Pakistan Army 'fully prepared to thwart all internal, external challenges': Gen Bajwa

The Pakistan Army is "fully prepared to thwart all internal and external challenges" the country faces, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa said Tuesday as the Corps Commanders Conference (CCC), where participants expressed resolve to protect the nation and its civilians.

According to the Pakistan Army's media wing, the Corps Commanders Conference presided over by the COAS reviewed the "geo strategic, regional & national security environment & discussed internal security, situation along borders" and the Line of Control (LOC), as well as the atrocities in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K).

The forum expressed serious concerns in the wake of irrefutable evidence of Indian state-sponsored terrorism and India's efforts to destabilise Pakistan, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

...Forum showed serious concern in the wake of irrefutable evidence of Indian state sponsored terrorism & efforts to destabilize Pakistan. Indian efforts to sabotage CPEC, involvement in financing and training of terrorist organizations for fomenting unrest in (2/6)

— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) November 24, 2020

The "Indian efforts to sabotage CPEC, involvement in financing and training of terrorist organizations for fomenting unrest in Pakistan, especially in [Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan] and Balochistan are an affront to peace and security in the region, forum emphasised," the ISPR said.

"Deliberating upon recent surge in #CFVs by the Indian Army, forum resolved to take all measures necessary to protect innocent population living along LOC from Indian firing deliberately targeting civil population," it noted, referring to the latest rise in the ceasefire violations across the Line of Control.

The CCC further "took a comprehensive overview of positive progress in Afghan Peace Process", about which Prime Minister Imran Khan during his visit to Afghanistan last week had said Pakistan would do its utmost to end the violence and establish peace in the neighbouring nation.

...Forum showed serious concern in the wake of irrefutable evidence of Indian state sponsored terrorism & efforts to destabilize Pakistan. Indian efforts to sabotage CPEC, involvement in financing and training of terrorist organizations for fomenting unrest in (2/6)

— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) November 24, 2020

The "forum expressed strong will, resolve and determination to defend the motherland against any misadventure [and] also deliberated upon the COVID-19 situation and measures required to confront the pandemic in the wake of 2nd wave," the ISPR added.

Gen Bajwa specifically directed all commanders to ensure measures to support the national effort.

"Pakistan Army with support of state institutions & the nation is fully prepared to thwart all internal & external challenges. It is our duty to transform these challenges into opportunities for the stability & prosperity of the people of Pakistan," the Army chief said.

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Trump allows Biden to begin transition, still yet to concede

US President Donald Trump agreed early on Tuesday to allow the transition process to begin, ending weeks of speculation.

But he did so only after certified election results also confirmed that his rival Joe Biden’s victory in the November 3 election was irreversible.

Biden, a Democrat, now has 306 electoral votes against Trump’s 232 and leads his Republican rival by almost six million popular votes; Biden has almost 80 million votes against Trump’s 74 million.

Biden’s 80 million votes are the highest ever received by a presidential candidate and Trump’s 74 million are the second highest.

“In the best interest of our country, I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same,” Trump said in a tweet posted on Monday night.

Although Trump is yet to formally concede, Emily Murphy — who heads the General Services Administration (GSA) — took the next step and announced that she was allowing the presidential transition to begin. GSA is responsible for running the White House and other federal offices.

Murphy, a Trump-appointee who had earlier blocked the process, also sent Biden a letter recognising him as the winner.

This opens access to funds, office space and classified briefings to Biden who derailed Trump’s bid for a second term in the White House.

“Please know that I came to my decision independently, based on the law and available facts. I was never directly or indirectly pressured by any Executive Branch official — including those who work at the White House or GSA — with regard to the substance or timing of my decision,” Murphy claimed in her letter to Biden.

Trump’s tweet followed Michigan’s certification that Biden has won the state by almost 150,000 votes. On Saturday, a federal judge in Pennsylvania threw out a Trump campaign lawsuit seeking to prevent certification in that state.

Georgia, another of the four key states that ensured the former vice president’s re-entry into the White House as president, has already certified Biden’s win.

Although Trump insisted in his tweet that “we will keep up the good fight”, state certifications made it clear that he was running out of options.

So far, Trump had been hiding behind technicalities. Technically, all the results announced before the certification were media reports and, therefore, not legally binding.

But certified results are official. So, when it became obvious that certified results were also favouring Biden, he gave in.

Those observing the White House closely noticed that the first family too had started moving out of Washington during the weekend. Trump’s daughter and son-in-law, who are also his close aides, have both moved to New York.

