You are here

  • Home
  • Pakistan dispatches 16th relief consignment for war-afflicted people of Gaza, Lebanon

Pakistan dispatches 16th relief consignment for war-afflicted people of Gaza, Lebanon

Pakistan dispatches 16th relief consignment for war-afflicted people of Gaza, Lebanon
This handout photo, taken and released by Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority on October 27, 2024, shows trucks of relief goods being dispatched to Gaza and Lebanon, in Islamabad. (Photo courtesy: NDMA)
Short Url

https://arab.news/cqbh7

Updated 27 October 2024
Follow

Pakistan dispatches 16th relief consignment for war-afflicted people of Gaza, Lebanon

Pakistan dispatches 16th relief consignment for war-afflicted people of Gaza, Lebanon
  • Each consignment contains 100 tons of winterized tents and blankets, says Pakistan’s disaster management agency 
  • Pakistan vows to continue relief shipments for Gaza and Lebanon, where Israeli military has killed thousands since last year
Updated 27 October 2024
SAIMA SHABBIR
Follow

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Sunday dispatched the 15th and 16th consignment of relief items for the war-affected people of Gaza and Lebanon, vowing to continue relief supplies to the areas amid Israel’s ongoing military campaigns.
The consignments were dispatched through road convoys from Islamabad to Amman in Jordan for the people of Gaza and Beirut. The relief items included 100 tons each of winterized tents and blankets, the NDMA said in a press release.
“In total 1,598 tons of relief items have been dispatched to affected people of Gaza and Lebanon,” the NDMA said.




In this handout photo, taken and released by Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority on October 27, 2024, officials hold press briefing as trucks of relief goods being dispatched to Gaza and Lebanon, in Islamabad. (Photo courtesy: NDMA)

The send-off ceremony was held at Islamabad International Airport. Parliamentarians Malik Ibrar and Raja Qamar ul Islam, Palestinian Ambassador to Pakistan Zuhair Darzaid and Lebanon’s Ambassador to Pakistan Ghassan Khatib were present at the ceremony.
“During the ceremony, the Parliamentarians emphasized the urgent need to provide relief to the war-affected populations of Palestine and Lebanon, considering the ongoing conflict and the needs of the affected communities,” the NDMA said.
“They reaffirmed the Government of Pakistan’s commitment to supporting their brothers and sisters in distress and stressed the importance of collaboration by welfare organizations and the Pakistani public in strengthening these efforts.”




In this handout photo, taken and released by Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority on October 27, 2024, airport officials load consignment of relief goods being dispatched to Lebanon, in Karachi. (Photo courtesy: NDMA)

Earlier on Sunday, Pakistan dispatched the 14th consignment of relief items from the southern port city of Karachi to Beirut. 
Pakistan has also set up a special account titled: “Prime Minister’s Relief Fund for Gaza and Lebanon,” under PM Shehbaz Sharif’s directions, for donations for the people of Gaza and Lebanon.
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.




In this handout photo, taken and released by Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority on October 27, 2024, Pakistani government and Al-Khidmat Foundation officials gesture for a group photo next to consignment of relief goods being dispatched to Lebanon, in Karachi. (Photo courtesy: NDMA)

Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, Pakistan has repeatedly raised the issue at the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and other multilateral platforms and demanded international powers and bodies stop Israeli military actions in Gaza.

Topics: Pakistan Lebanon Pakistan Palestine War on Gaza Israeli aggression

Pakistan, UN agree to strengthen cooperation to prevent AIDS from spreading

Pakistan, UN agree to strengthen cooperation to prevent AIDS from spreading
Updated 38 sec ago
Follow

Pakistan, UN agree to strengthen cooperation to prevent AIDS from spreading

Pakistan, UN agree to strengthen cooperation to prevent AIDS from spreading
  • UN country director for AIDS urges Pakistani scholars to spread awareness about AIDS
  • Pakistan’s National AIDS Control Program has registered 72,515 HIV cases as of September
Updated 38 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the United Nations have agreed to strengthen cooperation to prevent Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) from spreading, state-run media reported on Tuesday, with both sides also exploring the possibility of employing religious scholars to raise awareness about the disease. 

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) attacks and destroys infection-fighting CD4 cells (CD4 T lymphocytes) of the immune system, while AIDS is the most advanced stage of the disease. People with HIV who are not on medication and lack consistent control of the virus can transmit it through sexual intercourse, sharing needles, pregnancy, and breastfeeding. However, if HIV is properly controlled, the risk of transmission is nearly zero.

