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Pakistani FM arrives in Saudi Arabia to attend special OIC meeting on Palestine

Update Pakistani FM arrives in Saudi Arabia to attend special OIC meeting on Palestine
In this handout photograph, taken and released by Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar (left) gestures during a meeting with Ambassador Ahmad Farooq (2L) and Director General of the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs Madinah Branch Ibrahim bin Muhammad Saeed Alsobhi (right) at the Madinah Airport on August 6, 2024, as he arrives in Kingdom to participate in the Extraordinary Meeting of the OIC Executive Committee. (Photo courtesy: MOFA)
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Updated 06 August 2024
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Pakistani FM arrives in Saudi Arabia to attend special OIC meeting on Palestine

Pakistani FM arrives in Saudi Arabia to attend special OIC meeting on Palestine
  • Meeting convened by State of Palestine and Iran to discuss ‘Israeli aggression against Palestine and other regional states’
  • Dar will use OIC meeting to present Pakistan’s ‘serious concerns about dire situation in Gaza and wider Middle East region’
Updated 06 August 2024
SAIMA SHABBIR
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday arrived in Saudi Arabia to participate in an extraordinary meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Executive Committee on Aug. 7 to discuss Israel’s ongoing war in Palestine, the Pakistani foreign office said.
The meeting was convened on requests by Palestine and Iran to discuss the ongoing Israeli aggression against Palestine and other regional states. At least 39,550 Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli military campaign in Gaza triggered by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7 last year.
Upon arrival at the Madinah airport, FM Dar was received by Pakistan’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Ahmad Farooq, and Saudi foreign ministry director-general in Madinah, Ibrahim bin Muhammad Saeed Al-Sobhi, according to the Pakistani foreign office.
“As one of the staunchest supporters of the Palestinian cause, Pakistan has always been at the forefront in raising its voice at all international fora, including the OIC,” the foreign office said in a statement.
Dar would use the meeting to present Pakistan’s “serious concerns about the dire situation in Gaza and the wider Middle East region,” according to the foreign office.
“He will emphasize the urgency of peace and provision of relief assistance to the people of Gaza,” it said. “On the sidelines, the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister will hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from other OIC member states.”
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.
Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, Pakistan has repeatedly raised the issue at the United Nations, the OIC and other multilateral platforms and demanded international powers and bodies stop Israeli military actions in Gaza. The South Asian country has also dispatched several aid consignments for the Palestinians.

Topics: Pakistan Saudi Ties OIC meeting Jeddah Ishaq Dar Arab News Pakistan

Pakistan Navy ship partakes in bilateral exercise with UK frigate in Gulf of Oman

Pakistan Navy ship partakes in bilateral exercise with UK frigate in Gulf of Oman
Updated 15 sec ago
Shahjahan Khurram 
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Pakistan Navy ship partakes in bilateral exercise with UK frigate in Gulf of Oman

Pakistan Navy ship partakes in bilateral exercise with UK frigate in Gulf of Oman
  • PNS Shamsheer takes part in bilateral exercise with UK Royal Navy Ship Lancaster
  • Exercise aimed at improving coordination between the two navies, says state media 
Updated 15 sec ago
Shahjahan Khurram 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Navy’s PNS Shamsheer this week took part in a bilateral exercise in the Gulf of Oman with British Royal Navy Ship Lancaster in a bid to bolster regional maritime security and enhance cooperation, state media reported. 
“The purpose of these exercises was to improve coordination between the two navies and to demonstrate their ability to conduct joint operations in the region,” Radio Pakistan said about the exercise which took place on Wednesday. 
Pakistan Navy is also active in anti-piracy and counter-narcotics operations in the Indian Ocean under the Combined Maritime Forces, Radio Pakistan said. 
It said that PNS Shamsheer is currently deployed on a regional maritime security patrol in the Gulf of Oman.
“Pakistan Navy is maintaining presence in the Indian Ocean to keep the national and international sea lines of communications under surveillance,” the navy said in a statement. 
It added that the Pakistan Navy actively collaborates with regional and international partners deployed in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) to foster a collective effort to counter piracy and promote anti-narcotics operations.

