Pakistan’s ‘first priority’ is countering terrorism from Afghanistan, PM says in UNGA address

Prime Minister Pakistan Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar speaks during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, US, on September 22, 2023. (Photo courtesy: AFP)
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Updated 22 September 2023
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Pakistan’s ‘first priority’ is countering terrorism from Afghanistan, PM says in UNGA address

  • Kakar welcomes the normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran while calling for a two-state solution for Palestine
  • The premier urges global powers to convince India to accept Pakistan’s offer of mutual restraint on strategic weapons

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Friday called for action against militant attacks from neighboring Afghanistan, endorsed Saudi Arabia and Iran’s diplomatic rapprochement, and advocated a two-state solution as the path to enduring peace in Palestine.

Kakar achieved a historic milestone as the first caretaker prime minister of his country to address the annual United Nations General Assembly session in New York, where he tackled various global issues, spanning from extremist violence and relations with India to the escalating challenges of climate change and Islamophobia.

“Pakistan’s first priority is to prevent and counter all terrorism from and within Afghanistan,” he told representatives of United Nations member states. “Pakistan condemns the cross-border attacks … by the TTP [Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan], Daesh and other groups operating from Afghanistan.”

The prime minister’s statement comes against the backdrop of a dramatic spike in militant attacks in Pakistan, mainly in border regions abutting Afghanistan since the return of Afghan Taliban to power in Kabul in August 2021.

The first half of this year saw about 80 percent increase in attacks compared to the last year, according to statistics compiled by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies.

“We have sought Kabul’s support and cooperation to prevent these attacks,” the prime minister continued. “We are also taking necessary measures to end this externally encouraged terrorism.”




Prime Minister Pakistan Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar speaks during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, US, on September 22, 2023. (Photo courtesy: REUTERS)

Kakar reiterated his country’s position that peace in Afghanistan was a “strategic imperative” for Pakistan while sharing concerns of the international community with respect to Afghanistan, particularly those related to the rights of women and girls.

“We advocate continued humanitarian assistance for destitute Afghan population in which Afghan girls and women are the most vulnerable as well as the revival of Afghan economy and implementation of the connectivity projects with Central Asia,” he said.

Speaking about Pakistan’s relations with its nuclear-armed neighbor, the prime minister said his country desired “peaceful and productive” relations with all neighbors including India.

“Global powers should convince New Delhi to accept Pakistan’s offer of mutual restraint on strategic and conventional weapons,” he said, adding that Kashmir provided the key to peace between the two neighboring states.

Pakistan and India both rule parts of the disputed Himalayan region while claiming it in full. They have fought two wars over the mountainous territory and their forces regularly trade fire across a 740-kilometer (466 mile) Line of Control, which is the de facto border separating the two parts of Kashmir.

“We must counter all terrorists without discrimination including the rising threat posed by far-right extremist and fascist groups such as Hindutva inspired extremists threatening genocide against Indian Muslims and Christians alike,” he maintained.

“We also need to oppose state terrorism, address the root cause of terrorism such as poverty, injustice and foreign occupation, and distinguish genuine freedom struggles from terrorism,” he added.

The prime minister also proposed the creation of a committee of the general assembly to oversee the balanced implementation of all “four pillars of the global counter terrorism strategy.”

He also applauded the normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran while commenting on the overall strategic situation in the Middle East.

“Pakistan welcomes the progress made toward ending the conflicts in Syria and Yemen, in particular we warmly welcome the normalization of relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said.

Focusing on the Palestine issue, he mentioned continued “Israeli military raids, air strikes, expansion of settlements and eviction of Palestinians.”

“Durable peace can be established only through a two-state solution and establishment of a viable and contiguous Palestinian state within the pre-June 1967 borders with Al-Quds as its capital,” he said.

 

 

Kakar also mentioned the “age-old phenomenon” of Islamophobia, saying it had acquired endemic proportion in the wake of the September 11 attacks in the United States and was manifested in the negative profiling of Muslims and public burnings of the Holy Qur’an.

“The narratives advocating a clash of civilizations have done considerable harm to humanity’s progress,” he noted. “Such ideas have bred extremism, hatred and religious intolerance, including Islamophobia.”

