KARACHI: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has slashed its airfare for Pakistanis who intend to travel to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah pilgrimage, a PIA spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The development comes days after Saudi Arabia ended almost all COVID-19 restrictions, including social distancing and wearing masks at open places, after a significant drop in coronavirus cases worldwide.
Worshipers are no longer required to be socially distant inside mosques, including the holy sites in Makkah and Madina. The kingdom has also abolished the requirement for incoming travelers to undergo a mandatory COVID-19 quarantine.
“To facilitate pilgrims who would want to go on the sacred journey in large numbers after COVID-19 restrictions are over, the PIA has slashed the return fare on its flights to Madinah and Jeddah by Rs5,000 ($27.88),” PIA spokesperson Abdullah Khan told Arab News.
“The cut, which has been implemented last week, will [remain] intact till further orders.”
Khan said the return fare has been reduced to Rs95,628 ($534) from Rs100,000 ($558).
PIA operates Umrah flights to the kingdom from major Pakistani cities of Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar.
Flight PK-9759 is operated from Lahore to Jeddah, PK-9741 fly from Islamabad to Jeddah, PK-9731 operates between Karachi and Jeddah and PK-9735 is operated from Peshawar to Jeddah.
Saudi Arabia suspended the Umrah pilgrimage following the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 but reopened it to a limited number of vaccinated residents in October last year.
Before the start of the pandemic, Pakistan’s Hajj and Umrah operators facilitated travel packages for nearly two million pilgrims every year, out of which up to 1.8 million were Umrah pilgrims.
Estimates show that in 2019, Pakistan’s religious tourism market, excluding travel to Iran and Iraq, stood at Rs245 billion (approximately $1 billion).
PIA cuts fares for Umrah pilgrims after Saudi Arabia lifts COVID-19 curbs
https://arab.news/4xzg9
PIA cuts fares for Umrah pilgrims after Saudi Arabia lifts COVID-19 curbs
- Return airfare have been slashed by Rs5,000 from all stations to Saudi destinations
- Development comes days after Saudi Arabia lifted all coronavirus-related restrictions
UAE promotes Arab culture and cuisine at three-day festival in Karachi
- UAE consulate in Karachi kicks off celebrations ahead of nation’s National Day
- UAE is one of Pakistan’s largest trading partners and major source of remittances
KARACHI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Consul General in Karachi this week paid a visit to promote several stalls selling Arab cuisine and highlighting Arab culture at a three-day festival in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi, ahead of the Gulf nation’s National Day.
Sindh’s Culture Minister Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah inaugurated the three-day Sindh Craft Festival on Friday which showcases traditional shawls, quilts, handlooms, and caps made by artists from all over Sindh at Karachi’s famous Port Grand entertainment hub.
UAE Consul General Dr. Bakheet Ateeq Al Rumaithi visited the festival on Friday to highlight Arab cuisine and review stalls promoting Arab culture at the festival. The UAE consulate is gearing up for celebrations to mark the nation’s 53rd National Day on Dec. 2.
“Various stalls have been set up at Port Grand keeping in mind Arab culture,” the UAE Consulate in Karachi said in a statement on Friday.
Al Rumaithi noted that women, children and the elderly were all taking part in the three-day cultural festival.
“We have a centuries-old relationship with Pakistan which is strengthening,” he observed.
The UAE is one of Pakistan’s largest trading partners and a major source of foreign investment, valued at over $10 billion in the last 20 years, according to the UAE ministry of foreign affairs. The UAE-Pakistan trade volume rose to $7.9 billion in 2023, up 12 percent from 2022.
In May this year, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the Emirates had committed $10 billion to invest in promising economic sectors in Pakistan. The Pakistan Business Council (PBC), set up this September at the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also aims to increase Pakistan’s bilateral trade volume with the UAE to $40 billion in three years.
The UAE is also home to more than a million Pakistani expatriates and the second-largest source of remittances to Pakistan after Saudi Arabia.
T20 Blind Cricket World Cup kicks off in Pakistan today sans India’s participation
- Pakistan’s blind cricket team to take on South Africa in Lahore today
- India failed to secure clearance from government to travel to Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: The fourth T20 Blind Cricket World Cup will kick off today, Saturday, with Pakistan set to face South Africa in the eastern city of Lahore, state-run media reported days after India pulled out of the tournament.
