Around 540 Pakistani students to return from Bishkek today via commercial flights— deputy PM

Around 540 Pakistani students to return from Bishkek today via commercial flights— deputy PM
In this screengrab, taken from a video released by Pakistan’s Interior Ministry, Pakistani students arrives at the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore on May 19, 2024, from Bishkek after mobs in Kyrgyz capital attacked foreign students Friday night following a brawl with migrants. (Photo courtesy: Interior Ministry)
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Updated 19 May 2024
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Around 540 Pakistani students to return from Bishkek today via commercial flights— deputy PM

Around 540 Pakistani students to return from Bishkek today via commercial flights— deputy PM
  • First batch of 130 Pakistani students from Bishkek arrived in Lahore on Saturday night 
  • Fifty students have also registered to return home via special air force flight, says deputy PM

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Ishaq Dar announced the government has arranged three commercial flights to repatriate around 540 Pakistani students from Bishkek today, Sunday, following violent clashes in the city this week that led to the evacuations.

The development took place after frenzied mobs attacked foreign nationals in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek on Friday. The attacks began after videos of a brawl between Kyrgyz and Egyptian students went viral on social media, prompting furious mobs to target hostels of medical universities and private lodgings of international students, including Pakistanis, in the city.

The first batch of around 130 Pakistani students arrived in Lahore late Saturday night. According to official statistics, around 10,000 Pakistani students are enrolled in various educational institutions in Kyrgyzstan, with nearly 6,000 residing and studying in Bishkek.

“Three commercial special flights have been arranged for today (Sunday) on which 540 students will come back while 130 returned yesterday,” Dar told reporters during a media briefing in Lahore.

“A special flight of Pakistan Air Force will also bring around 130 students. So far, 50 students have registered themselves to come on this flight,” he added.

Dar said he spoke with the foreign minister of Kyrgyzstan today, Sunday, who assured him that the situation in the country was under control and that no new incidents had occurred since Friday afternoon.

“Kyrgyz foreign minister has confirmed that 16 foreign students including four to five Pakistanis got injured during this incident and are under treatment,” Dar said.

He added that Kyrgyzstan’s government has also assured that security at students’ hostels has been enhanced and that they were constantly monitoring the situation.

Earlier on Saturday evening, the PM’s Office said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had directed Dar and another cabinet member, Amir Muqam, to travel to Bishkek on Sunday and address the situation there.

Dar said they were not traveling to the country at the Kyrgyzstan government’s request, adding that Pakistan has instead sent two officers from the foreign office to facilitate the country’s embassy.

“We were supposed to leave today for the Kyrgyz republic but their foreign minister requested [us] not to come because it would give the wrong impression about the incident and would provide fuel to the opposition,” Dar said.

He said Kyrgyzstan’s foreign minister has categorically denied any Pakistani students were killed in the clashes.

“Their (Kyrgyzstan) foreign minister also said they have arrested a few culprits and assured that no one involved will be spared,” the deputy prime minister said.

Dar said Pakistan’s foreign office had summoned the Kyrgyz Charge d’Affaires to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday for a demarche over the current situation.

“It [violence] happened due to a clash between students and foreign students were targeted from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Arab countries,” he said.

Dar said Pakistan’s embassy had confirmed the situation is not tense anymore and that Pakistanis injured are being provided the best possible medical facilities.

Separately, in a telephone call with Pakistan’s Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Hasan Ali Zaigham, PM Sharif instructed the embassy to make the necessary arrangements for the special plane to bring back Pakistani students.

The prime minister said injured Pakistani students should be brought back to Pakistan on a priority basis.

“The Prime Minister also instructed to ensure repatriation of family members residing in Kyrgyzstan with the Pakistani students,” PMO said.


