ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will chair a meeting of foreign ministers, representing all members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in Islamabad next year, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
“Positively responding to Pakistan’s offer, the 47th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of OIC in Niger has decided to host the 48th CFM Session in Islamabad in 2021,” it added.
It follows the OIC’s decision to include Pakistan in its six-member Executive Committee “for the next three years” during the CFM meeting in Niamey, Niger on Saturday.
Representatives of the OIC’s 57 members and five observer states participated in the two-day talks which focused on a wide range of topics and issues faced by the Muslim world.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi led the Pakistani delegation which highlighted the atrocities in Indian-administered Kashmir, resulting in the adoption of a new resolution by the OIC which reaffirmed its support for the disputed territory.
Pakistan is a founding member of the OIC and “has always played an important role in promoting the role of the OIC as a collective voice of Muslim Ummah,” the statement said.
The OIC was first established in 1969 and is the second-largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations.
Islamabad to host OIC Council of Foreign Ministers next year
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Islamabad to host OIC Council of Foreign Ministers next year
- Foreign Office says Organization of Islamic Cooperations’s 48th session will be held in Islamabad
- Follows Pakistan’s inclusion in the OIC’s Executive Committee list for the next three years
US actions may set polio eradication back in Pakistan and Afghanistan, WHO says
- WHO works with groups such as UNICEF and Gates Foundation to end polio
- The planned withdrawal of the United States from WHO has impacted efforts
LONDON: The eradication of polio as a global health threat may be delayed unless US funding cuts – potentially totaling hundreds of millions of dollars over several years – are reversed, a senior World Health Organization official has warned.
The WHO works with groups such as UNICEF and the Gates Foundation to end polio. The planned withdrawal of the United States from WHO has impacted efforts, including stopping collaboration with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last week, UNICEF’s polio grant was terminated as the State Department cut 90 percent of USAID’s grants worldwide to align aid with President Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ policy.
In total, the partnership is missing $133 million from the US that was expected this year, said Hamid Jafari, director of the polio eradication program for the WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean region. The area includes two countries where a wild form of polio is spreading: Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“If the funding shortfall continues, it may potentially delay eradication, it may lead to more children getting paralyzed,” he said, adding that the longer it took to end polio, the more expensive it would be.
He said the partners were working out ways to cope with the funding shortage, which will largely impact personnel and surveillance, but hoped the US would return to funding the fight against polio.
“We are looking at other funding sources ... to sustain both the priority staff and priority activities,” he said.
He said vaccination campaigns in both Afghanistan and Pakistan would be protected.
UNICEF did not respond to requests for comment, and a spokesperson for the Gates Foundation reiterated that no foundation could fill the gap left by the US Saudi Arabia gave $500 million to polio eradication last week.
The partnership already faces a $2.4 billion shortfall to 2029, as it accepted last year that it would take longer, and cost more, to eradicate the disease than hoped.
Saudi Arabia launches iftar, dates distribution program in Pakistan
- The program aims to support tens of thousands of deserving Pakistani people throughout the holy fasting month of Ramadan
- Fasting during Ramadan is one of five pillars of Islam, wherein Muslims abstain from food and drink from sunrise till sunset
ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia has launched the King Salman bin Abdulaziz Iftar and Dates Distribution Program in Pakistan for the month of Ramadan, the Pakistani religious affairs ministry said on Monday, with the program aiming to support tens of thousands of deserving people.
Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam, wherein Muslims abstain from food and drink from sunrise till sunset for a month. The Islamic lunar month will begin in March.
This is followed by the sighting of the new moon and is marked by Eid Al-Fitr, a religious holiday and celebration that is observed by Muslims across the world.
The iftar and date distribution program was inaugurated by the Pakistan’s Religious Affairs Minister Chaudhry Salik Hussain and Saudi Ambassador Nawaf bin Saeed Al-Malki.
“The aim of this program is to care for poor and needy families, widows, and orphans, to provide them with opportunities for joy and happiness, to meet their needs, and to effectively assist in alleviating the hardships of impoverished and extremely needy families by providing essential food items,” the Saudi ambassador was quoted as saying by the Pakistani ministry.