The T20 Blind Cricket World Cup is scheduled to be held in Pakistan from Nov. 23-Dec. 3. As per Radio Pakistan, the tournament will feature blind cricket teams from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa, Nepal and Afghanistan.
“In the Fourth edition of the Blind Cricket T20 World Cup, the opening match will be played between South Africa and Pakistan in Lahore today,” Radio Pakistan said.
India was also scheduled to take part in the tournament but the Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) announced on Wednesday that its blind cricket team was withdrawing from the event, citing its failure to secure clearance from New Delhi to travel to Pakistan.
Political tensions between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan have restricted cultural exchanges and bilateral sports events between the two nations.
Both countries have fought three wars, two of them over the Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir, which they both claim in full but rule in part.
India withdrew its blind cricket team from the tournament with a little over three months left before the start of the 2025 Champions Trophy, which is also set to be held in Pakistan in February/March next year. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) informed the International Cricket Council (ICC) this month that India will not travel to Pakistan for the tournament.
The ICC informed the PCB of the BCCI’s decision, following which Pakistan demanded an explanation from the cricket governing body. Pakistan has repeatedly insisted it will not agree for the tournament to be shifted to another country and has insisted India travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy.
Pakistan hosted last year’s Asia Cup but all of India’s games were played in Sri Lanka under a “hybrid” hosting model for the tournament. Several months later, Pakistan traveled to India for the 50-over World Cup.
Pakistani authorities block roads and motorways ahead of opposition’s Islamabad protest
- Jailed Imran Khan’s party has called for a “long march” to Islamabad on Nov. 24 to demand his release
- Motorway police say as per intelligence reports, protesters will be armed with sticks and slingshots
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Highways and Motorway Police (NHMP) has said that motorways across the country have been sealed from various areas to protect people’s lives ahead of a planned protest by former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to Islamabad on Sunday.
Pakistani authorities sealed off major arteries and roads with shipping containers leading to Islamabad from the surrounding Rawalpindi city and other areas on Friday ahead of the PTI’s “long march” scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 24.
In a notification released on Friday, the NHMP cited intelligence reports that protesters were planning to disrupt law and order in the capital, adding that they would be armed with sticks and slingshots.
“To prevent any untoward situation and to protect the lives of the people, motorways have been closed from various locations,” the NHMP said.
“The lives and property of the people will be guaranteed at all costs. Those who take the law into their hands will be dealt with strictly.”
Hours earlier, the NHMP had shared a notification on its social media platform X in which it had said that certain sections of the motorway were closed due to maintenance work. These sections were: M-1 Islamabad to Peshawar, M-2 Islamabad to Lahore, M-3 Lahore to Abdul Hakeem, M-4 Pindi Bhattian to Multan, M-14 Hakla to Yarik and M-11 Lahore to Sialkot.
As per local media reports, the Metro Bus service between the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi will be suspended on Nov. 24 while a ban on public gatherings has been imposed in Punjab from Nov. 23-25 ahead of the PTI’s march.
The PTI’s protest is primarily aimed at pressurizing the government to end Khan’s imprisonment which has lasted for over a year on what his party contends are politically motivated charges. The party also aims to raise its voice against alleged rigging in the Feb. 8 general elections while calling for measures to ensure judicial independence, which it says has been undermined by the 26th constitutional amendment. The government denies this.
Earlier this week, Pakistan’s interior ministry had authorized the deployment of paramilitary Punjab Rangers and Frontier Corps troops in Islamabad to maintain law and order.
Pakistan’s parliament also passed a law earlier this year to regulate public gatherings in Islamabad, specifying timings for rallies and designating specific areas. The law prescribes three-year jail terms for participants in illegal assemblies and 10-year imprisonment for repeat offenders.
Families of Pakistanis trapped in forced labor in Myanmar urge authorities to secure release
- Thirteen Pakistanis were allegedly lured with job offers and trafficked to Myanmar from Thailand
- Families say captors torture them to lure others into cryptocurrency scams disguised as investments
ISLAMABAD: The families of 13 Pakistani nationals allegedly taken hostage by job scammers in Myanmar have appealed to authorities this week to secure their release, saying their loved ones are being confined to a compound, subjected to torture and forced to lure customers online for cryptocurrency scams.
