Pakistan to recognise Taliban regime after regional consensus – Newstrends
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Pakistan to recognise Taliban regime after regional consensus

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3 years ago

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FILE - Taliban Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani (C) and Deputy Prime Minister of the Taliban Abdul Salam Hanafi (L) attend a graduation ceremony for new Afghan police recruits at the police academy in Kabul on March 5, 2022. (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP) (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Pakistan will recognise the Taliban regime in Kabul when there’s a consensus, particularly of regional countries, on the issue, says Islamabad’s UN envoy Munir Akram.

The question of recognition resurfaced on Thursday when the UN Security Council voted to establish formal ties with the Taliban-run Afghanistan without extending diplomatic recognition to the regime. Fourteen of the council’s 15 members voted for the resolution while Russia abstained.

Russian Ambassador Vassily A. Nebenzia said he was compelled to abstain because attempts to secure consent from the host country for a UN presence were ignored. Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun said that since August 2021, when the Taliban captured Kabul, Afghanistan had entered a new phase and more flexibility was needed to deal with the situation.

Although Pakistan was the first nation to call for more flexibility in dealing with Kabul’s new rulers, Islamabad too has not recognised the Taliban regime.

Ambassador Akram says UN resolution has one shortcoming: there’s no reference to the de facto government in Afghanistan

Asked if the UN vote would influence Pakistan’s position on this issue, Ambassador Akram said: “We will do it (recognition) when there’s a consensus, especially among regional countries.”

Six of Afghanistan’s immediate neighbours are meeting in China next month and this would be one of the top issues on their agenda. China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan will attend the meeting. A Taliban delegation will also participate.

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Russia, although not an immediate neighbour, was invited to the previous meeting and may attend this meeting as well. India, however, has not been invited.

Ambassador Akram said the UN resolution, adopted on Thursday, had one shortcoming: “There’s no reference to the de facto government in Afghanistan,” although it does mention the need to work with relevant authorities.

Apparently, France and India opposed any reference to the de facto authorities and managed to keep it out of the mandate.

The UN mission in Afghanistan, Ambassador Akram said, “should be acting with the consent and cooperation of the local authorities and its absence, in our view, is a shortcoming of the mandate”.

The Pakistani envoy, however, acknowledged that the resolution has reaffirmed donors’ commitment to Afghanistan and underlined the need for providing unconditional humanitarian assistance to the country.

Since August 2021, the UN Secretary General has launched a $4.4 billion appeal for helping Afghanistan while a separate appeal for $3.4bn was also launched to meet the country’s basic needs. The second fund covers reconstruction, education, health, and Afghan businesses. But this additional fund is conditional on the Afghans responding to the wishes of the international community.

Ambassador Akram pointed out that the UN resolution also emphasises the need to unfreeze Afghanistan’s assets held in the United States.

Apparently, China’s UN mission negotiated the issue with American officials and persuaded them to unfreeze the entire $7bn, instead of the half suggested by US President Joe Biden in February this year.

The Pakistani envoy noted that the resolution gave an extensive mandate to the UN mission in Afghanistan — from human rights and humanitarian assistance to promoting political inclusivity.

“It remains to be seen whether the mission will be able to implement this extensive mandate,” he said.

DAWN

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Visa: UK raises salary entry requirement for skilled workers

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January 3, 2025

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Visa: UK raises salary entry requirement for skilled workers

The UK government has announced an update to its immigration rules, notably increasing salary thresholds for Skilled Worker visas.

This change is targeted at ensuring that only highly skilled and well-compensated workers are able to access the UK job market, with some salary requirements rising by as much as 82%.

Effective from January 1, 2025, the minimum salary for most applicants will rise from £26,200 to £38,700.

This adjustment is projected to impact a wide range of industries, including technology, healthcare, and engineering, making it more challenging for workers to obtain a Skilled Worker visa without a higher-paying job offer.

For applicants with a relevant PhD, the salary threshold will also increase from £23,800 to £34,830, while those holding a relevant STEM PhD will need to meet a higher threshold of £30,960, up from £20,960.

Jobs on the shortage occupation list and new entrants to the workforce will also see their salary requirement increase to £30,960.

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“This increase signifies the government’s plan to ensure that only the most qualified individuals can access the Skilled Worker visa programme,” said a government spokesperson.

The raised thresholds are based on median salary figures, which will further narrow the pool of eligible applicants to the highest earners in their fields.

According to DAAD Scholarship, these changes present both challenges and opportunities for job seekers aiming to work in the UK.

“Workers in fields such as software development, engineering, and healthcare will now need to secure job offers that meet the new salary thresholds,” the scholarship noted.

Furthermore, the 20% discount for shortage occupation roles will be removed under the new system.

However, workers with relevant PhDs, especially in STEM fields, will still be eligible for some discounts.

New entrants to the workforce, including recent graduates, will continue to benefit from discounts, making it slightly easier for them to meet the new salary requirements.

For employers in the UK, these increased salary requirements will lead to higher costs when sponsoring foreign workers.

