ISLAMABAD: The family of a prominent separatist leader from disputed Kashmir who is being held in an Indian jail for alleged anti-state activities appealed Monday to the United Nations for help in securing her release.
Ahmad bin Qasim, the son of Aasiyeh Andrabi, who heads an Islamic women’s group in Indian-controlled Kashmir, was joined by Pakistan human rights minister Shireen Mazari in issuing the appeal during a rare news conference in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad.
Andrabi and two other activists, Sofi Fahmeeda and Nahida Nasreen, were charged by a court in India last month.
Andrabi’s group generally campaigns against perceived acts of immorality in Kashmir, India’s only Muslim-majority state.
On Monday, her son — who is studying in Pakistan — and Mazari criticized Indian forces for committing human rights violations in Kashmir and asked human rights organizations to work for Andrabi’s release and the release of other women jailed in India. Qasim said his mother suffers from asthma and in need of medical care.
Qasim’s father, Ashiq Hussain Faktoo, was a Kashmiri separatist rebel commander. Indian authorities convicted him of murder in the death of a human rights activist in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The region is split between Pakistan and India and claimed by both in its entirety.
Pakistan wants India to drop charges against Andrabi and her husband and release them.
Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations and have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir since gaining independence from Britain in 1947. Relations between the two countries have been further strained since August 2019, when India revoked the Muslim-majority region’s semi-autonomous status and divided it into two federally governed territories, touching off anger on both sides of the frontier.
India has an estimated 700,000 soldiers in its part of Kashmir, fighting nearly a dozen rebel groups since 1989. In many areas, the region has the feel of an occupied country, with soldiers in full combat gear patrolling streets and frisking civilians. More than 68,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in the conflict.
In rare presser in Pakistan, family appeals for release of Kashmir’s Aasiyeh Andrabi
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In rare presser in Pakistan, family appeals for release of Kashmir’s Aasiyeh Andrabi
- Andrabi’ son was joined by Pakistan human rights minister Shireen Mazari in issuing the appeal to the UN during a news conference in Islamabad
- Andrabi and two other activists, Sofi Fahmeeda and Nahida Nasreen, were charged by a court in India last month for alleged anti-state activities
Pakistan, Bangladesh discuss enhancing media cooperation amid push to improve ties
- Pakistan’s information secretary, Bangladesh diplomat discuss collaboration between state media organizations of both countries
- Islamabad and Dhaka have moved closer in recent months to forge closer ties after the ouster of former premier Sheikh Hasina
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s information secretary and Bangladesh’s high commissioner discussed ways to boost media cooperation and people-to-people contacts with each other, state-run media reported this week, as both countries bolster efforts to improve their relations strained by a bitter past.
Established together as one independent nation in 1947, Bangladesh won liberation from then-West Pakistan in 1971. Relations between the two countries continued to deteriorate during former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s previous administrations, which prosecuted several members of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) party for war crimes relating to the 1971 conflict.
However, Islamabad’s ties with Dhaka improved after Hasina was ousted last year after student-led violent protests in the country. Dhaka’s ties with New Delhi have been strained in recent months as the new administration in Bangladesh repeatedly demands India extradite the ousted prime minister.
“Secretary Information and Broadcasting Ambreen Jan and Bangladesh’s High Commissioner in Pakistan Iqbal Hussain Khan met here Monday and discussed ways to boost media cooperation and people-to-people contacts between their countries,” state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said on Monday.
The two sides focused on enhancing partnerships to highlight their shared historical narratives and cultural values that strengthen mutual understanding, the state media said.
Jan said Pakistan and Bangladesh had longstanding diplomatic and cultural ties with a shared history of cooperation in diverse sectors.
“She emphasized collaboration between state media organizations including Pakistan Television Corporation, Associated Press of Pakistan and Radio Pakistan with their Bangladeshi counterparts in fields of joint productions and exchange of news,” the APP said.
The Pakistani official highlighted that a journalist exchange program could provide media persons from Pakistan and Bangladesh an opportunity to learn about each other’s perspectives and narratives on various matters.
