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Arab News
6 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan PM lauds Iran's engagement in nuclear talks with US, hopes for positive outcome
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday praised the Iranian leadership for its 'farsightedness' in pursuing nuclear negotiations with the United States and expressed hope for a positive outcome during a meeting with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran. Sharif arrived in Iran earlier in the day after a stop in Istanbul, as part of a regional diplomacy tour that includes upcoming visits to Azerbaijan and Tajikistan. His trip follows a brief but intense military standoff with neighboring India, in which the two nuclear-armed rivals exchanged missile, drone and artillery fire. Pakistan has thanked Tehran for its support during the conflict. 'The Prime Minister praised the farsightedness of the Iranian leadership in pursuing the nuclear negotiations with the United States and hoped that a constructive deal is reached between the two countries that can promote peace and stability in the region,' Sharif's office said in a statement. Talks between Iran and the US aim to limit Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of US sanctions. A key sticking point remains uranium enrichment, with Washington asking Iran to halt its program, while Tehran insisting on its right to continue enrichment for civilian purposes. During the meeting, Sharif also informed Khamenei about Pakistan's recent conflict with India and accused New Delhi of 'hegemonistic and revisionist designs.' He emphasized Pakistan's desire for regional peace and economic development, and expressed a commitment to deepening strategic cooperation with Iran 'in complex geo-political times.' The Prime Minister's Office said Khamenei praised Sharif's efforts to promote peace and regional stability and reaffirmed support for closer bilateral ties. Earlier on Monday, Sharif also met newly elected Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. At a joint press conference, the two leaders discussed bilateral cooperation, with Pezeshkian emphasizing the need for secure and peaceful borders free from militant and criminal activity. Relations between the two neighbors became strained last year after Iran launched strikes inside Pakistani territory against suspected militant hideouts, prompting retaliatory strikes by Islamabad against separatist militants in Iran. Both sides have since sought to de-escalate tensions and pledged to respect each other's sovereignty. Sharif concluded his meeting with Khamenei by inviting the Supreme Leader to visit Islamabad and expressed appreciation for his admiration of Dr. Muhammad Iqbal, Pakistan's national poet.
The Guardian
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Full-frontal assault': Guyana president decries Venezuela ‘sham' elections for disputed region
Venezuela's decision to elect officials to administer a swathe of Guyanese territory constitutes 'a full-frontal assault on Guyana's sovereignty and territorial integrity' that 'undermines regional peace', the country's president, Irfaan Ali, has warned. Venezuelans will head to the polls on Sunday to chose regional governors and lawmakers, including officials who would supposedly govern Essequibo, a territory which is internationally recognised as part of Guyana. The area is largely jungle but also rich in oil, gold, diamonds, timber and other natural resources. Ali told the Guardian the move was part of a 'campaign to provoke confrontation' and that the 'implications are grave – not just for Guyana, but for the entire western hemisphere'. 'The sham elections Venezuela seeks to stage in our territory are not only illegal – they are an act of brazen hostility. This threat is not just aimed at Guyana. It undermines regional peace,' Ali said. Guyana, an English-speaking former British and Dutch colony, has for decades administered the region, which makes up two-thirds of its territory and is home to 125,000 of its 800,000 citizens. It says the frontiers were determined by an arbitration panel in 1899. Venezuela also lays claim because the region was within its boundaries during the Spanish colonial period. The centuries-old dispute was reignited in 2015 when the US energy giant ExxonMobil discovered huge crude reserves in the region, and escalated in 2023 when Guyana began auctioning oil-exploration licences. In late 2023, after holding a referendum asking voters if it should be turned into a Venezuelan state, President Nicolás Maduro threatened to partially annex the region by force and pledged to hold elections there. Caracas describes Essequibo as 'an inalienable part of the Venezuelan territory and a legacy of our liberators' and has rejected an order by the international court of justice to suspend its plans. 'No international pressure, judicial blackmail, or foreign tribunal will make us back down from this conviction,' Venezuela said. Dr Christopher Sabatini, Latin America expert at Chatham House, said the move to push ahead with elections was 'intended to stoke the fires of nationalism'. Guyana's chief of defence staff, Brigadier Omar Khan, has called on Guyanese Indigenous communities – particularly those living along the border – to share any relevant information about Venezuela's attempts to organise the election. 'I want you to be vigilant,' Khan told Indigenous leaders on Tuesday. He also warned that any resident participating in the elections would be charged with treason and other felony crimes. 'If anyone participates or takes any similar action, it will amount to support for a passive coup,' Khan told the Associated Press. 'Anything along those lines will speak to a violation of our sovereignty and territorial integrity.' A Venezuelan source said that although the newly created 'Guyana-Essequibo state' included the entire disputed territory, voting would only take place in a border municipality in the Venezuelan state of Bolívar. The source said Venezuelan authorities would be unlikely to cross the internationally recognized border. President Ali said Guyana was a 'peaceful nation' but 'bows to no bully and yields to no threat'. He added that he 'will make every investment – military, diplomatic, technological, and human – necessary to secure and defend our sovereignty and territorial integrity'. The elections come 10 months after Maduro claimed victory in an election he was widely suspected of stealing. A deadly crackdown followed, with Human Rights Watch (HRW) reporting that the government had 'killed, tortured, detained, and forcefully disappeared people seeking democratic change'. Venezuelans will elect 24 state governors and 285 national assembly members in Sunday's poll, but turnout is expected to be low. 'Last year, Maduro stole the votes of Venezuelans and repressed those who demanded fair counting. It's hard to see how many of them will turn out to vote again,' said Juan Pappier, deputy director of the Americas Division of HRW. Víctor Alfonzo, a 33-year-old resident living in the state of Anzoátegui, said that the country no longer 'believes in the political system'. 'I'm not planning to vote. Neither are my friends, nor my family. We know that everything is a fraud with this government, and we don't want to participate,' he said. The Venezuelan opposition has been beset by infighting over whether to abstain from the election, with the handful who are set to run facing bitter recriminations from their political allies. the opposition leader María Corina Machado has called on voters to stay away in the hope of humiliating the government with low turnout. But others warn the boycott could play into the hands of the administration. In 2020, the opposition boycotted parliamentary elections, which rights groups say allowed Maduro's allies to regain control of parliament. 'Those leaders, the ones that sit out, become irrelevant,' said Sabatini. 'They may be marginalising themselves even more, and that, in part, is the government's plan.'