Companies will need to adjust their budgets to accommodate these changes, but the result may be a more qualified workforce entering the UK.

 

Visa: UK raises salary entry requirement for skilled workers

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International

Two dead after small plane crashes into California building

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17 hours ago

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January 3, 2025

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Two dead after small plane crashes into California building

Two people have died and 18 others were injured after a small plane crashed into a commercial building in southern California, officials say.

Ten people were taken to hospital with injuries, the Fullerton Police Department said in a post on X on Thursday afternoon. Eight others were treated for injuries and released at the scene.

The single-engine Van’s RV-10 crashed at 14:15PST (20:15GMT), according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Officials have provided no further details about how the crash occurred. It is unclear whether the two people who died were workers or were on board the plane.

Police say they are evacuating buildings in the area, and are asking the public to stay away from the crash site.

Congressman Lou Correa, who represents the area of Orange County, about 25 miles (40km) south of Los Angeles, said that the building that was struck is a furniture manufacturing business.

In a post on X, Correa said that at least a dozen of the victims are factory workers.

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Aerial photos of the scene show parts of the plane inside the building. The crash also sparked a fire which was extinguished by fire crews.

Security footage recorded from a building across the street shows a fiery explosion, according to local news outlets.

“People are just shaken over the situation,” witness Mark Anderson told KRCA-TV.

“It was just a large boom, and then one of the people went out and said, ‘Oh my gosh, the building’s on fire.'”

The area where the plane crashed is near the Fullerton Municipal Airport, about 6 miles (10 kilometers) from Disneyland.

The plane appears to have been turning back to the airport shortly after takeoff, according to KRCA-TV.

Around 100 people were ultimately evacuated from the Michael Nicholas Designs furniture factory, according to the Orange County Register newspaper.

Juanita Ramirez, an employee, told the newspaper that she heard a loud bang before seeing a large ball of fire flying towards her.

“It felt like a dream,” she said.

This is the second plane to crash in the area in the past two months, according to CBS, the BBC’s US partner.

On 25 November, another plane crashed into a tree roughly one block away from this most recent crash. No major injures were reported in that crash.

Two dead after small plane crashes into California building

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Vegas Tesla blast suspect shot himself in head – Officials

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17 hours ago

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January 3, 2025

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Vegas Tesla blast suspect shot himself in head – Officials

The decorated US special forces soldier who blew up a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas apparently shot himself in the head before the blast, authorities said Thursday, adding that his motivation was still “unknown.”

Matthew Livelsberger, 37, a member of the elite Green Berets, appears to have committed suicide in the rented vehicle filled with fuel containers and fireworks, which then erupted into flames, officials said.

Livelsberger’s body was burned beyond recognition but Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill said the authorities had “a lot of confidence” that he was the sole occupant of the Cybertruck.

Livelsberger, identified through his military ID, passport and credit cards, had a gunshot wound to the head and a gun was found at his feet, McMahill told reporters at a press conference in Las Vegas.

“The motivation at this point is unknown,” FBI Special Agent Spencer Evans said.

Evans said there is “no information that we’re aware of right now that connects this individual to any terrorist organization around the world.”

Kenny Cooper, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said Livelsberger had legally purchased two semi-automatic handguns on Monday which were found in the remains of the vehicle.

Video footage outside the Trump hotel shows the stainless steel truck parked at the building’s glass entrance early Wednesday, then bursting into flames, followed by smaller explosions that appeared similar to fireworks.

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Seven people were wounded in the blast.

The Trump-branded building, which opened in 2008, is part-owned by the Republican president-elect’s family business.

Evans said the link to the president-elect was “not lost” on investigators, nor was the fact that Tesla is owned by world’s richest man — and prominent Trump backer — Elon Musk.

“But we don’t have information at this point that definitively tells us” it was driven by any particular ideology, he said.

Livelsberger rented the vehicle in Colorado on December 28, from where authorities tracked him driving it alone through Arizona and New Mexico to Las Vegas, which he reached on January 1, Kevin McMahill said.

McMahill said Livelsberger was a Green Beret who had been deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 and was currently stationed in Germany.

An army spokesperson said Livelsberger was “on approved leave at the time of his death,” and that he had been awarded multiple Bronze Star Medals, including one for valor.

Investigators said it was not yet clear how the blast detonated, but the components were mainly consumer products like fireworks and fuel.

They said some of the components had not exploded, and that the level of sophistication in the blast was not what they would expect from someone with Livelsberger’s military background.

“I just don’t think it was done as well as he was expecting it to be done,” McMahill said.

The blast came just hours after a pickup truck plowed into a crowd of revelers in the French Quarter of New Orleans, killing at least 14 people and injuring dozens.

Initially investigators were probing potential links between the events, but authorities in New Orleans said Thursday they believe the Islamic State-inspired attacker there acted alone, while the FBI described the Vegas incident as “isolated.”

 

Vegas Tesla blast suspect shot himself in head – Officials

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