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Posts Tagged Global

COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa Makes It to the List of Worlds’ Most Powerful by Ishaal Zehra

COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa Makes It to the List of Worlds’ Most Powerful – What it means to be in the Forbes’ annual ranking of The World’s Most Powerful People

Ishaal Zehra

 

 

 

There are nearly 7.5 billion humans on planet Earth, but the chosen 75 men and women make the world turn, claims the Forbes Magazine. Forbes’ annual ranking of The World’s Most Powerful People identifies one person out of every 100 million whose actions, as per their analysis, mean the most. Apparently, Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa is included in those 75 people who have made up to the list, by superseding his slice of 100 million people in the world and double of this figure in Pakistan.

His designated crown ‘selected few most powerful persons’ for his efforts in begetting peace in the U.S. ally state by fighting away the terrorist groups present in the area, in addition to managing a complex relationship with India on its eastern border. Two years into his tenure as the head of the world’s sixth largest Army, Qamar Javed Bajwa has established himself as a mediator. The rift between India and Pakistan is improving, partly thanks to his efforts.

To compile the ranking of The World’s Most Powerful People, the magazine considered hundreds of candidates from various walks of life and measured their power along four dimensions. First, it was checked whether the candidate has power over lots of people. Next, the financial resources controlled by each person was assessed. Then, their power in multiple spheres was calculated. Forbes maintains that there are only 75 slots on the list, so being powerful in just one area is often not enough. Hence their picks project their influence in myriad ways. Lastly, they made sure that the candidates actively used their power.

To calculate the final rankings, a panel of Forbes editors ranked all of the candidates in each of these four dimensions of power, and those individual rankings were averaged into a composite score.

 

 

 

 

General Bajwa is a newcomer to the list along with 16 others on the list this year, including Mohammed Bin Salman Al Saud – the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, who is thought to be the fulcrum around which the Middle Eastern geopolitics moves for the next generation. Other new members include Jerome H. Powell – chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Darren Woods – CEO of Exxon Mobil, Moon Jae-in – President of South Korea and Robert Mueller – Special Counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice.

General Qamar Javed Bajwa was appointed as the 10th Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan by the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in December 2016.

He was commissioned on 24 October 1980 in 16 Baloch Regiment, which has produced three out of the sixteen army chiefs in the past — General Yahya, General Aslam Baig and General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani.

General. Bajwa is a graduate of National Defence University, Islamabad, Canadian Forces Command and Staff College, (Toronto) Canada, Naval Post Graduate University, Monterey (California) in the USA. He has also served as an instructor at School of Infantry and Tactics, Quetta and Command and Staff College, Quetta and NDU, Islamabad.

Prior to being appointed as the Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army, General Bajwa served as the Inspector General Training and Evaluation from 2015–16 and as a field commander of the X Corps from 2013 to 2015 which is responsible for the area along the Line of Control. In addition, he also served as a peacekeeper in the UN mission in Congo as a Brigadier and served as the brigade commander in 2007. Forbes also cited former Chief of Indian Army Staff General Bikram Singh’s annotations regarding the Pakistani Chief. In fact, General Bajwa has served in Congo under General Bikram Singh who was all praises for Bajwa’s performance.

The Chief of Pakistan Army Staff has vast experience in the military field, especially in significant areas such as Baltistan and Kashmir. His approach towards Pakistan’s arch rivals and neighbours India remains passive yet firm which makes him a composed General ready to act with a clear mind rather than being impulsive. He has remained professional and away from politics throughout his term in the army which also adds to his qualities as a true military general.

This year’s list comes at a time of rapid and profound change and represents our best guess about who will matter in the year to come. Forbes magazine placed Chinese President Xi Jinping at the top of the list while placing Russia’s Vladimir Putin as the second most powerful man of 2018. Reducing the US President Donald Trump to number three position in the list of most powerful personality. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel was ranked fourth in the list, making her the most powerful woman in the world.

 

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Pakistan ranks 172 in the World in Internet Download Speed Index

 

 

 

Pakistan ranks 172 in the World in Internet Download Speed Index

 
 
Household Download Index
 

cyberspace
Based on millions of recent test results from Speedtest.net, this index compares and ranks consumer download speeds around the globe. The value is the rolling mean throughput in Mbps over the past 30 days where the mean distance between the client and the server is less than 300 miles.
 
