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Pakistan calls for removal of technology restrictions to aid developing nations at UN meeting

Ambassador Usman Jadoon, Pakistan’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, speaks at a United Nations Security Council meeting on May 18, 2024. (APP)
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Updated 18 May 2024
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Pakistan calls for removal of technology restrictions to aid developing nations at UN meeting

  • Access to emerging technologies in the Global South is often influenced by geopolitical concerns
  • Pakistan says equitable access to technology can help developing nations meet future challenges
Updated 18 May 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: A senior Pakistani diplomat at the United Nations urged technology-producing nations on Friday to remove restrictions on the equitable spread of scientific knowledge and equipment, saying it would help advance developing countries.

Access to emerging technologies in the Global South is often influenced by geopolitical concerns, as international relations and trade policies can dictate the availability and distribution of these resources.

This geopolitical gatekeeping not only restricts technological advancement in less developed nations but also perpetuates global inequities in access to cutting-edge tools and innovations.

In case of Pakistan, US export controls limit access to high-end technologies, particularly those with dual-use capabilities that might be diverted for military purposes.

“Unless fair and equitable access to new and emerging technologies is provided to developing countries, and all undue restrictions removed, the Global South will lag even further behind in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals,” Ambassador Usman Jadoon, Pakistan’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, told a Security Council meeting.

According to an official statement, he underscored the transformative power of science in improving lives and anticipating threats through climate modeling, disease surveillance, and early warning systems.

Additionally, he highlighted Pakistan’s significant strides in nuclear technology, space exploration and biotechnology, saying that his country wanted to leverage scientific advancements for progress and stability.

“New and emerging technologies play an undeniable role in the progress of any society and in maintaining international peace and security when used in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter,” he continued.

Ambassador Jadoon mentioned Pakistan’s concerns about the unregulated military applications of emerging technologies and supported calls for establishing legally-binding norms to regulate their use, ensuring regional and global stability.

He affirmed his country’s commitment to unlocking the potential of science for peace and progress, advocating for responsible scientific practices and international cooperation to build a safer and more prosperous future.

 

Topics: UN Security Council

Economists skeptical of Pakistan’s projected 3.6 percent growth rate for next fiscal year

Updated 6 sec ago
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Economists skeptical of Pakistan’s projected 3.6 percent growth rate for next fiscal year

  • Government is expected to present the annual budget on June 10, as it hopes the inflation to drop to 12 percent
  • Economists say poverty, unemployment will increase amid tight fiscal and monetary policies, high interest rates
Updated 6 sec ago
Aamir Saeed

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani economists on Saturday expressed skepticism over the government’s claim it would be able to accelerate economic growth to 3.6 percent in the next fiscal year from 2.4 percent in the outgoing financial year, warning that employment and poverty rates could increase further in the coming months.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s administration is expected to present the annual budget on June 10, at a time when the country is facing an economic crisis with double-digit inflation and struggling to secure funding from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The government on Friday approved a 3.6 percent growth target for the 2024-25 budget, boosting the development allocation to Rs1.2 trillion ($4.3 billion) from Rs950 billion ($3.4 billion) in the outgoing fiscal year, which has now been slashed to Rs717 billion ($2.6 billion) due to fiscal constraints.

“Looking at the economic indicators including agricultural and large-scale manufacturing growth, it seems the government may hardly be able to achieve around three percent growth rate,” Sajid Amin, economist and deputy executive director at the Sustainable

Development Policy Institute (SDPI) in Islamabad, told Arab News.

“The governments usually budget a high growth target and then revise it down,” he said, referring to the outgoing fiscal year’s growth rate as the government had targeted 3.5 percent but achieved only 2.4 percent.

Amin said that around nine million youth were entering the labor market annually and Pakistan would require at least a five percent growth rate to create job opportunities for them.

“Even if the government achieves the growth target, the unemployment and poverty rate would unfortunately increase,” he said.

