‘Happy’ Pakistan could not dedicate victory to Hamas, Israel says on cricket loss to India
‘Happy’ Pakistan could not dedicate victory to Hamas, Israel says on cricket loss to India /node/2391706/pakistan
‘Happy’ Pakistan could not dedicate victory to Hamas, Israel says on cricket loss to India
Pakistani players congratulate India's Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul after India won by 7 wickets during the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in Ahmedabad, India, on October 14, 2023. (AP)
ISLAMABAD: Israel on Sunday celebrated India’s win against Pakistan in Saturday’s World Cup fixture, saying the loss had kept Islamabad from dedicating its victory to the “terrorists of Hamas.”
This past week, Israel has subjected Gaza to the most intense bombardment in the enclave’s history, putting 2.3 million Palestinians under total siege and destroying much of the territory’s infrastructure. The Gaza Health Ministry said on Sunday 2,329 Palestinians had been killed since the fighting erupted, more than in the 2014 Gaza war, which lasted over six weeks.
Israel says the bombardment is in response to a massive attack by Hamas fighters who stormed through Israeli towns on Oct. 7, killing 1,300 people and taking hostages.
Pakistan does not recognize the state of Israel and supports an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters” and the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
On Wednesday, Pakistan batter Mohammad Rizwan dedicated his knock against Sri Lanka on Tuesday to the victims of the Israel-Palestine war in Gaza.
At the India-Pakistan match in Ahmedabad on Saturday, many Indian fans were seen carrying posters in support of Israel and Rizwan faced a backlash from fans in the bleachers for his support of Palestinians.
India’s official stance on the recent conflict is that it stands “firmly” with Israel.
In an X post on Sunday, the Israeli foreign ministry said it was “really moved” by the show of solidarity for Israel by Indian fans during Saturday’s game, in which India hammered Pakistan by seven wickets.
“We are happy that India emerged victorious in the #INDvsPAK match at #CWC23 and that Pakistan was unable to attribute its victory to the terrorists of #Hamas,” read a post on Israel’s official X account.
We were really moved by Indian friends showing their solidarity with Israel
We are happy that Indiaemerged victorious in the #INDvsPAK match at #CWC23 and that Pakistan was unable to attribute its victory to the terrorists of #Hamas. https://t.co/tvgYATe0Af
The development comes as Israel has intensified its attempts to destroy the Hamas group, deploying tens of thousands of soldiers near Gaza ahead of an expected ground offensive.
On Sunday, Pakistan’s Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani announced he would attend an urgent meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) next week in Jeddah to discuss escalating military tensions in Gaza, condemning Israel for committing “genocide” against Palestinians.
“As part of the OIC executive committee from Pakistan, I will be attending the OIC extraordinary meeting on the Palestine issue,” Jilani said. “As a matter of fact, it is a genocide being conducted by Israel against the innocent people of Palestine.”
ISLAMABAD: Saudi businessmen expressed hope for successful collaborations in Pakistan on Thursday, saying the country’s economic stability and improved regulatory framework had made it an attractive investment destination, following the signing of over two dozen deals between companies from both countries.
The Kingdom’s Investment Minister Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih is currently in Pakistan on a three-day visit with a large delegation of over 130 members, including representatives from Saudi companies specializing in energy, mining, minerals, agriculture, business, tourism, industry and manpower.
The delegation on Thursday signed 27 agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth more than $2 billion with several Pakistani companies.
“We saw much change in [Pakistan’s business] regulations which have become much softer,” Sultan Al Mansour, Chairman of All Care Medical Group, told Arab News, pointing out that Pakistan was gradually moving toward economic stability. “All that positive news is making Pakistan a good spot for investment.”
Last year in June, Pakistan constituted the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), a hybrid civil-military forum, to facilitate foreign businesses, particularly from Gulf countries.
The Saudi investor hoped for successful collaborations, saying his company had signed two deals with Pakistani businesses developing surgical instruments and operating in the pharmaceutical industry.
“Our [Pakistani] partners will be launching a factory in Saudi Arabia in the foreseeable future,” he informed, adding the South Asian state was rich in human resources and knowledge, and constituted a big market.
Al Mansour said he had collaborated with Hilbro, a Pakistani company that will supply surgical goods to his organization in the kingdom.
Hilbro’s sales and marketing director, Muhammad Bilal Tariq, said his company would initially supply semi-developed products before setting up a manufacturing unit of surgical goods in Saudi Arabia.
“We are planning to build the factory in Riyadh,” he told Arab News.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif meets Saudi delegation led by Investment Minister Khalid Bin Abdul Aziz Al Falih in Islamabad on October 10, 2024. (PMO)
Mohammad Almadani, Chief Executive Officer of Classera, one of the region’s largest e-learning ed-tech companies operating in over 40 countries, said his organization had supported numerous ministries of education, training institutions and governments globally to transform education and training.