On Monday night, senators Lamar Alexander and Bill Cassidy joined a growing number of Republican lawmakers who are recognising Biden as president-elect, although some top Republicans are still waiting for Trump to concede.

And Trump’s latest tweet made it even more difficult for them to take a clear stance on this issue.

“What does GSA being allowed to do preliminarily work with the Dems have to do with continuing to pursue our various cases on what will go down as the most corrupt election in American political history?” Trump wrote. “We are moving full speed ahead, and will never concede to fake ballots.”

Lawmakers in America face re-election every two-year and Trump’s huge vote bank means they will continue to need his support in the coming elections.

But Yohannes Abraham, the Biden-Harris transition executive director, said the decision was a “definitive administrative action” that could not be reversed.

“In the days ahead, transition officials will begin meeting with federal officials to discuss the [coronavirus] pandemic response, have a full accounting of our national security interests, and gain complete understanding of the Trump administration’s efforts to hollow out government agencies,” he said in a statement.

The president-elect, however, had already started his part of the transition. By Monday, Biden had announced several key appointments and nominations for his national security and foreign policy team.

Former secretary of state John Kerry will serve as his special envoy to address climate change, and former deputy secretary of state Antony Blinken will lead the US State department.

Former Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen will head the Treasury. If confirmed, Yellen would become the first woman in US history to serve as treasury secretary.

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Roadside bombs attack in Afghanistan's Bamiyan province kills 14

Roadside bombs exploded in central Afghanistan on Tuesday killing at least 13 civilians and a traffic policeman, officials said, even as government negotiators and the Taliban meet to try to end decades of war.

Tariq Arian, spokesperson for the Interior Ministry, said 45 people were also wounded in a late afternoon blast in Bamiyan city in Bamiyan province. Several shops and vehicles were destroyed or damaged.

Mohammad Reza Yusuofi, spokesman for the provincial police chief in Bamiyan, said there were two bombs that exploded in quick succession.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack and Zabihullah Mujahid, Taliban spokesman, said the group was not involved.

Violence and chaos have increased in Afghanistan in recent months even as government negotiators and the Taliban are meeting in Qatar to find an end to decades of relentless war. The two sides have made little progress.

The Daesh affiliate has claimed responsibility for recent attacks in Afghanistan, including two horrific assaults on educational institutions that killed at least 50 people, most of them students.

The United States blamed the Daesh affiliate for an attack on a maternity hospital earlier this year that killed 24 new mothers and infant babies. The hospital was located in Kabul's Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood, dominated by ethnic Hazaras.

If Tuesday's attack in Bamiyan is claimed by the IS affiliate, it will be a dangerous escalation and a disturbing development if the group is able to penetrate into a province that has been considered a refuge from the bitter fighting elsewhere in the country.

Bamiyan's Buddhist population was mostly destroyed in early 2001 by the Taliban, who ruled for five years until late 2001 when they were overthrown by the US-led coalition. The province is also a popular tourist destination, mostly because of Band-e-Amir National Park.

Also on Tuesday, Norway's Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soereide said the Scandinavian country will provide around 650 million kroner ($72.1 million) in development assistance and humanitarian aid in 2021 to Afghanistan.

Our support and further level (of assistance) will be assessed on the basis of the authorities' efforts against corruption, Eriksen Soereide said in a statement, adding that satisfactory progress in the peace process is important.

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FIFA ban African football head for five years after ethics investigation

The head of African football, Ahmad Ahmad, has been banned from football for five years by FIFA following an ethics investigation by world soccer’s governing body.

Ahmad, who is president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), had intended to stand in an election in March in which he would have faced a number of challengers.

FIFA said in a statement the independent Ethics Committee has found Ahmad guilty of offering and accepting gifts and other benefits, and misappropriation of funds.

FIFA had “sanctioned him with a ban from all football-related activity (administrative, sports or any other) at both national and international level for five years,” it said.

It also fined him 200,000 Swiss francs ($200,000). Ahmad refused to comment.

Former CAF general secretary Amr Fahmy, who died earlier this year from cancer, had been dismissed after he made corruption allegations against Ahmad last year in a document sent to FIFA.

The document, sent on March 31 2019 by Fahmy to a FIFA investigations committee, accused Ahmad of ordering his secretary-general to pay $20,000 bribes into accounts of African football association presidents. They included Cape Verde and Tanzania.

