For Pakistanis, China ‘friendship’ road runs one way

The file photo shows a truck is driving along the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway before the Karakorum mountain range near Tashkurgan in China's western Xinjiang province. (AFP)
Updated 19 February 2018
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For Pakistanis, China ‘friendship’ road runs one way

TASHKURGAN, China: The China-Pakistan Friendship Highway runs over 1,300 km from the far western Chinese city of Kashgar through the world’s highest mountain pass and across the border.
For China, the two-lane thoroughfare symbolizes a blossoming partnership, nourished with tens of billions of dollars of infrastructure investment.
But for many Pakistani businessmen living and working on the Chinese side of the border, the road is a one-way street.
“China says our friendship is as high as the Himalayas and as deep as the sea, but it has no heart,” said Pakistani businessman Murad Shah, as he tended his shop in Tashkurgan, 120 km from the mountain pass where trucks line up to cross between China’s vast Xinjiang region and Pakistan.
“There is no benefit for Pakistan. It’s all about expanding China’s growth,” Shah said, as he straightened a display of precious stones.
The remote town of around 9,000 is at the geographic heart of Beijing’s plans to build a major trade artery — the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) — connecting Kashgar to the Arabian Sea port of Gwadar.
The project is a crown jewel of China’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative, a massive global infrastructure program to revive the ancient Silk Road and connect Chinese companies to new markets around the world.
In 2013, Beijing and Islamabad signed agreements worth $46 billion to build transport and energy infrastructure along the corridor, and China has upgraded the treacherous mountain road better known as the Karakoram Highway.
While both countries say the project is mutually beneficial, data shows a different story.
Pakistan’s exports to China fell by almost 8 percent in the second half of 2016, while imports jumped by almost 29 percent.
In May, Pakistan accused China of flooding its market with cut-rate steel and threatened to respond with high tariffs.
“There are all of these hopes and dreams about Pakistan exports,” said Jonathan Hillman, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
“But if you’re connecting with China, what are you going to be exporting?”

VIDEO: For Pakistanis, China 'friendship' road runs one way

One answer is Nigerian “male enhancement” supplements: Expired medications, which Pakistani merchants in the oasis city of Hotan recently peddled to bearded Muslims walking home from Friday prayers.
The products were typical of the kinds of small consumer goods brought by Pakistani traders into Xinjiang: Medicine, toiletries, semi-precious stones, rugs and handicrafts.
Pakistani businessmen in Xinjiang see few benefits from CPEC, complaining of intrusive security and capricious customs arrangements.
“If you bring anything from China, no problem,” said Muhammad, a trader in the ancient Silk Road city of Kashgar, who declined to give his full name.
But he said tariffs on imported Pakistani goods are “not declared. Today it’s 5 percent, tomorrow maybe 20. Sometimes, they just say this is not allowed.”
Three years ago, Shah was charged between 8 and 15 yuan per kilo to bring lapis lazuli, a blue stone. The duty has since soared to 50 yuan per kilo, he said.
Customs officials told AFP the “elements influencing prices were too many” for them to offer a “definite and detailed list” of costs.
While large-scale importers can absorb the tariffs, independent Pakistani traders have benefited little from CPEC, said Hasan Karrar, political economy professor at the Lahore University of Management Sciences.
Alessandro Rippa, an expert on Chinese infrastructure projects at Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, said the highway “is not very relevant to overall trade” because “the sea route is just cheaper and faster.”
The project is better understood as a tool for China to promote its geopolitical interests and help struggling state-owned companies export excess production, he said.
Traders also face overbearing security in China.
Over the last year, Beijing has flooded Xinjiang, which has a large Muslim population, with tens of thousands of security personnel and imposed draconian rules to eliminate “extremism.”
Businessmen complain they are not allowed to worship at local mosques, while shops can be closed for up to a year for importing merchandise with Arabic script.
In June, on the 300 km trip between Kashgar and Tashkurgan, drivers were stopped at six police checkpoints, while their passengers had to walk through metal detectors and show identification cards. Signs warn that officials can check mobile phones for “illegal” religious content.
Police officers interrupted an interview in Tashkurgan to demand a shopkeeper hand over his smartphone and computer for inspection, an event he said occurs several times a week.
Shah said that when he first arrived in the town, the intrusive security made him nervous: “But now I’m used to it. I almost feel like I’m one of the police.”
As he spoke, an alarm sounded. He grabbed a crude spear, body armor and a black helmet off his counter and rushed into the street, where police had assembled over a dozen people for impromptu counter-terrorism drills.
The exercises are held up to four times a day. Stores are closed for several days if they do not participate.
Back in Kashgar, Muhammad hopes that CPEC will make life better, but he believes the oppressive security will remain an obstacle.
He plans to give it another three years. But, he said, he cannot wait forever: “Many people have already gone back.”