“High Commissioner Iqbal Hussain Khan lauded the government of Pakistan for taking steps to encourage multifarious cooperation between the two countries,” the APP reported. “He likened the people of two countries as brothers and added that their connectivity through joint cooperation programs would bring both nations further closer.”
The two sides also discussed expanding the availability of Pakistani news and entertainment channels on Bangladeshi cable networks and organizing film festivals and photographic exhibitions, the state media added.
Pakistan’s moves to forge stronger ties with Bangladesh include Islamabad’s initiative to launch a fully funded scholarship program for 300 Bangladeshi students in December 2024. The scholarship program is backed by Pakistan’s education ministry and supported by leading universities such as NUST, Comsats, and Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).
Pakistan launches first locally made ventilator in bid to achieve technological self-reliance
- The AlnnoVent AVB-100 ventilator supports adult patients across five invasive and two non-invasive ventilation modes
- The ventilator was created in response to the acute shortage of respiratory aid devices during the COVID-19 pandemic
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Monday launched the country’s first locally made ventilator, Pakistani state media reported, describing it as a step toward technological self-reliance.
The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) last month approved the ‘AlnnoVent’ ventilator, which has been developed by the Alsons Group precision manufacturing firm in Karachi. After successfully passing clinical trials, the ventilator has been officially licensed for production.
The AlnnoVent AVB-100 is an electro-mechanical ICU ventilator that meets international standards of quality and reliability. It supports adult patients across five invasive and two non-invasive ventilation modes, making it suitable for a range of critical care scenarios. The ventilator was created in response to the acute shortage of respiratory aid devices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking at the launching ceremony, Iqbal praised the company for its efforts and emphasized that Pakistan needed more such innovators to succeed in a rapidly evolving world, the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) news agency reported.
“We require an army of such individuals – people who combine skill, hard work, ambition and the intelligence that defines our nation,” the minister was quoted as saying.
The development comes as Pakistan’s government attempts to steer the country out of a prolonged macroeconomic crisis that has weakened the South Asian country’s currency and drained its foreign exchange reserves over the past few years.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has consistently emphasized the need for Islamabad to adopt an export-led economy to achieve sustainable, long-term economic growth.
Iqbal emphasized that Pakistan’s economic success depended on its ability to innovate and produce new products, which would help shift the country to a more export-driven economy.
He urged private sector leaders to leverage Pakistan’s affordable human resource to produce high-quality goods that could compete in global markets.
“You are the drivers of Pakistan’s future and the government will stand behind every private sector initiative that helps bring in exports and dollars,” the minister said.
UNICEF donates ‘mobile clinics’ to Pakistan to strengthen immunization efforts in remote regions
- The donation will help improve service delivery, address immunization gaps and reach children in underserved areas
- Official says children’s vaccination top priority of government, clinics will help overcome accessibility challenges
ISLAMABAD: The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has donated seven “mobile clinics” to Pakistan to improve immunization services in the country’s remote regions, it said on Monday.
The move follows the transfer of 23 mobile units in Nov. 2021 to the Pakistani provinces of Sindh, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan as well as the Islamabad Capital Territory.
The vehicles are crucial for expanding immunization services to Pakistan’s most vulnerable populations, and the project aims to improve service delivery, address immunization gaps, and reach zero-dose children in underserved areas, according to UNICEF.
The 4x4 vehicles were handed over to Pakistani officials at a ceremony held at the Federal Directorate of Immunization (FDI).
“These mobile clinics will deliver essential immunization services, guaranteeing equitable access for all communities,” UNICEF said in a statement.
On the occasion, Special Health Secretary Mirza Nasir-ud-Din Mashood Ahmad termed the necessary vaccination of children top priority of the Pakistani government.
“UNICEF’s provision of 4x4 vehicles will help overcome accessibility challenges in hard-to-reach areas, ensuring quality immunization services in remote regions of KP, Balochistan, GB, and AJK,” he said.
Director-General Health Dr. Shabana Saleem stressed the importance of ensuring that vaccines reach every child, regardless of their location.
“These vehicles will strengthen our outreach capacity and help ensure that every child has equitable access to life-saving vaccines,” she said.