Topics: Pakistan Navy PNS Shamsheer Gulf of Oman

Pakistan president rejects election in Indian-administered Kashmir 

Pakistan president rejects election in Indian-administered Kashmir 
Updated 13 min 17 sec ago
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Pakistan president rejects election in Indian-administered Kashmir 

Pakistan president rejects election in Indian-administered Kashmir 
  • Asif Ali Zardari calls on international community to hold India accountable for alleged rights violations in Kashmir 
  • Election will be held in stages until Oct. 1 to elect 90-member assembly to represent internationally disputed area 
Updated 13 min 17 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari this week rejected the regional election in the internationally disputed Jammu and Kashmir region administered by India, calling on the international community to hold New Delhi accountable for alleged international rights violations in the area. 
The three-phased regional election started in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, with voters casting their ballots for the first time in a decade and in a new political setting after the Indian government stripped the region of its autonomy.
The election will be held in stages until Oct. 1 to elect a 90-member local assembly instead of remaining under the direct rule of New Delhi. The result will be announced on Oct. 8.
“President Asif Ali Zardari has categorically rejected the election for the Legislative Assembly of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, asserting that these polls are no substitute for Kashmiris’ right to self-determination,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Wednesday. 
Indian-administered Kashmir is part of the larger Kashmiri territory, which has been the subject of international dispute since the 1947 partition of the Indian subcontinent into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan.
Both countries claim Kashmir in full and rule in part. Indian-administered Kashmir has, for decades, witnessed outbreaks of separatist insurgencies to resist control from the government in New Delhi.
Speaking to a delegation of migrants from Indian-administered Kashmir, Zardari said such an election is unacceptable to the people of Kashmir and called upon the international community to hold the Modi government accountable for the alleged human rights violations in the area. 
“He further urged the need to take concrete steps toward conducting a plebiscite in line with relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions,” the state broadcaster said. 
Zardari reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to provide moral, political and diplomatic support to the people of Kashmir. 
Indian-administered Kashmir has been without a local government since 2018 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party brought down a coalition government elected in 2014, forcing the assembly to dissolve.
A year later, Modi’s government repealed Article 370 of the Constitution, which granted the region its semi-autonomy and downgraded it from a state to a federally controlled territory.

Topics: Kashmir elections Pakistan India Indian-administered Kashmir Elections in Kashmir

Pakistan says building ‘wider consensus’ on constitutional amendments amid criticism from lawyers, opposition

Pakistan says building ‘wider consensus’ on constitutional amendments amid criticism from lawyers, opposition
Updated 18 September 2024
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Pakistan says building ‘wider consensus’ on constitutional amendments amid criticism from lawyers, opposition

Pakistan says building ‘wider consensus’ on constitutional amendments amid criticism from lawyers, opposition
  • Package of reforms is expected to increase retirement age of superior judges, change chief justice’s appointment process
  • Prominent lawyers threaten to stage protest against amendments, describe them as “assault on unity of the nation”
Updated 18 September 2024
Aamir Saeed

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s information minister on Wednesday said the government was building a “wider consensus” on constitutional amendments seeking to reform the judiciary, as prominent lawyers and opposition parties in the country rejected the proposals which they say compromise the independence of the judiciary. 

The package of reforms, widely believed to include as many as 22 amendments to the constitution, is expected to increase the retirement age of superior judges by three years and change the process by which the Supreme Court chief justice is appointed.

The amendments have raised widespread concerns among opposition parties and legal experts who say the moves are aimed at increasing the government’s power in making key judicial appointments and dealing with the defection of lawmakers during house votes. 

The ruling coalition comprising the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is short of at least 13 lawmakers in the National Assembly and four in the Senate to complete the required two-thirds majority required for the amendments to pass. Both parties have since engaged various political players, including the leader of the Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) Fazl-ur-Rehman, to garner his support for the amendments. 

“The process for a wider consensus on the constitutional amendments is continuing as all political parties have talked about it and tried to build a consensus,” Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told reporters at a news conference. 

