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Ahead of 2024 summit, Pakistan deputy PM discusses ‘shared priorities’ with Commonwealth chief

Ahead of 2024 summit, Pakistan deputy PM discusses ‘shared priorities’ with Commonwealth chief
Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar (left) calls on Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland in London, UK, on September 5, 2024. (@ForeignOfficePk/X)
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Updated 05 September 2024
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Ahead of 2024 summit, Pakistan deputy PM discusses ‘shared priorities’ with Commonwealth chief

Ahead of 2024 summit, Pakistan deputy PM discusses ‘shared priorities’ with Commonwealth chief
  • 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting is scheduled to be held in Samoa from October 21-25
  • Dar began a five-day visit to the UK on Wednesday with a meeting with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy 
Updated 05 September 2024
Hasaan Ali Khan
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday met Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland in London and discussed “shared priorities” ahead of the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting scheduled to be held from October 21-25 in Apia, the capital and only city of the island nation of Samoa.

Dar, who is also the foreign minister of Pakistan, began a five-day visit to the UK on Wednesday with a meeting with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in London. During his trip, Dar is also scheduled to engage with other UK officials and parliamentarians as well as representatives of the British-Pakistani community.

Pakistan and the UK, which is home to a large Pakistani diaspora, have trade, defense and education ties, among engagement in other areas. 

“Great pleasure to reconnect with Secretary-General Patricia Scotland at the Commonwealth Secretariat today,” Dar said in a post on social media site X. “I reiterated that Pakistan attaches high importance to the Commonwealth as an important forum for promoting peace and development.”

He said the two leaders also discussed “shared priorities” for CHOGM 2024. Scotland was last in Pakistan on a five-day visit in July and August. 

The theme for this year’s CHOGM is “One Resilient Common Future: Transforming our Common Wealth” with the aim to strengthen “resilient democratic institutions upholding human rights, democracy, and the rule of law” as well as combatting climate change.

The meeting will be the first full Commonwealth summit held since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 and the first presided over by King Charles III as Head of the Commonwealth. It will also be the first Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held in a Pacific Small Island Developing State.

According to former Jamaican prime minister PJ Patterson, reparations for slavery is one of the agenda items to be discussed at the summit.

There will be an election for a new Commonwealth Secretary-General as Scotland indicated in 2022 that she would only serve for two more years. Ghanian foreign minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Gambian foreign minister Mamadou Tangara, and Senator Joshua Septiba of Lesotho have announced their candidacies for the position.

On Wednesday, in his meeting with Lammy, Pakistan’s Dar said he looked forward to working with the British official on “tackling climate change, creating opportunities for young people, and boosting trade and investment.”

“He reiterated Pakistan’s desire for transforming the close, historic ties into an enhanced strategic partnership,” a statement from Dar’s office said. 

This is Dar’s first official visit to the UK since the election of the Labour government of UK PM Keir Starmer, who assumed office in July.

Topics: Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif 2024 summit

Four killed, 14 injured after bus falls into ravine in Pakistan’s Balochistan

Four killed, 14 injured after bus falls into ravine in Pakistan’s Balochistan
Updated 25 sec ago
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Four killed, 14 injured after bus falls into ravine in Pakistan’s Balochistan

Four killed, 14 injured after bus falls into ravine in Pakistan’s Balochistan
  • The incident occurred in Dana Sar mountainous area that lies along the Koh-e-Sulaiman range
  • District officials say the driver of the Quetta-bound bus fell asleep and lost control of vehicle
Updated 25 sec ago
Saadullah Akhtar

QUETTA: At least four people were killed and 14 others injured after a passenger bus fell into a ravine in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province on Saturday, officials said.
The bus was traveling to Quetta from Islamabad, when the driver reportedly fell asleep and the bus fell into a gorge near Dana Sar area in Balochistan’s Sherani district, according to Sana Mahjabeen Umrani, a senior district administration official.
The deceased included the bus driver, while his assistant was among the critically wounded persons.
“Eight critically injured persons, including women, have been referred to Quetta for better medical treatment,” Umrani told Arab News.