 

ALL COUNTRIES

Graph Period:
May 31, 2011 – Nov 29, 2013

 

1
Hong Kong70.78 Mbps
2
Singapore53.42 Mbps
3
Romania52.48 Mbps
4
South Korea47.71 Mbps
5
Sweden43.02 Mbps
6
Macau40.94 Mbps
7
Japan40.93 Mbps
8
Lithuania40.90 Mbps
9
Andorra39.70 Mbps
10
Netherlands38.67 Mbps
11
Taiwan37.73 Mbps
12
Latvia37.52 Mbps
13
Denmark35.20 Mbps
14
Switzerland34.87 Mbps
15
Iceland34.51 Mbps
16
Luxembourg33.37 Mbps
17
18
Bulgaria29.06 Mbps
19
Belgium28.01 Mbps
20
Norway26.82 Mbps
21
Finland26.22 Mbps
22
France24.79 Mbps
23
Portugal24.15 Mbps
24
United Kingdom23.69 Mbps
25
Czech Republic23.28 Mbps
26
Germany23.25 Mbps
27
Liechtenstein23.10 Mbps
28
Estonia23.08 Mbps
29
Hungary22.91 Mbps
30
Uruguay21.78 Mbps
31
Ukraine20.84 Mbps
32
United States20.72 Mbps
33
Malta20.31 Mbps
34
Russia20.19 Mbps
35
Austria20.08 Mbps
36
Slovakia19.51 Mbps
37
Spain19.06 Mbps
38
Canada18.95 Mbps
39
Israel18.83 Mbps
40
Aland Islands18.55 Mbps
41
Ireland17.38 Mbps
42
New Zealand17.02 Mbps
43
Mauritius16.34 Mbps
44
China16.31 Mbps
45
Poland16.24 Mbps
46
47
Slovenia14.72 Mbps
48
Monaco14.34 Mbps
49
Australia14.30 Mbps
50
Georgia14.08 Mbps
51
Kazakstan14.03 Mbps
52
Mongolia13.88 Mbps
53
Isle of Man13.76 Mbps
54
Jersey13.74 Mbps
55
56
Thailand13.21 Mbps
57
Vietnam12.84 Mbps
58
Chile12.74 Mbps
59
Tajikistan11.82 Mbps
60
Faroe Islands11.71 Mbps
61
Aruba11.45 Mbps
62
Mexico11.44 Mbps
63
Curacao11.43 Mbps
64
Macedonia11.23 Mbps
65
66
Madagascar10.72 Mbps
67
Cayman Islands10.54 Mbps
68
Armenia10.19 Mbps
69
Saudi Arabia10.15 Mbps
70
Guernsey10.08 Mbps
71
Namibia9.93 Mbps
72
Turkey9.52 Mbps
73
Kyrgyzstan9.37 Mbps
74
Brazil9.28 Mbps
75
Puerto Rico9.20 Mbps
76
Bahamas9.16 Mbps
77
Qatar9.01 Mbps
79
Grenada8.65 Mbps
80
Belarus8.45 Mbps
81
Guam8.18 Mbps
82
Cyprus8.17 Mbps
83
Serbia8.03 Mbps
84
Greece8.00 Mbps
85
Lesotho7.54 Mbps
86
Bahrain7.30 Mbps
87
San Marino7.28 Mbps
88
Rwanda7.17 Mbps
89
Kuwait7.11 Mbps
91
Italy7.01 Mbps
92
Reunion6.92 Mbps
93
Senegal6.80 Mbps
94
Gibraltar6.76 Mbps
96
New Caledonia6.70 Mbps
97
Bermuda6.69 Mbps
98
Croatia6.67 Mbps
99
DR Congo6.47 Mbps
100
Montenegro6.32 Mbps
101
Mali6.18 Mbps
102
Albania5.94 Mbps
103
Cape Verde5.91 Mbps
104
Ecuador5.87 Mbps
106
Colombia5.85 Mbps
107
Barbados5.74 Mbps
108
109
Panama5.64 Mbps
110
Fiji5.55 Mbps
111
Saint Lucia5.47 Mbps
112
Jamaica5.45 Mbps
113
Argentina5.41 Mbps
114
Nigeria5.22 Mbps
115
Oman5.19 Mbps
116
117
Greenland5.13 Mbps
118
Malaysia4.94 Mbps
119
Ghana4.80 Mbps
120
Azerbaijan4.79 Mbps
121
Laos4.78 Mbps
122
Cambodia4.71 Mbps
123
Zimbabwe4.66 Mbps
124
Nepal4.63 Mbps
125
Bhutan4.53 Mbps
127
Martinique4.35 Mbps
128
Morocco4.31 Mbps
129
Nicaragua4.29 Mbps
130
Tanzania4.22 Mbps
131
India4.21 Mbps
132
Haiti4.17 Mbps
133
Myanmar4.15 Mbps
134
South Africa4.14 Mbps
135
136
Uganda4.04 Mbps
137
Kenya4.00 Mbps
140
Libya3.80 Mbps
141
Peru3.79 Mbps
142
Honduras3.78 Mbps
143
Paraguay3.72 Mbps
144
Mauritania3.71 Mbps
145
Iraq3.69 Mbps
146
Angola3.52 Mbps
147
Guadeloupe3.46 Mbps
148
149
Belize3.38 Mbps
150
Costa Rica3.33 Mbps
151
Indonesia3.33 Mbps
152
Gabon3.31 Mbps
153
Seychelles3.30 Mbps
154
Suriname3.25 Mbps
155
Maldives3.21 Mbps
156
Anguilla3.15 Mbps
157
Guatemala3.15 Mbps
158
Zambia3.13 Mbps
159
Mozambique3.11 Mbps
160
Jordan2.95 Mbps
161
Tunisia2.93 Mbps
162
163
Philippines2.90 Mbps
164
165
El Salvador2.84 Mbps
166
Lebanon2.73 Mbps
167
Bangladesh2.69 Mbps
168
Dominica2.68 Mbps
169
170
Uzbekistan2.53 Mbps
172
 Pakistan2.31 Mbps
173
174
Egypt2.17 Mbps
175
Botswana2.14 Mbps
176
Swaziland2.14 Mbps
177
Venezuela2.10 Mbps
178
Sudan1.84 Mbps
179
Bolivia1.73 Mbps
180
Algeria1.54 Mbps
181
Gambia1.50 Mbps
182
183
Benin1.31 Mbps
184
Malawi1.16 Mbps
185
Afghanistan1.13 Mbps
186
Burkina Faso0.89 Mbps

