Pakistan calls for peace with India as it shows off military might on Republic Day

President of Pakistan Arif Alvi inspecting the parade continents during Pakistan Day parade in Islamabad on March 23, 2019. (PID photo)
Updated 23 March 2019
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Pakistan calls for peace with India as it shows off military might on Republic Day

  • Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed attends military parade as guest of honour
  • Contingents from Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, China and Turkey also participate

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's President Dr. Arif Alvi said on Saturday the nation wanted peace with arch-rival India, weeks after a tense military standoff between the two nations, and said dialogue was the only way to resolve all outstanding issues.

President Alvi was addressing a military parade to mark Republic Day, popularly known as Pakistan Day, which commemorates the anniversary of a 1940 resolution calling for a separate homeland for Muslims in India. In 2015, the tradition of holding the parade was resumed after seven years in a symbolic show of military strength by a nation which has been badly affected by militant attacks for over a decade.

In his address at the parade, Alvi said Pakistan did not believe in war and wanted to solve its problems through dialogue.

“India will have to accept Pakistan as a reality, and it must come to the conclusion that dialogue is the only way to resolve issues,” Alvi said. “Instead of war we should focus on education and health.”

Last month, India and Pakistan almost came to the brink of war over a suicide attack in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir in which at least 40 paramilitary troopers were killed. As India launched airstrikes in Pakistan and Pakistan retaliated with strikes of its own, the possibility of all-out war seemed all too real.

President Alvi said Pakistan's sovereignty had been challenged many times in the past and "wars were imposed on us” but praised the nation for fighting off those assaults. He said "Pakistan respects all countries' sovereignty and wishes peace" but made it clear that the "desire for peace should not be misconstrued as a sign of weakness.”

On the occasion, Prime Minister Imran Khan stressed the "need to achieve the goal of a true Islamic welfare state as envisaged by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah," the founder of Pakistan. He also expressed solidarity with the people of Indian-administered Kashmir "who have long been victims of Indian state terrorism and forced to lead a life of misery."

Nuclear-armed neighbors Pakistan and India have fought three wars since gaining independence from British rule in 1947, two of them over Kashmir, a Muslim-majority region that both claim in full but govern in part.

A day before the parade, Khan had taken to Twitter to welcome a message from Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of Pakistan Day and said it was time to begin a dialogue to resolve all issues.

“I welcome PM Modi's message to our people,” Khan said in a Twitter post. “As we celebrate Pakistan Day I  believe it is time to begin a comprehensive dialogue with India to address & resolve all issues, esp the central issue of Kashmir, & forge a new relationship based on peace & prosperity for all our people.”

In a separate post, Khan said he had received the following greeting from Modi on Pakistan Day: "I extend my greetings & best wishes to the people of Pakistan on the National Day of Pakistan. It is time that ppl of Sub-continent work together for a democratic, peaceful, progressive & prosperous region, in an atmosphere free of terror and violence.”

On Saturday, National Day celebrations kicked off with gun salutes and prayers, followed by the military parade that showcased the nation's nuclear capable arsenal and at which Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed was the guest of honour.

A 31-gun salute was held in Islamabad and a 21-gun salute in the provincial capitals. At the break of dawn, special prayers were offered at mosques around the country and the national flag was hoisted on all major government buildings. A change-of-guards ceremony was also held at the mausoleum of Dr Allama Iqbal in Lahore.

The military parade itself was held at Parade Ground near the Shakarparian hills in Islamabad. Malaysian Prime Minister Mohammad was the guest of honour while the Pakistani president, prime minister, ministers, members of parliament, the three armed services chiefs and diplomats also attended. The defence minister of Azerbaijan, the army chief of Bahrain and government officials from Oman were also in attendance.

Aircrafts from the Army Aviation and Pakistan Air Force demonstrated aerobatic feats for the audience and combat and attack helicopters and skydivers of airborne units from the three armed forces showcased their skills. Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan led a fly-past as a salute to the president, following a formation of four JF-17 Thunder fighter jets and similar formations of Mirage, F-7PG and other fighter jets of the Pakistan Air Force. Radar systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, cruise missiles and other modern weaponry equipped with latest military technology were also rolled out.

