US TV host Glenn Beck heaps praise on PM Imran Khan

WASHINGTON, SEPT 20: Right-wing radio host and television presenter Glenn Beck, whose charity organisation has been assisting with evacuations from Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover, lauded Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday for his support to the cause and help in getting people — including Afghan female footballers — out of the war-torn country.

In a statement on Twitter, Beck said that he would share the details of the correspondence between him and PM Imran on the radio the next day, and thanked the premier as well as the people of Pakistan. 

“We reached out and asked numerous leaders and civil societies around the world for help and Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan responded with determination and without hesitation,” Beck said.

“We reached out and asked numerous leaders and civil societies around the world for help and Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan responded with determination and without hesitation,” Beck said. Earlier this month, Newsweek, an American weekly magazine, had reported that six planes chartered by Beck’s charity, Mercury One, “seeking to evacuate at least 1,000 people—including more than 100 Americans … have been grounded by the Taliban” in the Mazar-i-Sharif city.

Beck’s statement today said that the support from PM Imran and Pakistan’s military and civilian resources under his leadership and “their ability to cooperate with the Taliban, has enabled the first two flights to depart Mazar-i-Sharif with FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) female athletes and their families on board.”

In a separate tweet, he said that Pakistan’s leadership helped with the release and departure of three flights overall.

Appreciating the prime minister, Beck said that Prime Minister Imran’s “leadership of placing humanity before politics is a great example of inter-faith cooperation between the faiths, bridged by the shared value of human compassion”.

“Pakistan has once again proven to be a valued partner in all seasons for the United States, despite recent criticisms from some sections of US media,” he said. “We look forward to the ongoing continued cooperation in the coming weeks as we continue our common goal of protecting the innocent during this humanitarian effort.”

He added that the US should recognise Pakistan’s assistance at this juncture: “We will not forget this support that has enabled America and its allies to make good on their promises to those who helped them without pause or reflection.”

Beck said “no other global leader that we have seen, took such an initiative to leverage his/her position to save the innocent putting humanity before politics.”

“He (PM Imran) has been gracious with his time and never once questioned our motives,” he added. Beck said that “media outlets may have their own agenda for criticising him (PM Imran) over the last few days, but he should be recognised for the lives he helped save this weekend.”

Since the US withdrawal of Afghanistan, Pakistan has been playing an active role in facilitating evacuation efforts.

In a recent development in this connection, Afghan footballers belonging to the national junior girls’ team and their families were allowed to cross the Torkham border to reach Pakistan after the government issued emergency humanitarian visas to evacuate them from their country.

Prior to this, the Foreign Office (FO) had said in a statement that Pakistan remained deeply engaged with the international community since the Taliban took over of Afghanistan, with much of this engagement focused on the evacuation of foreigners and vulnerable Afghans.

The statement, issued on Sept 2, said some 12,000 people had been evacuated from Afghanistan with Pakistan’s assistance until then.

Beck, one of the most controversial media figures in the US, has a very loyal following, especially among conservative circles. During Barack Obama’s presidency, he had stirred controversy among Democratic and liberal circles with his opposition to Obama and his administration.

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Pakistan to call for preventing Afghanistan’s economic collapse at UN

UNITED NATIONS, SEPT 20: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi arrives in New York on Monday (today) for the 76 session of the UN General Assembly during which Pakistan will join the United Nations in urging the world to prevent an economic collapse in Afghanistan.

“The situation in Afghanistan is unpredictable,” said UN Secretary General António Guterres in an interview to UN News.

“Because of all the different measures and sanctions that exist, there is a risk of completely strangling the economy,” he warned.

“We have to stabilise Afghanistan,” said Pakistan’s UN envoy Munir Akram while talking to Dawn. Pakistan would avail this opportunity to call for “preventing an economic collapse” in Afghanistan, he said.

“Those who want to play politics, can play politics. But everyone knows the consequences of an economic collapse.”

Imran to address UNGA session from Islamabad on 24th

The collapse could cause “a humanitarian crisis, an influx of refugees, revive conflicts and drug trafficking and enhance terrorism,” he said. “All those things must be avoided.”

