Regional

Putin starts new six-year term with challenge to the West

Published

2 years ago

May 8, 2024

Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was up the West to choose between confrontation and cooperation as he was sworn in for a new six-year term on Tuesday at a Kremlin ceremony that was boycotted by the United States and many of its allies, Reuters reported.

More than two years into the war in Ukraine, Putin said he wanted to “bow” before Russia’s soldiers there and declared in his inauguration speech that his landslide re-election in March was proof the country was united and on the right track.

“You, citizens of Russia, have confirmed the correctness of the country’s course. This is of great importance right now, when we are faced with serious challenges,” he told dignitaries in a gilded Kremlin hall where a trumpet fanfare sounded to greet his arrival.

“I see in this a deep understanding of our common historical goals, a determination to adamantly defend our choice, our values, freedom and the national interests of Russia.”

At 71, Putin dominates the domestic political landscape. Leading opposition figures are in prison or exile, and his best known critic, Alexei Navalny, died suddenly in an Arctic penal colony in February, read the report.

Yulia Navalnaya, the late dissident’s wife, urged supporters in a video on Tuesday to keep up the struggle against Putin. “With each of his terms, everything only gets worse, and its’ frightening to imagine what else will happen while Putin remains in power,” she said.

On the international stage, Putin is locked in a confrontation with Western countries he accuses of using Ukraine as a vehicle to try to defeat and dismember Russia.

Putin told Russia’s political elite after being sworn in that he was not rejecting dialogue with the West, including on nuclear weapons.

“The choice is theirs: do they intend to continue trying to restrain the development of Russia, continue the policy of aggression, incessant pressure on our country for years, or look for a path to cooperation and peace?” he said.

With Russia’s troops advancing gradually in eastern Ukraine, the top U.S. intelligence official said last week that Putin appeared to see domestic and international developments trending in his favour and the conflict was unlikely to end anytime soon.

It remains unclear how far Putin will seek to press the war and on what terms he might discuss ending it – decisions that will depend in part on whether Joe Biden or Donald Trump wins the U.S. presidential election in November. Ukraine says peace can only come with a full withdrawal of Russia’s troops, who control nearly 20% of its territory.

WESTERN ABSENTEES

Putin, in power as president or prime minister since 1999, will surpass Soviet leader Josef Stalin and become Russia’s longest-serving ruler since 18th century Empress Catherine the Great if he completes a new six-year term. He would then be eligible to seek re-election again, Reuters reported.

He won victory by a record margin in a tightly controlled election from which two anti-war candidates were barred on technical grounds. The opposition called it a sham.

The United States, which said it did not consider his re-election free and fair, stayed away from Tuesday’s ceremony.

Britain, Canada and most EU nations also decided to boycott the swearing-in, but France said it would send its ambassador.

Ukraine said the event sought to create “the illusion of legality for the nearly lifelong stay in power of a person who has turned the Russian Federation into an aggressor state and the ruling regime into a dictatorship”.

Sergei Chemezov, a Putin ally, told Reuters before the ceremony, that Putin brought stability, something which even his critics should welcome.

“For Russia, this is the continuation of our path, this is stability – you can ask any citizen on the street,” he said.

NUCLEAR TENSIONS

Russia’s relations with the United States and its allies are at their lowest point since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, when the world came to the brink of nuclear war.

The West has provided Ukraine with artillery, tanks and long-range missiles, but NATO troops have not joined the conflict directly, something that both Putin and Biden have warned could lead to World War Three.

Underscoring the rise in nuclear tensions, Russia said on Monday it would practise the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons as part of a military exercise, after what it said were threats from France, Britain and the United States.

One of the decisions awaiting Putin in his new term will be whether to seek to renew or replace the last remaining treaty that limits Russian and U.S. strategic nuclear warheads. The New START agreement is due to expire in 2026.

In line with the constitution, the government resigned at the start of the new presidential term. Putin ordered it to remain in office while he appoints a new one which is expected to include many of the same faces.

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Regional

Pakistan agrees to $4 billion arms deal with Libyan National Army

The package reportedly includes air, land and naval equipment and may involve the sale of JF-17 fighter jets and Super Mushak trainer aircraft to Libya.

Published

2 days ago

December 23, 2025

Ariana News

Pakistan has reached a military equipment deal worth more than $4 billion with Libya’s eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA), Pakistani officials said, despite a long-standing United Nations arms embargo on the country.

The agreement was finalised following a recent meeting in Benghazi between Pakistan’s Army Chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Saddam Khalifa Haftar, the LNA’s deputy commander-in-chief. Officials said the deal will be implemented over about two and a half years, Reuters reported.

According to officials familiar with the agreement, the package includes air, land and naval equipment and may involve the sale of JF-17 fighter jets and Super Mushak trainer aircraft. Estimates of the deal’s value range between $4 billion and $4.6 billion, making it one of Pakistan’s largest-ever defence exports.