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Reference

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New Press Freedom Group is Launched to Block US Government Attacks

topsecretPublished on Monday, December 17, 2012 by The Guardian

New Press Freedom Group is Launched to Block US Government Attacks

Nothing is more vital than enabling true transparency and adversarial journalism, and preventing further assaults on them

Several weeks ago, I wrote about the steps taken by the US government to pressure large corporations to choke off the finances and other means of support for WikiLeaks in retaliation for the group’s exposure of substantial government deceit, wrongdoing and illegality. Because WikiLeaks has never been charged with, let alone convicted of, any crime, I wrote: “that the US government largely succeeded in using extra-legal and extra-judicial means to cripple an adverse journalistic outlet is a truly consequential episode.” At the end of that column, I disclosed that I had been involved in discussions “regarding the formation of a new organization designed to support independent journalists and groups such as WikiLeaks under attack by the US and other governments.”

(Photograph: Alamy)

That group has now been formed and, this morning, was formally launched. Its name is Freedom of the Press Foundation. Its website is here and its Twitter account, which will be quite active, is @FreedomOfPress.

I’m very excited to have participated in its formation and will serve as an unpaid member of the Board of Directors, along with the heroic whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, 2012 McArthur-fellowship-receipient and Oscar-nominated documentarian Laura Poitras, co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation John Perry Barlow, the actor and civil liberties advocate John Cusack, BoingBoing co-founder Xeni Jardin, and several other passionate free press and transparency activists. Numerous articles have been written today about its launch, including from the New York Times’ media reporter David Carr, theGuardian’s Dan GillmorForbes’ Andy GreenbergHuffington Post’s media reporter Michael CalderoneFDL’s Kevin Gosztola, and board member Josh Stearns.

The primary impetus for the formation of this group was to block the US government from ever again being able to attack and suffocate an independent journalistic enterprise the way it did with WikiLeaks. Government pressure and the eager compliance of large financial corporations (such as Visa, Master Card, Bank of America, etc.) has – by design – made it extremely difficult for anyone to donate to WikiLeaks, while many people are simply afraid to directly support the group (for reasons I explained here).

