US envoy rejects Imran's regime change claim

After former Prime Minister Imran Khan claimed he was deposed due to a US-led coup and launched a statewide campaign, the new US ambassador to Pakistan, Donald Blome, signalled Washington's willingness to move on from the regime change debate by convening a strong two-way dialogue.

Blome said US is willing to engage in a robust two-way dialogue with Pakistan's government, political parties, and civil society.

Former PM Imran Khan had launched a statewide campaign asking for "freedom" from foreign powers' enslavement. As a result, rising anti-American sentiment emerged as the single most serious impediment to Washington's ability to achieve its foreign policy goals in Pakistan.

In an interview, Ambassador Blome reaffirmed the rejection of Khan's "regime change" claim, saying Washington was "quite clear" about it.

"However, I believe that the best thing we can do in the future is to continue interacting at all levels of Pakistani society, as we have done for the past 75 years!" he said. He went on to say that the involvement would not be restricted to government officials, but also include political leaders, corporate leaders, civil society, and youth.

As part of this two-way dialogue, he said he will "listen to and understand" what's going on here, "transfer that understanding" to Washington, and share US "ideas and perspectives as plainly and transparently as possible" with audiences here.

He added that beyond the polarisation in internal politics over US relations, Islamabad's new government has always been ready to revive bilateral ties. The first chance presented itself in the form of Secretary of State Antony Blinken's invitation to Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to attend a United Nations food security summit.

Bilawal and Blinken also met on the margins of the New York conference on May 18, the first high-level face-to-face communication between the two sides in months.

Ambassador Blome said that "a number of follow-ups" were being planned based on what the two foreign ministers said was on the agenda for their meeting.

"I'll do some of that here," he said, "and I expect we'll see a variety of US visitors to Pakistan in the coming months to expand on it."

The US and Pakistan are getting ready to start discussion on the health sector in Washington. This seems to be a step toward resuming formal bilateral talks that have been put on hold for a long time.

The envoy cited the two countries' "partnership" in combating the global COVID-19 outbreak as an example of health collaboration.

To help Pakistan fight the pandemic, the US has given it more than 61 million doses of COVID vaccine, $69 million in money, and $9 million in other kinds of help.

"We can build on this effort not only in terms of support but also in terms of expanding private sector collaborations in the health sector," the ambassador told the publication.

At that point, Ambassador Blome stated that he was "dedicated to fostering further development of our bilateral trade and investment," similar to the emphasis on investment and trade during the foreign ministers' meeting. He says that health, climate, and education are other areas where cooperation could be improved.

Ambassador Blome, the first full-time American’s ambassador in Islamabad in nearly four years, took over his post at a time when Afghanistan appears to be no longer a dominant issue in bilateral relations, following last year's withdrawal of US forces from the country at the end of a 20-year war, the longest in American history.

He stated that for some time to come, counterterrorism collaboration will continue to be a distinguishing element of the US-Pakistan partnership.

At the same time, Ambassador Blome stated that the United States seeks a "strong collaboration with Pakistan on counterterrorism" and that Islamabad should take "sustained" and indiscriminate action against all militant and terrorist groups.

The ambassador was asked directly if the US and Pakistan were talking about moving drone bases closer to Afghanistan as part of their efforts to work together more on fighting terrorism, but he didn't answer.

"The United States is dedicated to preventing terrorist threats from resurfacing, whether in Afghanistan or elsewhere." Terrorism is a global problem that requires a worldwide response. "We will continue to engage partners, friends, and critical states throughout the world on how to best confront terrorism," he said, citing President Joe Biden's remarks about developing capabilities and deploying forces in the region to prevent terrorists from reappearing from the horizon.

The ambassador said the US would work with Pakistan to "press the Taliban to prevent terrorist groups from using Afghanistan as a base for external operations and to meet the international community's expectations, including pressing the Taliban to adhere to their counterterrorism commitments, form an inclusive government, and protect women and girls' rights."

