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  • Pakistan confirms safety of nationals in Morocco after deadly earthquake claims over 1,000 lives


Pakistan confirms safety of nationals in Morocco after deadly earthquake claims over 1,000 lives

The minaret of a mosque stands behind damaged or destroyed houses following an earthquake in Moulay Brahim, Al-Haouz province, on September 9, 2023. (AFP)
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Updated 09 September 2023
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Pakistan confirms safety of nationals in Morocco after deadly earthquake claims over 1,000 lives

  • The Moroccon interior ministry says 1,037 people have died in the quake while 1,200 have been injured
  • Pakistan says it stands in solidarity with Morocco and has conveyed its offer of assistance to Rabat
Updated 09 September 2023
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office confirmed the safety of its overseas nationals in Morocco on Saturday after a powerful earthquake shook the North African country and led to the death of over 1,000 people.
The quake, which struck the High Atlas mountains late Friday, destroyed buildings and sent residents of major cities rushing to safety, resulting in at least 1,037 fatalities and 1,200 injuries, as reported by the Moroccan interior ministry.
According to the geophysical center in the North African state, the earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.2, struck in the Ighil area of the High Atlas. However, the US Geological Survey cited a slightly lower magnitude of 6.8, noting that it struck at a relatively shallow depth of 18.5 km (11.5 miles).




A view shows damage at an old mosque in the historic city of Marrakech, following a powerful earthquake in Morocco, September 9, 2023. (REUTERS)

“Our Embassy in Rabat has reached out to the Pakistani community to inquire about their safety,” the foreign office spokesperson, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, said in a brief statement. “As per initial reports all Pakistani nationals are safe. We will continue to monitor the situation to facilitate them in the wake of this tragedy.”
The spokesperson added the people and government of Pakistan stood in solidarity with Morocco and expressed their heartfelt sympathies and condolences at the tragic loss of lives in the earthquake.
“We have also conveyed our offer of assistance to Morocco,” she added.
Earlier, Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar also extended his sympathies to people affected by Friday’s tremor and offered assistance to them in a statement issued by his office.
“Our hearts ache for those affected by the severe earthquake in Morocco,” Kakar separately wrote on the X messaging platform. “Pakistan extends its hand in unity and support to #Morocco in this trying time.”

Residents of Marrakech, the nearest big city to the epicenter, said some buildings had collapsed in the old city, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, while local news stations showed pictures of a fallen mosque minaret with rubble lying on smashed cars.
People were working hard by hand to remove debris on Saturday while they waited for heavy equipment in the tightly packed old city. Footage of the medieval city wall showed big cracks in one section and parts that had fallen, with rubble lying on the street.
The Moroccan interior ministry urged calm in a televised statement, saying the quake had hit the provinces of Al Haouz, Ouarzazate, Marrakech, Azilal, Chichaoua, and Taroudant.




Residents stay out at a square in Marrakesh on September 9, 2023, after an earthquake. (AFP)

 

Topics: Morocco earthquake Morocco earthquake

South Africa seal place in World Test Championship final with a tense 2-wicket win against Pakistan

Updated 6 sec ago
AP
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South Africa seal place in World Test Championship final with a tense 2-wicket win against Pakistan

  • Needing 148 runs to win, South Africa crashed to 99 for eight owing to superb bowling by Mohammad Abbas
  • But Kagiso Rabada went on the attack, hitting 31 not out, before Marco Jansen hit the winning 16 runs
Updated 6 sec ago
AP

