Pakistan urges peaceful coexistence as India’s Modi begins historic third term

Special Pakistan urges peaceful coexistence as India’s Modi begins historic third term
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures, at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters in New Delhi, India, on June 4, 2024. (REUTERS/File)
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Updated 09 June 2024
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Pakistan urges peaceful coexistence as India’s Modi begins historic third term

Pakistan urges peaceful coexistence as India’s Modi begins historic third term
  • Foreign office spokesperson says Pakistan has always desired cooperative relations with all its neighbors 
  • Experts expect Modi’s third term to be ‘less hostile’ for Pakistan, due to his weakened political position

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Sunday urged peaceful coexistence and expressed hope that India would foster an environment conducive to peace, dialogue and the resolution of longstanding disputes, including Kashmir, as Narendra Modi appeared set to take oath for a historic third term.

Modi is leading a coalition that won most seats in the recent election. His Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), governed India for a decade, but lost its absolute majority and is now relying on allies to form a government.

The Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir has been a flashpoint between Pakistan and India since their independence from the British rule in 1947. Both countries rule part of the Himalayan territory, but claim it in full and have fought two wars over the disputed region.

Modi’s government canceled the limited autonomy Kashmir had under India’s constitution in 2019, a move accompanied by a huge security clampdown, mass arrests of local political leaders and a months-long telecommunications blackout.

Pakistani Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan always desired cooperative relations with all its neighbors, including India, and consistently advocated constructive dialogue and engagement to resolve Kashmir and all outstanding issues.

“Pakistan believes in peaceful coexistence,” Baloch told Arab News on Sunday. “We want peace and stability in the region and Pakistan has been acting in a responsible manner, notwithstanding the difficulties and rhetoric coming from India.” 

She expressed hope that India would take steps to create a “conducive environment for advancement of peace and dialogue” and resolution of longstanding disputes for the mutual benefit of the two peoples.

Pakistani foreign affairs and political experts expect India to be “less hostile” to Pakistan under Modi’s third term due to his weakened political position and strong influence of allied parties.

“Pakistanis are quite happy that Modi has been cut down to size in the elections so it will be a more chastened and somewhat weakened Modi now sitting in the Prime Minister’s office in Delhi, dependent on his political survival on regional allies who are not much hostile to Muslims or Pakistan,” Mushahid Hussain Syed, a former senator and political expert, told Arab News.

“Pakistan hopes and expects a less hostile India with a more subdued Indian approach to Pakistan in terms of tone and rhetoric.” 

Though, he said, Pakistan would not be expecting any major change or breakthrough in ties with India after the elections. 

“However, India could extend an olive branch to both China and Pakistan on some lowkey steps toward normalization like restoration of ambassadorial ties with Pakistan or dropping opposition to Pakistan hosting the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Summit,” Syed added.

Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, a former Pakistani foreign secretary, said India’s foreign policy under Modi’s third term was expected to remain consistent, balancing its relations with major powers like the US, Russia, and China, while strengthening ties with the Gulf nations.

He said Modi had severed connections with Pakistan across all domains, displaying “extreme hostility” toward Pakistan during his election campaign.

“It appears that in his third term, Modi might not take any positive initiative toward Pakistan, even though he wants a stable western border to continue his focus on his economic vision and goals,” Chaudhry told Arab News.

He said Pakistan’s government would be wise to wait for an initiative from the Modi administration. “Should he change his mind and approach Pakistan for limited cooperation, we should respond positively,” Chaudhry added.

Dr. Salma Malik, an assistant professor at Department of Defense and Strategic Studies in Islamabad’s Quaid-i-Azam University, said it could be a “Catch 22 situation.”

“Modi might adopt a harder approach toward Pakistan to regain support from the conservative Hindu lobby, or he might take a softer approach if any of his allies advocate for it,” she told Arab News.

“If any of the alliance partners are open to having a meaningful dialogue with Pakistan then there could be a space.”

Abdul Basit Khan, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said Modi would rely more on the US on the external front during his third term.

“A weak PM Modi will be heavily relying on the United States and a pro-US Modi will be more anti-China as he will have to go ahead with the American agenda,” he told Arab News. “For Pakistan, it can be more pragmatic and less hostile due to US influence.” 

Khan believed Modi would not have the same amount of power that he exercised in the last two terms. “So, the body language and the flamboyance that we saw in the first two terms will be missing in this term,” he said.


