ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday condemned an attempted missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on the United Arab Emirates (UAE), lauding the Emirati air defenses for intercepting the projectile.
The UAE shot down a ballistic missile fired by the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels during a visit by Israel’s president on Monday, the latest attack to target the Middle East financial hub.
Nobody was hurt in the early-hour attack, the third in consecutive weeks on the wealthy Gulf nation that is part of the Arab coalition fighting the Iran-backed rebels in Yemen.
“We consider these attacks as a grave violation of international law and a serious threat to regional peace and security,” the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement.
“Pakistan calls for their immediate cessation.”
Islamabad reaffirmed its solidarity with the people and the government of the UAE.
The latest Houthi missile was fired as Isaac Herzog made the first visit to the UAE by an Israeli president, after the countries established diplomatic ties under the 2020 Abraham Accords.
The Emirati defense ministry said it responded to the attack by destroying the missile launch site in Yemen’s northern Al-Jawf region, releasing black-and-white footage of the explosion.
UAE MOD Joint Operations Command announces at 00:50 UAE time the destruction of platform for ballistic missile launched from Al-Jawf, Yemen towards UAE. Missile was intercepted at 00:20 by air defences. Video of successful destruction of missile platform and launch site pic.twitter.com/CY1AoAzfrp
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s national space agency predicted on Wednesday the first day of the Eid-Al-Fitr festival that caps the holy month of Ramadan would likely be observed on Monday, Mar. 31.
The sighting of the new moon, or the Shawwal crescent moon as it is otherwise called, signifies the end of Ramadan, and the beginning of Eid Al-Fitr and its festivities. Ramadan in Pakistan began on Mar. 2, a day later than in most other Muslim countries, and Eid is thus widely expected to fall on Mar. 31.
Pakistan’s central moon sighting body, the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, observes the Shawwal moon before Eid each year and announces the start of the holiday.
“The likelihood of moon sighting on Mar. 30, 2025 in Pakistan is very bright,” the Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) said in a statement.
“Consequently, Ramadan is expected to complete 29 days, and the first day of Eid-Al-Fitr will likely be observed on Mar. 31, 2025.”
The sighting of the Shawwal crescent moon is determined by a combination of astronomical factors and traditional practices, including the moon’s age, its angular separation from the sun, and visibility conditions.
Muslims look for the crescent moon in the sky shortly after sunset on the 29th day of Ramadan each year.
If the moon is sighted, the following day is declared as the first day of the new month of Shawwal and the start of Eid Al-Fitr.
PESHAWAR: The 128-feet tall minaret is the first thing that comes into view when one arrives close to the street in Peshawar’s main Saddar Bazaar where the majestic Sunehri Masjid is located.
Known for its considerable size, built over an impressive 18,000 square feet, and Mughal-style architecture, the Sunehri, or Golden, Mosque in the capital of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is one of the most iconic masjids in the region. The mosque can accommodate at least 6,000 worshippers, making it ideal for the month of Ramadan when believers flock to mosques for Tarawih — special, voluntary prayers performed typically after the Isha night prayer and considered a highly recommended Sunnah, or practice of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
The foundation stone of the mosque was laid by Habib Ur Rehman, a Peshawar resident, in 1946 but construction work experienced delays due unavailability of funds and security issues and was completed in 1992, primarily funded by public donations.
Rehman modeled the mosque after Lahore’s iconic Badshahi Mosque built by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, the prayer leader at Sunehri Masjid, Maulana Muhammad Ismail, told Arab News.
“The foundation stone of our mosque was laid in 1946, but the situation deteriorated in Pakistan due to the wars [of 1965 and 1971], so work was stopped for a little time,” he said.
Worshipers enter Sunehri Mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan, on March 22, 2025. (AN Photo)
Explaining the architecture, Ismail said the central minaret, a hallmark of the mosque, was built at 128 feet so it could be visible even from far-flung areas in Peshawar at a time when there were few tall buildings in the city.
“The need for the construction of the 128-feet-high minaret at that time was that our organizers thought that the azaan [call to prayer] of the Sunehri Masjid should reach far-flung areas,” Ismail said.
The mosque is built with red bricks and famed for its signature white domes and intricate Mughal-style architecture that features arches and pointed cupolas atop the minarets.
Worshipers pray during Ramadan at the Sunehri Mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan, on March 22, 2025. (AN Photo)
In Ramadan, more worshippers than usual throng to the Sunehri Masjid, filling up its halls and prayer rooms as they seek to deepen their connection with Allah, earn rewards, and ask for forgiveness from sins.
Imran Khan, 38, is one such devotee who has been offering prayers at the mosque for the past 12 years.
“This is a beautiful mosque, I come here every Ramadan to worship and recite [the Qur’an],” Khan told Arab News. “I especially visit a lot in Ramadan when I get the chance.”
Khawar Rehman, a Peshawar resident who had come for Asr prayers at the mosque, said he frequented the place as he liked worshiping at a “famous mosque” like the Sunehri Masjid.
“This mosque has larger congregations and better rewards,” he said, “so I like to come here.”
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani journalist Waheed Murad was taken away from his residence in Islamabad by masked men early Wednesday morning, his family said, as prominent members of the media community condemned the development and called for his immediate recovery.
Murad works with Urdu News, a digital media outlet catering to Urdu-speaking audiences in Pakistan and abroad. The incident with him follows a growing pattern of intimidation and harassment against journalists in the country, particularly those seen as critical of the establishment.
