The Asian Independent - January 2019

www.theasianindependent.co.uk
Pakistan sends
recommendation
s on Kartarpur
Corridor to India
Islamabad : Pakistan has issued
14 key recommendations to India on
the Kartarpur Corridor to facilitate
visa free pilgrimage by Indian Sikhs
to Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara, where
Sikhism's founder Guru Nanak Dev
spent the last 18 years of his life.
According to a report in the Express
Tribune on Saturday, Pakistan sent
the recommendations in a 59-page
list entailing that Indian pilgrims will
be given free entry and facilitation
centres and security check-posts will
be set up on both sides of the border.
According to the list, the Indian government
shall provide a list of pilgrims
to Pakistan three days in
advance and that it was mandatory
for all visitors to bear a standard
Indian passport.
It said pilgrims shall be allowed in
groups of minimum 15 people and
that Pakistan shall issue a special permit
to Sikh pilgrims. Both the countries
will compile a record of visitors
which will include their names, travel
records and other details.
The recommendations further read
that all visitors shall be required to
obtain a security clearance certificate
from the Indian authorities. It said
that Pakistan shall issue permits to
500 visitors per day and local authorities
shall reserve rights to admission.
Islamabad had earlier this month
rejected New Delhi's request to swap
Kartarpur with another piece of land
in order to make it a part of India.
On November 28, Prime Minister
Imran Khan laid the foundation stone
of the Kartarpur Corridor which connects
Narowal's Gurdwara Darbar
Sahib to Dera Baba Nanak situated in
India's Gurdaspur.
Canberra, The Australian
government on Wednesday
announced the closure of two
onshore immigration detention
facilities, saying its efforts to
stop people seeking asylum by
boat has reduced the number of
people in detention.
In a move that the government
claimed as a win for its
tough border protection policies,
Immigration
Minister David
Coleman said that
Maribyrnong in
Melbourne and
Villawood in Sydney
would be closed.
They mark the 18th
and 19th immigration
detention centres
closed by this government
during its two
terms in power.
There are approximately
1,250 people
currently in Australia’s eight
remaining immigration detention
centres, down from 10,200
in mid-2013, SBS News reported.
“The government has
stopped the boats, got the children
out of detention and closed
the once-full immigration
detention facilities,” Coleman
said in a statement.
Maribyrnong was closed
immediately after the remaining
107 detainees were transferred
while Villawood will be shut
down by the middle on 2019.
Stopping asylum seekers
PUNJAB to fill over 1.2 lakh
vacancies in phased manner
Chandigarh : Despite the Punjab government being under a
debt of over Rs 2 lakh crore, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on
Tuesday ordered filling up of the 1.2
lakh vacant posts in government
departments in a phased manner.
The Chief Minister directed senior
officers to carry out the filling up
process of the vacancies in a phased
but focused manner, addressing the
critical requirements of departments
of health, education and medical education
and research in the first phase.
The directives came during a
meeting held here on Tuesday to
review the progress of the state government's
flagship 'Ghar Ghar
Rozgar' and 'Karobar Mission'
scheme. The Chief Minister has asked Chief Secretary Karan
Avtar Singh to work out the modalities for filling up the government
vacancies. "The Chief Secretary has been directed to hold a
meeting of Administrative Secretaries to work out the requirement
of posts to be filled in the various departments in the Officers'
Committee headed by him," an official spokesperson said.
The Chief Minister stressed on the need for better coordination
and synergy between the Skill Development Mission and the
Department of Employment Generation and Training (DEGT) to
bridge the gap between skill training and job profile.
He called for more special technical training and vocational
guidance programmes to equip the local youth to be gainfully
employed in the domestic industry.
Technical Education and Employment Generation minister
Charanjit Singh Channi apprised the meeting that 30,000 youth
had applied for placements in foreign companies during the
aOverseas Employment Camp' organised by DEGT.
NEWS
Australian government
closes major immigration
DETENTION CENTRES
from coming to Australia by
boat was one of the key pillars
of the Liberal National Party’s
2013 election campaign where
it won power from the
Australian Labour Party (ALP).
“Under the previous Labour
government, 50,000 people
-arrived on 800 boats, 1,200
people tragically drowned at
sea and 8,000 children were put
in detention,” Coleman said.
“At its peak in July 2013,
there were more than 10,000
people held in immigration
detention -facilities in
Australia, including 2,000 children.”
Every single one of those
children who were in detention
in 2013 have now been
removed, he said. The minister
attacked Labour over its border
protection policies, saying the
former government was “forced
to open 17 detention centres to
deal with the catastrophic fail-
January 2019
21
PM: 2019 will START a
new chapter for Britain
New Year is a time to look
ahead and in 2019 the UK will
start a new chapter. The Brexit
deal I have negotiated delivers
on the vote of the British people
and in the next few weeks
MPs will have an important
decision to make. If Parliament
backs a deal, Britain can turn a
corner.