Pakistan can serve as bridge between China and US, says Islamabad’s envoy to Washington

Pakistan can serve as bridge between China and US, says Islamabad’s envoy to Washington
Updated 4 sec ago
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Pakistan can serve as bridge between China and US, says Islamabad’s envoy to Washington

Pakistan can serve as bridge between China and US, says Islamabad’s envoy to Washington
  • Relations between the US and China have been strained over the past several years as both world powers seek to increase their global influence
  • The complex US-China rivalry impacts Pakistan as it navigates its strategic partnerships with both while grappling with a prolonged economic crisis

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan can help bridge differences between the United States (US) and China, Islamabad’s envoy to Washington said on Thursday, amid the South Asian country’s efforts to strike a balance in its ties with the two world powers.
Relations between the US and China have been strained over the past several years as both world powers seek to increase their global influence in several domains. The two nations have often had disagreements over trade, Taiwan, the South China Sea and China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Pakistan maintains a delicate balance in its relations with China and the US. While aligned with the US for military cooperation and counter-terrorism efforts, Islamabad has strengthened economic ties with Beijing through initiatives like the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
In a talk delivered at the University of California, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Washington Rizwan Saeed Sheikh underscored the strength of Pakistan-US relations and highlighted the role of the Pakistani-American community in fostering mutual growth, the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“Pakistan has the potential to serve as a bridge between China and the United States,” Sheikh was quoted as saying at the event.
The statement came hours after the Pakistani Foreign Office said its relations with key longtime ally China would remain “unaffected” by Donald Trump winning the US presidential election
“Pakistan’s relations with China are all-weather,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said during a weekly press briefing when asked if Trump’s victory will affect the country’s China policy.
“They are strategic and a source of stability in our foreign policy.”
Baloch said Islamabad does not even need to consider the possibility that its relationship with China will be affected by any domestic development in another country.
The complex US-China rivalry impacts Pakistan as it navigates its strategic partnerships with both world powers while grappling with a prolonged economic crisis.
“Our relations with the United States are decades old, and we look forward to further strengthen and broaden Pakistan-US relationship in all fields,” Baloch said.
“As the Deputy Prime Minister said in a tweet yesterday, we look forward to fruitful and mutually beneficial cooperation between Pakistan and the United States.”
Pakistan and the US cultivated strong defense ties during the Cold War days yet their relationship was also tested by divergent priorities on various issues.
In recent years, Washington and Islamabad’s ties deteriorated as the former suspected the latter of supporting the Taliban in their 2021 takeover of Kabul, allegations which Islamabad rejected. Tensions rose further in 2022 when former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan accused the Biden administration of orchestrating his ouster via a parliamentary vote, a charge the US denied.
Pakistan, under PM Shehbaz Sharif’s two separate stints as prime minister in 2022 and 2024, has actively sought to improve its relations with the US.


Pakistan parliamentary panel passes bill proposing three-year jail term for preaching Zionism

Pakistan parliamentary panel passes bill proposing three-year jail term for preaching Zionism
Updated 10 min 29 sec ago
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Pakistan parliamentary panel passes bill proposing three-year jail term for preaching Zionism

Pakistan parliamentary panel passes bill proposing three-year jail term for preaching Zionism
  • Draft law proposes imprisonment and fines for individuals involved in preaching and displaying symbols of Zionism
  • Pakistan does not recognize nor have diplomatic relations with Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Senate Standing Committee on Interior has this week approved a bill proposing a three-year jail term and fines for individuals involved in propagating Zionism or displaying the movement’s symbols.
Zionism emerged in the late 19th century as an ethnic and religious movement but later converted into a political movement for the establishment of the Jewish state of Israel through the colonization of land outside Europe, which is Palestine. 
Pakistan does not recognize nor have diplomatic relations with Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters” and the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
The anti-Zionism bill approved by the Senate committee on Thursday was introduced in the upper house of parliament by Senator Dr. Afnan Ullah Khan, a lawmaker from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party. He has tabled the bill as a private member, which means its approval does not signify government policy. This bill will become law only if it is passed by both houses of parliament, Senate and National Assembly, with majority vote.
“Whoever knowingly or intentionally is engaged in the preaching of Zionism to incite and provoke hatred in society shall be punished with three years imprisonment, or with forty thousand rupees ($145) fine or with both,” says the draft law.
“Whoever knowingly or intentionally display symbol of Zionism to spread hatred and cause a disturbance in public peace shall be punished with two years imprisonment, or with thirty thousand rupees ($108) fine, or with both.”
Being a Muslim state, the bill says, Pakistan “should never allow display of symbols depicting Zionism for spreading unrest in Pakistan.”