Bystanders stand next to the wreckage of a bus after an accident in in Dana Sar, some 80 kilometers away from Zhob city, Balochistan on September 14, 2024. (Photo courtesy: Levis Force Sherani district)

Dana Sar is a mountainous area that lies along the Koh-e-Sulaiman mountain range, with a curvy and narrow N-50 highway passing through it.
In July 2022, 20 passengers were killed and more than a dozen others injured after a Quetta-bound passenger bus fell into a ravine in the area notorious for fatal road accidents.
Last month, a bus carrying pilgrims from Iran to Pakistan’s Karachi fell into a ditch near the Buzi Top area on the Makran Coastal Highway in Balochistan, killing 12 people and injuring 35 others.
Fatal accidents are common in Pakistan, where traffic rules are rarely followed and roads, particularly in many rural and mountainous areas, are in poor condition.
Such incidents are particularly common in Balochistan where single carriage roads connect various cities and even some highways lack modern safety features.

Topics: bus accident

PM calls for improving licensing regulations for electric vehicles manufacturing in Pakistan

PM calls for improving licensing regulations for electric vehicles manufacturing in Pakistan
Updated 14 September 2024
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PM calls for improving licensing regulations for electric vehicles manufacturing in Pakistan

PM calls for improving licensing regulations for electric vehicles manufacturing in Pakistan
  • Pakistan approved National Electric Vehicles Policy in 2019 with the goal of electric vehicles comprising 30 percent of all passenger vehicles
  • Road transport is a significant contributor to air pollution as around 23 percent of Pakistan’s greenhouse gas emissions originate from vehicles
Updated 14 September 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has asked officials to improve licensing regulations regarding the manufacturing of electric vehicles in the country, Pakistani state media reported on Saturday.
Pakistan approved an ambitious National Electric Vehicles Policy (NEVP) in 2019 with the goal of electric vehicles comprising 30 percent of all passenger vehicles and heavy-duty truck sales by 2030, and an even more ambitious target of 90 percent by 2040.
Presiding over a meeting with regard to country’s shift to electric vehicles, Sharif directed officials to finalize a policy after consultations with all the federating units and stakeholders, the Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“The government is taking priority steps to promote electric vehicles in the country,” he was quoted as saying by the broadcaster. “These vehicles will not only save valuable foreign exchange in terms of import of petrol and diesel but will also be environment friendly.”
Pakistan, which has been struggling with an economic crisis, imports most of its energy needs. The country’s urban areas exhibit some of the world’s highest levels of air pollution, primarily due to sub-2.5 μm particulate emissions. This issue significantly impairs both the country’s economy and the quality of life of its residents.
Road transport is a significant contributor to air pollution as around 23 percent of Pakistan’s greenhouse gas emissions originate from vehicles.
Official informed participants of the meeting that since 2022, 49 licenses had been issued for the production of two and three-wheeled electric vehicles at the local level, of which 25 plants had started manufacturing, according to the Radio Pakistan report.
The first license for domestic production of four-wheeled electric vehicles was issued in September this year and the first indigenously manufactured electric car will come into the market by December. The meeting was informed that recharging stations for electric vehicles would also set up on priority basis.
The prime minister announced providing electric motorbikes to outstanding students of government-run schools on the pattern of the government’s laptop distribution scheme. He also asked the Capital Development Authority to prepare a comprehensive plan for electric-powered public transport in Islamabad.

