Tag: agreement

ULFA pro-talk leader welcomes possibility of signing peace agreement

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Guwahati: Welcoming the possibility of signing a peace agreement between the government and the ULFA (pro-talk), its leader Anup Chetia on Thursday said the pact can be inked if the Centre accepts its demands like land rights for the indigenous Assamese people.
Chetia, who is the general secretary of the ULFA, said that they recently received a draft of the agreement but the matter was yet to be discussed in various fora of the organisation.
His statement came hours after Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced in New Delhi that there was a possibility of signing a peace agreement with the group in May.

“The chief minister has taken an initiative for an agreement with the pro-talk ULFA and we welcome it But the entire matter lies in the hands of the Central government.
“If the centre accepts our various demands, including the constitutional, political and land rights of the indigenous Assamese population, then the agreement can be signed,” Chetia told reporters.
A draft of the agreement has been sent to the organisation just before the Rongali Bihu festival earlier this month.
“The matter has been discussed in the central committee. But the working committee and the general council will discuss it before a final decision on the draft can be taken,” Chetia, a founding member of the outfit, said.
Asked about the possibility of peace talks with the ULFA (Independent), led by hardliner Paresh Barua, he said that he will welcome it as it will lead to lasting peace in Assam.

The chief minister, after taking oath on May 10, had appealed to the ULFA(I) to come forward for peace talks and resolve the decades-old insurgency problem in the state. However, not much progress has been made in this direction.
On several occasions, Sarma has mentioned that the ULFA(I) talks about ‘sovereignty’ which he, as the chief minister, cannot constitutionally negotiate.
Chetia urged Sarma to take the right steps in this direction as he is also an Assamese and the “problems that we are talking about is not of the ULFA alone but of the indigenous people of Assam”.
Asked about reports that youths are joining the ULFA(I), the pro-talk leader said as long as there is an organisation, people will join it but many soon get disenchanted and return home.
“There has been a change in Assam’s environment and it is no longer conducive for an armed struggle,” he added.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 27, 2023
Situation at LoC relatively peaceful after ceasefire agreement: Pakistan Army

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Islamabad: The Pakistan Army on Tuesday said the situation at the Line of Control (LoC) has remained “relatively peaceful” after the ceasefire agreement with India was restored in 2021.
In his first press conference since assuming office in December last year, Military Spokesman Major General Ahmed Sharif also talked about the latest threat of terrorism and other important issues facing the cash-strapped country.
“The situation at the LoC has remained relatively peaceful after the 2003 ceasefire agreement (was restored),” he said.

Pakistan had downgraded its diplomatic ties with India and severed trade links following New Delhi’s decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019. In February 2021, the two sides restored a ceasefire agreement on the highly volatile LoC.
Maj Gen Sharif also alleged that India committed 56 LoC ceasefire violations in 2023, including three violations of airspace, 22 incidents of speculative firing, six ceasefire violations and 25 technical airspace violations.
The spokesperson also said that the army was prepared to deal with any threat.
He said that after taking office, Army chief General Asim Munir made his first visit to the LoC and sent a clear message that “Pakistan’s forces are prepared to defend every corner of the country”.
Sharif said that the Pakistan Army was battle-hardened and always led from the front by the officers.

Talking about the threat of terrorism, he said that terrorists had been trying to destroy peace on the western frontiers along Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces but the security forces were foiling their attempts.
“Pakistan’s forces have taken appreciable measures, tracked down terrorist networks and we continue to do so,” he said, adding that there was a nexus between the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and Baloch militant groups.
Sharing data, he said 436 terrorist attacks took place in the country during the ongoing year, which killed 293 people and injured another 521, while the forces conducted 8,269 intelligence-based operations in the current year and killed or arrested 1,525 terrorists.
“To rid the country of terrorism, more than 70 operations are conducted daily,” he said and added that there was no “no-go area” in Pakistan.
The spokesman also said that 137 security personnel had been killed and 117 injured in anti-terror operations this year.
He said that most of the work on the western border management fencing had been completed along a total of 3,141 kilometres of border with Afghanistan and Iran to curtail terrorist activity.
“Under border management, more than 98 per cent of work on the 2,611 km Pak-Afghan border has been completed, while more than 85 per cent of work on the Pak-Iran border has been completed,” he said.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 25, 2023
Assam, Arunachal sign agreement to resolve decades-old border disputes

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New Delhi: Assam and Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday signed an agreement to settle the long-pending disputes along their over 800 km border.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Pema Khandu signed the agreement in presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi.
After signing the deal, Shah said that they all have witnessed a historic moment in the northeast to resolve the border dispute between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, pending for decades.

