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Pakistani man to appear in US court on assassination plot charges

Pakistani man to appear in US court on assassination plot charges
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Updated 16 September 2024
Reuters
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Pakistani man to appear in US court on assassination plot charges

Pakistani man to appear in US court on assassination plot charges
  • Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn say Asif Merchant, 46, spent time in Iran before traveling to the United States to recruit people for the plot
  • Merchant told a confidential informant he also planned to steal documents from one target and organize protests in the US, prosecutors said
Updated 16 September 2024
Reuters
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NEW YORK: A Pakistani man with alleged ties to Iran is set to appear in US court on Monday on charges of scheming to assassinate an American politician in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards top commander Qassem Soleimani.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn say Asif Merchant, 46, spent time in Iran before traveling to the United States to recruit people for the plot.
Merchant told a confidential informant he also planned to steal documents from one target and organize protests in the United States, prosecutors said.
The defendant named Donald Trump as a potential target but had not conceived the scheme as a plan to assassinate the former president, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Court papers do not name the alleged targets, and no attacks were made. As president, Trump had in 2020 approved the drone strike on Soleimani.
There are no suggestions that Merchant was tied to an apparent assassination attempt on Trump at his Florida golf course on Sunday, or a separate shooting of the Republican presidential candidate at a rally in Pennsylvania in July.
Merchant faces one count of attempting to commit terrorism across national boundaries and one count of murder for hire.
He is expected to enter a plea before US Magistrate Judge Robert Levy in Brooklyn at 12 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT). Merchant was arrested in Texas on July 15.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations said in August that the “modus operandi” described in Merchant’s court papers ran contrary to Tehran’s policy of “legally prosecuting the murder of General Soleimani.”

Topics: Asif Merchant

Pakistan army chief meets Saudi crown prince to discuss regional peace, defense cooperation

Pakistan army chief meets Saudi crown prince to discuss regional peace, defense cooperation
Updated 06 November 2024
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Pakistan army chief meets Saudi crown prince to discuss regional peace, defense cooperation

Pakistan army chief meets Saudi crown prince to discuss regional peace, defense cooperation
  • PM Shehbaz Sharif last week met Saudi crown prince to discuss bilateral economic, defense ties
  • Meeting takes place amid regional tensions due to Israel’s military campaigns in Gaza, Lebanon
Updated 06 November 2024
Shahjahan Khurram

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday to discuss issues of common interest such as regional peace, bilateral defense and security cooperation, the military said.
The development takes place after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last week during his two-day visit to the Kingdom. The two leaders discussed bilateral economic ties and regional developments, with Sharif apprising the crown prince that the Kingdom had a “central role” to play in Pakistan’s “future economic plans.”
In October, Pakistani and Saudi businesses signed 27 agreements and memorandums of understanding valued at $2.2 billion. During Sharif’s visit to the Kingdom last week, the two countries agreed to increase this figure to $2.8 billion.
Munir, who is currently on an official visit to the Kingdom, met the Saudi crown prince at the Royal Palace in Riyadh, the Inter-Services Public Relations, (ISPR) the military’s media wing, said in a statement.
“The two dignitaries engaged in a comprehensive discussion on a range of issues of mutual interest, including regional peace, defense and security cooperation, and strategies for enhancing bilateral relations,” the ISPR said.

In this handout photograph, released by the Saudi Press Agency on November 6, 2024, Pakistan Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir meets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh. (SPA)

The army’s media wing said Munir expressed his gratitude to the Saudi crown prince for his “steadfast support for Pakistan,” acknowledging his role in fostering peace and stability across the region.
Their meeting also takes place amid a surge in regional tensions following Israel’s military campaigns in Palestine and Lebanon, and its missile attack on Iran last month.
Munir also separately met Saudi Arabia’s Defense Minister Prince Khalid Bin Salman, the ISPR said, adding that the two vowed to further strengthen cooperation in the defense and security domains.

In this handout photograph, released by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on November 6, 2024, Pakistan Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir meets Saudi Arabia’s Defense Minister Prince Khalid Bin Salman in Riyadh. (Photo courtesy: ISPR)

The Pakistan army chief also held meetings with Saudi Arabia’s assistant minister of defense, air chief, chief of general staff of the Royal Saudi Armed Forces and chief of Royal Saudi Land Forces, the ISPR said.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy cordial ties rooted in shared history, culture, faith and economic ties. The Kingdom is the top source of workers’ remittances for Pakistan, crucial for Islamabad to help keep its $350 billion economy afloat.
Saudi Arabia has often come to cash-strapped Pakistan’s aid, bailing it out of its prolonged economic crisis through debt rollers and by providing it oil on deferred payments.