Pakistan's "ongoing efforts in fighting the financing of terrorism and prioritising anti-money laundering measures" were also praised by Ambassador Blome in an interview.

His comments came ahead of the Financial Action Task Force plenary meeting today (June 14) in Berlin. Pakistan, which has been on the global illicit finance watchdog's 'grey list' since June 2018, will have its progress assessed.

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KSA ups the ante against online Hajj scams

In a bid to combat online Hajj scams, the Saudi government has asked would-be Hajj pilgrims from many Western countries to apply for visas via a government portal online.

The new system was put in place as the Kingdom prepares to welcome 850,000 Muslims from abroad for the annual Hajj after two years during which pilgrims not already in Saudi Arabia were barred because of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

It applies to the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe and Australia, said one of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Previously, pilgrims could register via travel agencies that organised Hajj trips, a system that sometimes led to scams, with "fake agencies" making off with victims’ money, a second official said.

Saudi Arabia announced in April it would permit one million Muslims from inside and outside the country to participate in this year’s Hajj.

State media announced the online portal a week ago, and the registration period ended Monday, the Hajj ministry said on Twitter.

Those who registered will be included in a lottery for Hajj visas.

One official who spoke to AFP acknowledged that some Muslims in the affected countries may have already tried to register via travel agencies, before the online portal was announced.

He said they would also be included in the lottery – which has not been scheduled – provided they had booked via an agency accredited by the Hajj ministry.

One of the five pillars of Islam, the Hajj must be undertaken by all Muslims who have the means at least once in their lives.

It consists of a series of religious rites that are completed over five days in Islam’s holiest city, Mecca, and surrounding areas of western Saudi Arabia.

It is due to begin in early July, and the first batch of foreign pilgrims since before the Covid-19 pandemic arrived from Indonesia just over a week ago.

The pandemic has hugely disrupted Muslim pilgrimages, which are usually key revenue earners for Saudi Arabia, bringing in some $12 billion annually.

Hosting the Hajj is a matter of prestige and a powerful source of legitimacy for Saudi rulers.

In 2021, the coronavirus outbreak forced Saudi authorities to dramatically downsize the Hajj for a second year, and just 60,000 fully vaccinated citizens and residents of the kingdom took part.

This year’s pilgrimage will be limited to vaccinated Muslims under the age of 65, the Hajj ministry has said.

Those coming from outside Saudi Arabia are required to submit a negative Covid-19 PCR result from a test taken within 72 hours of travel.

Saudi Arabia said Monday it would no longer require masks in most enclosed spaces, citing progress in fighting the pandemic.

However, masks will still be required in Mecca’s Grand Mosque, which surrounds the Kaaba, towards which Muslims pray, and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, where Prophet Mohammed is buried, according to a report published Monday by the official Saudi Press Agency, citing an interior ministry source.

Owners of establishments can also insist masks be worn if they wish, the report said, though mask-wearing has been sparsely enforced in recent months.

Since the start of the pandemic, Saudi Arabia has registered more than 778,000 coronavirus cases, more than 9,100 of them fatal, in a population of some 34 million.

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Kidnaped journalist returns home

Senior journalist Nafees Naeem, who was picked up by unidentified men from Karachi's Nazimabad a day earlier, reached home Tuesday morning.

Naeem works as a senior assignment editor for Aaj News. A day earlier, he was buying groceries near his house when he was picked up by unidentified men.

However, in the wee hours of Tuesday, the Aaj News director confirmed that Naeem had reached home.

The case of Nafees Naeem’s kidnapping on the complainant of his brother was registered at the Gulbahar police station.

Following his disappearance, the Aaj News administration strongly condemned the incident and said the disappearance of a journalist is against the law.

The administration had said that legal action should be taken against Naeem if there is any case registered against him, however, the law gives the right to people to defend themselves.

"No law allows any institution to pick up anyone without any FIR or any charge against that person," said the administration.

