UN Resolution on Jerusalem: When Veto was Vetoed

By: Azhar Azam

On December 21 – 193 membered United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) starkly adopted a resolution by 128-9 that condemned US decision to recognize Jerusalem as capital of Israel and pressed all countries to refrain from establishing diplomatic missions in Jerusalem.

By dint of a negative vote or veto by one of the five permanent members – United States – the UN Security Council could not adopt the December 18 draft resolution which was supported by four other permanent members – China, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom – and fourteen non-permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Marshall Islands, Federation States of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Togo and United States were the nine countries who opposed the resolution. Two of the major American allies – France and the United Kingdom – as well as the newest strategic US partner – India – also voted in favor of the resolution.

The crux of the session was the moment when the world witnessed a rare glimpse of all Muslim countries unanimously endorsing the resolution. Arch rivals from Iran to Saudi Arabia to strategic adversaries like Pakistan and Afghanistan – almost all the Muslim majority countries hailed the common cause by supporting or at least abstaining.

Fumed United States immediately navigated a cut of over $285 million to the United Nations’ biennium budget of $5.4 billion for 2018-2019, US ambassador to UN Nikki Haley said in a statement. The mission also announced unspecified reduction in UN’s management and support functions.

Translating the rage, the US mission in the UN Haley touted ‘inefficiency and overspending of the United Nations’ for the funds prevention and vowed it a big step ‘toward a more efficient and accountable UN’.

Under the UN charter, the United States contributed 22% of the total UN regular budget in 2017 that amounts to about $611 million. It is also the largest contributor – 28.5% – to the UN peacekeeping operations budget that totals $7.3 billion.

Japan (10%), China (8%), Germany (6%), and France (5%) were the other largest contributors to the UN regular budget in 2017.

But historically the UN budget tends to reduce every year. For example the budget for biennium 2016-17 was roughly $400 million or 2.9% lower than the final appropriations for 2014-2015. Similarly the two-year budget for 2017-2018 also sets budget level $286 million or 5% less below the final approved level of 2015-2016.

Furthermore,in her tweet on June 29 this year, Haley announced half a billion ($600 million) cut to UN peacekeeping budget. Before assuming the president office White House, Trump also professed UN ‘just a club for people to get together, talk, and have a good time’.

So the reduction in financial contribution to UN budget is not attributable to US decision over UN resolution on Jerusalem – as framed to be – but conforms to one of the Trump’s election campaign promises, though the US reaction at this instant is apparently an effort to synthetically fabricate the reduction with the Jerusalem resolution.

UN is funded by the member countries and the contribution of each country is determined on the basis of certain assessment – GNP, per capita income, and external debt. The United States is obliged to pay more due to its higher economic resources and the cut to UN budget is yet another paragon of US violating UN rules.

Moreover, by providing increased (but due) financial contribution to the UN budget, the United States hardly makes any contribution to the UN peacekeeping troops. US troop contribution to the UN in only 56, according to ranking provided by the international body as of November 30.

Ethiopia (8,387), Bangladesh (7,240), India (6,700), Rwanda (6,490), Pakistan (6,256), and Nepal (5,353) are the largest troop contributing countries for UN peacemaking missions. Incidentally, four of the six top contributors – Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Nepal –are from South East Asia.

Compensatory Damages against Toshiba Explode to $1.5 billion

By: Azhar Azam

Toshiba Corporation has received yet another notice from the Tokyo District Court for compensatory damages in relation to its accounting scandal, the company announced on its website today.

A total of 97 foreign institutional investors had filed claims of 33 billion yen ($291 million) as compensatory damages against Toshiba on September 6 on account of damages incurred due to company's inappropriate accounting.

As of December 26, the company has been served with 34 complaints in all and a total of about 173 billion yen ($1.5 billion) has been sought in these actions.

Hitherto, Toshiba Memory Corporation (TMC) and Western Digital Corporation (WDC) agreed to mutually resolve their long-boxed legal dispute over sale of Toshiba semiconductor known as NAND flash memory chips business.

These memory chips are vital in the manufacturing of most-modern devices such as smartphones, gaming machines, and data servers. The settlement between the two firms will authorize WDC to invest in chip production and ensure chip supply.

Toshiba will retain 40% stakes in the production unit.

Earlier this year, US technology firm drove Toshiba into litigation after the scandal-hit company announced the sale of its prized chip business to recover financial losses in Westinghouse nuclear division.

Western Digital argued that Toshiba needs its consent for selling out its flash memory business over joint venture partnership between the two companies – a proclamation scandal-hit Toshiba denies.

The global settlement agreement would relieve cash-strapped Toshiba to sell its memory chip business for $18 billion to a consortium led by Bain Capital including Toshiba’s $3.1billion investments and stakes from Apple, Seagate, Dell, Kingston, and others.

In November, the market flooded with the rumors that Toshiba is going to sell its PC business to AsusTek Computer after it announced to sell its television business – Toshiba Visual Solutions (TVS) – to Chinese Hisense Group for $113 million.

Immediately the Japanese company issued a press release that neither the reports to selling of PC business are grounded nor it is in discussion with any individual company for such a deal.

March last year, the company has also agreed to transfer 80.1% stake in Toshiba’s Home Appliances to Midea Group for $473 million and licensed Midea to use Toshiba brands for home appliance for 40 years.

In the after-shocks of these financial-debacles, Toshiba Corporation recorded a net loss attributable to shareholders of the Company $8.6bn in 2017 due to loss of $11.1bn generated in its several companies.

The company also logged a loss of ¥460.0bn in 2016. As a result, nearly 23% (over 45,000) employees lost their jobs in just two years. The employee headcount was 153,492 – down from 198,741 in 2013 – as of March 31, 2017.

This entire watershed ignited when Toshiba Corporation was forced into business restructuring (Toshiba Rebuilding Initiative) after proven guilty for ‘systematic’ and ‘deliberate’ $1.2bn profit-padding scandal.

Ensuing contentious race between Canon and Fujifilm – Toshiba eventually peddled its medical unit to Canon for ¥665.5bn ($5.5bn) last year to improve deteriorating financial health of the company.

Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (TMSC) finally announced change of company name into Canon Medical Systems Corporation (CMSC) from January 4, 2018 in a press release.

The Healthcare Systems & Services segment, the Home Appliances business, and the Westinghouse Nuclear Power business are now classified as discontinued operations.

In a build-up to propelling the group into a global healthcare business by integrating the two companies – Canon shared an ambitious plan to target revenue of 5 trillion yen ($44bn) with operating and net profit of 15% and 10% respectively by 2020.

The Japanese conglomerate had revenues of $29.3bn in 2016. New Healthcare division adds to the lines of company’s other businesses – commercial printing, network cameras, and industrial devices to compete a global diagnostic market valued at $32bn in 2016.

Although Toshiba Medical dominates the domestic diagnostic devices market in Japan including CT, MRI, X-ray, ultrasound and nuclear medicine but lags behind Siemens, General Electric (GE), and Philips who dominate roughly 75% of the global market.

However, the company is vying to become second-largest supplier of Computed Tomography (CT) systems globally and also the fourth-largest Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) systems in the world.

Canon is also ogling at software developers to compete in Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) market, a digital data detonation, to expand its newly incorporated healthcare business. The so-called ‘data healthcare’ has transformed the diagnostic industry in the past few years.

Much littler in revenue generation to peer companies, Canon is steering to maintain the domestic dominance, strengthen base in US and European countries and capitalize the growth in emerging countries.

Pakistan won’t serve as Victim to ‘America First’ Mantra

By: Azhar Azam

In a secret and hasty trip, US vice president Mike Pence barely touched Afghanistan in an ordinary military transport plane to conceal his arrival and addressed 15,000 US troops to make them believe that that ‘victory is closer than ever before’.

The ‘Sycophant’ then donned a bulletproof vest and went to meet Afghan government officials under cover of darkness and a heavily armed helicopter convoy to discuss new US security strategy and to break the stalemate in the America’s longest war.

Cellphone and internet connections of the reporters traveling with the Pence were disconnected over security concerns until Pence was about to leave the war-torn country after spending only about eight hours.

Charting the newly US national security strategy (NSS) – Pence harried Pakistan to stop providing safe havens to Afghan Taliban and other terrorist organizations and urged Pakistan to gain from US partnership or has much to lose otherwise.

