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[🇮🇷] Iran VS Israel -
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[🇧🇩] July uprising
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World Israel's War on Gaza
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[🇧🇩-Airforce] Bangladesh Air Force's Cooperation With Other Nations
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[🇧🇩] Corruption Watch
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[🇧🇩] Bangladesh Tourism
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[🇧🇩] Grameen Bank
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[🇧🇩] July Charter
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[🇧🇩-Land] Bangladesh Army Infantry Regiment
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[🇧🇩-Land] Bangladesh Army: Artillery & Armored
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[🇨🇳] China Army
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[🇧🇩-Land] Bangladesh Army VS Kuki Chin
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[🇹🇷] Turkey & NATO
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[🇧🇩-Navy] SWADS
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[🇧🇩-Land] Bangladesh Army News/Views
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[🇨🇳] China vs USA
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[🇮🇳] India VS China
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[🇨🇦] Canada vs China
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World Reality Check
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[🇵🇰-✈JF-17] JF-17 fully loaded
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[🇧🇩-Navy] Basic Diving Course
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East Asia China has 50% more metro length than the next 10 countries. COMBINED.
- East Asia
- 0 Replies
China has 50% more metro length than the next 10 countries. COMBINED.
Rishabh BhandariChina, unsurprisingly, has the largest metro system in the world. It’s on another level, in a different league. In both metrics of total metro length and annual ridership numbers, China is so high that it distorts the graph.
But South Korea and Japan blow most countries out of the water when we adjust for population and area.
- In the ranking for total metro system length, India comes in at 4th. We’re behind even tiny countries like South Korea and the most far behind when adjusting for people and area. But we have to remember that Indian metros are just beginning to get constructed, so it’s kind of expected.
- We should also remember the differences in the transportation systems between countries like US (dominated by Flight + Cars), Europe (flight, highways, rail, metro), India (buses, railways) etc.
China has 50% more metro length than the next 10 countries. COMBINED.
China, unsurprisingly, has the largest metro system in the world. It’s on another level, in a different league. In both metrics of total…
medium.com
[🇵🇰] 9 Pakistanis killed in Iranian city of Saravan, confirms diplomat in Tehran
- By ghazi
- Pakistan's Internal Security
- 0 Replies
9 Pakistanis killed in Iranian city of Saravan, confirms diplomat in Tehran
Abdullah MomandJanuary 27, 2024
Nine Pakistanis were killed in Iranian city of Saravan on Saturday, according to Pakistan’s envoy in Tehran, Ambassador Muddasir Tipu.
Iran’s Mehr news agency reported earlier today that “according to witnesses, this morning unknown armed men killed nine non-Iranians in a house in the Sirkan neighbourhood of Saravan city” in the Sistan-Baluchistan province.
The agency added that no group or individuals had claimed responsibility.
The Baluch rights group Haalvash said on its website that the victims were Pakistani labourers, who lived at an auto repair shop where they worked. Three others were wounded, it said.
Reacting to the development, Ambassador Mudassir said: “Deeply shocked by horrifying killing of nine Pakistanis in Saravan. Embassy will extend full support to bereaved families. Counsel Zahidan is already on his way to incident site and hospital where injured are under treatment.We called upon Iran to extend full cooperation in the matter.”
The development occurred a day after Mudassir arrived in Tehran while his Iranian counterpart landed in Islamabad, signalling the full restoration of diplomatic relations between the two neighbouring countries following a brief disruption in ties after Iran conducted strikes on alleged terrorist targets inside Pakistani territory.
Earlier in the day, Mudassir said he was honoured to present his credentials to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian will reach Islamabad on Sunday at the invitation of his Pakistani counterpart Jalil Abbas Jilani.
Last week, Iran had launched attacks in Pakistan targeting what it described as bases for the militant group Jaish al-Adl in the border town of Panjgur in Balochistan, Iranian state media reported, prompting strong condemnation from Islamabad and downgrading of diplomatic ties.
Less than 48 hours later, Pakistan struck “hideouts used by terrorist organisations namely Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF)” in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province, in an intelligence-based operation codenamed ‘Marg Bar Sarmachar’.
Iran’s IRNA news agency had reported that nine people were killed in the attack targeting a village in the city of Saravan, with Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi saying all the dead “were foreign nationals”. Iran had condemned strikes and summoned Pakistan’s charge d’affaires “to protest and request an explanation from the Pakistani government”.
In Islamabad, the escalation had prompted a high-level meeting of Pakistan’s premier authority on security and foreign policy, the National Security Committee. It was chaired by caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar with cabinet members, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, the chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Staff, and other heads of intelligence in attendance.
During the hours-long meeting on Friday, the NSC had ratified the move towards reducing tensions between Pakistan and Iran and underscored a commitment to addressing mutual security concerns.
