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LONDON: Thailand’s government has deported and revoked the visa of a nationalist Baloch activist who had announced holding a conference in Thailand’s capital on Balochistan without allegedly getting permission from the authorities.

Munir Mengal, Baloch Voice Association’s head and Bilal Baloch, a journalist based in Paris, both of whom carry French passports, were deported on Sunday by the Thai authorities for allegedly holding a conference on Balochistan while being on the “tourist visa” and “without having permission from the government about the conference”.

The sources told The News that the conference titled “Balochistan Geo-politics and Baloch Identity” was set to be held at the Asian Institute of Technology Conference Center – AIT and Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand from 28th to 30th November 2016 and several nationalist figures were sent invitations for the conference.

However, on Saturday night, the local police entered the hotel where the conference participants were staying and told the organisers that they were violating the law by holding a conference of a sensitive nature without seeking permission.

At the time of filing of this report, both Munir Mengal and Bilal Baloch were unavailable to comment because they were at the detention centre in Bangkok waiting to be deported to Paris but one of the main guests at the event and renowned activist Baseer Naveed told The News that the local authorities used “heavy-handed tactics to sabotage the conference”.

The invitations sent out to various participants said that the conference would discuss the “Construction of a new deep sea port at Gwadar”, “Pakistan’s relations with China” and “Pak-China Economic Corridor, Gwadar Deep Sea Port, Pasni Naval Base, TAPI and IPI pipelines”.

Many nationalist figures, based in Europe, told The News that they were invited to the conference but they declined the invitation because of the distance factor and the very questions about the nature and aim of the conference. Pictures showed police officers entering a small room and speaking to around five people sitting in the room.

Asian Human Rights Commission’s Baseer Naveed told The News that orders were received on Saturday evening by the authorities informing them that the conference could not be allowed. “We were gathered at a private event of a few individuals when it was disrupted. We told the police and immigration officers that no law was violated but the visas of Munir and Bilal were revoked.”

He said the immigration officers produced deportation orders and told the two activists to pack up and leave, telling the guests that the conference would not go ahead.He claimed that the Baloch activists were issued “conference visas” and not “tourist visas” but a Thai govt source said that the tourists could not be allowed to play with the local laws.Baseer Naveed alleged that the Thai government might have taken action to please “the Chinese and Pakistani governments”.

On Monday after reaching in Paris, Bilal Baloch told this scribe that he had entered Thailand on a journalist visa and Munir had “conference visa” with him. “Its not true that the local immigration laws were broken. We were told by the police that the conference will not be allowed to go ahead because of extreme political pressure.”

ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain Friday said that Pakistan Army under the leadership of General Raheel Sharif in coordination with all state institutions courageously confronted the internal and external challenges faced by the country during the last three years.

The President expressed these views while speaking at a farewell dinner he hosted for Chief of the Army Staff General Raheel Sharif here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.

The dinner was attended among others by services chiefs, federal ministers and parliamentarians.

The President congratulated General Raheel Sharif on the successful completion of his tenure as Chief of the Army Staff with honor and dignity.

He also appreciated Gen. Raheel for his leading role in the fight against terrorism and extremism through an effective strategy under the National Action Plan.

He said that Gen. Raheel Sharif during his term as COAS served the country as a true professional soldier and set an excellent tradition of moving ahead in mutual harmony with all state institutions.

As bravery professionalism and best discipline were the hallmark of Pakistan’s armed forces, General Raheel Sharif further strengthened this identity of the armed forces during his term in service, he added.

The President appreciated the valour with which the internal and external challenges were tackled during the last three years.

He said that unity and harmony among all the state institutions was a must for the betterment of country and masses, adding the welfare of masses should be the focal point in state affairs.

The President wished General Raheel Sharif success in his future endeavors and prayed for his as well as his family’s health, happiness and prosperity.

Earlier, the President and the Chief of Army Staff had a farewell meeting during which General Raheel Sharif thanked the President for his guidance and cooperation during his tenure as COAS.

ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has stated that China would stand by Pakistan if India imposed war on the latter.

In an exclusive interview with Saleem Safi in Geo News programme, ‘Jirga’, Khawaja Asif said, “China is supporting Pakistan in its all affairs related to country’s defence.”

Eleven civilians were martyred when Indian forces targeted an ambulance and a passenger bus near the Dhudnial town in Neelum Valley along the Line of Control (LoC) on Wednesday. At least seven people have been injured in the attack.