Trump’s Administration is vainly employing all pressing tactics – including safe havens to terrorists and falling nuclear weapons in the hands of the terrorists – to persuade Pakistan for a military engagement in Afghanistan.

Buoying the partisan folklore, now NSS craves to pester Pakistan by vouching to deepen strategic relationship with India and supporting its role in the region alongside encouraging India ‘to increase its economic assistance in the region’.

The burning point is that the United States is seeking India to increase economic assistance not only in Afghanistan but in the entire region. Does the United States is supporting Indian economic assistance in Iran too to counter China’s B&R.

At the same time, the hottest security strategy also assures to cajole Pakistan by building trade and investment ties with Pakistan if it will assist the United States in its ‘counterterrorism goals’.

Just a few days back, Pentagon chief spokesperson Dana W. White – referring to James Mattis visit to Pakistan – said in a press briefing that no one has lost more troops and lives to terrorism than Pakistan.

For almost a year, Pakistan is United States’ Aunt Sally and the Trump Administration is nearly convinced that it could compel Pakistan to serve as victim purported for ‘US global security goals’ and ‘America First’ mantra.

So the United States is clearly maneuvering ‘a carrot-and-stick approach’ to coax or coerce Pakistan and its armed forces – counter to its own interests – to serve American interests and goals in Afghanistan and region.

But Pakistan has taken a strong stance to serve its national interests – not to engage in any conflict beyond its territory and has continuously denied to forfeit the achievements it availed in war on terror after losing thousands of troops and innocents.

It’s such a silly on the part of the United States to expecting Pakistan and its armed forces to protect America and its allies and partners by invading in Afghanistan after their troops sprinted out of the devastated country.

According to State Department’s Country Reports on Terrorism 2016 – From 2012 to 2016, total terrorist attacks and deaths in Pakistan have declined substantially from 1,823 and 1,761 to 535 and 433 respectively – an attestation of the country’s success.

The terrorist movement and infiltration on Pak-Afghan border has also been restricted through various vital measures such as increased troops deployment, surveillance, and border management including fencing.

The backcloth of the latest rhetoric connects with the meeting of NATO defense ministers after which General John Nicholson called for the allies to contribute more troops for the war against Afghan Taliban and other insurgents but to no avail.

Currently about 15,000 US troops and around 8,400 other NATO troops are deployed in Afghanistan and only for Resolute Support (RS) mission (non-combat) mission. US is expecting Pakistan to do what 150,000 US and NATO forces failed to achieve in Afghanistan despite spending over $877 billion in Afghanistan.

On the other hand, Trump’s echo of the ‘massive payments’ to Pakistan is vastly embroidered. In FY2017, the United States has paid only $130 million to Pakistan for various social, education, health, and security programs.

China, Russia, South Korea, and Iran

Trump Administration’s four-pillared national security strategy also blames China and Russia for eroding American Security and prosperity – blasting both the countries for challenging American power, influence, and interests in the areas of trade, military, and information as well as developing advanced weapons and capabilities that could threaten American critical infrastructure and its command and control architecture.

NSS additionally boards South Korea and Iran for destabilizing regions, threaten Americans and its allies, and brutalizing their own people – North Korea is the most likely state to use nuclear weapon against United States.

Four Pillars of American National Security Strategy

First, our fundamental responsibility is to protect American people, the homeland, and American way of life by strengthening control on our borders, reforming immigration system, protecting critical infrastructure, going after the cyber actors. A layered missile defense system will defend our homeland against missile attacks. And we will pursue their source, so that the jihadist terrorists are stopped before they ever reach our borders.

Second, we will promote American prosperity by rejuvenating the American economy for the benefit of American workers and the American companies. We will insist upon fair and reciprocal relationships to address trade imbalances. The United States must preserve its lead in research and technology and protect its economy from competitors who unfairly acquire our intellectual property.

Third, we will preserve peace through strength by rebuilding our military so that it remains preeminent, deters our adversaries, and if necessary, is able to fight and win. We expect all allies and partners to shoulder a fair share of the burden of responsibility to protect against common threat.

Fourth, we will advance American influence because a world that supports American interests and reflects our values makes America more secure and prosperous. We will compete and lead in multilateral organizations so that American interests and principles are protected.

Irrespective of the number of pillars to protect American people, the homeland, its interests and influence – American people must question Trump Administration as why the State and 2,129,900 troops, marines, and airmen with defense budget of over $600 billion per year, cannot protect America and American people and why the US is relying on Pakistan to protect them.

Saudi Arabia: Expat Fee Obliges 62,000 Aliens to Leave

By: Azhar Azam

Since the introduction of expat levy – the total number of foreign workers in Saudi Arabia has additionally been reduced by 61,483 at the end of the second quarter of 2017, according General Authority of Statistics (GAStat) Saudi Arabia.

A total of 10.789 million of expatriate workers are currently working in the kingdom.

For dependents, the expat levy was enforced in July this year at the rate of SR100 per dependent per month and was suggested to scale up gradually to SR200 in 2018, SR300 in 2019, and SR400 in 2020.

And for companies where expatriates and Saudi workers are in equal numbers – per month tariff per worker will be SR300 from January 2018 which further increase to SR500 and SR700 in 2019 and 2020.

Striking more tolls on the companies where expat workers outnumber Saudis – the expat fee will be SR400 per month per worker from January 2018 and will ascend to SR600 and SR800 in 2019 and 2020.

Saudi government is expecting to collect SR24 billion ($6.2 billion) from this excises on foreign workers in 2018. In 2019 and 2020, the government expects to collect another SR44 billion ($11.7 billion) and SR65 billion ($17.3 billion) respectively.

Value-added tax (VAT) at the rate of 5% has also been imposed in the budget on companies with an annual turnover of SR1 million ($266,640) from January 1, 2018. However the levy will not be applicable on expat remittances.

After oil glut in the international market, Saudi regime is taking austere measures to slash its reliance on oil revenues to 42% by 2023 – which made up around 90% of the total country’s revenues in 2014.

For the fiscal year, the kingdom is expecting oil revenue to rise to SR492 billion from SR440 billion and non-oil revenues against ongoing to SR291 billion from estimated SR256 billion in current year.

The news flashed the kingdom announcement of the largest-ever SR978 billion ($261 billion) budget for the fiscal year 2018 (1439-1440 AH) – forecasting a deficit of SR195 billion ($58 billion) and a deficit of SR195 billion (8.9% of GDP).

Gold and jewelry shops employing foreigners after December 3 will also be obliged to pay a fine of SR20,000 for each foreign worker. There are more than 6,000 gold and jewelry shops in the country that employ 25,000 workers including aliens.

Saudi Arabia is striving to cut the climbing unemployment rate among Saudis to 9% by 2020 and 7% by 2030 from existing 12.8%. The kingdom plans to provide 1.2 million jobs to Saudis which are currently occupied by the emigrants.

Pakistan IT Exports Grow ahead of Fourth Industrial Revolution

The total volume of Pakistan information technology (IT) industry grew by 17% in fiscal year 2017 – to clock a record $3.5 billion of revenue. Over the past five years, the industry in the country has bred phenomenal by 100%.

The entire upturn came from IT and IT-enabled services (ITeS) exports which valued at $2.9 billion, told Managing Director Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) while talking to state-run news agency.

Notwithstanding a flat growth in domestic revenue valued at over $500 million – the freelancers in the country also generated $300 million for the year, he added.

Moreover, in an interview with Tribune, CEO Ignite – National Technology Fund – expected that IT industry in Pakistan is set to double – from existing $3.5 billion to $7.0 billion – by 2020.

Besides official exports of $700 million, the software freelancers also earned $1.2 billion from foreign countries – the amount which is not taken into account by the central bank.

An additional $600 million of exports were recorded by the companies who did not bring their revenue in the country whereas the total hardware and software industry in Pakistan is also valued at $1 billion.

Close to 10,000 IT graduates enter in the Pakistan market every year. The total market comprises of about 150,000 mainstream techies and 150,000 to 200,000 freelancers – that doubles if you take into account the non-tech freelancers also.

