KSrelief launches relief drive for 4,000 flood-affected families in Pakistan's northwest
KSrelief launches relief drive for 4,000 flood-affected families in Pakistan's northwest/node/2574230/pakistan
KSrelief launches relief drive for 4,000 flood-affected families in Pakistan's northwest
Workers of King Salman Relief Center distribute aid to families affected by rain and flood in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan on October 6, 2024. (KSrelief)
ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) has started distributing relief items among four thousand flood-affected families in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, state-run media reported on Sunday.
Heavy monsoon rains from July to September killed at least 347 people in Pakistan and damaged thousands of homes in the South Asian country. At least 99 people were killed and 147 injured in KP province alone.
Pakistan is recognized as one of the world’s most vulnerable countries due to climate change effects where floods in 2022 killed over 1,700 people, damaged critical infrastructure and washed away large swathes of crops.
“King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center has started distribution of shelters and relief items among four thousand flood affected families in five districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” Radio Pakistan reported.
The state media said relief items include solar panels, plastic mats, blankets, water coolers, kitchen sets and anti-bacterial soaps, adding that these are being distributed in KP’s Dera Ismail Khan, Mansehra, Kohistan, Upper and Lower Chitral districts.
KSrelief has one of the largest humanitarian budgets available to any aid agency across the world, which has allowed its officials to undertake a wide variety of projects in more than 80 countries.
Pakistan is the fifth largest beneficiary of its aid and humanitarian activities and has greatly benefited from its assistance since last year’s monsoon floods.
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani wife of a prominent Kashmiri leader in Indian-administered side of the Himalayan territory wrote Wednesday to opposition leader Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi, urging him to initiate a parliamentary debate on her husband’s incarceration following his hunger strike at the beginning of this month.
Mushaal Hussein Mullick, former assistant on human rights and women’s empowerment in Pakistan’s last caretaker administration, is married to Yasin Malik, leader of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), who, along with other activists, was incarcerated after India revoked Kashmir’s special constitutional status in August 2019.
She said the Indian authorities had filed a case against him on the basis of a “three-decades-old sedition case” in which they were demanding death sentence for him.
The letter noted this was despite the fact that her husband had long given up arms to fight for freedom struggle, following the path of non-violence which was highlighted by several high-profile Indian officials and journalists themselves.
“I request you to bring to use your high moral and political influence in the Parliament and to initiate a debate in the case of Yasin Malik, who could become an instrument for bringing organic and not cosmetic peace back to the Jammu & Kashmir — paradise on earth,” she wrote.
Mullick said her husband “stood by his end of the bargain,” though the same thing “cannot be said for the Indian state” that did not pay attention to his pleas and “victimized” him under the current Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.
Her letter to the Indian opposition leader follows the recent elections in Indian-administered Kashmir in which Gandhi’s allies displayed a good performance while the BJP could not make any impressive electoral gains.
The government in New Delhi has, however, used the polls to suggest that the situation in Kashmir is gradually improving, though the large number of the people of the area have long opposed the Indian rule.
ISLAMABAD: Federal Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said Wednesday Pakistan would collaborate with the new US administration where interests aligned but cautioned that cooperation could be strained if interests diverged or Washington persisted in supporting wars in the Middle East.
Asif made the statement following the election of Republican candidate Donald Trump as US president for a second term, nearly four years after he left office. Hours later, Vice President Kamala Harris, who was running against Trump, conceded defeat, acknowledging the election result was not what Democrats had hoped for but pledging a peaceful transfer of power.
Trump is widely regarded as an unpredictable leader, with analysts worldwide assessing the potential impact of his return to the top US office on global affairs. However, the Pakistani defense minister praised him during Geo TV’s special election transmission for promising to end conflicts around the world after assuming power in Washington.
“Where our interests and those of the United States converge, we will definitely work together,” he said while responding to a question. “However, where there’s a clash between our interests and those of the United States, we’ll try to find a way to avoid conflict.”
The minister said things could get challenging if there was a direct clash of interests and no way out, as he specifically mentioned the conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.
“If these wars persist, if this atmosphere of destruction remains, with cities being devastated and the United States backing this, then it will be an environment in which cooperation will be difficult,” he continued.
Responding to a question about the impact of Trump’s election on Pakistan’s domestic politics, he said the government believed that the new US president would not call for the release of former prime minister of the country Imran Khan who has been in prison for over a year on multiple charges.