The document also accused Ahmad of costing CAF an extra $830,000 by ordering equipment via a French intermediary company called Tactical Steel. The company denied any wrongdoing and said it had won the contract on merit.

Furthermore, it accused him of harassing four female CAF staff, whom it did not name; violating statutes to increase Moroccan representation within the organisation; and over-spending more than $400,000 of CAF money on cars in Egypt and Madag­ascar, where a satellite office has been set up for him.

Senior CAF officials, speaking on condition of anonymity at the time of his dismissal, said Fahmy was fired in reprisal for compiling the document with the allegations against Ahmad.

Ahmad was questioned by French authorities in June, 2019 after he was taken from his Paris hotel and questioned by officers of OCLIF, the French police agency fighting financial crime and corruption, French media reports said.

In August last year, FIFA general secretary Fatma Samoura was appointed ‘general delegate’ for Africa and took control of a large part of CAF’s affairs.

In February, at the end of that process, a review of CAF’s finances by Price Waterhouse Cooper (PWC) was highly critical of how the African organisation’s finances had been managed.

A copy of the 55-page report outlined a series of concerns about CAFs book-keeping. “The accounting records of CAF are unreliable and not trustworthy,” said the report.

Based upon the procedures performed and documents reviewed, several red flags, potential elements of mismanagement and possible abuse of power were found in key areas of finance and operations of CAF.

“Given the red flags identified from the preliminary due-diligence, we cannot rule out the possibility of potential irregularities.”

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Pakistan Army 'fully prepared to thwart all internal, external challenges': Gen Bajwa

The Pakistan Army is "fully prepared to thwart all internal and external challenges" the country faces, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa said Tuesday as the Corps Commanders Conference (CCC), where participants expressed resolve to protect the nation and its civilians.

According to the Pakistan Army's media wing, the Corps Commanders Conference presided over by the COAS reviewed the "geo strategic, regional & national security environment & discussed internal security, situation along borders" and the Line of Control (LOC), as well as the atrocities in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K).

The forum expressed serious concerns in the wake of irrefutable evidence of Indian state-sponsored terrorism and India's efforts to destabilise Pakistan, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

...Forum showed serious concern in the wake of irrefutable evidence of Indian state sponsored terrorism & efforts to destabilize Pakistan. Indian efforts to sabotage CPEC, involvement in financing and training of terrorist organizations for fomenting unrest in (2/6)

— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) November 24, 2020

The "Indian efforts to sabotage CPEC, involvement in financing and training of terrorist organizations for fomenting unrest in Pakistan, especially in [Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan] and Balochistan are an affront to peace and security in the region, forum emphasised," the ISPR said.

"Deliberating upon recent surge in #CFVs by the Indian Army, forum resolved to take all measures necessary to protect innocent population living along LOC from Indian firing deliberately targeting civil population," it noted, referring to the latest rise in the ceasefire violations across the Line of Control.

The CCC further "took a comprehensive overview of positive progress in Afghan Peace Process", about which Prime Minister Imran Khan during his visit to Afghanistan last week had said Pakistan would do its utmost to end the violence and establish peace in the neighbouring nation.

...Forum showed serious concern in the wake of irrefutable evidence of Indian state sponsored terrorism & efforts to destabilize Pakistan. Indian efforts to sabotage CPEC, involvement in financing and training of terrorist organizations for fomenting unrest in (2/6)

— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) November 24, 2020

The "forum expressed strong will, resolve and determination to defend the motherland against any misadventure [and] also deliberated upon the COVID-19 situation and measures required to confront the pandemic in the wake of 2nd wave," the ISPR added.

Gen Bajwa specifically directed all commanders to ensure measures to support the national effort.

"Pakistan Army with support of state institutions & the nation is fully prepared to thwart all internal & external challenges. It is our duty to transform these challenges into opportunities for the stability & prosperity of the people of Pakistan," the Army chief said.

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In 2 weeks, Covid-19 situation will deteriorate to June levels unless public attitude changes: Umar

Planning Minister Asad Umar warned on Tuesday that within two weeks, Pakistan would face the same situation as in June, when the country saw a peak in Covid-19 cases, unless the public changes its attitude.

Addressing a media briefing after a meeting of the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), which was chaired by Umar, the minister said: "The rate at which the virus spread in growing, and there is no reason that it would not grow at the same rate unless we change our attitude and take precautions, within two weeks we'll be in the same situation that we faced in June, when Pakistan saw its first peak."

He urged the masses to take precautions, including mask-wearing, hand washing, and avoiding handshakes and physical contact.