Pakistan Senate unanimously passes resolution condemning Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, Lebanon

Pakistan Senate unanimously passes resolution condemning Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, Lebanon
Updated 12 December 2024
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Pakistan Senate unanimously passes resolution condemning Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, Lebanon

Pakistan Senate unanimously passes resolution condemning Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, Lebanon
  • Pakistan Peoples Party Senator Sherry Rehman moves resolution urging international community to protect Palestinian lives
  • Senate condemns Israel’s “exploitation of political vacuum” in Syria after the fall of Bashar Assad’s government in the country

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s upper house of parliament, the Senate, passed a unanimous resolution on Thursday condemning Israel’s bombardment of Gaza and Lebanon, urging the international community to protect Palestinian lives, state-run media reported. 

Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 44,000 people and injured thousands more since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage. 

Israel’s 13-month military campaign has displaced an estimated 1.9 million Palestinians, many of them multiple times. Bombings, movement restrictions and evacuations ordered by Israel’s military block access to health care and keep aid workers from reaching people in need, with aid organizations and charities repeatedly warning of crisis-level hunger affecting nearly two million people.

Israel has also bombed Lebanon and traded missile strikes with Iran since its confrontation with Hamas, sparking fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East. The Jewish state’s military campaigns in the Middle East have triggered protests in Pakistan and other parts of the world for the past one year. 

“The Senate on Thursday passed a resolution unanimously condemning Israel’s bombardment extending to many countries,” the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported. 

The resolution was moved by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman on behalf of all political parties. 

As per the resolution, the Senate strongly condemned Israel’s blatant disregard for international law, particularly in its actions against Palestine and urged the Jewish state be held accountable.

The Senate also condemned Israel for its “exploitation of the political vacuum” in Syria as the government of Bashar Assad fell to opposition forces earlier this week. 

“This agenda now extends beyond Palestine to violations of the sovereignty of Syria and many other countries,” the resolution said. 

Calling for immediate accountability for Israel’s actions, the Senate also condemned the killing of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) team members in the Middle East. 

Israel has killed 249 UNRWA staff members in its military campaigns carried out up till November this year, it added.

“Such attacks are a blatant violation of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 302; which mandates UNRWA’s role in providing critical humanitarian assistance to vulnerable populations,” the resolution said. 

Pakistan’s upper house of parliament also condemned the targeted killing of over 180 journalists during Israeli bombings in Gaza along with the destruction of critical infrastructure including hospitals, schools and even residential areas.

“The Senate reaffirms Pakistan’s unwavering support for the Palestinian cause, recognizing it as a moral, political, and legal obligation. Pakistan reiterates its consistent support for the two-state solution of the Palestinian issue, as enshrined in relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions,” the resolution stated. 

The Senate also urged the international community to take action to “protect Palestinian lives, hold Israel accountable for war crimes and ensure compliance with international humanitarian law.”

Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, Pakistan has repeatedly raised the issue at the UN, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and other multilateral platforms, demanding international powers and bodies stop Israeli military actions in Gaza.

Pakistan has dispatched a total of 1,273 tons of relief items to the war-affected people of Gaza until Nov. 27, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.

The South Asian nation 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.


Ex-Pakistan PM Khan’s party rejects reports of holding talks with government to ease tensions

Ex-Pakistan PM Khan’s party rejects reports of holding talks with government to ease tensions
Updated 12 December 2024
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Ex-Pakistan PM Khan’s party rejects reports of holding talks with government to ease tensions

Ex-Pakistan PM Khan’s party rejects reports of holding talks with government to ease tensions
  • Reports of possible talks surfaced after Khan’s party leaders met ruling party member Ayaz Sadiq after his sister’s death
  • Khan announced earlier this month his party will launch civil disobedience campaign against government from Dec. 14

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party on Thursday refuted reports it had held talks with the government on easing political tensions in the country, stressing that the ex-premier would announce details of his anti-government civil disobedience movement on Dec. 14. 

Pakistani media reported that the government and PTI had agreed to ease political tensions in the country after PTI leaders Asad Qaiser and Salman Akram Raja met ruling party Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz’s (PML-N) member and National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq this week to offer condolences on his sister’s death. 

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif subsequently visited Sadiq’s residence, fueling speculation that the reported negotiations were discussed between Sadiq and the Pakistani premier. 

Reports of negotiations have surfaced after Khan earlier this month announced the PTI would launch a civil disobedience campaign from Dec. 14 if the government did not meet two of his demands. In a message to supporters on Dec. 5, the jailed Khan said he was setting up a five-member negotiations committee to hold talks with the federal government for the release of political prisoners, and also demanded judicial commissions to investigate protests on May 9 last year and Nov. 24 this year in which the government says his supporters partook in violence and caused vandalism. 

“There were no talks with the government when they [PTI leader] went for the condolence, nothing else was discussed or no political talk except the condolence happened,” Khan’s close aide and PTI spokesperson Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari told Arab News.