Topics: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Pakistan Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir Pakistan Army

Pakistan may find common ground with Trump but won’t be ‘first priority’ — analysts

Pakistan may find common ground with Trump but won’t be ‘first priority’ — analysts
Updated 06 November 2024
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Pakistan may find common ground with Trump but won’t be ‘first priority’ — analysts

Pakistan may find common ground with Trump but won’t be ‘first priority’ — analysts
  • Republican nominee Donald Trump beat Kamala Harris in 46th US Presidential Election on Tuesday
  • Analysts predict Trump will not be able to normalize ties between nuclear-armed Pakistan and India
Updated 06 November 2024
Aamir Saeed

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani political analysts and foreign affairs experts on Wednesday predicted that Islamabad may find common ground with Washington under President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, however, the country will not be his “first priority” in the backdrop of more pressing global issues.
American billionaire and former president Donald Trump beat Vice President Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s race to get elected as the 47th US president after bagging key battleground states.
Victory in Wisconsin after earlier triumphs in Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania saw the former president clear the threshold of the 270 Electoral College votes required to clinch the White House.
Pakistan places great value on its relations with the US. Once close allies, Washington and Islamabad have collaborated closely in the domains of militancy, economy, security, trade and global affairs. Ties between the two countries remained strained over the past couple of years as Washington remained suspicious of Pakistan’s alleged support to the Taliban in its takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.
“Well, I think Pakistan or the PTI [Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party] will not be President Trump’s first priority,” former Pakistani diplomat Javed Hafeez told Arab News.
“He has many other issues to tackle, be it Ukraine or be it the war in Gaza and Lebanon. So Pakistan would not be on top of his priorities but down the line somewhere,” he added.


Senior political analyst Zaigham Khan said Islamabad and Washington may improve their relations based on some common ground under a new American administration.
“We may find a common ground on Afghanistan because Trump is not very happy with the Taliban,” Khan said. “So that could be one area of convergence between the US and Pakistan.”
Dr. Qamar Cheema, executive director of the Islamabad-based Sanober Institute which holds dialogues on geopolitics and governance, said Trump would not be able to normalize ties between India and Pakistan.
Relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, who have fought two wars over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir they administer in parts, have been strained since 2019. 
Islamabad has asked New Delhi to reverse its controversial 2019 decision to strip Indian-administered Kashmir of its autonomy for it to normalize relations with its neighbor. India refuses to do so.


“US President Donald Trump will not be able to play a role in normalizing Pakistan-India relations,” Cheema told Arab News.
“The reason for this is that in the past, he tried to normalize Pakistan-India relations, but India rejected it and said it is a bilateral issue and that it will not normalize relations with Pakistan.”
Former prime minister Imran Khan’s PTI party, which has blamed Joe Biden’s administration for orchestrating his removal from office in 2022 via a “foreign conspiracy,” has expressed hope Trump would pressurize Pakistani authorities to order his release from prison.
Imran Khan has been in jail since August 2023 after he was convicted on charges ranging from corruption to violating Pakistan’s marriage laws, which he says are politically motivated. 
As prime minister, Imran Khan met Trump in 2019 for the first time during which the two leaders praised each other. 
Cheema, however, thought Trump will not call for Khan’s release from prison. 
“I don’t think Trump will be able to do anything for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf but since former prime minister Imran Khan met Trump in the past, maybe he thinks that some role could be played,” he said. 
Khan agreed, saying that Washington did not enjoy the same “leverage” it did with Pakistan years ago. 
“I don’t think America enjoys that kind of leverage any longer,” he said. “It enjoys that when it’s giving generous aid to Pakistan.”

Topics: US presidential election 2024 Donald Trumnp Pakistan US Ties Imran Khan and Donald Trump

Saudi crown prince meets with Pakistani army chief in Riyadh

Saudi crown prince meets with Pakistani army chief in Riyadh
Updated 06 November 2024
Arab News
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Saudi crown prince meets with Pakistani army chief in Riyadh

Saudi crown prince meets with Pakistani army chief in Riyadh
  • Both reviewed Saudi-Pakistani relations and opportunities to develop them 
  • Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, other officials attended meeting
Updated 06 November 2024
Arab News

RIYADH: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received Pakistani Army Chief General Asim Munir in Riyadh on Wednesday, Saudi Press Agency reported.
During the reception, Saudi-Pakistani relations and opportunities to develop them were reviewed. A number of issues of common interest were also discussed.
The meeting was attended by Saudi Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman and other officials.

In this handout photograph, released by the Saudi Press Agency on November 6, 2024, Pakistan Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir meets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh. (SPA)

 

Pakistan PM visits China embassy after guard shoots Chinese nationals at Karachi factory

Pakistan PM visits China embassy after guard shoots Chinese nationals at Karachi factory
Updated 06 November 2024
Shahjahan Khurram 
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Pakistan PM visits China embassy after guard shoots Chinese nationals at Karachi factory

