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Pakistani, Bahraini naval officials discuss maritime security, defense collaboration

Pakistani, Bahraini naval officials discuss maritime security, defense collaboration
Pakistan’s Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf (left) present souvenir to ahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa and the Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa during his visit to Bahrain on December 15, 2024. (Pakistan Navy)
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Updated 48 sec ago
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Pakistani, Bahraini naval officials discuss maritime security, defense collaboration

Pakistani, Bahraini naval officials discuss maritime security, defense collaboration
  • Pakistan regularly holds joint exercises with allies to deter piracy, drug trafficking and other illicit maritime activities
  • Naval Chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf also met Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa, who appreciated Pakistan’s role in maritime security
Updated 48 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf on Sunday called on the highest civil and military leadership of Bahrain, and discussed maritime security and defense collaboration between the two countries, Pakistan Navy said.
During the official visit, the naval chief held meetings with Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa and Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, according to Pakistan Navy’s Directorate General of Public Relations (DGPR).
Admiral Naveed Ashraf met the Commander-in-Chief of Bahrain Defense Force (BDF), Field Marshal Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa, Commander of Bahrain National Guard, General Shaikh Mohammed bin Isa bin Salman Al-Khalifa, and Commander of Royal Bahrain Naval Force (RBNF), Rear Admiral Ahmed Mohammed Ibrahim Al-Binali.
“During these engagements, professional matters of mutual interest, including regional maritime security and bilateral defense collaboration, were discussed,” the DGPR said in a statement.
“The [Pakistani] naval chief emphasized the importance of enhancing interactions between the armed forces of both countries through joint exercises, mutual visits, and training exchange programs.”
Pakistan Navy regularly collaborates and holds joint military exercises with allies to increase synergy, promote regional peace and stability and deter piracy, drug trafficking and other illicit maritime activities.
Admiral Ashraf also visited RBNF Ship Manama and the Royal Command and Staff College.
In his address at the Royal Command and Staff College, the Pakistani naval chief elaborated on current and emerging environment in the Indian Ocean region and highlighted the need for a “region-centric maritime security construct,” according to the DGPR.
The visit is expected to further strengthen and expand defense ties between the two brotherly nations.

Topics: Pakistan Bahrain Ties Admiral Naveed Ashraf

Pakistan cuts diesel price by Rs3 per liter, keeps petrol unchanged

Pakistan cuts diesel price by Rs3 per liter, keeps petrol unchanged
Updated 19 sec ago
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Pakistan cuts diesel price by Rs3 per liter, keeps petrol unchanged

Pakistan cuts diesel price by Rs3 per liter, keeps petrol unchanged
  • Prices of kerosene and light diesel oil have also been decreased by Rs3.32 and Rs2.78, respectively
  • Pakistan revises petroleum prices every fortnight based on variations in the international market
Updated 19 sec ago
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government has reduced the price of high-speed diesel Rs3 per liter, but kept the price of petrol unchanged, the finance ministry announced late Sunday.
Pakistan revises petroleum prices every fortnight. After the latest revision, a liter of diesel will cost Rs255.38, while that of petrol will continue to sell for Rs252.10.
Petrol is mostly used in Pakistan for private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws, and two-wheelers. At the same time, any increase in the price of diesel is considered highly inflationary as it is mostly used to power heavy transport vehicles and particularly adds to the prices of vegetables and other eatables.
“The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority has worked out the consumer prices of petroleum products in view of the fluctuations in the international market in the last fortnight,” the finance ministry said on X.
“It has accordingly revised the petroleum products for next fortnight starting from December 16, 2024.”
The government also reduced the prices of kerosene oil and light diesel oil by Rs3.32 and Rs2.78 to Rs161.66 and Rs148.95, respectively.
On Dec. 1, Pakistan increased the price of petrol by Rs3.72 per liter due to varying prices of petroleum products in the international market.
Fuel prices in energy-starved Pakistan are instrumental in contributing to inflation. The South Asian country saw inflation hit a record high of 38 percent in May 2023.
Pakistan’s annual consumer inflation slowed to 4.9 percent in November, cooling from 7.2 percent in October.

