ISLAMABAD: More than 41,000 Pakistani Hajj pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia on 170 flights since the government started transporting people aspiring to perform the annual pilgrimage earlier this month, said a statement released by the religious affairs ministry on Thursday.
This year, the Pakistani Hajj Mission in the kingdom expects to host 70,105 people under the government scheme and more than 80,000 facilitated by private companies
“As of today, 41,477 government Hajj pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia on 170 flights,” the ministry said in its statement. “In the next ten days, an additional 28,628 government Hajj pilgrims will reach Makkah.”
It informed that more than 10,500 pilgrims had already arrived in the kingdom under the private Hajj scheme, adding that all pilgrims that first went to Madinah would reach Makkah by June 1.
“The Pak Hajj mobile app, two toll-free helplines, and four WhatsApp numbers are being used to address the complaints of Hajj pilgrims,” the ministry said.
“282 doctors and medical staff are providing medical facilities through two central hospitals and a dozen dispensaries,” it added.
It also said 454 food-related, 1,123 residential and 264 transport complaints had been resolved by the mission in the last 20 days.
Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, and requires every adult Muslim to undertake the journey to the holy Islamic sites in Makkah at least once in their lifetime, if they are financially and physically able.
Pakistan began its Hajj flight operation on May 9, which will continue till June 9.
This year’s pilgrimage is expected to run from June 14 till June 19.
Over 41,000 Pakistani Hajj pilgrims arrive in Saudi Arabia via 170 flights
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Over 41,000 Pakistani Hajj pilgrims arrive in Saudi Arabia via 170 flights
- Pakistan is using a mobile app, toll-free helplines and WhatsApp numbers to address pilgrims’ complaints
- Nearly 280 doctors, medical staff are helping pilgrims at two central hospitals and a dozen dispensaries
Imran Khan announces ‘Black Day,’ protests on Feb. 8 anniversary of Pakistan general elections
- Khan calls on KP Chief Minister Gandapur to lead supporters in Peshawar for protest gathering on Feb. 8
- Khan’s Pakistan Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party says last year’s vote was rigged, which election commission denies
ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan on Sunday called on his supporters nationwide to mark Feb. 8 as a “Black Day” and hold protests on the one-year anniversary of last year’s general election that the jailed leader’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party says were rigged.
The national polls on Feb. 8, 2024, were marred by a countrywide shutdown of cellphone networks and delayed results, leading to widespread allegations of election manipulation by the PTI and other opposition parties. The caretaker government and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) deny the charges. The US House of Representatives, as well as European countries, have called on Islamabad to open a probe into the allegations — a move that Pakistan has thus far rejected.
Khan’s PTI candidates contested the Feb. 8 elections as independents after the party was barred from the polls. They won the most seats but fell short of the majority needed to form a government, which was made by a smattering of rival political parties led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
“We will observe February 8th as a Black Day nationwide,” Khan wrote on social media platform X. “On this day, the mandate of the Pakistani people was blatantly stolen.”
The former prime minister directed Ali Amin Gandapur, the chief minister of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where the PTI is in power, to lead caravans from across the province for a public gathering in Peshawar, the provincial capital, on Feb. 8.
“I also instruct the legal community, including the Insaf Lawyers Forum and other (PTI) wings, to observe this day with vigorous protests,” he added. “Legislators, party officials and people from all walks of life must commemorate this attack on democracy as a Black Day.”
Khan was ousted from power in 2022 after what is widely believed to be a falling out with the country’s powerful top generals. The army denies it interferes in politics.
He has been in prison since August 2023 and faces a slew of legal challenges that ruled him out of the Feb. 8 general elections and which he says are politically motivated to keep him and his party away from power. Khan has either been acquitted or his sentences have been suspended in most cases. However, in the latest blow, Khan was handed a 14-year jail sentence in a land corruption case last week.
Another pending case against Khan relates to charges of inciting supporters to attack military facilities to protest against his arrest on May 9, 2023.
His party is accused of leading several other violent protest rallies since the May 9 riots.
All cases against Khan have been tried inside prison, away from the public or media eye, on security grounds.
The sentence in the land bribery case is a setback to nascent talks between the PTI and the government aimed at cooling political instability in the South Asian nation.
Pakistan’s exports to Europe surge to $3.8 billion in first five months of current fiscal year
- Growth in exports driven by textile, leather, garments, sports goods and surgical instruments sectors, says state media
- European Union (EU) is Pakistan’s second most important trading partner, accounting for over 14 percent of Pakistan’s total trade
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s exports to Europe have surged to $3.8 billion in the first five months of the current fiscal year, state-run media reported on Monday, marking an increase of 8.62 percent compared to the same period last year.
