UNHCR doubles Voluntary Repatriation grant for registered Afghan refugees

UNHCR doubles Voluntary Repatriation grant for registered Afghan refugees opting to return to Afghanistan

Al-Bab Report

ISLAMABAD June 29 2016: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi concluded his first tri-nation visit to Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. On the last leg of his mission in Pakistan, the High Commissioner announced an increase in assistance package for registered Afghan refugee families, who are opting to return to Afghanistan under the UNHCR facilitated voluntary return progamme.

During his 3-day stay in Pakistan, Mr. Grandi met with President Mamnoon Hussain, Minister of Finance, Ishaq Dar; Minister for States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), Lt. Gen (R) Abdul Qadir Baloch; Sartaj Aziz, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs; Lt. Gen (Ret) Nasir Khan Janjua, Advisor to the Prime Minister on National Security; the Chief of General Staff, and the Chief Minister and Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Commending Pakistan’s generosity for hosting one of the world’s largest protracted refugee populations, the High Commissioner noted that the international community needs to support solutions in Afghanistan through robust development investments. Grandi said, “Traditional approaches to solving protracted refugee situations were not enough and therefore there is a need for innovative solutions.”

The High Commissioner reassured the Pakistani leadership of UNHCR’s continued support in assisting the 1.5 million Afghan refugees currently residing in the country. As an immediate step, he announced to double the existing individual assistance package for returnees from an average of USD 200 to USD 400 per person.

Grandi confirmed to upscale programmes for refugee hosting communities through the Refugee Affected and Hosting Areas (RAHA) initiative in Pakistan and to support the Government of Afghanistan in implementing its plans to create conditions conducive for sustainable return and reintegration in high return areas.

During his interaction with Pakistani counterparts, the High Commissioner accentuated that, “complementary to robust community based development initiatives in Afghanistan, the doubling of the currently provided repatriation grant for returning Afghan refugees will help to support voluntary repatriation and sustainable reintegration in Afghanistan, as the preferred solution and key objective of the Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees which entered the second stage of its implementation in 2015-17.”

Grandi said, “UNHCR together with sister UN agencies and the Government of Pakistan is committed to support host communities through investments into national systems to build empowerment & resilience of both refugees & their host communities through innovative programmes such as the RAHA initiative.” The High Commissioner also inaugurated a Government Girls Primary School in Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which was upgraded under the RAHA programme.

The High Commissioner and Minister SAFRON, Lt. Gen (R) Abdul Qadir Baloch called for robust and more equitable responsibility-sharing and enhanced international support for Pakistan, especially in the area of youth empowerment through education, skills and livelihoods, which is critical to build resilience and social cohesion among the Afghan refugees and their host communities through investments in local systems. This also constitutes an important investment in building the human capital of the Afghan youth, empowering them to be agents of stability and progress and enhancing prospects for solutions.

The High Commissioner also called on the international community to redouble their engagement in Afghanistan and support the efforts of the National Unity Government at this critical juncture of its nation building and reconciliation processes.

He said, “Robust development initiatives aimed at creating conducive conditions for sustainable reintegration in Afghanistan are vital to allow for inclusion, participation and active contribution of returning Afghans, particularly the youth.” He added that, “the international community’s collective engagement in closing one of the world’s most protracted refugee chapters can serve as an inspiring achievement in an era when global displacement reaches an unprecedented scale.”

The interfaith dialogue

The interfaith dialogue

Dr. Jassim Taqui

Having asked repeatedly by the US President George W. Bush to shed off his uniform, Gen. Pervez Musharraf was advised by his aids to use American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) to bail him out of an imminent fall.

Musharraf quickly went to New York and addressed AIPIC. They advised him to establish contacts with Israel, which he did.

In 2004, I was invited to a round-table interfaith dialogue at Marriot Hotel. The dialogue was conducted between the former Saudi Ambassador Ali Asseri and a delegation of AIPAC. I was invited by the Spokesperson of the American Embassy Dr. Elizabeth Colton.

The details of the dialogue is confidential. Hence, I cannot disclose  some very interesting details. However, I reminded the AIPAC that the former Libyan President Col. Muammar Al-Qaddafi was the first to start the interfaith dialogue way back in the seventies. Scholars from the Libyan Islamic Call Society had lengthy discussion with scholars from Holy Sea.