CENTURION: South Africa tailenders Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen hung in against relentless fast bowler Mohammad Abbas for a tense two-wicket win in the first test on Sunday and sealed the Proteas’ place in next year’s World Test Championship final.
Jansen (16 not out) overshadowed Abbas’ brilliant figures of 6-54 with a square driven boundary against the fast bowler as South Africa reached 150-8 just after lunch on Day 4 and escaped with a close win in the two-match series.
Abbas, making a comeback after more than three years in the test wilderness, had knocked back South Africa’s tricky chase of 148 runs in a marathon 13-over spell before lunch on Day 4 as the home team limped to 99-8, losing four wickets for three runs.
However, Rabada changed gears in an unbroken 51-run stand with Jansen and made an unbeaten 31 off 26 balls with five fours to seal a memorable victory and denied Pakistan its first test win in South Africa in almost 18 years.
South Africa had started this WTC cycle with a loss against New Zealand, but since then the Proteas drew 1-1 in India and then went on to beat West Indies, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to stay on top of the table.
India, Australia and Sri Lanka are the other teams still in contention for next June’s WTC final against South Africa at Lord’s.
Captain Temba Bavuma (40) and Aiden Markram (37) had thwarted Abbas for an hour after South Africa resumed at a wobbly 27-3, still needing 121 for victory.
Bavuma’s controversial dismissal punctuated a South Africa collapse in the latter half of first session with Abbas grabbing three off his six balls in a sensational home team collapse.
Bavuma, who made 40, surprisingly didn’t request a television review when replays suggested that Abbas’ ball had brushed the batter’s pocket and didn’t make contact with the inside edge of the bat but the South African skipper walked back to the dressing room.
Abbas bowled an unchanged marathon spell of 13 overs, but had to wait as Markram and Bavuma saw off eight overs from the fast bowlers.
Resuming at 27-3, Bavuma and Markram showed plenty of patience against Abbas’ probing line and length before the fast bowler finally got the breakthrough after the first drinks break.
Abbas was rewarded for his brilliant seam bowling when he beat the outside edge of Markram’s bat and knocked back the off stump.
Bavuma survived a couple of close chances when he successfully overturned an on-field lbw decision against him early in the day and Naseem Shah couldn’t hold onto a sharp catch at fine leg as he overstepped the boundary cushion while grabbing the ball over his head.
South Africa had controlled the game at 96-4 before Bavuma’s dismissal saw Abbas finding the outside edges of David Bedingham (14) and Corbin Bosch’s (0) bat off successive deliveries and in between Kyle Verreynne dragged Naseem Shah’s delivery back onto his stumps.
Abbas found the outside edge of Rabada’s bat in his first over after lunch that fell just short of wicketkeeper Rizwan before both tailenders took the team home.

Topics: Pakistan vs South Africa Pakistan cricket South Africa cricket Kagiso Rabada

Pakistan president signs madrasa registration bill into law after months of delay

Updated 25 min 24 sec ago
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Pakistan president signs madrasa registration bill into law after months of delay

  • The development comes two days Pakistan’s federal cabinet approved tweaks to the Societies Registration Act, 1860
  • Every seminary existing before commencement of new law will be required to get itself registered in 6 months it says
Updated 25 min 24 sec ago
KASHIF IMRAN

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday signed into law a bill relating to the registration of madrasas (religious seminaries) in the country, following months of delay despite its passage from parliament.
The Societies Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was passed by both houses of Pakistan parliament in October this year, but it was caught in limbo after President Zardari cautioned parliamentarians to consider international obligations before altering existing procedures to register religious seminaries.
The main sticking point was that the new bill amended the existing procedure for registering madrasas with the education ministry and says the institutions should be affiliated with the industries ministry instead.
“The Societies Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2024 is assented to, as advised by the prime minister,” read a notification signed by President Zardari.
Although the notification was dated Dec. 27, but it was issued to media on Sunday, Dec. 29.
Every religious seminary existing before the commencement of the Societies Registration (Amendment) Act, 2024, if not already registered, shall get itself registered under the Act within six months from the commencement of the Societies Registration (Amendment) Act, 2024, according to the new law.
A seminary established after the promulgation of the new law will get itself registered under the Act within one year of its establishment.
The passage of the bill was widely reported to have been one of the conditions on which the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) religious party supported the coalition government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and helped it secure two-third majority required in parliament to pass the 26th Constitutional Amendment in October.
The JUI religious party, which rigorously campaigned for the bill in recent months, welcomed Sunday’s development and said it would continue to play its role in “protecting religious seminaries.”
“Religious schools are the fortress of Islam and the guardians of Pakistan’s ideological geography,” it said in a statement.
“Unity of [religious] scholars is important for the protection of religious institutions.”