South China Morning Post
21-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
China urges trust, cooperation with Pakistan, Afghanistan as regional tensions mount
China has pledged to improve trust and cooperation with Pakistan and Afghanistan amid mounting military tensions in the region, with Beijing's top diplomat calling for the three countries to work together to project regional peace. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the remarks during an informal meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar and Afghanistan's acting foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, in Beijing on Wednesday. According to a foreign ministry readout of the meeting, the three diplomats discussed a plan to upgrade political mutual trust and neighbourly relations, with Beijing supporting the two countries in 'safeguarding their sovereignty, security and national dignity'. Wang said China, Pakistan and Afghanistan should deepen exchanges and diplomatic ties, and that the two South Asian nations had agreed 'in principle' to exchange ambassadors 'as soon as possible'. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (right) held talks with Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in Beijing on Tuesday. Photo: Xinhua 'China welcomes this and is willing to continue to provide help for the improvement of Afghanistan-Pakistan relations,' Wang said, according to the statement.
Arab News
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan to send dossier to world powers urging action against Indian ‘aggression'
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will be sending a dossier, which outlines the chain of events in its military standoff with India this month, to world powers to urge them to hold New Delhi accountable for its 'aggression and attacks on civilian population' in Pakistan. The dossier will be presented to foreign capitals by a high-level delegation formed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last week. The delegation, led by former Pakistani foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, is tasked with effectively presenting Pakistan's case before the world. The document, seen by Arab News, contains details of an April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, India's subsequent strikes against Pakistan and Islamabad's response to them, the ensuing four-day military standoff, international media coverage, images of the attacked sites, and specifics of Pakistan's countermeasures. 'Pakistan reaffirms its commitment to regional peace and stability and international community must hold India accountable for its aggression and attack on innocent women and children,' the dossier reads. India blamed the April 22 attack that killed 26 people on Pakistan and on May 7, New Delhi attacked what it called 'terrorist camps' in multiple Pakistani cities. Islamabad has denied complicity and called for an international probe into the assault. The four-day military conflict came to a halt after United States (US) President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire on May 10, offering to help settle longstanding dispute between the two nations. The Pakistani dossier says that India had repeatedly used 'false-flag operations' and its immediate blaming of Pakistan for the attack raised 'serious concerns about the integrity of its claims' as standard investigative procedures required time and forensic examination. 'The Pahalgam incident followed the same pattern of manipulation and manufactured provocation,' the dossier says, noting that Pakistan sought evidence from India and proposed a joint investigation. 'However, these proposals were not only rejected by India but India also continued to attack civilians inside Pakistan.' Members of Pakistan's high-level delegation, tasked with visiting London, Washington, Paris and Brussels, described this outreach to the international community as 'absolutely imperative.' 'The region stands at a key inflection point in the wake of India's unprovoked aggression and its egregious reshaping and deliberate distortion of facts as active state-sponsored disinformation,' Senator Sherry Rehman, a member of the Pakistani delegation, told Arab News. 'We have obviously prepared a detailed dossier that documents not just recent violations but also India's longstanding record of state-sponsored terrorism inside Pakistan,' she said, adding that Pakistan has chosen diplomacy over escalation. 'This dossier is not a political tool, it is a factual record of aggression and hybrid warfare, including India's unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, which constitutes a grave violation of international law and a weaponization of water against civilian populations.' Rehman said the aim of the delegation will be to reinforce Pakistan's position as a responsible state, seeking peaceful resolution 'through diplomacy and facts, not aggression or media manipulation.' 'It is also to seek global support for de-escalation frameworks, including calls for renewed dialogue on Kashmir as a flashpoint, and to safeguard regional water security through multilateral oversight,' she added. India suspended on April 23 the World Bank-mediated Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 that ensures water for 80 percent of Pakistani farms, saying it would last until 'Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.' Separatist groups have waged an insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir since 1989, demanding independence or a merger with Pakistan. New Delhi accuses Pakistan of backing the militants, Islamabad denies it and says it only supports Kashmiris diplomatically and politically. Jalil Abbas Jillani, another Pakistani delegate and a former foreign secretary, said it is extremely important for Pakistan to share its concerns over the aggressive Indian behavior, genesis of the Kashmir dispute, and violations of the Indus Waters Treaty and its implications on peace and stability in the region. 