Low-cost airline flydubai starts flights to Islamabad, Lahore 

Low-cost airline flydubai starts flights to Islamabad, Lahore 
A Fly Dubai Boeing 737 Max taxis at Dubai International Airport in Dubai, on November 22, 2023. (AFP/File)
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Updated 01 July 2024
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Low-cost airline flydubai starts flights to Islamabad, Lahore 

Low-cost airline flydubai starts flights to Islamabad, Lahore 
  • Flydubai started Pakistan operations in 2010 with launch of flights to Karachi
  • Carrier also serves Pakistani cities of Faisalabad, Multan, Quetta and Sialkot

KARACHI: Dubai-based low-cost airline flydubai has started flights to Islamabad and Lahore, the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority said on Monday, with the first flights in both cities greeted with water cannon salutes. 

Flydubai first started operating in Pakistan in 2010 with the launch of flights to the southern port city of Karachi. The carrier also serves the cities of Faisalabad, Multan, Quetta and Sialkot.

“Flydubai has also started flights to Islamabad,” CAA said in a statement. “Inaugural flight FZ 353 arrived in Islamabad from Dubai at 1:55am.”

A small dinner ceremony was organized on the occasion, CAA said, and the inaugural flight carrying 153 passengers was given a water cannon salute by the Rescue and Fire Fighting Service.

The flight returned to Dubai at 220pm on Monday with 162 passengers on board.

Separately, the CAA said flydubai’s Flight FZ 359 arrived in Lahore at 429am. 

“A cake cutting ceremony was organized on this occasion and gifts were presented to the passengers,” CAA said. “Flydubai’s inaugural flight to Lahore was presented with a water cannon salute.”

In a press release last month when flydubai announced it would start flights to Lahore and Islamabad, Hamad Obaidalla, chief commercial officer of the airline, said Pakistan had long been an important market for the carrier:

“Since 2010 when we first started operations to the market, we have seen sustained demand for travel and with the start of our daily services to Islamabad and Lahore, we look forward to offering passengers more opportunities to explore Dubai, the GCC region and beyond on the flydubai network.”

As per the airline, the return business class fares from DXB to ISB start from AED 5,500 ($1497) and economy class fares from AED 1,300 ($353). Return business class fares from ISB to DXB start from Rs400,000 ($1436) and economy class fares from Rs120,000 ($430). 


Beijing pushes for own security staff to provide protection to citizens in Pakistan

Beijing pushes for own security staff to provide protection to citizens in Pakistan
Updated 17 sec ago
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Beijing pushes for own security staff to provide protection to citizens in Pakistan

Beijing pushes for own security staff to provide protection to citizens in Pakistan
  • String of recent attacks have angered China, pushed Pakistan to begin formal negotiations for a joint security management system
  • Pakistani officials say consensus developing on setting up joint system, Chinese officials sitting in on security meetings and coordination 

ISLAMABAD: Beijing is pushing Pakistan to allow its own security staff to provide protection to thousands of Chinese citizens working in the South Asian nation, during talks after a car bombing in Karachi that was seen as a major security breach, sources said.
Last month’s airport bombing in the southern port city that killed two Chinese engineers returning to work on a project after a holiday in Thailand was the latest in a string of attacks on Beijing’s interests in Pakistan.
The attacks, and Islamabad’s failure to deter them, have angered China, which has pushed Pakistan to begin formal negotiations for a joint security management system.
Five Pakistani security and government sources with direct knowledge of the previously unreported negotiations and demands spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, as the talks are sensitive.
“They (Chinese) want to bring in their own security,” said one official, who sat in on a recent meeting, adding that Pakistan had not so far agreed to such a step.
It was not clear whether Beijing wants to bring in state or private security personnel for the task.
Neither Beijing nor Islamabad confirmed the talks officially.
The source, and two other officials, said there was a consensus on setting up a joint security management system, and that Pakistan was amenable to Chinese officials sitting in on security meetings and co-ordination.
But there was no agreement on their participating in security arrangements on the ground.
The first official said Pakistan had asked China for help in improving its intelligence and surveillance capabilities instead of direct involvement.
A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry told Reuters it was not familiar with talks on a joint security scheme, but added, “China will continue to strengthen co-operation with Pakistan and make joint efforts to do its utmost to maintain the security of Chinese personnel, projects and institutions.”
Inter-Services Public Relations, the information wing of the Pakistan army, declined to comment. The interior and planning ministries did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
In a statement last week, Pakistan’s interior ministry said both sides agreed to develop a joint strategy to prevent similar incidents in the future.