He said that the report of the Local Commission on this dispute kept circling around for decades, but now been accepted by both the states and Thursday’s agreement would prove to be a milestone in the direction of realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of a developed, peaceful and conflict-free northeast.
Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, the Union Home Secretary and senior officials from the Centre and both the states were also present on the occasion.
Shah said that since 2018, the Centre, under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, has signed several accords including for Reang refugee settlement in Tripura, and several to end violence in the northeast.
He said that as a result of these peace agreements, so far more than 8,000 armed militants have shunned violence and joined the mainstream. Compared to 2014, there has been a 67 per cent reduction in incidents of violence, 60 per cent reduction in the number of deaths of security forces and 83 per cent reduction in the number of civilian deaths in the northeast, which is a big achievement of the government under the leadership of Prime Minister.
The Modi government has withdrawn AFSPA from many places in the northeast, he added.

Around 70 per cent police stations in Assam, 15 police stations in 6 districts in Manipur, all but 3 districts in Arunachal Pradesh, 7 districts in Nagaland, and entire Tripura and Meghalaya are now free from Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act.
Shah said that due to the efforts of the Modi government, all-round development is visible in the entire northeast today and this entire region is on the path of progress.
Thursday’s agreement between the two states would end the dispute relating to 123 villages along the border, keeping in view the historical perspective, demographic profile, administrative convenience, proximity to the border, and the aspirations of the residents. Under the agreement, both the state governments have agreed that this agreement would be final with regards to these 123 disputed villages and neither state would make any new claim related to these areas or villages in future.
After the agreement, a detailed survey would be carried out by the Survey of India in presence of representatives of both state governments to determine their boundary.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 20, 2023
Russia, India negotiating on free trade agreement

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New Delhi: Visiting Russian Minister of Trade and Industry, Denis Manturov, said on Monday that India and Russia are deliberating on a free trade agreement (FTA), a move which could enhance commercial relations between the two nations.
The talks between the two countries on a possible FTA are likely to further accelerate economic relations between both the nations, despite Europe and America urging India to distance itself from Russia due to the latter’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year.
India’s imports from Russia have grown more than four times to $46.33 billion over the last fiscal, mainly due to oil purchases from that country.

“We pay special attention to the issues of mutual access of production to the markets of our countries,” Manturov said during an industry event.
He added that along with the Eurasian Economic Commission, Russia is looking forward to fast-track negotiations on a free trade agreement with India.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who was also present at the event, said that the Covid-19 pandemic had disrupted discussions on an FTA between the two countries, but expressed hope that talks will resume on it soon.
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#Russia #India #negotiating #free #trade #agreement
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 17, 2023
Britain secures agreement to join Indo-Pacific trade bloc

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LONDON — Britain will be welcomed into an Indo-Pacific trade bloc late Thursday as ministers from the soon-to-be 12-nation trade pact meet in a virtual ceremony across multiple time zones.
Chief negotiators and senior officials from member countries agreed Wednesday that Britain has met the high bar to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), four people familiar with the talks told POLITICO.
Negotiations are “done” and Britain’s accession is “all agreed [and] confirmed,” said a diplomat from one member nation. They were granted anonymity as they were unauthorized to discuss deliberations.