The prime minister welcomed the legislation initiated by Denmark and contemplated by Sweden to ban the desecration of the Islamic scripture.

“Pakistan and the OIC [Organization of Islamic Cooperation] countries will propose further steps to combat Islamophobia, including the appointment of a special envoy, creation of an Islamophobia data center, legal assistance to victims and an accountability process to punish Islamophobic crimes,” he continued.

Discussing the climate change issue, Kakar said Pakistan looked forward to fulfilling the climate commitments made at COP28 by developed countries to provide over $100 billion in annual climate finance, allocate at least half of it for adaptation in developing countries, operationalize the loss and damage fund, and reduce global carbon emission.

“Pakistan’s triple food finance fuel challenge is a prime illustration of the impact of COVID conflict and climate on developing countries,” he said, adding Pakistan was one of the worst affected countries from the adverse impacts of climate change.

Kakar said the last year’s flood in Pakistan submerged one-third of the country, killed 1,700 people, displaced over eight million people, destroyed vital infrastructure and caused over $30 billion damage to the economy.

“We are gratified by the commitment of over $10.5 billion for Pakistan’s comprehensive plan for recovery, rehabilitation, reconstruction with resilience,” he said.

“Specific projects are being submitted to ensure timely funding … I hope our development partners will accord priority to the allocation of funds for our recovery plan which costs $13 billion,” he added.


Spurred by reduced interest rates, Pakistan’s stock market closes above 92,000 points in a row

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Spurred by reduced interest rates, Pakistan’s stock market closes above 92,000 points in a row

  • KSE-100 index climbs 499 points or 0.54 percent to close at 92,520.48 points on Thursday
  • Analysts say market responding to reduced interest rates, move to restart privatizations

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed above 92,000 points for the third time in a row on Thursday, with analysts attributing the bullish trend to market volatility triggered by reduced interest rates and investors selling their stocks for profit. 
Pakistan’s benchmark index settled at 92,304.32 points on Tuesday and 92,021.44 points on Wednesday. As per the stock market’s official website, the benchmark KSE-100 index increased by 499 points or 0.54 percent on Thursday to close at 92,520.48 points. 
The bullish trend has been observed in the market since Monday when Pakistan’s central bank cut its key policy rate by 250 basis points to 15 percent. This was the fourth straight reduction since June, as the country keeps up efforts to revive a sluggish economy with inflation easing.
“The market is responding to reducing interest rates and, importantly, is also picking up on the government’s razor-sharp focus on the economy evidenced by the push to increase tax-to-GDP, attract FDI, and restart privatizations,” Raza Jafri, chief executive officer of leading financial services corporation EFG Hermes Pakistan, told Arab News.
He highlighted how lower interest rates were helping in creating valuation multiples at the KSE-100 but their “positive impact on the real economy will come with a lag.”
Jafri said the rally this year was led by banks, fertilizers and pharmaceuticals, adding that a rotation toward the construction, auto and oil marketing sectors more aligned with economic recovery was witnessed.
“An analyst at Topline Securities said the market showed notable volatility, with the index reaching a peak of 92,967 and dipping to a low of 91,891 as investors capitalized on profit-taking in large-cap stocks,” Topline Securities said in a social media post.


The development comes as the South Asian nation’s economic indicators continue to improve after it secured a $7 billion, 37-month bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in September. 
Last year, Pakistan narrowly avoided a sovereign default when it clinched a last-gasp $3 billion IMF bailout program. The country has suffered a prolonged economic crisis that drained its foreign exchange reserves and saw its currency weaken amid double-digit inflation.


Pakistan court remands ex-PM Khan’s acquittal petition to trial court in graft case

Updated 07 November 2024
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Pakistan court remands ex-PM Khan’s acquittal petition to trial court in graft case

  • Khan and his wife are accused of receiving expensive land through trust as bribe from real estate tycoon
  • IHC has instructed Pakistani trial court to announce decision on Khan’s acquittal petition, says his party

