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Hundreds of Pakistani doctors, paramedics in Karachi march for ceasefire in Gaza

Supporters of Karachi media forum chant slogans during a demonstration against Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, and to show solidarity with Palestinian people, in Karachi, Pakistan, on December 10, 2023. (AP)
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Updated 11 December 2023
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Hundreds of Pakistani doctors, paramedics in Karachi march for ceasefire in Gaza

  • Hundreds of lawyers, paramedics march from Karachi’s National Stadium signal to Liaquat National Hospital
  • March attended by members of Pakistani medical associations, interim Sindh health minister, Jamaat-e-Islami leaders
Updated 11 December 2023
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: Hundreds of Pakistani doctors and paramedics marched in the southern port city of Karachi on Sunday to protest against Israel’s war in Gaza, demanding an immediate ceasefire amid the deteriorating human rights situation in Palestine.

The march took place in Pakistan’s commercial hub as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza amid increasing Israeli hostilities in Gaza. On Sunday afternoon, the Gaza health ministry said almost 18,000 Palestinians had now been killed by the Israeli military since Oct. 7.

Pakistani journalists, rights activists and celebrities have been consistently calling for an end to Israeli bombardment in Gaza and demanding an immediate ceasefire. On Sunday evening, a large number of doctors and paramedics took out a “White Coat March” from Karachi’s National Stadium signal to Liaquat National Hospital, calling for an end to Israel’s “war crimes.”

The event, which was organized by the Karachi Medical Forum, was attended by Interim Sindh Health Minister Saad Khalid Niaz, leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami religious party, Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), the Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA), and members of the Palestine Foundation in the country.

“Today in Karachi, thousands of doctors marched, demanding immediate end to human rights violations, bombing of civilian areas— particularly hospitals,” PIMA wrote on social media platform X.

Hundreds of doctors can be seen in several video clips on social media platforms, marching as they held up placards that read: “Where are human rights? Where is the Geneva Convention?”

Several other placards read: “Doctors, unite for Gaza.”

In a statement, the JI said its Karachi leader Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman appreciated Pakistani doctors for highlighting Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

“He [Rehman] said that by all means, Israel is an illegitimate, terrorist state whereas Hamas is fighting for the liberation of her homeland,” the statement added.

On Sunday, Pakistan’s Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said Israel’s “purposeful” targeting of Palestinians in Gaza violated all standards of human rights and was a breach of international law.

His statement came as the world marked International Human Rights Day. Pakistan does not recognize the state of Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters” and the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

Topics: Pakistan Gaza Palestine Karachi

Gwadar port ‘fully operational,’ official tells Pakistan National Assembly

Updated 3 sec ago
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Gwadar port ‘fully operational,’ official tells Pakistan National Assembly

  • China Overseas Port Holding Company plans to eventually expand port’s capacity to up to 400 million tons of cargo per year
  • Gwadar underutilized for import and export due to distance from marketplaces of the country, security and services availability
Updated 3 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Parliamentary Secretary for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Wajiha Qamar, on Wednesday informed the lower house of Pakistan’s parliament that the southwestern deep-sea port at Gwadar was “fully operational” and equipped to handle all kinds of cargo.
Gwadar is on the Arabian Sea in the southwestern province of Balochistan, a mineral-rich region plagued by a decades-long separatist insurgency. China has invested heavily in the province, including by developing Gwadar, which is key to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that also encompasses infrastructure and energy projects and is part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative.
The China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC), which operationally handles Gwadar, plans to eventually expand the port’s capacity to up to 400 million tons of cargo per year. Long term plans for the port require a total of 100 berths to be developed by 2045. For now, Gwadar is underutilized for commercial import and export due to reasons such as distance from the marketplaces of the country, security and services availability.
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had ordered that 50 percent of all public sector cargo be brought to Pakistan through Gwadar. The instructions subsequently received cabinet approval in September.
“The National Assembly was informed on Wednesday that Gwadar Port is currently fully operational, equipped to handle general cargo, containers, and other operations,” Radio Pakistan reported on Wednesday. 
“Responding to a question during the Question Hour, Parliamentary Secretary Planning Development and Special Initiatives Wajiha Qamar said the Port accommodates vessels of up to 50,000 DWT [deadweight tonnage] and possesses the requisite infrastructure to support bulk cargo and container handling efficiently.”
She added that multiple shipments under the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement had been successfully processed at the port. 
In March this year, Pakistani security forces repulsed a gun and bomb attack by militants on a complex outside the strategic port of Gwadar, which killed all eight militants and two soldiers, officials said. In the same month, a suicide bomber killed five Chinese engineers traveling to a dam site in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Beijing has since publicly voiced concerns about the security of its workers and projects in Pakistan. Militants have also previously attacked Chinese nationals and targeted projects, viewing China as a foreign invader trying to gain control of the region’s resources.
The start of operations at a Chinese-funded airport in Gwadar was also pushed back for a security review this August after a string of deadly attacks by separatist militants in the Balochistan in which over 50 people were killed.