He said PTI was open to talks with everyone, however, he questioned whether the government had the authority or power to engage meaningfully with the opposition. 

Khan’s party alleges the Sharif-led coalition government came to power after rigging polls with the help of Pakistan’s all-powerful military. It frequently accuses the Sharif-led government of being a stooge of the military. 

Both deny the allegations and Pakistan’s military has repeatedly said it does not interfere in political matters. 

“As for talks with the government, we are happy to have talks with everybody but the question is does the government have any power or any authority, that will still remain to be seen,” Bukhari added. 

“Because at the moment they seem to have even less authority and power than us.”

Another PTI leader and an important member of its legal team, Muhammad Shoaib Shaheen, also endorsed Bukhari’s stance that there were no talks at any level between Khan’s party and the government. 

“Qaiser visited the speaker of the National Assembly only to offer condolences and any talks will happen only if the government shows seriousness toward the PTI’s demands,” Shaheen told Arab News.

Commenting on the PTI’s call for civil disobedience, Shaheen said Khan himself will announce the civil disobedience process and its details on or after Dec. 14. 

“If the government engages in talks with genuine intent, even then Khan will decide whether to postpone the movement,” Shaheen said. 

’ABANDON OLD WAYS’

Arab News reached out to government spokespersons, including Information Minister Ataullah Tarar and other members of Sharif’s cabinet for a comment. They did not respond till the filing of this report.

In an interview with local media on Wednesday night, Tarar dismissed the rumors of talks between the two sides as baseless, stating that there have been no formal discussions between the government and PTI.

Speaking on the floor of the Senate on Thursday, senior PML-N leader Irfan Siddiqui said the government is willing to engage in dialogue, but urged PTI to abandon its “old ways” and avoid creating undue pressure.

“Even today, we are ready for dialogue and will engage with an open heart, but do not hold a sword over our heads,” Siddiqui said. 

“Before any dialogue, PTI members must abandon their old ways,” he added.

Siddiqui said reconciliation was “a very good policy” and that if dialogue between the two sides did take place, solutions to political issues could be found.

“Peaceful protest is everyone’s right but this right is not unconditional,” he said.


UK aims to boost home-schooling safety after British-Pakistani girl’s murder

UK aims to boost home-schooling safety after British-Pakistani girl’s murder
Updated 12 December 2024
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UK aims to boost home-schooling safety after British-Pakistani girl’s murder

UK aims to boost home-schooling safety after British-Pakistani girl’s murder
  • Ten-year-old Sara Sharif’s father, step-mother were convicted of murdering her this week
  • Months before death, her father had taken Sharif out of school to be taught at home

LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday called for better safeguards for home-schooled children and said there were “questions that need to be answered” after the brutal murder of a 10-year-old girl.

Sara Sharif’s father and step-mother were convicted of murder on Wednesday in a trial that revealed gruesome details of the abuse inflicted on her, and the failure of child protection services to intervene despite warning signs.

Months before her death, her father Urfan Sharif had taken her out of school to be taught at home, after Sara’s teacher reported her bruises to child services.

At the time, child services had probed the incident but did not take any action.

Starmer said the “awful” case was “about making sure that (there are) protecting safeguards for children, particularly those being home-schooled.”

The Department for Education said it was “already taking action to make sure no child falls through the cracks” and “bringing in greater safeguards for children in home education.”

The government plans to “make sure that schools and teachers are involved in safeguarding decisions,” a Downing Street spokesperson said, adding that details would be included in upcoming legislation.

Parents will also need local authority consent for home-schooling at-risk children under the proposed changes, and a register of children who are not in school will be drawn up.

Sara was found dead in her home in August 2023, with extensive injuries including broken bones, burns and even bite marks after being subjected to years of abuse.

She had also been in and out of foster care after Sharif separated from her mother, Olga Sharif, to marry the step-mother Beinash Batool.

Despite previous allegations of abusive behavior against the father made by Olga, Sharif won custody of Sara in 2019, just four years before she was killed.

Children’s Commissioner Rachel de Souza said Sara’s death highlighted “profound weaknesses in our child protection system.”

De Souza said it was “madness” that an at-risk child could be taken out of school, calling for a ban on home-schooling of suspected abuse victims.

According to a child safeguarding report published on Thursday, 485 children in England died or were seriously harmed by abuse or neglect in the year to April 2024.

Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Sara’s uncle Faisal Malik, who was cleared of murder but convicted of causing or allowing her death, are due to be sentenced on Tuesday.


