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‘Pride of the nation’: Two Pakistani female weightlifters win eight gold medals in South Africa

‘Pride of the nation’: Two Pakistani female weightlifters win eight gold medals in South Africa
This photo, shared by Twinkle Sohail, shows Pakistani female weightlifters Twinkle Sohail (right), Cybil Sohail (center) and Veronica Sohail (left) at the Lahore airport as they leave for South Africa to compete at the Asian/African/Pacific Powerlifting Championship. (Photo courtesy: Facebook/TwinkleSohail)
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Updated 11 July 2024
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‘Pride of the nation’: Two Pakistani female weightlifters win eight gold medals in South Africa

‘Pride of the nation’: Two Pakistani female weightlifters win eight gold medals in South Africa
  • Cybil and Veronica Sohail competed in the 52- and 57-kilogram categories, winning four medals each
  • Their third sister, Twinkle Sohail, is scheduled to participate in the weightlifting championship on July 13
Updated 11 July 2024
NAIMAT KHAN
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KARACHI: The top official of the Prime Minister’s Youth Program applauded two professional Pakistani female weightlifters on Thursday for winning gold medals at an ongoing sports championship in South Africa, praising their dedication and describing them as the “pride of the nation.”
The Pakistani sisters, Cybil and Veronica Sohail, competed in the 52- and 57-kilogram categories, winning four gold medals each in the squat, bench press, deadlift, and total categories.
Pakistan is actively promoting various sports fields among male and female athletes amid an environment where cricket is overwhelmingly popular.
Female athletes in Pakistan face significant challenges due to societal norms and limited access to facilities, with sports like wrestling and weightlifting usually not considered ideal for women due to cultural perceptions.
“Our daughters like Cybil and Veronica Sohail are the pride of our nation,” Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Youth Program, Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan, said in a social media post. “These girls have proven their abilities on the global stage by winning gold medals.”
Mashhood said the Sohail sisters had also participated in the Punjab Youth Festival, adding that the Prime Minister’s Youth Program was trying to provide full support to such athletes.
“To engage the country’s youth in positive activities, we need to revive the sports fields,” he added. “Encouraging young Pakistani athletes will enable our country to win more gold medals.”
The two sisters went to South Africa to participate in the tournament after being sponsored by the Punjab Sports Board.
Their third sibling, Twinkle Sohail, is scheduled to compete in another weightlifting category on July 13.

Topics: Sohail Sisters

Pakistan Taliban emerging as Al-Qaeda arm with ‘regional, global terrorist agenda’ — envoy

Pakistan Taliban emerging as Al-Qaeda arm with ‘regional, global terrorist agenda’ — envoy
Updated 32 sec ago
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Pakistan Taliban emerging as Al-Qaeda arm with ‘regional, global terrorist agenda’ — envoy

Pakistan Taliban emerging as Al-Qaeda arm with ‘regional, global terrorist agenda’ — envoy
  • Acting envoy to UN says Afghan government fighting Daesh but not addressing other groups such as Al Qaeda, TTP 
  • Says TTP also collaborating with suicide squad of separatist Baloch Liberation Army in Pakistan’s Balochistan province
Updated 32 sec ago
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s acting UN envoy Usman Jadoon said this week the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group, which Islamabad accuses of operating from safe havens in neighboring Afghanistan, was poised to become Al-Qaeda’s regional and global arm, with a far-reaching “terrorist agenda” that threatened international security.

Islamabad says the TTP uses Afghanistan as a base to launch attacks, accusing the ruling Taliban administration of providing safe havens to the group along their shared border. Pakistan also says Afghans have been found to be involved in multiple recent attacks, amid a militancy spike. The Taliban deny militants are using Afghan soil to launch attacks or that Afghans are involved in militancy in Pakistan. They say Pakistan’s security challenges are a domestic issue. 

The TTP is separate from the Afghan Taliban movement but pledges loyalty to the group that now rules Afghanistan after the US-led international forces withdrew in 2021.

“Given its long association with Al Qaeda, the TTP could emerge as Al Qaeda’s arm with a regional and global terrorist agenda,” Jadoon said on Thursday while addressing a UN Security Council meeting. 

“Terrorism within and from Afghanistan poses the single most serious threat to the country, to the region and the world … While the Afghan interim government is fighting Daesh, the threat from various other terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda, TTP and others is yet to be addressed.”

Jadoon said the TTP was fast emerging as an “umbrella organization” for other terror groups in the area with the “clear objective of destabilizing Afghanistan’s neighbors.”

“We have evidence of its collaboration with other terrorist groups like the Majeed brigade which is utilizing terrorism to disrupt Pakistan’s economic cooperation with China, especially the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor,” the diplomat added, referring to the suicide squad of the separatist Baloch Liberation Army which has been fighting a decades long insurgency in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province. 

Jadoon said with 6,000 fighters, TTP was the largest listed militant group operating close to Pakistan’s borders.

