Tuesday, 12 October, 2021 I 5 Rabi-ul-Awwal, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 104 I 12 Pages I Lahore Edition
US mUSt engage with taliban to avert chaoS, SayS Pm imran Khan ISLAMABAD
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staff report
he United States has to “pull itself together” and deliver an aid package to Afghanistan or face the collapse of the warravaged country which would become a haven for Islamic State militants, the prime minister said. In a pre-recorded interview with Middle east eye, a London-based online news portal, released Monday Imran Khan said it is vital to Islamabad that Washington steps up to the challenge because Pakistan — where tens of thousands of people have died in conflict linked to the American “war on terror” — would once more pay a heavy price. “It’s a really critical time and the US
has to pull itself together because people in the United States are in a state of shock,” he said. “They were imagining some sort of democracy, nation-building or liberated
women, and suddenly they find the Taliban are back. There is so much anger and shock and surprise. Unless America takes the lead, we are worried that there will be chaos in Afghanistan and we will
Disgruntled Balochistan lawmakers submit no-confidence motion against Kamal BALochIStAn staff report
The disgruntled Balochistan lawmakers have submitted a noconfidence motion against Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani, a news outlet reported on Monday. According to the report, the no-confidence motion, signed by 14 lawmakers was submitted to the secretariat of the Balochistan Assembly. Lawmakers Saeed hashmi, Jan Jamali, Mir Zahoor Ahmed Buledi, Asad Baloch, Naseebullah Marri and Sardar Abdul
Rehman Khetran were present in the assembly during the submission of the motion. The lawmakers, in the motion, said that during the three years of Alyani’s term as the chief minister, there has been unemployment, unrest, and frustration in the province, and the provincial cabinet members had informed the CM about the issues, but he did not pay heed to them. Moreover, the lawmakers sought the removal of Kamal as the chief minister and called for the election of a new provincial chief. “Due to Jam Kamal’s luke-
warm attitude, there has been gas, water, electricity, and economic crisis in [Balochistan],” the motion said. The no-confidence motion will be sent by the Balochistan Assembly Secretariat to the provincial governor. If he approves it, a session of the assembly will be convened in 7-10 days to discuss the motion. Meanwhile, Kamal held a meeting with PTI parliamentary leader in the Balochistan Assembly Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind during which the existing political situation was discussed. Last week, Kamal had said that he will not step down from his post on the demand of 12 people, adding that some of his “companions” have tried to remove him from the post of the chief minister before too, but he would not let this “void” persist within the party. “I will continue my struggle and will not resign on the call of 12 people. We are trying that the ministers take their resignations back. If they don’t take their resignations back, we would have to appoint new ministers,” he had said.
MORE INSIDE
‘Don’t link aid to political issues’: Taliban urge US in Doha dialogue STORY ON BACK PAGE Indian Lok Sabha speaker invites Sanjrani to attend PAC centenary celebrations STORY ON BACK PAGE Saudi and Iran signal warming ties but 'real steps' needed STORY ON BACK PAGE
CONFIRMED CASES: coronavirUS in
1,258,959 RECOVERED:
PaKiStan SINDH:
LAST UPDATED AT 7:38 AM ON MAY 26, 2021
DAY'S DEATH TOLL:
NEW CASES:
28 1,004
PUNJAB:
ISLAMABAD: AJK/GB:
1,188,562
462,859
436,197
DEATHS: 28,134
KP:
175,974
BALOCHISTAN:
33,076
106,153
34,350 / 10,350
be most affected by that.” The prime minister was speaking on the 20th anniversary of the US invasion of Afghanistan on October 7, 2001, to oust the ruling Taliban in the aftermath of the deadly September 11 attacks. Two decades later, Khan said, the US had no other option but to do everything it could to support the stable government in Afghanistan, because the Taliban was the only option for fighting Islamic State in the region — and to prevent the ascendency of hardline elements within the Taliban’s own ranks. IS’s regional affiliate in Afghanistan, known as Islamic State-Khorasan Province, has fought against the Taliban and claimed responsibility for a number of recent deadly attacks, including the
bombing of a Shi’ite mosque in the northern city of Kunduz on Friday in which dozens of worshippers were killed. Khan said: “The world must engage with Afghanistan because if it pushes it away, within the Taliban movement there are hardliners, and it could easily go back to the Taliban of 2000 and that would be a disaster.” The Taliban is still on the US Treasury sanctions designation list, effectively preventing the group from accessing more than $9 billion in US-held assets belonging to the Afghan Central Bank. UN special representative to Afghanistan, Deborah Lyons, warned last month the policy was likely to precipitate “a severe economic downturn that could throw many more millions into poverty and hunger, may generate a massive wave of refugees from Afghanistan, and indeed set Afghanistan back for generations.” With half the population already below the poverty line, and 75 percent of the national budget dependent on foreign aid, sanctioning the Taliban would soon lead to a humanitarian disaster, Khan said.
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