The news channel had also demanded Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah take notice of the incident and ensure the immediate recovery of the journalist.

 

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Chances of Nawaz's return diminish amid new UK COVID variant

As the new COVID variant in the United Kingdom (UK) emerged, doctors warned PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif against travelling.

According to media reports Former prime minister Imran Khan’s government had refused to renew Nawaz's passport after it expired in February last year but then interior minister Sheikh Rasheed had said if the PML-N supremo wanted to return, he could be issued a special certificate.

However, the incumbent government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had issued on April 25 a new passport to the PML-N leader.

Following the issuance of a new passport to Nawaz, it was expected that he would return to the country.

According to the source, chances of Nawaz Sharif's repatriation have ended after doctors directed him to avoid travelling till he completes treatment.

“Doctors have advised [the] PML-N supremo to avoid travelling after a new variant of COVID emerged in the UK.”

Many European countries, including Germany and Portugal, have seen a rapid surge in the Omicron sub-variant BA.5 cases.

Due to the COVID sub-variant, 27,000 cases and 47 deaths were reported in Portugal on Wednesday.

In April, while speaking on Geo News programme Aapas Ki Baat, PML-N senior leader Javed Latif had said that Nawaz will return to Pakistan after Eid as currently there is no pandemic in the country.

Latif further said that after coming to Pakistan, Nawaz will face the cases against him.

“He [Nawaz Sharif] will face the courts and rule of law, but we expect neither should anyone should be treated as ladla [favourite] nor should anyone have to face brutality,” he added.

The PML-N supremo left for London in November 2019 following his illness as then Prime Minister Imran Khan had permitted him to go abroad for medical treatment.

In 2018, an accountability court had sentenced Nawaz to seven years in prison in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption reference, while he was also sentenced to a total of 11 years in prison and slapped an £8 million fine (Rs1.3 billion) in the Avenfield properties reference.

Subsequently, in 2019, the Lahore High Court after suspending his sentence, allowed Nawaz to go abroad for medical treatment.

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Chances of Nawaz's return diminish amid new UK COVID variant

As the new COVID variant in the United Kingdom (UK) emerged, doctors warned PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif against travelling.

According to media reports Former prime minister Imran Khan’s government had refused to renew Nawaz's passport after it expired in February last year but then interior minister Sheikh Rasheed had said if the PML-N supremo wanted to return, he could be issued a special certificate.

However, the incumbent government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had issued on April 25 a new passport to the PML-N leader.

Following the issuance of a new passport to Nawaz, it was expected that he would return to the country.

According to the source, chances of Nawaz Sharif's repatriation have ended after doctors directed him to avoid travelling till he completes treatment.

“Doctors have advised [the] PML-N supremo to avoid travelling after a new variant of COVID emerged in the UK.”

Many European countries, including Germany and Portugal, have seen a rapid surge in the Omicron sub-variant BA.5 cases.

Due to the COVID sub-variant, 27,000 cases and 47 deaths were reported in Portugal on Wednesday.

In April, while speaking on Geo News programme Aapas Ki Baat, PML-N senior leader Javed Latif had said that Nawaz will return to Pakistan after Eid as currently there is no pandemic in the country.

Latif further said that after coming to Pakistan, Nawaz will face the cases against him.

“He [Nawaz Sharif] will face the courts and rule of law, but we expect neither should anyone should be treated as ladla [favourite] nor should anyone have to face brutality,” he added.

The PML-N supremo left for London in November 2019 following his illness as then Prime Minister Imran Khan had permitted him to go abroad for medical treatment.

In 2018, an accountability court had sentenced Nawaz to seven years in prison in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption reference, while he was also sentenced to a total of 11 years in prison and slapped an £8 million fine (Rs1.3 billion) in the Avenfield properties reference.

Subsequently, in 2019, the Lahore High Court after suspending his sentence, allowed Nawaz to go abroad for medical treatment.