Topics: Pakistan Disel price Petrol Price

Pakistan closes educational institutes in multiple cities on anniversary of Peshawar school attack

Pakistan closes educational institutes in multiple cities on anniversary of Peshawar school attack
Updated 15 December 2024
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Pakistan closes educational institutes in multiple cities on anniversary of Peshawar school attack

Pakistan closes educational institutes in multiple cities on anniversary of Peshawar school attack
  • On Dec. 16, 2014, militants stormed Army Public School in Peshawar, killing 134 children and over a dozen staffers
  • The attack was claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which has once again mounted assaults against Pakistan
Updated 15 December 2024
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities have announced closure of schools and colleges in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Lahore on the anniversary of a deadly attack on Army Public School (APS) Peshawar, which killed more than 130 children in 2014.
A group of heavily armed militants belonging to the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) faction entered the army-run school building on December 16, 2014, and killed 134 children and over a dozen staff members. The incident took place in a high security area in Peshawar in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. 
The massacre at the school sparked worldwide condemnation and in response, Pakistan reinstated the death penalty after a six-year moratorium and executed many TTP militants a well as launched a military campaign in the country’s northwestern tribal districts to purge the area of TTP militants.
Thousands of Pakistanis have lost their lives in attacks claimed by the TTP since 2007, including an assassination attempt on Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai. The country has also seen a renewed surge in attacks since a fragile truce between the TTP and the government broke down in Nov. 2022.
“It is notified that all public/private schools and colleges shall remain closed on 16th December, 2024 (Monday) within the revenue limits of Islamabad Capital Territory,” the Islamabad administration said in a notification.
In a statement, Irfan Nawaz Memon, the Islamabad deputy commissioner, said the holiday was announced in “remembrance of the martyrs of the Peshawar Army Public School tragedy.”
Similar notifications were issued by authorities in the garrison city of Rawalpindi and Lahore, the capital of Pakistan’s most populous Punjab province.
In recent months, Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces, which border Afghanistan, have witnessed a number of attacks by the TTP and other religious and separatist militant groups that targeted security forces convoys and check posts, besides targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers, government officials and civilians.
The TTP, or the Pakistani Taliban, is a separate group but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban.
Pakistan has frequently accused neighboring Afghanistan of sheltering and supporting militant groups, urging the Taliban administration in Kabul to prevent its territory from being used by armed factions to launch cross-border attacks. Afghan officials deny involvement, insisting Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter of Islamabad.

Topics: Pakistan schools

Islamabad calls trade corridors from Pakistan to Central Asia ‘need of hour’

Islamabad calls trade corridors from Pakistan to Central Asia ‘need of hour’
Updated 15 December 2024
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Islamabad calls trade corridors from Pakistan to Central Asia ‘need of hour’

Islamabad calls trade corridors from Pakistan to Central Asia ‘need of hour’
  • Pakistan aims to establish itself as a trade and transit hub for landlocked Central Asian republics
  • Kazakhstan is the world’s ninth-largest country by land area and the largest landlocked country
Updated 15 December 2024
KASHIF IMRAN

ISLAMABAD: Privatization Minister Abdul Aleem Khan has said that trade corridors from Pakistan were a “need of the hour” for Central Asian countries, while access to Pakistani ports could help increase bilateral trade between the two sides.
Khan said this during his meeting with Kazakhstan Ambassador Yerzhan Kistafin who called on him in Islamabad on Saturday, according to the Pakistani privatization ministry.
The two figures held a detailed discussion regarding investment, commerce and trade corridors between the Central Asian republic and Pakistan.
“Pakistani products are the best option for Central Asian countries,” Khan said. “In order to raise the trade graph of industrial products, display centers should be established for the foreign business community where we can keep these products for sale under one roof.”
Pakistan, which has been facing an economic crisis, wants to position itself as a regional trade hub and to leverage its strategic geopolitical position and enhance its role as a pivotal trade and transit hub connecting China and Central Asia with the rest of the world.
Kazakhstan is the world’s ninth-largest country by land area and the largest landlocked country. There has been a flurry of visits, investment talks and economic activity between officials from Pakistan and the Central Asian nations in recent weeks.
The privatization minister said Pakistan wanted better road infrastructure to increase investment, which was a top priority of his government to improve the economy.
Ambassador Kastafin said that excellent trade and economic relations with Pakistan were in the wider interest of Kazakhstan and hoped that there would be “visible progress” in this regard in the coming days, according to the Pakistani privatization ministry.

Topics: Pakistan Kazakhstan ties

Pakistan PM launches anti-polio drive to vaccinate 44 million children nationwide

Pakistan PM launches anti-polio drive to vaccinate 44 million children nationwide
Updated 15 December 2024
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Pakistan PM launches anti-polio drive to vaccinate 44 million children nationwide

Pakistan PM launches anti-polio drive to vaccinate 44 million children nationwide
  • Pakistan is responding to an intense resurgence of poliovirus, with 63 cases reported this year
  • Pakistan, Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where poliovirus remains endemic
Updated 15 December 2024
KASHIF IMRAN