The referendum in 2016 was
divisive but we all want the
best for our country and 2019
can be the year we put our differences
aside and move forward
together, into a strong
new relationship with our
European neighbours and out
into the world as a globally
trading nation. The PM will
also say that while Brexit is
important, there are other significant
issues to focus on,
reflecting on the achievements
of 2018 and looking ahead with
optimism.
She said:
Important though Brexit is,
ures of their policies”.
The current government’s
closures saved the country 500
million Australian dollars
($352.4 million), he added.
However, Refugee Action
Coalition group dismissed the
government’s decision to close
two immigration detention centres
as an “empty gesture”.
The group’s spokesperson
Ian Rintoul called it a
“meaningless
announcement”.
“The fact is that the
government has
increased detention
capacity with new
compounds being
opened at Yongah
Hill, and a high detention
facility opening in
the Melbourne
Immigration Transit
Accommodation, to
replace Maribynong,”
he said.
“There has been no significant
decrease in the numbers of
people detained on the mainland.
In November 2018, there
were 544 people who had been
in detention more than one year
— up from 505 in September
2018.”
“Worse, it is inexcusable that
the numbers of people being
held in detention longer than a
year keeps growing. In
November 2018, 281 people
had been in detention over two
years,” he said.
it is not the only issue that
counts. When each of us looks
back on 2019, it will be the personal
milestones that stand out.
These are the things that matter
most and by agreeing a good
Brexit deal, we can focus our
energy on those things –
strengthening our economy and
opening up new markets for our
China building 'most advanced'
naval warship for Pakistan: Report
Beijing : China has started building for Pakistan, its
"all-weather ally", one of its "most advanced" naval warships
as part of a defence agreement to maintain a "balance
of power" in the Indian Ocean, the media reported
on Wednesday.
The China Daily quoted China State Shipbuilding
Corp (CSSC) -- one of the largest state-owned defence
contractor -- as saying that the construction of the ship
has started in the Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard in
Shanghai and it is a version of China's most advanced
guided missile frigate, without specifying its type.
The warship will be equipped with modern detection
and weapon systems and will be capable of anti-ship,
anti-submarine and air-defence operations, the CSSC
said. According to the Pakistani Navy, the ship's class is
Type 054AP, which means it is based on the Type 054A
of the People's Liberation Army Navy. It previously said
four such ships have been ordered, according to the
report. Once constructed, the warship "will be one of the
largest and technologically advanced platforms of
Pakistan's Navy and strengthen the country's capability
to respond to future challenges, maintain peace and stability
and the balance of power in the Indian Ocean
region", the report said.
It will also support the Pakistani Navy's initiative of
securing sea lanes for international shipping by
patrolling distant waters, the CSSC said.
According to the report, Type 054A was the best
frigate in service with the PLA Navy. It cited military
sources as saying that the ship had a fully loaded displacement
of about 4,000 metric tonnes and was
equipped with advanced radars and missiles.
About 30 Type 054As are in service with the PLA
Navy, observers said.
An insider in China's shipbuilding sector with knowledge
of the Type 054AP programme told the China Daily
that the ship is the largest and most powerful combat vessel
China ever exported.
"Based on pictures circulating on the Internet, the ship
will have vertical launch cells that can fire Chinese HQ-
16 air-defence missiles and other kinds of missiles.
Vertical launch cells will bring flexibility to the user in
terms of weapons portfolio, thus giving it a stronger
fighting capability," he said.
"The Type 054AP is the best frigate Pakistan can
access in the international market," said the report, citing
the insider. "The service of Type 054APs will double the
combat power of the Pakistani Navy's surface fleet," he
added.
businesses to create new jobs
and opportunities across the
UK; building the housing our
country needs so everyone can
have a home of their own and
transforming technical education
so everyone gains the skills
they need to get on. Our long
term plan for the NHS will put
a record investment into our
most precious public service so
it is there for us when we need
it. We will introduce a new
skills based immigration system
to replace freedom of
movement, and by protecting
and enhancing our natural environment,
we will make Britain
a healthier place.
This year the UK has
achieved a lot. The employment
rate is at a record high,
our debt is starting its first sustained
fall in a generation and
the number of people in
absolute poverty is at a record
low. But a New Year means
new potential to do even more,
to ensure that everyone in every
community can feel the benefit.
Together I believe we can start
a new chapter with optimism
and hope. We have all we need
to thrive and if we come together
in 2019 I know we can make
a success of what lies ahead
and build a country that truly
works for every one of us.