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Pakistani deputy PM calls for ceasefire in meeting with UN chief on sidelines of Gaza conference

Pakistani deputy PM calls for ceasefire in meeting with UN chief on sidelines of Gaza conference
Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar (left) meets UN Secretary-General António Guterres in Amman on June 11, 2024, on the sidelines of the high-level conference on “Urgent Humanitarian Response for Gaza” in Jordan. (Photo courtesy: MOFA)
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Updated 11 June 2024
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Pakistani deputy PM calls for ceasefire in meeting with UN chief on sidelines of Gaza conference

Pakistani deputy PM calls for ceasefire in meeting with UN chief on sidelines of Gaza conference
  • Dar is in Amman for ‘Call for Action: Urgent Humanitarian Response for Gaza’ conference
  • Around 37,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in eight-month-long war
Updated 11 June 2024
Arab News Pakistan
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday called for an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire” in Gaza where Israeli forces have killed more than 37,000 Palestinians since October and reduced the enclave to a wasteland.
Dar is in Jordan for the ‘Call for Action: Urgent Humanitarian Response for Gaza’ conference jointly organized by Jordanian King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
On the sidelines of the conference, Dar met Guterres and commended his leadership and proactive role in raising concerns over the war in Gaza on the international stage.
“Reiterating Pakistan’s strong and unequivocal condemnation of the indiscriminate and brutal use of force by Israel against the Palestinians, the Deputy Prime Minister called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, unimpeded humanitarian assistance to the besieged people of Gaza, return of the displaced Palestinians, and ensuring accountability for the war crimes and crimes against humanity being committed by Israel,” the foreign office said in a statement. 
The United Nations Security Council on Monday backed a proposal outlined by US President Joe Biden for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and urged the Palestinian group to accept the deal aimed at ending the eight-month-long war.
Hamas welcomed the adoption of the US-drafted resolution and said in a statement that it was ready to cooperate with mediators over implementing the principles of the plan “that are consistent with the demands of our people and resistance.”
Russia abstained from the UN vote, while the remaining 14 Security Council members voted in favor of the resolution supporting a three-phase ceasefire plan laid out by Biden on May 31 that he described as an Israeli initiative. 
The resolution welcomes the new ceasefire proposal, states that Israel has accepted it, calls on Hamas to agree to it and “urges both parties to fully implement its terms without delay and without condition.”

Topics: Amman War on Gaza Pakistan Palestine UN chief Antonio Guterres

Pakistan reports fresh polio case from Balochistan province, pushing 2024 tally to 65

Pakistan reports fresh polio case from Balochistan province, pushing 2024 tally to 65
Updated 59 min 46 sec ago
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Pakistan reports fresh polio case from Balochistan province, pushing 2024 tally to 65

Pakistan reports fresh polio case from Balochistan province, pushing 2024 tally to 65
  • Killa Abdullah district reports its seventh polio case this year, confirm Pakistani authorities 
  • Pakistan, along with neighboring Afghanistan, remains last polio-endemic country in the world
Updated 59 min 46 sec ago
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: Pakistan has reported its latest polio infection from the southwestern Balochistan province, the country’s polio eradication program confirmed on Tuesday, pushing the total tally of cases of the disease this year to 65. 

The recent case was reported from Pakistan’s Killa Abdullah district in Balochistan, the seventh from the area this year, the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at Pakistan’s National Institute of Health said. 

Pakistan, along with neighboring Afghanistan, remains the last polio-endemic country in the world. The nation’s polio eradication campaign has faced serious problems with a spike in reported cases this year that have prompted officials to review their approach to stopping the crippling disease.

“Pakistan is responding to the resurgence of WPV1 this year with 65 cases reported so far,” the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme said in a statement. “Of these, 27 are from Balochistan, 18 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 18 from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.”

It said a sub-national polio vaccination campaign in Balochistan is scheduled to begin from Dec. 30, during which all 36 districts of the province will be targeted for vaccination. 