Topics: Gwadar Gwadar Port

Pakistan Navy conducts joint drills with Omani, Spanish forces

Updated 54 min 15 sec ago
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Pakistan Navy conducts joint drills with Omani, Spanish forces

  • Pakistan Navy regularly collaborates and holds joint military exercises with allies
  • Aim is to promote regional peace and stability and deter illicit maritime activities
Updated 54 min 15 sec ago
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan navy said on Wednesday it had conducted joint naval exercises and drills with the Royal Oman ship ‘Alseeb’ and Spain’s ‘Santa Maria.’

Pakistan Navy regularly collaborates and holds joint military exercises with allies to increase synergy, promote regional peace and stability and deter piracy, drug trafficking and other illicit maritime activities.

“The exercise between Pakistan Navy and Royal Oman Navy was conducted during the Focused Operation ‘Karakoram Resolve’ of Pakistan-led Combined Task Force 150,” the Pakistan navy said in a statement, without specifying the location of the drill. “Pakistan Maritime Security Agency Ship Kashmir also participated in the Focused Operation.”

Bilateral naval exercise “Samar Al-Tayeb” is conducted regularly between the Pakistani and Omani navies.

“PNS Saif also conducted bilateral exercises with Spanish Navy Ship Santa Maria,” the Pakistan side said. “The aim of the exercises was to promote synergy between the navies present in the region.”

Topics: Pakistan Navy Pakistan Oman ties Pakistan Spain ties

Pakistan’s Punjab to develop ‘advanced air quality management system’ with Chinese help

Updated 15 min 17 sec ago
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Pakistan’s Punjab to develop ‘advanced air quality management system’ with Chinese help

  • Beijing-Punjab Clean Air joint working group set up during chief minister’s ongoing visit to China
  • Nearly two million people in Pakistan fell ill when smog choked Punjab for over two weeks last month
Updated 15 min 17 sec ago
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s most populous province of Punjab will develop an advanced air quality management system with the help of China to combat an enduring smog and pollution crisis, a statement from the provincial chief minister’s office said on Wednesday. 

Smog had choked Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province for weeks last month, sickening nearly two million people and shrouding vast swathes of the province in a toxic haze. 

On Wednesday, Lahore, the capital of Punjab, was listed as the world’s sixth most polluted city by Swiss air monitor IQAir, and its PM2.5 concentration, which comprises air particles that damage lungs, was 20.5 times the World Health Organization annual guideline value. The province had closed down schools and offices for days last month, banned outdoor activities and shortened timings for restaurants, shops and markets in a bid to control smog.

“Agreement reached to develop an advanced air quality management system in Punjab with China’s collaboration,” the ruling PML-N party in Punjab said in an X post after Sharif met Chinese environment authorities. “Decision to establish the ‘Beijing-Punjab Clean Air Joint Working Group’ has been made.”

The officials also discussed wildlife conservation and plantation projects, with Sharif saying Punjab would leverage China’s expertise and experience in implementing an e-transport system in the province.

China has taken significant steps to combat its worsening air quality, declaring a “war on pollution” in 2015. Key measures include reducing coal consumption, increasing renewable energy capacity, and improving air quality monitoring systems. 

However, researchers said last month China’s emissions of carbon dioxide were on course to rise slightly this year, despite rapid progress on renewables and electric vehicles, putting a key 2025 climate target further out of reach.

China wants to cut the amount of CO2 it produces per unit of economic growth by 18 percent over the 2021-2025 period, but it fell further behind this year as a result of rising energy demand, said the Helsinki-based Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) in its annual assessment.

