VIF Neighbourhood News Digest: 12th September, 2018

PAKISTAN
Kulsoom Nawaz to be laid to rest on Friday; Nawaz, Maryam released on parole for funeral: Dawn

September 12, 2018

Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law retired captain Mohammad Safdar were released from Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail on parole hours after his ailing wife Begum Kulsoom Nawaz passed away in a London hospital on Tuesday. All three were released on a 12-hour parole, which is likely to be extended till the burial of Begum Kulsoom at Jati Umra on Friday afternoon, on an order of the Punjab home department and were escorted by police to the Nur Khan airbase from where they were flown to Lahore, Dawn reported. The application was filed by PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif for their release for at least five days. Sources in the government said the Punjab government would extend the parole period till the burial of Begum Kulsoom in Jati Umra, the Lahore residence of the Sharif family. Clcik here to read... [2]

Pompeo said US won’t block Pakistan plea for IMF bailout: Fawad: Dawn

September 12, 2018

US Secre­tary of State Mike Pompeo assured Pakistan last week Washington would not try to block any request for a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said on Tuesday. The remarks, which the minister said Mr Pompeo made during his visit to Pakistan on Wednesday, came in stark contrast to the US secretary’s warnings in July that the United States had serious reservations about the IMF giving money to Pakistan due to concerns Islamabad would use the cash to pay off Chinese loans. Those comments rattled Islamabad, which is facing a financial crisis and may have no option but to turn again to the IMF to prop up its foreign currency reserves. Clcik here to read... [3]

AFGHANISTAN
Kerry Says Ghani Had Proposed the Establishment of NUG

September 11, 2018

Following the controversial Afghanistan’s Presidential Election in 2014 when the two leading candidates Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah did not agree on the result, Ghani proposed the establishment of the National Unity Government (NUG), former US Secretary of State John Kerry wrote in his book. In a book named Every Day Is Extra written by Kerry, who was engaged in establishment of NUG, Kerry has written that for the first time the establishment of NUG was suggested by President Ashraf Ghani. Every Day Is Extra is John Kerry’s candid personal story in which he has said all his personal life events and the missions he has accomplished including of his engagement in Afghanistan’s presidential elections in 2014. Before the 2014 elections, Kerry also had mediated in Afghanistan’s 2009 presidential elections in which former President Hamid Karzai and Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah were the leading candidates. Clcik here to read... [4]

NEPAL
No point expressing anger at Nepal: Indian diplomats: Kathmandu Post

September 12, 2018

New Delhi need not express its anger with Nepal over the latter’s refusal to participate in the BIMSTEC joint military exercise, former Indian diplomats and foreign policy experts told the Post on Tuesday. Although a number of Indian media reports said Delhi was not happy with Nepal’s decision to skip the drill, Nepali officials deny Indian officials formally approached the Nepal government to voice their displeasure. Former Indian Ambassador to Nepal KV Rajan said though India had expected Nepal to take part in the exercise, and might be unhappy over the last-minute withdrawal, disputes over such minor issues could create troubles in bilateral ties. Clcik here to read... [5]

BANGLADESH
Bangladesh jolted by mild earthquake: Dhaka Tribune

September 12, 2018

A mild earthquake, 5.3 in the Richter Scale, has jolted the capital city of Dhaka on Wednesday. Confirming the matter to the Dhaka Tribune, Mominul Islam, a meteorologist of Dhaka met office said the epicentre of the tremor was located 293 kilometers north of Dhaka, which falls in the Indian state of Assam. The earthquake had a depth of 10 kilometers, and occurred around 10:50am. At least 25 people were injured while getting down from several buildings in Uttar EPZ area of Sadar upazila in the morning. Clcik here to read... [6]

CHINA
China, Russia agree to advance sub-national cooperation: People's Daily

September 12, 2018

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Tuesday called for promoting sub-national cooperation to cement bilateral relations and benefit the two peoples. The two heads of state made the remarks while attending a roundtable meeting on regional cooperation between the two countries on the sidelines of the fourth Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), which is running from Tuesday to Thursday in Vladivostok in Russia's Far East. Clcik here to read... [7]

How should China respond to a changing US: Fu Ying: People's Daily

September 12, 2018

"We must stay focused on China's development, and overcome our own difficulties," said Fu. The signed article is an edited version of a speech she delivered at the Asia Society last month. The following is the full text of Fu's signed article. Clcik here to read... [8]