The European Union (EU) is Pakistan’s second most important trading partner, accounting for over 14 percent of Pakistan’s total trade and absorbing 28 percent of Pakistan’s total exports. Pakistani exports to the EU are dominated mostly by textiles and clothing.
Pakistan avails the Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP)+ status, a special trade arrangement offered by the EU to developing economies in return for their commitment to implement 27 international conventions on human rights, environmental protection and governance.
The current GSP framework came to an end in December 2023 but Members of EU Parliament (MEPs) voted in October to extend the current rules on the scheme for another four years for developing countries, including Pakistan.
“Pakistan’s exports to Europe surged to 3.8 billion dollars, reflecting an 8.62 percent increase in the first five months of current fiscal year,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
It said the growth in exports was driven by the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), a Pakistani hybrid civil-military body, in the sectors of textiles, leather, garments, sports goods and surgical instruments.
Pakistan’s government formed the SIFC in June 2023 to promote business opportunities in various sectors such as agriculture, mining, information technology and defense, and attract foreign investment.
The SIFC has targeted mainly Gulf countries in its attempt to revitalize Pakistan’s economy and ensure it heads toward sustainable growth in the years to come. The council was set up in 2023 as Pakistan faced tough economic challenges amid dwindling forex reserves and a rapidly depreciating national currency.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has repeatedly stressed the importance of shifting Pakistan’s economy from an import-dependent one toward an export-led one, saying that without it sustainable economic growth is difficult to achieve.
In recent months, Pakistan has vigorously pursued economic and investment deals with Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and bilateral trade cooperation with Central Asian states, Russia and others.
South Sudan lawmakers to arrive in Islamabad today to enhance parliamentary ties, bilateral cooperation
- South Sudanese lawmakers to meet prominent political figures, government leaders during three-day visit
- Delegation arrives at a time of conflict and turmoil in Sudan, where a 20-month war has killed over 24,000
ISLAMABAD: A delegation of South Sudan’s legislative assembly is arriving in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad today, Monday, on a three-day visit to boost bilateral relations and parliamentary ties with Pakistan, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
The delegation will be headed by Nathaniel Oyet Pierino, the first deputy speaker of the South Sudan parliament. Pierino is visiting Pakistan on the invitation of Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq to enhance parliamentary diplomacy, Radio Pakistan said.
“These meetings will focus on fostering closer parliamentary cooperation, addressing mutual interests, and expanding the scope of bilateral relations across various sectors,” the state media reported.
The South Sudanese delegation will engage in a series of important meetings with Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Deputy Speaker Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah and Deputy Chairman of the Senate Syedaal Khan.
The Sudanese delegation will meet prominent political figures and government leaders to further solidify ties between the two nations, Radio Pakistan added.
The delegation arrives at a time when the African region is engulfed in turmoil as a civil war between a paramilitary group in Sudan and the country’s army rages on. The 20-month war has killed over 24,000 and driven over 14 million people from their homes, according to the UN.
An estimated 3.2 million Sudanese have crossed into neighboring countries, including Chad, Egypt and South Sudan, to escape the horrors of the conflict.
Pakistan has repeatedly called on the international community to support efforts for a ceasefire in the African country and urged both warring parties to desist from further bloodshed in the country.
Pakistan says progress on resettling Afghans in Western countries remains ‘painfully slow’
- Thousands of Afghans who helped American troops and diplomats during Afghan war await resettlement in US
- Pakistan says would have been “more appropriate” if world did not abandon the Afghan people after the war
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office has said that progress on the cases of thousands of Afghans seeking resettlement in Western countries remains “painfully slow,” insisting that it was only repatriating Afghan nationals who were residing illegally in Pakistan.
Thousands of Afghan locals put themselves in danger to serve alongside US troops, diplomats, and contractors during the war in Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001, attacks. These individuals provided linguistic, cultural and geographic knowledge to the United States at great personal risk to themselves and their families.
Since 2006, the American Congress has established several Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) programs that allow eligible applicants to resettle to safety in the US. After the fall of Kabul in August 2021, thousands of Afghans who had filed such refugee resettlement applications entered neighboring Pakistan, but remain trapped in legal limbo, while facing persistent threats for their collaboration with the US.
In 2023, Islamabad began a drive to expel what it said were all undocumented foreigners, a campaign that has disproportionately hit Afghans, with reportedly 800,000 repatriated so far. Afghan rights activists and applicants of SIVs have said the deportation drive has also forcibly repatriated scores of Afghans awaiting resettlement in the United States, which Islamabad denies.
Pakistan has consistently called on Western countries to expedite the approval and visa issuance of Afghan nationals that are currently in Pakistan but awaiting to be resettled in the West.
