Ambassador condemns India’s actions to undermine status of J&K

Paris: Pakistan’s ambassador to France Asim Iftikhar Ahmad has strongly condemned India’s illegal actions of 5 August 2019 and subsequent steps aimed at undermining the internationally recognized disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir.

He was speaking at a webinar with other participants on Youm-e-Istehsal marking 5 years of India’s illegal & unilateral actions of 5 August 2019 in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

He said India was trying to alter the demographic composition of the occupied territory in flagrant violation of UN Security Council resolutions related to J&K and international law including the 4th Geneva Convention.

United Nations’ position on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, as contained in the relevant UNSC resolutions and also pronounced by the UN Secretary-General, remained clear and unchanged, he added.

He said there were no takers of the Indian position. The ambassador said there was ⁠unanimous rejection of all illegal actions of India by the Kashmiris who were more determined than ever in their legitimate quest for self-determination and freedom from Indian occupation.

It was moral obligation and responsibility of the international community to bring an immediate end to Indian oppression, widespread atrocities and grave violations of human rights of the Kashmiri people, he continued.

He said a just and peaceful resolution of the J&K dispute in accordance with the UN resolutions and wishes of the Kashmiri people was imperative for regional peace and stability. UN Security Council must fulfill its primary responsibility and ensure implementation of its own resolutions on Kashmir, he stressed.

He said there was ⁠historical commitment and strong national consensus in Pakistan to continue to extend all possible support to the Kashmiri brothers and sisters till the realization of their legitimate right to self-determination. He called for synergy of efforts at political, diplomatic, legal, human rights and other fronts to effectively promote and project the Kashmir cause including pro-active role and enhanced outreach by the diaspora to the international community.

China builds new platform for Sino-African entrepreneurship

Changsha: For Taiwan-based China Communications Media Group, a crucial step in their venture into Africa starts a little closer to home, in Hunan, a central province on the Chinese mainland.

Aspiring to expand its sales network of electric vehicles into Africa, the company will first set up a subsidiary inside the China-Africa Economic and Trade Headquarters Building in Hunan’s provincial capital Changsha, leveraging the many preferential policies and constellation of Chinese and African companies at the site.

“We’ve long wished to explore the African market, but our journey had been circuitous,” said the company’s chairman Liu Yao-yuan. “Now many like-minded companies gather here. I believe our exchanges and cooperation can lead to common prosperity.”

Opened on June 13, the building is the latest Sino-African landmark in Hunan, one of the most active Chinese provinces in economic ties with Africa and a trailblazer in China-Africa cooperation.

Spanning over 100,000 square meters, the building is designed to host Chinese and African firms engaging in bilateral trade and investment, and provide them with subsidies and a range of services from policy consultation to financial support.

Since its launch, more than 30 companies and associations in the fields of engineering, technology and research, telecommunication and others have settled in the building, whose trade with Africa is projected to reach 30 billion yuan (4.2 billion U.S. dollars) over the next three years.