Pakistani foreign minister cancels Europe visits as rain death toll surges past 770

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari speaks during a joint press conference in Islamabad, Pakistan, on June 7, 2022. (AFP/File)
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Updated 22 August 2022
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Pakistani foreign minister cancels Europe visits as rain death toll surges past 770

  • Bhutto-Zardari was to visit Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway on August 22-26
  • The government in worst-affected Balochistan province closes all schools for five days

ISLAMABAD/QUETTA: Pakistan’s foreign minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, has canceled his tour of four European countries in view of countrywide damages by floods, the Pakistani foreign office said on Sunday, with the death toll from torrential rains surging past 770 in the South Asian country. 

Bhutto-Zardari was scheduled to visit Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway in his maiden trip to Europe from August 22 till August 26. 

However, Pakistan’s foreign office said late Sunday the tour had been canceled after monsoon downpours and floods ravaged large swathes of land across the country. 

At least 777 people have lost their lives in Pakistan since the beginning of the season in mid-June, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). Authorities have been trying to rescue hundreds of others in marooned areas. 

“In view of calamities across Pakistan caused by the ongoing heavy monsoon rains and flooding, as well as heavy damages to lives and property, the Foreign Minister has postponed his official visits to Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway,” the Pakistan foreign office said in a statement. 

“The Foreign Minister is looking forward to his interactions with his counterparts, other dignitaries and media, as part of Pakistan’s continued engagement with Europe.” 

The visits by the Pakistani foreign minister to these capitals would be rescheduled at mutually agreed dates in consultation with the host governments, the statement read. 

Meanwhile, the administration in the worst-affected Balochistan province announced closing all government and private schools for five days after nine more people were killed by heavy rains in different districts of the province. 

The southwestern Pakistani province has also suffered significant infrastructure damage and witnessed the death of 225 people so far. 

The provincial education department issued a notification on Sunday, announcing a temporary closure of all schools from Monday to Friday. 

“Monsoon rains have caused severe devastation in Balochistan and destroyed a number of government schools in various districts,” said the provincial education secretary, Rauf Baloch, while talking to Arab News. “In view of the situation, we have decided to close all schools in the province for five days.” 

He informed that the provincial administration had carried out a joint survey with the United Nation International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) last week which showed that 574 government schools had been damaged due to the ongoing rains and floods in 32 districts. 

Baloch added that about 79,000 children were enrolled in these education institutes. 

According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), six men, two women and a child were killed in Quetta, Khuzdar and Killa Abdullah districts due to heavy rains on Sunday. 

Pakistan’s army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa called the top military commander in Balochistan a day earlier and instructed him to fully cooperate with the provincial and district administrations by providing them support in flood relief operations. 

The flooding of several key districts in Balochistan has disconnected the province with the rest of the country, and the Quetta-Islamabad and Quetta-Karachi highways have remained blocked for the last four days. 

“The provincial health department has imposed a health emergency in Balochistan since there is imminent threat of diarrhea, cholera and malaria outbreaks in flood-hit districts,” Saleh Muhammad Nasir, the secretary health in the province, told Arab News. 

“We have established a control room in the director general’s office to provide timely health facility to the residents of flood affected areas,” he continued. 

Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan, was also lashed by heavy rain on Sunday which caused major damage to various neighborhoods of the city and resulted in prolonged power outages. 

“Several houses in Quetta were partially damaged on Sunday, but the entire administration was on the ground to deal with the situation and prevent untoward incidents,” said the commissioner, Sohail-ur-Rehman Baloch, while talking to Arab News. 


Saudi Arabia says SFD could contribute over $100 million to Pakistan’s mining infrastructure

Updated 4 sec ago
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Saudi Arabia says SFD could contribute over $100 million to Pakistan’s mining infrastructure

  • The Kingdom is hosting a three-day Future Minerals Forum summit from Jan. 14-16 in Saudi capital 
  • Saudi minister Bandar Alkhorayef says Manara Minerals looking at investing in Pakistan’s Reko Diq mine