Three-year-old girl sues Punjab government as smog crisis worsens in Lahore

Three-year-old girl sues Punjab government as smog crisis worsens in Lahore
Updated 57 min 27 sec ago
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Three-year-old girl sues Punjab government as smog crisis worsens in Lahore

Three-year-old girl sues Punjab government as smog crisis worsens in Lahore
  • Record air pollution has triggered hundreds of hospitalizations, school closures, stay-at-home orders in Lahore
  • On Friday, Lahore, home to 13 million people, had the worst air quality of any city in the world, according to IQAir

ISLAMABAD: A three-year-old girl in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore has sued the government of the Punjab province as record-high air pollution levels have triggered hundreds of hospitalizations, school closures and stay-at-home orders in the city, which has been enveloped in a thick, toxic smog since last month.
On Friday, Lahore, home to 13 million people, had the worst air quality of any city in the world, according to IQAir, a Swiss air quality monitoring company.
Research shows children exposed to high levels of smog may suffer from reduced lung capacity, pneumonia, bronchitis and other lung infections and more asthma attacks and worse symptoms than adults. 
“Under Article 9-A of the Constitution, the government is obligated to provide citizens with a clean and healthy environment,” said the petition filed by three-year-old Amal Sekhera, who appeared in court with her mother Mehek Zafar on Thursday. 
Sekhera said she was seeking justice for herself, her friends and the future generations as children and the elderly were the most badly hit by air pollution and smog. She also criticized the Punjab government for failing to protect fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution of Pakistan.
The Lahore High Court issued notices in response to the petition to the Punjab government, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the City Traffic Police. The hearing has been adjourned till Nov. 12, with the court instructing the government to ensure the presence of the provincial secretary of the Environment Protection Department and the director general of the EPA in court at the next hearing. 
Authorities earlier this week shut down schools in Lahore and said 50 percent of government employees in the city were told to work from home until next week. On Wednesday schools in 18 surrounding districts were also shut. Marriyum Aurangzeb, a senior minister in the Punjab province, has urged residents to voluntarily wear face masks and avoid unnecessary travel, and said that “otherwise, the government will be forced into a complete lockdown.” 
Authorities in the city have already banned barbecuing food without filters, as well as the use of motorized rickshaws, and wedding halls must close by 10pm. The government has also said it was looking into methods to induce artificial rainfall to combat the pollution, which has been sending patients to hospitals and private clinics complaining of coughs and burning eyes.
“Tens of thousands of patients suffering from respiratory diseases were treated at hospitals and clinics in a week,” Salman Kazmi, vice president of the Pakistan Medical Association, told media on Thursday.


Pakistan’s Muhammad Asif wins IBSF World Snooker Championship in Qatar

Pakistan’s Muhammad Asif wins IBSF World Snooker Championship in Qatar
Updated 08 November 2024
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Pakistan’s Muhammad Asif wins IBSF World Snooker Championship in Qatar

Pakistan’s Muhammad Asif wins IBSF World Snooker Championship in Qatar
  • Asif defeated Iran’s Ali Ghareghozlou 5-3 to clinch the title for 3rd time
  • PM Shehbaz Sharif promises to set up world-class facilities for sportsmen

