India-Pakistan War Tensions: India Halts All Trade With Pakistan, Including Life-Saving Drugs
LIVE Blog
Pahalgam Terror Attack, India-Pakistan Tensions Live Updates: In a sweeping move following the deadly Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives, India has imposed a total ban on all imports and transit of goods from Pakistan, citing national security concerns. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry issued a gazette notification on Saturday, invoking the Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act, 1992, and the current Foreign Trade Policy 2023 to enforce the prohibition.
Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in india news and world News on Zee News.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
The world's auto supply chain is in the hands of a few Chinese bureaucrats
BEIJING: In a hulking grey building just east of Tiananmen square in Beijing, a small team in China's Ministry of Commerce is deciding the fate of the global auto industry , one rare earth magnet export permit at a time. China holds a near-monopoly on rare earth magnets - a crucial component in electric vehicle motors - and it added them to an export control list in April as part of its trade war with the United States, forcing all exporters to apply to Beijing for licenses. It falls to the Bureau of Industrial Security and Import and Export Control - which is part of China's Ministry of Commerce - to review export permits for the rare earth magnets, which are vital for car motors, wind turbines and even U.S. F-35 fighter jets. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 무릎이 붓고 아프신 분들만 읽으세요. 큰딸민지 더 알아보기 Undo While dozens of licences have been issued since late April, executives, lobbyists and diplomats say they are only a small fraction of the applications that have flooded in from automakers, semiconductor companies and aerospace firms around the world since the tougher export controls were introduced. Washington says delays in issuing export licences show China is reneging on commitments made during trade talks in Geneva last month and it has retaliated with export curbs on plane engine parts and other equipment. Live Events U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks by phone on Thursday as the escalating dispute over China's rare earth stranglehold threatened to derail the fragile trade truce agreed between the two superpowers. When the new rare earth magnet measures came in, the export control bureau had a total of just 30 staff, though this has since been doubled to around 60, according to two sources who were briefed on a meeting between the ministry and Chinese and European semiconductor firms last week. "We appreciate that MOFCOM has increased its resources to address demand and they're working hard and long hours on these issues," said Adam Dunnett, Secretary General of the European Chamber of Commerce in China, referring to the ministry. "But the reality is this is having a huge impact on a wide variety of sectors. It's something that could have been better planned and rolled out," he said. According to personnel records posted to the Ministry of Commerce's website in June 2024, there are only three senior officials within the bureau who can approve the export permits. The ministry's website lists the export licence bureau's office hours as: Weekdays, 8:30-11:30 a.m., 14:00-17:00 p.m. Reuters was unable to determine current staffing levels or whether more officials are now able to approve applications. The Ministry of Commerce did not respond to questions from Reuters on this subject. Chokepoint The global alarm over shortages underscores the enormous leverage China has acquired through its near-monopoly on rare earth production. It also reveals a complex bureaucratic process that has gone from checkpoint to chokepoint. "The process for our suppliers to apply for export licences for various rare earths ... since April, is complex and time-consuming, partly due to the need to collect and provide a lot of information," a spokesperson for Bosch, the German engineering and technology multinational, said last month. A Chinese-language guide to the process published by the Ministry in late March runs to almost 14,000 Mandarin characters. European auto suppliers alone have filed hundreds of requests since early April, with only about a quarter granted. These applications can range from dozens to hundreds of pages, according to sources who have either filed requests or been briefed about them. Public Ministry of Commerce guidelines require information including technical product descriptions, signed contracts. Descriptions of production facilities and photos of products are also encouraged. China's stated aim is to ensure dual-use items don't end up in military equipment, but officials are often overly cautious even though many applications clearly state commercial use, Dunnett said. "Another concern we have heard from some companies is that they are being asked for sensitive and excessive information that is part of their intellectual property which has led to delays in their applications," Dunnett added. While applications are meant to be processed in 45 working days, the ministry says applications related to national security will take longer, without defining how long. Strategic excuse Cory Combs, head of critical mineral