The details of the dialogue were compiled in a book, which Al-Bab translated into Arabic language. To my surprise, the AIPAC acknowledge my assertion stating that they had the English copy of the dialogue.

Asseri, who was a close friend, took a deep sigh. He was finally relieved.

To my mind, the issue of interfaith dialogue does not arise in the first place. Holy Quran states categorically that Islam recognizes all prophets of God and does not differentiate between them. According to The Imrans-84, “ Say: “ We believe in God and what is revealed to us; in that which was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael; Isaac and Jacob and their descendants and in that which their Lord gave to Moses and Jesus and the prophets. We discriminate against none of them. To Him, we have surrendered ourselves.”

After, this proclamation, do you think we need interfaith or simply natural relations with all other religions based on co-existence, respect and mutual accommodation?

To further confirm this translation, I reproduce verse 84 of The Imran:

"قُلْ آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ وَمَا أُنزِلَ عَلَيْنَا وَمَا أُنزِلَ عَلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَالْأَسْبَاطِ وَمَا أُوتِيَ مُوسَىٰ وَعِيسَىٰ وَالنَّبِيُّونَ مِن رَّبِّهِمْ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّنْهُمْ وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ (84)"

Two day Workshop on Implementation Modalities for Home Based workers Policy in Sindh

Two day Workshop on drafting the Implementation Modalities for Home Based workers Policy/Law in Sindh

Al-Bab Report

Home Net Pakistan in collaboration with International Labour Organization and Department of Labour and Human Resource Development (LHRD) Sindh held a tripartite plus consultation to brainstorm and draft the implementation modalities for HBWs policy and the law. The need for this consultation comes from the delay in approval of the policy/ law for want of such modalities.

The consultative workshop aims to consult with LHRD officials, Workers and Employers representatives and other relevant key Line departments and stakeholders to finalize the implementation mechanism for HBWs draft policy and the law. The activity would serve the purpose in bringing more clarity to the LHRD on how the home based work should transform into decent work? And what kind of enabling environment and administrative structures need to be put in place for this purpose. Moreover, the activity would pave the way for the establishing a “Directorate/Unit of Informal workers” within the Province in order to register the workers in the informal economy , predominantly HBWs ,  Domestic Workers (DWs) , Agriculture and Fisheries workers and other workers in the informal economy.

Background

It is imperative that home- based workers be recognized as formal labourers instead of considered as a poor, consumable and insignificant part of the society. They must be considered as producers of goods and services and thus effective contributors to the society and the economy.  The home-based workers also need to be adequately reflected in national statistics and recognized as workers in the labour laws of the country, thus making them eligible for social, economic and legislative protection. They want support in information, knowledge, capacity building– developing contacts, presenting issues, advocacy skills, negotiation, conflict resolution and persuasion skills. This workshop is thus planned for encouraging the interaction among representatives of the home based workers & other concerned stakeholders for evolving inclusive modalities for the home based workers policy and the law, both of which have been drafted by the LHRD and are awaiting the ascent of the Chief Minister since long, because of the ambiguities about the implementation of the policy & the law.

With the support from UN women and ILO in post devolution scenario the LHRD had been engaged in the HBWs policy process at the provincial level. The finalization of the HBWs policy in Sindh and the processes adopted had been shared with the parliamentarians and relevant stakeholders including the employers’ federations, workers representatives and HBWs organizations time and again and their advice and recommendations were sought as a continuous process of advocacy by HNP. Since 2013 LHRD Sindh have shown commitment on the HBWs issues and had desired to have more consultative sessions on developing a better understanding on the HBWs issues and giving it a concrete shape. HomeNet Pakistan with the support of ILO and LHRD Sindh is thus organizing a two day activity for developing the implementation modalities for the HBW law and the policy.

A setback for the Sultan

A setback for the Sultan

Dr. Jassim Taqui

First of all one would strongly condemn the triple suicide bombing and gun attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport, killing at least 50 innocent people including many foreigners. Ironically the Turkish President Tayyib Erdogan blamed ISIS for the attach even as he along with his son supported this terrorist outfit in selling stolen Iraqi and Syrian oil. Erdogan, wanted to be the modern-era Sultan of the Middle East and was using ISIS as a vehicle to implement his dream.

