Pakistan to soon invite Afghan Taliban
Published: The Express Tribune
29 Jul 2019
Pakistan will soon extend a formal invitation to the representatives of the Afghan Taliban to visit Islamabad as part of a latest diplomatic push to convince the insurgents for a permanent ceasefire and intra-Afghan dialogue, officials said here on Sunday. The Taliban spokesperson has already indicated that the group’s representatives would be willing to travel to Islamabad if given a formal invitation.Click here to read...
China gives up two of its best-kept forex reserve secrets
Published: South China Morning Post
29 Jul 2019
China has for the first time disclosed its return on investment of its foreign exchange reserves and the share of US dollar-denominated assets in the stockpile. Foreign exchange reserves generated an annual average return of 3.68 per cent from 2005 to 2014, according to the 2018 annual report released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (Safe) on Sunday. The agency did not provide more recent figures.Click here to read...
Iran links British seizure of oil tanker to ailing nuclear deal
Published: The Indian Express
29 Jul 2019
Iran for the first time tied the British seizure of an Iranian oil tanker to the ailing nuclear deal Sunday, calling it illegal and a violation of the agreement. By making that link, Iran appeared to be trying to press the Europeans to make good on the promised financial benefits of the 2015 agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.Click here to read...
India plans policy to tackle space threats
Published: The Tribune
28 Jul 2019
Twenty years after the Kargil conflict, India’s strategic planners, after a two-day brainstorming session among several agencies, have decided to lay down new “policy and rules” for future use of space for military and non-military purposes.
“IndSpaceEx” session was conducted by the Ministry of Defence on July 25-26. The exercise assessed threats in space from a military perspective and India’s current capability. It took stock of the military space assets of the US, Russia and China.Click here to read...
Sri Lanka unhappy with share in India's budget, keen for review
Published: India Today
28 Jul 2019
Sri Lanka is known to be unhappy with the funds allocated to it by India in its latest Budget, which when compared to that allocated for other close neighbours and even Indian Ocean Region countries, is small. While Sri Lanka is India's closest Indian Ocean Region neighbour and shares centuries-old close links, Colombo has been pipped by IOR countries Mauritius and the Maldives, who are the beneficiaries of India's largesse in this year's budget.Click here to read...
Pakistan gets $125 million F-16 support from US but it comes with a catch
Published: Hindustan Times
27 Jul 2019
Days after the meeting between President Donald Trump and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, the Pentagon notified the Congress on Friday of its decision to approve military sales worth USD 125 million that would result in 24x7 end-use monitoring of the F-16 fighter jets of Pakistan.
US officials asserted that the freeze in security assistance to Pakistan on Trump’s direction since January 2018 was still in place and the latest decision would help it in 24x7 end-use monitoring of the F-16 fighter jets in that country as this would require the assignment of 60 contractor representatives there to assist in the oversight of the F-16 programme.Click here to read...
