ISLAMABAD, 9 September 2021, (TON): Ambassador of European Union Ms Androulla Kaminara called on Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa in Rawalpindi.

During the meeting, matters of mutual interest, regional security situation including current situation of Afghanistan and enhanced bilateral cooperation with European Union were discussed.

According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army chief said “Pakistan values its relations with EU countries and earnestly looks forward to enhancing mutually beneficial multi-domain relations based on common interests.”

The visiting dignitary appreciated Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan situation, including successful evacuation operations and efforts for regional stability. The EU Ambassador pledged to play their role for further improvements in diplomatic cooperation with Pakistan at all levels.

Last week, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab called on Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

According to the military’s press wing, matters related to mutual interest, including defence and security cooperation between the two countries and overall regional security situation, especially the current situation in Afghanistan came under discussion.

WASHINGTON, 9 September 2021, (TON): The US State Department has urged Pakistan to play a critical role in bringing an inclusive government in Kabul as a lawmaker warned that the United States could re-enter Afghanistan if the situation worsened.

The statements follow assurances from Pakistan’s US and UN envoys that Islamabad, too, wants an inclusive government in Kabul and is willing to work with the international community for achieving this objective.

“We have been in regular touch with the Pakistani leadership and have discussed Afghanistan in detail,” a State Department spokesperson told Dawn on Tuesday when asked to comment on Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan.

The official added “Pakistan has frequently and publicly advocated for an inclusive government with broad support in Afghanistan and we look to Pakistan to play a critical role in enabling that outcome.”

The Taliban announced an interim government dominated by the group’s old guard, with no women included. Mohammad Hasan Akhund, a close aide to the group’s late founder Mullah Omar, heads the new government, which does not reflect the inclusivity that Washington desires.

Hours before the announcement, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham suggested the US would reinvade Afghanistan if the Taliban allowed militants to regrow their roots in a country that was reportedly used for planning attacks on US soil in September 2001.

ISLAMABAD, 9 September 2021, (TON): The National Command Authority (NCA) noted with concern the "destabilising massive arms build-up" in the region, affirming that Pakistan would take all measures to ensure strategic stability in its neighbourhood without entering into an arms race.

The authority discussed the issue at its 25th meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan at the Strategic Plans Division headquarters.

The meeting was attended by all members of the NCA including federal ministers of foreign affairs, defence, finance and interior; chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee; chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force; and the Inter-Services Intelligence director general.

The prime minister is the chairman of the NCA, which is the apex decision-making body for nuclear matters.

A statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office said “the authority expressed full confidence in the command and control systems as well as security measures in place to ensure comprehensive security of strategic assets of Pakistan.”

It reaffirmed that as a responsible nuclear state, Pakistan would continue to contribute meaningfully towards global efforts to improve nuclear security and nuclear non-proliferation measures.

According to the press release “the NCA, which was given a detailed briefing on the evolving conflict dynamics in the region "noted with concern the destabilising massive arms build-up in the conventional and strategic domains.”

"The NCA viewed these developments as detrimental to peace and security and asserted that Pakistan will take all measures to ensure the strategic stability in the region without entering into an arms race."

It also reiterated maintaining full-spectrum deterrence in line with the policy of credible minimum deterrence and expressed satisfaction on the development of strategic capabilities.

COLOMBO, 9 September 2021, (TON): The Indian High Commission in Colombo has announced scholarships for Sri Lankan students under the Ayush Scholarship Scheme for UG/PG/PhD courses in Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy for the academic year 2021-22.

The Indian HC spokesperson issued the following statement “the Government of India selects meritorious Sri Lankan nationals for award of these scholarships in consultation with the Ministry of Education (MoE).”

These scholarships cover full tuition fees and a monthly sustenance allowance for the entire duration of the course. The scholarship also covers accommodation allowance and an annual grant. Besides, all ICCR scholars in India are provided full healthcare facilities.

SANA'A, 9 September 2021, (TON): Nearly 80 Yemen Houthi militants and pro-government troops have been killed as fighting intensifies for the northern city of Marib, officials said, nearly seven years into a war that has triggered a major humanitarian crisis.

According to loyalists “scores of Houthis were killed in airstrikes after they renewed their attempt to capture the strategic city, the internationally recognized government’s last outpost in the north.”