The U.K. will be the first new nation to join the pact since it was set up in 2018. Its existing members are Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and Canada.
Britain’s accession means it has met the high standards of the deal’s market access requirements and that it will align with the bloc’s sanitary and phytosanitary standards as well as provisions like investor-state dispute settlement. The resolution of a spat between the U.K. and Canada over agricultural market access earlier this month smoothed the way to joining up.
Member states have been “wary” of the “precedent-setting nature” of Britain’s accession, a government official from a member nation said, as China’s application to join is next in the queue. That makes it in the U.K.’s interests to ensure acceding parties provide ambitious market access offers, they added.
Trade ministers from the bloc will meet late Thursday in Britain, or early Friday for some member nations in Asia, “to put the seal on it all,” said the diplomat quoted at the top. The deal will be signed at a later time as the text needs to be legally verified and translated into various languages — including French in Canada. “That takes time,” they said.

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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

March 28, 2023
2 Women enter into agreement’ to split days with a single man they love

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Gwalior: A man and two women, including his first wife, have decided to live peacefully in two separate houses by dividing three days each of a week between them and also with the liberty to the man to spend the seventh day with the woman of his choice, said a lawyer associated with the family court in Gwalior city.
However, counsellor and advocate Harish Diwan termed the “agreement” between them illegal as per Hindu law.
The story of the two women and a man, who is an engineer, came to light when the man again entered into wedlock with a female colleague in Gurugram after he left his wife in Gwalior during the COVID-19 pandemic, Diwan said.
His first marriage took place in 2018 to a Gwalior-based woman and they lived together for two years. During COVID, he sent his wife to her parents’ home and went back to Gurugram, he said.
When he did not return till 2020 to take her legally wedded wife, she grew suspicious and went to his Gurugram office. She learnt that he had married a colleague and a girl was also born during the period, Diwan said.
The woman fought with the man publicly and protested in the office over his second marriage. She then approached a family court in Gwalior for justice, he said.
Later, her husband was summoned to Gwalior. Despite attempts to counsel him, the man refused to leave the second woman, Diwan said.
His wife as well as the second woman were counselled but they were not ready to understand, he said.

Later, the trio entered into an agreement according to which the man will spend three days of a week with his wife and another three with the woman he allegedly married, with the liberty to live with the woman of his choice on Sunday, Diwan said.
He provided a flat each to his wife as well as the other woman in Gurugram and also agreed to share his salary equally with them as per their agreement, Diwan said.
When asked whether this agreement has any legal sanctity, Diwan said, “This agreement was done between three of them with mutual consent. Neither the family court nor the councillor has any role in it.”
“In fact, the three were categorically told that they are Hindu and as per Hindu law, this agreement between them is illegal. As per the law, a Hindu man cannot marry another woman until he divorced his first wife in a legal manner, but they decided to go ahead with their pact,” Diwan added.
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#Women #enter #agreement #split #days #single #man #love
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 17, 2023
Women enter into agreement’ to split days with a single man they love

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Gwalior: A man and two women, including his first wife, have decided to live peacefully in two separate houses by dividing three days each of a week between them and also with the liberty to the man to spend the seventh day with the woman of his choice, said a lawyer associated with the family court in Gwalior city.
However, counsellor and advocate Harish Diwan termed the “agreement” between them illegal as per Hindu law.
The story of the two women and a man, who is an engineer, came to light when the man again entered into wedlock with a female colleague in Gurugram after he left his wife in Gwalior during the COVID-19 pandemic, Diwan said.
His first marriage took place in 2018 to a Gwalior-based woman and they lived together for two years. During COVID, he sent his wife to her parents’ home and went back to Gurugram, he said.
When he did not return till 2020 to take her legally wedded wife, she grew suspicious and went to his Gurugram office. She learnt that he had married a colleague and a girl was also born during the period, Diwan said.
The woman fought with the man publicly and protested in the office over his second marriage. She then approached a family court in Gwalior for justice, he said.
Later, her husband was summoned to Gwalior. Despite attempts to counsel him, the man refused to leave the second woman, Diwan said.
His wife as well as the second woman were counselled but they were not ready to understand, he said.

