Imran Khan’s PTI party in talks for coalition

Pakistan’s cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice) speaks to the media after casting his vote at a polling station during the general election in Islamabad on July 25, 2018. (AFP)
Updated 28 July 2018
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Imran Khan’s PTI party in talks for coalition

  • PTI needs support of at least 22 seats in National Assembly to establish a majority.
  • Poll figures show PTI is single largest party in Pakistan’s assembly.

ISLAMABAD: Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party is negotiating with smaller parties and independents in a bid to form a ruling coalition.

The move follows the release of provisional poll results on Saturday showing the PTI as the single largest party in the National Assembly with 115 seats, according to Election Commission of Pakistan figures.

The party needs the support of at least 22 more members to complete the tally of 137 seats that will establish a majority in the assembly.

Provisional poll results were released more than 56 hours after the end of voting in 270 National Assembly and 571 provincial assembly seats across Pakistan.

The PTI failed to clinch an outright majority in the Lower House of Parliament and has been forced to begin negotiations with smaller parties and candidates who won as independents to form a ruling coalition.

 “We are reaching out to independents and smaller parties to form a coalition government in the center,” Fawad Chaudhry, central information secretary of PTI, told Arab News. “There is no hurdle in our way to form the federal government.”

According to official results, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the party of jailed ex-premier Nawaz Sharif, secured 64 seats in lower house, followed by the Pakistan People’s Party with 43 seats. Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, a coalition of five religious parties, won 12 seats, and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan claimed six seats.

The results show that 13 independent candidates won National Assembly seats, while the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) and newly formed Balochistan Awami Party won four each.

The Balochistan National Party has won three seats in the National Assembly, the Grand Democratic Alliance two, and the Awami National Party, Awami Muslim League, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaniat and Jamhoori Watan Party one seat each.

As the PTI launched efforts to form a coalition government, rival parties, including PML-N and MMA, on Friday announced a multi-party conference to launch a protest movement against alleged rigging and irregularities in the July 25 polls.

PPP and MQM-P took no part in the conference, but have also rejected the election results, claiming the poll was rigged.

The PTI is undeterred by the protests. Chaudhry said that his party will form coalition governments in Punjab and Balochistan provinces, as well as in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where it has swept the polls.

 “Almost all the independents in Punjab have assured us of their support to form the government,” he said.

In Punjab province, the PML-N has emerged as the largest party with 129 seats, but the PTI is close behind with 123 seats.

A total of 29 independents have won their seats in Punjab assembly and their support will play a crucial role in forming the government.

The PML has won seven seats, the PPP six, and the Pakistan Awami Raj party claimed one seat in the province.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the PTI swept the polls with 66 seats, followed by MMA 10, six each by the ANP and independents, and four by the PPP.

In Sindh province, the PPP can form a government with 76 seats. The PTI won 23 seats, MQM-P 16, GDA 11, Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan two and MMA one.

The newly formed BAP leads in Balochistan province with 15 seats, followed by MMA with nine seats, BNP six, independents five, PTI four, BNA-Awami and ANP three each, Hazara Democratic Party two, and one each by the PML-N, Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awai Party and Jamhoori Wattan Party.

Tahir Malik, a political analyst and academic, said that the PTI is in a position to form coalition governments in the center and Punjab province, but the opposition parties are also flexing their muscles.

 “PTI will have to develop a good working relationship with the opposition parties, especially with PPP and PML-N, to introduce the necessary legislation, implement its agenda and run the day-to-day affairs of the government,” he told Arab News.


Sri Lankans set for parliamentary polls, seeking change and new faces

Polling officials and police officers carry election materials after collecting them from a distribution center, a day before th
Updated 5 sec ago
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Sri Lankans set for parliamentary polls, seeking change and new faces

  • New president Anura Kumara Dissanayake hopes for parliamentary majority to push through promised reforms
  • Many veteran politicians, including from the Rajapaksa family, are staying away from the polls

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka is set to choose a new parliament on Thursday in a vote expected to bring new faces to the political stage amid widespread dissatisfaction with established political parties following the island nation’s worst-ever economic crisis.

The election was announced in late September, days after the country’s new leader, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, won the presidential vote and appointed his three-member government.

Sri Lankan ministers are appointed from among members of parliament, in which Dissanayake’s left-leaning National People’s Power coalition had only three seats, limiting his ability to realize his campaign promises.

To boost the NPP’s representation, the president dissolved the parliament and cleared the way for the polls a year ahead of schedule.