Pakistan is the second largest country in South Asia, only behind India and Nepal, in terms of the HIV epidemic, according to the National Institute of Health. Despite many efforts, the HIV infection rate has increased significantly over the past few years in the country. 

UN country director for AIDS, Trouble Chikoko, met with the Secretary of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Dr. Atta-ur-Rehman in Islamabad to discuss the various ongoing programs to curb the disease.

“Pakistan and the UN have agreed to enhance cooperation to curb the spread of AIDS,” Radio Pakistan said. “Chikoko said scholars and religious schools can play a positive role in raising awareness about AIDS prevention among the public.”

During the meeting, Rehman stressed the need for cooperation with relevant UN agencies and other partners to prevent AIDS, polio and other diseases from spreading across the country.

Pakistan’s National AIDS Control Program, established in 1986-87 aims to prevent and control the disease. It has registered 72,515 HIV cases as of September 2024, with 49,939 individuals currently on Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) in 94 centers across the country. 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), since the start of the epidemic, 88.4 million people have been infected with HIV, and approximately 42.3 million have died from AIDS-related causes. By the end of 2023, an estimated 39.9 million people were living with HIV globally. 

Around 0.6 percent of adults aged 15–49 are living with HIV, although the impact of the epidemic varies significantly across countries and regions.

Topics: Pakistan UN Aids HIV

PM says Pakistan’s nuclear program ‘solely for deterrence,’ calls US sanctions ‘unjustified’ 

PM says Pakistan’s nuclear program ‘solely for deterrence,’ calls US sanctions ‘unjustified’ 
Updated 7 min 54 sec ago
Follow

PM says Pakistan’s nuclear program ‘solely for deterrence,’ calls US sanctions ‘unjustified’ 

PM says Pakistan’s nuclear program ‘solely for deterrence,’ calls US sanctions ‘unjustified’ 
  • Washington last week announced fresh sanctions against entities contributing to Pakistan’s ballistic missile program 
  • Shehbaz Sharif says entire nation united behind Pakistan’s nuclear program, vows government will not compromise on it
Updated 7 min 54 sec ago
Falak Mahmood Khan

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday criticized Washington for imposing fresh sanctions on Pakistan’s ballistic missile program, saying it was intended only for deterrence purposes and not for aggressive designs. 

The US State Department announced on Dec. 18 that it was imposing more sanctions related to nuclear-armed Pakistan’s long-range ballistic-missile program, including on the state-owned defense agency that oversees the program. The sanctions freeze any US property belonging to the targeted entities and bars Americans from doing business with them. 

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement that the measures slapped on the National Development Complex (NDC) and three firms were imposed under an executive order that “targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery.”

Pakistan’s foreign office responded sharply to the announcement the same day, describing the move as “double standards and discriminatory practices,” warning it endangered regional and international peace and security.

“The sanctions imposed on the National Development Complex and other firms, there is no justification for it,” Sharif told members of the federal cabinet during a meeting. “Pakistan does not harbor any intentions in which its nuclear system is aggressive, it is 100 percent in Pakistan’s defense. It is just deterrence, nothing else,” he added. 

Sharif said Pakistan’s nuclear program did not belong to either him or members of the federal cabinet. Rather, he said it belonged to the 240 million people of the country. 

“There will be no compromise on it [nuclear program] and the entire nation is completely united on this,” the Pakistani premier declared. 

A State Department factsheet said the Islamabad-based NDC had sought to obtain components for Pakistan’s long-range ballistic-missile program and missile-testing equipment. It said the NDC “is responsible for the development of Pakistan’s ballistic missiles,” including the Shaheen family of missiles.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists research organization says the Shaheen series of missiles is nuclear-capable. Pakistan conducted its first nuclear-weapons test in 1998, becoming the seventh country to do so. The Bulletin estimates Pakistan’s arsenal at about 170 warheads.

Islamabad has refused to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the cornerstone of the international system designed to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.

The other three entities slapped with the US sanctions were Affiliates International, Akhtar and Sons Private Limited and Rockside Enterprise, all located in Karachi, the factsheet said. It said the companies worked with the NDC to acquire equipment.

Relations between the US and Pakistan have seen significant ups and downs. The countries collaborated during the Cold War and in the fight against Al-Qaeda after 9/11.