Romanian leftist PM and hard-right candidate in a tie after initial presidential election round, partial results show

Updated 6 sec ago
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Romanian leftist PM and hard-right candidate in a tie after initial presidential election round, partial results show

  • Romania’s staunchly pro-Ukraine stance at risk
  • Hard-right Georgescu has questioned NATO commitment to collective defense

BUCHAREST: A Romanian hard-right NATO critic and leftist Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu appeared in dead heat after the first round of presidential elections on Sunday, partial tallies showed, in a shock result threatening Romania’s staunchly pro-Ukraine stance.
After nearly 90 percent of votes were counted, Calin Georgescu, 62, was at 22 percent, while Ciolacu had 21.7 percent. However, ballots from the sizeable Romanian diaspora, which are not included in the main tally, showed a center-right politician, Elena Lasconi, 52, first with 33.4 percent and Georgescu second.
Romania’s president has a semi-executive role that gives him or her control over defense spending — likely to be a difficult issue as Bucharest comes under pressure to uphold NATO spending goals during Donald Trump’s second term as US president while trying to reduce a heavy fiscal deficit.
Lasconi told supporters after exit polls were released giving her a small lead over Georgescu, with Ciolacu in first place, that she was optimistic about making the runoff. “But as you can see, the results are very tight, let us wait until tomorrow’s results to rejoice.”
Campaigning focused largely on the soaring cost of living, with Romania having the EU’s biggest share of people at risk of poverty.
Georgescu is a former prominent member of the hard-right Alliance for Uniting Romanians party.
In 2021 he has called NATO’s ballistic missile defense shield in the Romanian town of Deveselu a “shame of diplomacy” and said the North Atlantic alliance will not protect any of its members should they be attacked by Russia.
Lasconi, a former journalist, joined the Save Romania Union (USR) in 2018 and became party head this year. She believes in raising defense spending and helping Ukraine, and surveys suggest she would beat Ciolacu in a runoff.
Romania shares a 650-km (400-mile) border with Ukraine and since Russia attacked Kyiv in 2022, it has enabled the export of millions of tons of grain through its Black Sea port of Constanta and provided military aid, including the donation of a Patriot air defense battery.
“It will be a tight run-off, with the Social Democrat leader more vulnerable to negative campaigning due to him being an incumbent PM,” said political commentator Radu Magdin.


Somalia says 24 people have died after 2 boats capsized in the Indian Ocean

Updated 25 November 2024
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Somalia says 24 people have died after 2 boats capsized in the Indian Ocean

  • A delegation led by the Somali ambassador to Ethiopia is scheduled to travel to Madagascar on Monday to investigate the incident and coordinate efforts to help survivors

MOGADISHU, Somalia: Twenty-four people died after two boats capsized off the Madagascar coast in the Indian Ocean, Somalia’s government said Sunday.
Somalia’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi said 46 people were rescued.
“We are working tirelessly to ensure the survivors are brought back home safely and provided with the necessary care,” he said.
Most of the passengers were young Somalis, and their intended destination remains unclear. Many young Somalis embark every year on dangerous journeys in search of better opportunities abroad.
A delegation led by the Somali ambassador to Ethiopia is scheduled to travel to Madagascar on Monday to investigate the incident and coordinate efforts to help survivors.
Fiqi also said Sunday that Somalia’s ambassador to Morocco will look into a separate report of Somali youth stranded on Morocco’s coastline. It is not clear when the Morocco incident took place and Fiqi did not provide details.
The UN migration agency has in the past raised concern over rising cases of irregular migration from the Horn of Africa countries as people flee from conflict and drought.
In April, 38 migrants died and 22 others were rescued from a shipwreck off Djibouti on a popular route to Yemen. Most of those rescued were of Somali and Ethiopian nationalities.

 


‘It wasn’t just about me’: Imam honored for unity efforts after UK race riots

Updated 24 November 2024
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‘It wasn’t just about me’: Imam honored for unity efforts after UK race riots

  • Three children were killed, and 10 others — eight of whom were children — were injured in an attack in Southport
  • In days following attack, crowds gathered to demonstrate outside Liverpool mosque

LONDON: A Muslim leader in the UK has been recognized for his efforts to foster unity after embracing protesters outside Liverpool’s Abdullah Quilliam Mosque in the wake of a knife attack in the northern English town of Southport in July.

