Balochistan separatist leader hails US' decision to cancel aid for Pak

Agencies

September 5, 2018

London, Sept 5: The head of Free Balochistan Movement (FBM) Hyrbyair Marri welcomed the United States administration's decision to cancel USD 300 million dollars of Coalition Support Fund (CSF) to Pakistan.

In a statement, Marri said, "We welcome the (Donald) Trump administration's decision to cancel the CSF to Pakistan. Millions of dollars would have been used by Pakistan Army to maintain its army and garrisons in Balochistan and to support Chinese plan to occupy Balochistan's strategic seaports."

He claimed that Pakistan's foreign policy was based on terrorism and deception, adding, "Pakistan started its terrorism by occupying and 'illegally annexing' Balochistan and then they extended their terrorist activities to India and Afghanistan."

The Baloch leader alleged that the new Pakistan government's offer of peace was nothing but deception and deceit "as it is an open secret and well-documented fact" that the country's civil government, judiciary, and media are controlled by the Pakistan Army.

Marri asserted that Pakistan took billions of dollars from the US government in the name of fighting against terrorism but in return sheltered terrorists like Osama Bin Laden and Mullah Omar, who supported, financed and trained the Taliban to kill soldiers of 30 countries in Afghanistan.

"Pakistan is also protecting and sheltering United Nations and US-designated terrorists like Masood Azhar, Hafiz Saeed and Syed Salahudeen who have been involved in religious terrorism in India," he added.

Marri went on to say that India should not shy away from the fact that Pakistan will hold on their determination to make Kashmir part of Pakistan.

"Neither Pakistan will stop interfering in Kashmir nor will they leave Balochistan. India has to have a concrete policy to deal with the existing realities," he stated.

Earlier in the month, it was reported that the United States military cancelled the financial aid worth USD 300 million to Pakistan due to the growing concerns regarding Islamabad's failure to tackle terrorism.

However, the Pentagon clarified that the decision to suspend the aid was made in January itself.

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Spain blocks arms ship from India to Israel amid ongoing Gaza genocide

News Network

May 18,2024

In a humanitarian move, Spain has refused entry to a ship carrying arms from India’s Chennai to Israel to dock at one of its ports, its Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares has said.

The Denmark-flagged cargo ship Marianne Danica sailed from Chennai on April 8 when people in Gaza were observing Ramadan fasting, and was headed to the port of Haifa in Israel, according to maritime tracking portals and Spanish media.

Spain has been extremely critical of the rising civilian casualties due to the Israeli offensive in Gaza and, along with Belgium, has suspended arms exports licenses to Tel Aviv.

Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Randhir Jaiswal, at the weekly press conference, only said that they have seen the report of the ship and will revert with more information.

Meanwhile, a source said, “Investigation will reveal if the items on board were cleared for export and if the end user is the same as reported by The Guardian because there are items that are not banned for exports.”

Speaking to reporters in Brussels on Thursday on the issue, Mr. Albares had said, “This is the first time we have done this because it is the first time we have detected a ship carrying a shipment of arms to Israel that wants to call at a Spanish port.”

“This will be a consistent policy with any ship carrying arms to Israel that wants to call at Spanish ports. The Foreign Ministry will systematically reject such stopovers for one obvious reason: the Middle East does not need more weapons, it needs more peace,” he stated.

The ship was carrying 27 tonnes of explosives according to local reports. It was to make a port call at Cartegena in Spain.
In February, Mr. Albares said that they had suspended arms export licences to Israel since October 7, which he said made them “realise” the importance of a “fair and lasting solution” to the Palestinian cause.

The incident comes amid an ongoing row between Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s party and his coalition partners over another ship, Borkum, that was due to dock at Cartegena port on Friday over allegations that it was carrying arms meant for Israel. However, the Spanish government has said that the arms it is ferrying are meant for the Czech Republic.

Belgium had suspended two arms export licences to Israel.

“We welcome the decision of the Spanish government to deny the transit authorisation of the vessel Marianne Danica, in accordance with Tratado (treaty) on Arms Trade and Spanish law,” Amnesty International Spain said on social media platform ‘X’.

The timing also coincides with the Israeli ground offensive inside Rafah. According to the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) at least 6,30,000 Palestinians have been forced out of Rafah since the launch of the incursion on May 7.

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