Later, the trio entered into an agreement according to which the man will spend three days of a week with his wife and another three with the woman he allegedly married, with the liberty to live with the woman of his choice on Sunday, Diwan said.
He provided a flat each to his wife as well as the other woman in Gurugram and also agreed to share his salary equally with them as per their agreement, Diwan said.
When asked whether this agreement has any legal sanctity, Diwan said, “This agreement was done between three of them with mutual consent. Neither the family court nor the councillor has any role in it.”
“In fact, the three were categorically told that they are Hindu and as per Hindu law, this agreement between them is illegal. As per the law, a Hindu man cannot marry another woman until he divorced his first wife in a legal manner, but they decided to go ahead with their pact,” Diwan added.
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#Women #enter #agreement #split #days #single #man #love
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 16, 2023
Agreement with Iran doesn’t mean resolving all differences: Saudi finance minister

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Riyadh: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan made it clear that the agreement to resume diplomatic relations with Iran does not mean “resolving all outstanding differences between the two countries,” Anadolu Agency reported.
Saudi foreign minister said in remarks to Arabic daily Asharq Al-Awsat on Monday that the agreement came “under the auspices and mediation of China, after several rounds of talks over the past two years in both Iraq and the Sultanate of Oman.”
However, he adds, “Our reaching this agreement, which will lead to the resumption of political relations, does not mean that we have reached a solution to all outstanding differences between our two countries, but rather it is evidence of our common desire to resolve them through dialogue.”
Regarding his upcoming visit to Tehran, the minister said, “I look forward to meeting Iran’s foreign minister soon based on what was agreed upon, and we will prepare to resume diplomatic relations between our two countries during the next two months.”
On Friday, Saudi Arabia and Iran announced the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and the reopening of embassies within two months, following Chinese-sponsored talks in Beijing according to a tripartite statement of the three countries.
In January 2016, Saudi Arabia severed its relations with Iran, following attacks on the Riyadh embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad, in protest against the kingdom’s execution of Saudi Shiite cleric Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, on charges including terrorism.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 13, 2023
Iran-Saudi Agreement: Why Israel Opposition Sees It A ‘Dangerous Development’?

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SRINAGAR: As expected, the Tehran-Riyadh restoration of ties with Beijing’s help has led triggered a serious debate the world over. With most of the countries supportive of the agreement, a general perception is that the USA, the world’s most powerful nation, has been side-lined by an emerging China.
US President Joe Biden with MbS of Saudi Arabia on July 15, 2022. They barely shook hands.
The most vociferous reaction has come from Israel where senior opposition leaders have termed the agreement Tel Aviv’s failure.
“The restoration of relations between the Saudis and Iran is a serious and dangerous development for Israel that represents an Iranian diplomatic victory. It represents a critical blow to efforts to build a regional coalition against Iran,” Naftali Bennett, Israel’s former Prime Minister was quoted as saying by Times of Israel. “This is a resounding failure of the Netanyahu government and is the result of a combination of diplomatic neglect, general weakness and internal conflict in the country.”
Bennett was not alone. Yair Lapid, also a former Prime Minister also termed the agreement as “a complete failure” for Israel, calling it “a collapse of our regional defensive walls that we had been building against Iran.”
Iran and Saudi Arabia, barely separated by a 150-mile distance were representing two extremes in the Middles East. They were literally rivals in most of the conflict areas in the region. Besides, they were using Shia-Sunni sectarianism as part of their foreign policy in other Muslim countries.
Iran and Saudi Arabia have agreed to resume diplomatic relations after four days of intensive previously undisclosed talks in Beijing.
Israel, it may be recalled here had normalised relations with Bahrain, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates in 2020. The agreement with Iran came as Tel Aviv was negotiating a relationship with Riyadh. While these efforts are likely to continue, the possibility of kicking Tehran out of the frame may not be possible. Israel sees Tehran as its enemy and dislikes its nuclear programme and Riyadh was almost thinking on the same terms. This had led to a sort of coalition with the Middle East excluding Iran. The agreement is expected to change that.
Israel apart, the response from almost every other power centre has been positive. Some Western countries including USA and France have responded to the development with a bit of caution.
“United Nations spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric expressed the gratitude of the United Nations Secretary-General to China for hosting the recent talks, and the United Nations Secretary-General welcomed the efforts of other countries in this regard, especially the Sultanate of Oman and Iraq,” Saudi Press Agency reported. “The UN spokesperson also stated that good neighbourly relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran are necessary for the stability of the Gulf region.”