Karachi’s iconic clock towers keep time and heritage alive for over a century

Karachi’s iconic clock towers keep time and heritage alive for over a century
Updated 14 September 2024
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Karachi’s iconic clock towers keep time and heritage alive for over a century

Karachi’s iconic clock towers keep time and heritage alive for over a century
  • Clocktowers were first introduced in the Indian Subcontinent during an exhibition by Bennett and Co. in Agra in 1867, researcher says
  • Most of the over a dozen clock towers scattered across Karachi have ceased functioning but serve as visual reminders of British colonial era
Updated 14 September 2024
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: As the southern Pakistani city of Karachi evolves into a sprawling metropolis, one constant has stood the test of time: the rhythmic chime of its historic clock towers — relics of the British colonial era that serve not only as timekeepers but as enduring symbols of the rich history of the seaside metropolis. 
With over a dozen of these monuments scattered across the city, the clock towers remind residents of an era when punctuality and precision were highly valued. At the heart of this legacy lies the iconic clock tower atop the Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) building. Built in 1935 to commemorate King George V’s Silver Jubilee, the historic timekeeper remains the only one still functioning on its original mechanics.
Each day, technician Saleem Ahmed Khan Zubairi climbs the five-story structure of the KMC building to maintain the clock’s intricate machinery. With a simple turn of a key, he sets the mechanism in motion and the clock’s chimes ring out through the bustling streets below.
“It’s been operating for nearly 90 years and is still in almost in perfect original condition,” 55-year-old Zubairi, who has been working at the clock tower for the last 15 years, told Arab News.
Most of the other 13 clocktowers documented by Arab News in Karachi have ceased functioning, now only serving as visual reminders of a bygone era.
“Only two [of Karachi’s clock towers] are in working condition. One of them, as you can see at the KMC Head Office, it is in 100 percent genuine condition,” Zubairi said. “The others, like Merewether Tower, are no longer genuine because electronic machines have been installed in it.”
The clock towers were more than just functional structures but also were symbolic of the value placed on time during the British colonial era, according to Shaheen Nauman, a researcher specializing in Karachi’s heritage buildings.
“These clock towers were built to instill a sense of time and its value in the local population,” Nauman explained, standing outside the Edulji Dinshaw Charitable Dispensary, the oldest clock tower in Karachi, built in 1882. “They [the British] not only valued it, but they also tried to inculcate this value in the natives of Karachi.”
Clock towers were first introduced in the Indian Subcontinent during an exhibition by Bennett and Co. in Agra in 1867, according to Nauman, referring to a company owned by Sir John Bennett (1814-1897), a clock and watch maker. Over the decades, they continued to help residents tell time before wristwatches and household clocks became commonplace.
“The first person who purchased the clock was Lala Sohan Lal and he gave it to his municipality in Mirzapur,” she said, referring to the famous Punjabi historiographer who died in 1852.
“FALL INTO DESPAIR”
The clock towers of Karachi, like much of the city’s colonial architecture, are diverse in their design. Many were constructed with Gizri stone but the KMC clock tower is unique, built using red sandstone imported from Jodhpur.
The towers were strategically placed in busy marketplaces or public spaces, ensuring that the sound of their chimes would reach far and wide. Some of them include Merewether Tower (1884), Trinity Church Cathedral (1885), Denso Hall & Library (1886), Empress Market (1889), Poonabai Mamaiya (1889), Jaffer Fuddoo Dispensary (1904), Sydenham Passenger Pavilion at Keamari (1913), Lakshmi Building (1924), and Lea Market (1927).
“They were built in a crowded area, especially the market area, like the Empress Market or the KMC building, so that people could not only hear it, they can, because it was an hour bell and a quarter bell, quarter-hour bell, the time can visually be seen.,” Nauman said. 
Yasmeen Lari, a pioneering Pakistani architect and historian, writes in her book, “The Dual City: Karachi During the Raj,” that the native agrarian society had continued to subsist in the pre-industrialized, colonized Subcontinent, unaware of the greater importance attached to time by industrialized Britain.
“The fascination [of the British] with clocks was reflected by their placement on prominent buildings such as the Edulji Dinshaw charitable dispensary and Empress Market in Karachi,” she wrote.
Today, while the clock towers may no longer serve as vital timekeepers in Karachi, they still stand as “silent witnesses to the passage of time” and as symbols of a “city that has not forgotten its heritage,” Zubairi, at the KMC Clock Tower, said. 
A proposal was once floated to automate the tower’s winding process through electric motors, but it was abandoned to preserve the originality of the clock, Zubairi said. 
The mayor’s office has recently developed a plan to restore the dysfunctional timekeepers, starting with one at Empress Market.
“We will soon bring it back to working condition,” Zubairi said, as the KMC clock tower struck four in the evening behind him.

