International

Pakistan, Turkey are two countries but one nation: PAF Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan

With Agencies

Istanbul, January 18: Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan said that Pakistan and Turkey are “two countries, one nation”.

According to Geo News, the Air Chief was addressing a meeting comprising board members of the Association of Justice Defenders and Strategic Studies Center (ASSAM) in Turkey on Friday.

The Air Chief said that Pakistan fully supports Turkey on Cyprus and other regional issues and also stands by Ankara in its war against terrorism.

Pakistan’s declining relations with its two biggest sources of foreign remittances and foreign exchange– Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)– is “bad news” for its already ailing economy, said scholar Salman Rafi Sheikh.The Khan regime’s tilt towards Turkey is reflected in his recent foreign policy choices, including its stated willingness to revive the dormant transnational rail service linking Istanbul, Tehran and Islamabad (ITI) in 2021.

The ITI transnational railroad is expected to enhance connectivity via China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) by providing a direct rail connection between China and Turkey via Iran. China’s presence in the line’s revival is of central importance.

In an opinion piece in Asia Times, Salman Rafi Sheikh said Pakistan is tentatively reorienting its foreign policy away from Saudi Arabia and the UAE towards China’s New Silk Roads. Last August, Saudi Arabia asked Pakistan to repay early a USD 3 billion soft loan, Islamabad tried to defuse the tensions by quickly dispatching its current army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

“While Pakistan tentatively expands its ties with Iran and Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have applied clear pressure on Pakistan’s two biggest sources of foreign remittances at a delicate economic juncture, undermining – at least for now – Islamabad’s ability to chart a truly independent and perhaps more forward-looking foreign policy,” the scholar noted.

International

South Africa confirms third wave as COVID-19 cases continue to Soar

(Asian News Hub) – South Africa logged morethan 10,000 COVID-19 cases, which represents a 15.7% positivity testing rate.

According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), figures from the past seven days show that South Africa is now experiencing the third wave.

“South Africa technically entered the third wave today as the national seven-day moving average incidence of 5,959 cases, which now exceeds the new wave threshold, as defined by the Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC),” the NICD said.

The majority of the new infections are from Gauteng 61%.

International

Internet services restored in six districts of Balochistan after five years

(Asian News Hub) – The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has issued instructions to telecom operators to restore internet service in KP’s Khyber district and six districts of Balochistan after five years.

People will now be able to use the internet in the following areas.

Turbat city

Kech

Panjgur

Awaran

Washuk

Kalat

Awaran-Bela Road

The decision has been taken “in pursuance of the government’s vision of providing internet services across the country.”

بلوچستان کے چھ اضلاع میں پانچ سالوں سے بند موبائل انٹرنیٹ سروس بحال کرنے کا نوٹیفکیشن جاری pic.twitter.com/PWe1qVxQCh
— Jam Kamal Khan (@jam_kamal) June 3, 2021

The instructions were issued after the security situation in the areas was reviewed.

Cellular mobile operators have been told to upgrade their existing infrastructure from 2G to 3G/4G.

“The restoration of data services will help residents to fulfill their educational, health, commerce, and communication needs,” the PTA said in a press release.

Internet services will be restored in other areas in a “phased manner”, according to the authority.

People and students in Balochistan staged protests against the lack of internet coverage in the province. They claimed that they faced difficulties as their educational institutions shifted to online classes because of the coronavirus pandemic.

International

Bangladeshi woman cuts off attacker’s penis in Spain

The woman was arrested after admitting to the assault, alleging that her boss was attempting to rape her

(Asian News Hub) – Police in Spain arrested a Bangladeshi woman in her thirties for allegedly cutting off her boss’s genitals with a knife, which she said she had done as he was attempting to rape her, reported Daily Mail.

She told officers she was trying to defend herself against sexual assault at a bar in Sant Andreu de la Barca around midnight on Tuesday.

The sliced man was rushed to the hospital for an emergency operation to reattach his penis.
The woman is currently being held at a police station following her arrest.

Officers have initiated an investigation into her statements that she was acting in self-defense but have not eliminated the prospect of arresting the bar owner once he is conscious enough to be questioned.

According to police sources, the woman had told them she had been being harassed for months and was forced to have sex with her boss several times before she assaulted him with the knife during his latest alleged rape attempt.

A representative for the regional Mossos d’Esquadra police force confirmed on Tuesday that the woman was arrested for the crime of wounding in the early hours of the morning after she contacted police to explain what happened.

The man’s nationality has not been revealed yet, but he is believed to be from Bangladesh or Pakistan.

AGENCY