Pakistan is a big market of freelance techies in the world. In its 2016 report, Freelancer.com – the largest online work platform with nearly 26 million registered users – has ranked Pakistan at No. 3 globally.

Earlier, in another ‘online work report’ for 2014 by Upwork – Pakistan was rank No. 5 in terms of  number of freelance programmers worldwide. The company also included Pakistan in higher 10%-25% category along with India, Ukraine, and Canada in terms of growth rate in Top-10 Earnings Countries.

Although Pakistan’s 3.5 billion is a trifling proportion of the global $3.5 trillion market but its exponential growth is echoing waves of alarms over the past few years and the disruption in Indian IT industry is the newest episode.

Last month, one the largest US-based service providers shifted 125 low-end IT jobs – from Noida to Islamabad. The event immediately drew headlines in India and cautioned tormenting $154 billion Indian IT industry.

Job cuts is normally quite a usual and accustomed incidence in the comparatively much bigger neighboring IT market but India is seeing the as a potential threat to setting a pattern for future IT job layoffs in the country.

A total of 3.9 million people are employed with IT industry in India and it is expected to add another 150,000 additional jobs this year.

Indian topnotch 21% growth in 2013-14 has gradually been fraught to just 8% in 2017-18 with the accessibility of cheaper workers from Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Philippines. Now the ingress of Pakistan could further disrupt its market.

Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) or Industry 4.0 is now on the horizon and new developments will be surfaced in the areas of artificial intelligence, 3D printing, robotics, internet of things ((IOT), and other technologies.

21st century is an era of automation where we would see driverless cars and trucks ruling the roads, robots manning the factories, super-smartphones summoning the Uber helicopters or even self-driven planes piloting their owners.

Klaus Schwab says “In its most pessimistic, dehumanized form, the Fourth Industrial Revolution may indeed have the potential to ‘robotize’ humanity and thus to deprive us of our heart and soul”.

‘But as a compliment to the best parts of human nature – creativity, empathy, stewardship – it can also lift humanity into a new collective and moral consciousness based on a shared sense of destiny. It is incumbent on us all to make sure that the latter prevails.’

Is Pakistan prepared for the latest revolutionary technology trend?

APS Attack: Never to Forget and Never to Forgive

By: Azhar Azam

‘My opinion is that we had sent our children to the school not to the battlefield. How they be Shaheeds’, father of 8th grade student ‘Ghasan’ martyred in APS attack said. ‘When someone goes to the war, they move with weapons, not with pens.’

The families of APS martyrs have been demanding judicial commission to fix the responsibility of security lapse and to avoid any such incidence in future. Their other demand is to include APS attack in textbooks.

‘The inclusion of a chapter on the APS carnage in textbooks will keep the tragic incidence alive forever’, President APS Shuhada Foundation Abid Raza Bangash demanded for at least ‘a source of consolation for them’.

December 16, 2014 is the darkest day in the history of Pakistan when 147 people including 134 schoolchildren were martyred and over 120 people injured in a callous terrorist attack on Army Public School (APS) Peshawar.

Six TTP terrorists – all of them were foreign nationals – stormed into the school and opened fire to kill mostly the children aged 8 to 18 and other school staff members – stunning the whole country into a condition of absolute coma.

Studying and playing innocent kids – unaware with definition of terrorism – were shot in heads, hearts and legs to get acquainted with the evil. They were vainly trying to hide and escape from the malicious eyes and raining bullets of those bloodthirsty terrorists.

This wicked act of terrorism had also left a terrible effect on millions of school-going children and their parents in the country. But the credit goes to national securities forces, led by Pakistan army, who have almost clinically eliminated this malignancy from the country and sluiced the environment of fear and trauma.

On the front, Pakistan security forces were sacrificing to secure Pakistan and back home, their children were targeted too. One cannot feel the woe the soldiers or other parents went through while hearing the shaking news of their kids’ demise in the hands of the terrorists.

We must remember that these children were neither on a combat mission, nor were they martyred for commemoration, or for earning any kind of tribute – as modeled by most of the political, media and social circles.

They were gone to school just to learn – not to become victim of this kind of barbaric act of terrorism, as most of the parents shouted. They were too young and too innocent to get involved in such ogre strife.

Most unfortunately the parents are – despite killings and injuries of their children – are snagged by the ‘representatives of people’ who have rarely lost their lives for national cause and mostly died in pursuit of the power lust. The government officials have seldom visited the martyred children and school staff aggrieved families to show their harmony for the deceased.

The parents are not concerned about their cozy support or continuing the so-called kids’ mission. They are stunned, motionless and shredded with that one of the most ruinous, the direst, the most calamitous or the most tragic incident in the history. Nobody can measure the pain, misery, affliction, and sadness just a tear drop contains of the departed souls' family members.

They do not need our futile backing, support or assistance on social media or candlelight vigils for the little victims. They did not send their kids to carry any kind of mission, show the power of the pen to the terrorists or campaign for education.

Pragmatically the kids are sent to school to learn, dream, play and transform their personalities but we are rather trying to cover their virtuousness and innocence in the zones of terrorism, missions, coffins or marking December 16 as black day.

The purpose of criticizing such acts is not to stain the intentions or care for the children passed away, injured and their families but to force toward a step ahead and strive for secure, conducive and nourishing environment for our children instead of pushing them in the tons of stress, trauma and depressing trials.

The parents and the families must be infuriated and lamented over such ineffective and barren proceedings and would be expecting all of us to canvassing for taking revenge from each and every terrorist, terror financier and facilitator.

If we are to gratify the souls of our little angels, wounded roses and their unfortunate family members – we have to unite surrendering the conventional evils of groupings, ethnicity, sectarianism, party-ism and racism.

And we must collectively make an effort to go all-out for Pakistan to free it of terrorism, corruption and social evils so that our children may not be harassed, dismayed, and worried on the way to their bright and productive future.

And if we cannot adhere to these basic tenets mandatory to secure our people and children – we must at least support the ones contributing to this noble national cause.

How prejudice is that the highest dignitaries and the world leaders of 40-countries had shown solidarity arm-in-arm with France and war on terror on the killing of 12 people in ‘Charlie Hedbo’ attack but our little, innocent souls were buried to graves in the tears, cries and pains of helpless parents in the same war on terror.

May Allah Almighty reward those passed away kids and other Muslims the best of places in heavens and save us all and our children for any other or such unforeseen catastrophe.

Apples Releases iMac Pro, 'The Most Powerful Mac Ever'

By: Azhar Azam

Apple strokes a last jab to 2017 as the American technology firm tosses ‘the most powerful Mac ever’ – iMac Pro – into the market for pro users who need workstation class performance for their taxing workflows.

iMac Pro is the fastest and most powerful machine Apple has ever developed. It features Xeon processors up to 18 cores, up to 22 Teraflops of graphics performance, and 27-inch Retina 5K display.

Uncloaked at Worldwide Developers conference (WWDC) 2017, the pocket-lightening desktop computer starts from $4,999 and goes up to over $13,000 – cooking it the most expensive desktop computer.

The prized device delivers fastest speed to several professionals – 3D designers (3.4x), Developers (2.4x), scientists and researchers (5x), photographers (4.1x), music producers (4.6x), and video editors (3x).

Analysts believe that iMac Pro is price appropriately fixed as compared to other systems available with the same features. The biggest drawback of the iMac Pro is that it cannot be upgraded once purchased.

Apple Financial Statistics

Growth in Services (23%), iPhone (3%), and Mac (13%) aided Apple to pull a net sales growth of 6% or $13.4 billion against year-over-year growth of -8% – to $229.2 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2017.

Sustaining Apple’s business ritual, most of the revenue (62% or $143.3 billion) came from the 216.8 million units of iPhone sales. The company also sold 43.8 million units of iPad and 19.3 million units of Mac during the year.

Apple paid dividends of $12.6 billion and $12 billion in 2017 and 2016 respectively. Americas (42%↑), Europe (24%↑), Greater China (20%↓), Japan (≈8%), and Rest of Asia Pacific (7%↓) were the main geographic operating segments of the net sales for the American technology giant.

Americas include both North and South Americas; Europe includes European countries as well as India, Middle East, and Africa; Greater China includes China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong; and Rest of Asia Pacific includes the Australia and other Asian countries.

