You are here

  • Home
  • Pakistan issues over 3,000 visas to Indian Sikh pilgrims to attend religious event

Pakistan issues over 3,000 visas to Indian Sikh pilgrims to attend religious event

Pakistan issues over 3,000 visas to Indian Sikh pilgrims to attend religious event
Sikh pilgrims wait for their bus before leaving for Pakistan to celebrate ‘Baisakhi’, a spring harvest festival, in Amritsar on April 13, 2024. (AFP/File)
Short Url

https://arab.news/979vy

Updated 10 November 2024
Follow

Pakistan issues over 3,000 visas to Indian Sikh pilgrims to attend religious event

Pakistan issues over 3,000 visas to Indian Sikh pilgrims to attend religious event
  • Islamabad provides visas to Indian pilgrims to attend Sikhism founder Baba Guru Nanak’s birthday celebrations from Nov. 14-23
  • A visa-free corridor in Pakistan’s Punjab provides easy access to Indian pilgrims to Nanak’s final resting place in Narowal
Updated 10 November 2024
SAIMA SHABBIR
Follow

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi said on Sunday it has issued over 3,000 visas to Sikh pilgrims in the country to attend the birthday celebrations of Sikhism founder Baba Guru Nanak.
Pakistan last month renewed its agreement with India regarding the Kartarpur Corridor that gives Sikh pilgrims from the neighboring country visa-free access to the final resting place of Nanak, their religion’s founder. 
The visa-free border crossing, from India to Kartarpur in the Narowal district of Pakistan’s Punjab, was inaugurated in November 2019 just ahead of Nanak’s 550th birthday. 
The corridor connects the Sikh shrines of Dera Baba Nanak in India to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Nanak’s final resting place, in Kartarpur and is seen as a rare example of cooperation and diplomacy between the two South Asian neighbors.
“The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi has issued over 3000 visas to Sikh pilgrims from India to participate in the birthday celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak Dev Ji to be held in Pakistan from 14-23 November 2024,” the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi wrote on social media platform X.
It said Pakistan’s Charge d’Affaires to India, Saad Ahmad Warraich, extended his heartfelt felicitations to the Sikh pilgrims and wished them a “fulfilling yatra.”
Much of Sikh heritage is located in Pakistan. When Pakistan was carved out of India at the end of British rule in 1947, Kartarpur ended up on the Pakistani side of the border, while most of the region’s Sikhs remained on the other side.
For over seven decades, the Sikh community had lobbied for easier access to their holiest temple.
Pakistan’s initiative to open the corridor earned widespread appreciation from the international community, including the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, who had described it as a “Corridor of Hope.”

Topics: Sikh pilgrims

Pakistan senate approves controversial bill to amend cybercrime law

Pakistan senate approves controversial bill to amend cybercrime law
Updated 15 sec ago
Follow