Tensions between the two nuclear-armed nations have been on the rise, ever since the Uri attack took place in Indian occupied Kashmir, which claimed the lives of 17 Indian soldiers.

India, without a proper investigation into the attack, blamed Pakistan for having a hand in the terrorist attack. Pakistan vehemently denied accusations and instead, took the issue of India's human rights violations to the United Nations General Assembly.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nazwaz Sharif on Saturday appointed Lt. Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa as Chief of Army Staff and Lt. Gen. Zubair Hayat as Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee.

Lt. Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa was previously Commander of important Rawalpindi Corps and is presently employed as Inspector General Training and Evaluation, at GHQ, a position General Raheel Sharif held before becoming the army chief.

Normally, commanding a corps carries huge weightage before being considered for promotion to the four-star general.

ISLAMABAD: This was a dull morning of November 27, 2013. Khawaja Asif and Pervez Rashid were asked to rush to the prime minister house. Neither of them knew why they had been summoned.

They exchanged notes to determine the probable reason. The situation that unfolded later proved all their guesses wrong. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met them in the porch. He was visibly composed and relatively quiet. He had made important decisions that nobody from the cabinet knew. A car approached them. The PM and his confidants boarded it and the cavalcade moved towards Punjab House.

Nawaz Sharif was going to share his best-kept secret: the new army chief. However, before doing that, he thought to start from what he had decided about the accompanying colleagues. He turned to Khawaja Asif sitting in the back seat, “Khawaja Sahb: I have appointed you the defense minister.” It was quite surprising for the both cabinet members travelling with him. Khawaja Asif already had the portfolio of the water and power.

How this decision would be interpreted by the stakeholders was the most important question. Incidentally, weeks before, Khawaja Asif had been put off the camera telecasting the coverage of a military parade he had attended along with the PM.

However, before the wisdom behind the PM decision could be ascertained, another announcement came. Senator Pervez Rashid was the person being addressed this time. “Pervez Sahb, I have given you the additional portfolio of the Law Ministry,” the PM said.

Neither Khawaja Asif nor Pervez Rashid had any previous experience of the newly assigned ministries. The defense assignment was critical due to the political reasons. The portfolio of law and justice had its own challenges. A lawmaker of legal background is allotted this assignment.

Neither of them asked why they’re picked. The question-answer session had yet to start. The PM then answered the million dollars question: “Who will replace Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani? Rahil Sharif will be the next army chief,” the PM told his colleagues.

This was the first time any cabinet member had come to know about the new chief and it was the most surprising decision he had shared with his colleagues. One of them had heard his name for the first time.

Incidentally, all three of them had suffered terrible ordeals after the military takeover of Gen Pervez Musharraf. They had spent the worst times of their lives together in the Attock Fort. Questions were many and the answers were awaited.

Here they broke the silence. “How did you come to this decision,” one of them asked. “We want to know the plausible reason to our satisfaction,” he continued. And the PM was ready to answer.

“I had interviewed three generals for this slot,” Nawaz Sharif told his colleagues. The interviews with two of them followed by lobbying through strong but notorious references who would approach me for pressing on the selection of their favourites, he further explained. If the people with tainted background are their referees, the PM wondered, what kind of these generals would be.

The situation was different in the case of Gen Rahil Sharif. He didn’t either flatter me or promise anything beyond the call of his duty during the course of interview, the PM told his colleagues. Also, no person had approached me for recommending his candidature, he further explained. Rahil Sharif’s family background further convinced me to conclude the selection process, the PM said, adding the decision was made purely on merit.

Meanwhile, they reached Punjab House where Shehbaz Sharif, Ch Nisar, Lt Gen (R) Abdul Qadir Baloch, Khawaja Saad Rafique and Ahsan Iqbal were present. The PM shared these decisions with them too.

As the hunt is on for new army chief and hectic lobbying is in progress, there are several three-star generals in the race. What will be the merit this time depends on the experience that Nawaz Sharif has had with Gen Rahil Sharif. Sincerity with the civilian administration will take precedence over the seniority list. This is what has been the consideration of every PM; they faced different consequences though.

An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.5 struck northeastern Tajikistan, close to the borders with China and Kyrgyzstan, at 1424 GMT on Friday, the US Geological Survey said.

The quake, initially reported as a magnitude 6.8, struck at a depth of 75 kilometres.