The iPhone maker recorded net sales of 37% and 63% domestically and internationally respectively during the year. In fact China, along with the United States, was the only country that comprised more than 10% of the company’s net sales in 2017, 2016, and 2015.

Apple took another step toward first-ever ‘one trillion dollar company’ when its last reported share price soared over $170 – elevating its market capitalization close to whooping $900 billion.

But on the roadways of back-to-back hits, US multinational is facing some serious challenges in the world’s second largest economy as well as Apple’s second largest market in the world – China.

While Trump is pushing Apple to bring back manufacturing jobs back into the United States from China – the Chinese smartphone makers are already helping him to toss Apple out of country.

In 2017, although California-based tech co surged its net sales by 6% but Greater China remained the only operating segment where Apple’s revenue is scaled back by another 8% – to $44.8 billion this year.

The net sales decline in Greater China was 17% in 2016.

Overall, Apple telescoped net sales of 24% or 13.9 billion from the region in two years mainly due to lower sales in iPhone coupled with the effect of weakness in foreign currencies relative to the US dollar.

In 2015, Apple trumpeted fabulous growth in Greater China when its net sales mushroomed by impressive 84% – to $58.7 billion but once Trumped, it cuddled its growth first by 17% in 2016 and then 8% in 2017. As a result, the iPhone maker also lost $6.0 billion of operating income in two years.

Chinese domestic smartphone market players including Huawei, OPPO, vivo, and Xiaomi are posing a strong threat to the Apple growth in the country and in the region. Amid a series of stars and shines around the world, Apple has failed to shed the fifth place in China.

Though Apple snapped an increase of 7% in the third quarter of 2017after a streak of six straight declines but its sales is half of fourth largest Chinese Xiaomi and 39% of frontrunner Huawei, according to IDC.

Apple shipped just 8.8 million units against Xiaomi (15.7 million units), vivo (18.9 million units), OPPO (21.6 million units), and Huawei (22.3 million units) for the period. The company’s iPhone X price tag at $1,264 is further helping cheaper Chinese brands to slowly basin the American marque in China.

Niche market is Apple’s precedence. It aims to make only the best products that cost some money to target the premium end segment. Cupertino company captured nearly 80% of the global smartphone’s industry profits last year as compared to market leader, Samsung (14.6%), Huawei (1.6%), OPPO (1.5%), and Vivo (1.3%).

But China is almost 30% of global handsets market and the financial results released by the company also show a tap to its net sales – emphasizing that tech ogre is slumping in premium Chinese market as well.

Then there is a political backdrop of Tim Cook and Donald Trump which surfaced when Apple CEO criticized Trump’s travel ban on predominantly seven Muslim countries.

‘We have employees that secured a work visa, they brought family to the US, but happened to be outside the US when the executive order was issued and all of a sudden their families were affected.’

‘They couldn't get back in. That's a crisis. You can imagine the stress. "If we stand and say nothing it's as if we're agreeing, that we become a part of it. It's important to speak out.’

Myanmar: Rohingya Muslims Need Military Support, Not just Prayers, Financial Aids, and Diplomatic Roars

By: Azhar Azam

A recent AP report finds that the rape of Rohingya Muslim women has been ‘sweeping’ and ‘methodical’ after interviewing 29 women and girls ‘separately’ and ‘extensively’ with age range between 13 and 35 who fled Myanmar to Bangladesh.

A woman, 22, shared with Associated Press the searing episode of Myanmar security forces’ sexual assault while she and her husband were sleeping in their home on a night of June.

Seven soldiers raided her house, shot her husband in the chest and slit his throat, and gang-raped her. Just a few days back, she had heard of the killing of her parents and also about his brother who was missing.

Myanmar security forces has systematically been employing rape and sexual violence as a terror tool and killing Muslims, billed as ‘ethnic cleansing’ to suppress voices of basic human rights in its state of Rakhine (Arakan).

According to a most conservative estimate by an international humanitarian aid group – Doctor without Borders – 6,700 Rohingya people have been killed as a result of violence in Rakhine between August 25 and September 24.

The report further estimates that this toll by violence includes no less than 730 children below the age of five who also lost their lives in ‘clearance operation’ conducted by Myanmar security forces

Also known as MSF – acronym of Médecins Sans Frontières – the philanthropic body believes that the numbers of killings are likely to be much higher as the surveys did not account for all the displaced persons settled in refugee camps and also the families who never fled Myanmar.

There were 69% violence-related deaths, 9% burnt to deaths in their houses, and 5% beaten to deaths. Among the children killed below the age of five – 59% were shot, 15% burnt alive in their homes, 7% beaten to deaths, and 2% died in landmine blasts.

Dr. Sidney Wong explained the Burmese brutality that there were also the reports that the ‘entire families who were perished after they were locked inside their homes, while they were set alight’.

Nearly 650,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar to seek refuge in Bangladesh since the Burmese military crackdown on Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine in the aftermath of Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) attacks.

In an interview with Dhaka Tribune, an ARSA commander Abdus Shakoor defended his attack with 200-natives (out of various attacks by several groups) on Myanmar border police posts and a military base on August 25.

'To save our people, to save our mothers and sisters, to take back our rights, we took up sticks, and axes, and knives and rose up against oppressors.’

Burma, renamed Myanmar in 1989, was under British colonial rule during 1824-1942 before Japan invaded; pushing British out of the territory. British evacuation provoked Burmese nationalists to attack Muslims communities in then-Burma.

In 1945, British liberated Burma from Japan with the help of Burmese nationalists and latter created independent Union of Burma in 1948; defying promise to give autonomy to Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine (Arakan), living in the land since 8th century.

Tensions soared between the newly established Burma and Rohingya Muslims; most of whom wanted Arakan inclusion in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Jinnah however regretted due to lesser Muslims’ proportionate to Burmese population and opined that Rohingya Muslims should strive for their rights within Burma.

In 1978, General Ne Win conducted a large scale military operation Nagamin (also known as Operation King Dragon) in northern Arakan that targeted and killed Rohingya Muslims. The operation forced 250,000 people to migrate Bangladesh – one million Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar to various countries.

Burma Citizenship Law enacted in 1982 which no longer recognized Rohingya as citizens of Burma – ensuing 800,000 Rohingya Muslims (1.1 million, according to some reports) stateless. Since then, Muslims in the region are the victims of dreaded exploitations by Burmese army including forced labor, rape, and religious torment.

Rohingya Muslims cannot travel without authorization, prohibited to work outside their villages, and even cannot marry without permission. They are also effectively barred to vote in General Elections so have no political representation in the state’s parliament to raise voice for harboring and protecting their basic rights.

They are the most persecuted community in the world that has been crammed between Myanmar (Formerly Burma) and Bangladesh (Formerly East Pakistan). Neither of the countries is willing to stomach them as citizen; leaving almost a million people at the disposal of high hills, tough weather, and miserable food and health conditions.

The recent spat in Rakhine began in 2012 when clashes between Muslims and Buddhists killed nearly 100 people, mostly Muslims; displacing 135,000 Muslims in IDP camps and forcing migration to tens of thousands as well. The IDPs and refugees headcount continues to grow immensely since then.

Myanmar military and Buddhist militants blazed and razed their homes across villages; burnt alive, tortured, and killed a number of men, women, and children; and gang raped women; flouting all international human rights codes.

A flash report by United Nations’ OHCHR published in February 2017 gives the following statistics, based on interviews with Rohingya Muslims fleeing from Myanmar (testimonies of witnesses):

· 65% reported killings

· 43% reported rapes (up to 52% in women, >18 years)

· 31% reported sexual violence

· 56% reported disappearances

· 64% reported beatings

· 64% reported burning or destruction of property

· 40% reported looting/theft of property

Majority of the rape victims were raped by more than one soldier, usually three to four and even up to eight soldiers.

In May this year, Myanmar military and Border Police Guards raped at least 32 Rohingya women in Kyan Taung area of Rakhine/Arakan. Arakan Rohingya National Organization (ARNO) strongly condemned this act of cruelty to victimize innocent women and urged United National to probe this loathsome act – futile though like many such earlier demands.

This outrageous genocide of by Myanmar military and Buddhist extremists did not pose a serious concern to ‘stability and development in the state’ but a scarce reprisal by Rohingya Muslims in October 2016 did!

