ISLAMABAD: Pakistan hopes that the new Indian government would take steps for the advancement of peace in the region and the resolution of Kashmir dispute, the Pakistani Foreign Office said on Friday.
The development came as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was formally elected as the leader of the National Democratic Alliance coalition, which won the most number of seats in the country’s national election after his political party failed to win a majority on its own.
Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has governed India as part of the NDA coalition over the past decade, but this is the first time under his leadership that the party has needed support from its regional allies to form a government. Modi, who will be sworn in as PM on Sunday for a rare third term, will now form a coalition government.
Modi’s government canceled the limited autonomy Kashmir had under India’s constitution in 2019, a move accompanied by a huge security clampdown, mass arrests of local political leaders and a months-long telecommunications blackout.
Speaking at a press briefing on Friday, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan always desired cooperative relations with all its neighbors, including India, and consistently advocated constructive dialogue and engagement to resolve Kashmir and all outstanding issues.
“We want peace and stability in the region and Pakistan has been acting in a responsible manner, notwithstanding the difficulties and rhetoric coming from India,” she said.
“We hope that India will take steps to create a conducive environment for advancement of peace and dialogue and resolution of long-standing dispute for the mutual benefit of the peoples of Pakistan and India.”
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947. Both claim it in full and have fought two wars over control of the Himalayan region.
Separatist groups opposed to Indian rule have waged an insurgency since 1989 on the side of the frontier controlled by New Delhi, demanding either independence or a merger with Pakistan.
The conflict has killed tens of thousands of soldiers, separatists and civilians in the decades since, including a spate of firefights between suspected militants and security forces in the past month. India accuses Pakistan of supporting the separatists, a charge denied by Islamabad.
Baloch said India’s revocation of the semi-autonomous status of the territory it controls had “vitiated” the bilateral environment. “In any case, Pakistan believes in peaceful coexistence,” she added.
Pakistan hopes new Indian government will take steps for peace, resolution of Kashmir dispute
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Pakistan hopes new Indian government will take steps for peace, resolution of Kashmir dispute
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- The development comes a day before Narendra Modi is expected to be sworn in as Indian premier for a rare third term
- Modi’s government canceled limited autonomy of Indian-administered Kashmir in 2019, deteriorating ties with Pakistan
‘Colonizer to colonized’: Pakistani photographer travels from London to Quetta ‘without flying’
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- Danial Shah’s 58-day-journey brought him home to Quetta via trains, ferries, buses and taxis at a cost of $2,509
- Historic Quetta-London Road was once a popular route for international tourists and considered a ‘gateway’ to Europe
QUETTA: Earlier this year, Danial Shah, a Pakistani photographer and filmmaker currently pursuing a doctorate in visual and performing arts in Brussels, got an idea: to travel from the land of the colonizer, Britain, which had ruled the Indian subcontinent from 1858 to 1947, to the land that was colonized, present day Pakistan — but without flying.
Thus began a journey that took him from London to the southwestern Pakistani town of Quetta, the city of his birth, via trains, ferries, buses and taxis at a cost of $2,509.
“I wanted to start my journey from London, the reason is that Britain ruled our country for a long time, colonized us and it is Britain that gives us [Pakistanis] visas with great difficulty,” Shah, a 35-year-old documentary filmmaker and photographer, told Arab News in an interview in Quetta.
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“So I thought if I get a visa, I will start my journey from the place where the colonizer lives and reach the place which they colonized.”
Spending his early childhood in Quetta, Shah was always thrilled by the stories of foreign travelers who frequented the area and often arrived using what was dubbed the historic Quetta-London Road, once a popular route for international tourists and considered a ‘gateway’ to Europe.
“I often used to see foreigners here and when you asked someone their story, they would say, ‘We have come from Germany, from London, traveling through Turkiye and Iran’,” Shah said. “So, when I found time, I thought I should go on this journey also.”