Topics: Karachi Karachi Clock Tower

Pakistan PM praises Saudi Arabia, UAE and China for helping with $7 billion IMF loan

Pakistan PM praises Saudi Arabia, UAE and China for helping with $7 billion IMF loan
Updated 34 min 17 sec ago
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Pakistan PM praises Saudi Arabia, UAE and China for helping with $7 billion IMF loan

Pakistan PM praises Saudi Arabia, UAE and China for helping with $7 billion IMF loan
  • Pakistan’s key allies helped with external financing gap, debt reprofiling after the staff-level agreement
  • The prime minister says he wants the new IMF loan program to be the last one the country ever needs
Updated 34 min 17 sec ago
Aamir Saeed

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday praised Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and China for playing a crucial role in helping Pakistan with the $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan, which is expected to be finalized when the global lending agency’s executive board meets on September 25.
Pakistan reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF for a fresh loan program in July to keep its fragile economy afloat, with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb expressing hopes of sealing the deal by the end of August.
However, the delay was caused by an external financing gap, prompting Pakistan to seek commitments from key allies and request debt reprofiling.
The prime minister, speaking to a group of young parliamentarians from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party in Islamabad, shared background details of the efforts to secure the loan.
“Once again, Saudi Arabia, which is our very dear brotherly country, China, which is Pakistan’s trusted partner, and the UAE, which is also a brotherly state [assisted Pakistan],” he said. “If these three countries had not contributed and played their role in this IMF program, it would not have been possible to secure it.”
Sharif also highlighted improvements in the country’s macroeconomic indicators, noting that inflation had decreased and remittances from overseas Pakistanis were on the rise.
He acknowledged the need to expand the tax net, recognizing the financial burden on the salaried classes, but expressed optimism that the situation would stabilize as Pakistan made economic progress.
The prime minister further emphasized that Pakistan needed to break its reliance on borrowing, expressing hope that this would be the last IMF program the country would ever need.

Topics: Pakistan IMF Talks Pakistan Saudi Ties Pakistan UAE ties IMF bailout

Pakistan lock horns with India today in Asian Hockey Champions Trophy

Pakistan lock horns with India today in Asian Hockey Champions Trophy
Updated 14 September 2024
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Pakistan lock horns with India today in Asian Hockey Champions Trophy

Pakistan lock horns with India today in Asian Hockey Champions Trophy
  • Pakistan, who have remained unbeaten, won 5-1 against China on Thursday
  • The Pakistani team has already qualified for the semifinal of the tournament
Updated 14 September 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will face India today, Saturday, in their last pool match of the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy at the Moqi Hockey Training Base in Hulunbuir, China.
The much-anticipated match will begin at 12:45pm Pakistan Standard Time, with the Pakistan side having already qualified for the semifinal of the tournament.
Pakistan, who have remained unbeaten, registered a 5-1 win against hosts China on Thursday and moved to the second spot on the points table.
“It is a collective team effort, we are learning by each match,” Hannan Shahid, who was named “hero” of Thursday’s match, said after the win.
Shahid said his side conceded too many cards in the start of the tournament, but had overcome it.
“Hero of the team award is a result of my team’s effort, they created chances for me to score and I am happy how we have progressed in the tournament,” he added.
Others who scored goals for Pakistan included Rehman Abdul and Ahmad Nadeem, while Jiesheng Gao scored the only goal for China.

Topics: Pakistan Hockey

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