On 9-October-2016, few Rohingya Muslims ambushed on Myanmar’s Border Guard Police (BGP) that killing nine policemen. International Crisis Group (ICG) was quick to declare it ‘a new Muslim insurgency’ in its report on 21-December-2016 that ‘threatens the prospects of stability and development in the state’ and ‘has serious implications’.

The Group muted on Rohingya Muslims’ killings, rapes, sexual violence, and even babies stabbed who were crying for milk to their mothers by Myanmar military, traced Muslim insurgent group Harakah al-Yaqin (HaY or Faith Movement) immediately. It also quickly uncovered that the movement is ‘led by a committee of Rohingya émigrés in Saudi Arabia’.

‘HaY was established and overseen by a committee of some twenty senior leaders headquartered in Mecca, with at least one member based in Madina.’ Recruitment and training of militia is said to be started in 2013 and supported by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

Ata Ullah or Hafiz Tohar, alias Ameer Abu Ammar and Abu Ammar Jununi, was identified in the backlash on brutal Myanmar forces and Buddhist extremists. Ata Ullah was born in Karachi and brought up and studied in Mecca – Saudi Arabia. HuY is now known as Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and has estimated of 500 -600 fighters.

Myanmar and Indian intelligence agencies propagate that ARSA’s religious ideology comes from a group of Islamic clergy based in Saudi Arabia but its fighting commanders are all trained in Pakistan. Typical Indian mindset, blamed Lashkar-e-Taiba for picking recruits from refugee camps on Myanmar-Bangladesh border after 2012 riots.

But Rohingya diaspora is now escalating!

As Myanmar military oppression on Rohingya Muslims is growing, ARSA is burgeoning simultaneously, and with more intensity.

On 25-August-2017, in retaliation to the brutal crackdown by Myanmar’s security forces on Muslims that killed thousands and fled over a million, around 150 ARSA members armed with machetes, swords, deadly weapons and other armory carried out nearly 20 attacks on Burmese police camps and military bases leaving 71 dead and wounding many.

Yet again, Myanmar and Indian media is trying to figure out Pakistan connection with this indigenous Rohingya movement by indulging Hafiz Saeed from nowhere. In July 2015, Mizzima, a Myanmar daily, accused Lashkar-Taiba (LeT) and its adjoins Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF) for radicalizing Rohingya Muslims on Myanmar-Bangladesh borders referring Indian intelligence sources.

'They (Indian intelligence) told Mizzima that LET through its front, Jamat-ud-Dawa (JUD) and Fala-I-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF), is ‘extremely active’ among the Rohingyas and other Muslims in Myanmar under cover of relief and rehabilitation.'

'In July 2012, during the Rakhine state riots in Myanmar, the LET front JUD organized ‘Difa-e-Mussalman Arakan Conference’ in Karachi and exhorted its cadres to recruit Rohingyas to avenge the riots.'

The newspaper also shares a picture showing Maulana Abdul Qudus Bermi of Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami (HuJ-I) Arakan (now merged into ARSA), migrated to Pakistan in 1980s, accompanying Hafiz Saeed in the conference to validate the indictment. Maulana is also supposed to hire Ata Ullah (Hafiz Tohar) for conducting activities in Myanmar.

The picture had gone viral in India and Indian media is still living off this five years old photograph to deport 14,000 immigrants back to Myanmar.

This demonstrations an obvious Indian influence in Myanmar and Bangladesh and to divert the attention of international community from grim humanitarian crisis and Myanmar’s atrocities on the helpless Rohingya Muslims.

But these are only a few sections in the Muslim countries who are effectively trying to stop Myanmar’s ruthless terrorism, otherwise, needless to mention, the frightful restraint by Muslim rulers who can sacrifice ‘all others’ to protect their regimes, kingdoms, lives, and lavish lifestyles.

Not just prayers, financial aids and diplomatic roars; Rohingya Muslims need military support to encounter this callous state terrorism and hence is a primitive test for Saudi-led Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism (IMAFT).

How strikingly great Iqbal (May Allah have mercy on him) delineated such a conduct lyrically:

یہ ناداں گر پڑے سجدے میں جب وقت قیام آیا 

Why Gwadar is Jewel in the Crown (CPEC) of China’s Belt and Road?

By: Azhar Azam

Enormous ruses have been arrayed to undermine the deep Pak-Sino relations but the ‘all-weather friendship’ remains free-of-spat. Though there have been rare frictions but the relationship between the two countries is pliant enough to absorb such minor shocks.

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the key component of China’s ambitious ‘Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative’ to envisage a greater plan of regional connectivity – to integrate land and sea routes across Eurasia.

The flagship project is set to propel a new era of trade and economic cooperation between China and Pakistan in several energy and infrastructure sectors alongside developing special economic zones (SEZs) and social sector development projects.

Already a number of mega energy and infrastructure projects are efficiently rolling under CPEC – some of those are near completion including five biggest projects – Gwadar Port, Karot Power Station, Transmission Line from Lahore to Matiari, Karachi Circular Railway, and Karakoram Highway.

The power dearth – the most vicious of all – will drop in Pakistan after 720MW Karot Hydropower Project – Xi’s first initiated Silk Road Fund project – connects to national grid by April 2021, chief information office of Chinese government said in a statement.

CPEC is divided into three different phases – which are expected to be completed by 2017-2018, 2020, and 2030. China legitimately prioritizes the first phase – to develop a new trade and transport route of 3,218km from Xinjiang, China to Gwadar, Pakistan.

The most-nattered mega project hinges on Gwadar port.

Work on Gwadar port has repeatedly been interrupted since 1998 and finally, the command of newly developed Gwadar port was handed over to China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC Pakistan) in 2013. COPHC officially took control of the Gwadar port for period of 40 years in April 2017.

Gwadar – gateway of CPEC – is a strategically located, deep sea port having deepest Birth of 14.5 meters (extendable up to 20 meters) and capable to accommodate large vessels of up to 70,000 DWT.

Also known as The Door of Wind, Gwadar can hugely develop the economy of Pakistan due to its presence at the convergence of three most important regions of the world – Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia.

In addition, Gwadar is the closest Seaport from Western China – 2,395 kilometers, almost half of 4,500 kilometers through China’s East Coast from Xinjiang. It also gives transit trade route for landlocked Central Asian Republics (CARs) and Afghanistan.

Gwadar is supported by 923 hectares Large Free Zone, a number of Export Processing Zones (EPZs), and Trading Zones – operated by COPHC – that enjoys a tax holiday from federal, provincial, and local taxes of 20 years.

This massive area has the capacity to house bonded warehousing, manufacturing, international purchasing, transit and distribution, transshipment, commodity display, and supporting services such as business offices, custom, financial, information, hotels, restaurants, entertainment, medical etc. to prosper tourism sector in Pakistan.

China’ state-owned company (COPHC) will have a lion’s share in the revenues generated from Gwadar Port and Free Economic Zones (FEZs) until it runs into profitability after nine (9) years.

After nine (9) years of operational phase of this build, operate, and transfer (BOT) project – the Chinese company will retain 91% revenue of terminal and marine operations from Gwadar Port and also the 85% revenue of free trade activities.

Same as agreement with Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) – no share will be given to Pakistan during the operational phase. However after nine (9) years, Pakistan’s share from Gwadar Port and Free Trade Zones (FTZs) will be 9% and 15% respectively.

By the end of 2017, Gwadar will be capable to handle one million tons of cargo which is planned to reach 13 million tons within next five years, becoming largest South Asian port. After turning completely operational, Gwadar is expected to handle cargo of up to 400 million tons by 2030 that is close to ports of India's combined capacity of handling about 500 million tons a year.

What’s more CPEC route to Gwadar onwards would substantially reduce the transportation cost, distance, and travel time for Chinese goods to Europe and Middle East apart from extensive China’s dependence on Strait of Malacca as a waterway for its imports.

Gwadar port will help China to reduce sea distance by over one-half from Central China to Europe just through Central Asia by 7,847 – from prior 16,507 miles sea travel distance. The overland distance will also be confined to 1,750 miles through Karachi – from previous 2,625 miles through Shanghai.

As a result, the transit time of goods will also be dropped by 50% – from existing 50-days travel route to only 25-days through CPEC.