However, ties have been strained due to coups in the South Asian country by Pakistan’s military, support for the Taliban’s 1996-2001 rule in Afghanistan, and over Islamabad’s nuclear weapons program.

Topics: Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif US Pakistan missile program

Pakistan government’s coalition partner calls for ‘digital bill of rights’ amid Internet clampdown

Pakistan government’s coalition partner calls for ‘digital bill of rights’ amid Internet clampdown
Updated 24 December 2024
Follow

Pakistan government’s coalition partner calls for ‘digital bill of rights’ amid Internet clampdown

Pakistan government’s coalition partner calls for ‘digital bill of rights’ amid Internet clampdown
  • Pakistani authorities have been criticized for cracking down on VPNs, installing firewall that has curbed Internet speeds 
  • PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari criticizes disconnect between Pakistan’s policymakers and citizens’ digital realities 
Updated 24 December 2024
Fatimah Amjad

ISLAMABAD: A key coalition partner of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s administration on Monday called for a “digital bill of rights,” criticizing Pakistan’s restrictive Internet policies during a university graduation ceremony in southern Sindh.

The government has faced sharp criticism from activists and opposition parties for what they describe as a digital clampdown in recent months. A proposed national firewall, ostensibly designed to curb “anti-state propaganda” and “blasphemous content,” has slowed Internet speeds across the country.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has also intensified its crackdown on virtual private networks (VPNs), allowing their legal use only after users register with the government— posing challenges for freelancers and businesses relying on online access.

“We must strive for a digital bill of rights for our era,” Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party, said at the Sindh University Jamshoro. “This digital bill of rights should not be something I write on my own, declaring, ‘These are your rights,’ and then campaign for it.”

“No,” he added. “I want us— you, me, the students and the youth of this country— to collectively draft our own digital bill of rights, based on what we believe are our inalienable rights.”

He maintained these rights could not be taken away from the people of Pakistan, though the “elders, bureaucrats, and politicians sitting in Islamabad simply do not understand them.”

Bhutto-Zardari criticized the government’s restrictions while hinting at a disconnect between policymakers and the digital realities faced by citizens.

“They don’t understand because they don’t use these technologies— it doesn’t affect them,” he said. “Whether the Internet is slowed down or VPNs are blocked, it doesn’t matter to them.

But it will make your life miserable, and it will make my life miserable. This is our democratic right, and we will fight for our rights.”

Earlier this month, Minister of State for IT and Telecom Shaza Fatima Khawaja defended Internet restrictions, citing security concerns.

“No one is interested in shutting down the Internet,” she told parliament. “Law and order is paramount for us, but we will make every effort to ensure no disruption to the industry.”

Topics: Internet digital right Pakistan VPN Arab News Pakistan

Pakistan navy chief counts Iran-Israel tensions among growing maritime challenges in Indian Ocean

Pakistan navy chief counts Iran-Israel tensions among growing maritime challenges in Indian Ocean
Updated 24 December 2024
Follow

Pakistan navy chief counts Iran-Israel tensions among growing maritime challenges in Indian Ocean

Pakistan navy chief counts Iran-Israel tensions among growing maritime challenges in Indian Ocean
  • Long-time rivals Iran and Israel traded missiles in October following surging tensions in Gaza
  • Long-time rivals Iran and Israel traded missiles in October following surging tensions in Gaza
Updated 24 December 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf has said in a recent interview that Iran’s growing tensions with Israel and the United States may turn into a “precarious situation” in the Indian Ocean, warning that any escalation of tensions between the sides will prove harmful for shipping. 

Israel’s war on Gaza has escalated tensions in the Middle East, with fears of a wider war breaking out in the region surging to alarming levels after the two countries traded missiles in October. Iran’s tensions with the US, a staunch ally of Israel, have also surged following the Jewish state’s military campaigns in the Middle East and Tehran’s strong criticism against it. 

Speaking to the “Daily Mirror,” a Sri Lanka-based online news publication on Dec. 18, Ashraf spoke about growing maritime security challenges faced by Pakistan in the Indian Ocean due to instability in Afghanistan, provocations from neighboring India, and the Middle East’s regional tensions. 

“On our eastern side, India is disturbing regional peace by blatantly provoking its neighbors,” Ashraf was quoted as saying by the Daily Mirror. “On our western flank, Iran’s standoff with the US and Israel may manifest into a precarious situation for the shipping plying along the international Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs).”