Pakistan senate approves controversial bill to amend cybercrime law

Pakistan senate approves controversial bill to amend cybercrime law
  • Bill proposes Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority to block illegal online content
  • Disinformation will be punishable by three years in prison and fine of $7,150 under new law
Updated 15 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s upper house of parliament on Tuesday passed a bill to amend the country’s cybercrime law amid a walkout by opposition leaders and journalists who fear the new legislation will be used to censor social media platforms.
Pakistan adopted the much-criticized Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) in 2016, granting sweeping powers to regulators to block private information they deemed illegal. The law provided for up to seven years in prison for “recruiting, funding and planning of terrorism” online. It also allowed “authorized officers” to require anyone to unlock any computer, mobile phone or other device during an investigation.
The government said at the time restrictions under the new law were needed to ensure security against growing threats such as terrorism and to crackdown on unauthorized access, electronic fraud and online harassment. However, journalists and rights activists complain that the law has been largely used to go after journalists, bloggers and other people critical of the government and state institutions like the military. 
The new amendment bill now proposes the establishment of the Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority to perform a range of functions related to social media, including awareness, training, regulation, enlistment and blocking. SMPRA would be able to order the immediate blocking of unlawful content targeting judges, the armed forces, parliament or provincial assemblies or material which promotes and encourages terrorism and other forms of violence against the state or its institutions. The law also makes spreading disinformation a criminal offense punishable by three years in prison and a fine of two million rupees ($7,150).
After being passed by both houses of parliament, the bill now needs the president’s ascent to become law. 
“I have heard more ‘yes’ than ‘no’, so the bill is approved,” Syedaal Khan, deputy chair of Pakistan’s Senate, said amid protests from the opposition and journalists who walked out of the gallery.
“Whoever intentionally disseminates, publicly exhibits, or transmits any information through any information system, that he knows or has reason to believe to be false or fake and likely to cause or create a sense of fear, panic or disorder or unrest in general public or society shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend up to three years or with fine which may extend to Rs2m or with both,” a copy of the bill says.
The bill was presented in the National Assembly on Thursday by Federal Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party of premier Shehbaz Sharif. 
“The bill will not harm but protect working journalists,” Information Minister Ataullah Tarar told reporters after the passage of the bill by the lower house of parliament last week. “This is the first time the government has defined what social media is. There is already a system in place for print and electronic media and complaints can be registered against them.”
He said “working journalists” should not feel threatened by the bill, which had to be passed because the Federal Investigation Agency, previously responsible for handling cybercrime, “does not have the capacity to handle child pornography or AI deep fake cases.”
Tarar said the government was also aiming to bring social media journalists, including those operating YouTube accounts, under the tax framework.
The operative part of the new bill outlines that the Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority would have the power to issue directions to a social media platform for the removal or blocking of online content if it was against the ideology of Pakistan, incited the public to violate the law or take the law in own hands with a view to coerce, intimidate or terrorize the public, individuals, groups, communities, government officials and institutions, incited the public to cause damage to governmental or private property or coerced or intimidated the public and thereby prevented them from carrying on their lawful trade and disrupted civic life.
The authority will also crackdown on anyone inciting hatred and contempt on a religious, sectarian or ethnic basis as well as against obscene or pornographic content and deep fakes. 
Rights activists say the new bill is part of a widespread digital crackdown that includes a ban on X since February last year, restrictions on VPN use and the implementation of a national firewall. 
The government says the measures are not aimed at censorship.

Topics: PECA Pakistan internet social media regulation

PCB chairman meets USA Cricket CEO, discusses tri-series with Canada

PCB chairman meets USA Cricket CEO, discusses tri-series with Canada
Updated 7 min 42 sec ago
Follow

PCB chairman meets USA Cricket CEO, discusses tri-series with Canada

PCB chairman meets USA Cricket CEO, discusses tri-series with Canada
  • Discussions also held on bilateral series between Pakistan and US men and women’s cricket teams 
  • Naqvi offers to train US coaches, invites Atkeison to ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan next month
Updated 7 min 42 sec ago
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Mohsin Naqvi, met USA Cricket Chief Executive Officer Johnathan Atkeison in Washington and discussed a tri-series with Canada and the training of American coaches in Pakistan, the PCB said on Tuesday.
Naqvi, who is also the country’s interior minister, has been on a visit to the US since last week.
“Naqvi and CEO USA Cricket discussed possibilities of a tri-series between Pakistan, Canada and USA. Discussions regarding arrangement of bilateral series between Pakistan and USA men’s and women’s cricket teams also took place,” the PCB said. 
Naqvi assured Atleison of “all possible support” for the development of American players and the promotion of cricket in the US. He also offered to train US coaches in Pakistan and invited Atkeison to visit Pakistan during the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which starts next month. 
Cricket in the US is a sport played at the amateur, club, intercollegiate and international competition levels with little popularity, with 200,000 players across the country.
Major League Cricket is the highest level of domestic T20 cricket currently played in America, with T20 being the format of the game that much of the recent growth in American cricket is occurring in.