This reduction in travel distance and time will invariably cut the transportation cost of the Chinese goods as well. Currently, the fright from 40-ft container Hamburg to Shanghai is $2,500 to $3,000. Once CPEC is operational, this cost would be reduced to $1,000 and in a half time.

The Gwadar port location at the mouth of Persian Gulf will also give China the direct access to Arabian Sea and near the key shipping routes obliging 17 million barrels of oil per day and large quantity of bulk, bulk-break, and containerized cargo.

CPEC will also magically minimize the cumulative distance from central China to Middle East to from 12,537 miles to 2,295 miles (80%) – predominately narrowing distance by sea from 9,912 miles to 545 miles between the two regions.

Similarly on Abu Dhabi-Shanghai route – a 40ft container consumes 16 days and costs a freight of $2000 whereas CPEC would galvanize to transport the same container at either place in only 2-3 days, that too for freight of $200-$250.

CPEC can potentially provide landlocked Afghanistan the shortest and much cheaper route to China, India, and Indian Ocean – approximately 600 kilometers shorter distance as compared to Chabahar.

Through Afghanistan, CPEC can provide participating countries an easy access to Far-East and Australia, making both one of the most dynamic transit routes in the world.

Gwadar is much more conducive port than Chabahar as the port charges on the latter would be much higher due to regular dredging to keep the port operational for bigger ships carrying 4,000 to 6,000 40ft containers.

The fee on account of the goods transportation – toll tax – is the key short term benefit to Pakistan’s economy. Pakistan can generate princely revenue by levying $25/ton of toll tax from Khunjerab to Gwadar Road. Chinese exporters will also be saving $50/ton and a reduced transportation time of 15-days.

Similarly, the cost of goods transportation from Xinjiang to Dubai port costs through Eastern China costs $130/ton to Chinese exporters. If these goods are transported through Gwadar, it would cost them only $50/ton – saving $80/ton and lesser transportation time to them and indeed the most- needed revenue to Pakistan economy.

Apart from trade and economic gains, China can establish a naval base in Gwadar with the help of Pakistan for conducting joint naval patrols in India Ocean to increase influence in brines and to counter common adversary, India.

The CPEC projects are also helping Pakistan to curb its unemployment dilemma and mentoring a skilled labor and trained professionals. According to a data provided by Planning Commission, about 30,000 Pakistani engineers and workers are employed in CPEC projects as well as 8,000 workers and engineers from China.

Various domestic and international organizations and experts give variable estimates of job creation in Pakistan from 400,000 to 800,000 through 2020 in several CPEC projects, pushing country’s economic growth by 2% to 2.5%.

Pakistan can also capitalize on Gwadar port in future by building bulk storage of oil tanks, oil refineries, establishment of petrochemical industries, ship repair yard, shrimp farming, vessel building yards, cold storages and ice factories, and recreational water sports activities.

As all the CPEC projects are performed on fast-track basis to timely translate and truly embrace the durable advantages of this dream projects – Pakistan is making all efforts including provision of special security forces to encounter the menace of terrorism targeting workers, infrastructure, and trade routes of CPEC.

Although the first phase of CPEC is yet to be completed but the profile of Pakistan is already repairing – thanks to valiant military operations conducted by Pakistan armed forces which have actively secured another developing another strategic asset – CPEC – correspondingly ensuring peace and stability in the country, injecting all important investor friendly environment for national economy.

Hard or Soft: Pakistan Won’t Be Trapped Now

No one has lost more troops and lives to terrorism than the Pakistan, Pentagon Chief Spokesperson Dana W. White said in a press briefing on Thursday – referring to Secretary Defense James Mattis who recently concluded his trip to Pakistan.

Rejoining to a loaded question about the kind of assurances Mattis received from Pakistan and actions against Haqqani Network, she further noted that the secretary has a very fruitful conversation with Pakistan and this is about broadening our relationship and looking for opportunities.

‘Pakistan has an interest in ensuring that terrorism is defeated. They’ve lost thousands of troops, and they’ve lost thousands of innocents as well …… so we‘ll look for ways to work with Pakistan is to find that common ground (terrorism or the threat of terrorism) and move forward.’

Explicating the ‘common ground’, White also stressed that it is in the interest of the US, the Pakistan, and the region to ensure and encourage political reconciliation in Afghanistan. She was holding the press briefing along with David L. Norquist, Undersecretary of Defense, Comptroller.

This is quite after some time that a US official has acknowledged Pakistan’s sacrifices in war on terror and prescribed a political settlement in Afghanistan. In October, Trump also appreciated Pakistan for rescuing a North American family from a Taliban-linked group hostage but his recognition lacked such acknowledgement.

According to latest official statistics, the US military casualties have reached 59,565 as of December 7, 2017 including 6,922 killings in several operations across various countries – mostly in Afghanistan and Iraq. In addition, a total of twenty one Department of Defense (DOD) civilians have also lost their lives in global war on terror.

As a result the United States was nearly extracted from Afghanistan and Iraq – except for troops dedicated to NATO Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan. Resolute Support is purely a non-combative support mission which prerogative is to only train, advise, and assist Afghan security forces.

Around the unremitting deteriorating situation in Afghanistan and Iraq – Pentagon urged Congress to pass the Fiscal Year 2018 Defense Appropriation Bill on Wednesday. To the frustration of the Department of Defense, Congress has been delaying the authorization of $639bn despite frequent requests.

Pentagon Spokesman Army Col. Robert Manning was clearly riled by the delay. ‘Continuing resolutions immediately disrupt training, impede readiness recovery, delay maintenance, impose uncertainty on the workforce, and induce inefficient and constrained contracting practices’.

He further said that the men and the women of the department deserve the certainty and also the department cannot begin new programs or new construction during a continuing resolution. ‘The longer (continuing resolution) last, the more damage they do’, Manning exclaimed.

Pentagon prioritizes three areas during fiscal year 2018 – improve war-fighting readiness, achieve program balance by addressing pressing shortfalls, and build a larger, more capable, and more lethal joint force.

The DOD major planned investments for the year are: aircraft ($22.2bn); shipbuilding ($$18.8bn); preferred munitions, ground systems, and missile defense ($7.5bn), science and technology innovation ($13.2bn), and supporting families ($8.0bn).

The number of US service members at the end of FY2018 totals 1,018,000 soldiers, 386,900 sailors, 223,500 marines, and 501,500 airmen including active, guard, and reserve.

Travel Ban: A US Policy Exists for Years

By: Azhar Azam

Trump Administration finally broke the losing-streak when the Supreme Court gave a verdict in its favor to enforce travel ban on aliens from several nations – predominately Muslim countries to ‘protecting Americans’.

In his newer version of September 24 proclamation – Donald Trump imposed certain ‘travelling limitations and restrictions’ on nationals from Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen.

Supreme Court ruling gives an odd win for astute Trump’s abhorrent, polemic, and despicable physiognomies to tactically exploit the two indispensables instilled in most Americans – nationalism and racism.

A distinct revelation in the edict confirms it which argues a Politico/Morning Consult poll showing 60% of the Americans supported these Trump’s travel restrictions. No less than a shock that the world’s most powerful administration is relying on public polls.

On the political front – the occasional success will also help him to prolong his maturing impeachment. Nevertheless, the decree is still subject to appeals and reviews in several federal courts of the country.

The prior January 27 (clarified on January 29) executive order – to temporarily ban nationals of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, and Yemen to entering into the United States – was knocked over by the courts immediately.

After the beat, the Trump Administration reworked and expanded the travel ban to Venezuela and North Korea to brand it more tolerable to the top court. Entry restrictions on Iraq were omitted due to ‘great screening security’.

Although Trump might be admired in the epidemic of these topical developments but in the backdrop of the US political history – he is no different to his predecessors who all assumed such measures.

The step is widely beheld as an accomplishment of Trump’s promise during election campaign to banning Muslims’ entrance into the United States but the reality is that this is a Muslim travel ban exists for years.

In fact, these Muslim-majority countries were already on the radar of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under Obama Administration following Paris 2015 attacks that the latest Trump’s travel edition verifies.

Firstly, DHS included four countries – Iran, Iraq, Sudan, and Syria on January 21, 2016 and later on February 18, 2016 added three more countries – Libya, Somalia, and Yemen, as countries of concern.

The Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015 became law on December 18, 2015.

Under this act, on January 21, 2016 – US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that it has intensively scrutinized a million passengers everyday travelling to the United States who either nationals of , been present or traveled to Iran, Iraq, Sudan, or Syria on or after March 11, 2011.

In further travel restrictions, on February 16, 2016 – DHS continued the implementation of the Act and included certain individuals who have traveled to Libya, Somalia, and Yemen – three additional countries of concern.

Thirteen year back – this memorandum was issued by DHS under George W. Bush regime on November 1, 2004 which patently designates 35 countries and territories ‘as special interest countries’ – mostly Muslim peopled.

And importantly – Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen were already included in the countries of concern for the United States.

Consequently Trump is actually enforcing a hoarier US travel policy targeting Muslim-dominated countries – and he is only the new face to implement the pre-devised establishment agenda.

Double Smash: Siemens Healthineers Outdoes and Goes Public Simultaneously

By: Azhar Azam

The global technology powerhouse – Siemens AG – generated revenue of €83bn and net income of €6.2bn for the fiscal year 2017 ended September 30; the Europe’s largest industrial conglomerate announced in its Annual Report 2017 on November 29.

Germany engineering giant poled a cumulative growth rate of 7.4% in a global economic consolidating environment in 2017. Most of the reportable segments witnessed strong growth though Healthineers has been the star performer.

Siemens Healthineers reported net income of €2.5bn – the largest amongst all segments – in fiscal year 2017; powered by revenue increase of 3% to €13.8bn as compared to prior fiscal year – posting second largest (18.1%) return on capital employed (ROCE).

Order intake also grew slightly to €14.2bn in most areas, led by diagnostic imaging business which continued to account for the largest share of Healthineers profit overall, and by the advanced therapies business.

Siemens has several operating segments, the Divisions – Power & Gas; Energy Management; Building Technologies; Mobility; Digital Factory; and Process Industries and Devices; as well as Strategic Units Healthineers and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, which together form its industrial business.

The Financial Services (SFS) supports the activities of Siemens industrial business and also conducts its own business with external customers. Business description of each operating segment is outlined in the company’s annual report.

In healthcare portfolio – Siemens Healthineers is the leading provider of medical equipment such as X-ray, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging systems and is also a leader in laboratory diagnostics and clinical IT.

The leader in diagnostic imaging and laboratory diagnosis was organized into six business areas in fiscal year 2017: Diagnostic Imaging; Laboratory Diagnostics; Advanced Therapies; Ultrasound; Point of Care Diagnostics; and Services.

Markets served by Healthineers grew moderately in FY2017 driven by growth in Latin America and Asia, Australia, including further stabilization in China. The market volume in Europe and the United States however remained at near prior-year levels.

The diagnostic imaging market segment also grew moderately. While demand for imaging procedures continued to grow, this trend was partly offset by price pressure on new purchases and increased utilization rates for installed systems.

Market for ultrasound and in-vitro diagnostics grew even more strongly. The market for in-vitro diagnostics is expanding due to populations and income growth in emerging markets and the rising importance of diagnostics in improving healthcare quality.

Growth in the area of molecular diagnostics was particularly strong, driven by technological advances and a broader spectrum of applications.

For the healthcare industry as a whole, the trend towards consolidation continues. Competition among the leading companies is strong, including with respect to price.

Meanwhile, the Managing Board of the Munich-based group also intended to publicly list monitory stake of its separately operated €35bn to €40bn Healthineers on Frankfurt Stock Exchange instead of London – in the aftereffects of Brexit or New York.

The manufacturing unit has already hired legendary financial groups such as Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, and JP Morgan for Siemens Healthineers initial public offering (IPO) – to selling up to 25% stakes.

This planned Siemens Healthineers IPO – in the first half of 2018, depending on the market conditions – is set to be the Germany’s largest floatation in two decades since Deutsche Telekom €13bn float in 1997.

Power and Gas was one of the few business segments that witnessed significant decline in fiscal year 2017 amid highly competitive market environment. The Division reported a sharply lower volume from larger orders in comparison with prior year.

Power and Gas orders and revenue fell by 31% and 6% to €13.4bn and €1.6bn respectively for the fiscal year 2017. As a result, the profit by 15% to €1.6 billion – at profit margin of 10.3% in FY2017 from 11.4% in FY2016.

Nonetheless, the growth in the revenues of other Divisions aided Siemens to offset decline in Power and Gas and others.

Siemens pays handsome monthly salaries to its top executives and members of Managing Board. Since 01-October-2016, base compensation – paid as monthly salary – of President and CEO Joe Kaeser has amounted to €2,130,000 per year.

The base compensation of CFO and of those members of Managing Board who are responsible for Divisions or for Healthineers has been €1,065,000 per year. For the other members of the Managing Board, it has been €1,011,000 per year.

Siemens employed a total of 372,000 people at the close of fiscal year ended 30 September.

Financial Results of Siemens Pakistan for FY2017
For the fiscal year 2017 ended September 30, Siemens Pakistan went through a penitent phase as the company almost halved its net profit only Rs. 1.1bn from prior year’s Rs. 2.1bn as a result of higher cost of sales and services.

Although the net sales and services for the fiscal year 2017 grew to Rs.14.6bn from Rs. 10.2bn in FY2016 – the upswing in cost of sales and service to Rs. 12.1bn in FY2017 from Rs. 9.2bn in FY2016 bugged the syndicate’s productivity.

Siemens Pakistan however announced a final cash dividend of 750% @ Rs. 75.00 per share – in financial results submitted with Pakistan Stock Exchange.

Is India Really a Victim of Terrorism as the Fiend Kindles in Iraq but Trims in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and Syria

By: Azhar Azam

The economic impact of terrorism is only 1% of the total global economic impact of violence – revealed Institute of Economics & Peace (IEP) in its so-called research paper ‘Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2017’ released this month.

Terrorism sparked global economy an impact of $84 billion in 2016 – only a trifling aggregate as compared to economic impact caused by violence that reached $14.3 trillion in 2016 or 12.6% of the global GDP.

Previously, GTI 2014 had also discovered that global homicide killings are 13-times more than the deaths from terrorism. At-least 437,000 people die of homicides every year, which is 13-times more than the victims of terrorism.

Globally, there has been 17% increase in terrorist attacks on civilians in 2016. The year 2016 also observed a unique resemblance due to similar increase in deaths from terrorism (67%) and battles (66%).

The overall score of global GTI however deteriorated by 4% in 2016 as terrorist activities expanded in 77 countries as compared to 65 countries last year – with at least one death caused by terrorism.

Independent, non-profit think tank however suggests that although the economic impact of terrorism is much small but it is vital to contain it over its potential to expand quickly and kindle major social consequences.

2017 GTI finds that the number of deaths from terrorist attacks have declined for the second consecutive year in 2016 to 25,673 people – 13% less from 2015 (29,376 deaths) and 22% fewer than peak 2014 (32,685 deaths).

Five countries – Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Syria together comprised about 75% of total deaths from terrorism in 2016.

The report explores that terrorism widely prevailed in Middle East and North Africa (MENA), South Asia, and sub-Sahara Africa regions – otherwise mainly in most parts of Asia and Africa. Nearly 84% of all terrorists’ attacks and 94% of all deaths from terrorism resulted only from these regions.

In comparison, Central America and the Caribbean accounted for 0.05% of the total attacks and deaths – lowest levels of terrorism.

Except for Iraq that witnessed 40% death increase attributed to ISIS, ISIL or IS – terrorism has fallen in the other four epicenters in 2016 – Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, and Nigeria those all recorded a consolidated decline of 33%. 

Nigeria has been the pick of the countries which impressively confined deaths from terrorism by 80% in 2016 – 3,100 fewer deaths as a result of 80% decline in deaths attributed to Boko Haram.

Afghanistan also showed some recovery as the deaths from terrorism in the country fell by 14% in 2016. This decline is however attributable to Afghan Taliban tactical shift to focusing on conventional armed conflict with Afghanistan security forces.

In 2016, there were nearly 18,000 battle-related deaths in Afghanistan – that is 700 more deaths in 2015 and the largest since US invasion in the devastated country in 2001 after September 9.