“My husband, @awaheedmurad, was taken away at 2 a.m. last night by masked men,” his wife, journalist Shinza Nawaz, wrote on social media platform X. “They kept asking repeatedly, ‘Where is his wife?’”
“My mother was also at home,” she continued. “They misbehaved with her as well — she was pushed. My mother is a heart patient. They took my mother’s phone, both of Waheed’s phones, and some documents.”
In a video clip circulated after the incident, Murad’s mother-in-law, Abida Nawaz, said the masked men who arrived at their residence identified themselves as police.
“There were three vehicles and around 15 to 20 people,” she continued. “They did not show any warrant or documents. They broke down the doors and dragged Waheed away.”
Murad’s disappearance comes just days after the disappearance of the brothers of exiled Pakistani journalist Ahmad Noorani.
On March 18, around midnight, approximately two dozen individuals identifying themselves as police forcibly entered Noorani’s family home in Islamabad, assaulted his two brothers and took them to an undisclosed location.
Two days later, on March 20, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested journalist Farhan Mallick in Karachi. Mallick, founder of the digital media platform Raftar, was detained on allegations of airing “anti-state” content on his YouTube channel.
International rights organizations, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), have expressed increasing concern over the deteriorating climate for press freedom in Pakistan.
CPJ and other advocacy groups have repeatedly urged the government to address such incidents and to ensure the safety of journalists operating in the country.
Pakistan, China in talks about security for Chinese nationals
Pakistan’s envoy to China says it is his country’s ‘national responsibility’ to protect Chinese workers
He says Pakistan has the capability to resolve, counter, combat and defeat the ‘terrorist forces’
Updated 26 March 2025
Reuters
BOAO, China: Pakistan and China’s discussions about security measures to protect Chinese nationals working in the South Asian country are a work in progress, Islamabad’s ambassador to Beijing said on Wednesday.
Chinese nationals have been in the crosshairs of separatist militants who believe Beijing is helping Pakistan exploit minerals in the underdeveloped southwestern province of Balochistan, where China has a strategic port and mining interests.
It is Pakistan’s “national responsibility” and the country is “doing everything possible,” Ambassador Khalil Hashmi told reporters at the sidelines of the Boao Forum in China’s Hainan province.
“I think our two countries work very closely in terms of information sharing, in terms of developing the standard operating procedures” to ensure Chinese nationals working in Pakistan are safe, he said.
“We keep our Chinese friends informed of the steps that we are taking, so it’s a work in progress.”
Beijing has been pushing Pakistan to allow its own security staff to provide protection to thousands of Chinese citizens working there, frustrated by the string of attacks on its citizens.
The push came after a bombing at the Karachi airport last October killed two Chinese engineers who were returning there to work at a power plant.
Hashmi said those talks are ongoing, with a high degree of trust between both countries.
“It’s a complex security environment,” he said. “We have the capability to resolve, to counter and combat and defeat these terrorist forces.”
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan described Israel’s continued airstrikes in Syria as “unacceptable” at the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, saying they constituted a breach of Syrian sovereignty and must cease immediately, as the council met to discuss the political and humanitarian situation in the Arab state.
Israel has intensified its military activity in Syria following the downfall of Bashar Assad’s regime in late 2024, citing security concerns over the alleged presence of hostile elements near its borders. The Israeli government has also declared an open-ended military presence in the area, framing it as necessary to and to secure its northern frontier.
In parallel, Israel has also reaffirmed and expanded its hold over the Golan Heights, a territory it captured from Syria in 1967 and later annexed, a move unrecognized by much of the international community. Its recent plans to double the settler population in the Golan have drawn criticism, with various international players warning that Israel’s actions risk further destabilizing an already volatile region.
Pakistan’s Permanent Representative-designate to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, condemned what he called Israel’s “military escalation” in Syria, urging the Security Council to hold Tel Aviv accountable.
“Israel’s repeated and continuing incursions and airstrikes into Syrian territory, continued violations of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement, and its declared intent for an ‘indefinite’ presence and ‘full demilitarization of southern Syria’ are unacceptable, constitute blatant violations of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and undermine international law and regional stability,” Ahmad said during his comments.
He maintained that Israel’s actions were in direct contravention of the council’s March 14 Presidential Statement, which reaffirmed Syria’s sovereignty and called on all states to refrain from interference that could further destabilize the country.
“Israel must cease its incursions forthwith and this council must hold Israel to its obligations,” he added.
Addressing the broader situation in Syria, Ahmad said the Arab state’s multifaceted challenges — political, economic, security and humanitarian — required a “holistic and coordinated response.”
He reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process, calling it key to achieving lasting peace.
Welcoming Syria’s new interim Constitution as a “critical step” toward restoring the rule of law, Ahmad also described last month’s National Dialogue Conference as a “positive development.”
He expressed hope that the forthcoming appointment of an interim government, legislative council, and constitutional committee would reflect Syria’s diversity and promote inclusive governance.
Ahmad warned that Syria’s economic crisis — marked by cash shortages, fuel deficits, and rising prices — was worsening the humanitarian situation.
He called for robust international support for the UN’s transitional action plan focused on poverty reduction, refugee reintegration and institutional capacity-building.
“In this regard, lifting of unilateral sanctions is imperative to facilitating reconstruction and aid efforts,” he said, adding that a reassessment and drawdown of the UN sanctions regime was also warranted to ensure that vital economic and humanitarian initiatives were not obstructed.
