ISLAMABAD, 05 August 2021, (TON): Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's Abdul Qayyum Niazi was elected the 13th prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

He received 33 votes in the newly formed Legislative Assembly of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, whereas joint opposition's candidate Chaudhry Latif Akbar garnered 15 votes.

Niazi succeeds PML-N's Raja Farooq Haider, whose tenure in the AJK PM's office had ended on July 30.

He was administered the oath of his office by AJK President Sardar Masood Khan.

Earlier in the day, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry announced that Prime Minister Imran Khan had nominated Niazi as the ruling party's candidate for the position.

In a tweet, the minister said that PM Imran had made the decision after extensive consultations and reviewing all the proposals. He is a dynamic and genuine political activist and his heart beats for the people.

Azhar Mashwani, Punjab chief minister's focal person for digital media, added that Niazi was a member of the AJK Legislative Assembly from border area Abbaspur Poonch.

NEW DELHI, 05 August 2021, (TON): Curfew has been imposed in Indian-administered Kashmir in anticipation of protests ahead of 5 August - the day the government stripped the region of its special status.

Officials say “the curfew is meant to prevent violence by groups planning to observe 5 August as "black day".

The state was split into two federally-administered regions last year and its semi-autonomous status was revoked.

Reports say there is tension in the region ahead of the anniversary and more troops have been deployed.

The decision to revoke article 370, the part of the constitution that guaranteed Kashmir special status, was met with anger and betrayal in the region although it was widely welcomed in the rest of the country. Thousands were detained amid a curfew and a communications blackout was ordered.

The region witnessed protests and security forces often clashed with civilians. Thousands of activists and others were believed to have been picked up from their homes in the days that followed the surprise move.

VIENNA, 04 August 2021, (TON): The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has temporarily halted the imminent deportation from Austria of an Afghan whose request for asylum was turned down, a relief group supporting the man said.

The ECHR decision, published on the website of the non-governmental organization Counselling for Deserters and Refugees, told the Vienna government to delay until Aug 31 the planned deportation of the man, whose identity was not released.

The court asked the government to explain how it planned to conduct the removal given that Afghanistan has informed EU members that it has stopped accepting such deportations until Oct 8.

It also asked whether there is a real risk of irreparable harm to the applicant’s rights given the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan.

Clashes between Afghan forces and the Taliban have intensified across the country, with the insurgent group gaining control over check points, trading posts and infrastructure projects.

COLOMBO, 04 August 2021, (TON): Sri Lankan High Commissioner-designate to India Milinda Moragoda, in his blueprint for fostering bilateral ties with India, has proposed electrical grid connectivity between the two countries, highlighting that it would be mutually beneficial.

In his 27-page Integrated Country Strategy (ICS) for Sri Lanka Diplomatic Missions in India for 2021/2023, he outlines the importance of connectivity between the two countries. The report, handed over to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, says grid connectivity would enable Sri Lanka to obtain electricity during operational maintenance and droughts, and also to export excess generation to India.

The report also says it will also allow greater space for renewables.

Digital connectivity between Sri Lanka and India is another proposal in the roadmap. The blueprint says Sri Lanka has reportedly underutilised potential for E-Commerce platforms, E-payment gateways, and more PPP activity in this area can spur a surge of business beneficial to both countries.

The report highlights that India and Sri Lanka have sought to collaborate on a series of major economic development projects in Sri Lanka, including the West Container Terminal of the Colombo Port, the Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm, projects of cooperation in the power sector, Indian projects that fall under development cooperation and lines of credit, as well as financial cooperation.

Asserting that these economic development projects are important to foster relations, the Sri Lankan envoy says there is also a need to transcend this transactional approach.

KINSHASA, 04 August 2021, (TON): Military and local sources said that at least 16 people were killed in an attack in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) conflict-plagued east, believed to be the work of rebels.

According to local civilian sources “the victims of attack, including two women, had been taken hostage weeks earlier by members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).”

Local official Dieudonne Malangai said “the hostages were knifed to death along a main highway near Idohu, in the restive Ituri province.”

Ituri’s military governor, Johnny Luboya Nkashama, speaking in Komanda, some 40km (25 miles) from the incident, condemned the killings.

He told the media  “we will reinforce our presence in the region.”

The vast central African country’s government has placed Ituri and the neighbouring North Kivu province under a state of siege since May, stepping up the fight against armed groups.

The ADF is the deadliest of the armed groups operating in the region. The group has been active in the mineral-rich eastern DRC for 30 years.

The DRC’s Catholic Church has said the ADF has killed approximately 6,000 civilians since 2013, while a US-based monitor, the Kivu Security Tracker (KST), blamed it for more than 1,200 deaths in the Beni area alone since 2017.