UNICEF’s Dr. Gunter Boussery said he was honored to contribute to this collective effort to serve Pakistan’s underserved communities.
UNICEF’s humanitarian aid to Pakistan focuses on education, health care and protection for vulnerable populations. In 2025, it seeks to support nutrition, emergency relief, refugee support, and disaster risk reduction, according to the UN agency.
Pakistan PM orders immediate steps to confiscate properties, assets of human traffickers
- The issue of human trafficking gained attention in Pakistan after last month’s boat capsize in Greece that killed five Pakistanis
- PM Shehbaz Sharif orders authorities to enhance prosecution for those involved in human trafficking, ensure strict punitive measures
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday directed authorities to take immediate steps to seize properties and assets of human traffickers, his office said, following the death of five Pakistani nationals in a migrant boat capsize off the southern Greek island of Gavdos last month.
The issue of illegal immigration to Europe and its consequences gained significant attention in Pakistan after last month’s incident, with the prime minister ordering “intensified efforts” against human traffickers in the country.
The boat tragedy, which occurred on Dec. 14, underscored the perilous journeys many migrants undertake due to conflicts around the world. In the case of Pakistani nationals, the movement is mostly driven by economic reasons, with many young individuals attempting to reach European shores in search of better financial prospects.
On Monday, Sharif presided over a meeting to discuss the progress of actions taken against human trafficking, legal proceedings against facilitators and legislative advancements to combat human smuggling.
“Severe legal action be taken against all human trafficking groups in the country so that they become an example for others,” Sharif was quoted as saying by his office.
“Immediate legal action be taken to confiscate properties and assets of human traffickers.”
The development follows the arrest of multiple suspects involved in last month’s boat tragedy in Greece as well as another major incident in 2023, in which hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, had drowned when an overcrowded vessel traveling from Libya capsized and sank in international waters off the southwestern Greek coastal town of Pylos.
The prime minister ordered authorities to enhance prosecution for those involved in human trafficking and ensure strict punitive measures against its facilitators. He directed the Foreign Office take measures for swift extradition of Pakistanis involved in human trafficking abroad.
“The screening process at airports for individuals traveling abroad should be made more effective,” he said, asking the information and interior ministries to launch public awareness campaigns to encourage citizens to pursue only legal channels for overseas employment.
The prime minister also stressed the promotion of technical training institutes to provide certified and skilled workforce to international markets.
South Africa wrap up Test series win over Pakistan
- Forced to follow on 421 runs , Pakistan battled to 478 all out
- South Africa easily knocked off a target of 58 on the fourth day
CAPE TOWN: South Africa eased to a 10-wicket victory over Pakistan in the second Test on Monday in Cape Town to secure a 2-0 series win despite second-innings resistance from the tourists.
Forced to follow on 421 runs behind on the first innings, Pakistan battled to 478 all out but South Africa, who qualified for the World Test Championship final last week, easily knocked off a target of 58 late on the fourth day.
David Bedingham hit 44 not out off 30 balls as South Africa sealed victory in just 7.1 overs.
Bedingham was opening in place of Ryan Rickelton, who suffered a hamstring strain in the field after scoring 259 in South Africa’s first innings of 615.
Captain Shan Masood led Pakistan’s fightback, scoring 145.
Masood fell to the second new ball, trapped leg before wicket by 18-year-old debutant Kwena Maphaka.
Masood’s dismissal came three balls after Kagiso Rabada had Saud Shakeel caught at second slip for 23, ending a 51-run fourth-wicket stand.
Pakistan, a batter short after Saim Ayub suffered a broken ankle while fielding on the first morning, were still 92 runs in arrears after the double blow.
But Mohammad Rizwan (41) and Salman Agha (48) put on 88 for the sixth wicket and Aamer Jamal hit a quick 34 before the innings was ended.
South Africa’s bowlers received virtually no assistance from a placid pitch.
Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj, who had been expected to be a major factor on a fourth day pitch, achieved minimal spin and toiled for 45 overs to take three for 137.
South Africa will go into the Test championship final against Australia at Lord’s in June on the back of seven straight wins — the second most successful sequence in their history.