Topics: Asif Zardari madrasa registration bill

Pakistan province says warring tribes in violence-hit Kurram district have reached consensus

Updated 29 December 2024
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Pakistan province says warring tribes in violence-hit Kurram district have reached consensus

  • Rival factions in Kurram district expected to formally sign agreement on Tuesday, says KP official
  • At least 136 have been killed in sectarian and tribal clashes in Kurram district since November
Updated 29 December 2024
REHMAT MEHSUD

PESHAWAR: The warring tribes in violence-hit northwestern Kurram district have reached a consensus on all contentious points but a formal agreement between them will be signed in the next two days, an official of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province confirmed on Sunday. 

Kurram, a northwestern district of around 600,000 people in KP, has long been a hotspot for tribal and sectarian violence, with authorities struggling to maintain control.

The area’s situation has necessitated travel in convoys escorted by security personnel, yet it failed to prevent an attack on Nov. 21, when gunmen ambushed a convoy, killing 52 people. The attack sparked further violence and road closures, restricting access to medicine, food and fuel in the region as casualties surged to 136.

A grand jirga, or council of political and tribal elders formed by the provincial government, has been attempting to mediate between the rival Sunni and Shia factions this month as protests in Parachinar, the main city in Kurram, have also spread to the southern port city of Karachi. 

“Efforts to settle the century-old Kurram dispute are going ahead as members of the jirga have reached a consensus,” Muhammad Ali Saif, the KP government’s spokesperson, said in a statement.

“The Ahle Sunnat side has requested a two-day break to hold their internal discussions,” he said, adding that the jirga will reconvene on Tuesday. 

Saif said both warring factions were showing progress in heading toward lasting peace and reaching a settlement to their dispute. 

Last week, Saif said authorities had decided to dismantle private bunkers, observation posts used in the fighting by both sides, and given a deadline of Feb. 1 for tribesmen in Kurram to hand over heavy weapons. 

Local tribesmen have so far reportedly refused to surrender their weapons, citing concerns about their safety.

Munir Bangash, a Sunni tribal elder and a member of the jirga, confirmed to Arab News that his faction had sought two days to hold consultations before signing the agreement. 

“There are no hurdles left in signing the peace agreement but we sought to days’ time to consult all and sundry of our tribe,” Bangash said. “I’m sure there is no hurdle. Everything will be okay after two days.”

Professor Jamil Kazmi, a member of the jirga representing the Shia faction, however, did not seem optimistic about the jirga brokering a permanent solution to the Kurram dispute. 

He said certain elements had their “personal vested interests,” without elaborating what those interests were or identifying those elements. 

“Yes, an agreement has been reached which will be signed by both parties but I fear the issue can’t be settled on a permanent basis because some elements always sabotage peace efforts,” Kazmi told Arab News. 

While the talks continue, the KP government has launched a helicopter service to evacuate people and transport aid and medicines to Kurran as a major highway connecting the district’s main city of Parachinar to the provincial capital of Peshawar has been blocked since last month, triggering a humanitarian crisis with reports of starvation, lack of medicine and oxygen shortages.

In a meeting on Monday, the KP cabinet decided to establish a special police force to secure the Peshawar-Parachinar road, for which 399 people would be recruited.

Shia Muslims dominate parts of Kurram, although they are a minority in the rest of the country. Militant groups like the Pakistani Taliban and Daesh have previously targeted the minority group in the district.

Topics: kurram district sectarian clashes jirga

Pakistan ‘deeply saddened’ as South Korea plane crash casualties surge to 120

Updated 29 December 2024
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Pakistan ‘deeply saddened’ as South Korea plane crash casualties surge to 120

  • Jeju Air flight, carrying 175 passengers from Bangkok, crashed after landing at Muan International Airport on Sunday morning
  • Investigators looking into bird strikes and weather conditions as possible reasons for plane crash, says Muan fire chief Lee Jung-hyun
Updated 29 December 2024
Shahjahan Khurram

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday expressed condolences for the loss of lives after at least 120 people were killed when a passenger plane crashed upon landing in South Korea. 