Contingents from Azerbaijan, Bahrain, China, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and Turkey also participated in the parade.  Cultural delegates and floats from Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir also featured in the ceremony to showcase the diversity of Pakistan’s provinces.

An investiture ceremony will also be held at the presidential palace in the evening where the president will confer civil awards on individuals who have excelled in a range of fields. Around 171 personalities, including foreigners, have been selected for the awards this year.


Pakistani PM, OIC chief urge global push for Gaza ceasefire

Updated 9 sec ago
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Pakistani PM, OIC chief urge global push for Gaza ceasefire

  • The OIC leader is currently in Islamabad to attend a global conference on girls’ education in Muslim countries
  • Shehbaz Sharif also met with the secretary general of the Muslim World League, the co-host of the conference

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha agreed on Friday the OIC must intensify pressure on the international community to secure an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during their meeting in Pakistan’s federal capital.
The top OIC official arrived in Islamabad earlier in the day to attend a two-day global conference on girls’ education in Muslim countries, set to begin on Saturday. He was received by Education Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui upon arrival.
During the meeting, the prime minister thanked the OIC for its consistent support regarding the Kashmir dispute with his country’s nuclear rival, India.
Sharif strongly condemned Israel’s ongoing “genocidal campaign” in Gaza and stressed the need for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, unrestricted humanitarian aid for Palestinians and global accountability for Israel’s conduct of war.
“Both leaders agreed that the OIC must maintain its pressure on the international community for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza,” read an official statement released by Sharif’s office after the meeting. “They emphasized that the resolution of the Palestine issue must align with UN resolutions and the aspirations of the Palestinian people.”
The meeting also touched on combating Islamophobia and other global and regional matters of mutual interest.
GIRLS’ EDUCATION
The OIC secretary general expressed gratitude for Pakistan’s warm reception and praised the country’s leadership role in addressing critical issues facing the Muslim world.
“The hosting the international conference on girls’ education in the Muslim world is an example of Pakistan’s leadership role in addressing important issues,” he said.
Separately, the prime minister also met with Sheikh Dr. Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, the secretary general of the Muslim World League (MWL).
Sharif commended the MWL’s partnership in co-hosting the two-day conference and emphasized that the event would send a strong global message about the Muslim world’s commitment to advancing girls’ education.
Dr. Al-Issa informed Sharif the conference would culminate in the Islamabad Declaration, a consensus document promoting girls’ education in Muslim countries.
He also informed the conference would feature renowned scholars, educators, and thought leaders from around the globe to address a wide range of issues affecting the Muslim world.


Stitching hope: Sindh’s artisan program uplifts rural women through handicrafts

Updated 44 min 58 sec ago
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Stitching hope: Sindh’s artisan program uplifts rural women through handicrafts

  • The Sindh Rural Support Organization has trained over 6,000 women in some of the poorest areas in Pakistan’s south
  • Woman artisans in Sindh say the organization has not just brought them financial stability, but dignity and hope as well

