General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - June 2018

Jun 2018

Jun 20, 2019

Pakistan Faces FATF Blacklisting

Pakistan faces the onerous task of defending its actions to curb terror financing at the plenary meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in the US against the backdrop of reports that the country failed to deliver on a 27-point action plan framed by the multilateral watchdog.
The FATF plenary at Orlando, Florida is crucial as its findings would determine whether Pakistan would remain on the watchdog's grey list or be downgraded to the black list, which would lead to harsher financial sanctions.
However, a final announcement on Pakistan's status is expected only after the FATF's next plenary in Paris during October 2019.
The Orlando plenary will specifically look at developments in the financing of Islamic State, al-Qaeda and affiliates and countries' disruption strategies, including prosecution of terrorist financing.
Pakistan aligned its domestic counter-terror and money laundering legislations and regulatory mechanisms with international obligations, especially the need to crack down on individuals and groups listed by the United Nation's 1267 Sanctions Committee.
It also took some steps to detain operatives of Lashkar-eTaiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and their affiliates such as Jamaat-ud-Dawah and Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundato tion and to restrain the activities of these groups.
However, several reports suggested that evaluations by the Asia Pacific Group, a regional affiliate of the FATF, have concluded Pakistan hasn't done enough on the ground to disrupt fund-raising by eight terror groups, including LeT and JeM, and to completely freeze their assets.
Pakistan was placed on the grey list in June last year (2018) after a majority of FATF members concluded that the nation wasn't doing enough to curb terror financing.

Xi Jinping Voices Firm Support for Dictator Kim

China supports the correct decision of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to politically resolve the Korean Peninsula problem, voicing firm support for the secretive regime a day ahead of his visit, a first by a top Chinese leader in 14 years.
China would actively contribute to regional peace, stability, development and prosperity by strengthening communication and coordination with the DPRK and relevant parties to jointly push for progress in talks and negotiations on the issue.

Jun 19, 2019

Pak. Army Chief Gets more Say in Economic Matters

In a move that would further expand the powerful Pakistani military's influence, Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa was made a member of the newly-formed National Development Council (NDC) headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The military is set to play a greater role in economic matters of Pakistan.
The 13-member NDC would set policies and strategies for development and provide guidelines for regional cooperation.
It would provide measures for local coordination and provincial Chief Ministers would also be invited to the council's meetings.

U.S. Deploys more Troops to West Asia

China and Russia warned about escalating West Asian tensions after Washington said that it would deploy 1,000 more troops to the region and renewed accusations that Iran was behind a tanker attack.
The U.S. move came as Iran set a 10-day countdown for world powers to fulfill their commitments under a nuclear deal abandoned by Washington, saying that it would otherwise surpass the uranium stockpile limit mandated by the accord.

Independent Probe into Morsi's Death

The UN human rights office called for an independent inquiry into former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi's death while in state custody.
According to Rupert Colville, spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, any sudden death in custody must be followed by a prompt, impartial, thorough and transparent investigation carried out by an independent body to clarify the cause of death.
He noted that Morsi also appears to have been held in prolonged solitary confinement, and said that the investigation must encompass all aspects of the authorities' treatment of Morsi to examine whether the conditions of his detention had an impact on his death.

Jun 18, 2019

Ban on Hijab, Turban for Quebec Staff

The Canadian province of Quebec has passed a restrictive secularism bill that will prohibit certain categories of public servants from displaying visible symbols of faith like the Sikh turban or Muslim hijab.
The controversial 'Bill 21' was passed after a marathon sitting of Quebec's National Assembly, with 75 votes in favour and 35 against. The bill had earlier been severely criticised by Canadian national leaders including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and opposition leaders Andrew Scheer and Jagmeet Singh, who is a practising Sikh and sports a turban.
Some public servants in positions of authority will be impacted by the bill, including school teachers, principals and vice-principals, police officers, judges and other law officers.
In addition, a late clause added to the bill will also "establish surveillance and disciplinary mechanisms to ensure" that it is "respected", according to a report in the Montreal Gazette.
The bill was championed by the coalition Avenir Québecor CAQ government headed by Premier Francois Legault.
While the definition of religious symbol remains vague in the language used in the bill, Indo-Canadian groups have been dismayed over the impact it may have on turbaned Sikhs or even women who wear the traditional bindi.
The World Sikh Organisation had opposed the bill since it was originally proposed. It had described it as "both morally and legally offensive" and claimed that its passage would "set a dangerous precedent which would significantly erode the rights of women, and minority religious communities living in Quebec."