One of the key proposals is to create a new federal Constitutional Court alongside the Supreme Court. Tarar defended the proposal, saying it would make life easy for thousands of litigants in the country. 

“The constitutional matters go to the constitutional court so that no obstruction should be created in way of justice for common litigants,” he said. 

Speaking to reporters earlier in the day, Rehman said his party had “completely rejected” the proposed draft of the amendments presented to the opposition. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) opposition party of jailed former premier Imran Khan has also criticized the amendments, alleging that they are meant to grant an extension to incumbent Supreme Court Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, who is widely believed to be aligned with the ruling coalition led by PM Shehbaz Sharif and in opposition to its chief rival, the PTI. 

Tarar said the government is engaged with the JUI chief to build a consensus on the document.

At a news conference in Islamabad, Federal Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar said the bill will not be introduced in parliament till the cabinet approves it. 

“When it [bill] is introduced in the assembly, then it can be said the government has brought this bill and which amendments it would be able to get passed and which one it would withdraw,” the law minister said. 

PPP lawmaker Sehar Kamran told Arab News that after the government’s failure to build consensus on the matter, her party’s chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had decided to engage other political parties to do the same.

“Now Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has taken up this job of engaging with all political forces to build consensus on at least two points, including the establishment of a constitutional court and increased parliamentary role in the appointment of the judges,” Kamran said. 

She said the move was neither time-bound nor person-specific, saying that it was instead aimed at facilitating the public in the speedy dispensation of justice.

'ASSAULT ON UNITY OF NATION'

Meanwhile, prominent Pakistani lawyers rejected the proposed amendments, threatening to take to the streets against it. 

“Lawyers are ready to play their role in stopping these amendments from being passed by the parliament as they are aimed at abolishing the independence of the judiciary,” Rabbiya Bajwa, former vice president of the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) told Arab News.

She said the LHCBA was holding a convention on Thursday where lawyers from across the country would protest against the proposed constitutional amendment package.

Advocate Amanullah Kanrani, former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), said the government’s constitutional package was “an assault on the unity of the nation” which must be thwarted.

“The government wants to dilute powers of the Supreme Court by establishing a parallel constitutional court for temporary benefits, but this will haunt the nation for time to come,” Kanrani said.

Topics: Pakistan constitutional amendments Attaullah Tarar

Russia says will support Pakistan’s bid to join BRICS 

Russia says will support Pakistan’s bid to join BRICS 
Updated 18 September 2024
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Russia says will support Pakistan’s bid to join BRICS 

Russia says will support Pakistan’s bid to join BRICS 
  • Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Alexey Overchuk arrives in Islamabad on two-day visit with high-level delegation
  • Foreign affairs experts say Russian official’s visit “significant” in backdrop of Pakistan’s economic, security challenges
Updated 18 September 2024
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk said on Wednesday that Moscow would support Pakistan’s bid to join BRICS, an intergovernmental organization featuring the world’s leading emerging market economies. 

Overchuk arrived in Islamabad on a two-day visit with a high-level delegation. He held talks with his counterpart Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar after which both sides signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for bilateral cooperation relating to economy and trade. 

In 2006, Brazil, Russia, India and China created the “Bric” group before South Africa joined in 2010, making it “Brics.” The bloc was founded as an informal club to provide a platform for its members to challenge a world order dominated by the United States and its Western allies.

Countries like Pakistan who want to join BRICS see it as an alternative to global bodies viewed as dominated by the traditional Western powers and hope membership will unlock benefits including development finance, and increased trade and investment. Pakistan had last year applied to become a member of BRICS. 

“We are happy that Pakistan has applied [to BRICS],” Overchuk said during a joint press stakeout with Dar. “And, of course, BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organization are brotherly organizations, and we will be supportive of that.”

Dar held delegation-level talks with Overchuk where the two sides reviewed the entire spectrum of bilateral cooperation and agreed to pursue robust dialogue and cooperation in all areas.

Pakistan and Russia, once Cold War rivals, have warmed up to each other in recent years through regular business and trade interactions. As Islamabad seeks to enhance its role as a transit hub for landlocked economies in Central Asia, it has expressed interest in connecting with Russia through Central Asia for bilateral trade. 

