In Pakistan, voices critical of CPEC being suppressed, US lawmakers told

Agencies
May 14, 2019

Washington, May 14: People and the media in Pakistan are scared of speaking against the multi-billion-dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as critical voices are being suppressed, treated as anti-national or branded as terrorists, a former Obama Administration official has told US lawmakers.

"Rarely will you read an article that's critical about CPEC in the Pakistani media. Very rarely. There's been a media capture essentially and there's only the CPEC narrative because people are scared or they've been intimidated or threatened not to do certain pieces," Shamila Chaudhary from the Johns Hopkins University School for Advanced International Studies said.

Testifying before a Congressional committee last week, Chaudhary, who served in the previous Obama Administration, told the lawmakers that at the very local level, people who critique CPEC are often labelled as terrorists.

"There are anti-terrorism laws that can be used against them. Worse things could possibly happen. So it's a very real threat and it has already done a lot of damage to the civil society and the democratic culture that's fairly vibrant, despite their country's history with democracy," she said.

Responding to questions from the lawmakers, Chaudhary said unlike America's soft power, the Chinese model of development does not increase people to people relationship.

"The Chinese don't have that and the Chinese nationals that are going to, say, Pakistan, for example, they're not there to become part of the culture or learn about the communities or have cross-cultural dialogue," she said.

Chinese are in Pakistan to make money, she alleged. "They live in enclaves and essentially what people call Chinese colonies and go to their own restaurants. And that's not something that's going to favour China, Pakistan or China's cooperation with any country for that matter over the long run. Local communities will be very upset by those things, I believe," Chaudhary said.

Informing the lawmakers that the Chinese financial assistance to Pakistan is being kept secret, she said the information now has been shared by Pakistan with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) so that it can be bailed out of the current financial crisis.

"The deal (with IMF) is almost complete and it's my understanding that that information has actually been shared, and so, you know, what Pakistan won't share publicly as part of a bilateral deal with the Chinese, I think it's more willing to share when it needs it," Chaudhary said.

CPEC, she said, hurts US regional interests by disrupting the fragile India-Pakistan ties, a nuclear-fuelled dynamic that demands US stewardship from time to time during times of crisis.

"China's provision of surveillance, data collection capabilities and new hardware to the Pakistani military may seem like it improves security, but such tools also increase the likelihood of invasive data collection, misuse of information and violations of privacy," she said.

"The notion that the Pakistani military might start to mimic Chinese authoritarianism is no longer theoretical. Pakistani civil society and media report more aggressive tactics by the military to silence critical voices. They share a common refrain, that the military is more powerful than ever and that's because of China," Chaudhary said.

She told the lawmakers that in Pakistan, Chinese influence stands alone, changing the rules of the game for everyone else.

For example, Pakistan no longer publicly discloses the terms of its loans from China. Indeed, CPEC pretends immense geo-economic and geopolitical advantages for China in Pakistan, but its repercussions will dwarf any comparable American influence, she said.

To protect US geopolitical options in the future, the US should support the Pakistani and regional actors most threatened by Chinese influence. Ultimately, countering China's rise will require the US to create policies that both address and benefit from the needs of other countries, Chaudhary said.

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News Network
November 11,2024

hospital.jpg

Mangaluru: In a deeply tragic turn of events, a 28-year-old woman named Ranjitha, who had recently given birth but tragically lost her newborn, ended her life by suicide on Monday. She reportedly leapt from the fourth-floor window of Lady Goschen Hospital’s luggage room.

Ranjitha, whose strength and resilience had carried her through a difficult pregnancy, was scheduled for discharge on Monday. Her journey to Lady Goschen Hospital began on October 24, when she was transferred from Karkala. She was a high-risk patient, battling both hypertension and diabetes. At the time of her admission, she was just 27 weeks pregnant.

Due to the complexities of her health, doctors made the difficult decision to perform an emergency C-section on October 30. She delivered a baby girl, premature and weighing only 960 grams. The newborn was immediately moved to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, where doctors did all they could. Despite these efforts, the baby passed away on November 3.

Ranjitha’s sorrow was profound. She stayed under hospital care even after her initial recovery and was preparing to go home on November 9. She had even requested a couple more days at the hospital, seeking time perhaps to cope with her unimaginable grief.