China Considers Pak-Trained Group as Biggest Threat

As India and China continue consultations on the situation in Afghanistan, Beijing perceives Pakistan-trained cadres of the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) as the biggest threat to its security interests.
ETIM, along with Lashkar-eTaiba and the Haqqani Network, was recently named by the US department of defense among the three terror groups posing the greatest threat to foreign troops in Afghanistan. In a report covering the first quarter of the year, the US estimated ETIM had 100 fighters in the war-torn country.
Beijing's concerns about ETIM figured in recent discussions between Indian and Chinese officials.
ETIM has been designated a terror group by the US and UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee and several of its top leaders operated from Pakistani soil. Its founder Hasan Mahsum was killed during a raid on an al-Qaeda facility in Pakistan in 2003 while Chinese state media reported in 2014 its co-founder Memetuhut Memetrozi, currently in prison in China, was trained in a Pakistani madrassa.
China, like India, is opposed to any "precipitous withdrawal" of US and foreign forces from Afghanistan and prefers an orderly and well-managed pulling out of troops that doesn't result in a vacuum.
The Chinese side would like the institutions and structures created over the past 18 years to be preserved, as it feels getting rid of them could lead to anarchy and chaos.
Chinese had been telling Pakistan to tackle the problem of terrorism emanating from Pakistani soil.

Chinese Prez Xi to Visit North Korea, 1st such Trip in 14 Years

President Xi Jinping will make his first visit to North Korea on June 20-21, making him the first Chinese leader to do so in 14 years.
The visit comes in the backdrop of negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington on the secretive country's denuclerisation. It will be the first visit to North Korea by a Chinese President since Xi's predecessor Hu Jintao's trip in 2005 to meet thenleader, Kim Jong Il.
Former Chinese premier Wen Jiabao visited the country in 2009. Xi has met the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un four times in the past one year, with Beijing – which is the impoverished country's key ally and economic benefactor - said to be supporting and guiding Kim's two summits with US President Donald Trump.
The visit comes ahead of the G20 summit in Osaka and a US-South Korea summit to be held at the end of June. During his meeting with Kim, Xi is likely to focus on bilateral ties, denuclerisation and efforts to resolve tensions in the Korean Peninsula.
This visit is on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of relations. It is of significance to the relationship between the two countries and the future.

India on par with Nato allies

A Republican and a Democrat senator have moved a legislation in the Senate that seeks an amendment to the US's Arms Control Export Act to bring India on a par with the country's Nato allies when it comes to sale of high-tech military items.
If enacted, it will further institutionalise the recent designation of India as a major defence partner of the US.
The move by Senators Mark Warner and John Cornyn comes after New Delhi and Washington signed the COMCASA (Communications, Compatibility and Security Agreement) in 2018.

Iran to breach uranium stockpile limits within 10 days

Iran announced it would breach uranium enrichment limits in 10 days in a move that drew an accusation of "nuclear blackmail" from Washington, but it added that European nations still had time to save the nuclear deal that sets those curbs.
Britain said if Iran breached limits agreed under the deal then London would look at "all options". Close US ally Israel, Iran's arch foe, urged world powers to step up sanctions against Tehran swiftly should it exceed the enriched uranium limit.
However European Union (EU) said the EU would only react to any breach if the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) identified one.
US-Iran tensions are growing following accusations by US President Donald Trump's administration that Tehran attacked two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman. Iran denies having any role.
Iran's armed forces chief of staff, major general Mohammad Baqeri denied Tehran was behind the attacks and said if the Islamic Republic decided to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz shipping lane it would do so publicly.