“We agreed today to identify specific projects in all areas of mutual interest on the bilateral agenda, including trade, economy, energy, connectivity, culture, educational relations and people-to-people contacts,” Dar said. 

Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk (first from left in the second row) and his Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar (second from left in the second row), oversee the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two countries in Islamabad, Pakistan, on September 18, 2024. (PID) 

He said bilateral trade between Pakistan and Russia last year reached an “unprecedented” $1 billion mark, adding that efforts were underway to further enhance it. 

“There is the Pakistan-Russia Trade and Investment Forum, which is taking place of its unique nature first time from September 30 to October 1 in Moscow, and we are looking into all areas of mutual cooperation, be it trade, connectivity, the road, railways, energy, agriculture and even education,” Dar said. 

The Pakistani deputy prime minister said preparations were being made for the ninth session of the Pakistan-Russia Commission on Trade, Economy, Science, Technology, Culture which is scheduled to be held in Russia by the end of this year. 

Overchuk said Russia is interested in expanding regional ties with Pakistan, especially with an important Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting set to take place in Islamabad next month.

“Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin is expected to take part in this meeting,” he confirmed.

‘SIGNIFICANT VISIT’

Foreign affairs experts described the visit as a “significant” one considering Pakistan’s efforts to strengthen economic ties with Russia, the upcoming SCO summit and security challenges in Afghanistan.

“It is indeed a significant visit and a good thing that Pakistan is interacting with Russians as we have a very extensive agenda including trade, energy and economic challenges so we need to engage with them,” former Pakistani foreign secretary Salman Bashir told Arab News.

He said both sides would likely have discussed Afghanistan, as Pakistan is facing numerous challenges from the neighboring country, particularly those related to security. 

Dr. Talat Shabbir, director of the China-Pakistan Study Center at the Institute of Strategic Studies, said the visit benefits both countries as Russia is seeking to strengthen regional alliances amid gloal pressure from the Ukraine war.

“Russia is facing a lot of criticism on Ukraine war especially from Europe and Russia obviously wants maximum friends and especially in the region, therefore the visit is beneficial for both countries,” Shabbir told Arab News.

Topics: Pakistan to Russia Ties BRICS Russia Pakistan

Pakistan Railways says 40% restoration work completed on Balochistan bridge targeted by militants

Pakistan Railways says 40% restoration work completed on Balochistan bridge targeted by militants
Updated 18 September 2024
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Pakistan Railways says 40% restoration work completed on Balochistan bridge targeted by militants

Pakistan Railways says 40% restoration work completed on Balochistan bridge targeted by militants
  • Track connecting Balochistan to other parts of country was targeted by militants on Aug. 26
  • Train operations expected to resume by October 15, says railways spokesperson
Updated 18 September 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Railways has completed 40% of the restoration work on a bridge damaged in a militant attack in the southwestern Balochistan province last month, state-run media reported on Wednesday, saying that train operations are set to resume by Oct. 15.

The bridge, located in the Bolan area of the Kachi district in Balochistan, was destroyed in one of multiple militant attacks on Aug. 26. 

Pakistan Railways suspended train operations via the bridge, which connects the militancy-hit province to other parts of the country.

“The Pakistan Railways has successfully completed 40 percent of the restoration work on a bridge damaged by terrorism in Quetta, Balochistan,” the Associated Press of Pakistan said on Wednesday. “The spokesperson assured that the bridge would be ready for train operations by October 15.”

He said the rail connection between Balochistan and other parts of the country via the bridge would be restored once the railways receive security clearance. 

Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan and is home to major China-led projects such as a strategic port and a gold and copper mine, has been the site of a decades-long separatist insurgency, with ethnic Baloch militants saying they are fighting what they see as the unfair exploitation of the province’s mineral and gas wealth by the federation. The Pakistani state denies the allegations and says it is working to uplift the impoverished province through various development schemes. 

The province is also currently in the grips of civil rights protests by Baloch people who are calling for an end to what they describe as a pattern of enforced disappearances and human rights abuses by security forces, which deny the charge.

Topics: Balochistan Pakistan Railways

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