What has happened Pakistan is currently dealing with the aftermath of controversial elections, and the resulting political chaos is posing a threat to the country’s $3bn deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This deal is crucial for Pakistan’s economic stability, according to analysts. On Thursday, the IMF announced that Pakistan’s interim government had been successful in maintaining economic stability. Julie Kozack, the IMF’s communications chief, stated that the interim government had achieved fiscal targets and had also protected the social safety net. “We are eager to collaborate with the new government to establish policies that will ensure Pakistan’s macroeconomic…
Author: AryanGanesh Kavuri
Reaffirming ties with the Russians On February 20, the External Affairs Minister of India, S. Jaishankar, had a meeting with his Russian counterpart to reaffirm defence and trade cooperation between India and Russia. During the meeting, he spoke about how the trend of Western countries preferentially supplying arms to Pakistan over India has changed in the past decade. He mentioned that in terms of inventory, India’s new purchases have diversified with the U.S.A., Russia, France, and Israel as the main suppliers. This is a significant shift from the past, when many Western countries had preferred to supply Pakistan and not…
Guard Of Honour For PM Modi And PM Mitsotakis On Wednesday, during his two-day state visit to India, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis received a ceremonial guard of honor at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. Accompanied by his wife, Mareva Grabowski-Mitsotakis, Mitsotakis was received by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. After being welcomed with a guard of honor, the Greek Prime Minister expressed that the strategic partnership between India and Greece holds significant importance, and he is excited about having bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Modi. He also mentioned that he feels privileged to be in…
Unacceptable Terms The Taliban has set unacceptable conditions for attending a United Nations-sponsored meeting about Afghanistan in the Qatari capital, Doha, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says. “I received a letter [from the Taliban] with a set of conditions to be present in this meeting that were not acceptable,” Guterres said at a news conference on Monday. During a two-day meeting held in Doha, member states and international envoys to Afghanistan discussed various issues facing the country. However, the Taliban did not attend the meeting as their demands were not met. This has led to concerns that the Taliban’s demands for…
The Cautionary Warning Donald Lu, the US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, has praised Sri Lanka for being a successful example of the administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy, which was developed in partnership with countries such as India. However, he has also warned both Delhi and Dhaka that the security situation resulting from the Rohingya refugee crisis and the overall instability in Myanmar will continue to worsen and have implications for neighboring countries. At a recent panel discussion at the US Institute of Peace, Lu, a State Department official, discussed China’s potential partnership with Maldives and the need…
Munition’s Buildup in North Korea North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, recently oversaw the testing of a new surface-to-sea missile and visited a major munitions factory, where he emphasized the need for an increase in weapons production, as per state media Korean Central News Agency KCNA. According to South Korea’s military, North Korea launched multiple cruise missiles off its east coast on the same day, which is the latest in a series of tests conducted recently. These tests are taking place ahead of the upcoming general election in South Korea in April. Kim Jong Un expressed concerns regarding the maritime…
A surprise visit On January 30, in an official ceremony held by the Chinese government in Beijing, foreign diplomats presented their credentials to President Xi Jinping. One of the 309 diplomats who lined up was Bilal Karimi, a former Taliban spokesman. After two years of negotiations, China recognized him as an official envoy to Beijing. This makes Xi’s government the first in the world to do so since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021. Since the United States withdrew forces from Afghanistan in 2021, China has been investing in the country. This move allowed the Taliban to return…
Agreement towards climate protection The UAE, Azerbaijan, and Brazil are teaming up to push for an international agreement to limit global warming to 1.5°C, as they all have hosted or will host UN climate summits. The United Arab Emirates’ Conference of the Parties (COP28) presidency announced on Tuesday that it will establish a “troika” to ensure that more ambitious CO2-cutting pledges are made before the deadline of the COP30 summit in 2025 in Belem, Brazil. This year’s UN climate event in November will be hosted by Azerbaijan. “We cannot afford to lose momentum. We must do everything we can to…
The Pakistan Election Battle The main battle was between former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s party and candidates backed by ex-prime minister Imran Khan. Both declared victory separately. Supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan had the edge on Friday in Pakistan’s election results from over 100 seats, after vote counts were hit by unusual delays that the government credited to a suspension of mobile phone services. Independents, loyal to Khan, had won 47 of 106 seats for which it had results. A total of 265 seats were contested in Thursday’s election. The Pakistan Peoples Party of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari,…
Indian Officers Free at last Qatar has recently released eight former Indian naval officers who were previously sentenced to death on the charges of spying for Israel. On Monday, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) expressed gratitude towards Doha for the release of the octet. However, the specifics regarding their arrest, sentencing, and commutation have not been revealed yet. “We appreciate the decision by the Amir of the State of Qatar to enable the release and home-coming of these nationals,” the ministry said in a statement in New Delhi. The men were reportedly arrested in August 2022, due to accusations…