“The forum (NSC) expressed that Iran is a neighbourly and brotherly Muslim country, and existing multiple communication channels between the two countries should be mutually utilised to address each other’s security concerns in the larger interest of regional peace and stability,” a statement issued by the prime minister’s office after the meeting said.
The NSC hoped that both countries “would mutually be able to overcome minor irritants through dialogue and diplomacy and pave the way to further deepen their historic relations” but at the same time emphasised that any violation, under any pretext, would be met with the state’s full force.
That sentiment was reciprocated by Tehran, whose foreign ministry, in a statement later that day, had said Iran “adheres to the policy of good neighbourliness and brotherhood between the two nations and the two governments”.
These exchanges had subsequently set the stage for a phone conversation between FM Jilani and his Iranian counterpart on Friday.
The two foreign ministers had underscored the importance of collaboration and synchronising efforts at the operational level, with a specific focus on counterterrorism and other mutual concerns. They also committed to de-escalating tensions.
Furthermore, the foreign ministers had deliberated on the reappointment of each country’s ambassadors to their respective capitals, signalling a move towards restoring diplomatic normalcy.
Jilani had also invited Amirabdollahian to visit Islamabad. The Iranian foreign minister, according to the Iranian side, had emphasised that the assurances about security and military cooperation should be seriously pursued.
FO in touch with Iran over ‘horrifying and despicable’ killing of 9 Pakistanis in Saravan
Says Iran has been told to immediately investigate the incident and hold to account those involved in the "heinous crime".
www.dawn.com
[🇵🇰] Pakistani nuclear forces
- By ghazi
- Pakistan Nuclear Program
- 2 Replies
Pakistani nuclear forces
Hans M. Kristensen, Robert S. Norris & Julia Diamond
Pages 348-358 | Published online: 31 Aug 2018
Pakistan continues to expand its nuclear arsenal with more warheads, more delivery systems, and a growing fissile materials production industry. Analysis of a large number of commercial satellite images of Pakistani army garrisons and air force bases shows what appear to be mobile launchers and underground facilities that might be related to nuclear forces.
We estimate that Pakistan now has a nuclear weapons stockpile of 140 to 150 warheads.
With several delivery systems in development, four plutonium production reactors, and its uranium enrichment facilities expanding, however, Pakistan has a stockpile that will likely increase further over the next 10 years. The size of the increase will depend on many factors. Two key factors will be how many nuclear-capable launchers Pakistan plans to deploy, and how much the Indian nuclear arsenal grows. Speculation that Pakistan may become the world’s third-largest nuclear weapon state – with a stockpile of some 350 warheads a decade from now – are, we believe, exaggerated, not least because that would require a buildup two to three times faster than the growth rate over the past two decades. We estimate that the country’s stockpile could more realistically grow to 220 to 250 warheads by 2025, if the current trend continues. If that happens, it would make Pakistan the world’s fifth-largest nuclear weapon state. But unless India significantly expands its arsenal or further builds up its conventional forces, it seems reasonable to expect that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal will not continue to grow indefinitely but might begin to level off as its current weapons programs are completed.
Nuclear policy developments
Pakistan is modifying its nuclear posture with new short-range nuclear-capable weapon systems to counter military threats below the strategic level. The efforts seek to create a full-spectrum deterrent that is designed not only to respond to nuclear attacks, but also to counter an Indian conventional incursion onto Pakistani territory.1 This development has created considerable concern in other countries, including the United States, which fears that it lowers the threshold for nuclear use in a military conflict with India.
In the Worldwide Threat Assessment for 2018, US Director of National Intelligence Daniel R. Coats said, “Pakistan continues to produce nuclear weapons and develop new types of nuclear weapons, including short-range tactical weapons, sea-based cruise missiles, air-launched cruise missiles, and longer-range ballistic missiles. These new types of nuclear weapons will introduce new risks for escalation dynamics and security in the region” (Coats 2018).
Pakistan’s National Command Authority, which includes all government agencies involved in the nuclear mission, held its 23rd meeting on 21 December 2017, under the chairmanship of then-Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. The group reviewed a study of “certain destabilizing actions” occurring in the region around Pakistan, including “the massive arms build-up in the conventional domain, nuclearization of the Indian Ocean Region and plans for development/deployment of [ballistic missile defense].” The National Command Authority had paid similar attention to conventional weapons development at its meeting in 2016.