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During a campaign rally on Sunday, he expressed optimism that the 42 percent of the vote he received in the presidential election showed the NPP was “a winning party” which would also translate to a parliamentary victory.

To push through his promised reforms to address corruption, maladministration and the fragile economic situation, Dissanayake needs a two-thirds parliamentary majority. While the 55-year-old leader’s party has never won more than 4 percent, success this time seems likely.

“I would expect at least a simple majority which would be a working majority,” Lakshman Gunasekara, a political analyst in Colombo, told Arab News. “One thing many analysts are arguing is that it is better for the NPP not to have an absolute majority and to be compelled to rely on other parties as well, in order to ensure greater political consensus in governance.”

Dissanayake took over Sri Lanka’s top job as the nation continued to reel from the 2022 economic crisis. The austerity measures imposed by his predecessor, Ranil Wickremesinghe, part of a bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund, led to price hikes in food and fuel and caused hardship to millions of Sri Lankans.

During his presidential campaign, Dissanayake said he planned to renegotiate the targets set in the IMF deal, as it placed too much burden on the ordinary people.

“That is the number one motivator in this current election. The economic difficulties ... The elite don’t feel it so much but the masses, nearly one-third of people, are known to be losing at least one meal a day,” Gunasekara said.

“And the next issue is ... the injection of fresh people into the governance system — in parliament and also in the presidency.”

Many veteran politicians, including Wickremesinghe, are staying away from the polls. No contenders will be seen from the powerful Rajapaksa family, including former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was ousted in 2022 and largely blamed for the crisis, or his brother, Gotabaya.

Dissanayake is an outsider to the political dynasties that have dominated Sri Lankan politics for decades.

“We have already a completely new person as the president, coming from a social class never before represented in the presidency level — the rural poor,” Gunasekara said.

“The people want new people in parliament as well ... I think two-thirds of the previous parliamentarians are not contesting.”

Prof. Prathiba Mahanamahewa, lawyer and rector of the University of Colombo, said Sri Lankans — 17 million of whom are expected to vote on Thursday — were “frustrated with the old faces” and this would be reflected in their voting preferences.

The injection of new ones, however, is likely to delay the parliament’s work for some time.

“We have to give one year for the new parliament to study the standing orders, to study the laws, to study the bills,” said Mahanamahewa. “I believe in all the parties, new people will come.”


German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he’ll ask for a vote of confidence in December

Updated 18 min 37 sec ago
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he’ll ask for a vote of confidence in December

  • He declared his plans during a speech in parliament, a week after his three-party coalition government collapsed
  • Germany has been governed since 2021 by a coalition led by Scholz’s left-leaning Social Democrats and which included the smaller pro-business Free Democrats and the Greens

BERLIN: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday that he will ask for a vote of confidence on Dec. 16, paving the way for early parliamentary elections in February.
He declared his plans during a speech in parliament, a week after his three-party coalition government collapsed.
Germany has been governed since 2021 by a coalition led by Scholz’s left-leaning Social Democrats and which included the smaller pro-business Free Democrats and the Greens.
It was an uneasy and fractious alliance, and it collapsed last week when Scholz fired Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the Free Democrats in a late-night move following disagreements over how to revive the shrinking economy.
“The date at the end of February has now been set and I am very grateful for that,” Scholz said, adding that he would try to pass important legislation through parliament before that, such as financial support for children of poor families, or amendments to the country’s constitution to make the highest court more resilient to possible political interference.
He said he would submit a request for a vote of confidence on Dec. 11, so that the Bundestag can decide on this on Dec. 16. The chancellor had initially wanted to have an early election only by late March — ahead of the vote that is regularly scheduled for September 2025.
However, the center-right Christian opposition pushed for a quicker vote in the parliament to speed up the next election.
In the end, party leaders across the political spectrum agreed on Wednesday on the two dates for the vote of confidence and the new election on Feb. 23.
During his speech, Scholz as well as Friedrich Merz, the head of the main opposition party in parliament, the Christian Democrats, already shifted into campaign mode — though the heated part of campaigning usually only begins around six weeks before an election in Germany.
“There is a great sense of relief in our country. For a week now, the so-called progressive coalition (...) has been history. And that is continuing good news for Germany,” Merz said to the applause of his Christian Democrats as he spoke after Scholz in the parliament.
Four candidates are expected to make their bid for the chancellery with voters in February.
Scholz has said that he wants to run as chancellor candidate again — even though his party has not yet announced his candidacy.
Merz of the Christian Democrats, which are currently leading the polls, was officially nominated as candidate by his party in September.
For the environmentalist Greens, the country’s current economy minister and vice chancellor, Robert Habeck, will lead his party as candidate for chancellor and
The Greens are a small party that lost popularity in recent elections and whose support currently hovers around 10 percent, which means it is unlikely that he would end up as the country’s leader.
The far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, has said they would nominate current party leader Alice Weidel next month as their candidate.
Merz’s Christian Democrats have been polling around 30 percent or more in the polls for a year now. Scholz’s Social Democrats, currently the strongest governing party, are on third place with around 16 percent — behind the AfD, which is at around 19 percent.
The main campaign issues are likely going to be the country’s ailing econom y which led to the collapse of the government in the first place, more efficient control of migration, and — when it comes to foreign policy issues — Russia’s war on Ukraine and the next presidency of Donald Trump.