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Mining Minister Bandar Alkhorayef told Reuters on Wednesday that mining company Manara Minerals was looking at investing in Pakistan’s Reko Diq mine, saying that the Saudi Development Fund could contribute over $100 million to Pakistan’s mining infrastructure.
Executives from Manara visited Pakistan in May last year for talks about buying a stake in the Reko Diq mine, considered one of the world’s largest underdeveloped copper-gold areas by global mining company Barrick Gold, which owns the project jointly with Pakistan. 
Manara, a joint venture between state-controlled miner Ma’aden and the $925 billion Public Investment Fund (PIF), was set up as part of the kingdom’s efforts to diversify its economy away from oil, including by buying minority stakes in assets overseas.
“Part of what we are looking at is how we can help Pakistan also in some infrastructure,” Alkhorayef said in an interview on the sidelines of the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh.
“Without that infrastructure the economics of the deal are not attractive, so through the Saudi Development Fund we are thinking about how we can finance it.”
He also spoke about Saudi Arabian state oil giant Aramco’s project to extract lithium, saying it is “promising, but not yet commercially viable.” 
Aramco has partnered with the King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST) for the pilot, Bandar Alkhorayef said. 
Lithium Infinity, also known as Lihytech, a start-up launched out of KAUST, is leading the extraction project with cooperation from Saudi mining company Ma’aden and Aramco.
Lithium is a key component in the batteries of electric cars, laptops, and smartphones. Reuters previously reported that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates’ national oil companies planned to extract the mineral from oil runoffs.


Pakistan’s army, foreign office reject Indian army chief’s ‘epicenter of terrorism’ allegations

Updated 22 min 31 sec ago
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Pakistan’s army, foreign office reject Indian army chief’s ‘epicenter of terrorism’ allegations

  • India’s army chief this week accused Pakistan of being involved in infiltration attempts by “terrorists” in India
  • Pakistan’s army says statement “contrary to facts,” attempt to divert attention from “brutality” in Indian-held Kashmir

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s army and foreign office on Wednesday rejected Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi’s recent statement in which he referred to Pakistan as the “epicenter of terrorism,” dismissing his remarks as an attempt to deflect the world’s attention from alleged brutalities in disputed Kashmir by New Delhi. 
In a statement on India’s Army Day on Monday, Gen. Dwivedi accused Pakistan of “orchestrating” infiltration attempts in India, describing Pakistan as the “epicenter of terrorism.” He said 60 percent of the “terrorists” India eliminated last year were of Pakistan origin. 
Nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan have fought two out of three wars over the disputed Himalayan Kashmir valley. Both claim the territory in full but administer only parts of it. India accuses Pakistan of arming militants in the Kashmir territory under its control, allegations that Islamabad has denied. Pakistan, on the other hand, accuses India of repressing the rights of Kashmiris in India and denying them the right of self-determination. 
“Insinuating Pakistan as the epicenter of terrorism by the Indian Army Chief, is not only contrary to facts, but also an exercise in futility to beat the dead horse of India’s default position — blaming Pakistan for indigenous reaction to state-sponsored brutality,” a statement from the army’s media wing said.
The Inter-Services Public Relations, the army’s media wing, said Dwivedi’s remarks were a case of “extreme duplicity” aimed to diverting the world’s attention from India’s “brutality” in the region of Kashmir under its control. 
The army said that such repression has only strengthened the resolve of Kashmiris for their right of self-determination, which is enshrined in the UN Security Council Resolutions.
“Instead of trying to conjure up a non-existent terror infrastructure in Pakistan, it would be wise not to indulge in self-delusion, and appreciate the ground reality,” the army said. “Pakistan takes strong exception to such baseless and unfounded statements.”
In a separate statement earlier on Wednesday, the foreign office rejected Gen. Dwivedi’s “baseless accusations and unfounded assertions.”
“Pakistan also underscores that provocative statements of this nature are counterproductive to regional peace and stability,” the foreign office said. 
Political tensions between the two countries have remained high since 2019 when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi withdrew Jammu and Kashmir’s special autonomy in 2019 and split the former state into two federal territories. 
Pakistan described the move as unilateral and illegal, saying it was aimed at tightening India’s grip on the Muslim-majority region. Islamabad suspended trade with New Delhi and downgraded diplomatic ties with its neighbor following the decision.


Saudi aid agency KSrelief distributes over 2,000 food parcels in Pakistan

Updated 15 January 2025
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Saudi aid agency KSrelief distributes over 2,000 food parcels in Pakistan

  • Food parcels in flood-affected Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa regions, benefiting 13,159 people
  • Latest initiative forms part of this year’s Food Security Support Project in Pakistan by KSrelief 

RIYADH: The Kingdom’s aid agency KSrelief has distributed 2,028 food parcels in Pakistan’s flood-affected Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa regions, benefiting 13,159 people, the Saudi Press Agency reported recently.