At the 2017 meeting, according to a Pakistani Inter Services Public Relations press release, the command authority “reiterated Pakistan’s policy of developing and maintaining Full Spectrum Deterrence, in line with the policy of Credible Minimum Deterrence and avoidance of arms race,” while expressing confidence in the country’s “capability to address any form of aggression” (ISPR 2017d). The National Command Authority also reviewed the “Nuclear Security Regime” of the nuclear arsenal and expressed “full confidence” in both Pakistan’s command and control systems and existing security measures meant to “ensure comprehensive stewardship and security of strategic assets and materials.” It lauded the nuclear arsenal’s “high standards of training and operational readiness.”
The December 2017 meeting emphasized that Pakistan strives for “peaceful coexistence in [South Asia] and will endeavor to work with its neighbors to ensure strategic stability” there (ISPR 2017d). As in 2016, the National Command Authority’s latest statement on security and safety was, in part, a response to international concern that Pakistan’s evolving arsenal – particularly its growing inventory of short-range nuclear weapon systems – could lead to problems with warhead management and command and control during a crisis. Satellite images show that security perimeters around many bases and military facilities have been upgraded over the past seven years in response to terrorist attacks.
Over the past decade, the US assessment of nuclear weapons security in Pakistan appears to have changed considerably from confidence to concern, particularly as a result of the introduction of tactical nuclear weapons. In 2007, a US State Department official told Congress that, “we’re, I think, fairly confident that they have the proper structures and safeguards in place to maintain the integrity of their nuclear forces and not to allow any compromise” (Boucher 2007). In stark contrast, the Trump administration assessment in 2018 was: “We are particularly concerned by the development of tactical nuclear weapons that are designed for use in battlefield. We believe that these systems are more susceptible to terrorist theft and increase the likelihood of nuclear exchange in the region” (Economic Times 2017). Upon unveiling his South Asia strategy on 21 August 2017, Trump urged Pakistan to stop sheltering terrorist organizations, and noted the need to “prevent nuclear weapons and materials from coming into the hands of terrorists” (The White House 2017). US concern over the security of Pakistan’s tactical nuclear weapons precedes the Trump administration. In 2016, US Undersecretary of State Rose Gottemoeller told members of the US Congress, “Reinstate full original statement: “Battlefield nuclear weapons, by their very nature, pose [a] security threat because you're taking battlefield nuclear weapons to the field where, as you know, as a necessity, they cannot be made as secure” (Economic Times 2016).
Pakistani nuclear forces, 2018
The Nuclear Notebook is researched and written by Hans M. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project with the Federation of American Scientists, and Robert S. Norris, a senior fellow w...
Taylor & Francis/Sep 3, 2018
Hans M. Kristensen, Robert S. Norris & Julia Diamond
Pages 348-358 | Published online: 31 Aug 2018
Pakistan continues to expand its nuclear arsenal with more warheads, more delivery systems, and a growing fissile materials production industry. Analysis of a large number of commercial satellite images of Pakistani army garrisons and air force bases shows what appear to be mobile launchers and underground facilities that might be related to nuclear forces.
We estimate that Pakistan now has a nuclear weapons stockpile of 140 to 150 warheads.
With several delivery systems in development, four plutonium production reactors, and its uranium enrichment facilities expanding, however, Pakistan has a stockpile that will likely increase further over the next 10 years. The size of the increase will depend on many factors. Two key factors will be how many nuclear-capable launchers Pakistan plans to deploy, and how much the Indian nuclear arsenal grows. Speculation that Pakistan may become the world’s third-largest nuclear weapon state – with a stockpile of some 350 warheads a decade from now – are, we believe, exaggerated, not least because that would require a buildup two to three times faster than the growth rate over the past two decades. We estimate that the country’s stockpile could more realistically grow to 220 to 250 warheads by 2025, if the current trend continues. If that happens, it would make Pakistan the world’s fifth-largest nuclear weapon state. But unless India significantly expands its arsenal or further builds up its conventional forces, it seems reasonable to expect that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal will not continue to grow indefinitely but might begin to level off as its current weapons programs are completed.
Nuclear policy developments
Pakistan is modifying its nuclear posture with new short-range nuclear-capable weapon systems to counter military threats below the strategic level. The efforts seek to create a full-spectrum deterrent that is designed not only to respond to nuclear attacks, but also to counter an Indian conventional incursion onto Pakistani territory.1 This development has created considerable concern in other countries, including the United States, which fears that it lowers the threshold for nuclear use in a military conflict with India.
In the Worldwide Threat Assessment for 2018, US Director of National Intelligence Daniel R. Coats said, “Pakistan continues to produce nuclear weapons and develop new types of nuclear weapons, including short-range tactical weapons, sea-based cruise missiles, air-launched cruise missiles, and longer-range ballistic missiles. These new types of nuclear weapons will introduce new risks for escalation dynamics and security in the region” (Coats 2018).