In the process, millions of people were killed, wounded and displaced domestically and internationally. Al-Qaeda has been strengthened and the net-winner in this senseless game of politics of war, death and destruction.

In another surprise, Erdogan first blamed Russia, which has been the only global country involved in genuine war against ISIS and its allies. Later, he sent to the Russian President a letter; apologizing for shooting Russian fighter jet, offering also his “deep sympathy and condolences to the relatives of the deceased Russian pilot…sorry.”

The Sultan also resumed his diplomatic relations with Israel and turned against his fundamentalist allies including Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood. But, he declared a war against the Kurds, who fought valiantly against ISIS and stopped its further advances towards Aleppo. Hence, the pro ISIS virus continues to live deep in the brain of the Sultan.

However, the Sultan continues to pose danger to the Arab countries. His moves are thought to be tactical and an attempt to absorb the shock of the spread of terrorism deep inside Turkish cities as a result of his policies of backing ISIS.

This should also explain why the Arabs revolted against the Ottoman Empire on 5^thJune, 1916, almost exactly 100 years ago. Ironically, it is June that has also witnessed the collapse of the game of Sultan Erdogan.

German Grant worth 6 Mio Euros for establishing Pakistan Glacial Monitoring Network

German Grant worth 6 Mio Euros for establishing Pakistan Glacial Monitoring Network

Al-Bab Report

Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable countries to vagaries of climate change, experiencing recurring floods. Germany through the KfW Development Bank has provided a grant of 6 Mio EUR to monitor over 5 000 melting glaciers in the northern parts of Pakistan which contribute about 80 per cent of river flow. The grant will be provided to the Water & Power Development Authority (WAPDA) for the Project “Glacial Monitoring for Energy and Water Security in Pakistan” for telemetric equipment in the lower stretches of the glaciated areas.

Secretary Economic Affairs Division, Mr. Tariq Bajwa, Member Water WAPDA Mr. Shoeib Iqbal and KfW Country Director Mr. Wolfgang Moellers signed the Grant Financing Agreement today, in the presence of First Secretary Sebastian Ernst from the German Embassy and WAPDA.

Speaking on the occasion, both EAD and WAPDA appreciated the long term development partnership with KfW. Mr. Moellers said that "being the custodian of the largest number of glaciers outside the arctic, Pakistan can surely assume global leadership in addressing a critical aspect of Climate Change through this Project."

The Solar power equipment will transmit glacial melt data for processing in Lahore. The data will be used to regulate hydropower generation, dam protection, and other reservoir management operations. The Federal Flood Commission, the Flood Forecasting Division of the Pakistan Meteorological Department and the Indus River Systems Authority will benefit from this information. Two state-of-the-art energy efficient buildings will be constructed in Lahore and Skardu for housing the staff and the sophisticated equipment.

Modi’s policy of hate fails

Modi’s policy of hate fails

Dr. Jassim Taqui

The politic of hate , which is systematically followed by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi against Pakistan, the Muslims of India, the Muslims of occupied Jammu and Kashmir and minorities especially the Christian has built unprecedented  hatred inside the hearts of the Hindu majority people of India and rocked its secularly system.

Modi persisted with this policy to the extent of following a methodical policy to isolate Pakistan regionally and internationally. However, some unforeseen events emerged.

The Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) rejected on 25^th June Modi’s attempt to be admitted as a member. In effect. This rejection means that the international community does not trust Modi and his hatred posture especially when has a huge arsenal of nuclear weapons under his command.

On 28^thJune, Modi along with his defence and interior ministers started a new war hysteria with Pakistan when threatened to take retaliatory measures against Pakistan. They claimed that Pakistan was behind the Pampore strike in which 8 CRPE personnel were killed. 

Indian Interior Minister Rajnath Sing went to extent of warning Pakistan not to respond to the India retaliation, stating,” If Pakistan fires then we won’t keep an account of our bullets.”

Singh was implicitly rebuked when the Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar formed a special team to investigate the Pampore strike.

Seemingly, the Indian officials are attempting to cover their failed policy in NSG meeting at Seoul by restoring to more hate speeches. In fact, the Indian rulers have helped bring about closer ties with China. Now, they know that in case of eruption of war, China would put all her weight behind the armed forces of Pakistan in their legitimate right to repel the Indian attack.