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FM Bilawal Bhutto, Egyptian Ambassador discuss bilateral ties

Ambassador of Egypt to Pakistan Tarek Dahroug called on Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in Islamabad on Monday and exchanged views on a range of bilateral and global issues of mutual interest.

They agreed to strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries for benefit of the two peoples.

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Beijing tests millions, isolates thousands over COVID cluster at 24-hour bar

Authorities in China's capital Beijing on Monday raced to contain a COVID-19 outbreak traced to a raucous 24-hour bar known for cheap liquor and big crowds, with millions facing mandatory testing and thousands under targeted lockdowns.

The outbreak of nearly 200 cases linked to the city centre Heaven Supermarket Bar, which had just reopened as curbs in Beijing eased last week, highlights how hard it will be for China to make a success of its "zero COVID" policy as much of the rest of the world opts to learn how to live with the virus.

The re-emergence of COVID infections is also raising new concerns about the outlook for the world's second-largest economy. China is only just shaking off a heavy blow from a two-month lockdown of Shanghai, its most populous city and commercial nerve centre, that also roiled global supply chains.

Dine-in service at Beijing restaurants resumed on June 6 after more than a month in which the city of 22 million people enforced various COVID curbs. Many malls, gyms and other venues were closed, parts of the city's public transport system were suspended, and millions were urged to work from home.

"We have to test every day now. It's a bit of a hassle, but it's necessary," said a 21-year-old resident surnamed Cao, who runs a convenience store in Beijing's largest district Chaoyang, where the bar cluster was discovered. "The virus situation has hurt our business a bit, it's down about 20-30%."

Chaoyang kicked off a three-day mass testing campaign among its roughly 3.5 million residents on Monday. About 10,000 close contacts of the bar's patrons have been identified, and their residential buildings put under lockdown, and some planned school reopenings in the district have been postponed.

Queues snaked around some testing sites on Monday for more than 100 metres, according to Reuters' eyewitnesses. Large metal barriers have been installed around several residential compounds, with people in hazmat suits spraying disinfectant nearby.

Last week, as dine-in curbs were lifted, Heaven Supermarket Bar, modelled as a large self-service liquor store with chairs, sofas and tables, reclaimed its popularity among young, noisy crowds starved of socialising and parties during Beijing's COVID restrictions.

The bar, where patrons check aisles to grab anything from local heavy spirits to Belgian beer, is known among Beijing revellers for its tables plastered with empty bottles, and customers falling asleep on sofas after midnight.

With the almost 200 COVID cases linked to the bar since June 9, authorities described the outbreak as "ferocious" and "explosive" - people infected live or work in 14 of the capital's 16 districts, authorities have said.

Officials have not commented on the exact cause of the outbreak, nor explained why they are not yet reinstating the level of curbs seen last month.

The bar cluster was caused by loopholes and complacency in epidemic prevention, state-backed Beijing Evening News wrote in a commentary piece on Monday.

"At a time when ... normality in the city is being restored, the fall of Heaven Supermarket Bar means the hardship and effort of countless people have been in vain," the newspaper wrote.

If the outbreak grows, "consequences could be serious, and would be such that nobody would want to see," it added.

Heaven Supermarket Bar, and other businesses nearby, including the Paradise Massage & Spa, were under lockdown, with police tape and security staff blocking the entrances.

A handful of customers and staff at the parlour would be locked in temporarily for checks, authorities said.

In all, Beijing reported 51 cases for Sunday, versus 65 the previous day, in line with a national trend of falling cases.

Shanghai, which completed mass testing for most of its 25 million residents at the weekend after lifting its lockdown and many of its curbs at the start of the month, reported 37 cases, up from 29.

As Beijing authorities wrestled with new COVID cases in April, retail sales in the capital shrank 16% year-on-year, while property sales nosedived 25%. Data for May, due later this month, is expected to be dire as well.

Before the bar cases, there had been high hopes for a rebound in June.

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