Topics: Pakistan Cricket Board USA cricket team Pakistan vs USA

Pakistan outlaws disinformation with three-year jail term

Pakistan outlaws disinformation with three-year jail term
Updated 28 January 2025
AFP
Follow

Pakistan outlaws disinformation with three-year jail term

Pakistan outlaws disinformation with three-year jail term
  • Law was rushed through parliament with little warning last week
  • New bill will now pass to the president to be rubber stamped
Updated 28 January 2025
AFP

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan criminalized online disinformation on Tuesday, passing legislation that enshrines punishments of up to three years in prison, a decision journalists say is designed to crack down on dissent.
“I have heard more ‘yes’ than ‘no’, so the bill is approved,” Syedaal Khan, deputy chair of Pakistan’s Senate, said amid protest from the opposition and journalists, who walked out of the gallery.
The law targets anyone who “intentionally disseminates” information online that they have “reason to believe to be false or fake and likely to cause or create a sense of fear, panic or disorder or unrest.”
The law was rushed through the National Assembly with little warning last week before being presented to the Senate on Tuesday, and will now pass to the president to be rubber stamped.

Topics: social media social media regulation PECA Pakistan internet

Pakistan affirms ‘all-weather’ partnership with China after days of controversy

Pakistan affirms ‘all-weather’ partnership with China after days of controversy
Updated 28 January 2025
Follow

Pakistan affirms ‘all-weather’ partnership with China after days of controversy

Pakistan affirms ‘all-weather’ partnership with China after days of controversy
  • Pak-China relations have been in spotlight recently as Beijing has publicly criticized Islamabad about security lapses and threats
  • On Monday the Guardian published a report quoting a top Chinese official criticizing Pakistan’s “false rhetoric” around CPEC projects
Updated 28 January 2025
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani deputy prime minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday met Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong and reaffirmed Islamabad’s commitment to an ‘all-weather strategic’ partnership between the two nations, after days of controversy that has threatened to strain ties between the longtime allies.

Pakistan-China relations have been in the spotlight in recent months as Beijing has publicly criticized Islamabad about security lapses and threats to its nationals and projects in Pakistan. Last week, Pakistan had to issue a series of clarifications after Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi reportedly attended an event in Washington where he met people aligned with a political movement opposed to the Chinese state.

On Monday, the Guardian published a report quoting a top Chinese official criticizing Pakistan’s “false rhetoric” around projects that are part of the joint multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and expressing “serious concerns” over the scheme’s future due to security challenges. The Chinese embassy later rejected the contents of the article as “completely false.”

“They reaffirmed the Pak-China All-Weather Strategic Partnership, which is a cornerstone of bilateral relations between the two states,” Dar’s office said in a statement after he met Jiang. 

“During the meeting, they reviewed the progress of CPEC 2.0, a significant project aimed at enhancing economic cooperation and regional connectivity. Both sides expressed their commitment to elevating bilateral ties to new heights, further solidifying their strategic partnership.”

Jiang also invited Dar to the UN Security Council event, “Practicing Multilateralism, Reforming and Improving Global Governance,” hosted by China under its presidency of the UNSC on Feb. 18 in New York. 

“The Deputy Prime Minister accepted the invitation, underscoring Pakistan’s commitment to multilateral cooperation,” the statement added. 

Beijing has pledged to build energy, infrastructure and other projects as part of the over $60 billion CPEC scheme launched in 2015 as a flagship of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative to grant China access to trade routes in Asia and Africa. 

Recent attacks, including one in October 2024 in which two Chinese workers were killed in a suicide bombing in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, have forced Beijing to publicly criticize Pakistan and media has widely reported in recent months that China wants its own security forces on the ground to protect its nationals and projects, a demand Islamabad has long resisted.

Progress on the economic corridor has been slow, particularly in the restive southwestern Balochistan province where China is building a deep-sea port and last week opened Pakistan’s largest airport in the coastal town of Gwadar, among other mega projects. 

Ethnic separatist groups target Chinese interests in the area, blaming both the governments in Pakistan and China of exploiting the province’s natural resources and neglecting the local population, allegations both Beijing and Islamabad deny. Gwadar residents have held intermittent protests for months, saying Chinese projects in the area have not improved the lives of the local population.