“In countering the TTP cross-border operations, our security and border officials have confiscated some of the modern weapons acquired by the Afghan interim government from stocks left behind by foreign forces,” he said, adding that the TTP also received external support and financing from Pakistan’s adversary India. 

Last month, the Pakistan army said it had killed three militants trying to infiltrate its frontier with Afghanistan, calling on Kabul to ensure “effective border management” on its side. 

A deportation drive launched last year against Afghans living in Pakistan and border restrictions have also led to a spike in tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban rulers in Afghanistan. 

Topics: Taliban Al-Qaeda Afghanistan

Pakistan top court allows army to announce military trial verdicts of pro-Khan protesters

Pakistan top court allows army to announce military trial verdicts of pro-Khan protesters
Updated 13 December 2024
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Pakistan top court allows army to announce military trial verdicts of pro-Khan protesters

Pakistan top court allows army to announce military trial verdicts of pro-Khan protesters
  • On Oct. 23 last year, three-member Supreme Court panel had declared military trials of civilians unconstitutional, suspending all proceedings
  • On Dec 13, six-member bench provisionally approved military court trials of over 100 supporters of ex-premier Imran Khan 
Updated 13 December 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Friday conditionally allowed military courts to announce the reserved verdicts of 85 civilians tried over their alleged involvement in last year’s May 9 riots, a major blow to the party of jailed ex-premier Imran Khan that the violence has been linked to. 

The ruling comes a little over a year after a three-member bench of the top court said last October military trials of civilians were unconstitutional and ordered the trials of some 103 people moved to civilian criminal courts, a relief for dozens accused of ransacking military installations during protests after the brief arrest of Khan on May 9, 2023. However, on December 13, 2023, a six-member bench conditionally suspended its own Oct. 23 ruling, pending a final judgment as it heard a set of intra-court appeals (ICAs).

Hundreds of alleged Khan supporters were arrested after they stormed military and government installations, and even torched a top commander’s house, following the former premier’s brief arrest by paramilitary soldiers in a land bribe case. Though Khan was released just days after the violence of May 9, he was arrested again that August following an accountability court’s ruling in another corruption case and has been in jail since, facing a slew of legal charges he says are trumped up to keep him away from politics. 

The military initiated army court trials of at least 103 people accused of involvement in the violence and there have been widespread reports it also plans to prosecute Khan under the Pakistan Army Act on charges of treason and attempting to incite a mutiny in the military.

Announcing Friday’s verdict, Justice Aminuddin Khan, the head of the constitutional bench said:

“Suspects who can be accorded concessions in their sentences, should be given so and released … Suspects who cannot be released should be moved to jails once their sentence has been pronounced.”

In March, a six-member SC bench had also conditionally allowed military courts to pronounce reserved verdicts in the May 9 cases. It had also modified its Dec. 13 injunction, ordering that military courts could commence trials but they would not convict or acquit any suspects as long as the government-instituted intra-court appeals were pending.

Local and global rights groups have expressed concerns over the military trials, saying such courts do not have the same standards of evidence and due process as civilian courts.

Pakistan’s Army Act of 1952 established military courts primarily to try members of the military or enemies of the state, and they operate under a separate legal system.

The decision to use military courts was taken by the government of Khan’s rival, Shehbaz Sharif, and backed by the army.

Topics: Pakistan military courts Imran Khan PTI May 9 riots Arab News Pakistan

Punjab says will work with Huawei to transform Lahore into Pakistan’s first smart city

Punjab says will work with Huawei to transform Lahore into Pakistan’s first smart city
Updated 29 min 32 sec ago
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Punjab says will work with Huawei to transform Lahore into Pakistan’s first smart city

Punjab says will work with Huawei to transform Lahore into Pakistan’s first smart city
  • Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif is on a week-long visit to China from Dec. 8-15
  • Smart city is an urban area where technology and data collection are used to improve quality of life
Updated 29 min 32 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has discussed various proposals with officials at Chinese information technology giant Huawei to turn the provincial capital into Pakistan’s first smart city, Radio Pakistan reported on Friday.

Sharif is on a week-long visit to China from Dec. 8-15 and on Thursday visited Huawei Technologies in the Longgang district of Shanghai. Longtime ally China has invested heavily in Pakistan through the $65 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that encompasses infrastructure, energy and other projects and is part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative.

“During the visit, it was decided, in collaboration with Huawei, to transform Lahore into Pakistan’s first state-of-the-art smart city,” Radio Pakistan reported on Sharif’s visit to the headquarters of the Chinese company.

“Chief Minister discussed various proposals and recommendations with Huawei’s President of Government Affairs Mr. Wang Chengdong, or turning Lahore into a modern digital city, including e-commerce, ecosystem production, and the digitization of the health and education sectors.”

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif (right) attends a briefing at Huawei Technologies in the Longgang district of Shanghai, China, on December 13, 2024. (PML-N)

According to the report, Huawei officials also assured full cooperation in setting up an assembly and manufacturing plant in Punjab.