KARACHI: Dressed in a vibrant pink embroidered dress with traditional patterns depicting the Sindhi culture, Ponam Shaam Lal proudly displays her handcrafted cushions to visitors at an upscale mall in Karachi. Had it not been for Sindh’s rural artisan programs, Lal, in her late 30s, would have been bereft of skill, and the means to earn her bread and butter.
Lal’s creations were among the 5,800 handicrafts showcased at a four-day exhibition launched by the Sindh Rural Support Organization (SRSO), a not-for-profit organization, in Karachi’s Ocean Mall on Thursday. The event, a collaboration with the Sindh government, featured 3,545 rural woman artisans displaying products ranging from traditional shawls to embroidered accessories.
The SRSO has trained thousands of rural women in different trades from some of the most under-developed regions of Sindh such as Jacobabad, Kandhkot-Kashmore, Shikarpur, Ghotki, Qambar-Shahdadkot and Badin districts in the last 16 years.
Lal, who rarely ventured beyond her remote village near Rohri up until a few years ago, is one of those thousands of artisans at the Karachi event, which aims to help these women sell to high-end customers in Pakistan’s urban cities.
“Before, we never went out; we didn’t know the outside world. Only my husband would earn. We would sit idle, wondering how to make ends meet or pay for our children’s education,” Lal told Arab News, as she showed her handicrafts to a customer.
“We were poor, but when we started doing this work, took on orders, and worked hard, our circumstances improved.”
Lal says the crochet and embroidery work she learned due to the SRSO’s training program has helped her send her children to school, and life is “finally stable.”
Shahida Baloch, an artisan and trainer from Sindh’s Sukkur city, learned embroidery from her mother and grandmother, but she had little formal education or access to markets where she could sell her products.
“I am a rural woman from the village,” Baloch, a mother of seven, told Arab News.
“We learned embroidery and sewing at home from our grandmothers, without attending any institute or training center.”
But things changed for Baloch, when the SRSO reached her village almost a decade ago. She says the organization provided her recognition for her embroidery and sewing skills by showcasing her work at exhibitions across the country.
As one of the few trainers at the SRSO, Baloch now guides woman artists on how to transform traditional craft into marketable products. 
“I trained women to make cushions, bags, and pouches from the same art. We also worked on color combinations, blending traditional Sindhi colors — blue, yellow, red, green, all natural colors — with modern preferences. This way, the color became more appealing to urban customers,” she said.
“Similarly, we taught them to create buttons as a supplementary product. For instance, if no one buys large, embroidered fabrics worth fifty thousand or a hundred thousand rupees, they might buy a few buttons to embellish their shirts.”
SRSO CEO Muhammad Dittal Kalhoro said the organization has trained over 6,000 women in Sindh’s poorest areas through 316 Business Development Groups.
“Our aim is to connect these women with high-end markets and ensure better incomes,” he said.
Sindh government spokesperson Sadia Javed said the SRSO, part of a larger poverty-reduction initiative, provides loans and support to woman artisans, and with a 98 percent repayment rate, it has proven highly effective.
“Earlier, this program was limited to a few districts,” Javed said. “Now, it has expanded to urban slums in Karachi and Sukkur.”
For women like Lal and Baloch, the SRSO has brought more than financial stability.
It has brought them dignity and hope.
“I am extremely grateful to Allah for making the SRSO the means through which I was empowered,” said Baloch, who could not study beyond the fifth grade, but has managed to send two of her daughters to university.
“Today, I am successful, and so are my children.”


Pakistani forces kill five militants in intelligence-based operation in northwest

Updated 10 January 2025
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Pakistani forces kill five militants in intelligence-based operation in northwest

  • Operation took place a day after more than a dozen atomic energy workers were abducted in Lakki Marwat
  • The prime minister lauds the professionalism of security forces, saying the whole nation stands with them

KARACHI: Pakistani security forces killed five militants in an intelligence-based operation on Friday in the volatile northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to a statement by the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
The operation comes amid a surge in militant violence in the region, which Pakistan has attributed to cross-border attacks from Afghanistan by groups like Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Afghan authorities have denied these allegations.
The operation followed an incident a day earlier when armed militants abducted 17 Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission workers and their driver in the restive Lakki Marwat district. Eight of them were freed after a few hours.
“On 10 January 2024, Security Forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in general area Maddi, Dera Ismail Khan District on reported presence of khwarij [TTP militants],” the ISPR said in the statement.
“During conduct of operation, own troops effectively engaged khwarij’s location,” it continued, adding that five of them, including their ring leader, Shafiullah alias Shafi, were killed as a result.
Weapons and ammunition were recovered from the militants, who were involved in attacks on security forces and the targeted killings of civilians, the statement said.
Subsequently, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the professionalism of security officials, vowing to continue the fight against militancy until it was eradicated from the country.
He said the whole nation stood united with the security forces.
“The entire country pays tribute to the bravery of our security personnel who risk their lives to combat these enemies of the state,” he added.