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday remanded former prime minister Imran Khan’s acquittal petition back to a trial court in a corruption case in which he is accused of receiving land as bribe from a real estate tycoon, his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said. 
The corruption case against Khan, or the Al-Qadir Trust case as it has become popularly known, involves accusations that the former prime minister and his wife, Bushra Bibi, set up a charitable trust named Al-Qadir in 2018 as a front to receive valuable land as gift from real estate developer Malik Riaz Hussain. 
The Al-Qadir Trust runs a university outside Pakistan’s capital Islamabad devoted to spirituality and Islamic teachings, a project inspired by Khan’s wife who has a reputation as a spiritual healer. Khan and his wife deny any wrongdoing, saying that charges against them are politically motivated. 
In August, the IHC issued a temporary stay barring a trial court from issuing the final order in the case. The former prime minister filed an acquittal plea, which was turned down by an accountability court in September.
“IHC two-member bench has remanded the acquittal petition by Mr. & Mrs. Khan back to the trial court in Al-Qadir Trust case,” the PTI said in a statement. 
The party said the defense counsel had argued that “no personal gains” received by Khan could be established in the case and that the trustees had not benefitted from any transaction. 
“IHC has instructed the trial court to announce the decision on the acquittal petition,” the PTI said. “We are hopeful it’ll lead to ordering the release of both Mr. & Mrs. Khan.”
HOW DID THE BRIBE ALLEGEDLY WORK?
Pakistan’s government says the controversy originated with 190 million pounds repatriated to Pakistan in 2019 by Britain after Hussain forfeited cash and assets to settle a British probe into whether they were proceeds of crime.
Instead of putting it in Pakistan’s treasury, Khan’s government used the money to pay fines levied by a court against Hussain for illegal acquisition of government lands at below-market value for development in Karachi.
Pakistan’s then interior minister Rana Sanaullah said Hussain gave the land to Khan through the Al-Qadir Trust in exchange for that favor. 
Khan, who was removed from office after losing a parliamentary vote in April 2022, continues to remain popular among the masses. He has been languishing in jail since August 2023 after being convicted in four cases. Pakistan’s courts suspended two of the verdicts against Khan while he was acquitted in the remaining two.
Since his ouster from the Prime Minister’s Office, Khan has led a campaign of unprecedented defiance against the country’s powerful military, whom he accuses of colluding with his political rivals to orchestrate his removal and keeping him imprisoned. 
The military and incumbent coalition government deny Khan’s allegations vehemently.


Pakistan announces free business, visit visas for Bangladeshis with 48-hour processing time

Updated 07 November 2024
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Pakistan announces free business, visit visas for Bangladeshis with 48-hour processing time

  • Pakistan and Bangladesh were single country known as East and West Pakistan until Bangladesh was born in 1971
  • Historically strained ties have warmed since ouster of former PM Sheikh Hasina on Aug. 5 after student-led uprising

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Dhaka, Syed Ahmed Maroof, this week announced a new visa policy for Bangladeshi citizens, offering free business and visit visas with 48-hour processing time as both nations push to thaw historically frosty ties.
Pakistan and Bangladesh share a complex history, having been a single country known as East and West Pakistan until Bangladesh was born in 1971 after a war of liberation backed by Pakistan’s arch-rival and neighbor India. Nearly three million people were killed in the conflict.
Ties reached a new low in 2016 when Bangladesh executed several leaders of its Jamaat-e-Islami party on charges of committing war crimes in 1971. Pakistan called the executions and trials “politically motivated,” arguing that the convicts were being punished for taking a pro-Pakistan stance during the independence war.
The bitter ties have warmed since the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Aug. 5 after a student-led uprising in Bangladesh.
“I’m happy to announce that or to let you know that there are going to be no fees in two visa categories, one is a business visa and the other is a visit visa,” Maroof said on Wednesday.
“It’s a free-of-cost visa for Bangladeshis. Secondly, the visa is decided within 48 hours and thirdly, you don’t have to come to the Pakistan High Commission [to apply for the visa].”


He said Bangladeshi citizens who wanted to visit Pakistan needed to print out a form from the visa website that they would be required to present at the immigration desk in Pakistan in order to get a visa.
“But as a precaution, there are a few things they should always carry with them along with this paper,” he added. “They should have a proper verified place of where they will stay, in a hotel or with some friends or family, and a return ticket.”
Calling the new visa regime “pretty much straightforward and very simplified,” the official said the move would make travel much easier for Bangladeshis wishing to go to Pakistan.
“All in all, the new visa policy is amazing, wonderful and hassle-free,” Maroof concluded.
In September, Pakistan’s foreign office said Islamabad sought “robust, multifaceted relations, friendly relations” with Bangladesh to ensure peace and stability in the South Asian region.