’GRAVE SECURITY BREACH’

The nature of the Karachi bombing has angered Beijing, which is now pushing harder to achieve a long standing demand to control security arrangements for its citizens.
A pick-up truck rigged with nearly 100 kg (220 lbs) of explosives waited unchecked for about 40 minutes near the outermost security cordon of the heavily guarded airport before its driver rammed it into a vehicle carrying Chinese engineers, officials said.
“It was a grave security breach,” admitted one of the officials investigating the bombing, which came just a week before Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s visit to Islamabad, the first such trip in a decade.
The official said investigators believe the attackers had “inside help” in securing details of the itinerary and route of the engineers, who had returned from a month off in Thailand.
They were to be escorted back to a power plant set up as part of plans for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Longtime Pakistan ally China has thousands of nationals working on projects grouped under the CPEC, a $65-billion investment in President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, which seeks to expand China’s global reach by road, rail and sea.

’CHINESE FRUSTRATIONS’

Publicly China has mostly backed Pakistan’s arrangements, even as it calls for enhanced security.
Privately, Beijing has expressed frustration. At one recent meeting, the Chinese side provided evidence that Pakistan had failed to follow security protocols agreed on twice in recent months, three officials said.
Such protocols usually feature high standards for deployment and movement of Chinese officials.
Chinese nationals have been in the crosshairs of separatist militants who see Beijing as helping Pakistan exploit minerals in the underdeveloped southwestern province of Balochistan, where China has a strategic port and mining interests.
Thousands of Pakistani security officers from the army, police and a dedicated force called the Special Protection Unit are posted to guard Chinese nationals.
Only China’s embassy in Islamabad and its consulates are allowed Chinese official security personnel, the Pakistani officials said.


Australian skipper Pat Cummins bashed for attending Coldplay concert while team lost to Pakistan

Australian skipper Pat Cummins bashed for attending Coldplay concert while team lost to Pakistan
Updated 32 min 12 sec ago
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Australian skipper Pat Cummins bashed for attending Coldplay concert while team lost to Pakistan

Australian skipper Pat Cummins bashed for attending Coldplay concert while team lost to Pakistan
  • Cummins was rested for third ODI at Perth which Pakistan won after humiliating Australia by eight wickets
  • Former Australian cricketer Michael Clarke criticizes selectors for resting Cummins, other stalwarts for India series

ISLAMABAD: Australian skipper Pat Cummins was criticized by his country’s former captain Michael Clarke and other media personalities this week for attending British rock band Coldplay’s concert the night Pakistan beat the world champions to complete a rare 2-1 ODI series win.
Australia rested stalwarts Cummins, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Marnus Labuschagne in the third ODI against Pakistan in Perth on Sunday with the series level at 1-1. The Australian cricketers were given rest ahead of Australia’s Border-Gavaskar Test series against India which will start later this month. 
Pakistan won the one-sided match comfortably on Sunday, beating Australia by eight wickets to secure their first ODI series win in the country in 22 years. Cummins’ wife posted a picture of her husband enjoying a Coldplay concert with him on Sunday night, triggering criticism from ex-Australian football and rugby players Mat Rogers and Scott Sattler. 
“It was a decider, the one that matters and our captain went to a Coldplay concert,” Rogers said in a discussion with Sattler on Australia’s SEN radio network. “If you’re going to do it, just keep a low profile.”
Sattler criticized Cummins’ wife for posting a picture of the couple on social media, citing it as an invitation to “open yourself up to criticism when you’ve made yourself unavailable to represent your country.”
Former Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke said he was “confused” with the selectors’ decision to rest Cummins and the other cricketers with 11 days left till the first Test match against India.
“If Australia had won the first two games, then you can understand why they rest their big fish, but it was series on the line,” Clarke said on a radio show. “I understand resting for Test cricket, I love that, but it’s a one-day game. They are going to bowl more than that at training.”
 Another former Australian captain Tim Paine came to the selectors’ rescue, defending them for giving younger players a chance to prove themselves. 
“We’re blooding some youth and giving them experience while the big boys get ready for the Test series,” Paine said. 
Pakistan will play a three-match T20I series against Australia starting Thursday. The first match will be played in Brisbane, the second in Sydney on Saturday while the third will be contested between the teams on Monday in Hobart.