The UN chief too underlined the consequences of mishandling the Afghan issue at this moment. “What happened in Afghanistan might embolden terrorist groups or other rebel movements to become more aggressive,” he said.

Mr Guterres further expanded the subject, highlighting the points he thinks must be addressed to stabilise Afghanistan.

“We all want Afghanistan to have an inclusive government… respect human rights especially of women and girls (and) never again be a centre for terrorists,” he said. “We all want Afghanistan to fight drug trafficking.”

The United Nations, he said, had a duty to engage Afghanistan, “based on what we can deliver, and what we can deliver is essential humanitarian aid”.

The United Nations, however, should also “engage in order to explain to the Taliban how important it is for them to have an inclusive government of all the different ethnicities, and, of course, with women,” he said.

Ambassador Akram said that Pakistan’s priorities in the 76th UNGA would be to promote its own economic and social development in these challenging times.

Pakistan, he said, would highlight its concerns about the Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir and the major human rights violations India was committing there.

“We want the world to realise the threat to peace and security arising from this situation,” he said.

Prime Minister Imran Khan will address the UNGA from Islamabad on Sept 24. The foreign minister will convene a meeting of the OIC contact group on Jammu and Kashmir to discuss the situation there. He will also participate in the meeting on the UN Security Council reforms and in other meetings on climate crisis and energy issues.

The prime minister will participate, virtually, in a conference of 30 world leaders as well. The UN chief has called the meeting to discuss the climate conference in Glasgow later this year.

The foreign minister will also call on the UNGA president, the secretary general and EU and other world leaders.

But Ambassador Akram acknowledged that Afghanistan would be the key issue before this UNGA. “Our strategy is to see how to stabilise Afghanistan, restore peace, promote reconciliation, bring humanitarian help and revive the Afghan economy,” he said.

“We will also address the issue of terrorism, particularly TTP’s activities.”

The 76th UNGA, he said, would not focus on whether to recognise the Taliban government in Kabul. “That issue may come up later as they have not yet formed a permanent government,” he said. “They are not seeking representation yet.

They may do so after a permanent government is formed.”

Asked if the international community was willing to help Afghanistan, Ambassador Akram noted that at a UN conference last week, the secretary general asked for $600 million but $1.2 billion were pledged. “That shows the level of interest.”

To avoid a human crisis, he said, Pakistan was also asking for unfreezing of Afghanistan’s reserves as “without cash the economy will collapse”.

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Islamic Scholar Dr. Zakir Naik to visit Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, SEPT 19: Leading Islamic scholar Dr Zakir Naik will visit Pakistan at the invitation of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Yousaf Raza Gilani.

According to a private television channel, former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani Sunday made a telephone call to the Islamic scholar and discussed issues related to the Muslim community across the world.

During the talks, the Opposition Leader in Senate also gave an invitation to Dr Zakir Naik to visit Pakistan that was accepted by the latter and expressed gratitude.

Dr Zakir Naik is an Indian preacher of Islam and founder of the Islamic Research Foundation and Peace TV Network, the largest religious satellite channel network in the world. Due to some objectionable content, his TV channel is banned in India, Bangladesh, Canada, Sri Lanka and England.

The Islamic scholar is also facing some allegations of terror financing and money laundering in India. He fled from India in 2016. He is currently residing in Malaysia where he has permanent resident status.

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Argentina plans to buy 12 fighter jets from Pakistan: reports

ISLAMABAD, SEPT 19: Argentina is planning to buy 12 JF-17A Block-III fighter jets from Pakistan, according to reports in the international media.

The reports surfaced after the Argen­ti­nian government proposed a $664 million allocation in its budget for the year 2022 presented before the national parliament.

The proposal for allocation does not mean that the deal has been closed because the sale contract is yet to be signed. However, it does show that JF-17 is being preferred by Argentina over the various options that have been under consideration.

Proposes $664m allocation in its budget for the purpose

Argentina has been considering this purchase since last year after Britain blocked its previous attempts to procure aircraft from other sources. The UK has been maintaining the embargo on Argen­tina since the Falklands War in 1982.

Buenos Aires has since 2015 tried to purchase fighter jets from Sweden and South Korea, but both sellers backed down because of British pressure.