and supply chain research at Trivium China, a policy research group, said it was not clear whether the delays were due to bureaucratic inertia or intentional weaponisation. "We do expect these applications to U.S. end-users to be reviewed on par with other countries and approved whenever they're not for military use," he said. "The issue here is that, is it quick enough for the Trump administration to believe that Beijing has not reneged on the Geneva agreement?" Some U.S. industry figures believe that the bureaucratic backlog is a "strategic excuse". "China can staff up as fast as they want, if they wanted to," said a source from the U.S. rare earths industry who declined to be named for sensitivity reasons. In public, Chinese officials have said the export controls apply to all countries, the implication being that they do not count as a U.S.-specific countermeasure under the Geneva agreement. Foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on May 30 that the rare earth export controls are "non-discriminatory and not targeted at any specific country". During the Geneva talks, however, China privately admitted that the rare earth export controls qualified as non-tariff countermeasures, according to a source briefed on the talks. Rare earths remain a core part of ongoing U.S.-China discussions, the person said. China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for clarification. Chinese scholars openly admit that the rare earth export controls are retaliation for U.S. chip curbs. "It's a short-term form of leverage which doesn't hurt China, as the rare earths in question have relatively low monetary value," said Zhu Junwei, an international relations scholar at the Grandview Institution, a Chinese think-tank.
News18
3 hours ago
- News18
'Deeper Military And Political Complicity': Pakistan's FATF Status Under Fresh Scrutiny After Jihadi Rally
Last Updated: While Pakistan exited the FATF grey list in October 2022 after meeting 34 action points across two action plans Pakistan's commitment to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) guidelines is once again in question following a large-scale Jihadi rally on May 28, 2025. The rally has reignited concerns over the country's approach to combating terror financing and its broader FATF compliance ahead of a critical review in 2026. While Pakistan exited the FATF grey list in October 2022 after meeting 34 action points across two action plans (27+7), experts argue that the compliance remains largely tactical, not institutional. Legislative reforms may exist on paper, but weak enforcement, selective prosecutions, and systemic tolerance for terror-linked groups undermine meaningful progress. The May 28 rally, openly held by banned terror outfits, signals continued state tolerance and hints at deeper military and political complicity. This directly challenges FATF's Immediate Outcomes 8–11, which focus on preventing terror financing and ensuring effective law enforcement responses. Despite FATF's repeated calls, Pakistan has failed to prosecute UN-designated terrorists meaningfully. High-profile figures like Masood Azhar of Jaish-e-Mohammed face only minor charges related to terror financing — not for core terror acts such as the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Convictions remain symbolic, often reversible based on the ISI's strategic needs. Groups like JeM and Lashkar-e-Taiba continue to operate under aliases such as TRF (The Resistance Front) and PAFF (People's Anti-Fascist Front), exploiting loopholes in enforcement. Similarly, Jamaat-ud-Dawa has rebranded as political fronts like the Milli Muslim League, maintaining access to their funding networks. FATF had demanded the prosecution of key terror financiers and the dismantling of infrastructure supporting terrorism. Yet, asset confiscation remains unaddressed, and no mutual legal assistance (MLA) provisions exist for cross-border asset freezing or comprehensive coverage of predicate offences. Pakistan's Mutual Legal Assistance framework continues to lack crucial provisions, including mechanisms for domestic restraint orders and global asset recovery. This gap enables illicit funds to circulate within Pakistan's financial system unimpeded. In high-risk sectors like real estate and jewellery, FATF had emphasized risk-based supervision under the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Act. While laws exist, oversight of Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs) remains weak. Madrassas and hawala networks, central to terror financing, continue to resist FATF-mandated registration. Top intelligence sources note that Pakistani banks inconsistently monitor high-risk accounts. Internal compliance focuses more on form than substance, failing to detect suspicious transactions. Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies lack essential forensic and cyber investigation tools, severely hampering complex terror-financing probes. The FATF's 2022 onsite report already flagged low effectiveness in 10 out of 11 Immediate Outcomes, including limited use of financial intelligence and poor supervision of vulnerable sectors. With strategic deficiencies unresolved and public displays of extremist activity continuing, Pakistan risks being relisted by FATF by 2026 unless genuine, institutional reforms replace symbolic gestures.