“To keep children safe, it is critical for parents to welcome vaccinators among them and bring their children forward for vaccination,” the statement said. 

Poliovirus, which can cause crippling paralysis particularly in young children, is incurable and remains a threat to human health as long as it has not been eradicated. Immunization campaigns have succeeded in most countries and have come close in Pakistan, but persistent problems remain.

In the early 1990s, Pakistan reported around 20,000 cases annually but in 2018 the number dropped to eight cases. Six cases were reported in 2023 and only one in 2021.

Pakistan’s polio program began in 1994 but efforts to eradicate the virus have since been undermined by vaccine misinformation and opposition from some religious hard-liners, who say immunization is a foreign ploy to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western spies. Militant groups also frequently attack and kill members of polio vaccine teams. 
 

Topics: Polio Pakistan Balochistan Arab News Pakistan

West Indies cricket team to arrive for first Test tour of Pakistan in 19 years on Jan. 6

West Indies cricket team to arrive for first Test tour of Pakistan in 19 years on Jan. 6
Updated 24 December 2024
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West Indies cricket team to arrive for first Test tour of Pakistan in 19 years on Jan. 6

West Indies cricket team to arrive for first Test tour of Pakistan in 19 years on Jan. 6
  • West Indies to play two Test matches against Pakistan in Multan from Jan. 17-29, says PCB 
  • West Indies last toured Pakistan for a Test series in November 2006 for three-match series
Updated 24 December 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The West Indian national men’s cricket team will arrive for their first Test tour of Pakistan in 19 years on Jan. 6, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed on Tuesday, during which they will play two Test matches. 

The last time the West Indies played a Test series on Pakistani soil was in November 2006, when they played three Tests. Their last Test away Test series against Pakistan was in the UAE in October 2016, which was selected as Pakistan’s home venue for cricket series after 2009 when a militant attack in Lahore scared away international cricket teams from touring the country. 

The former two-time ODI World Cup champions have, however, thrice toured Pakistan since April 2018— one for an ODI series in June 2022 and twice for a bilateral T20I series in April 2018 and December 2021. 

“The West Indies cricket team will arrive in Islamabad on 6 January and after playing a three-day match against Pakistan Shaheens from 10-12 January at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, they will take on Pakistan in back-to-back Tests in Multan,” the PCB said. “The first Test will be played from 17-21 January, while the second Test will be held from 25-29 January.”

International cricket teams refused to play cricket in Pakistan for years after militants attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team’s bus in Lahore in 2009, wounding six players and killing two civilians and six security officials.

International cricket and its stars, however, slowly returned to playing in the country as the security situation in Pakistan gradually improved. The South Asian country is gearing up to host the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 from February to March next year. 

This will be the first time that Pakistan will be hosting an ICC tournament on its home soil since 1996 when it co-hosted the ICC ODI World Cup won by Sri Lanka. 

Topics: Multan Stadium West Indies tour Pakistan Cricket

Pakistan orders resolution of land, power hurdles for Chinese investor in special economic zone

Pakistan orders resolution of land, power hurdles for Chinese investor in special economic zone
Updated 24 December 2024
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Pakistan orders resolution of land, power hurdles for Chinese investor in special economic zone

Pakistan orders resolution of land, power hurdles for Chinese investor in special economic zone
  • China’s Century Steel Group has complained of lack of power, high land costs in Rashakai Special Economic Zone 
  • Minister urges authorities to confirm land prices to Chinese steel giant, maintain reasonable power distribution margin
Updated 24 December 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal has urged authorities to resolve land and power tariff hurdles reported by a Chinese steel giant in a key special economic zone (SEZ) located in the country’s northwest, state-run media reported this week, amid Islamabad’s intensifying efforts to attract foreign investment in vital economic sectors. 

Spread over an area of 1,000 acres, the Rashakai Special Economic Zone (RSEZ) is a flagship project of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a multi-billion-dollar infrastructure project that aims to connect Pakistan’s Gwadar port to China’s northwestern Xinjiang region. 