We intend to raise funds ourselves and then distribute it to the beneficiaries we name. The first group of beneficiaries includes WikiLeaks. We can circumvent those extra-legal, totally inappropriate blocks that have been imposed on the group. We can enable people to support WikiLeaks without donating directly to it by donating to this new organization that will then support a group of deserving independent journalism outlets, one of which is WikiLeaks. In sum, we will render impotent the government’s efforts to use its coercive pressure over corporations to suffocate not only WikiLeaks but any other group it may similarly target in the future.

The second purpose is to ensure that truly independent journalistic outlets – devoted to holding the US government and other powerful factions accountable with transparency and real adversarial journalism – are supported to the fullest extent possible. Along those lines, we have selected three other organizations along with WikiLeaks as our initial beneficiaries:

Muckrock News, a truly innovative group devoted to enabling any citizen easily and quickly to file Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or public records requests with the government, and then “guides the requests through the system so the government does not disregard” them. They also act as a news organization by analyzing and publicizing any newsworthy information they and their users uncover. Currently, “they are conducting a Drone Census of the United States, filing public records requests around the country that ask police agencies if they plan on buying domestic drones for surveillance purposes.”

The UpTake, a Minnesota-based group that uses truly innovative means to break “down walls of power to expose the raw truth by pushing for transparency and access to information.” They use citizen journalism, crowd-sourcing and cutting-edge technology to film and document the bad acts of government agents. I worked next to them when I covered the incredibly excessive federal and local police actions and brutality against protesters at the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, and was truly impressed with them then, as I watched all sorts of young activists and older ones use hand-held video cameras and phones to comprehensively cover all sorts of police abuses being ignored by most large journalistic outlets, which were comfortably ensconced inside the convention hall. They’ve expanded their operations substantially since then, have a long list of achievements to tout, and – most excitingly to me – can serve as a template for how to engage in real journalism across the country using citizens and the power of technology.

The National Security Archive, a group founded “by journalists and scholars to check rising government secrecy” and which “combines a unique range of functions: investigative journalism center, research institute on international affairs, library and archive of declassified U.S. documents.” It also “serves as an advocacy organization to defend and expand citizen access to government information”, as exemplified by its having “filed over 40,000 targeted Freedom of Information and declassification requests to more than 200 offices and agencies of the United States.” Anyone who writes about or works on transparency and civil liberties issues (including me) depends on it; due to its efforts, “more than 10 million pages of previously secret U.S. government documents have been made public.”

Each of these groups is innovating real, adversarial journalism. They deserve the support of anyone who believes that rampant government secrecy and a supine establishment media are serious problems. And our new organization needs the support of everyone who finds the ability of the US government to shut off the funding of journalistic groups it dislikes to be threatening and wrong.

By clicking here, you can donate to all four of these groups at once or to any combination of them in whatever amounts you specify. Every two months, we will release a new bundle of deserving groups or individuals devoted to these values of independent, adversarial journalism and in need. You can also donate directly to the Freedom of Press Foundation, which will distribute the funds to the beneficiaries in accordance with our published criteria. All of the details of the group’s operation, mission, and goals are here. Those who lack the resources to donate can help in other ways, listed here.

Secrecy is the linchpin of abuse of power. Few priorities are more important, in my view, than supporting and enabling any efforts to subvert the ability of the US government and other factions to operate in the dark. It’s particularly vital to undercut the US government’s ability to punish and kill groups that succeed in these transparency efforts. Those are the goals to which this new press freedom foundation are devoted, and I hope that anyone who believes these goals are important will find ways to support this effort.

© 2012 The Guardian
Glenn Greenwald

Glenn Greenwald is a columnist on civil liberties and US national security issues for the Guardian. A former constitutional lawyer, he was until 2012 a contributing writer at Salon.  His most recent book is, With Liberty and Justice for Some: How the Law Is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful. His other books include: Great American Hypocrites: Toppling the Big Myths of Republican Politics,  A Tragic Legacy: How a Good vs. Evil Mentality Destroyed the Bush Presidency, and How Would a Patriot Act? Defending American Values from a President Run Amok. He is the recipient of the first annual I.F. Stone Award for Independent Journalism.

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