Cross-border bus service between Pakistan and China resumes after 14 years 

Cross-border bus service between Pakistan and China resumes after 14 years 
Updated 12 November 2024
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Cross-border bus service between Pakistan and China resumes after 14 years 

Cross-border bus service between Pakistan and China resumes after 14 years 
  • Gilgit and China’s Kashgar was suspended in 2010 after massive landslide damaged Karakorum Highway’s portion
  • Locals, government officials praise resumption of bus service saying it would enhance trading and travel opportunities

KHAPLU, Gilgit-Baltistan: A Pakistani government-owned company and a leading Chinese transportation organization on Tuesday resumed a bus service connecting Pakistan and China through the high-altitude Khunjerab border pass after 14 years, officials said as locals praised the initiative, saying it would lead to further economic opportunities for them. 
The bus service used to operate on the Khunjerab Pass, which connects Pakistan’s semi-autonomous northern Gilgit-Baltistan to China’s Xinjiang region. It was suspended in 2010 after a massive landslide at Hunza’s Attabad village damaged a 14 kilometer portion of the Karakoram Highway (KKH) connecting the two countries. The landslide killed at least 20 people and displaced 6,000 in the area. 
The damaged road was restored by the GB government while the Northern Areas Transportation Company (Natco), a Pakistan government-owned company, collaborated with the Chinese transportation company Xinjiang-Kashgar Xin Lu Transportation Co. Ltd.,to restore the bus service from Gilgit to China’s Kashgar city. 
“After 14 years, the bus service resumed officially from Tuesday,” Aziz Ahmed Jamali, Natco’s managing director, told Arab News over the phone. “The bus will run for this route twice a week and the fare per passenger is Rs18,000 [$64.69].”
Jamali said at least 320 passengers will be able to travel by the bus service each month. 
“Natco has been serving in Gilgit-Baltistan since 1974 and it carries 500,000 passengers every year,” he said. “It is operating on 40 routes across GB at national and international destinations.”
According to the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), 96 percent of trade between Pakistan and China consists of China’s exports to Pakistan, while Pakistan’s share of exports to China is only 4 percent.
The main items imported from China into Pakistan include electronic items, shoes, garments and spare parts while Pakistan exports gemstones, dry fruits, medicinal herbs and clothing items to the neighboring country.
The Natco official said direct traveling from Gilgit to Kashgar will save traders time and enhance their economic opportunities.
“After a long time, the bus service between Pakistan and China has resumed. It will enhance the connectivity between the two regions,” Iman Shah, special assistant to GB’s chief minister on information, told Arab News over the phone.
Shah described the bus service as an “urgent need” to accelerate travel and trade between Pakistan and China.
“I have also traveled to China from Gilgit in a Natco vehicle in 2003-4,” Shah said. “Now this time we have modern buses and it will be very beneficial for both countries.”
Chinese interests in Pakistan have suffered attacks from separatist groups and religiously motivated militants in recent months. A suicide blast in northwestern Pakistan killed six Chinese engineers in March while last month, a blast near the airport in Karachi killed two Chinese nationals.
Shah said that since Natco was a semi-government company, people would feel safe traveling in its buses from Gilgit to Kashgar.
Locals spoke optimistically of the bus service, saying its restoration would bring in more opportunities for everyone, especially traders. 
Muhammad Iqbal, a businessman, told Arab News he had traveled many times in Natco’s buses before the service was suspended in 2010. 
“The resumption of bus service is a good omen for both countries, especially the people of Gilgit-Baltistan,” Iqbal said. “Hundreds of locals are involved in trade and tourism activities in GB. So this development will open the door of new opportunities and help enhance the connectivity between two regions.”