A government military official said “sixty Houthi rebels were killed most of them in air strikes conducted in the last 24 hours while 18 pro-government troops were killed and dozens injured in clashes over the past 48 hours.”

The figures were confirmed by other military sources, while the Houthis rarely report casualty numbers.

Battles between Yemen’s government, which is backed by a Saudi-led military coalition, and the Iran-backed Houthis have intensified in recent days in Marib province, according to the military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The fighting was concentrated in the north and west of the governorate.

JAKARTA, 9 September 2021, (TON): A fire killed 41 inmates in an overcrowded prison block in Indonesia’s Banten province, a government minister said, injuring scores more in a blaze that police said may have been caused by an electrical fault.

The fire, the country’s most deadly since 47 perished in a firework factory disaster in 2017, broke out at 1.45 a.m. local time in a Tangerang Prison block, said Indonesian law and human rights minister Yasonna Laoly, after visiting the scene.

The minister said in a statement “we’re working together with relevant authorities to look into the causes of the fire and of course formulating prevention strategies so that severe catastrophes like this won’t happen again.”

The minister said “two of the dead were foreign nationals, one each from South Africa and Portugal, and confirmed the prison was operating in overcapacity when the fire broke out. Cells were locked at the time, the minister said, but with the fire raging uncontrollably, some rooms couldn’t be opened.”

Earlier, Rika Aprianti, a spokeswoman for the ministry’s prison department, said “122 were being detained on drug-related offences in a block built to hold 38.”

Rika said “all 41 fatalities were inmates, adding authorities were still evacuating the facility as of 9.00 a.m. local time.”

Prisons in Indonesia are notoriously overcrowded, with experts saying the phenomenon is partly due to the emphasis on incarceration rather than rehabilitation of those convicted of drug-related offences under the country’s strict narcotics laws.

SRINAGAR, 9 September 2021, (TON): Police in Indian-occupied Kashmir (IOK) raided the homes of four journalists, triggering concerns of a further crackdown on press freedom in the disputed region.

After the raids in Srinagar, the region’s main city, the four journalists were summoned to local police stations where they were questioned. Police did not specify the reason for the raids.

Police seized documents and electronic devices, including cellphones and laptops, belonging to the journalists and their spouses.

Three of the journalists have written for foreign media while one is an editor of a monthly news magazine.

Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) identified the four journalists as Showkat Matta, editor of the Kashmir Narrator magazine; TRT World and Huffington Post contributor Hilal Mir; and freelancers Azhar Qadri and Abbas Shah.

RSF said it "firmly condemns" the police raids at the journalists' residences, terming them "crude intimidation".

Journalists in the IOK have long worked under tremendous stress and have been targeted in the past, some fatally, by both the Indian government and militant groups.

Journalists have said “harassment and threats by police increased after India revoked Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status and divided the region into two federally governed territories amid an unprecedented lockdown in 2019.

Many journalists have been arrested, beaten, harassed and sometimes investigated under anti-terror laws.

DHAKA, 9 September 2021, (TON): The previous dialogue was held in May, 2019 in Dhaka. Issues related to climate change, Rohingya repatriation and regional crisis will dominate the fourth Bangladesh-United Kingdom strategic dialogue to be held in London on Thursday.

The Bangladesh delegation will be headed by Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen while his British counterpart, Foreign and Commonwealth Permanent Under-Secretary Philip Barton, will lead his side.

The previous dialogue was held in May, 2019 in Dhaka.

Both the sides will have detailed discussions on the entire gamut of bilateral issues, including post-Brexit relationship, especially trade and commerce, vaccine, investment, education and skills, good governance and human rights, the future development partnership, migration and security and defence cooperation.

They will also talk about regional and international matters of mutual interest, with particular reference to the situation in Afghanistan.

In the lead up to COP26 to be held in Scotland in November, the issue of climate change will dominantly feature during the discussions.

Dhaka will share its agenda for COP26 and will ask the London, the chair of the United Nations event, to do more for Bangladesh in its fight to address the challenges posed by climate change.

TRIPOLI, 9 September 2021, (TON): European Union High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell has said that I have had a very useful discussion with Foreign Minister [Najla El] Mangoush and this afternoon I will also have the pleasure to meet the President of the Presidential Council Mohammed Mnefi and Vice-Presidents Moussa al Kouni and Abdallah Hussein al Lafi.