Umar recalled that in June, the situation had gotten so serious that people had trouble finding beds in hospitals. He said that the government does not want the situation to get to the point where the lives and incomes of people are threatened.

Ban on political gatherings, not politics

He also spoke against political gatherings and urged political leaders to spread awareness among their supporters. He added that the National Assembly speaker had summoned a meeting of the parliamentary committee formed to tackle coronavirus after the NCOC wrote them a letter. The meeting, which will be held tomorrow, is expected to be attended by the political leadership of all parties, Umar said.

"We will hopefully be able to sit and decide how to separate people's lives and livelihoods from politics," he said.

"There is no ban on politics in this country," Umar reasoned, adding that the government had imposed a ban on political rallies and gatherings because they can be a source of the virus' spread. He said that the Islamabad High Court had declared in one of its verdicts that the decisions being made by the NCOC and National Coordination Committee are for the larger interest of the public and should be followed.

"We know that when corona spreads, people's income is affected badly and we have seen this happen in the world's richest countries," he said, adding that the government does not want a situation where the lives and income of the masses are threatened.

"Even if I think as a politician, my politics will drown if I am seen involved in activities that endanger people's health, lives and livelihood," said the minister.

"Obviously, any place where 10,000-40,000 people have gathered together, there is a danger of the disease spreading," he said and added that in today's meeting, the Sindh health minister had pointed out that Ehsaas Programme's aid distribution centres pose a risk of an outbreak.

"If a gathering of a few 100 people in a place where following of SOPs can be ensured, can threaten an outbreak, imagine what a bigger crowd can do," the planning minister said.

He also recalled that this was not the first time he had sounded the alarm regarding a rapid increase in cases. Prime minister's aide Dr Faisal Sultan and he himself had warned of a second wave in early October, Umar said.

Separately, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also criticised the opposition for "defying government and courts with total disregard for sanctity of life" by conduction political rallies.

 

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In 2 weeks, Covid-19 situation will deteriorate to June levels unless public attitude changes: Umar

Planning Minister Asad Umar warned on Tuesday that within two weeks, Pakistan would face the same situation as in June, when the country saw a peak in Covid-19 cases, unless the public changes its attitude.

Addressing a media briefing after a meeting of the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), which was chaired by Umar, the minister said: "The rate at which the virus spread in growing, and there is no reason that it would not grow at the same rate unless we change our attitude and take precautions, within two weeks we'll be in the same situation that we faced in June, when Pakistan saw its first peak."

He urged the masses to take precautions, including mask-wearing, hand washing, and avoiding handshakes and physical contact.

Umar recalled that in June, the situation had gotten so serious that people had trouble finding beds in hospitals. He said that the government does not want the situation to get to the point where the lives and incomes of people are threatened.

Ban on political gatherings, not politics

He also spoke against political gatherings and urged political leaders to spread awareness among their supporters. He added that the National Assembly speaker had summoned a meeting of the parliamentary committee formed to tackle coronavirus after the NCOC wrote them a letter. The meeting, which will be held tomorrow, is expected to be attended by the political leadership of all parties, Umar said.

"We will hopefully be able to sit and decide how to separate people's lives and livelihoods from politics," he said.

"There is no ban on politics in this country," Umar reasoned, adding that the government had imposed a ban on political rallies and gatherings because they can be a source of the virus' spread. He said that the Islamabad High Court had declared in one of its verdicts that the decisions being made by the NCOC and National Coordination Committee are for the larger interest of the public and should be followed.

"We know that when corona spreads, people's income is affected badly and we have seen this happen in the world's richest countries," he said, adding that the government does not want a situation where the lives and income of the masses are threatened.

"Even if I think as a politician, my politics will drown if I am seen involved in activities that endanger people's health, lives and livelihood," said the minister.

"Obviously, any place where 10,000-40,000 people have gathered together, there is a danger of the disease spreading," he said and added that in today's meeting, the Sindh health minister had pointed out that Ehsaas Programme's aid distribution centres pose a risk of an outbreak.

"If a gathering of a few 100 people in a place where following of SOPs can be ensured, can threaten an outbreak, imagine what a bigger crowd can do," the planning minister said.

He also recalled that this was not the first time he had sounded the alarm regarding a rapid increase in cases. Prime minister's aide Dr Faisal Sultan and he himself had warned of a second wave in early October, Umar said.

Separately, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also criticised the opposition for "defying government and courts with total disregard for sanctity of life" by conduction political rallies.

 

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