Sunday’s initiative forms part of this year’s Food Security Support Project in Pakistan.

The aid reflects the Kingdom’s ongoing humanitarian efforts through KSrelief to assist needy individuals in Pakistan.


Pakistan to cut tariff for electric vehicle charging stations by 45%

Updated 17 min 38 sec ago
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Pakistan to cut tariff for electric vehicle charging stations by 45%

  • The government aims for 30% of vehicles to run on electricity by 2030
  • It has announced a 15-day registration process for charging stations

KARACHI: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has decided a 45 percent reduction in electricity tariffs for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, cutting rates from Rs71.10 per unit to Rs39.70 per unit, said Pakistan’s Energy Minister Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari on Wednesday.
Pakistan has actively promoted EV adoption to combat environmental challenges, reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels and improve urban air quality. Under its Electric Vehicle Policy 2019-2024, the government aims for 30 percent of vehicles to run on electricity by 2030.
However, inadequate charging infrastructure, frequent power outages and the high cost of EVs have hindered progress.
“Today, the prime minister has decided that including taxes, we were charging a tariff of Rs71.10 [$0.26] to these charging stations,” Leghari told reporters in Islamabad. “What the distribution companies used to charge them, we are reducing it approximately by 45 percent and announcing a tariff of Rs39.70 [$0.18] today.”
Leghari said that there were no charging stations for motorbikes, three-wheelers and rickshaws in Pakistani neighborhood.
“And the reason for that absence is the high cost of electricity,” he added. “And the absence of laws and regulations on the basis of which this business can start.”
A statement issued by the power division said the country’s first-ever regulations for establishing EV charging stations and battery swapping points was being implemented under the National Energy Conservation Authority, with an official gazette notification issued.
It highlighted the economic benefits of these measures, saying that switching motorcycles to electric technology at an average cost of Rs50,000 could save $6 billion annually on fuel.
Similarly, electrifying three-wheeled rickshaws could significantly reduce urban travel costs and help combat air pollution.
The reduced EV charging costs are also expected to lower transportation expenses, positively impacting goods delivery and essential commodity prices.
The government has decided to support these initiatives through a one-window registration process for setting up charging stations and battery points, allowing approvals within 15 days.
Registration fees have been set at Rs50,000 to encourage local and foreign investment.
Prime Minister Sharif, while presiding over a meeting in Islamabad, also praised the power division’s policy on electric vehicles, describing it as “highly encouraging.”
He emphasized that the adoption of electric vehicles would reduce foreign exchange expenditure on petrol and diesel imports while providing an environmentally friendly mode of transportation.
The PM also directed the relevant authorities to actively promote the government’s policy on electric vehicles.
 


Pakistani PM orders cooperation with Interpol against suspects running human trafficking schemes abroad

Updated 15 January 2025
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Pakistani PM orders cooperation with Interpol against suspects running human trafficking schemes abroad

  • Illegal immigration in spotlight in Pakistan since last month after five Pakistani nationals killed in boat capsize off Greek coast 
  • In 2023, hundreds, including 262 Pakistani nationals, drowned when an overcrowded vessel sank off Greek coast

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday called on the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to work with international police organization Interpol for the extradition of suspects running the “heinous business of human trafficking abroad.”

The issue of illegal immigration has been in the spotlight in the South Asian nation since last month following the death of five Pakistanis when a migrant boat capsized off the southern Greek island of Gavdos. 

The tragedy, which occurred on Dec. 14, underscored the perilous journeys many migrants undertake due to military or political conflicts in their home countries or in search of better financial prospects. 

On Wednesday, Sharif presided over a review meeting to discuss progress on actions taken against human trafficking.

“Prime Minister instructed the FIA ​​to seek cooperation from Interpol for the extradition of the most wanted smugglers running the heinous business of human trafficking abroad,” the PM’s office said in a statement. 

“Ministry of Information and Broadcasting should run an effective awareness campaign about illegal foreign travel and human trafficking.”

Authorities told Sharif dozens of traffickers had been arrested in 2024 and several government officials who were found to be facilitating them had been dismissed and several more were facing disciplinary action.

“Punitive measures are being taken against government officials involved in human trafficking,” the statement added. “Assets worth over Rs 500 million of human traffickers have been seized and the process of confiscating more is underway rapidly … Special prosecutors have been appointed to prosecute human traffickers.”

In 2023, hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, drowned when an overcrowded vessel traveling from Libya capsized and sank in international waters off the southwestern Greek coastal town of Pylos.