Argentina had in 2015 tried to acquire Swedish JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets. Later, it remained interested in South Korean FA-50 Fighting Eagle.

The ejector seat in JF-17 jets built by UK has also remained a point of contention in the sale of the aircraft to Argentina.

The other complication in Argentina’s search for fighter jets for its air force has been the shortage of funds for going after costlier options.

Argentinian Air Force was significantly depleted in 2015 when it retired its aging fleet of Dassault Mirage III interceptor aircraft, which till then served as its backbone.

JF-17 Thunder is an advanced, light-weight, all weather, day / night multi-role fighter aircraft, developed as a joint venture between the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC), Kamra, and the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation of China.

The PAC says it possesses excellent air-to-air and air-to-surface combat capabilities. The state-of-art avionics, optimally integrated sub-systems, computerised flight controls and capability to employ latest weapons provide decisive advantage to JF-17 over adversaries of same class, it further says.

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Biden faced ‘unfair criticism’ over Afghanistan troop withdrawal: PM Imran

ISLAMABAD, SEPT 18: Prime Minister Imran Khan said he believed US President Joe Biden was targeted with “unfair criticism” over troops withdrawal from Afghanistan, terming his decision to pull out troops “the most sensible thing to do.”

In an interview with Russian broadcaster RT, the premier referred to former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani fleeing the country and the army surrendering a week before departure of foreign forces.

“How can you prepare for that?” he asked.

“So there was so much unfair criticism of President Biden, and what he did was the most sensible thing to do,” said PM Imran while commending the US president for his decision. When asked about the kind of relationship he had with Biden, Imran said his government had ties with the US. “Our security chiefs keep exchanging views about Afghanistan,” he added.

The prime minister also said he wasn’t sure whether the US had any coherent policy on what they were going to do in the war-ravaged country.

He also called upon the United States to devise a strategy if a humanitarian crisis broke out triggered by a feared halt in international help to Afghanistan.

“There will be far-reaching consequences in terms of the refugee problem, which Pakistan and Iran will feel more as they have taken more number of refugees,” he cautioned.

The premier stressed the US had a big role to play, as it was there [in Afghanistan] for 20 years.

The only reason the US invaded Afghanistan, he said, was terrorism.

“What would be the achievement if Afghan soil becomes a place for terrorists again. We should not let Afghanistan drift towards another crisis,” emphasised the PM.

‘Deeply hurt by US senators’ remarks’

The premier said he was deeply hurt by the remarks of US senators against Pakistan over the Afghan debacle.

“Pakistan is the country that gave the greatest number of sacrifices for the US in its war,” PM Imran said.

“We were asked to become part of this coalition when Pakistan had nothing to do with 9/11 as there wasn’t any Pakistani involved. We had no reason to enter the war.”

He said it was painful to see the US making Pakistan a scapegoat for its failures.

‘Claims Pakistan helped Taliban are propaganda’

PM Imran also dispelled the impression that Pakistan allegedly helped the Taliban in the fight against US forces.

“If we believe this is the case, it means Pakistan is stronger than the US and the whole of the Europeans.”

He said it was all propaganda by the “puppet” Afghan government led by Ashraf Ghani to cover up its “incompetence, corruption and inability” to govern the country.

He also called out India for sponsoring propaganda to defame Pakistan, saying Delhi had heavily invested in Afghanistan for its nefarious designs.

The prime minister underlined that Pakistan was working with all neighbours of Afghanistan on a mechanism to recognise the Taliban government. He stressed upon the new Afghan rulers to form an inclusive government, which he said was a key to long-term stability in the country.

According to him, “There are people within the Taliban who feel the government will remain unstable unless they get all other minorities under the umbrella.”

‘The world has no choice’

PM Imran noted that the Taliban were a reality now and the world didn’t have a choice except to incentivise them for a stable country.

“The international community must encourage them to walk this path and hopefully it will lead to peace.”

He warned that Afghanistan will collapse if the world put sanctions on it. “Around 75 per cent of the country’s budget is through aid, and if this monetary assistance is stopped, the country will fall.”

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