Biden is sending aid to help Ukraine keep fighting next year, Blinken says

Updated 28 min 25 sec ago
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Biden is sending aid to help Ukraine keep fighting next year, Blinken says

  • “President Biden has committed to making sure that every dollar we have at our disposal will be pushed out the door between now and Jan. 20,” Blinken said
  • The US will “adapt and adjust” with the latest equipment it is sending, Blinken said, without providing details

KYIV: The Biden administration is determined in its final months to help ensure that Ukraine can keep fighting off Russia’s full-scale invasion next year, sending it as much aid as possible so that it might hold Russian forces at bay and possess a strong hand in any potential peace negotiations, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday.
“President Biden has committed to making sure that every dollar we have at our disposal will be pushed out the door between now and Jan. 20,” when president-elect Donald Trump is due to be sworn in, Blinken said.
NATO countries must focus their efforts on “ensuring that Ukraine has the money, munitions and mobilized forces to fight effectively in 2025, or to be able to negotiate a peace from a position of strength,” Blinken said during a visit to Brussels.
The US will “adapt and adjust” with the latest equipment it is sending, Blinken said, without providing details.
The almost three-year war has shown no signs of winding down.
Russia attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with a sophisticated combination of missiles and drones for the first time in 73 days on Wednesday. That came a day after the Pentagon said most of the North Korean troops sent to help Moscow’s war effort are fighting to drive Ukraine’s army off Russian soil in the Kursk border region.
Ukraine is also straining to hold back a monthslong Russian onslaught in the eastern Donetsk region.
Political uncertainty over how a US administration under Trump will change Washington’s policy on the war is a key new factor in the conflict. US military aid is vital for Ukraine, but Trump has signaled that he doesn’t want to keep giving tens of billions of dollars to Kyiv.
Air raid warnings blared for hours as Russia targeted eight regions of Ukraine on Wednesday, firing six ballistic and cruise missiles and 90 drones, the Ukrainian air force said.
Air defenses downed four missiles and 37 drones, and another 47 drones were stopped by electronic jamming, the statement said. The damage was being assessed.
The air assault came as most of the more than 10,000 North Korean troops sent by Pyongyang to help Moscow in the war are engaged in combat in Russia’s Kursk border region, according to the Pentagon. A Ukrainian army incursion into Kursk three months ago has succeeded in holding a broad area of land and has embarrassed the Kremlin.
Russia’s military has trained the North Korean soldiers in artillery, drone skills and basic infantry operations, including trench clearing, Pentagon deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told a briefing Tuesday. The cooperation faces challenges, according to the Pentagon, including how to achieve military interoperability and overcoming the language barrier.
Kyiv officials say that Russia has deployed around 50,000 troops to Kursk in a bid to dislodge the Ukrainians.
Russia has in recent months been assembling forces for a counteroffensive in Kursk, according to the Institute for the Study of War think tank, though the timescale of the operation isn’t known.


Toxic smog smothering India’s capital smashes WHO limit

Updated 45 min 19 sec ago
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Toxic smog smothering India’s capital smashes WHO limit

  • Pollutant levels in New Delhi topped 806 micrograms per cubic meter Wednesday morning 
  • This is over 53 times WHO recommended daily maximum of fine particulate matter

NEW DELHI: Residents of India’s capital New Delhi choked in a blanketing toxic smog Wednesday as worsening air pollution surged past 50 times the World Health Organization’s recommended daily maximum.

Many in the city cannot afford air filters, nor do they have homes they can effectively seal from the misery of foul smelling air blamed for thousands of premature deaths.

Cooler temperatures and slow-moving winds trap deadly pollutants each winter, stretching from mid-October until at least January.

At dawn on Wednesday, “hazardous” pollutant levels in parts of the sprawling urban area of more than 30 million people topped 806 micrograms per cubic meter, according to monitoring firm IQAir.