For the third consecutive year, Pakistan witnessed fewer terrorist attacks and deaths. In 2016, there were 956 deaths from terrorism – lowest in a decade (since 2006), 12% fewer than 2015, and 59% less than peak 2013.

IEP classifies these improvements ‘notable’, ascribing this success to Pakistan’s military effort ‘Zarb-e-Azab’ started in mid-2014, as the country has a long history of high levels terrorism and this year’s result is the best in a decade.

The trend outlines the decline in the terrorist activities of TTP which is responsible for over half of the deaths from terrorism in Pakistan. The military estimates to kill over 3,500 TTP terrorists besides destroying their hideouts and infrastructure in the country.

Subsequently as a result of comprehensive military operation, Pakistan upgraded its ranking in GTI to #5 in 2016 – for the first time ever. The South Asian country has been ranked as at least 4th worst country for terrorism since 2007 and was ranked 2nd on six occurrences.

After a radical wave of civil war in the last decade – terrorism in Syria paraded a slight improvement in deaths from terrorism in 2016 as the terrorism death toll fell 24% – to 2,102 due to 75% decline in deaths from terrorism attributed to Al-Nusra Front.

Afghanistan, Syria, and Yemen are the countries that saw 500 fewer deaths from terrorism year-over-year.

Iraq is the country that has consistently been most impacted by terrorism for last 13 years. In 2016, terrorism in Iraq killed 2,803 more people than 2015 – an increase of 40%. The country witnessed one of the largest deaths increase due to nearly 1,000 attacks carried by Islamic State (Daesh), killing 7,351 people.

Egypt (9x) and Turkey (16x) experienced substantial increase in terrorism whereas for the first time, Turkey has been included in top-10 countries those have been affected by terrorism mainly due to increased activities of Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) and ISIL.

India is constantly the surprise inclusion in several global terrorism indices by IEP – has been ranked between 2nd and 6th from 2002 to 2015. Despite the increase in the terrorist attacks (+16%), the GTI score of India has improved for the last two years.

This is because, unlike in other countries where single terrorist group is involved in killings – 39 militant organizations are operating in India predominately left wing extremists (LWE) like Maoists or Naxalites parties promoting the communist ideology ‘due to abject poverty, deprivation, exploitation, displacement of people, and social injustice’.

Maoists or Naxalites are responsible for more than half of the attacks and 88% of the deaths in India. IEP also cites two deadliest Islamic groups – Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HuM) – for fatal militant activities in 2015 in Indian-occupied Kashmir.

In 2016, India experienced some 929 attacks which claimed 340 deaths averaging 0.4 deaths/attack but the number is still significantly lower than the other most terrorism-impacted countries those averaged 2.7 deaths/attack.

On deaths from terrorism chart, deaths in India (340) are even scarcer than the deaths in Democratic Republic of Congo (479) and South Sudan (472) – both excluded from 2017 GTI top-10 most impacted countries from terrorism.

But the number of attacks (929) favored India to limelight – majority of those were least lethal or more discriminate and did not result in any deaths and the report itself clarifies ‘This discrepancy between the number of attacks and deaths reflect how the nature of terrorism in India differs when compared to other countries’.

So India must be excluded from the list of most impacted countries from terrorism since Kashmir struggle for plebiscite under UN resolution and Maoists/Naxalite drive against inequality and injustice are the result of international community total failure to insert its role on dispute resolution and providing basic human rights to asphyxiated people in India.

US Drawing Out of Global War on Terror

By: Azhar Azam

The cost of war could never be calculated – the emotions shattered could never be measured – the relations detached could never be refilled – the misery of an orphan could never be sensed – the feelings of a widow could never be expressed – and the sacrifice of the son, brother, father or husband could never be weighed.

Though it is not possible to convey the human toll in the wars on terror in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan but what is calculable are the ledgers, financial burdens and offence allocations or expenditures which could give an idea of devastation incurred.

Since 9/11, a number of international, regional and territorial wars and conflicts have been kindled – shadily nearly all in selective Asian regions. Starting from US-led coalition forces attacks on Iraq, Afghanistan – later tugging Pakistan into war – and then to ongoing Middle East chaos, everywhere the number of casualties is myriad.

As these wars and operations have been triggered by the United States directly or indirectly – it has to make huge on account of weapons, destruction then reconstructions, logistics, pays, interests and medical etc.

According to a study for Department of Defense released in July 2017, American taxpayers are estimated to pay a total of $1.52 trillion at an average of $7,740 for US wars on terror in Afghanistan (3,785) and Iraq/Syria ($3,955) through FY2018.



Federation of American Scientists (FAS) has also obtained a DOD report through Secrecy News that lists US costs of war has exceeded $1.46 trillion as of June 2017 – showing US wars expenditure of $253.6 million per day.

Professor Neta C. Crawford research paper revealed this month estimates that the actual costs of war are much higher through FY2017 – $1.88 trillion at per month average expenditure of $320.3 million in these war zones.

US began global war on terror in October 2001 alongside war against Afghan Taliban and Al-Qaida in Afghanistan. It launched war against Iraq in March 2003 and later expanded it to Syria in August 2014. Pentagon baptized various war missions with different names.

Operation Freedom’s Sentinel (OFS) – train, advise, and assist mission to Afghan security forces – began on January 1, 2015 in Afghanistan (incl. operations in Pakistan) after formally ending Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) – combat mission – which lasted for over 13 years – October 7, 2001 to December 31, 2014.

Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) – military air power intervention – began in August 2014 in Iraq and Syria. Earlier it launched Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) – military action – that ran from March 19, 2003 to August 31, 2010. War in Iraq continued under Operation New Dawn (OND) till December 2011 before renamed into Post-Operation New Dawn (P-OND). With the inclusion of Syria, it is now known as OIR.

Eventually US have formally ended combat missions in Afghanistan and have also limited its military operations in Iraq and Syria to solitary air strikes.

Operation Noble Eagle (ONE) was started on September 14, 2001 attacks and is the military operation related to homeland security and providing support to federal, state, and local agencies after 9/11 attacks.

Prof. Crawford lists various hidden outlays that cracks the US war costs incredibly. He estimates that the total US spending on Global War on Terror (GWOT), Homeland Security, Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs since the 9/11 attacks has already exceeded $4.3 trillion through FY2017.

An additional $281 billion is estimated to be spent by the US (excluding Pakistan) through FY2018 – ramming total cost of wars to over $4.6 trillion.

That goes on to corroborate that the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria would essentially charge each American taxpayer a total of $22,120 or US economy $755 million per day through FY2018.

The report also calculates an additional $1,000 billion spending on account of future obligations for GWOT Veterans Medical and Disability for 2019-2016.

One must not be confused with $877.4 billion war appropriation to Afghanistan that includes Pakistan Coalition Support Fund (CSF). CSF is a reimbursement to Pakistan for military operations conducted against Taliban and Al-Qaida on behalf of the US and is just a fraction of total amount – $14.5 billion.

CSF to Pakistan so as the other aids to several countries is appropriation only – final obligations and disbursements are much lower than these appropriations as reference document verifies too. For example, the US appropriated $742 million, obliged $142 million and spent only $130 million on foreign assistance to Pakistan in FY2017.

Professor explains the point on Page 11 and confirms that the US disbursed and compensated Pakistan for using ports, overland transportation of food, fuel, and military equipment, providing logistical support for its forces, manning observation posts on Pak-Afghan border, conducting maritime interdiction operations, and combat air patrols.

On the other side, US global war on terror has charged Pakistan’s economy direct and indirect losses of nearly $120 billion from 2002 to 2016 besides maiming death toll of nearly 80,000 in GWOT including innocent people, armed and other law enforcing agencies personnel.

Consequently the report opines that these massive costs of wars are likely to cost tens of thousands of jobs, affect US ability to invest in infrastructure, increased interests costs on borrowings leading to greater overall Federal indebtness.

Based on DOD current contingencies $120 billion (FY2017) on account of two major international missions – Operation Freedom’s Sentinel (OFS) in Afghanistan and Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) in Iraq and Syria – Professor’s estimate of $70 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) and US troops’ withdrawal from all the three countries (except for tactical troops’ increase in Afghanistan) accentuate that the United States is gradually drawing out of its own-waged Global War on Terror (GWOT).