VIF Neighbourhood News Digest: 19th September, 2018

PAKISTAN

Imran reaches Saudi Arabia amid reports Pakistan may seek aid: Dawn

September 19, 2018

Prime Min­ister Imran Khan reached Saudi Arabia on his first foreign visit after assuming office. He is accompanied by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Finance Minister Asad Umar, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry and Adviser on Commerce Abdul Razzak Dawood. Upon arrival at Prince Moh­am­med bin Abdulaziz Inter­national Airport, Prime Minister Khan was received by Prince Faisal bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Madina and Pakistan’s Amb­assador to Saudi Arabia Khan Hisham bin Siddique along with other officials. Click here to read... [2]

Mini-budget hikes taxes, cuts uplift spending: Dawn

September 19, 2018

Partially reversing income tax relaxations and reducing the development budget, the PTI government announced a supplementary budget on Tuesday with a total fiscal adjustment equal to 2.1 per cent of GDP (roughly Rs805 billion), including Rs183bn worth of revenue measures. Finance Minister Asad Umar delivered his inaugural budget speech for the PTI government in an unusually calm environment — a rare opportunity — as the opposition PPP and PML-N listened to him in silence. The minister reciprocated by conceding that the economic crisis was 15-30 years in the making and not the specific fault of any one political party. Click here to read... [3]

AFGHANISTAN

President Ghani Has Left Kabul for India to Meet Modi: Tolo News

September 19, 2018

President Ashraf Ghani left Kabul on Tuesday morning for New Delhi to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the president’s deputy spokesman Shahhussain Murtazavi confirmed. In the meantime, India’s Hindu reported that Ghani will meet Modi and discuss bilateral ties as well as regional security situation. The report said that officials in Delhi and Kabul confirmed that Ghani will land in Delhi on Wednesday and meet Modi over lunch. He will also address a “civic reception” organised by the think-tank, India Foundation, before flying out on Wednesday evening. In the run-up to Ghani’s visit, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale travelled to Kabul to chair the meeting of the “Joint Working Group on Political and Security Cooperation between India and Afghanistan” last week. Click here to read... [4]

BANGLADESH

New Rail route to connect Darjeeling with Bangladesh: India Today

September 18, 2018

Darjeeling is soon to get connected with Bangladesh via a rail link. Reportedly PM Modi and the Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina are the driving force behind this initiative. The proposal involves connecting the cross-border Chilahati - Haldibari rail route with the Siliguri-Darjeeling link. Incidentally, the rail link between Chilahati station in Bangladesh and Haldibari in India existed earlier and freight and passenger trains from Bangladesh to Darjeeling via Siliguri operated before 1965. The proposal is doing the rounds for sometimes and would involve reconstruction of approximately 3 km of railway lines from Haldibari station on the Indian side till the international border and a similar relaying of some 7 km of railway line Chilahati, Nilphamari in Bangladesh till the border. Click here to read... [5]

MALDIVES

Maldives: Election Rigging Feared: Human Rights Watch

September 19, 2018

The Maldives government-controlled Election Commission appears to have adopted new vote-counting rules that threaten prospects for a free and fair election on September 23, 2018, Human Rights Watch said today. The government of President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom has for months cracked down on opposition parties, the media, and critics. “Maldives authorities have detained critics, muzzled the media, and misused the Election Commission to obstruct opposition candidates to ensure President Yameen a victory on election day,” said Patricia Gossman, Asia associate director. “If officials are manipulating the way votes are counted, it will deny the Maldivian people’s right to choose their president.” Click here to read... [6]

CHINA

China set to push back on latest levies: China Daily

September 19, 2018

China will place tariffs on about $60 billion worth of imports from the United States in response to Washington's announcement of additional levies on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council said on Tuesday. Click here to read... [7]

China is world’s second largest source of AI enterprises: People's Daily

September 19, 2018

China is now home to 1,040 artificial intelligence (AI) enterprises, ranking second in the world, only beaten by the U.S. with 2,039 such companies according to the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, held in Shanghai on Sept. 17. Click here to read... [8]