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday launched an anti-polio vaccination drive that aims to vaccinate 44 million children nationwide, amid an intense resurgence of the virus in the South Asian country.
Polio is a paralyzing disease that has no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five is essential to provide children high immunity against this terrible disease.
Pakistan is responding to an intense resurgence of Wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) this year, with 63 cases reported so far. Of these, 26 are from Balochistan, 18 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 17 from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
The vaccination drive will formally begin on Monday and continue till Sunday, Dec. 22, during which vaccinators will go house to house in 143 districts to immunize children under the age of five years, according to the Pakistan polio program.
“Polio is a dangerous disease which can cripple your children for life. In fact, it can be life-threatening,” Sharif said at the campaign launch. “Only two drops [of anti-polio vaccine] can save your children from being disabled forever. Come and let’s protect the future of our and the nation’s children.”
He said the federation and all provinces were jointly fighting this epidemic and God willing, they would eliminate the disease through their collective wisdom and efforts, thanking vaccinators for their efforts to eliminate the virus despite harsh weather and terrain in far-flung areas.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the last two countries in the world where polio remains an endemic.
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 chief health officer said on Nov. 10 an estimated 500,000 children had missed polio vaccination during the last countrywide inoculation drive.
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.
In July 2019, a vaccination drive in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was thwarted after mass panic was created by rumors that children were fainting or vomiting after being immunized. This month, Pakistani authorities postponed a planned anti-polio vaccination campaign in the northwestern Kurram district, citing a fragile security situation after weeks of deadly sectarian clashes in the region.
Public health studies in Pakistan have shown that a lack of knowledge about vaccines, together with poverty and rural residency, are also factors that commonly influence whether parents vaccinate their children against polio.

Topics: anti-polio program polio campaign in Pakistan Polio cases in Pakistan

Thousands gather in Peshawar to protest alleged killings at last month’s pro-Imran Khan protests

Thousands gather in Peshawar to protest alleged killings at last month’s pro-Imran Khan protests
Updated 15 December 2024
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Thousands gather in Peshawar to protest alleged killings at last month’s pro-Imran Khan protests

Thousands gather in Peshawar to protest alleged killings at last month’s pro-Imran Khan protests
  • The party remains short of announcing the start of a civil disobedience movement as was anticipated by many
  • A Khan aide says they are awaiting outcome of talks with authorities and will follow whatever the ex-PM says
Updated 15 December 2024
WASIM SAJJAD

PESHAWAR: Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party on Sunday held a rally in Pakistan’s northwest to protest alleged killings of a dozen of its supporters during last month’s protest in Islamabad, but made no announcement regarding a civil disobedience movement Khan had hinted at this month.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party on Nov. 24 led thousands of supporters to Islamabad, seeking to pressure the government to release the ex-premier from jail and order an audit of Feb. 8 national election results. The protests resulted in clashes that Pakistan’s government says killed four law enforcers and injured hundreds of others.
The PTI says at least 12 of its supporters were killed and another 37 sustained gunshot injuries due to firing by law enforcers near Islamabad’s Jinnah Avenue on Nov. 26, while 139 of its supporters were still “missing.” Pakistani authorities have denied the deaths, saying security personnel had not been carrying live ammunition during the protest.
On Sunday, the party held a ‘martyrs’ day’ gathering in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, at which the attendees offered prayers for the ones who allegedly died during the Islamabad protest.
“The reason [to hold the gathering] was to offer prayers for those who were killed on [Islamabad’s] D-Chowk on November 26,” Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Excise and Taxation Minister Khaliq-ur-Rehman told Arab News.
“We had a peaceful protest.”
Speaking to international media journalists on Sunday afternoon, KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur said they were demanding the release of Khan and challenging the results of Feb. 8 polls, criticizing authorities for allegedly shooting unarmed protesters in Islamabad.
“Is this the state’s job to fire at unarmed people,” he questioned. “Is this the state’s job that it won’t allow a party hold a protest?“
Last week, the PTI filed a petition in an Islamabad court against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and other officials over “firing” on its supporters during the Islamabad protest. The government has accused the PTI of waging a “propaganda” regarding the Islamabad protest, following statements by several PTI members that gave varied accounts of casualties.
The PTI has staged several protests this year to demand the release of Khan and to challenge results of the Feb. 8 national election, which it says were manipulated to favor its opponents. The Pakistani government and election authorities deny this.
Last month’s protests were by far the largest to grip the capital since the poll, while Khan, who remains a popular figure in Pakistan despite being in prison and facing several court cases, on Dec. 6 threatened to launch a civil disobedience movement.
Asked about the movement, Ali Muhammad Khan, a PTI lawmaker, said Khan had formed a committee to hold talks with authorities on their demands for the release all political prisoners and for setting up judicial commissions to investigate the Nov. 24 protest and violence on May 9, 2023, which killed eight people.
“If anything comes out of the negotiations, well and good, otherwise, Khan will announce the next move,” Ali told Arab News at the Peshawar public gathering. “Whatever Khan orders, we will follow.”
Shandana Gulzar, another PTI lawmaker, said they were awaiting detailed instructions from the party founder about the movement.
“Whatever order Khan gives from the prison... we are ready,” she added.

Topics: PTI protest

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