Pakistan smashes Indian record by creating largest human image of waving flag

Updated 07 November 2024
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Pakistan smashes Indian record by creating largest human image of waving flag

  • Over 10,000 students participate in activity held during Punjab government-backed youth festival in Lahore
  • Record was previously held by India where 7,368 students formed the waving flag image in March this year 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan smashed India’s record by forming the world’s largest human image of a waving flag in the eastern city of Lahore city, with over 10,000 students participating in the activity this week, state-run media reported on Thursday. 

The new world record was made during the Lahore Youth Festival, organized by the provincial Punjab government and currently underway at the Fortress Stadium in Lahore.

“Pakistan has set a new world record by making the largest human flag,” Radio Pakistan said. “The record was achieved by the students of Army Public School Lahore who participated in the formation of the flag.”

The Guinness World Record website showed that the record for the largest human image of a waving flag was last held by India where 7,368 students formed the flag in March this year in Sonipat. 

State media in Pakistan widely reported on Thursday that Pakistan had now broken India’s record, with over 10,000 students from the Army Public School in Lahore forming the image of the nation’s flag. 

The national flag of Pakistan, also known as the Flag of the Star and Crescent, is made up of a green field with a stylized tilted white descending crescent moon, and five-pointed star at its center, and a vertical white stripe at its hoist-end. It was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan Aug. 11, 1947, and became the official flag of Pakistan on Aug. 14, following independence from the British Empire. 

The flag is referred to in the third verse of Pakistan’s national anthem and is widely flown on several important days of the year, including Republic Day, Independence Day and Defense Day. It is also hoisted every morning at schools, offices and government buildings to the playing of the national anthem and lowered again before sunset.


‘Distinguished Icon’: Pakistan’s Mahira Khan honored with award by UK parliament

Updated 07 November 2024
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‘Distinguished Icon’: Pakistan’s Mahira Khan honored with award by UK parliament

  • Khan is one of the most popular and highest paid actresses of Pakistan, she has also worked in Bollywood 
  • In addition to acting, Khan promotes social causes including women and child rights, the refugee crisis

ISLAMABAD: British Parliament has bestowed an ‘Award of Recognition’ on Pakistani superstar Mahira Khan for “remarkable contributions” to global cinema and her role as a cultural ambassador, with the star saying the recognition was a win for “women’s empowerment.”

Khan is one of the most popular and highest paid actresses of Pakistan where she is the recipient of several accolades, including seven Lux Style Awards and seven Hum Awards. She has also made a mark in international cinema with her performances in ‘The Legend of Maula Jatt’ (2022) and Bollywood flick ‘Raees’ (2017) alongside India’s Shah Rukh Khan. In addition to acting, Khan promotes social causes such as women’s rights, the refugee crisis, and is vocal about issues such as child abuse and sexual harassment. Khan has worked with UNICEF since 2019 and was appointed as the national and global UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Afghan refugees in Pakistan in 2019.

A gathering was hosted by MP Afzal Khan at the UK Parliament to present her with the award, which recognized her as a “distinguished icon in the world of entertainment.”

“I am a proud Pakistani sitting here receiving this award,” Khan said in her speech at the ceremony. 

“I am very happy at receiving the award because this award is for women empowerment,” she later told reporters. “For me, since I started to work, I have worked with the aim to open doors for other girls, make things easier for them, so that when they come they don’t face the difficulties I did.”

Khan said there had been a lot of advancement in Pakistan’s showbiz industry in the last few years with greater gender equality and pay parity.

“There are women now who charge more than men,” she said. “There is pay parity.”

Dr. Sarah Naeem, the wife of the Pakistan High Commissioner to the UK, said Khan had become a role model for women and young girls in Pakistan “through hard work, dedication to profession and championing women’s rights.”

“Mahira Khan has demonstrated, through her international career, that Pakistani women are able to prove their mettle across borders,” Dr. Naeem added.