Topics: Pakistan China Ties Lahore Smog chief minister maryam nawaz sharif

Pakistan announces joint body on transit trade with Tajikistan amid Central Asia investment push

Updated 11 December 2024
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Pakistan announces joint body on transit trade with Tajikistan amid Central Asia investment push

  • Pakistan wants to consolidate its role as a pivotal trade and transit hub for landlocked Central Asian republics
  • Tajikistan is Pakistan’s closest neighbor in Central Asia with narrow strip through Wakhan corridor separating them
Updated 11 December 2024
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: Power Minister Sardar Awais Leghari on Wednesday announced that Islamabad and Dushanbe had agreed to set up a joint coordination committee to address transit trade challenges, as Pakistan pushes to consolidate its role as a pivotal trade and transit hub connecting the landlocked Central Asian states with the rest of the world. 

In recent weeks, there has been a flurry of visits, investment talks and economic activity between officials from Pakistan and the Central Asian nations. Tajikistan is Pakistan’s closest neighbor in Central Asia with a narrow strip of 14km through the Wakhan corridor separating the two countries. 

On Wednesday, speaking at the seventh session of the Pakistan-Tajikistan Joint Commission in Islamabad along with Tajikistan Energy Minister Juma Daler Shofaqir, Leghari said both nations needed to explore “new avenues of cooperation” in commercial and economic fields.

“I’m pleased to note that both sides have agreed to create a joint coordination committee on transit trade under the Tajikistan-Pakistan trade transit agreement, which will play a pivotal role in addressing operational challenges and ensuring the smooth implementation of transit trade provisions,” Leghari said. 

He hoped deliberations of the joint commission would aid in preparing “concrete” recommendations to advance further growth in the fields of trade, energy, agriculture and education as well as the industrial sector.

Leghari also called for a “plan of action” to raise the current volume of trade through more trade activities and the removal of barriers. According to data published by Tajik Customs, during 2023 (Jan-Dec), the volume of bilateral trade between Pakistan and Tajikistan stood at $52.73 million, an increase of 62.3 percent in comparison with the previous year.

“I want to emphasize the significance of extending our regional connectivity and welcome Tajikistan to avail all trade corridors from Dushanbe to Gwadar and Karachi under the Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation program and other multi-model transnational trade corridors,” Leghari added.

He said proximity between Pakistan and Tajikistan through the Wakhan corridor presented an “excellent opportunity” to establish direct connectivity.

Leghari also spoke about the significance of the $1.2 billion Central Asia-South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (CASA-1000) project, that aims to bring 1,300 megawatts of surplus electricity from Central Asia to high-demand electricity markets in South Asia. This project involves the construction of a 1,227km-long cross-border transmission line that will connect Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan 

“I sincerely hope that the remaining work can be expedited to fully realize the potential of this vital energy cooperation ensuring mutual benefits in the power sector,” the Pakistani minister said.

Topics: Pakistan Tajikistan Ties

Pakistan, China hold three-week-long joint war exercise

Updated 11 December 2024
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Pakistan, China hold three-week-long joint war exercise

  • China is pushing to join Pakistani security efforts to protect its citizens, last month unveiled plan for joint counterterror exercises
  • Warrior-VIII exercise between Pakistan Army and Peoples’ Liberation Army of China held from Nov. 19 to Dec. 11 in Pakistan
Updated 11 December 2024
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan army said on Wednesday it had held a joint war exercise with China from Nov. 19 to Dec. 11 amid a push for deeper security ties between Islamabad and Beijing. 

Following a string of deadly attacks that targeted its citizens in recent months, China has pushed to join Pakistani security efforts to protect them, and last month unveiled a plan for joint counter-terrorism exercises in Pakistan.

The exercise, which both the sides called Warrior-VIII between the Pakistan Army and Peoples’ Liberation Army of China, was launched at a northwestern Pakistani counter-terrorism facility, a Pakistani army statement said last month, adding that the exercise was aimed at “refining professional skills through joint training, besides harnessing (our) historic military-to-military relations.”

In a statement released on Wednesday, Pakistan said the exercise concluded today, Wednesday. 

“Pak-China Joint Exercise Warrior-VIII between Pakistan Army and Peoples Liberation Army of China was conducted from 19 November to 11 December 2024,” the army’s media wing said. 

“Three weeks’ long Exercise in Counter Terrorism domain is 8th in the series of bilateral exercises being held annually.”

Attacks on Chinese nationals have put the bilateral relations between both states under increasing stress, with Chinese officials breaking from diplomatic norms in recent months and publicly calling on Islamabad to provide better security. 

Media reports in recent weeks have also widely speculated that Beijing has said it will not continue with projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $65 billion investment in President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, unless Pakistan can guarantee security. 

Topics: Pakistan China Ties

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