Pakistan has repeatedly assured China it will protect its nationals in the country from militant threats and has tightened security protocols for Chinese investors and nationals. Islamabad says attacks on Chinese nationals are an “international conspiracy” to sour ties.

Topics: Pakistan China Ties China Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong

Related

Update ‘Completely untrue,’ Beijing says on media report quoting Chinese official critical of Pakistan security challenges 
Pakistan
‘Completely untrue,’ Beijing says on media report quoting Chinese official critical of Pakistan security challenges 
Update Pakistan interior minister denies attending anti-China function in US video
Pakistan
Pakistan interior minister denies attending anti-China function in US

Pakistan calls on Sudan’s warring parties to engage, work to end humanitarian crisis

Pakistan calls on Sudan’s warring parties to engage, work to end humanitarian crisis
Updated 28 January 2025
Follow

Pakistan calls on Sudan’s warring parties to engage, work to end humanitarian crisis

Pakistan calls on Sudan’s warring parties to engage, work to end humanitarian crisis
  • War between Sudan’s army and Rapid Support Forces broke out in 2023 due to disputes over integration of two forces
  • Conflict has displaced more than 12 million people and plunged half the population of nearly 49 million people into hunger
Updated 28 January 2025
Fatimah Amjad

ISLAMABAD: Ambassador Munir Akram, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations, has called on Sudan’s warring parties to re-engage in negotiations to end a 21-month-long war that has killed tens of thousands, driven millions from their homes and plunged half of the population into hunger.

The war between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) broke out in April 2023 due to disputes over the integration of the two forces. The war has displaced more than 12 million people, while plunging half the population of 49 million people into hunger, for which both the RSF and army are blamed.

“We call on both sides to implement the commitments made under Jeddah declaration on protection of civilians and the facilitation of humanitarian action to meet the emergency needs of the Sudanese people,” Akram said in a speech to the UN Security Council.

The Pakistani envoy spoke after the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, briefed the 15-member council on the deteriorating situation in Sudan’s Darfur region on Monday.

“The blatant violations of international humanitarian law with impunity must stop, and the suffering of the Sudanese people brought to an end,” Akram said. “The Sudanese people have seen unimaginable atrocities during the nearly two years of the recent conflict.”

He extended Pakistan’s condolences to the victims and their families of a RSF drone attack on a Saudi hospital last week in which at least 70 people were killed.

“Pakistan firmly upholds the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sudan,” Akram added. “We call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire … The parties need to find a sustainable political resolution through peaceful means. The humanitarian crisis in the country needs to be addressed.”

Akram said although Pakistan was not a party to the Rome Treaty establishing the ICC, it was committed to the objective of accountability for international crimes, whether they were committed in Darfur, Gaza, Afghanistan, or elsewhere.

“The ICC can gain global credibility if it displays full objectivity and impartiality in the cases and persons it decides to investigate and prosecute,” he said. “Some jurisdictions have so far been immune from prosecution for widely reported crimes, including those committed in situations of foreign occupation and intervention.”

Topics: Pakistan Sudan Ambassador Munir Akram

Latest updates

Saudi Arabia’s NHC to offer affordable homes 20% below market rates, CEO says 
Saudi Arabia’s NHC to offer affordable homes 20% below market rates, CEO says 
Israeli, US strike on Iran nuclear program would be ‘crazy’: FM
Israeli, US strike on Iran nuclear program would be ‘crazy’: FM
South African composer Lebo M reflects on Saudi visit, Disney hits
South African composer Lebo M reflects on Saudi visit, Disney hits
Pakistan outlaws disinformation with 3-year jail term
Pakistan outlaws disinformation with 3-year jail term
Dakar Rally comes down to a duel in the sand between Lategan and Al-Rajhi
Dakar Rally comes down to a duel in the sand between Lategan and Al-Rajhi

Search form

Print Edition
Read pdf version Subscribe now
© 2025 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.