The incident is part of a growing trend of Pakistanis falling victim to transnational criminal networks operating in Southeast Asia. In July this year, families of six other Pakistanis reported similar cases, claiming their relatives were held hostage by criminal gangs in Myanmar.
According to the families of the 13 individuals, including two women, they traveled to Thailand in March on valid work visas for a construction company, where they worked for two months. Subsequently, they were relocated to Laos and then Myanmar after their employer claimed to be moving operations.
The victims, who had completed short computer and IT courses, had prior experience in online jobs and were recruited by an agent in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
“They are now being held hostage in Myanmar, subjected to physical torture and sleep deprivation and forced to lure customers from Europe, America and Canada into cryptocurrency scams,” Danish Qamar, a resident of Wah Cantt in Punjab province, whose brother and nephew are among the trapped, told Arab News.
“They are tortured and made to work over 18 hours daily to trap people into fake cryptocurrency investments,” he added. “We have written applications to Pakistan’s foreign office and the Overseas Pakistani Foundation, but there has been no meaningful response.”
The issue of Myanmar’s criminal zones has also raised global concern, with the United States Institute of Peace reporting in November 2022 that these areas have been facilitating human trafficking, slavery and international fraud on a large scale.
Such criminal activities exploit vulnerable individuals, lured by the promise of high-paying jobs abroad, only to be trapped in forced labor and fraudulent operations.
Earlier this year, Pakistan’s foreign office acknowledged reports of Pakistani citizens being detained by such networks in Myanmar, saying that its diplomatic mission in the Southeast Asian country was working with local authorities to secure their release. The foreign office also emphasized the need for a coordinated international response to combat human trafficking and transnational organized crime.
Asked about the 13 Pakistanis, foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch reiterated in a brief response to Arab News, “Our mission is in contact with the relevant authorities.”
However, she did not provide further details on the number of Pakistanis held or the measures being taken for their release.
According to the families, the 13 individuals have been trapped in Myanmar for about 20 days. Efforts to seek help from Pakistani missions in Myanmar and Thailand have proven futile, as officials reportedly cited limited access to the “lawless” border regions where the victims are being held.
“Officials say this is a lawless area, but the scammers have all the facilities like the Internet and electricity to run their operations,” said Maqsood Sadiq, the father of Suleman, 20, one of the hostages.
“We urge the government to act immediately to secure their release,” he added.
Pakistan PM forms committee to resolve tensions with key coalition ally
- Deputy PM Ishaq Dar, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif and Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar key members of committee
- PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari last week criticized federal government for imposing Internet restrictions, other issues
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif this week formed a committee to resolve tensions between the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), a key coalition ally of the government, state-run media reported.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari publicly lashed out at the PML-N-led government last week, regretting its decision to block virtual private networks (VPNs) across the country. Authorities say the measures are meant to deter militants and other suspects who use VPNs to conceal their identities and spread “anti-state propaganda” and promote “blasphemous” or other illegal content online.
Speaking to journalists at his party’s media cell, the PPP chairman had also criticized the government for approving a project to construct new canals on the Indus River, saying the decision had been taken without consulting his party.
“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has constituted a committee to resolve issues between the Pakistan People’s Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and to foster cooperation on political and other matters,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Friday.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Minister for Law Azam Nazeer Tarar and Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema are members of the committee.
It also includes Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Engineer Amir Muqam, Adviser to Prime Minister Rana Sanaullah, Speaker Punjab Assembly Malik Ahmad Khan, Senior Punjab Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, PML-N leaders Khawaja Saad Rafique, Jaffar Khan Mandokhail, and Bashir Ahmed Memon, it added.
“The Prime Minister has assigned the committee the responsibility of having detailed consultation with the PPP to ensure political collaboration and resolve the issues,” Radio Pakistan said.
It added that the committee would hold talks with members nominated by the PPP to discuss the future course of action between the two parties.
The PPP is a major coalition ally of the coalition government which also voted Sharif into power after the contentious national election in February. While it is not part of the federal government, the PPP has its government in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province.
Sharif’s government has relied on the PPP’s crucial votes in parliament to pass the national budget and key constitutional amendments earlier this year.