![](https://www.arabnews.pk/sites/default/files/pictures/September/3913761/2024/danial_shah_road_map.jpg)
Frequent public commuting through the Quetta-London route, stretching over thousands of miles, began after the end of World War I and people even used it to travel to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj, according to Dr. Irfan Ahmed Baig, a Quetta-based historian and author of the Urdu-language book ‘Quetta My City.’ European tourists choose the route to enter Turkiye via Greece and continued onwards to the Middle East and Asia. The route was diverted to Central Asia from Afghanistan, from where to leads to India and Bangladesh via Pakistan.
“A Quetta-London bound bus service was started in the 1950 but it was suspended due to unknown reasons,” Baig told Arab News. “During the Soviet Union’s incursion on Afghanistan, tourist movement through this route declined due to security reasons.”
Shah’s journey through a stretch of the route also did not come without difficulty as he faced strict border security checks on account of holding a Pakistani passport, considered one of the weakest travel documents according to global rankings, and amid fears about human smuggling and illegal migration.
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“At various border crossing points, I was the only one off-boarded from buses and questioned by border security forces,” he said.
But he powered on and the journey that began in London on July 3 took him through Europe, the Balkans and the Middle East, to Pakistan’s Balochistan province on August 21.
“From London, I traveled to France. From France, I went to Italy, where I took a boat to Croatia. From Croatia, I went to Serbia, Serbia to Bosnia, and from Bosnia to Montenegro, Albania,” the University of Antwerp student said.
“From Albania, I entered Greece. Then I took a boat from Greece to Turkiye and from Turkiye I took a bus to Iran. From Iran I traveled through buses and taxis and reached Pakistan.”
He said he was grateful for the people he met along the way and the hospitality and warmth he was offered.
“I enjoyed Bosnia the most, followed by Albania, and then Turkiye and Iran, because their manner of hospitality is similar to our Quetta,” Shah said.
His next plan is to save up for journeys to ever new countries and cultures.
![](https://www.arabnews.pk/sites/default/files/pictures/September/3913761/2024/danial_shah_in_iran.jpg)
“I wish to plan a year-long journey after saving some money to see more countries and additional stay,” Shah said, “because I met many people who were on the same route but traveling to Central Asia via Iran and Afghanistan to Vietnam.”
Pakistan deputy PM calls PIA flight restoration ‘major priority’ in talks with UK officials
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- Ishaq Dar says the government will start receiving bids for PIA privatization from October 1
- Deputy PM tells the media his five-day visit to London as ‘potentially very useful’ for Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday described restoring Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights to the United Kingdom and other European countries as a “major priority,” saying that he raised the issue with British officials during his five-day visit to London, which he called beneficial for the country.
The suspension of PIA flights to the UK and Europe followed a 2020 plane crash in Karachi that killed 97 people. This was compounded by a controversial statement from Ghulam Sarwar Khan, the aviation minister in former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s administration, who asserted that a significant number of Pakistani pilots held fake licenses, leading to the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) ban on PIA.
Since then, the airline has undergone multiple audits to address safety and operational concerns in hopes of restoring international routes.
Addressing a news conference in London, Dar criticized the former aviation minister’s “irresponsible statement,” saying Pakistan had since made every effort to resume PIA flights.
“I told the [British] deputy prime minister [Angela Rayner] that it is a serious matter for our community and diaspora,” he said during the media interaction at the Pakistan High Commission. “It is a major priority. So, we will continue to engage and will not sit and relax until as long as this thing is done.”
Dar noted that while restoring flights to Britain and Europe was important, advancing the privatization process of the national airline was equally vital.
“We will start receiving the first round of bids for PIA [privatization] on October 1,” he said, adding the government was also outsourcing Islamabad airport operations, with bids expected next month.
He further emphasized that his visit to Britain had been highly productive.
“I believe that my visit was extensive, busy and potentially very useful for Pakistan,” he said.
This was Pakistani deputy prime minister’s first visit to Britain following the change of government in the UK, where the Labour Party won the general elections in July and returning to power after 14 years.