“Under this program, which symbolizes friendship and brotherhood from the Saudi government and people, 20 tons of dates will be distributed to 40,000 deserving individuals, while 30,000 individuals will benefit from the Iftar program.”
The program for fasting individuals and the distribution of dates is part of the initiatives directed by King Salman for implementation in Pakistan and several other countries, according to the Saudi ambassador. It will be held throughout the month of Ramadan in all provinces of Pakistan.
On the occasion, Religious Affairs Minister Hussain thanked the Kingdom for its continuous assistance to those in need in Pakistan.
“These gifts symbolize the bond of brotherhood and goodwill between the people of Saudi Arabia, its government, its wise leadership, and the people of Pakistan,” he said.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong trade, defense and brotherly relations. The Kingdom is home to over 2.7 million Pakistani expatriates, serving as the top destination for remittances for the cash-strapped South Asian country.
Last week, Saudi Arabia gifted Pakistan 100 tons of dates ahead of the holy month of Ramadan. The consignment was handed over by Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador Nawaf bin Said Al-Maliki along with Abdullah Al-Baqami, director of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid & Relief Center (KSrelief) at a ceremony held at the Saudi embassy in Islamabad.
Pakistan confirm AFC Asian Cup participation as FIFA lifts suspension
- Pakistan re-appoint former head coach Stephen Constantine for AFC Asian Cup qualifier against Syria on Mar. 25
- Pakistan have been placed in Group E alongside Syria, Afghanistan and Myanmar in AFC Asian Cup qualifiers
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) on Monday confirmed the national squad will participate in the upcoming AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, scheduled to be held later this month, hours after FIFA lifted its international suspension against the South Asian country.
FIFA hit Pakistan on Feb. 6 with a third international suspension in less than eight years after the federation rejected its electoral reforms. Following the suspension, the PFF unanimously approved FIFA’s proposed constitutional amendments in an extraordinary meeting in Lahore last Thursday.
The lifting of the suspension will enable Pakistan to take part in the AFC Asian Cup. The green shirts will kick off their AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifying campaign with an away match against Syria on March 25. The match will be played in Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia.
“Stephen Constantine, who previously served as the national team’s head coach from late 2023 until mid-2024 has been reappointed as the Head Coach for the match against Syria,” the PFF said.
The AFC Asian Cup qualifiers will be played on a home-and-away basis, with Pakistan placed in Group E alongside Syria, Afghanistan and Myanmar.
PAKISTAN’S FIFA SUSPENSIONS
The PFF has been mired in crisis and controversy since 2015 and this was the third time since 2017 that Pakistan has been suspended.
In June 2022, FIFA lifted the PFF’s suspension, which had been imposed due to undue third-party interference a year earlier. A group of officials led by Ashfaq Hussain Shah, which was elected by the Supreme Court in 2018 to run the PFF but was not recognized by FIFA, took over the headquarters in March 20121.
They had seized control from FIFA’s normalization committee headed by Haroon Malik. The committee had not conducted elections for the body in the 18 months since it took charge.
FIFA suspended the PFF due to the “hostile takeover” but lifted the ban after confirmation the committee had regained full control of the PFF’s premises and was in a position to manage its finances.
Pakistan was also suspended by FIFA for third party interference in 2017.
IMF team visits Pakistan for $7 billion bailout program review
- Islamabad secured $7 billion Extended Fund Facility last summer as part of economic recovery plan
- Local media widely reports IMF demanding action against tax evasion in Pakistan’s real estate sector
ISLAMABAD: A mission from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) arrived in Islamabad today, Monday, for the first review of a $7 billion bailout program, according to a Pakistani official and widespread reports in local media.
Islamabad secured the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) last summer as part of an economic recovery plan.
Pakistan’s economy had stabilized and now needed to focus on export-led growth, the finance minister said last week as he confirmed the IMF delegation’s visit from March 3-14.