Pakistan’s National Command Authority, which includes all government agencies involved in the nuclear mission, held its 23rd meeting on 21 December 2017, under the chairmanship of then-Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. The group reviewed a study of “certain destabilizing actions” occurring in the region around Pakistan, including “the massive arms build-up in the conventional domain, nuclearization of the Indian Ocean Region and plans for development/deployment of [ballistic missile defense].” The National Command Authority had paid similar attention to conventional weapons development at its meeting in 2016.
At the 2017 meeting, according to a Pakistani Inter Services Public Relations press release, the command authority “reiterated Pakistan’s policy of developing and maintaining Full Spectrum Deterrence, in line with the policy of Credible Minimum Deterrence and avoidance of arms race,” while expressing confidence in the country’s “capability to address any form of aggression” (ISPR 2017d). The National Command Authority also reviewed the “Nuclear Security Regime” of the nuclear arsenal and expressed “full confidence” in both Pakistan’s command and control systems and existing security measures meant to “ensure comprehensive stewardship and security of strategic assets and materials.” It lauded the nuclear arsenal’s “high standards of training and operational readiness.”
The December 2017 meeting emphasized that Pakistan strives for “peaceful coexistence in [South Asia] and will endeavor to work with its neighbors to ensure strategic stability” there (ISPR 2017d). As in 2016, the National Command Authority’s latest statement on security and safety was, in part, a response to international concern that Pakistan’s evolving arsenal – particularly its growing inventory of short-range nuclear weapon systems – could lead to problems with warhead management and command and control during a crisis. Satellite images show that security perimeters around many bases and military facilities have been upgraded over the past seven years in response to terrorist attacks.
Over the past decade, the US assessment of nuclear weapons security in Pakistan appears to have changed considerably from confidence to concern, particularly as a result of the introduction of tactical nuclear weapons. In 2007, a US State Department official told Congress that, “we’re, I think, fairly confident that they have the proper structures and safeguards in place to maintain the integrity of their nuclear forces and not to allow any compromise” (Boucher 2007). In stark contrast, the Trump administration assessment in 2018 was: “We are particularly concerned by the development of tactical nuclear weapons that are designed for use in battlefield. We believe that these systems are more susceptible to terrorist theft and increase the likelihood of nuclear exchange in the region” (Economic Times 2017). Upon unveiling his South Asia strategy on 21 August 2017, Trump urged Pakistan to stop sheltering terrorist organizations, and noted the need to “prevent nuclear weapons and materials from coming into the hands of terrorists” (The White House 2017). US concern over the security of Pakistan’s tactical nuclear weapons precedes the Trump administration. In 2016, US Undersecretary of State Rose Gottemoeller told members of the US Congress, “Reinstate full original statement: “Battlefield nuclear weapons, by their very nature, pose [a] security threat because you're taking battlefield nuclear weapons to the field where, as you know, as a necessity, they cannot be made as secure” (Economic Times 2016).
Pakistani nuclear forces, 2018
The Nuclear Notebook is researched and written by Hans M. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project with the Federation of American Scientists, and Robert S. Norris, a senior fellow w...
Taylor & Francis/Sep 3, 2018
MiddleEast/Africa Visualizing the Top Trading Partners of MENA Countries
- Middle East & Africa
- 0 Replies
Visualizing the Top Trading Partners of MENA Countries
on January 23, 2024By Bruno Venditti
Visualizing the Top Trading Partners of MENA Countries
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.Due to its strategic location, vast energy reserves, strong economies, and complex political dynamics, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region plays a critical role in global markets.
In this graphic, we visualize the top trading partners of the MENA countries based on data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as of October 2023.
China: The Top Import Partner of MENA
China dominates as the top import supplier to MENA countries. The Asian country sent over $171 billion in goods to the region in 2022.India is another crucial trading partner in the region, importing goods worth over $50 billion from the United Arab Emirates, with over 40% of these imports comprising petroleum products.
Italy, the leading exporter to Tunisia, is another key player leading trade with Middle East and North Africa countries. In 2022, the country purchased over $28 billion from Algeria and Libya, primarily petroleum.
Trade in the region is expected to increase, with some countries recently deciding to join the BRICS. The addition of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, and the UAE to the bloc represents over one trillion dollars in exports.
Outlook for MENA Countries
According to the IMF, growth in many economies in the Middle East is slowing due to tighter policies, oil production cuts, geopolitical tensions, and other domestic challenges.The organization recently lowered the real GDP growth forecast for the region to 2.0% for 2023, compared to the 3.3% projected in April 2023.
The IMF forecasts, however, that annual growth will accelerate to 3.4% in 2024 as some of these factors fade.
Visualizing the Top Trading Partners of MENA Countries
China holds the position of both the top importer and exporter with MENA countries by volume.
www.visualcapitalist.com