“We have started a big project called eTaleem which aims to transform education using technology across this great nation [of Pakistan],” he said.
He informed that the first phase of operations had already started by partnering with Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd. (PTCL), adding it would use technology to transform education more rapidly and benefit the country’s youth.
“We are talking about 60 million students of Pakistan,” he said.
Almadani noted that human capital was a huge asset, pointing out his collaboration in Pakistan would help advance the country.
Mohammad Al-Hijji, Chairman of the Saudi investment company Engineering Dimension Holding, said it was a good time to join hands with Pakistani businesses due to the government’s investment-friendly policies.
“It is the right time and we are talking about the investment in our partnership with our brethren at Pakistani renewable energy company Welt Konnect, to invest in a 500-megawatt hybrid power project,” he told Arab News.
His Pakistani partner, Habeel Ahmed Khan, termed the collaboration a “great honor.”
“We signed an MoU with our brothers from ED Holding for the 500-megawatt project that we have been developing in the south of Pakistan, almost 45 minutes east of Karachi in the wind corridor of Gharo,” he said.
Sharing details, he said the project would produce about 168 megawatts of wind power and 332 megawatts of solar power.
“It’s going to be one of Pakistan’s first hybrid power projects, which will supply cheap electricity to the national grid,” Khan added.
Saudi Arabia’s Investment Minister Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih speaks during the inauguration of Pak-Saudi Business Forum 2024 in Islamabad on October 10, 2024. (Photo courtesy: Urdu News)
Ghassan Amodi, Chief Executive Officer of Asyad Holding Group, which is acquiring Shell operations in Pakistan, said the acquisition was part of their strategic plan to expand regionally.
“Our association with Shell is a longstanding relationship, and we look forward to further developing this beyond the borders of Saudi Arabia and now Pakistan. We are also looking for other opportunities,” he said.
Speaking to Arab News, Pakistan’s Petroleum Minister Dr. Musadik Malik said over 130 representatives of around 50 Saudi companies were part of the delegation, adding that many projects and collaborations had been finalized in the energy field during the visit.
“Two Saudi companies have flown into Pakistan, and they will be talking about the upgradation of an old refinery, which is about a billion-and-a-half-dollar project,” he said while informing that Pakistan also expected to finish the study on the greenfield refinery project by December.
Pakistan’s Petroleum Minister Dr. Musadik Malik speaks during the inauguration of Pak-Saudi Business Forum 2024 in Islamabad on October 10, 2024. (PID)
“Then the conversation will begin to move forward on the $7-10 billion project,” he continued.
Malik informed that once the Saudi delegation departs, the government would follow up on an almost weekly or fortnightly basis.
“It will be to see where those contracts are, how those relationships are evolving and if there’s any government-related trouble that we need to troubleshoot and remove,” he explained.
Gunmen kill 20 miners and wound others in an attack in southwest Pakistan
It’s the latest attack in restive Balochistan province and comes days ahead of a major security summit being hosted in the capital
Police official Hamayun Khan Nasir said the gunmen stormed the accommodations at the coal mine in Duki district late Thursday
Updated 32 min 6 sec ago
AP
QUETTA: Gunmen killed 20 miners and wounded another seven in Pakistan’s southwest, a police official said Friday.
It’s the latest attack in restive Balochistan province and comes days ahead of a major security summit being hosted in the capital.
Police official Hamayun Khan Nasir said the gunmen stormed the accommodations at the coal mine in Duki district late Thursday night, rounded up the men and opened fire.
Most of the men were from Pashtun-speaking areas of Balochistan. Three of the dead and four of the wounded were Afghan.
Nobody claimed immediate responsibility for the attack.
The province is home to separatist groups who want independence. They accuse the federal government in Islamabad of unfairly exploiting oil- and mineral-rich Balochistan at the expense of locals.
On Monday, a group called the Baloch Liberation Army said it carried out an attack on Chinese nationals outside Pakistan’s biggest airport. There are thousands of Chinese working in the country, most of them involved in Beijing’s multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative.
The explosion, which the BLA said was the work of a suicide bomber, also raised questions about the ability of Pakistani forces to protect high-profile events or foreigners in the country.
Islamabad is hosting a summit next week of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a grouping founded by China and Russia to counter Western alliances.
PESHAWAR: A grand assembly of political and tribal leaders held on Thursday in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar designated the provincial chief minister to resolve peace-related issues in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province ahead of a three-day gathering being organized by the recently banned Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM).
At least three people were killed in clashes Wednesday between Pakistani police and supporters of the PTM rights group advocating for ethnic Pashtuns. The violence came after the government on Monday banned the PTM saying it supports the Pakistani Taliban, an outlawed militant group. It also banned rallies by the group in the restive northwest, saying the demonstrations are against the interests of Pakistan. The PTM denies backing the Pakistani Taliban and says despite the ban on public gatherings, it will go ahead with holding a Qaumi Jirga grand assembly on October 11 to discuss peace and security in KP province.