That is more than 53 times the World Health Organization recommended daily maximum of fine particulate matter — dangerous cancer-causing microparticles known as PM2.5 pollutants that enter the bloodstream through the lungs.

By midday, when air usually is at its best, it eased to about 25-35 times above danger levels, depending on different districts.

Bikramjeet Singh, 25, who works as an environmental health safety manager walking on the streets, said breathing in Delhi was like “smoking cigarettes” and he worried for those with asthma.

“Older people have difficulties breathing,” he said.

The city is blanketed in acrid smog each year, primarily blamed on stubble burning by farmers in neighboring regions to clear their fields for plowing, as well as factories and traffic fumes.

But a report by The New York Times this month, based on air and soil samples it collected over five years, revealed the dangerous fumes also spewing from a power plant incinerating the city’s landfill garbage mountains.

Experts the newspaper spoke to said that the levels of heavy metals found were “alarming.”

Swirling white clouds of smog also delayed several flights across northern India.

The India Meteorological Department said that at least 18 regional airports had a visibility lower than 1,000 meters (1,093 yards) — dropping below 500 meters in Delhi.

India’s Supreme Court last month ruled that clean air was a fundamental human right, ordering both the central government and state-level authorities to take action.

But critics say arguments between rival politicians heading neighboring states — as well as between central and state-level authorities — have compounded the problem.

Politicians are accused of not wanting to anger key figures in their constituencies, particularly powerful farming groups.

City authorities have launched several initiatives to tackle pollution, which have done little in practice.

Government trucks are regularly used to spray water to briefly dampen the pollution.

A new scheme unveiled earlier this month to use three small drones to spray water mist was derided by critics as another “band-aid” solution to a public health crisis.

The WHO says that air pollution can trigger strokes, heart disease, lung cancer and other respiratory diseases.

It is particularly punishing for babies, children and the elderly.

A study in The Lancet medical journal attributed 1.67 million premature deaths to air pollution in the world’s most populous country in 2019.

The choking carbon smog across Delhi came as researchers warned that planet-warming fossil fuel emissions would hit a record high this year, according to new findings from an international network of scientists at the Global Carbon Project.

Researchers said increases in CO2 emissions from India — as well as growth in international aviation — drove emissions up.

It found no sign the world was moving away from fossil fuels as planned.
 


Saudi Arabia, India eye new cooperation areas as FMs meet in Delhi

Updated 13 November 2024
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Saudi Arabia, India eye new cooperation areas as FMs meet in Delhi

  • Last September, about 50 agreements were signed under Saudi-India Strategic Partnership Council
  • Saudi Vision 2030, India’s Viksit Bharat 2047 are complementary for new partnerships, Jaishankar says

NEW DELHI: Saudi Arabia and India held talks on Wednesday in New Delhi, led by their foreign ministers, aimed at identifying new partnerships.

Saudi Arabia’s Prince Faisal bin Farhan and India’s S. Jaishankar co-chaired the second meeting of the Ministerial Committee on Political, Security, Cultural and Social Affairs, which falls under the Saudi-India Strategic Partnership Council.

Their talks follow the council’s first leaders’ meeting last September, during which Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over the signing of about 50 initial pacts.

They had also agreed to form a joint task force to enable a $100 billion Saudi investment in India.

In a livestreamed video of his opening remarks, Prince Faisal said: “The inaugural meeting of the Saudi-India Strategic Partnership Council … has set the stage for a new era of cooperation across various fields and we look forward to further enhancing the council’s capabilities and efficiency in achieving our shared objectives.”

He added: “We are confident that advancing cooperation serves our mutual interests as well as benefits the region more broadly, and I look forward to exploring the diverse aspects of our cooperation.”

Saudi Arabia is home to about 2.6 million Indian nationals, making it the third-largest host country for the diaspora, after the UAE and the US.

The Kingdom is also India’s fifth-largest trading partner, with bilateral trade between the two countries at around $43 billion in 2023-2024.

Trade and investments are “important pillars” in Saudi-India relations, Jaishankar said during the meeting as he highlighted recent efforts to boost cooperation, including in technology and renewable energy.

“Saudi’s Vision 2030 and Viksit Bharat 2047 hold complementarities for our industries to build new partnerships. I am glad to note that our businesses are collaborating intensively,” he said, referring to the Kingdom’s transformation plan and India’s goal to become a developed nation.

“While we may be time-tested friends, but our partnership is premised on progress and focused on the future.”