The incident took place on Sunday morning as the Jeju Air flight, carrying 175 passengers and six crew from Thailand’s capital Bangkok, caught fire after skidding off a runway and crashing at the Muan International Airport. 

South Korea’s National Fire Agency said 120 people have been killed in the plane crash while two people have been rescued, both of them being crew members.

“Deeply saddened to learn about the tragic plane crash at Muan International Airport in Korea resulting in the loss of so many lives,” Sharif wrote on social media platform X.

“In this hour of grief, our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families and with the people and the Government of Republic of Korea,” he added. 

Muan fire chief Lee Jung-hyun told reporters that the fire was extinguished at 1:00 p.m. local time.

“Only the tail part retains a little bit of shape, and the rest of (the plane) looks almost impossible to recognize,” he said.

Authorities have switched from rescue to recovery operations and because of the force of the impact, are searching nearby areas for bodies possibly thrown from the plane, Lee added.

The two crew were being treated at hospitals with medium to severe injuries, said the head of the local public health center.

Investigators are looking into bird strikes and weather conditions as possible factors, Lee said. Yonhap cited airport authorities as saying a bird strike may have caused the landing gear to malfunction.

With inputs from Reuters

Topics: south korea plan crash Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif

Sit-in protests in solidarity with violence-hit Kurram district enter third day in Karachi

Updated 29 December 2024
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Sit-in protests in solidarity with violence-hit Kurram district enter third day in Karachi

  • Demonstrators call protests in Karachi vital to draw attention to ‘overlooked’ crisis in Kurram
  • Traffic police urges citizens to avoid traveling unnecessarily in protest areas, exercise patience
Updated 29 December 2024
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: Sit-in protests at various locations across Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi continued for a third consecutive day today, Sunday, with demonstrators showing solidarity with the people in Kurram district, where violence and a lack of medical access have claimed over 130 lives in recent weeks.
Kurram, a northwestern district of around 600,000 people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has long been a hotspot for tribal and sectarian violence, with authorities struggling to maintain control.
The area’s situation has necessitated travel in convoys escorted by security personnel, yet it failed to prevent an attack on Nov. 21, when gunmen ambushed a convoy, killing 52 people. The attack sparked further violence and road closures, restricting access to medicine, food and fuel in the region.
A grand jirga, or council of political and tribal elders, has attempted to mediate between rival factions, as protests in Parachinar, the main city in Kurram, spread to Karachi on Friday where demonstrators held sit-in protests at 10 different locations in the city. 
“Protest demonstrations due to the Parachinar incident in Karachi city are ongoing,” Karachi Traffic Police said in an advisory, urging citizens to avoid traveling unnecessarily in certain locations across the metropolis. 
The protests have been called by the Majlis-e-Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM), a Shia organization, with demonstrators blocking main thoroughfares, including Shahrah-e-Faisal, which connects the airport to the city’s Red Zone, home to sensitive government installations, and major hotels. 
Another area that has been choked is Numaish, a vital junction linking the city’s central district to its commercial hubs.
“Passengers are requested to exercise patience and refrain from going to locations where the demonstrations are taking place,” the traffic police said. 
MWM’s Karachi spokesperson, Syed Ahmad Naqvi, told Arab News on Saturday that the protests would continue as long as the Parachinar protests persist. 
“Large-scale protests in Karachi highlight the situation in Kurram, where many precious lives have been lost in recent weeks but have received no attention,” he said.
Meanwhile, Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab criticized demonstrators for disrupting daily life in the city. 
“If the aim of a protest is to inconvenience people, disrupt a city’s system, prevent ambulances and fire brigades from operating, or hinder police and administrative vehicles, then I believe this is inappropriate,” Wahab told Arab News on Saturday.

Topics: parachinar kurram district karachi protest

Latest updates

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Pakistan president signs madrasa registration bill into law after months of delay
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