Western nations have also change their anti-Pakistan tone. Now, they are asking Modi to resolve differences with Pakistan through peaceful means. They are definitely against targeting armed forces of Pakistan when they are involved in fighting terrorist outfits and  offered thousands of martyrs in this war.

Poverty, illiteracy and early deaths await world’s most disadvantaged children: UNICEF

Poverty, illiteracy and early deaths await world’s most

disadvantaged children: UNICEF

Al-Bab Report

ISLAMABAD/NEW YORK, 28 June 2016 – Based on current trends, 69 million children will die from mostly preventable causes, 167 million children will live in poverty, and 750 million women will have been married as children by 2030, the target date for the Sustainable Development Goals – unless the world focuses more on the plight of its most disadvantaged children, according to a UNICEF report released today.

The State of the World’s Children, UNICEF’s annual flagship report, paints a stark picture of what is in store for the world’s poorest children if governments, donors, businesses and international organizations do not accelerate efforts to address their needs.

The report notes that Pakistan carries nearly 8 per cent of the global burden of under-five child deaths due to lack of nutritional support and health care. With more than 5.6 million out-of-school children, the country is home to nearly 10 per cent of the out-of-school children of primary school age globally. In Pakistan, the level of education achieved largely depends on gender, residence, and wealth. Currently, the public sector spending on education is around 2 per cent of the GDP. These investment levels are below the estimated 5.5 per cent of GDP that will be required to provide education for all by 2030.

“Denying hundreds of millions of children a fair chance in life does more than threaten their futures – by fueling intergenerational cycles of disadvantage, it imperils the future of their societies,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake. “We have a choice: Invest in these children now or allow our world to become still more unequal and divided.” 

The report notes that significant progress has been made in saving children’s lives, getting children into school and lifting people out of poverty. Global under-five mortality rates have been more than halved since 1990, boys and girls attend primary school in equal numbers in 129 countries, and the number of people living in extreme poverty worldwide is almost half what it was in the 1990s.

But this progress has been neither even nor fair, the report says. The poorest children are twice as likely to die before their fifth birthday and to be chronically malnourished than the richest. Across much of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, children born to mothers with no education are almost 3 times more likely to die before they are 5 than those born to mothers with a secondary education. And girls from the poorest households are 2.5 more likely to marry as children than girls from the wealthiest households

  

Nowhere is the outlook grimmer than in sub-Saharan Africa, where at least 247 million children – or 2 in 3 – live in multidimensional poverty, deprived of what they need to survive and develop, and where nearly 60 per cent of 20- to 24-year-olds from the poorest fifth of the population have had less than four years of schooling. At current trends, the report projects, by 2030, sub-Saharan Africa will account for:

• Nearly half of the 69 million children who will die before their fifth birthday from mostly preventable causes by 2030;
• More than half of the 60 million children of primary school age who will still be out of school; and
• 9 out of 10 children living in extreme poverty.

Although education plays a unique role in levelling the playing field for children, the number of children who do not attend school has increased since 2011, and a significant proportion of those who do go to school are not learning. About 124 million children today do not go to primary- and lower-secondary school, and almost 2 in 5 who do finish primary school have not learned how to read, write or do simple arithmetic.

The report points to evidence that investing in the most vulnerable children can yield immediate and long-term benefits. Cash transfers, for example, have been shown to help children stay in school longer and advance to higher levels of education. On average, each additional year of education a child receives increases his or her adult earnings by about 10 per cent. And for each additional year of schooling completed, on average, by young adults in a country, that country’s poverty rates fall by 9 per cent.  

Inequity is neither inevitable, nor insurmountable, the report argues. Better data on the most vulnerable children, integrated solutions to the challenges children face, innovative ways to address old problems, more equitable investment and increased involvement by communities – all these measures can help level the playing field for children.

The United Nations in Pakistan urges Government action to end “Honour Killings”

The United Nations in Pakistan urges Government action to end “Honour Killings”

Al-Bab Report

ISLAMABAD (20 June 2016) - The United Nations (UN) joins people across the country in strongly condemning the increasing number of killings in the so-called name of ‘honour’ and urges the Pakistani Government to prevent such killings and to bring those responsible to justice.