In Brussels, the European Union (EU) has also welcomed the agreement.
“Generally speaking, we welcome any efforts to help end the war in Yemen and de-escalate tensions in the Middle East region. De-escalation and diplomacy together with deterrence are key pillars of the policy President Biden outlined during his visit to the region last year,” US NSA spokesperson John Kirby was quoted as saying. “The Saudis did keep us informed about these talks that they were having, just as we keep them informed on our engagements, but we weren’t directly involved.”
President Xi Jinping with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman (Mbs) in Riyadh on December 9, 2022
When asked by reporters, Biden said: “Better relations between Israel and their Arab neighbours are better for everybody.”
What is interesting, however, is that the agreement is being seen as a side-lining of the US in the region. A general impression is that the US was selling arms to fuel the conflicts in the region and, instead, China used trade to get the rivals closer.
Major Development: China Brokers Peace Between Iran and Saudi Arabia
The agreement is expected to have a cooling effect on at least three ragging conflicts in the region. In Yemen, Iran was supporting Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabi was funding the exiled government. In Lebanon, Iran was backing Hezbollah and Riyadh money was surviving the Sunni political class. The two countries were the proxy players in Suria where Iran supported President Bashar Assad and Riyadh was closer to the rebels.
Analysts believe t is too early to predict a major shift as the parties will have to work on the agreement. The divisive politics in the region has been played for such a long time that converting it into peace will take a long time. Those unhappy can contribute to making the agreement evaporate.

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( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

March 12, 2023
UK and EU reach agreement on Northern Ireland protocol

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The European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom finally reached an agreement on the controversial Northern Ireland Protocol, as reported by British government sources on Monday.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are meeting in Windsor, near London, for what they say are the “final” discussions of this dossier.
Later, they are scheduled to offer a joint press conference in Windsor, the city west of London. The head of the European Commission will also meet King Carlos III.
The leaders met in the town of Windsor (east London).
What is the protocol?
The Northern Irish protocol, signed in January 2020, is the main issue of contention between London and Brussels three years after the United Kingdom left the European Union.
This text regulates the movement of goods between the rest of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, the only land border with the European Union.
The protocol was intended to prevent a land border between Ireland and Northern Ireland from undermining the peace agreed in 1998 after three bloody decades, while protecting the single European market.
(Furthermore: UK announces plan to change Northern Ireland protocol)

The protocol was intended to prevent a land border between Ireland and Northern Ireland from undermining peace
But it raises practical problems by imposing customs controls on goods from Britain arriving in Northern Ireland, even if they remain in the British province.
The protocol has generated tensions between the EU and the UK, but it has also become an internal problem for Rishi Sunak, which faces opposition from staunch Brexit supporters and from unionists in the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), who oppose any questioning of Northern Ireland’s membership of the United Kingdom.
The latter reject any de facto application of European legislation in the British province and have blocked the functioning of the local executive for a year.
The Northern Irish protocol was signed in January 2020 as part of Brexit.
The new proposal
According to the media, the negotiated agreement establishes a system of green and red lanes between Great Britain and the province.
(You can read: Russia responds to China’s proposal to end the conflict in Ukraine)
Goods destined for Northern Ireland would go through the green lane without routine controls, while those exported to the Republic of Ireland -in the EU- would go through the red lanes, for which reason they would undergo customs procedures in Northern Irish ports.
In addition, the European Court of Justice would remain as the final arbitrator in the event of a dispute over the single market rules that apply in Northern Ireland, something unionists opposed.
The negotiated agreement establishes a system of green and red lanes between Great Britain and the province
To appease unionists, London last spring threatened to withdraw unilaterally from the deal, sparking anger in Dublin and Brussels, which raised the specter of a trade war.
Sunak is scheduled to meet with his top ministers before the press conference with von der Leyen in mid-afternoon.
Subsequently, the British Prime Minister will return to London to address the deputies in the House of Commons.
AFP AND EFE
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( With inputs from : pledgetimes.com )

February 27, 2023