The LNA confirmed entering a defence cooperation pact with Pakistan, covering weapons sales, training and military manufacturing, though it did not provide details. Haftar described the agreement as the start of a “new phase of strategic military cooperation.”

Libya has been under a UN arms embargo since 2011, requiring international approval for weapons transfers. It remains unclear whether exemptions have been sought. Pakistani officials said the deal does not violate UN restrictions, noting that several countries continue to engage militarily with Libyan factions.

Pakistan has been actively expanding its defence exports, promoting its domestically produced and China co-developed JF-17 fighter as a lower-cost alternative to Western aircraft.
The Libya agreement would mark a significant expansion of Pakistan’s defence footprint in North Africa amid growing international competition for influence in the country.

Regional

Imran Khan calls for street movement, urges public to reclaim rights

Khan has appealed for collective action, saying the movement was necessary to restore the rule of law, ensure justice, and end what he described as politically motivated and pre-determined court decisions.

Published

3 days ago

December 22, 2025

Ariana News

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has called on his supporters and the wider public to prepare for a nationwide street movement, urging citizens to rise in defense of their fundamental rights.

In a message issued from Adiala Jail, where he is currently detained, Khan appealed for collective action, saying the movement was necessary to restore the rule of law, ensure justice, and end what he described as politically motivated and pre-determined court decisions.

Khan said the recent verdict against him was part of sustained political pressure, alleging that the ruling was delivered without due legal process and without giving him a fair opportunity to present his defense. He warned that such practices have severely damaged the credibility of Pakistan’s judicial system.

The former prime minister also called on lawyers, constitutional experts, and members of the legal community to stand with the public and play an active role in safeguarding the Constitution and the rule of law. He said political stability and economic progress were impossible without an independent and impartial judiciary.

Addressing civil-military relations, Khan said his criticism was aimed at individuals rather than institutions. He described the military as belonging to the people of Pakistan, while alleging that actions taken against him in detention were carried out on the instructions of military authorities.

Khan drew comparisons with the 2007 political crisis, warning that continued erosion of the rule of law would have lasting consequences for the country. He praised judges who resist pressure as national heroes and criticized those who, he said, follow orders without question.

The statement comes amid heightened political and judicial tensions in Pakistan, with Khan’s trial and detention continuing to draw strong domestic and international attention.

Regional

Pakistan court hands Imran Khan, wife 17-year jail terms in another graft case

Published

4 days ago

December 20, 2025

Ariana News

A Pakistani court on Saturday sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to 17 years in prison each in a corruption case involving the under-priced purchase of luxury state gifts, the court and Khan’s lawyers said.

The latest conviction adds to a series of legal troubles for Khan, who has been behind bars since August 2023, and is currently serving a 14-year sentence in a separate land graft case, Reuters reported.

He faces dozens of cases filed since he was ousted from office in 2022, ranging from corruption to anti-terrorism and state secrets charges. Khan has denied wrongdoing in all the cases, which his party says are politically motivated.

“The court announced the sentence without hearing the defence and sentenced 17 years imprisonment to Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi with heavy fines,” Khan’s family lawyer Rana Mudassar Umer told Reuters.

They were handed 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment under Pakistan’s penal code for criminal breach of trust and a further seven years under anti-corruption laws, the special court of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency said in its verdict.

Khan’s jail term from Saturday’s ruling would begin after he has served the 14 years from the land graft case, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said.

The case relates to luxury watches gifted to Khan by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during official visits, which prosecutors said Khan and his wife then purchased from the state at a heavily discounted price in violation of Pakistan’s gift rules.

Tarrar said the purchase resulted in losses of several million rupees for the state.

Zulfi Bukhari, a spokesperson for Khan, said the verdict “ignores basic principles of justice” and turns the process into “a tool for selective prosecution.”

Khan has told his legal team to appeal the decision at the Islamabad High Court, Salman Safdar, another one of his lawyers, told reporters outside the jail where the trials were being held, Geo News reported.

ANOTHER STATE GIFTS CONVICTION

The case is separate from an earlier state gifts prosecution linked to Khan’s August 2023 arrest. Earlier sentences of 14 years for Khan and seven years for Bushra Bibi were later suspended on appeal. The couple denies wrongdoing.

The cases are commonly known in Pakistan as the Toshakhana cases, referring to the state repository where gifts received by public officials are deposited.

Following the verdict, Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party announced plans for protests across Punjab on Sunday.

Khan’s party also says routine family and legal visits have been blocked in recent weeks despite court orders. Authorities deny any mistreatment and say he is receiving all facilities available to prisoners.

Khan, a former cricket star turned politician, remains one of Pakistan’s most polarising figures, with his legal battles unfolding as his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party remains sidelined from power.