The Press Roundup

 

January 9, 2024 (Tuesday)

Curated Summary

Which countries back S. Africa's genocide case against Israel at ICJ? (Aljazeera)

• South Africa has filed a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing Israel of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention and seeking a halt to the military assault in Gaza.
• Several countries have welcomed South Africa's ICJ case against Israel, including the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC), Malaysia, Turkey, Jordan, and Bolivia.
• Advocacy groups and civil society groups worldwide have also joined South Africa's call for action.
• The United States has voiced opposition to the genocide case, while Israel's Western allies, including the European Union, have mostly remained silent.
• The United Kingdom has refused to support the case and has been accused of double standards for submitting legal documents to the ICJ supporting claims of genocide against the Rohingya community in Myanmar.

A futuristic industrial policy (Tribune)

• The Industrial Advisory Council, constituted by the federal government, is formulating the National Industrial Policy with a vision of export-led industrial development to increase Pakistan's exports to 100 billion within five years.
• Pakistan's current industrial structure has made its economy an outlier in a high-growth geographical region, with two fast-growing economies, China and India, at its borders. The country's economic underperformance is due to endogenous economic management gaps rather than any geographical disadvantage.[1]
• The goal is to transition from a factor-driven inward-looking industrial structure to an efficiency-driven export-led economy in the medium term and an innovation-driven economy in the long term.[2]
• Multi-National Enterprises (MNEs) operating in Pakistan are predominantly focused on producing for the local market and remain a net consumer of foreign exchange for imported inputs. They also add to the burden on foreign exchange through the repatriation of profits abroad.[3]
• A viable industry is one that is globally competitive and able to export. An export-oriented intermediate industry is healthier for the economy than a domestically-focused value-added sector that continues to drain foreign exchange on imported inputs.

Pakistan rejects designation as "a Country of Particular Concern" by the U.S. state department (MOFA)

• Pakistan rejects its designation as a "Country of Particular Concern" by the U.S. State Department, considering it biased and detached from ground realities.
• Pakistan emphasizes its pluralistic nature and tradition of interfaith harmony, along with measures taken to promote religious freedom and protect minority rights in line with its Constitution.
• Pakistan expresses concern over India's exclusion from the U.S. State Department's designation list, despite recommendations by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and concerns raised by international human rights constituencies about India's treatment of religious minorities.
• Pakistan questions the credibility, transparency, and objectivity of the designation process, considering it discriminatory, unilateral, and subjective.
• Pakistan believes that religious intolerance, xenophobia, and Islamophobia can be best addressed through constructive engagement and collective efforts based on mutual understanding and respect.
• Pakistan has conveyed its concerns about the designation to the U.S. side through bilateral engagement. 

Blinken meets the Israel war leadership as U.S. concerns grow (The Times of Israel)

• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with senior Israeli leaders, including President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to discuss the fighting in the Gaza Strip and Israel's northern border.
• Blinken emphasized Washington's efforts to bring the hostages taken by Hamas back home and shared information from regional allies with Herzog and Netanyahu.
• President Herzog highlighted Israel's efforts to minimize unintended consequences and civilian casualties during the conflict.
• Families of Gaza hostages rallied outside the meeting, urging the US administration to do more to secure the release of the abductees.
• Blinken provided a briefing to Herzog on his recent conversations with Turkish and Arab leaders.

India and Maldives at odds over pristine beaches (VoA)

• A spat has erupted between India and Maldives due to derogatory comments made by Maldivian ministers about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leading to calls for a boycott of Maldives as a holiday destination.
• Maldives is seen moving closer to China under President Mohamed Muizzu, who took office in November.
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited India's Lakshadweep islands and praised the pristine beaches, which he posted on social media. Some in Maldives saw this as an attempt to draw Indian tourists away from Maldives to the lesser-known domestic beaches of Lakshadweep.
• The derogatory comments made by the Maldivian ministers were subsequently deleted, the officials were suspended, and the Maldivian government distanced itself from the comments.

Pakistan finds a new scapegoat (Foreign Affairs)

• The Pakistani government has announced that all "illegal foreigners," referring to Afghan refugees, must leave the country or face arrest and expulsion.
• While some Afghan refugees have renewable permits or Afghan Citizen Cards, an estimated 1.7 million Afghans lack the necessary documentation for temporary residence.
• Pakistani authorities have initiated a countrywide crackdown, harassing and abusing Afghans, even those with legal documents. Property has been seized and destroyed, forcing thousands of Afghan refugees to go underground.
• The crackdown is not primarily about illegal migration or hosting refugees but reflects a growing dispute between Islamabad and the regime in Kabul. Pakistan has experienced a surge of attacks by the Tehrik-e-Taliban (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban.
• The terrorism threat Pakistan faces is a result of its own support for the Afghan Taliban, and the crackdown on Afghan refugees is an attempt to deflect attention from its failures.
• The deportation of hundreds of thousands of refugees will exacerbate an already dire humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.
• The confrontation between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the resulting deportations, may further alienate the Afghan Taliban and incentivize them to support the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Pakistan - China stealth fighter deal puts India under pressure to modernize air force (South China Morning Post)

• Pakistan's bid to acquire Chinese stealth warplanes may prompt India to expedite the modernization of its air force by acquiring American F-35 aircraft to maintain tactical air superiority along its borders.
• Pakistan's planned acquisition of the FC-31 Gyrfalcon stealth fighter from China reflects increasing military cooperation between the two countries against their common adversary, India.
• The acquisition of the FC-31 Gyrfalcon by Pakistan would give it a tactical advantage in air-to-air combat, as it does not have an equivalent in the Indian Air Force.
• India needs to overcome challenges in its defense acquisition process and address the declining squadron strength of its air force to keep pace with its neighbors.
• The FC-31 Gyrfalcon is still in the developmental stage, and its acquisition may benefit China more than Pakistan in the long term.
• The United States is likely to view the J-31 deal as an indicator of the strengthening and long-term nature of the China-Pakistan military relationship.

Pakistan: Terrorism thrives in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (South Asia Terrorism Portal)

• Terrorism-related violence has been increasing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) in recent years.
• In 2023, there were 929 terrorism-related fatalities in KP, the highest since 2013.
• This is a 76.28% increase from the 527 fatalities in 2022.
• The most violent districts in KP in 2023 were North Waziristan, Peshawar, Dera Ismail Khan, and South Waziristan.
• The surge in violence is attributed to three main factors:
• The withdrawal of US and Western forces from Afghanistan in 2021.
• The fall of Kabul to the Taliban in August 2021.
• The collapse of peace talks between the Pakistani government and the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in November 2022.
• The TTP has been regrouping and expanding its operations in KP, and is now considered a major security threat.
• The Pakistani government is concerned about the TTP's access to advanced weapons, which were seized by the Taliban from the US military during the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
• Pakistan has urged the UN to investigate how the TTP is acquiring these weapons.
• The Islamic State Khorasan Province (IS-KP) is also operating in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and has been responsible for a significant number of fatalities.
• The group has been targeting the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) party due to ideological differences and the JUI-F's perceived closeness to the Afghan Taliban.
• There are growing ties between the IS-KP and other militant groups, including the TTP.
• The TTP and other groups are reportedly providing NATO-caliber weapons to the IS-KP.
• The caretaker government of Pakistan has ruled out any talks with the TTP.
• The government has vowed to fight the TTP "even for the next 100 years."
• With the TTP, its affiliated groups, and the IS-KP all growing in strength, the menace of terrorism in KP is unlikely to be controlled in the near future.