“Every year, hundreds of women and girls are killed in Pakistan to protect family or community ‘honour’” said United Nations Resident Coordinator, Neil Buhne.   “But the large numbers and tragic nature of killings over  the last weeks highlights the terrible cost from such killings to women, children, families,  communities and all of Pakistan, as tragically shown by the   Muqaddas Bibi (22) who,  was brutally murdered  by members of her own family simply because she married a man of her own choice”. According to reports, her father, brother and mother slit the throat of Ms. Muqaddas, who was pregnant with her second child after she married against her family wish, three years ago. Adding to the latest surge in reported ‘honour killings’ in Pakistan are the recent deaths of another pregnant woman and her husband by relatives who disapproved of their marriage, and a young girl shot by her brother for wanting to marry a man of her choice.

Last week Zeenat Rafiq (18) was burned to death by her mother for “bringing shame to the family” by marrying a man of her choice. On 31 May family members tortured and burned alive school teacher Maria Sadaqat (19) for refusing an arranged marriage proposal.  Young girls are also affected: on 29 April the body of Ambreen Riasat (16) was found inside a vehicle that had been set on fire after a ‘jirga’  ordered her death for helping her friend marry of her own choice. In one case a man’s throat was slit by relatives of his wife who disapproved of their match - a rare instance of a male victim.

According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), 1,096 women (of whom 170 were minors under the age of 18) were killed for ‘honor’ in 2015. As there are no official figures on ‘honor’ killings the real figure could be much higher, with many such killings believed to be disguised as accidents, or they go unreported by family members.

“Under international and national laws and standards, there is a clear State responsibility to uphold women’s rights and ensure freedom from discrimination, which includes the responsibility to prevent, protect and provide redress – regardless of sex, and regardless of a person’s status in the family,” added Mr. Buhne. “ It is both the State’s and the judiciary’s responsibility to deter such crimes, and ensure that people who commit them are brought to justice. The UN General Assembly, in three separate resolutions in 2001, 2003 and 2005, called on Member States to intensify legislative, educational, social and other efforts to prevent and eliminate “honour”-based crimes, and to investigate thoroughly and prosecute effectively, bringing the perpetrators to justice.

The Government of Pakistan has recognized this, as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said in February. “Honour killing is a most critical issue and the Government is determined  to adopt all possible ways and means to remove this stain  from our society”  Mr. Buhne said the UN System stands ready to assist the Government of Pakistan to take urgent measures to do this.  In this direction, a strengthened and adequately resourced national and provincial Women’s Commissions and Women Development Departments can play a major role.

KP Government geared up to support social protection in the province

KP Government geared up to support social protection in the province

Al-Bab Report

June 23, 2016: ISLAMABAD:  In a seminar held today in ILO Pakistan Office Islamabad, Secretary P&DD KP, Mr. Syed Zafar Ali Shah said that the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will extend its full support and cooperation to all donor agencies, development partners, international technical cooperation and implementing agencies in realizing the goal of social protection, economic empowerment and social justice in the province.

Secretary Benazir Income Support Program Mr. Salim Ahmad Ranjah and UN Resident Coordinator Pakistan Mr. Neil Buhne were attending the seminar on “Coordinated Social Protection Experience Sharing & the Way Forward”; which was jointly organized by Government of Pakistan (GOP) and ILO.

SECRETARY P&DD KP shared that the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is no exception with regard to the issues being faced by the safety net programmes throughout the country.

He said, KP is amongst the poorest provinces with poverty incidence ratio of 41.3% against 26% at the national level. However, the KP Government is cognizant of its responsibility, and is fully committed to assist the poorest of the poor.

The Secretary P&DD KP informed the participants that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has made great strides towards a coordinated social service delivery system by adopting an updated and comprehensive planning document of the province i.e. the INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY (2014-2018)  with the objective to deliver the fundamental rights and privileges to its citizens; constituting priority areas of  social services, education, health, livelihood, safe drinking water & sanitation, good governance, poverty reduction, employment, and skilled work force.  

He appreciated joint efforts of ILO and KP Government in devising the draft “Social Protection Policy” and welcomed partners to any development investment, particularly, in the prioritized sector of social protection.     

On the occasion, UN Resident Coordinator Pakistan Mr. Neil Buhne said that Pakistan is a One UN country and improving social protection is a priority area of the One UN Programme II (2013-17).

He said Pakistan Vision 2025 is also very much in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; that highlights need for social protection in Goal 1 and particularly in Target 1.3.