According to a recent Planning Commission report, the government expects inflation to moderate to 12 percent in the next fiscal year while admitting that growth prospects “hinge upon political stability, exchange rate, macroeconomic stabilization under IMF’s program and expected fall in global oil and commodity prices.”

Ali Khizar, an economist, said the country was faced with gross financing gaps and development would remain in check with real interest rates to stay positive.

“Pakistan’s current account is expected to stay close to zero until the foreign exchange reserves build,” he told Arab News, adding that commercial financing revenues would remain low and with all this Pakistan would not be able to achieve the targeted growth rate.

“Even 3.6 percent growth rate is not a good number to create job opportunities and bring people out of poverty,” he continued, adding that Pakistan would have to ensure tight fiscal and monetary policies with high interest rates to secure the IMF loan program.

These, he pointed out, would slow down the economy.

Topics: Pakistan Pakistan economy GDP

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Pakistan’s planning ministry forecasts growth at 3.6% for next year

Pakistan Navy seizes 380 kilograms of narcotics in North Arabian Sea operation

Updated 01 June 2024
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Pakistan Navy seizes 380 kilograms of narcotics in North Arabian Sea operation

  • Pakistan Navy frequently carries out such narcotics seizure operations in the country’s territorial waters
  • Last year, it seized over 4,000 kgs of hashish worth more than $65 million with the Anti-Narcotics Force
Updated 01 June 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Navy carried out an anti-narcotics operation in the North Arabian Sea, according to the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), on Saturday, adding that they seized 380 kilograms of highly valuable drugs in the process.
The Pakistan Navy, in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies, frequently carries out such narcotics seizure operations in the country’s territorial waters.
Last year in May, it seized over 4,000 kilograms of hashish worth over $65 million with the country’s Anti-Narcotics Force.
The operation was described as part of Pakistan’s efforts to curb a range of illegal activities, including drug trafficking, in its maritime zones.
“In an anti-narcotics operation based on intelligence, PNS Yarmook seized 380 kilograms of highly valuable drugs in the North Arabian Sea,” the ISPR said. “The seized drugs are worth thousands of dollars in the international market.”
The official statement noted the development was the result of the Pakistan Navy’s effective surveillance at sea.
“Pakistan Navy warships regularly perform duties to prevent drug smuggling, maritime piracy, and human trafficking at sea,” it added.

Topics: Pakistan Navy

Pakistan’s top court says live-streaming anti-graft law amendments case risked political misuse

Updated 01 June 2024
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Pakistan’s top court says live-streaming anti-graft law amendments case risked political misuse

  • Supreme Court decided not to live-stream the proceedings after ex-PM Khan joined from jail via video link
  • The top court says in a written order the decision to live-stream a hearing exclusively falls within its domain
Updated 01 June 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top court on Saturday explained why it decided not to live-stream the last two hearings of a case related to anti-graft law amendments when former Prime Minister Imran Khan joined the proceedings via video link from jail, saying it was to prevent the broadcast’s political misuse.
Khan, who was incarcerated last year in August on corruption charges, has since been convicted in several legal cases after prison trials. He has frequently claimed innocence in all the cases against him, calling them part of a strategy to keep him away from the country’s political arena.
Khan originally challenged the amendments made by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s previous administration in May 2022 to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Ordinance, which reduced several powers of the country’s anti-graft body. He requested to participate in the Supreme Court hearing over the matter last month after being largely kept out of the public eye by the authorities since his arrest in August.
The court granted him permission to join the proceedings via video link, although it opted not to live-stream the proceedings as it had done previously.
“When the head of a political party wants to be heard, who is not an Advocate of this Court, there is a real probability that these hearings may be used for political purposes and point scoring and in respect of matters which do not concern these appeals,” the court said in a written order issued in response to an appeal filed by the advocate-general of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to live-stream the proceedings.
The application called the court’s decision to live-stream some of the hearings and refusing to televise others a “discrimination.”
“This was a paramount consideration when we had dismissed the [advocate-general’s] application,” it continued. “And, our apprehension proved correct later in the day. When Mr. [Imran Khan] Niazi addressed this Court on (30 May 2024) he also mentioned other cases, the general elections held on 8 February 2023, a commission of inquiry and his incarceration; all these matters have nothing to do with the subject matter of these appeals.”
The Supreme Court said it could not have allowed this since it would have thwarted “proper administration of justice.”
It noted that discussions of unrelated matters could skew public perception and undermine the right to a fair hearing and trial for others involved in them.
“While a request to live broadcast or live-stream may be submitted, and may also be objected to, it is clarified that this, as matters presently stand, is in the exclusive domain of this Court,” it added.