Combatting smog, air pollution at center of discussions as Punjab chief minister visits China

Combatting smog, air pollution at center of discussions as Punjab chief minister visits China
Updated 12 December 2024
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Combatting smog, air pollution at center of discussions as Punjab chief minister visits China

Combatting smog, air pollution at center of discussions as Punjab chief minister visits China
  • CM Maryam Nawaz Sharif on China visit from Dec. 8-15, meets China’s Ecology and Environment Minister 
  • Almost two million people from Pakistan fell sick when smog choked Punjab for over two weeks last month

ISLAMABAD: Combatting smog and air pollution has remained at the center of discussions this week as the chief minister of Pakistan’s most populous Punjab province, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, visits China on a week-long trip.

Smog had choked Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province for weeks last month, sickening nearly two million people and shrouding vast swathes of the province in a toxic haze. 

On Thursday, Lahore, the capital of Punjab, was listed as the world’s third most polluted city by Swiss air monitor IQAir, and its PM2.5 concentration, which comprises air particles that damage lungs, was 20.5 times the World Health Organization annual guideline value. Last month, the province had closed down schools and offices, banned outdoor activities and shortened timings for restaurants, shops and markets in a bid to control smog.

China has taken significant steps to combat its worsening air quality, declaring a “war on pollution” in 2015. Key measures include reducing coal consumption, increasing renewable energy capacity, and improving air quality monitoring systems. However, the Helsinki-based Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said last month in its annual assessment China’s emissions of carbon dioxide were on course to rise slightly this year, despite rapid progress on renewables and electric vehicles, putting a key 2025 climate target further out of reach.

“China is also a miracle in curbing pollution, smog mitigation, smog eradication and the steps that China has taken is not only an inspiration for us to learn from but also commend them,” CM Sharif said in televised comments during a meeting with Chinese Ecology and Environment Minister Huang Runqiu on Wednesday. 

“I am also completely and absolutely committed to making Punjab into a climate resilient Punjab.”

Briefing Chinese officials on Pakistan’s short-, medium- and long-term plans to combat air pollution, Sharif said:

“There is a complete plan that is in place which is environment conservation, biodiversity conservation, sustainable development and, most critical areas where we are working on daily basis, is air pollution, improving air quality standards and eradicating smog.”

Sharif said Pakistan would adopt the Chinese model of shifting industries out of cities to give people cleaner air to breathe.

Earlier this week, Sharif’s office said Punjab would develop an advanced air quality management system with the help of China and had set up a Beijing-Punjab Clean Air Joint Working Group.

“I suggest we form a working group where we can sit together on taking some tangible measures for smog mitigation, smog eradication and improving the air quality in Pakistan,” Sharif added. “We can exchange technologies, ideas, success stories and follow in China’s footsteps.”

She urged the working group to adopt a knowledge sharing policy regarding policy formulation, technology transfer, data, sharing, emission reduction strategies and e-transport.

On Thursday, the Punjab CM also invited a Chinese solar company to establish a manufacturing plan in Pakistan during her visit to the Jinko Solar Company in Shanghai, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.

“The CM directed the concerned authorities of Punjab government to take necessary steps for setting up the solar manufacturing plant in the province,” the report said.


Pakistan’s second consignment of flood relief items for Malaysia arrives in Kuala Lumpur

Pakistan’s second consignment of flood relief items for Malaysia arrives in Kuala Lumpur
Updated 12 December 2024
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Pakistan’s second consignment of flood relief items for Malaysia arrives in Kuala Lumpur

Pakistan’s second consignment of flood relief items for Malaysia arrives in Kuala Lumpur
  • Pakistan dispatched 40 tons of essential items such as lifejackets, tents, blankets and sleeping bags
  • Torrential rains and floods in Malaysia and Thailand this month killed at least 30, displaced thousands

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s second consignment of humanitarian assistance for the flood-hit people of Malaysia arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said. 

Pakistan dispatched a consignment of 40 tons of relief items from Islamabad on Wednesday night for the flood-hit people of Malaysia. Torrential rains and floods killed over 30 in Malaysia and Thailand and displaced tens of thousands in the two countries this month. 

“Upon arrival, the consignment was received by representatives of the Pakistan Embassy in Malaysia and the Malaysian National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA),” the NDMA said. 

It said the consignment featured essential supplies such as tents, blankets, quilts, mats, sleeping bags and life jackets.

The anti-disaster authority said it remains steadfast in its commitment to providing humanitarian assistance to Malaysia’s flood affectees. 

Pakistan sent its first shipment of 40 tons of relief items to Malaysia on Dec. 8.

Pakistan is one of the worst affected countries due to climate change impact, suffering cataclysmic floods in 2022 that killed over 1,700 people and destroyed critical infrastructure inflicting losses worth Rs33 billion.