He emphasized the need for efforts to “leave no one behind” to ensure that social protection schemes are available and accessible to all people in the country and underlined the importance of continuous improvement of the existing social protection system.

The Country Director ILO Pakistan Ms. Ingrid Christensen, during hes speech, informed the participants that the existing donor funded ‘Social Protection Floor Initiative-KP (SPFI-KP) project’ is coming to an end on June 30th, 2016. She however assured the Government of KP of the ILO’s continued support to implement Coordinated Social Protection System in the Province. And for this purpose ILO will secure resources to continue activities until December 2017 and beyond.

The seminar also organized a panel discussion with the following panelists: Chief Poverty & SDG Unit, Planning Commission, Govt. of Pakistan, Mr. Zafar ul Hassan; DG Complimentary Initiatives-BISP, Mr. Dost Ali Shah; Social Security Specialist, ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team for South Asia, New Delhi, Mr. Markus Ruck; other government officials and dignitaries of partner organizations. 

The Seminar was organized to share achievements, best practices and lessons learned under the project SPFI-KP and to identify ways and means, priority areas, and the institutional relationships that is required to collaborate at national and provincial level on the future course of actions related to social protection, including the implementation of draft “Social Protection Policy” along with a “Two Years Social Protection Strategy “in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

SPFI-KP project was funded by the ‘Japan Fund for Building Social Safety Nets in Asia and the Pacific’ from 2013 till June, 2016 with the objectives of institutional capacity development of key social security institutions; awareness raising on social protection floors; policy development and policy debate on Social Protection (SP); mapping of social protection programmes in the KP province; piloting district model under the draft policy in two selected districts of KP (Peshawar and Nowshera), and developing a video documentary for donors to generate synergies in continuing and sustaining support to the government of the province while scaling-up the social protection programs and projects.

As a “Way-Forward” a two years social protection strategy has been designed under the project which is intended to contribute not only to the integration of social protection schemes and projects but also to improve coordination among national and provincial level social protection systems in Pakistan.

Timber Sycamore

Timber Sycamore

Dr. Jassim Taqui

The American President Barak Obama, who was awarded Nobel Peace prize is in focus again. According to a report published by the New York Times most of the weapons, the CIA supplied to the so called “moderate Syrian rebels” via Jordan have been systematically stolen and sold in black market. The proceeds of this operation were used by terrorists to buy also from the black market advanced American missiles.

Obama authorized CIA to training thousands of Syrian fighters in Jordan under a secret operation code name Timber Sycamore, which began in 2013.

The Obama administration calls the training of the mercenaries “The Free Syrian Army.” However, this “ free Syrian army” includes terrorist like “ Farouq Brigades,” which became notorious when one of its commanders was filmed eating a heart of a killed Syrian soldier. It also includes various factions of the Muslim Brotherhood like Tawheed Brigade, Syrian Islamic Liberation Front, Islamic Front, Mujahideen Army, Glory of Islam Brigade, Islamic Light Movement, Rightly Guided Brigades, Lions of Islam, Swords of Islam and Islamist Nour al Din al Zinki, which call to impose Al-Qaeda style Islam in Syria. Ironically, most of these terrorist outfits were  supplied with the advanced US TWO missiles.

One would question the wisdom of the Nobel  Peace Prize Committee to give this prestigious award to Obama. Is the motto here is that peace can be achieved by those who support Al-Qaeda and its terrorist allies? Does it mean that world peace can only be achieved by terrorists, hence they should be trained and supplied with TWO missiles?

Or is this action by the Obama administration in line with the UN Charter and US Constitution? Is Obama serious that Timber Sycamore is a “political settlement” of the Syrian civil war? Or is it a form of a civilized diplomatic talks through proper channels to resolve the issue through compromise and mutual accommodation?

The greatest surprise is that the semantics of Sycamore is comparable to the Hebrew shiqmah.

Natalia Gherman proceeds to Egypt after vising China and Japan

Natalia Gherman proceeds to Egypt after vising China and Japan

Dr. Jassim Taqui

The Moldavian candidate to the post of the UN Secretary General Ms. Natalia Gherman told Al-Bab that she had another successful visit to Japan following her visit to China. On 28 June, Gherman is planning to visit Egypt. She is scheduled to have a meeting with the Egyptian Foreign Minister Saheh Hassan Shoukry.