“Progress on the cases of thousands of Afghan nationals who were promised resettlement in Western countries remains painfully slow,” Pakistan’s foreign office wrote on social media platform X on Sunday.
It was responding to Jan England, the secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, who had highlighted the plight of Afghan refugees being repatriated from Pakistan and Iran.
The foreign office pointed out that Pakistan had hosted over four million Afghan refugees that had escaped their war-torn country for the past 40 years, adding that those being sent back were those that were “residing illegally without any documentation or proof of residence.”
“It would have been more appropriate had the world not abandoned the Afghan people after the war and if conducive socioeconomic conditions had been created inside the country for the Afghan people to prosper,” the foreign office said. It said that the United Nations’ humanitarian aid to Afghanistan remains “critically underfunded” with only 37.5 percent of the required funds secured last year.
“Pakistan has been and will continue to support all efforts aimed at addressing the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan as well as for lasting peace and stability in the country,” the foreign office concluded.
PAKISTAN’S DEPORTATION DRIVE
Pakistan launched the deportation drive in October 2023 after a spike in suicide bombings which the Pakistan government, without providing evidence, said were carried out by Afghan nationals. Islamabad has also blamed them for smuggling, militant violence and other crimes.
A cash-strapped Pakistan navigating record inflation, alongside a tough International Monetary Fund bailout program in 2023, had also said undocumented migrants had drained its resources for decades.
Until the government initiated the expulsion drive, Pakistan was home to over four million Afghan migrants and refugees out of which around 1.7 million were undocumented, as per government figures.
Afghans make up the largest portion of migrants, many of whom came after the Taliban took over Kabul in 2021, but a large number have been present since the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Islamabad insists the deportation drive is not aimed specifically at Afghans but at all those living illegally in Pakistan.
Gwadar airport in southwestern Pakistan kicks off operations as first flight lands
- Opening of Chinese-funded airport was delayed due to security reasons after militant attacks in August last year
- New airport to play pivotal role in connecting Pakistan to global markets, facilitating trade, says airports authority
KARACHI: Pakistan’s new Gwadar International Airport began operations on Monday after a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight arrived from the southern port city of Karachi, the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said, following a months-long delay in the opening of the airport.
A security review, prompted by deadly attacks by separatist militants in the southwestern Balochistan province in August last year, had delayed the airport’s opening to the end of 2024. The airport was due to begin operations on Jan. 10 but it was once again postponed.
The $246-million Chinese-funded project, which will handle both domestic and international flights, is expected to become one of Pakistan’s largest airports, according to the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA).
“Pakistan achieved a landmark moment in its aviation history on Monday as the first commercial flight successfully landed at the New Gwadar International Airport,” the PAA said in a statement.
It said PIA flight PK-503, departed from Karachi at 9:50 am and touched down at the state-of-the-art airport at 11:15 am, carrying 46 passengers. In a video shared by the PAA, the PIA flight was seen receiving a traditional water salute by water bowsers as it landed.
Defense and Aviation Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, who was the chief guest, was joined by Governor Balochistan Jafar Khan Mandokhel and Chief Minister Sarfaraz Ahmad Bugti to welcome the flight and its passengers.
“Addressing the gathering, Minister Khawaja Asif emphasized the strategic importance of the New Gwadar International Airport in driving economic growth, fostering regional tourism, and strengthening international connectivity,” the PAA said.
China has pledged over $65 billion in infrastructure, energy and other projects in Pakistan under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Part of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, the program in Pakistan is also developing a deep-water port close to the new Gwadar airport, a joint venture between Pakistan, Oman and China that is close to completion.
Last month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office said the Gwadar airport would be able to handle A-380 aircraft and capable of accommodating 4 million passengers annually.
The airport features various facilities, including cold storage, cargo sheds, hotels and shopping malls, with banking services arranged through the State Bank of Pakistan, according to the PM’s office. PIA also planned to increase flights between Karachi and Gwadar to three times a week, while discussions were ongoing with private airlines and carriers from China, Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to launch both domestic and international services.
“The New Gwadar International Airport is poised to play a pivotal role in connecting Pakistan to global markets and facilitating trade, tourism, and economic development,” the PAA said.
Although no Chinese projects were targeted in militant attacks in August, they have been frequently attacked in the past by separatists who view China as a foreign invader trying to gain control of impoverished but mineral-rich Balochistan, the site of a decades-long insurgency.
Recent attacks, including the one in October 2024 in which two Chinese workers were killed in a suicide bombing in Karachi, forced Beijing to publicly criticize Pakistan over security lapses and there had been widespread media reports that China wanted its own security forces on the ground to protect its nationals and projects, a demand Islamabad has long resisted.