Four bodies recovered from coal mine in Pakistan’s southwest after deadly methane explosion

Updated 10 January 2025
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Four bodies recovered from coal mine in Pakistan’s southwest after deadly methane explosion

  • Twelve coalminers were trapped after the explosion on Thursday, with little chances of finding anyone alive
  • Mines in Balochistan are known for hazardous working conditions, where such accidents are not uncommon

QUETTA: Rescue teams in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province have retrieved four bodies from a coal mine following a methane gas explosion a day earlier in the Sanjdi coal field, about 40 kilometers from Quetta, which left a dozen miners trapped inside the mine.
According to a senior official of the provincial mining department overseeing the rescue work, the search for the other miners is still ongoing, though he maintained the chances of finding anyone alive were almost negligible.
Rescue teams from the mining department and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) have been working for the last 19 hours with heavy machinery.
“We have recovered four bodies after nearly 24 hours of the incident,” Abdul Ghani, Chief Inspector Mines Balochistan, told Arab News. “The workers were digging coal 4,000 feet inside the mine, and we have recovered the bodies at 3,000 feet. The search for other workers is still underway.”
Responding to a question, he said the entire mine had caved in due to the intensity of the explosion.
“An excavator from Quetta reached the site at midnight, and we succeeded in opening the mouth of the mine this morning,” he said.
“The mining department will conduct a thorough investigation to assess what kind of safety measures were put in place by the private mine owners,” he added.
Many coal mines in the province are operated by private companies, often under lease agreements with the government.
Ghani said that 11 of the miners were from Shangla, a town in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, while one was a resident of Balochistan.
Mines in Balochistan are known for hazardous working conditions and poor safety standards, where deadly incidents are not uncommon.
According to the provincial mining department, 82 coal miners working on different projects were killed in Balochistan last year in 46 reported mining accidents.


Al-Azhar University to establish campus in Pakistan, says Egyptian grand mufti

Updated 10 January 2025
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Al-Azhar University to establish campus in Pakistan, says Egyptian grand mufti

  • Founded in 970 CE, Al-Azhar is known for its scholarship in theology, jurisprudence and Arabic studies
  • The grand mufti also asked Pakistan to send scholars to Egypt to benefit from the institution’s expertise

ISLAMABAD: Egyptian Grand Mufti Dr. Nazir Mohamed Ayad announced Friday Al-Azhar University, a renowned center of Islamic learning, plans to establish a campus in Pakistan, a move welcomed by Education Minister Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, who pledged full government support during their meeting in Islamabad.
Founded in Cairo in 970 CE, Al-Azhar is celebrated for its rigorous scholarship in Islamic theology, jurisprudence, Arabic studies and modern sciences. With a legacy spanning over a millennium, the university is a key authority on Islamic thought and attracts students globally.
The discussion on branching out into Pakistan took place during a meeting between the two officials, which was also attended by the Egyptian ambassador to Pakistan.
“Dr. Nazir Mohamed Ayad, Grand Mufti of the Arab Republic of Egypt, thanked the federal minister for his warm welcome and said that Al-Azhar University will establish its campus in Pakistan,” read an official statement from Pakistan’s Ministry of Federal Education.
“He said it is important that people learn the Arabic language to understand the true teachings of Islam,” it continued.
The Pakistani minister highlighted the deep cultural and historical ties his country shared with Egypt, both of which, he noted, were part of the world’s oldest civilizations. Siddiqui described Al-Azhar University as a beacon of Islamic scholarship, expressing his aspiration to visit the institution in Cairo.
During the meeting, he also highlighted Pakistan’s upcoming International Girls Conference, scheduled for January 11-12, which aims to promote girls’ education in Islamic countries.
“It is a misconception that Islam does not allow women’s education,” Siddiqui said, emphasizing Pakistan’s commitment to ensuring equal educational opportunities for women.
The Grand Mufti noted that over 40 percent of Al-Azhar University’s students were female. He also encouraged Pakistan to send scholars to Egypt to benefit from the institution’s expertise.
Al-Azhar’s operations are primarily based in Egypt, where it has campuses in several cities. Internationally, the university extends its influence by offering scholarships to students who disseminate its teachings upon returning to their home countries.
The university has also collaborated with educational institutions worldwide and established cultural centers to promote Islamic studies and the Arabic language.
In 2022, Pakistan’s late religious affairs minister, Pir Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, announced plans to open a campus in Lahore.
The initiative, which included Al-Azhar providing faculty, curriculum and textbooks, was to be administratively managed by Pakistan.