Thursday’s jirga, a traditional assembly in Pashtun communities used to resolve disputes and make decisions on social and political matters, was called by KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, with archrivals Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi also in attendance.
The PTM, founded in 2014, has long advocated against extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances of Pashtuns and other ethnic minorities in Pakistan, charges the government and military deny. The group has since been waging a campaign to force the military to leave the former tribal regions in the northwest that border Afghanistan.
“The purpose of the jirga is to find a peaceful solution to the conflict through dialogue and mutual understanding,” Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, the KP government spokesperson, said in a statement about Thursday’s gathering. “The jirga has given Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur full authority to resolve the conflict through dialogue and understanding.”
The statement did not mention how the KP government plans to deal with the PTM’s Qaumi Jirga, but Mohsin Dawar, a former lawmaker from North Waziristan who was previously affiliated with the PTM, said authorities had agreed to allow the gathering.
“Participated in the meeting called by the Chief Minister on PTM’s Pashtuns National Jarga,” he said in a social media post. “We demanded from all the political parties in the meeting to allow PTM’s Jirga to be held. Our demand has been accepted and the federal and provincial govts will allow the Jarga tomorrow.”
Participated in the meeting called by the Chief Minister on PTM's Pashtuns National Jarga. We demanded from all the political parties in the meeting to allow PTM's Jarga to be held. Our demand has been accepted and the federal and provincial govts will allow the Jarga tomorrow.
Amnesty International on Wednesday called on the Pakistan government to revoke the ban on the Pashtun group.
The “latest arbitrary ban under over-broad powers of the terror law is only the tip of the iceberg,” said Babu Ram Pant, Amnesty’s deputy regional director for South Asia, accusing the authorities of “resorting to unlawful use of force, enforced disappearances, and media bans on the coverage of protests or rallies.”
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces have killed four militants in two separate operations in the country’s northwest, according to the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), on Thursday.
The country has witnessed a surge in militant attacks in the tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province since a fragile ceasefire broke down between the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the government in November 2022.
Pakistan has frequently said the TTP leadership is based in Afghanistan and gets assistance from the administration in Kabul, though Afghan authorities deny the claim.
“On 9-10 October 2024, four Khwarij [TTP militants] were killed in two separate operations conducted by Security Forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” the ISPR said.
On October 9, an intelligence-based operation was carried out in the general area of Janikhel in Bannu district in which two militants were killed.
In another operation, conducted in the general area Hassan Khel in North Waziristan on October 10, Pakistani troops effectively engaged a militant hideout and in ensuing exchange of fire two more militants lost their lives.
“Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from killed khwarij, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against the security forces as well as abductions and target killing of innocent civilians,” the ISPR added.
It said the “sanitization of the area” was being carried out to eliminate any other militant found in the territory.
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif witnessed the signing of over $2 billion in agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) between Saudi and Pakistani businesses on Thursday, calling the ceremony a precursor to many future partnerships.
The event took place as Sharif welcomed Saudi Investment Minister Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih at the PM House, describing his visit as an “important milestone” in the economic relations between the two countries.
The Saudi minister brought a large delegation of businessmen representing various economic sectors, including energy, mining, agriculture, tourism and industry, a day earlier, with the aim of finalizing 27 business-to-business deals and MoUs.
The visit took place at a time when Pakistan is seeking to strengthen trade and investment ties with friendly nations, particularly the kingdom, whose leadership reaffirmed its commitment this year to expedite a $5 billion investment package for the South Asian country.
“Today’s ceremony will lead to many more such events in times to come if we are sincere to the cause,” Sharif told the gathering, referring to Pakistan’s commitment to implementing these agreements and turning the MoUs into lucrative business deals.
He assured the Saudi delegation of his government’s full cooperation, saying he would not allow any impediments to thwart the business cooperation between the two countries.
The prime minister said Pakistan’s relations with the kingdom were firmly rooted in history and that both countries had stood by each other through thick and thin.
“Saudi Arabia has always supported Pakistan, whether after floods or earthquakes,” he continued. “This is not only friendship. This is true brotherhood, which we must transform into a relationship of economic development, cooperation and promoting our investments.”
Earlier, the prime minister told the Saudi minister that his visit was “an important milestone in strengthening investment ties between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, setting the stage for greater collaboration in sectors of mutual interest.”
The prime minister pointed out that Al-Falih’s trip to Pakistan was the third high-level Saudi delegation to visit the country in the last six months, calling it a testament to the growing momentum in the bilateral relationship.
He also reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, expressing readiness to strengthen defense ties, including support for the kingdom’s Vision 2030, which seeks to develop indigenous defense and security capabilities.
According to the PM Office, the Saudi minister reiterated the kingdom’s commitment to increasing its investment portfolio in Pakistan, particularly in mining, agriculture, food security and infrastructure development.
He further said the signing of 27 agreements and MoUs was just the beginning of the journey.