Ex-PM Khan party holds rally in Islamabad today to press for his release
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- Khan, who has been in jail since August, has waged an unprecedented campaign of defiance against Pakistan’s military since his ouster in April 2022
- His PTI party has struggled to hold rallies across Pakistan and says it has been facing a state-backed crackdown, an allegation denied by authorities
ISLAMABAD: Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party is holding a rally in Islamabad today, Sunday, to press authorities for the release of the ex-premier, who has been facing a slew of cases.
Khan, who has been in jail since August on charges of corruption, treason and attempting to incite a mutiny in the military, has waged an unprecedented campaign of defiance against Pakistan’s military since his ouster in a parliamentary no-trust vote in April 2022.
He has accused the then army leadership of orchestrating his ouster together with his political rivals as part of a United States-backed “foreign conspiracy.” The military, Khan’s rivals and Washington have repeatedly denied this.
His PTI party aims to mobilize the public for the release of the former cricket star who has a devoted following, but has struggled to hold rallies across the country. The party this week said it got permission for the rally in Islamabad, which was canceled twice in recent months.
“We are holding this rally as per the law and the constitution,” PTI member Aamir Dogar was quoted as saying by the party on X. “Efforts should not be made to prevent it.”
The party has also announced simultaneous protests outside the Pakistani embassy in London and in other parts of the world.
“Everyone must attend the all important protest tomorrow in London outside the Pakistan embassy,” Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari said on X. “It will be a historic turnout in Islamabad, London and world over. This is the beginning of our peaceful protests in Pakistan and world over. It’s a duty upon us to stand up.”
The PTI says it has been facing a state-backed crackdown and the mass arrest of its members and supporters for standing by Khan. Pakistani authorities deny the allegations.
The action against the PTI began after people carrying its party flags attacked and damaged government and military installations on May 9, 2023, after Khan’s brief arrest that day in a graft case.
Hundreds of PTI workers and leaders were arrested following the May 9 riots and many remain behind bars as they await trial. The military has also initiated trials of at least 103 people accused of involvement in the violence.
Khan recently made a “conditional” offer of talks to the army, if “clean and transparent” elections were held and the “bogus” cases against his supporters were dropped. The military, which has repeatedly said Khan and his party were behind the May 9 attacks, has ruled out any talks with him.
Bodies of three Pakistani climbers retrieved after nine years from Sarwali Peak in Azad Kashmir
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- The missing climbers, Imran Junaidi, Usman Khalid, and Khurram Shehzad, embarked on a journey to summit Sarwali Peak in Neelum district in August 2015
- The bodies of the missing climbers were spotted by two trekkers last month, after which a mission involving two dozen volunteers was launched on Sept. 3
KHAPLU: A team of Pakistani climbers and porters has retrieved bodies of three local mountaineers who had gone missing on 6,326-meter Sarwali Peak in Azad Kashmir nine years ago, an official and volunteers said on Saturday.
Sarwali Peak, also known as Dabbar Peak, in Azad Kashmir’s Neelum District is believed to be one of the few unconquered mountain peaks in the region, with no confirmed ascent till date.
The missing climbers, Imran Junaidi, Usman Khalid and Khurram Shehzad, had embarked on a journey to summit the Peak in August 2015, but went missing while attempting a push on the right saddle of the mountain.
A comprehensive search operation was launched on September 7, 2015 to locate the missing climbers, but no trace of them could be found.
“The bodies of all three missing climbers were spotted last month by two trekkers,” Akhtar Ayoub, in-charge of the Azad Kashmir State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) in Neelum district, told Arab News.
“A special rescue team was formed to retrieve the bodies and today, their bodies and remains were retrieved from the advance base camp side.”
Two dozen volunteers, including climbers, rescuers and porters, took part in the mission and brought down the bodies from a height of 16,000 feet, according to the official. The team departed on the mission on Sept. 3 and retrieved the bodies today, Saturday.
“We found the bodies near the advance base camp at the right saddle of the mountain,” Imran Arif, a member of the recovery team, told Arab News, adding that all three had been identified.
