VIF Neighbourhood News Digest: July 24, 2019

PAKISTAN

Pakistan, US share objective of reaching peaceful solution in Afghanistan as quickly as possible: PM Imran: Dawn
July 24, 2019

Prime Minister Imran Khan, addressing members of the US Congress in Washington on Tuesday, said that Pakistan has the same objective as the United States of reaching a peaceful solution in Afghanistan as quickly as possible. Ahead of his address, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was introduced to Pakistan during her time at university when another student, dressed in a sari, told her to read books in the library on Mohammed Ali Jinnah, through which she had learned about the "greatness of the statesmen".Click here to read... [2]

AFGHANISTAN

Khan Says He Will Meet Taliban After Returning To Islamabad: Tolo News
July 24, 2019

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan who is on a three-day visit in Washington said that he will meet with the Taliban after returning to Islamabad and that he will get the group to the negotiation table with the Afghan government. “Taliban delegation wanted to meet me few months back… It is because I always maintained that there was no military solution [to the war in Afghanistan],” Khan said at the US Institute of Peace. He said that the Taliban “wanted to meet him but the Afghan government at that point did not want him to meet the group. Click here to read... [3]

MYANMAR<

Satellite images show Myanmar's 'minimal preparations' for Rohingya return: think-tank: Reuters
July 24, 2019

Myanmar has made “minimal” preparations for the return of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees sheltering in neighboring Bangladesh, according to an Australian think-tank, despite the country saying it is ready to start repatriation. More than 700,000 Rohingya were forced to flee northern Rakhine state in western Myanmar during a 2017 military-led crackdown the United Nations has said included mass killings and gang-rapes executed with “genocidal intent”. Almost 400 Rohingya villages were burned to the ground during the violence. Click here to read... [4]

CHINA

China issues white paper on national defense in new era: Xinhuanet
July 24, 2019

China on Wednesday issued a white paper to expound on its defensive national defense policy in the new era and explain the practice, purposes and significance of China's efforts to build a fortified national defense and a strong military. Titled "China's National Defense in the New Era," the white paper was released by the State Council Information Office, with a view to helping the international community better understand China's national defense. Click here to read... [5]

Chinese military can be deployed at Hong Kong’s request to contain protests, Beijing says: South China Morning Post

July 24, 2019

The Chinese military has said that it can be deployed to Hong Kong to maintain social order at the request of the city’s government, and said that Sunday’s siege of the mainland government’s liaison office in the city was intolerable. Click here to read... [6]