Pakistan’s consumer price index (CPI) inflation rate, maintaining a downward trend on Monday, hit a more than 9-year low at 1.51 percent year-on-year in February.
A Pakistani economic adviser told Arab News, requesting anonymity, that a nine-member mission led by Nathan Porter had landed in Pakistan to assess the country’s economic performance to determine the release of a $1.1 billion tranche over the following three weeks.
Top Pakistani news channel, ARY News, reported that the IMF was demanding action against tax evasion in Pakistan’s real estate sector.
“During the talks, the IMF pushed for action against those misdeclaring property values,” ARY reported, saying the government had assured the international lender it would activate the Real Estate Regulatory Authority.
“Strict penalties, including imprisonment and fines, will be imposed on individuals and agents who falsely declare property values … As per sources, failing to register could result in a fine of up to Rs500,000,” ARY added.
The Real Estate Regulatory Authority could be granted the power to impose up to three years of imprisonment and revoke the licenses of agents and fine them for providing false information:
“Misdeclaration in property transfers could lead to fines ranging from Rs500,000 to Rs 1 million,” ARY said.
Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper said the government “remains optimistic about a successful conclusion to the talks.”
“The performance review, in principle, is based on the first half of the current fiscal year — July 1 to Dec 31, 2024 — and while some shortcomings could be observed at that time, all those missing links have now been covered,” Dawn reported, quoting a Pakistani official.
The IMF team usually spends around two weeks reviewing fiscal reforms and policy.
Last week, a separate IMF team visited Pakistan to discuss around $1 billion in climate financing on top of the EFF. That disbursement will take place under the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Trust, created in 2022 to provide long-term concessional cash for climate-related spending, such as adaptation and transitioning to cleaner energy.
Pakistani animal charity calls for donations to care for illegally trafficked exotic monkeys
- Karachi Customs seized dozens of capuchins, marmoset monkeys from man who had imported them illegally, ACF says
- ACF is housing animals in small enclosure, says needs money to build larger one and cater to monkeys’ food and care needs
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s troubled history with animal welfare is once more in the spotlight as a prominent animal rescue organization has called for donations to help care for dozens of exotic monkeys illegally trafficked to Karachi, saying it was temporarily holding the creatures while making arrangements to house them permanently.
The Ayesha Chundrigar Foundation announced last week customs officials had called the non-profit for help to care for dozens of capuchins and marmoset monkeys they had seized at Karachi airport from a man who had “sneakily” imported them by forging documents.
Capuchin monkeys and marmosets have been known to show fear behaviors in response to the loud call from a primate species unknown to them, and ACF said the animals were traumatized after being brought to Pakistan in small “coffin-like carriers” without any access to light. The charity also said they were starving.
“We urgently need your help for the bigger enclosure while we finalize where we are going to be sending them permanently,” said ACF, which has built a small temporary enclosure for the animals. “However, quarantine is four months anyway, and they are under treatment so they need a bigger place to be rehabilitated and quarantined where they can just relax some more and run around.”
A video shared by ACF on Monday showed the monkeys enjoying a platter of fruit.
“They all have got the rabies vaccinations and some of them are not well with multiple issues. But the joy on their face when they see the fruit platter for the first time is priceless,” the charity said.
Founded in 2013, ACF says it rescues up to 40 abused animals daily and manages a sanctuary for 1,800 animals.
A welfare organization said last week a black bear was rescued by local authorities in Pakistan’s Punjab province and shifted to Islamabad. The seven-year-old black bear called Rocky had been kept illegally in Punjab province and abused in 35 fights, the welfare organization said.
Last December, an elephant died at a safari park less than two weeks after being reunited with her sister, the latest tragedy to affect elephants in captivity in Pakistan.
In 2020, a pair of sick and badly neglected dancing Himalayan brown bears left a notorious zoo in Islamabad for a sanctuary in Jordan.
Kaavan became known as the “world’s loneliest elephant” because he spent many years alone in a Pakistani zoo. In 2020, he was moved to a sanctuary in Cambodia.