Jun 17, 2019

Massive Protest Chokes Hong Kong

Hong Kong citizens marched for hours in a massive protest that drew an apology from the city's top leader for her handling of an extradition bill that stoked fears of expanding control from China in the former British colony.
Well after dark, crowds gathered outside the police headquarters and Chief Executive Carrie Lam's office.
Lam suspended her effort to force passage of the bill, which would allow some suspects to be sent for trial in mainland China. The move did not appease residents who see it as one of many steps chipping away at Hong Kong's freedoms and legal autonomy.
The chief executive apologises to the people of Hong Kong for this and pledges to adopt a most sincere and humble attitude to accept criticisms and make improvements in serving the public.
US President Donald Trump would raise the issue of Hong Kong human rights with China's President Xi Jinping at a potential meeting at the G20 summit in Japan in June.

Pak Airspace to Stay closed

Pakistan extended the ban on its airspace for all Indian flights till June 28, 2019. Towards the end of May, Pakistan had extended for a fortnight the airspace closure for a fortnight which expired on June 14.
Pakistan had fully shut its airspace on the eastern border with India after an Indian Air Force carried out aerial airstrikes on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camp in Balakot on February 26.

The New York Times Accused of Treason

President Donald Trump accused The New York Times of "a virtual act of treason" after it reported that the US is stepping up digital incursions into Russia's electric power grid.
Officials have described the classified deployment of American computer code inside Russia's power grid and other targets, the Times had reported.
The action is intended partly as a warning but also to leave the US poised to conduct cyberstrikes in the event of a major conflict between the US and Russia.
Trump tweeted that the accusations were "NOT TRUE", calling the media "corrupt" and repeating accusations that journalists are "the enemy of the people".

Jun 16, 2019

India Holds off on Endorsing BRI

India held off on endorsing China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in the joint declaration issued after the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Bishkek, a reflection of New Delhi's concerns about the ambitious trade and connectivity project.
All other members of the SCO, especially the Central Asian states, have enthusiastically signed on for President Xi Jinping's flagship project.
However, India has protested about BRI because a key component – the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan reaffirm their support for China's Belt and Road Initiative and praise the results of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (which was held on April 26, 2019).
The declaration noted that ongoing work to implement BRI includes efforts to align Eurasian Economic Union projects with those under China's initiative.
Indian officials say CPEC has security implications for the country as it includes highways that could facilitate the rapid movement of Pakistani troops.
They also say Beijing's regulations for projects under BRI around the world favour Chinese firms and don't provide a level playing field even for Indian firms with global expertise.
India stayed away from both Belt and Road Forums hosted by China. India's concerns about BRI are expected discussed when Xi and Modi meet at second informal summit in October.

Hong Kong Suspends China Extradition Bill

Hong Kong's embattled leader suspended a hugely divisive bill that would allow extraditions to China, in a major climbdown following unprecedented unrest, but protesters vowed to press ahead with a mass Sunday rally.
The concession from chief executive Carrie Lam was swiftly rejected by protest leaders, who called on her to resign, permanently shelve the bill and apologise for police tactics.
The international finance hub was rocked by the worst political violence since its 1997 handover to China as tens of thousands of protesters were dispersed by riot police firing tear gas and rubber bullets.
About an hour after Lam announced the suspension, China said it supports the decision to suspend the bill, which allow some suspects to face trial in Chinese courts.

Maldives may Scrap Ocean Deal with China

An agreement China signed with the Maldives to build an observatory in the Indian Ocean is likely to be scrapped, as India's relations with its maritime neighbour enter a purple patch following the exit of former Maldivian president Abdulla Yameen.
the agreement Yameen signed with China in 2017, which raised a security alarm in India, is "not on the table''.
Titled 'Protocol on Establishment of Joint Ocean Observation Station', the agreement was meant to allow China to construct an observatory at Makunudhoo, the westernmost atoll of the Maldives in the north.
The finalisation of the agreement had set off concerns in India that it would allow China a vantage point of an important Indian Ocean shipping route through which many merchant and other ships pass.
It would also be located uncomfortably close to Indian waters.

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