Topics: Supreme Court of Pakistan

Pakistan PM congratulates nation’s first Christian female brigadier, calls her inspiration for women

Updated 01 June 2024
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Pakistan PM congratulates nation’s first Christian female brigadier, calls her inspiration for women

  • Helen Mary Roberts of Army Medical Corps is the first Christian female officer to have reached the rank in 76 years
  • Last year, the army chief commended the role played by the Christian community in Pakistan’s development
Updated 01 June 2024
Aamir Saeed

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday congratulated Brig. Helen Mary Roberts after she became the first Christian female officer to achieve the senior army rank in the 76-year history of Pakistan.
The military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), confirmed that Brig. Roberts of the Army Medical Corps had been promoted to her new position in response to an Arab News query.
Women have been integral to the medical corps for decades and have more recently begun to join combat divisions as soldiers. Several other members of minority religious communities are also affiliated with the Pakistan military on different ranks.
“Brig. Helen Mary Roberts has proven through her hard work that Pakistani women are no less than men in any field,” the prime minister said in a statement released by his office.
“The entire nation, including the Pakistani Christian community, is proud of Brig. Helen Mary Roberts and thousands of other hardworking women from the minority community,” he added.
Sharif said Brig. Roberts would be an inspiration for the new generation of women through her dedication, commitment and passion for humanity.
Muslim-majority Pakistan has strived for religious inclusivity in recent years amid continuing social challenges for minority communities.
Last year, Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir commended the role played by the country’s Christian community in its development during a Christmas celebration at Christ Church in Rawalpindi.
He praised their contributions to promoting quality education, health care and philanthropy, as well as their notable contributions to national defense.

Topics: Pakistan Army

Vietnamese ambassador’s wife found safe in Islamabad hours after being reported missing

Updated 01 June 2024
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Vietnamese ambassador’s wife found safe in Islamabad hours after being reported missing

  • The envoy’s wife left for a parlor at around 11 AM and left her phone behind, making her lose contact with family
  • Police say they traced her through safe city cameras while she was at the Megazone Entertainment Hub in F-9 Park
Updated 01 June 2024
Aamir Saeed

ISLAMABAD: Police in Pakistan’s federal capital on Saturday traced the wife of the Vietnamese ambassador to the country with the help of safe city cameras and cellular technology, hours after she was reported missing by her husband in Islamabad.
The ambassador’s spouse had left her residence at around 11 AM to visit a parlor, leaving her phone and purse at home, which made her lose contact with her family, the police said.
Soon after the incident was reported, Inspector General of Islamabad Police Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi visited the residence of Ambassador Nguyen Tien Phong along with senior officials from his department and constituted seven different teams to locate the envoy’s spouse.
“The ambassador’s spouse was traced while she was at the Megazone Entertainment Hub in F-9 Park with the help of safe city cameras and cellular technology,” Taqi Jawad, a police spokesperson, told Arab News.
“She was sitting there calm and cool when the police team along with her husband approached her,” he said. “They spoke to each other in the Vietnamese language for a minute and left for their home happily.”
Some media organizations also reported the ambassador’s wife was upset with her husband and had left her residence to go for swimming and bowling.
However, Jawad said she had lost contact with the envoy and her family, creating fears that she had gone missing.
“She is reunited with her family while the ambassador thanked the police for their efforts to trace her,” he added.

Topics: Vietnamese ambassador’s wife

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