The Hindu
5 hours ago
- The Hindu
What is new in Ladakh's government job reservation policy?
The story so far: On June 3, President Droupadi Murmu notified four Regulations for the Union Territory (U.T.) of Ladakh, defining new policies on reservation, languages, domiciles, and composition of hill councils for Ladakh, which became a Union Territory in 2019. The notified regulations were The Ladakh Official Languages Regulation, 2025; The Ladakh Civil Services Decentralisation and Recruitment (Amendment) Regulation, 2025; The Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (Amendment) Regulation, 2025; and The Union Territory of Ladakh Reservation (Amendment) Regulation, 2025. What did the policies entail? The Regulations pave the way for 85% reservation for resident Ladakhis in government jobs. The Rules notified empowered the tehsildar to issue the domicile certificates. To be considered 'domiciles' and thus eligible for the 5% quota in government jobs in the U.T., non-local residents must prove a continuous 15-year stay in the U.T. starting from October 31, 2019. Added with the 10% quota for the Economically Weaker Sections, the total government job reservation in the U.T. now stands at 95%, one of the highest in the country. According to the 2011 Census, Ladakh's population is 2,74,289, and nearly 80% are tribals. The U.T. has a majority Buddhist population in Leh and a sizeable Muslim population in Kargil. Another recently notified policy said that at least one-third of the seats in the hill councils of Leh will be reserved for women, on a rotational basis across jurisdictions, and the official languages of the U.T. will be English, Hindi, Urdu, Bhoti, and Purgi. Why were the policies notified? After the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution was read down on August 5, 2019, the former State was split into two Union Territories — J&K and Ladakh, the latter without a legislative Assembly. After initial euphoria, the Ladakhi civil society groups began protests demanding protection of land, resources, and employment. Concerns arising out of big businesses and outsiders acquiring land and jobs led people to protest and observe shutdowns. Cutting across party lines, locals and a former BJP MP demanded restoration of protection as granted under Article 35A of the Constitution, which was revoked with Article 370 in 2019. Article 35A lets the J&K legislature decide the 'permanent residents' in the former State, prohibits a non-J&K resident from buying property, and ensures job reservation for its residents. In 2020, the People's Movement for Constitutional Safeguard or the Leh Apex Body (LAB) was formed, backed by the powerful Ladakh Buddhist Association. In 2021, the LAB and the Kargil Democratic Alliance came together to fight for constitutional safeguards for the region. Together, they came up with four key demands: inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution (giving tribal status and autonomy over land), Statehood, separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil districts, and filling of existing government vacancies. What was the government's reaction? On January 2, 2023, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs constituted a high-powered committee (HPC) chaired by Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai for talks with civil society groups. The committee was rejected by the groups as the latter suspected it of having only pro-government members. The committee was reconstituted on November 30, 2023. Even as the committee met, the talks broke down in March 2024. On October 6, 2024, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk sat on an indefinite fast in Delhi to draw the government's attention to their demands, following which the Ministry of Home Affairs agreed to resume the talks. The HPC, including leaders from Leh and Kargil, met on December 3, 2024, followed by another meeting on January 15, 2025. The committee met again on May 27, where the contours of the domicile and reservation policy were hammered out. What is next? Cherring Dorjay Lakruk, the president of Ladakh Buddhist Association and co-convenor of the LAB, who is also part of the HCP, said that they will continue to demand Statehood and inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. 'Only one chapter, that of government jobs, is closed. The talks with the government will continue over issues such as the protection of land and constitutional safeguards. So far, we have not raised the issue of land with the government,' Mr. Lakruk said. Before the policies were notified, the high-powered committee members were invited by Union Home Minister Amit Shah for a tea party at the latter's residence. 'The Home Minister assured us that all other issues will remain under discussion,' Mr. Lakruk said.