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has congratulated Pakistani cueist Muhammad Asif for winning the International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF) World Snooker Championship in Qatar for the third time, Pakistani state-run media reported on Thursday.
Asif defeated Iran’s Ali Ghareghozlou 5-3 to clinch the title in a thrilling final on Nov. 6. He outclassed Ali 5-3: 70-25, 7-87(84), 82(56)-8, 106(106)-08, 82-12, 43-91(58), 0-118 and 93(80)-4.
“Asif made the entire nation proud by winning the international championship for the third time,” PM Sharif was quoted as saying by the Radio Pakistan broadcaster. “The talented youth of Pakistan are highlighting the country’s name in the fields of sports.”
The IBSF, founded in 1971, is the governing body for billiards and snooker worldwide. It represents 85 member countries and is recognized by the World Confederation of Billiard Sports and the International Olympic Committee.
Asif, 42, first won the IBSF World Snooker Championship in 2012 and went on to win it again in 2019. His victory ties him with India’s Pankaj Advani who has also won the World Snooker Championship thrice.
The Pakistan prime minister said Asif’s family and coach also deserved recognition, adding that providing quality facilities to Pakistani players was top priority of his government.
“The government is making all possible efforts to provide international standard facilities to the players,” he added.
 


China, Pakistan discuss advancement of rail, road and economic zone projects under CPEC

China, Pakistan discuss advancement of rail, road and economic zone projects under CPEC
Updated 08 November 2024
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China, Pakistan discuss advancement of rail, road and economic zone projects under CPEC

China, Pakistan discuss advancement of rail, road and economic zone projects under CPEC
  • The discussions included sections of Main Line-1 railway project, Karakoram Highway as well as Gwadar port and economic zone
  • Beijing has invested over $65 billion in energy, infrastructure and other projects as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor

ISLAMABAD: China and Pakistan on Thursday discussed advancement of key infrastructure and economic projects under the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the Pakistani government said, with the two sides also discussing security of Chinese nationals working in Pakistan.
CPEC, a part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, aims to connect China to the Arabian Sea through a network of roads, railways, pipelines and ports in Pakistan and help Islamabad expand and modernize its economy.
The discussions on key CPEC projects were held during Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong’s meeting with Pakistani Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, according to Pakistan’s Press Information Department (PID).
On the occasion, the Pakistani planning minister emphasized the need for concrete mechanisms to ensure smooth and effective implementation of bilateral projects.
“Both sides deliberated on advancing key projects, including the Karachi-Hyderabad section of Main Line-1 (ML-1) and Karakoram Highway (Thakot-Raikot Section) project, and agreed to accelerate the projects’ timely execution,” the PID said in a statement.
“Regarding the Gwadar Port and Free Zone, both sides expressed a mutual commitment to ensuring the continued development of Gwadar in a holistic manner.”
The meeting came two days after a security guard at a factory in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi shot and injured two Chinese nationals before fleeing, police said.
Last month, two Chinese nationals were killed in a suicide bombing near the international airport in Karachi. In March this year, a suicide bombing killed five Chinese engineers and a Pakistani driver in northwestern Pakistan as they headed to the Dasu Dam, the biggest hydropower project in the country. In 2022, three Chinese educators and their Pakistani driver were killed when an explosion ripped through a van at the University of Karachi. A blast on a bus killed 13 people in north Pakistan in 2021, including nine Chinese nationals.
China, breaking with tradition, publicly spoken out against security threats to its workers and nationals living in Pakistan, where hundreds of them work on Beijing-funded projects linked to CPEC.
Iqbal assured the Chinese ambassador the safety of Chinese citizens was a top priority of his government.
“Pakistan will continue working closely with China to ensure the security of Chinese citizens, projects, and institutions,” he was quoted as saying by the PID.
Ambassador Jiang expressed gratitude for Pakistan’s comprehensive engagement and said the Chinese side was ready for collaboration in areas of agriculture, mines and minerals, industrial cooperation, according to the PID.
Iqbal shared that his ministry was in coordination with the National Development and Reform Commission of China to arrange high-level workshops to bring together experts from both sides to outline the future direction of CPEC’s second phase.
China has lately shown willingness for the second phase of CPEC and has given assurances for the establishment of five new corridors, including that of growth, livelihood, innovation, green economy and open regional inclusive development.