Pakistan says smog to persist in Punjab’s plain areas throughout November and December

Pakistan says smog to persist in Punjab’s plain areas throughout November and December
Updated 12 November 2024
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Pakistan says smog to persist in Punjab’s plain areas throughout November and December

Pakistan says smog to persist in Punjab’s plain areas throughout November and December
  • Toxic smog has shrouded Pakistan’s cultural capital Lahore and 17 other districts in Punjab since last month
  • Punjab has closed schools, banned entry of heavy transport vehicles on specific days in Lahore amid smog crisis

ISLAMABAD: The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Tuesday said smog conditions in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province are expected to persist throughout November and December, advising citizens to take precautions to protect themselves from air pollution. 
Toxic smog has shrouded Pakistan’s cultural capital of Lahore and 17 other districts in Punjab since last month. Health officials say more than 40,000 people have been treated for respiratory ailments forcing Punjab to close schools until Nov. 17 to protect children’s health. The UN children’s agency has warned that the health of 11 million children in Punjab is in danger due to air pollution. 
South Asia, particularly India and Pakistan, is shrouded in intense pollution every winter as cold air traps emissions, dust, and smoke from farm fires. Pollution could cut more than five years from people’s life expectancy in the region, a study found last year.
In its latest advisory, the NDMA said it has been monitoring the smog situation in Pakistan and its surrounding areas via state-of-the-art ground-based and space-based monitoring tools.
“It is anticipated that smog conditions will persist throughout November and December in the plains of Punjab,” the NDMA said. “Urban centers such as Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Bahawalpur, Peshawar, Mardan, and Nowshera are expected to experience smog during these months.”
The disaster management agency said it used its monitoring tools to analyze and project emissions from the industry, transportation and agriculture sectors. 
“This includes emissions from stubble burning, volatile organic compounds, and nitrogen oxides, as well as surface-level ozone and particulate matter like PM10 and PM2.5,” the NDMA added. “Using information on aerosol optical depth, our team is identifying hotspots significantly affected by smog.”
Seasonal crop burn-off by farmers on the outskirts of Lahore also contributed to toxic air, which the World Health Organization says can cause strokes, heart disease, lung cancer and respiratory diseases.
The NDMA urged people to avoid stepping outdoors during smog peak hours in the morning, wear masks during outdoor activities, stay hydrated and use dehumidifiers. 
Last month, Punjab identified four hotspots in the city where it imposed restrictions. These included banning auto rickshaws with polluting two-stroke engines, along with restaurants that operate barbecues without filters.
Last Friday, Pakistani authorities ordered the closure of all parks and museums for 10 days, urging people to avoid unnecessary travel.


IMF delegation meets finance minister to discuss Pakistan’s $7 billion loan performance

IMF delegation meets finance minister to discuss Pakistan’s $7 billion loan performance
Updated 12 November 2024
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IMF delegation meets finance minister to discuss Pakistan’s $7 billion loan performance

IMF delegation meets finance minister to discuss Pakistan’s $7 billion loan performance
  • IMF Pakistan Mission Chief Nathan Porter meets Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb 
  • International lender approved 37-month, $7 billion loan program for Pakistan in September 

ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Pakistan Mission Chief Nathan Porter met Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Monday, the finance ministry said, as he arrived in the country to discuss Islamabad’s performance regarding the $7 billion bailout program approved earlier. 
The IMF said last week Porter would arrive in Islamabad from Nov. 11-15 to discuss recent developments and Pakistan’s loan “program performance to date.” The IMF had clarified that Porter’s visit was not part of the first review of the loan program, which it said would take place not before the first quarter of 2025.
Porter’s visit takes place amid Islamabad’s efforts to overcome ongoing economic challenges, reform its fiscal policies and bring about structural reforms as part of its commitments to the global lender. 
In July, the IMF reached a staff-level agreement with Pakistan for a 37-month $7 billion bailout package while in September, the Fund’s Executive Board approved the 25th loan program that Pakistan has obtained since 1958.
“A delegation led by IMF Mission Chief Nathan Porter had an initial meeting with Finance and Revenue Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb,” the Ministry of Finance said. 
Minister of State for Finance Ali Pervez Malik, Governor State Bank of Pakistan Jameel Ahmed, Federal Board of Revenue Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial and senior finance ministry officials were also present in the meeting, the ministry said. 
Islamabad secured the $7 billion loan, critical to keeping its $350 billion fragile economy afloat, after taking painful measures such as hiking fuel and food prices and implementing reforms to broaden the country’s tax base and privatize state-owned entities. 
The country’s stock market has also seen a bullish trend in recent weeks, which government and financial analysts have attributed to Pakistan’s improving macroeconomic conditions and improved investor sentiments.