On the day of her discharge, a discharge card ready and her family eagerly waiting to take her home, Ranjitha reportedly made her way to the luggage room in the early hours. There, standing on a cot placed for patients' family members, she climbed to a window and fell from the fourth floor. Despite the attempts of another visitor to intervene, tragedy was inevitable. She was rushed to Government Wenlock Hospital, where doctors confirmed the worst—she was no more.

Dr. Durgaparasad M R, the Medical Superintendent at Lady Goschen Hospital, shared his grief and spoke of the ongoing investigation. A post-mortem is to be conducted, and the local Tahsildar will complete the necessary inquest procedures. Ranjitha’s exact reasons for taking this step are yet to be confirmed, though the weight of her recent losses paints a sorrowful picture.

If you or anyone you know is struggling emotionally, please remember that help is available. Reach out to mental health experts who can provide support and guidance. The toll-free helpline number 9152987821 is available to assist anyone in distress.

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News Network
November 11,2024

Mangaluru: Six youths including teenagers have been arrested by the Bantwal Rural Police in connection with a brutal assault on 21-year-old Aboobakar (name changed to hide identity), an incident that was widely shared on social media after footage revealed the victim tied to a pole and violently beaten.

The arrested individuals, all from Kanchinadkapadavu, Sajipanadu village in Ullal Taluk, have been identified as Mohammad Sapwan (25), Mohammad Rizwan (25), Irfan (27), Anis Ahmad (19), Nasir (27), and Shakeer (18). According to police reports, the assault took place on November 7 in Kanchinadkapadavu.

The sequence of events began when Aboobakar was reportedly called to a residence in Kanchinadkapadavu by a female relative. Upon his arrival, he was confronted by the accused, who questioned his presence, tied him to a pole with ropes, and attacked him while he was shirtless. 

Aboobakar managed to file a police complaint the following day, detailing the assault. As his injuries worsened, he was admitted to a private hospital in Mangaluru.

While in the hospital, Aboobakar alleged that his attackers intended to kill him during the assault. This statement led to additional charges of attempted murder being filed. 

Police officials stated that the suspects were subsequently apprehended, charged with group assault and attempted murder, and placed in judicial custody. The investigation is ongoing, and further details are awaited.

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News Network
November 18,2024

Advisors to US President-elect Donald Trump have instructed his allies and associates to refrain from using the inflammatory language they previously employed when discussing issues related to migrants and the deportation of asylum seekers, in a bid to avoid “looking like Nazis.”

US media reports said that Trump’s associates had been asked to stop using the word “camps” to describe potential facilities that would be used to accommodate migrants rounded up in deportation operations across the country.

The reports said the US president-elect’s allies had been ordered to stave off such charged terms as they would bring to mind “Nazis,” and be used against Trump.

“I have received some guidance to avoid terms, like ‘camps,’ that can be twisted and used against the president, yes,” one Trump ally told American monthly magazine Rolling Stone.

“Apparently, some people think it makes us look like Nazis.”

The presidential advisers also cautioned surrogates and allies to keep racist terms, which have dogged Trump’s campaign, out of their remarks.

They said with Trump’s heated rhetoric that used to compare undocumented immigrants to “animals” and his slight that they are “poisoning the blood of our country,” detractors did not need to reach too far to find parallels to Nazi Germany.

Stephen Miller, who Trump tapped to be his deputy chief of staff of policy, specifically used the word “camps” to describe holding facilities that he hoped the military could put together for immigrants.

Tom Homan, who served as the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is chosen by Trump to be in charge of the US borders, was no stranger to such language.

“It’s not gonna be a mass sweep of neighborhoods,” he said in an interview earlier this week. “It’s not gonna be building concentration camps. I’ve read it all. It’s ridiculous.”

Becoming a little more forthright about the new government’s aggressive deportation plans, Homan likened the early days of the Trump administration to the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003.

“I got three words for them – shock and awe,” he said. “You’re going to see us take this country back.”

Trump made immigration a central element of his 2024 presidential campaign but unlike his first run, which was mainly focused on building a border wall, he has shifted his attention to interior enforcement and the removal of undocumented immigrants already in the United States.

People close to the US president and his aides are laying the groundwork for expanding detention facilities to fulfill his mass deportation campaign promise.

The businessman-turned-politician deported more than 1.5 million people during his first term.

The figure do not include the millions of people turned away at the border under a Covid-era policy enacted by Trump and used during most of Biden’s term.

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