'The delegation will also apprise the international community of the support being extended by India to terrorist outfits like BLA [Baloch Liberation Army] and TTP [Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan], etc,' he told Arab News. New Delhi denies supporting the BLA, TTP or any such groups in Pakistan. India has also sent multiple all-party delegations abroad to extend its diplomatic outreach over the recent conflict. Former Pakistani diplomats and experts called the submission of the dossier a 'right approach' by Pakistan to brief the world about Indian actions. 'Pakistan's recent step of submitting yet another dossier is again a step in the right direction as India has been selling its narrative on false grounds,' former Pakistani ambassador to the United Kingdom Nafees Zakaria told Arab News. He said there was no reason for the international community not to pay due attention to Pakistan's 'evidence-based dossier' against India. 'Western world led by the US, which sees India as its lynchpin in the region as a counterweight to the rising powers China and Russia, has been looking the other way, which allowed India to indulge in criminal activities and subversion with impunity,' he said, adding that Pakistan must present its narrative and rigorously pursue it to ensure that India is 'called to account and pays for its crimes.' Former foreign secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhary said Pakistan needed to convey its perspective as India had hardly presented any evidence to the world to support its accusations, which resulted in the military standoff. 'It should be a proactive agenda on our part, meaning we should compile dossiers on India's involvement in terrorism in Pakistan, evidence for which is now plentiful,' he told Arab News. He said India had better accepted the offer made by President Donald Trump to sit and talk with Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir dispute. 'The sooner India does that the better it would be for it and for the peace in the region,' he added. Bitter rivals India and Pakistan have fought three wars, including two over the disputed region of Kashmir, since gaining independence from British rule in 1947. Both claim the Himalayan territory in its entirety but rule it in part.
Arab News
20-05-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan, China to continue ‘cooperation for regional peace' after India conflict
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China have resolved to continue 'bilateral cooperation for regional peace, development and stability,' the Pakistani foreign office said on Tuesday, following a four-day military conflict between Pakistan and India. The statement came during Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar's three-day visit to Beijing after Pakistan and India exchanged missiles, drones and artillery fire until the United States brokered a ceasefire on May 10. Pakistan declared a victory in the standoff, saying its air force used Chinese J-10C aircraft to shoot down six Indian fighter jets, including three French Rafales, and the army targeted several Indian military installations during the recent flare-up. Dar on Tuesday held in-depth consultations with the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the evolving situation in South Asia and the future trajectory of Pakistan-China partnership, according to the Pakistani foreign office. 'Both leaders expressed satisfaction at the commonality of views on all issues of mutual interest and expressed their firm resolve to continue bilateral cooperation for regional peace, development and stability,' it said in a statement. For China, Pakistan is a strategic and economic ally. Beijing is investing over $60 billion to build infrastructure, energy and other projects in Pakistan as part of its China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. India and China, on the other hand, are competing regional giants and nuclear powers and widely seen as long-term strategic rivals, sharing a 3,800 Himalayan border that has been disputed since the 1950s and sparked a brief war in 1962. The most recent standoff — that started in 2020 — thawed in October as the two sides struck a patrolling agreement. Dar, who is also the foreign minister of Pakistan, earlier began his day with a meeting with Liu Jianchao, Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (IDCPC), who reiterated that 'China will continue to prioritize its relations with Pakistan as an All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partner and ironclad friend.' Pakistan's foreign office said in an earlier statement that Dar would discuss with Chinese leaders 'the evolving regional situation in South Asia and its implications for peace and stability.' 'The two sides will also review the entire spectrum of Pakistan-China bilateral relations and exchange views on regional and global developments of mutual interest,' the statement added. The conflict between India and Pakistan has offered the world a first real glimpse into how advanced Chinese military technology performs against proven Western hardware and Chinese defense stocks have already been surging as a result. A rising military superpower, China hasn't fought a major war in more than four decades but has raced under President Xi Jinping to modernize its armed forces, pouring resources into developing sophisticated weaponry and cutting-edge technologies. It has also extended that modernization drive to Pakistan, long hailed by Beijing as its 'ironclad brother.' Over the past five years, China has supplied 81 percent of Pakistan's imported weapons, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Those exports include advanced fighter jets, missiles, radars and air-defense systems. Some Pakistan-made weapons have also been co-developed with Chinese firms or built with Chinese technology and expertise.