Arif said he and his fellow had spotted the bodies while trekking on the mountain on August 12.
“We preserved the bodies and came back to Kel Valley. Four days ago, we went for the rescue mission and today their dead bodies have been shifted to a hospital of Kel Valley,” he said.
“State Disaster Management Authority, district administration, Rescue 1122 and Alpine Club of Pakistan played a good role in this mission.”
Ikram Junaidi, bother of late climber Imran Junaidi, told Arab News they would now find a final resting place for his brother.
“Many attempts were made to find them in the past. But after nine years, we got news about the retrieval of dead bodies. Being a brother and a Muslim, it was our dream to offer funeral prayers for him. Now we will get a chance,” he said. “What matters is the quality of life instead of quantity. My brother went for expeditions on unclimbed peaks.”
Ikram said his mother had lost all hopes of finding Junaidi’s body, but she would now find solace in the fact that her son’s body had finally been recovered.
Pakistan says head coach to scout for cricketing talent in domestic event after dismal performances
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- Pakistan have been reeling after their first-ever Test series loss to Bangladesh this month, the latest in a string of poor performances
- The defeat came hard on the heels of chastening losses against Afghanistan and United States in the ODI and T20 World Cups respectively
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s head coach Gary Kirsten will be scouting for cricketing talent in the upcoming Champions Cup, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Saturday, following a series of dismal performances by the national side.
Pakistan have been left reeling after their first-ever Test series loss to Bangladesh this month, the latest in a string of poor performances which have seen the game hit rock bottom.
The cricket-mad nation was left in despair after losing the second Test in Rawalpindi by six wickets on Tuesday as Bangladesh swept the series 2-0. It was the 10th winless home Test in a row for former powerhouses Pakistan.
However, the PCB has set its sights on the inaugural Champions One-Day Cup, due to take place at Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad from September 12 to 29, to find new cricketing talent in the country.
“Pakistan’s white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten will be arriving on 12 September to witness the entire Champions One-Day Cup and it will surely be exciting for him to work in the domestic circuit in order to look into the young talent with an eye on the upcoming white-ball assignments in Australia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, followed by the home tri-national series and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025,” Nadeem Khan, a senior PCB official, was quoted as saying by the board.
“The Champions One-Day Cup will help us unearth future white-ball prospects for the Pakistan’s white-ball teams, also marking the start of the preparation for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Having the Champions Cup in September will allow us to give an extended opportunity to the top performers of this tournament in International cricket before the mega-event commences home.”
Team mentors of the five sides in the tournament include Misbah-ul-Haq (Wolves), Saqlain Mushtaq (Panthers), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Dolphins), Shoaib Malik (Stallions) and Waqar Younis (Lions). The PCB also announced captains and provisional squads on Friday.
The tournament featuring top players from across the country will be a 50-over competition played on a single-league format. All matches will start at 3pm, except for the match between Lions and Panthers on September 16, which will begin at 9:30am.
Pakistan’s loss to Bangladesh came hard on the heels of chastening losses against Afghanistan and the USA in the ODI and T20 World Cups respectively.
Pakistan also have a dismal record in Tests at home in the past three years — six defeats and four draws, including England’s first-ever 3-0 series sweep there in 2022.
Ominously, in-form England are Pakistan’s next visitors and will play three Tests beginning in Multan on October 7.
Pakistan are not faring any better away from home and lost all three Tests in Australia earlier this year — their sixth successive whitewash there since 1999.
Analysts say frequent changes at the top of the PCB, which has had five chairmen in the past three years, have impeded progress. There have also been constant switches of captains and coaching staff while the domestic system of tournaments has had countless overhauls.
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi himself called for “surgery in the system” after the T20 World Cup exit.
“We need to fix our problems,” he said last month. “But when we look at how to resolve them, we don’t have any solid data or player pool which we can draw from.”
Ex-skipper Wasim Akram echoed Naqvi’s analysis.
“The quality of our cricket has gone down with no grassroots activity, so we do not have proper back-ups,” he said recently. “We have a lot to work on.”