He added that he hopes to have a possibility of having a phone call with Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeiba, I understand perfectly that he had to go to Tobruk to attend to a parliamentarian request.

I think I will also have the possibility to talk with the United Nations Special Envoy Ján Kubiš.

I am glad to say that Libya has achieved much progress in the past year: there is a ceasefire in place, unified political institutions and a road map to elections on 24 December.

When we met in Berlin in June, the Libyan government committed to implement these two agreements and we, the representatives of the international community, committed to support it.

Now it is time to implement and consolidate this progress. We are discussing with the Libyan authorities how the European Union can support Libya in these efforts in the coming months.

Time is flying. There are only 105 days to 24 December. This is the date that Libyans in the Political Dialogue Forum chose for holding presidential and parliamentary elections, coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the Libyan independence.

I think that there is no time to lose to approve the necessary legislation, go to the parliament, and start the necessary preparations. The European Union has already given technical support to the High National Election Commission and we are ready to do more.

Renewing the legitimacy of the Libyan institutions, reaffirming Libyan sovereignty and stabilising the country for all its people are goals that we believe must go hand in hand.

WASHINGTON, 9 September 2021, (TON): Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has said that I just want to say to all of our colleagues thank you so much for the remarkable contributions that Germany’s made to our shared mission in Afghanistan over the last 20 years, but also over the last days, particularly the ongoing evacuation effort here at Ramstein Air Base where we are both located.

Blinken added that just before arriving here in Germany, I was in Doha; I had a chance to meet with our friend, Foreign Minister Al Thani, and the emir as well and to thank them personally for Qatar’s remarkable partnership with all of us and particularly in allowing the transit of more than 58,000 people evacuated from Afghanistan, including Americans, including our locally employed staff, including Afghans at risk, and of course including citizens from many of the countries represented here.

For the time being, like many countries here, we are managing our diplomacy with Afghanistan from Doha, and so we’re also grateful to our friends for allowing us to do that.

We thought it would be a good idea to get together today to do two things. First, to thank you for the ongoing and extraordinary cooperation in this effort. The evacuation that concluded on August 30 was, I think as everyone knows, a massively complex military, diplomatic, humanitarian undertaking. And like our efforts in Afghanistan over the previous two decades, it was a truly joint enterprise, almost in this case a global endeavor. Many of you were partners in the airlift working side-by-side with our team in Kabul at the airport. Many are now serving as transit countries. We’re helping with overland efforts. Others have agreed to resettle Afghan refugees permanently, and we hope more will do the same. Indeed, every country and institution represented here today is a partner in this ongoing effort, and we are truly grateful for that.

It’s also, I think in our judgment, the way we need to approach the way forward in Afghanistan. And so what I just wanted to do quickly today before turning it over to Heiko and then turning it over to everyone else is to just highlight three areas where our alignment and our cooperation would be especially important.

A second point for emphasis “the Taliban’s also committed to preventing terrorist groups from using Afghanistan as a base for external operations that could threaten any of us, a pledge they have since extended not just to us but to all other countries. Here, too, we need to hold them accountable to that commitment.”

Of course, we can’t just rely on the Taliban to meet these commitments. The horrific attack that carried out on August 26th, which killed 13 United States service members and many, many Afghans, did show the serious threat that these groups continue to play inside Afghanistan.

All of us have to remain vigilant and monitor threats, especially any reemergence of externally directed plotting, and address them swiftly when they arise. As President Biden has made clear, the United States will maintain robust counterterrorism capabilities in the region to neutralize any threats, and we won’t hesitate to use those capabilities if we have to do so.

The third point is this humanitarian aid and assistance and the need to continue to make them available to the people of Afghanistan.

We’re determined to continue that lifesaving assistance in a way that’s consistent with our sanctions obligations. The ministerial that Secretary-General Guterres is convening on is an opportunity for countries to step up to meet the Afghans’ urgent needs while also reminding the Taliban of its obligation to allow safe, unhindered access for humanitarian groups and to protect those groups as they’re doing their work.

It’s in the interest of all of our countries to avoid a bigger humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and the greater suffering and instability that that would produce.