Members of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party widely expressed hope on social media platforms that Trump’s election could lead to the release of their leader from prison, saying Khan enjoyed a good relationship with the US president-elect.
The former premier also congratulated Trump in a social media post, saying his presence in the top US office would be good for the bilateral relations between the two countries.
Asif noted during the special television transmission that government always prepared themselves for local and international contingencies, adding: “No one [in the US] will want to go on bad terms with Pakistan for the sake of a single individual.”
KARACHI: In a quiet, old bungalow near the Sindhi Muslim Food Street and the famed Zahid Nihari restaurant on Tariq Road, a new space in Karachi offers a rare kind of nourishment: a feast for the mind.
Launched last month, the citizen-run free Kitab Ghar Karachi is more than just a library but aims to inspire people, especially young curious minds to read, think critically, and engage in intellectual conversations, cultivating creativity and renewing the exchange of ideas in a country where such spaces are quietly disappearing.
Kitab Ghar seeks to revive a library culture that was vibrant until the 1990s, when book houses in places like Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad drew students, writers and literary enthusiasts, particularly during the dynamic literary decades of the 1970s and 1980s.
Before the digital era, libraries were among the few trusted sources for books, research and periodicals but the spread of online resources and the Pakistani state’s limited prioritization of these intellectual sanctuaries have gradually led to a decline.
“We want people to come to the library and start that [reading] culture again in Pakistan,” Areeba Fatima, one of the co-founders of the free library, told Arab News.
Co-founder of Kitab Ghar, Areeba Fatima (center), poses for a picture with her colleagues at the library in Karachi, Pakistan, on October 19, 2024 (Areeba Fatima)
Beyond providing a serene reading environment, she said, Kitab Ghar Karachi wanted to cultivate a community of thinkers and doers by hosting regular events and discussions on a range of topics, from politics to art.
“We want to foster, nourish and develop communities of people who being at a public library enjoy interacting,” Fatima added.
Karachi’s Kitab Ghar is the sister library of one in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore, launched in 2021, and the brainchild of Fatima’s friend Zara Suhail Mannan, who completed four years of education at Yale University and came back with the concept of combining reading with community development.
The picture taken on November 4, 2024, shows a board reading "By The People, For the People" at the gate of Kitab Ghar in Karachi, Pakistan. (AN photo)
“She thought that we were going to set up a public library and community space together, which made a lot of sense to me,” Fatima, who was then a student at Lahore University of Management Sciences, recalled.
With the help of a third friend, Airas Qadir, Mannan and Fatima started collaborating with civil society organizations, and finally Mannan rented a space for Kitab Ghar in Lahore, where readers come to read books and where regular events are held. That model is now being replicated in the southern port city of Karachi, where the library was launched on Oct. 19.
“When we all found ourselves in Karachi, we decided to open Kitab Ghar Karachi,” said Fatima.
Like the Lahore space, the library in Karachi is also funded by patrons who each donate between $18 and $90 per month.
Muazzam Ali Tahir, a patron, and regular visitor who recently moved from Islamabad to Karachi for work, said he was looking for a place where he could both read and work.
“When I was studying abroad, libraries were like a key place where people could go,” he said. “People could also hang out, work and collaborate with each other.”
Muazzam Ali Tahir is reading a book at Kitab Ghar Library in Karachi, Pakistan, on November 4, 2024 (AN photo)
Javeria Naeem, 20, who runs a fashion business, is also a regular visitor.
“I’ve always loved Kitab Ghar Lahore, so I was thrilled about its Karachi chapter,” she said, adding that other libraries she visited often lacked a “sense of community.”
“It’s not an isolated, boring place with just books like most libraries,” she added. “It’s lively and makes you feel great.”
The picure taken on November 4, 2024, shows a map in the library in Karachi, Pakistan. (AN photo)
Syed Abdur Raffay Shah, 19, an artist and designer, said he was a regular visitor of the place, describing Kitab Ghar as a “unique experience.”
“I used to spend over 12 hours in libraries just studying and relaxing, but this one stands out with its welcoming atmosphere,” he said. “It has a special communal feel, as if everyone here is contributing to restoring Pakistan’s educational landscape.”
The library has several events planned in the coming weeks.
