having been targeted.

    Netanyahu accused Iran, which has been helping Damascus beat back a seven-year-old rebellion, of bringing in 80,000 Shi’ite fighters from countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan to mount attacks against Israel and “convert” Syria’s Sunni majority.

    “That is a recipe for a re-inflammation of another civil war – I should say a theological war, a religious war – and the sparks of that could be millions more that go into Europe and so on.

    Read Also: UN: Netanyahu bows hot as secretary-general makes first regional trip

    “And that would cause endless upheaval and terrorism in many, many countries,” Netanyahu told an international security forum.

    “Obviously we are not going to let them do it. We’ll fight them. By preventing that – and we have bombed the bases of this, these Shi’ite militias – by preventing that, we are also offering, helping the security of your countries, the security of the world.”

    Netanyahu did not elaborate. About half Syria’s pre-war 22 million populations has been displaced by the fighting, with hundreds of thousands of refugees making it to Europe.

    Syria’s population is mostly Sunni Muslim. President Bashar al-Assad is from the Alawite religious minority, often considered an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam.

    Under recent deals between Assad’s government and mainly Sunni rebels, insurgents have left long-besieged areas sometimes in exchange for Shi’ite residents moving from villages surrounded by insurgents.

    The political opposition to Assad says the deals amount to forced demographic change and deliberate displacement of his enemies away from the main cities of western Syria.

    The Damascus government says the deals allow it to take back control and to restore services in the wrecked towns.

    NAN

  • U.S. offers $5m bounty for Pakistani Taliban chief

    U.S. offers $5m bounty for Pakistani Taliban chief

    The U.S. State Department is offering a five-million-dollar reward for information leading to Pakistani Taliban leader Mullah Fazlullah.

    The U.S. also announced a three-million-dollar reward each for two other senior leaders of militias linked to the Pakistani Taliban.

    The move is seen as another attempt by Washington to defuse tensions with the Pakistani government.

    The State Department then said it would freeze almost all U.S. security assistance to the country.

    Pakistani political and military leaders have been demanding that international and Afghan security forces take tougher action against Fazlullah’s group, which is currently based in Afghanistan.

    The reward offers, announced on Thursday, come after a suspected U.S. drone strike killed no fewer than 21 would-be suicide bombers, including a son of Fazlullah, at a training camp in Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar province.

    Fazlullah rose to prominence when he ordered the attack on the world’s youngest Noble Laureate, Malala Yousafzai, in 2012.

    He was elevated to lead the Pakistani Taliban in 2013 after the death of his predecessor Hakimullah Mehsud in a U.S. drone strike.

    The reward for Abdul Wali, alias Omer Khorasani, the leader of Jamaat ul Ahrar faction of the Taliban and Lashkar-e-Islam group chief Mangal Bagh was also announced in the statement on Thursday.

    On Thursday, 20 militants were believed to have been killed in an American drone strike on a compound said to have been used by Fazlullah.

    The strike was carried out in a remote area of Kunar province in Afghanistan and the dead are believed to include the leader’s son and senior commanders.

    One of them, Qari Yaseen, is believed to have trained suicide bombers.

    The U.S. did not comment but Pakistani officials claimed that the strike was helped by intelligence from Islamabad.

    The incident comes amid fraught relations with the U. S. as President Trump piles pressure on Islamabad to act against terrorist havens within its borders.

    dpa/NAN

  • Nigerian businessmen intrested in Pakistan surgical equipment industry

    Nigerian businessmen intrested in Pakistan surgical equipment industry

    Nigerian businessmen have indicated interest in collaborating with Pakistani industrialists in surgical equipment manufacturing, according to Pakistan Head of Chancery, Asim Khan.

    Khan told the newsmen in a meeting held on Friday in Abuja that other areas of partnership being explored by the businessmen included textile, shoe making and agricultural equipment and facilities.

    “The increasing interaction between Nigerian and Pakistani businessmen will open more areas of investment, create opportunities for joint ventures and further promote cordial relationship,” he said.

    READ ALSO: Air Force gets five Super Mushsak aircraft from Pakistan

    He disclosed that application for business visa from Nigerians visiting Pakistan had increased, assuring that the relationship between the two countries would further improve with the cooperation in the area of military material and training support.

    Pakistan has also in recent past provided logistic assistance to Nigeria in the fight against terrorism with donations of military aircraft to the West African nation’s military.

    NAN

  • Air Force gets five Super Mushsak aircraft from Pakistan

    Air Force gets five Super Mushsak aircraft from Pakistan

    The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) yesterday took delivery of five Super Mushsak aircraft from Pakistan meant to enhance its training and operational efficiency.

    The Chief of Logistics, NAF headquarters, AVM Garba Bello said while taking delivery of the aircraft in Kaduna that the total Super Mushsak aircraft received from Pakistan now stood at 10.

    “The aircraft acquired is for the training of air force personnel and to improve the service’ air power,” he said.

    Bello, who represented the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar at the event, said:“This will enhance training of our student pilots who will now complete their training within stipulated the time.

    “This will get them to go to another form of training in time and finally get them to launch into battle field in the Northeast and other parts of the country.”

    According to him, the aircraft is modern and has spare parts in the event of repairs and maintenance.

    “In the NAF, we have a very strict maintenance culture, we have instructor pilots and engineers on it.”

    Team leader of Pakistan Air force, Wing Cdr. Zeeshan Ahmed said 10 super Mushsak planes have been supplied to Nigeria from Pakistan.

    He said the gesture would strengthen existing relationship between the two countries and encourage the two armed forces to upscale their synergy.

  • U.S. to withhold $255m military aid to Pakistan

    U.S. to withhold $255m military aid to Pakistan

    The U.S. authorities decided to withhold 255 million dollars in military aid to Pakistan after President Donald Trump’s critical remarks about the south Asian country, local media reported.

    On Monday, Trump wrote on his Twitter page that the U.S. had allocated millions of dollars in aid to Pakistan, while the latter had not contributed to countering terrorism and provided safe harbor to terrorists from Afghanistan.

    The U.S. president vowed to stop providing financial aid for Pakistan.

    “The U.S. does not plan to spend the 255 million dollars in ( Fiscal Year ) 2016 Foreign Military Financing for Pakistan at this time…

    “The president has made clear that the U.S. expects Pakistan to take decisive action against terrorists and militants on its soil, and that Pakistan’s actions in support of the South Asia Strategy will ultimately determine the trajectory of our relationship, including future security assistance,” a national security official told the Fox News broadcaster on Monday.

    Read also: Pakistan finance minister denies corruption charges

    The official added that Trump would continue to review Pakistan’s level of cooperation.

    Pakistan is a U.S. partner in southern Asia but the Afghan Islamist movement of Taliban, outlawed in Russia, uses territories in northern Pakistan for its bases.

    Moreover, Osama bin Laden, the former leader of al-Qaeda terrorist organisation ( also banned in Russia ), who was responsible for the 9/11 attacks, was found and killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan in 2011.

    NAN