The Indian Ocean is home to key maritime routes, including the Strait of Hormuz and the Arabian Sea, considered essential for global oil and trade shipments. Experts warn that conflicts in the Indian Ocean can result in blockades or increased risks of attacks on commercial shipping and hence adversely impact global energy markets.

Ashraf said in the non-traditional domain, the Indian Ocean faces “maritime terrorism, piracy, drug trafficking, gun running and human smuggling” as key security challenges. 

“The challenge to our regional maritime security is an ominous hybrid mix of traditional and non-traditional threats,” he said. 

Speaking about the upcoming AMAN-25 exercise, a series of multinational exercises started in 2007 by the Pakistan Navy to promote regional cooperation and stability, Ashraf said Pakistan is geared up to conduct it next year.

“I may mention that the previous edition of the exercise held in February 2023 witnessed the participation from 50 countries across the globe,” he said. “Keeping the same spirit, we are hopeful that this edition will also mark a distinctive chapter in history of AMAN exercises with enhanced participation of friendly countries.”

The AMAN-25 is slated to be held from Feb. 7-11 in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi. The exercise is expected to bring together chief of navies, coast guards and defense forces to provide them the opportunity to exchange views on global and regional security and adopt innovative solutions to address evolving challenges at sea. 

Topics: Pakistan navy chief

Pakistan reports fresh polio case from Balochistan province, pushing 2024 tally to 65

Pakistan reports fresh polio case from Balochistan province, pushing 2024 tally to 65
Updated 24 December 2024
Follow

Pakistan reports fresh polio case from Balochistan province, pushing 2024 tally to 65

Pakistan reports fresh polio case from Balochistan province, pushing 2024 tally to 65
  • Killa Abdullah district reports its seventh polio case this year, confirm Pakistani authorities 
  • Pakistan, along with neighboring Afghanistan, remains last polio-endemic country in the world
Updated 24 December 2024
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: Pakistan has reported its latest polio infection from the southwestern Balochistan province, the country’s polio eradication program confirmed on Tuesday, pushing the total tally of cases of the disease this year to 65. 

The recent case was reported from Pakistan’s Killa Abdullah district in Balochistan, the seventh from the area this year, the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at Pakistan’s National Institute of Health said. 

Pakistan, along with neighboring Afghanistan, remains the last polio-endemic country in the world. The nation’s polio eradication campaign has faced serious problems with a spike in reported cases this year that have prompted officials to review their approach to stopping the crippling disease.

“Pakistan is responding to the resurgence of WPV1 this year with 65 cases reported so far,” the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme said in a statement. “Of these, 27 are from Balochistan, 18 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 18 from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.”

It said a sub-national polio vaccination campaign in Balochistan is scheduled to begin from Dec. 30, during which all 36 districts of the province will be targeted for vaccination. 

“To keep children safe, it is critical for parents to welcome vaccinators among them and bring their children forward for vaccination,” the statement said. 

Poliovirus, which can cause crippling paralysis particularly in young children, is incurable and remains a threat to human health as long as it has not been eradicated. Immunization campaigns have succeeded in most countries and have come close in Pakistan, but persistent problems remain.

In the early 1990s, Pakistan reported around 20,000 cases annually but in 2018 the number dropped to eight cases. Six cases were reported in 2023 and only one in 2021.

Pakistan’s polio program began in 1994 but efforts to eradicate the virus have since been undermined by vaccine misinformation and opposition from some religious hard-liners, who say immunization is a foreign ploy to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western spies. Militant groups also frequently attack and kill members of polio vaccine teams. 
 

Topics: Polio Pakistan Balochistan Arab News Pakistan

Latest updates

US NGO believes missing journalist Austin Tice ‘alive’ in Syria
US NGO believes missing journalist Austin Tice ‘alive’ in Syria
Saudi Arabia, Iraq to propel digital cooperation amid top ministerial meeting
Saudi Arabia, Iraq to propel digital cooperation amid top ministerial meeting
Aramco secures prime ratings for $10bn commercial paper program from Moody’s and Fitch
Aramco secures prime ratings for $10bn commercial paper program from Moody’s and Fitch
Russian court jails US citizen Spector for 15 years in espionage case, RIA says
Russian court jails US citizen Spector for 15 years in espionage case, RIA says
Israel PM vows to fight ‘forces of evil’ in message to Christians
Israel PM vows to fight ‘forces of evil’ in message to Christians

Search form

Print Edition
Read pdf version Subscribe now
© 2024 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.