Pakistani media outlets have reported that China’s Century Steel Group, the primary investor in the RSEZ, has expressed its frustration over the past couple of months at Pakistani authorities for failing to finalize a plot purchase agreement and ensuring power supply for its steel mills operation. 

Iqbal held a meeting with China Century Steel Mills officials during which various issues faced by the investor came up, the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported on Monday. The minister instructed Pakistan’s Board of Investment (BoI), Power Division and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to address the issues hindering industrial development promptly, it said. 

“Specifically, he directed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Economic Zones Development and Management Company (KPEZDMC) to confirm land prices to the company at the earliest, by their demands,” it said. 

The KPEZDMC officials briefed Iqbal that the company had requested discounted rates for land per acre. Meanwhile, the Century Steel Group consultant cited examples from China, saying that land there is often provided free of charge to industries in SEZs, APP said. He stressed on the need for similar incentives in Pakistan.

“Addressing concerns over power tariffs, the minister directed authorities concerned to maintain a reasonable distribution margin and ensure that the zone receives power at the same rates as regular consumers,” the state-run media said. 

Iqbal instructed the FBR, Pakistan’s premier revenue authority, to conduct a consumption survey in northwestern Pakistan to estimate anticipated power consumption accurately, APP said. 

Pakistan has increasingly eyed investment from China and other regional allies, particularly from the Middle East, as it seeks to be less dependent on foreign aid and stabilize its economy. 

The South Asian country came close to suffering a sovereign default last year before it clinched a last-gasp $3 billion financial bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Islamabad has achieved some economic gains since then but Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has spoken repeatedly of bolstering the country’s economy via long-term financial reforms and international investment.

Topics: Pakistan China Ties Ahsan Iqbal special economic zones CPEC Century Steel Group

US joins UK, EU in raising concerns over Pakistan military courts sentencing civilians 

US joins UK, EU in raising concerns over Pakistan military courts sentencing civilians 
Updated 24 December 2024
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US joins UK, EU in raising concerns over Pakistan military courts sentencing civilians 

US joins UK, EU in raising concerns over Pakistan military courts sentencing civilians 
  • Pakistan’s military on Dec. 21 sentenced 25 civilians to imprisonment for violent protests in May last year
  • EU, UK have said separately that military courts lack judicial independence and due process guarantees
Updated 24 December 2024
Shahjahan Khurram

ISLAMABAD: The US State Department this week joined the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) in expressing concerns over a Pakistani military court’s recent decision to sentence 25 civilians to prison for partaking in violent protests last year, calling on Islamabad to respect citizens’ right to a fair trial and due process. 

Pakistan’s military on Dec. 21 sentenced 25 people to periods of two to 10 years of “rigorous imprisonment” for participating in violent protests on May 9, 2023, when hundreds carrying flags of former prime minister Imran Khan’s party attacked government and military installations. The protests erupted after Khan’s brief detention on corruption charges, resulting in damage to major military facilities and martyrs’ monuments in the country. 

Khan’s party challenges the military’s version, denying it was involved in the violence and stating that the May 9 incident was a “false flag” operation aimed at crushing it as it faced a nationwide crackdown with hundreds of its supporters arrested. 

The EU said on Sunday that the sentencing was “inconsistent” with Pakistan’s international obligations, and that according to them every person is entitled to a fair and public trial in an impartial and independent court. The UK also expressed alarm at the development on Monday, saying that trying civilians in military courts “lacks transparency, independent scrutiny and undermines the right to a fair trial.”

“The United States is deeply concerned that Pakistani civilians have been sentenced by a military tribunal for their involvement in protests on May 9, 2023. These military courts lack judicial independence, transparency, and due process guarantees,” the State Department said in a statement on Monday. 

“The United States continues to call on Pakistani authorities to respect the right to a fair trial and due process, as enshrined in Pakistan’s constitution.”

The Pakistan government and military have not yet responded to the statements by the US, UK and EU. However, while announcing the military court verdicts on Dec. 21, the army’s media wing said the sentences were an “important milestone in dispensation of justice to the nation.”