 NAYPYITAW, 04 August 2021, (TON): The United League of Arakan (ULA), the political wing of the Arakan Army (AA), has announced that it will set up a judiciary in Rakhine State.

According to a statement published on the social media account of AA deputy commander Brig-Gen Nyo Twan Aung, all legal cases, including cases related to violence, theft and land disputes will be referred to the ULA judiciary.

Complaints can be submitted by victims, their relatives, or eyewitnesses to the ULA via email, the Russian social media platform VK, and the mobile app Telegram. All personal information provided including the name and contact information of the complainant, will be protected, according to the statement.

The AA’s move has been welcomed by some locals, who see it as an attempt to stabilise the area, and which they hope will facilitate greater transparency and accountability within the ULA/AA.

One Minbya Township local speculated that Sunday’s establishment of an avenue for the submission of public complaints may be the ULA/AA’s way of rooting out corrupt members. 

The Minbya resident said “I think the directive was issued because of a post on Twitter. Some followers of ULA/AA are taking unfair advantage of their connections.”

A villager in Buthidaung Township told media on the condition of anonymity that prior local complaints could have been the impetus for the ULA/AA’s launch of the new complaint mechanism.

ULA/AA judicial offices have already been set up in areas under the armed group’s administration, but not in towns under the junta’s control, locals said.

RIYADH, 04 August 2021, (TON): Saudi Arabia is taking part in a G20 digital economy event on Aug. 5.

The G20 Digital Economy Ministers Meeting will discuss key issues related to digital transformation ahead of a final communique that will be endorsed by heads of states and governments at the Rome Summit.

It is an extension of the role played by Saudi Arabia during its G20 presidency last year. The Kingdom aims to focus on empowering people, protecting the planet and forming new horizons.

Saudi Arabia has realized qualitative achievements in this regard, mainly the unanimous approval of countries on a roadmap to measure and define the digital economy, in addition to adopting artificial intelligence principles.

Communication and Information Minister Abdullah Al-Swaha is scheduled to take part in the event.

Each G20 presidency includes the organization of ministerial meetings on each of the main focus areas of the forum. These meetings are important opportunities to discuss and further develop issues of international relevance.

KATHMANDU, 04 August 2021, (TON): The Election Commission has revoked the registration of 41 political parties.

According to Raj Kumar Shrestha, spokesperson of the EC “the registration has been revoked after the parties failed to present their audit report for three consecutive years. Meeting of the EC decided that the names, flags and symbols of the political parties, whose registration has been cancelled, will not be allowed to be used by any other party for one year from the date of cancellation.”

 After the registration of 41 parties has been revoked with effect from Wednesday, only 95 parties remain registered in the commission. Registered political parties are required to keep an account of their income and expenditure and submit an audit of their income and expenditure to the Commission within six months after the end of the financial year.

NAYPYITAW, 04 August 2021, (TON): The United States said that Myanmar's junta was playing for time with a two-year election timeframe as Secretary of State Antony Blinken prepared to encourage Asean to appoint an envoy.

Blinken is participating virtually in a week of talks involving foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the latest bid by President Joe Biden's administration to engage a region at the frontlines of US competition with China.

A head of the Asean talks, “Myanmar's junta chief promised to hold elections and lift a state of emergency by August 2023, extending an initial timeline given when the military deposed elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1.”

A senior US official, using Myanmar's former name of Burma, said “the announcement is a call for Asean to have to step up its effort because it's clear that the Burmese junta is just stalling for time and wants to keep prolonging the calendar to its own advantage."

"All the more reason why Asean has to engage on this and live up and uphold the terms of the five-point consensus that Myanmar also signed up to."

WASHINGTON, 04 August 2021, (TON): The US Sate Department has said that a recent attack in the Afghan capital is consistent with previous attacks carried out by the Taliban, though it is not yet in a position to officially indicate who exactly carried it out.

A car bomb explosion followed by several blasts and rapid gunfire rocked Kabul, not far from the heavily fortified Green Zone that houses several embassies, including the US mission.

State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters “we’re not in a position to attribute it officially just yet but of course it does bear all the hallmarks of the spate of Taliban attacks that we have seen in recent weeks.”

He added “it’s important for the Taliban to recognize that it cannot achieve its objectives by seizing power through violence.”

No one immediately took responsibility for the attack that apparently targeted the country’s acting defense minister, but it came as Taliban insurgents have been pressing ahead with an offensive that is putting pressure on the provincial capitals in the south and west of the country.

Clashes have intensified since early May after President Joe Biden announced US troops would leave the country by September after almost 20 years battling the group.

Unidentified gunmen were killed at Tuesday’s attack site which is home to Afghan officials, lawmakers and prominent residents.

Interior Ministry spokesman Mirwais Stanekzai said “the blast happened in the posh Sherpur neighborhood, which is in a deeply secure section of the capital known as the green zone. It is home to several senior government officials.”