Pakistan PM visits China embassy after guard shoots Chinese nationals at Karachi factory
  • Pakistani security guard shot two Chinese nationals at Karachi textile mill on Tuesday 
  • Shehbaz Sharif vows culprit will be punished, says security of Chinese nationals top priority
Updated 06 November 2024
Shahjahan Khurram 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited the Chinese embassy in Islamabad on Wednesday to condemn an attack on Chinese nationals in Karachi a day earlier, vowing to bring the perpetrator of the crime to book.
Pakistan police have filed terrorism charges against a security guard for firing at four Chinese nationals on Tuesday morning at a textile mill in Karachi. The Chinese nationals were at the mill to install new machinery when the guard opened fire at them “for unknown reasons” before fleeing, police said.
Two Chinese nationals were injured in the attack. Sharif visited the Chinese embassy in Islamabad on Wednesday where he met the country’s envoy Jiang Zaidong to condemn the incident.
“I have come here to meet you to condemn this attack on Chinese nationals and to inquire after the injured,” Sharif told Zaidong according to a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif meets Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong at the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad on November 6, 2024. (Photo courtesy: PMO)

The prime minister assured the Chinese ambassador that the culprit would be arrested soon and handed an exemplary punishment.
“I am personally monitoring the process of arresting the people involved in the incident and bringing them to justice,” Sharif said.
The Pakistani premier said he had issued instructions for the injured Chinese nationals to be provided the best possible medical care, describing China as a longstanding friend of Pakistan.
“The attack on Chinese citizens is a blatant attempt to damage the brotherly relations between Pakistan and China,” Sharif said.
He said that the security of Chinese nationals in Pakistan is the government’s top priority. The Chinese ambassador thanked Sharif for his visit and hoped the premier would play his role in ensuring the culprit is punished, the PMO said.
Sharif was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and his aide Tariq Fatemi.
ATTACKS ON CHINESE NATIONALS
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in attacks on Chinese nationals in recent months by separatist outfits based in its southwestern Balochistan province. 
China, breaking with tradition, recently spoke out publicly against security threats to its workers and nationals in Pakistan, where hundreds work on Beijing-funded projects linked to the over $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Last month, two Chinese nationals were killed in a suicide bombing near the international airport in Karachi. In March this year, a suicide bombing killed five Chinese engineers and a Pakistani driver in northwestern Pakistan as they headed to the Dasu Dam, the largest hydropower project in the country.
In 2022, three Chinese educators and their Pakistani driver were killed when an explosion tore through a van at the University of Karachi. A bus blast in northern Pakistan in 2021 killed 13 people, including nine Chinese nationals.
Pakistan announced in a joint statement with China last month it had agreed to increase security for Chinese citizens and projects in the South Asian nation, as Beijing called for urgent security measures following a surge in militant threats.

Topics: Pakistan China Ties Chinese nationals Chinese nationals in Pakistan China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)

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Pakistan to unveil new electric vehicle policy by November end — minister

Pakistan to unveil new electric vehicle policy by November end — minister
Updated 06 November 2024
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Pakistan to unveil new electric vehicle policy by November end — minister

Pakistan to unveil new electric vehicle policy by November end — minister
  • Islamabad has increasingly eyed promoting electric vehicles to cut pollution, high energy bill 
  • Government to set up 10,000 electric vehicle charging stations by 2030, says industries minister
Updated 06 November 2024
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will announce its new electric vehicles policy by the end of November, Industries and Production Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain said on Wednesday, as Islamabad eyes eco-friendly transportation to cut down on costly fuel imports and pollution. 
Pakistan’s urban areas exhibit some of the world’s highest levels of air pollution, primarily due to sub-2.5 μm particulate emissions. This issue significantly impairs both the country’s economy as it imports most of its energy needs, and the quality of life of its residents. Road transport is a significant contributor to air pollution as around 23 percent of Pakistan’s greenhouse gas emissions originate from vehicles.
Pakistan approved an ambitious National Electric Vehicles Policy (NEVP) in 2019 with the goal that electric vehicles would comprise 30 percent of all passenger vehicles and heavy-duty truck sales by 2030. It has set an even more ambitious target of electric vehicles comprising 90 percent of all vehicle sales by 2040.
“He [Hussain] said the government would launch the second electric vehicle policy by November 30 to promote eco-friendly transportation,” the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said. 
The minister was speaking to reporters in Islamabad while attending an exhibition of electric bike models. He highlighted that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had allocated around $14.29 million (Rs4 billion) to support his vision of introducing electric vehicles in the country to reduce fuel dependency and decrease carbon emissions.
Hussain said electric three-wheelers manufactured in Pakistan were also being exported to other countries, adding that the government was willing to provide subsidies on electric two-wheelers. The minister also announced the government’s initiative to distribute 100 e-bikes free of cost among high-achieving students.
Hussain said the government planned to transform the transportation landscape by setting up 10,000 electric vehicle charging stations by 2030.
“This shift toward eco-friendly transportation is expected to have a positive impact on Pakistan’s environment and economy,” he said. “With the government’s support and private sector investment, the country is poised for a greener future.”
In August, Warren Buffett-backed Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD announced its entry into the country, saying that up to 50 percent of all vehicles bought in Pakistan by 2030 will be electrified in some form in line with global targets. 
Investment company ADM Group also announced in August it would invest up to $250 million for the manufacturing of electric vehicles in Pakistan in a move that will boost technological advancements in the country’s automobile industry and curtail pollution.

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