“We can generate a conversation on blasphemy or feminism or other topics which are very significant, so that is what we are trying to do,” Fatima, the co-founder, said, adding that the “mission” that began in Lahore would continue beyond Karachi.
“We will make more Kitab Ghar libraries in different cities of the country as we aim to create a Pakistan where people read, think and discuss, where people are politically mature and where they matter the most.”
ISLAMABAD: The power to lead peace efforts in Palestine rests with the Saudi crown prince, the Pakistan Ulema Council said on Wednesday, as Muslim countries gear up to discuss the Middle East unrest at the Arab-Islamic summit.
Since October last year, Israel has killed over 45,000 Palestinians in its air and ground attacks on Gaza. Last month, it also invaded Lebanon, killing 3,000 people since.
Saudi Arabia has repeatedly condemned Israel’s attacks and on Nov. 11 will hold the extraordinary Arab–Islamic summit between the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to address the situation.
“The power to lead peace efforts and address this issue rests solely with Mohammed bin Salman, no one else holds this level of influence,” PUC chairman Tahir Ashrafi told Arab News.
“He is the center of the Muslim [world], due to the Two Holy Mosques and he is the head of the OIC.”
The PUC head said that the Saudi crown prince’s image as an ambassador of peace was recognized worldwide, as he recalled his successful mediation efforts in 2022, which led to the release of prisoners from various countries as part of a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine.
“The role of Saudi Arabia and Ameer Mohammed bin Salman as an ambassador of peace is acceptable to Europe, the Islamic world, the UK and the US,” Ashrafi said.
“His vision is very clear, and the vision is a two-state solution.”
Ashrafi was hopeful that next week’s summit would lead to a solution to the Palestine crisis.
“It is hoped that a suggestion or solution will be presented there that will help the world overcome the current situation,” he said.
“If the whole Muslim world and some European countries accept the Palestinian state and appoint their ambassadors, it will be a big step and it will give a lot of strength to the oppressed Palestinians and to the solution to this issue.”
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday to discuss issues of common interest such as regional peace, bilateral defense and security cooperation, the military said.
The development takes place after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last week during his two-day visit to the Kingdom. The two leaders discussed bilateral economic ties and regional developments, with Sharif apprising the crown prince that the Kingdom had a “central role” to play in Pakistan’s “future economic plans.”
In October, Pakistani and Saudi businesses signed 27 agreements and memorandums of understanding valued at $2.2 billion. During Sharif’s visit to the Kingdom last week, the two countries agreed to increase this figure to $2.8 billion.
Munir, who is currently on an official visit to the Kingdom, met the Saudi crown prince at the Royal Palace in Riyadh, the Inter-Services Public Relations, (ISPR) the military’s media wing, said in a statement.
“The two dignitaries engaged in a comprehensive discussion on a range of issues of mutual interest, including regional peace, defense and security cooperation, and strategies for enhancing bilateral relations,” the ISPR said.
In this handout photograph, released by the Saudi Press Agency on November 6, 2024, Pakistan Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir meets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh. (SPA)
The army’s media wing said Munir expressed his gratitude to the Saudi crown prince for his “steadfast support for Pakistan,” acknowledging his role in fostering peace and stability across the region.
Their meeting also takes place amid a surge in regional tensions following Israel’s military campaigns in Palestine and Lebanon, and its missile attack on Iran last month.
Munir also separately met Saudi Arabia’s Defense Minister Prince Khalid Bin Salman, the ISPR said, adding that the two vowed to further strengthen cooperation in the defense and security domains.
In this handout photograph, released by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on November 6, 2024, Pakistan Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir meets Saudi Arabia’s Defense Minister Prince Khalid Bin Salman in Riyadh. (Photo courtesy: ISPR)
The Pakistan army chief also held meetings with Saudi Arabia’s assistant minister of defense, air chief, chief of general staff of the Royal Saudi Armed Forces and chief of Royal Saudi Land Forces, the ISPR said.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy cordial ties rooted in shared history, culture, faith and economic ties. The Kingdom is the top source of workers’ remittances for Pakistan, crucial for Islamabad to help keep its $350 billion economy afloat.
Saudi Arabia has often come to cash-strapped Pakistan’s aid, bailing it out of its prolonged economic crisis through debt rollers and by providing it oil on deferred payments.
