Saturday, 10 April, 2021 I 26 Shaban, 1442 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XI No 282 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition
US intel report warnS miScalcUlationS may lead to indo-pak war g
The reporT noTes The role of IT In dIssemInaTIng InformaTIon and shapIng The narraTIves wIThIn The counTrIes
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staff report
n intelligence report by the us government’s national Intelligence council has warned that miscalculations could result in a large-scale war between the neighbouring nuclear states. The report, which was released earlier this week, is included in a global Trends report produced every four years. Its prerogative is to predict likely outcomes within the global sphere over the next five to 20 years so policymakers may anticipate the forces that shape the world and adjust their decisions accordingly. “miscalculation by both governments could prompt a breakdown in the deterrence that has restricted conflict to levels
each side judges it can manage,” the report read, adding that a full-scale war between India and pakistan could have economic and political repercussions that would be felt for years to come. referring to new delhi’s resolve to retaliate against Islamabad “following a terrorist attack that the Indian government judges to be significant”, the report stated that the ability of militant groups to conduct such attacks, Inda’s retaliatory inclinations, and pakistan’s commitment to defend itself would only increase over the next five years. The report also warned against an “abrupt us exit” from afghanistan. It predicted that any security vacuum within afghanistan would likely trigger a civil war between the Taliban and its afghan opponents, which in turn would expand the free-
dom of movement for various regional terrorist outfits, as well as criminals and refugees flowing out of the country. The consequence of the above-stated scenario would sharpen the differences between India and new dehli, particularly in regard to cementing prevailing judgments about covert warfare in Islamabad and new delhi. The report also noted that afghanistan is seeing an intensification of ethnic tensions between pashtuns and other ethnic groups, a trend that is accelerating as afghans prepare for the withdrawal of western troops. The us intelligence community estimates that India and china may also slip into a conflict that neither government intends, “especially if military forces escalate a conflict quickly to challenge each other on a critical part of the contested border”. This statement was in reference to the short military conflict between India and china, wherein at least 20 soldiers of the former perished, and the incident therein heightened the rivalry between Beijing and new delhi and sharply affected international perceptions of both countries. while trade between south asian countries is already among the lowest globally, the report stated that it is unlikely to improve over the next five years due to the hostilities between India and pakistan. The intelligence report also highlighted that pakistan may face a state of complete water scarcity within the next five years due to poor water conservation practices, rising temperatures, and decreased rainfall.
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Pakistan in battle to hold mafias accountable, asserts PM Imran LAHORE staff report
prime minister Imran Khan said that a “full battle” is underway in paksitan to hold the forces of the mafia accountable and bring the country closer to the vision of a welfare state like the state of medina through the naya pakistan scheme The prime minister said that the state of medina was based on two golden principles of rule of law and humanity while breaking ground for construction of affordable apartments under his naya pakistan housing programme to provide shelter to low-income groups. The naya pakistan apartments would be built in the lahore development authority (lda) city, a pm office (pmo) press release said earlier. In a tweet, punjab chief minister sardar usman Buzdar said that the prime minister would lay the foundation for 35,000 affordable apartments. pm Imran, during his address, said that the scandinavian welfare states and others in the west were also pursuing very noble principles. “Today, a full battle is going on pakistan to make big mafias ac-
countable before the law. There are big political mafias too which are resisting the rule of law. This a defining moment for pakistan. as we establish the writ of law, the society will be liberated,” he said. he underscored that the state of medina had taken full responsibility for its poor people despite resource constraint. The pm said that the incumbent government was also trying to follow the same principles by extending universal health coverage, building panagahs and introducing mobile kitchens for the poor. he said that the Khyber pakhtunkhwa (Kp) government had extended sehat Insaf card to the entire population while punjab would also achieve the same by this year’s end to make the beneficiaries avail the free medical treatment of up to rs1 million. he added that even certain developed countries did not have such universal health coverage. Quoting a recently published united nations development programme (undp) report, the prime minister said, as per the un data, the poverty ratio had declined in Kp province during the last seven years while the human development index (hdI) had shown a positive trend.
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