A smart city is an urban area where technology and data collection help improve quality of life as well as the sustainability and efficiency of city operations. Smart city technologies used by local governments include information and communication technologies (ICT) and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Areas of city operations where ICT, IoT and other smart technologies increasingly play an important role include transportation, energy and infrastructure.

Technologies to collect data, including real-time data, are central to smart city initiatives and the benefits they promise. Data-driven insights help local governments improve urban planning and the deployment of city services, ranging from waste management to public transportation, leading to better quality of life for residents.

More efficient city services can also help cut carbon emissions, contributing to global efforts to address climate change while also improving local air quality. In addition, smart city solutions can be an engine for economic growth, as better infrastructure and technological innovation can encourage job creation and business opportunities.

Topics: Pakistan maryam nawaz Lahore Huawei Smart city Arab News Pakistan

Gaza, Lebanon humanitarian crises in focus as Pakistan attends D8 summit in Cairo next week

Gaza, Lebanon humanitarian crises in focus as Pakistan attends D8 summit in Cairo next week
Updated 13 December 2024
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Gaza, Lebanon humanitarian crises in focus as Pakistan attends D8 summit in Cairo next week

Gaza, Lebanon humanitarian crises in focus as Pakistan attends D8 summit in Cairo next week
  • D8 summit is gathering of leaders forms eight developing countries to promote economic cooperation and development
  • Ongoing Israeli military campaign in Gaza has killed over 44,000 people, injured thousands since Oct 7, 2023 Hamas attack 
Updated 13 December 2024
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will participate in the 11th D8 summit in Egypt next week where Israel’s military offensive on Gaza and the humanitarian crisis and reconstruction efforts in Lebanon will be at the center of discussions, the foreign office said.

The D8 Summit is a gathering of leaders from eight developing countries including Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkiye. It aims to promote economic cooperation and development among member states, with a focus on areas like trade, energy, agriculture, and transportation.

The ongoing Israeli military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 44,000 people and injured thousands more since Oct 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage. Israel also stepped up its campaign in south Lebanon in late September after nearly a year of cross-border exchanges begun by Hezbollah in support of its ally Hamas.

“Pakistan will be participating in the D8 summit being held in Cairo on Dec. 19,” Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said during a weekly press briefing on Thursday. “The D8 summit will also have a special session on humanitarian crisis and reconstruction challenges in Gaza and Lebanon.”

She said Pakistan would also participate in the D8 Council of Ministers meeting, reaffirming that the South Asian nation supported the D8 agenda and would work toward the summit’s success.

The D8 summit was last held virtually in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The theme of this year’s summit is “investing in youth and supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) shaping tomorrow’s economy.”

Topics: Pakistan D8 summit Cairo

Pakistanis stranded in Syria arrive home on chartered flight from Beirut

Pakistanis stranded in Syria arrive home on chartered flight from Beirut
Updated 13 December 2024
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Pakistanis stranded in Syria arrive home on chartered flight from Beirut

Pakistanis stranded in Syria arrive home on chartered flight from Beirut
  • More than 1,300 Pakistanis had been stranded in Syria since last week
  • Pakistani PM sought Lebanon’s assistance in evacuating expats via border 
Updated 13 December 2024
Fatimah Amjad

ISLAMABAD: Over 300 Pakistanis have arrived in Islamabad from Beirut on a chartered flight as Pakistan continues evacuation operations to bring home citizens stranded in Syria since opposition forces toppled former president Bashar Assad’s regime, the prime minister’s office said on Friday.

More than 1,300 Pakistanis were stranded in Syria since last week when opposition forces seized the capital of Damascus unopposed following a lightning advance that sent Assad fleeing to Russia on Sunday.

While Pakistan’s foreign office initially said the Pakistanis would be evacuated once the Damascus airport reopened, PM Shehbaz Sharif on Monday sought his Lebanese counterpart Najib Mikati’s “personal intervention” to evacuate citizens via land routes through the border with Syria. 

“318 Pakistani citizens in Syria, including pilgrims and staff, have been brought to Islamabad, Pakistan, from Beirut, Lebanon, in a chartered plane,” the Pakistani PM’s office said in a statement.

On the directions of  Sharif, the National Disaster Management Authority, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had prepared a “comprehensive plan” and finalized arrangements for the safe evacuation of Pakistani citizens, the statement added.

“Prime Minister also thanked the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Mr. Najib Mikati, whose government provided all possible cooperation and assistance for the return of Pakistanis via Beirut,” the PMO said. “The Prime Minister has also directed the relevant authorities to continue taking immediate steps to evacuate more Pakistani citizens from Syria.”

Pakistanis Arab News spoke to this week described 12-hour-long bus rides, multiple check posts, interrogations and bills piling on as they left the war-torn nation by road through neighboring Lebanon.

The closure of Syria’s airports and borders with Jordan and Oman had posed a “major challenge” to the repatriation effort, the foreign office said. 

Topics: Pakistan Syria Ties Beirut Pakistan Lebanon NDMA Arab News Pakistan

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