Beijing’s security presence in Central Asia grows DUSHANBE: Tajikistan has approved the construction of a new Chinese-funded base near the country’s border with Afghanistan as Tajik officials warn of growing threats emanating from its southern neighbour.In a separate development, the Tajik government has offered to transfer full control of a preexisting Chinese military base in the country to Beijing and …

Herald Report Islamabad: Pakistan’s top court on Friday threw out the presidential reference against senior judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa in a case that was widely seen as pitting the country’s judiciary against its government and powerful armed forces. “[The reference] is declared to be of no legal effect whatsoever and stands quashed,” read the majority (9-1) short verdict on …

“Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next. We can choose to walk through it, dragging the carcasses of our prejudice and hatred, our avarice, our data banks and dead ideas, our dead rivers and smoky …

Lawmakers in a move to revive traditional names approve a bill banning identification documents containing Russified surname News Desk DUSHANBE: Tajik lawmakers have approved a bill banning the issuance of new identification documents and birth certificates for ethnic Tajiks containing Russified surnames, the latest attempt to revive traditional names. Justice Minister Muzaffar Ashuryon said after the bill was approved by …

202,000 face masks, 5 ventilators, 2,000 testing kits, and 2,000 medical protective clothes will be handed over to GB officials at Khunjerav border pass on March 27th, Nazimul Amin by Farman Ali Islamabad: The governor of Xinjiang has announced a donation of medical equipment for Gilgit-Baltistan to combat coronavirus which is fast spreading in the mountainous region infecting over 80 …

Chinese new year music gala and intangible art show draws big crowed at PNCA   By Farman Ali Islamabad, Jan 17: A cultural gala featuring thrilling opera dances, enchanting musical performances, and display of tradition art heralded Chinese New Year and spring season at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) on Thursday evening. The show drew a large …

Experts say Pakistan needs to shift its foreign policy from geostrategic to financial diplomacy   Special correspondent Islamabad: Diplomatic and development experts have termed the Pakistan recent diplomatic overtures ill-conceived and ill-prepared. They suggested that Pakistan needs a paradigm shift in its foreign policy and focus on economic diplomacy rather than on the traditional geostrategic partnership. They were speaking at …

News Desk The Iraqi parliament on Sunday said it loudly and clearly: “The Iraqi government must work to end the presence of any foreign troops on Iraqi soil and prohibit them from using its land, airspace or water for any reason.” Yes, all foreign forces, including the US and Iran, reports Truthout online blog. As we’ve all seen by now, …

URUMQI: Trade volume surged this year at Khunjerav Pass, a major border port between China and Pakistan, the Chinese media reported on Saturday. Cargo import and export reached 66,600 tonnes in the first 11 months at Khunjerab Pass, the highest customs checkpoint between Gilgit-Baltistan’s Hunza District and  China’s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region in the northwest, up 46.8 percent from the …

Ambassador Naghmana Alamgir Hashmi acknowledges Pakistani students achievements, gives certificates to 89 high achievers.

MADRID: A handful of major states resisted pressure on Sunday to ramp up efforts to combat global warming as a U.N. climate summit ground to a close, angering smaller countries and a growing protest movement that is pushing for emergency action. The COP25 talks in Madrid were viewed as a test of governments’ collective will to heed the advice of …

Madrid: With national delegations thrashing out an outcome agreement at the UN COP25 climate change conference in Madrid, the UN chief has called on countries to be more ambitious, side strongly with science, and commit to stronger action. “Today is the last day of the COP25 in Madrid”, said Secretary-General António Guterres. “And I appeal to the delegates of all Member States …

Border dynamics, natural resources, and mobility in Central Asia

Japan wants to revive the archaeological mission in Pakistan: Dr Satoshi   By Farman Ali   While appreciating the Pakistan government’s opening of Kartarpur Corridor to facilitate the Sikh community to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, diplomats, academia and culture activists seek as similar initiatives for Buddhists to visit holy places in Gandhara Valley. They echoed this at a lecture on …

KRASLICE, (Czech Republic): In the winter of 1978-79, Afghanistan’s communist regime deployed a hit squad to find and kill Babrak Karmal, the high-profile ambassador to Czechoslovakia. Fearing for his life, Czechoslovak authorities secretly hid Karmal and his family in a remote hunting lodge in the dense forests straddling the border with East Germany. The family-of-six lived covertly for a year …