“It is also a stark reminder to all those who are exploited by the vested interests and fall prey to their political propaganda and intoxicating lies, to never take law in own hands,” the army said in a statement.

Others charged over the violence were being tried in anti-terrorism courts but justice would only be fully served “once the mastermind and planners ... are punished as per the Constitution and laws of the land,” the military said, in what was widely seen as a veiled reference to Khan.

The ruling came days after Khan was indicted by an anti-terrorism court on charges of inciting attacks against the military. An army general who served under him as his spy chief, Faiz Hamid, is facing a military investigation on the same charges.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court last week allowed military courts to announce verdicts in concluded trials of nearly 85 supporters of Khan on charges of attacking army installations. However, it made such verdicts conditional on the outcome of appeals against the jurisdiction of military courts over civilians.

The court last year provisionally allowed military courts to try civilians.

Topics: Imran Khan PTI military courts

Special force set up to police road in Pakistani district wracked by sectarian feuding

Special force set up to police road in Pakistani district wracked by sectarian feuding
Updated 24 December 2024
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Special force set up to police road in Pakistani district wracked by sectarian feuding

Special force set up to police road in Pakistani district wracked by sectarian feuding
  • Police say at least 136 killed in fresh sectarian feuds in Kurram that started last month
  • Northwestern district has for decades seen fighting between Shia and Sunni groups
Updated 24 December 2024
WASIM SAJJAD

PESHAWAR: The government of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said on Monday it was establishing a special force to ensure that a main road in Kurram district remained open, after its blockade since last month following sectarian clashes in the region has triggered a humanitarian crisis.

Kurram, a tribal district of around 600,000 where federal and provincial authorities have traditionally exerted limited control, has frequently experienced violence between its Sunni and Shia communities over land and power. Travelers to and from the town often ride in convoys escorted by security officials. 

The latest feuding started on Nov. 21 when gunmen ambushed a vehicle convoy and killed 52 people, mostly Shias. The assault triggered road closures and other measures that have disrupted people’s access to medicine, food, fuel, education and work. Over 130 people have been killed in the fighting that has ensued after the convoy attack.

The provincial government and Edhi Foundation charity last week started sending medicines to the region via helicopters.

“It has been decided to establish a special police force to secure the Parachinar Road in connection with the restoration of land connectivity to Kurram,” the KP government said in a statement after a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur. 

Parachinar is the main town in Kurram and a main road that connects the region to Peshawar, the provincial capital of KP, has been blocked since sectarian fighting began late last month. 

“A total of 399 personnel will be recruited for this new force,” the statement said. “It has been decided to set up temporary posts initially to secure the road, while permanent posts will be set up in the future.”

The statement said the road would be opened after an agreement was reached between the two warring sides. A grand jirga of tribal and political heavyweights was set up earlier this month to convince the two sides to shun violence. The council will resume peace talks later this week. 

Kurram police spokesman Riaz Khan told Arab News on Monday least 136 people had been killed in the violence since last month. If you added those who had died due to lack of access to hospitals and medicines following the road closures, the number reached at least 200, the police officer said. 

Meanwhile, the KP government has launched a helicopter service to evacuate people and transport aid and medicines to Kurran amid the closer of the Parachinar-Peshawar road since last month, triggering a humanitarian crisis with reports of starvation, lack of medicine and oxygen shortages.

On Sunday, two flights evacuated 27 individuals and 16 government staffers and jirga members, according to KP chief minister’s office. Since last week, over 180 people, including women, children and patients, have been transported via helicopter, with priority given to those in need of urgent medical attention.

Last week, KP government spokesman Muhammad Ali Saif said authorities had decided to dismantle private bunkers — observation posts used in the fighting by both sides — and given a deadline of Feb. 1 for tribesmen in Kurram to handover heavy weapons. 

Local tribesmen have so far reportedly refused to surrender their weapons, citing concerns about their safety.

Topics: Pakistan Sectarian violence parachinar

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