Gherman is confident that her chances are bright, hoping that she will be elected the next UN Secretary General.

Many factors tilt the balance in Gherman’s favor. First, she is a woman from East Asia. UN circles whisper that the UN Security Council five members have almost consensus that the next UN Secretary General should be a woman from East Europe. This is the reason that out of four candidates for the post of UN Secretary General, there are three women from East Asia, namely, Natalia Gherman (Moldova), Musna Pusic (Croatia) and Irina Bokovo (Bulgaria). The fourth woman is Helen Clark from New Zealand.

Second, Ms. Natalia Gherman is the youngest of the four women. She is 47 years old compared with Clark (66), Bokovo (63) and  Pusic (62).

The new trend is focused on electing more energetic UN Secretary General who should be close to the young world generation. Ms. Natalia Gherman is the most qualified to represent the aspiration of the world young generation.

Linguistically, Ms. Natalia Gherman speaks English, Russian and German languages fluently. This, along with her vast diplomatic skills, would enable her also to communicate well with the majority of 193-member UN members.

One would wish Ms. Natalia Gherman good luck and pray for her success.

The game of Zardari in Washington

The game of Zardari in Washington

Dr. Jassim Taqui

The PPP co-Chairman of the PPP has landed in Washington in a mysterious mission. In order to play a deception game with the LEAs, Zardari claimed that his mission was to convince Senator John McCain to sell F-16 fighter aircraft to Pakistan.

However, Zardari is an absconder. He fled Pakistan fearing arrest on charges of murder,  corruption and money laundering. He does not hold any official portfolio and nobody nominated him as Pakistan envoy.

Furthermore, the government has already declared that it was planning to buy used F-16 fighter jets from Jordan after the $699 million deal to buy the jets from US failed owing to the Congress refusal to sanction it.

Zardari has fallen from the grace. In fact, even his son and Chairman of PPP, Bilawal Zardari has openly disagreed with his father’s secret understanding with the prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Bilawal openly demanded the resignation of Sharif and his trial. He criticized  PPP’s Opposition leader, Khursheed Shah , a close confidant of Zardari,  over hush-hush attitude and delaying tactics to investigate the involvement of Nawaz Sharif and his family in massive corruption as disclosed by Panama Leaks.

Like Hussain Haqqani, Zardari is trying his luck to lobby against the military establishment on behalf of prime minister Nawaz Sharif. But it is highly unlikely that the US administration would support two top corrupt personalities, Nawaz Sharif and Zardari, who are also involved in corruption and money laundering.

Indian bid to join NSG fails

Indian bid to join NSG fails

Dr. Jassim Taqui

As expected, the Indian bid to join the high table of the world nuclear powers failed. Indi lobbied for eight years for a seat at the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

In a special meeting of the NSG in Seoul today, five countries opposed  its entry including China, Norway, New Zealand, South Africa,  and Brazil.

China convinced NSG that India should be admitted in the group only if it signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty(CTBT).

Beijing prevailed despite the fact that 4 permanent members of the UN Security Council (The United States, Russian Federation, Britain and France) supported India.

The NSG vote has highlighted the duel policy of the Obama administration over NPT.

Earlier, Obama granted India a waiver, which was aimed at giving it access to the global commercial nuclear trade and technology. Both US and India worked hard to help India to assert itself as a legitimate nuclear power state.

The other objective of the US administration is to build up India as a regional nuclear superpower to contain the economic and military rise of China and to de-nuclearize Pakistan.

To achieve this objective, the Rand, which is a think tank of the Pentagon prepared a blue print to seize the nuclear assets of Pakistan or to disintegrate it or both.

However, with the start of CPEC and Pakistan’s signing of Memorandum of Obligation (MoO) during 16^th Summit of SCO, which is held at Ashkhabad on 24^thJune, 2016, the Obama game stands foiled.

Obama lobbied for Indian entry to NSG despite the fact that NSG was founded in response to India’s 1974 nuclear test. NSG has worked for decades to prevent the sharing of technology that could contribute to further spread of nuclear weapons.

India has not been able to explode the hydrogen bomb. Indications suggest that the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi might contemplating a thermonuclear test. This is the reason, he is resisting signing NPT and CTBT.

The decision of NSG is historic. It should pave the way to convince both India and Pakistan to sign NPT and CTBT.