Three children were killed, and 10 others — eight of whom were children — were injured in the attack.

Axel Rudakubana was detained and charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder, and possession of a bladed article.

In the days following the attack, crowds gathered to demonstrate outside the mosque in Liverpool after misinformation was spread online about the knife attack suspect.

Imam Adam Kelwick described how he approached protesters outside the mosque once tensions had eased, offering food, handshakes, and conversations.

Photographs of the peaceful exchanges, which included sharing food and even hugs, went viral, symbolizing a moment of reconciliation.

After receiving the Most Impactful Imam accolade at the British Beacon Mosque Awards, Kelwick said: “It wasn’t just about me. I’m dedicating this award to the people of Liverpool, who really came together during difficult times.”

He added: “Some of the most vocal protesters, after everyone else had gone, came inside the mosque for a little tour.”

The imam praised Liverpool’s residents for their unity.

“For those who knew better than to blame a whole religion for the evil actions of one person, for those who came to defend our mosque, and even for those who protested but later reflected and opened their hearts,” he said.

Kelwick, also a humanitarian aid worker and long-time volunteer, expressed gratitude for the award, which recognizes the contributions of mosques and leaders across the UK.


India mosque survey sparks clashes, two dead

Armed police personnel stand guard following religious violence near the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal on November 24, 2024. AFP
Updated 24 November 2024
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India mosque survey sparks clashes, two dead

  • Hindu nationalist activists were emboldened earlier this year when Modi inaugurated a grand new Hindu temple in Ayodhya, built on grounds once home to Babri mosque

LUCKNOW: Indian Muslim protesters clashed with police Sunday with at least two people killed in riots sparked by a survey investigating if a 17th-century mosque was built on a Hindu temple.
“Two persons were confirmed dead,” Pawan Kumar, a police officer in Sambhal in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, told AFP, adding that 16 police officers were “seriously injured” during the clashes.
The Press Trust of India news agency quoted officials saying three people had died.
Hindu activist groups have laid claim to several mosques they say were built over Hindu temples during the Muslim Mughal empire centuries ago.
Street battles broke out when a team of surveyors entered the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal on orders from a local court, after a petition from a Hindu priest claiming it was built on the site of a Hindu temple.
Protesters on Sunday hurled rocks at police, who fired tear gas canisters to clear the crowd.
Hindu nationalist activists were emboldened earlier this year when Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a grand new Hindu temple in the northern city of Ayodhya, built on grounds once home to the centuries-old Babri mosque.
That mosque was torn down in 1992 in a campaign spearheaded by members of Modi’s party, sparking sectarian riots that killed 2,000 people nationwide, most of them Muslims.
Some Hindu campaigners see an ideological patron in Modi.
Calls for India to more closely align the country’s officially secular political system with its majority Hindu faith have rapidly grown louder since Modi was swept to office in 2014, making the country’s roughly 210-million-strong Muslim minority increasingly anxious about their future.


Man in critical condition after stabbing on London’s Westminster Bridge

Updated 24 November 2024
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Man in critical condition after stabbing on London’s Westminster Bridge

  • Authorities have said that the incident is not being treated as terrorism-related

LONDON: A man is in critical condition after being stabbed during a reported fight on Westminster Bridge in central London, the Metropolitan Police confirmed on Sunday.

Emergency services, including the London Ambulance Service and an air ambulance, were called to the scene at about 10:45 UK time and an injured man was rushed to hospital for treatment.

A London London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We were called today (Sunday) at 10.46 a.m. to reports of an incident on Westminster Bridge, SW1.

“We sent a number of resources including ambulance crews, an advanced paramedic, an incident response officer and London’s air ambulance.

“We treated a man at the scene before taking him to hospital,” they added.

Three individuals have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, while a fourth has been detained for affray, the BBC reported.

Two of the arrested suspects sustained minor facial injuries and were also taken to hospital, according to police.

Authorities have said that the incident is not being treated as terrorism-related.

In March 2017, Briton Khalid Masood drove a car into pedestrians who were walking on the pavement along Westminster Bridge and Bridge Street, injuring more than 50 people, four of them fatally, before killing an unarmed police officer in the grounds of the Palace of Westminster.

He was then shot by an armed police officer, and died at the scene.