ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s national air carrier announced a reduction in Umrah fares for pilgrims traveling to Madinah in a statement issued on Sunday, saying the discounted rates would be implemented immediately.
Thousands of Pakistanis travel to Saudi Arabia each month to visit the holy sites in Makkah and Madinah, making the kingdom a lucrative destination for the financially struggling Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
Earlier this month, PIA also disclosed plans to operate 171 flights to bring about 35,000 Hajj pilgrims back to Pakistan by July 21.
“PIA announces reduction in Umrah fares,” the airline announced in a statement. “Umrah pilgrims traveling from Pakistan to Madinah will benefit from discounted fares.”
“The round-trip Umrah fare from Karachi to Madinah will be Rs76,000 excluding taxes,” it continued. “From Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Multan and Sialkot to Madinah, the round-trip fare has been set at 86,000 excluding taxes.”
The statement added the facility to travel from Pakistan at discounted fares would remain effective until July 15.
PIA slashes Umrah fares to Madinah until July 15
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PIA slashes Umrah fares to Madinah until July 15
- The round-trip Umrah fare from Karachi to the Saudi holy city will be Rs76,000 without taxes
- Umrah pilgrims flying from other Pakistani airports will pay Rs86,000 excluding relevant taxes
Pakistani court grants bail to ex-PM Khan’s wife in land graft case— lawyer
- Former premier, wife charged with receiving land worth millions of dollars as bribe from real estate tycoon
- Despite bail, ex-PM Khan’s wife Bushra Wattoo will remain in prison due to her conviction in another case
ISLAMABAD: An accountability court in Pakistan’s Rawalpindi city on Tuesday granted pre-arrest bail to former prime minister Imran Khan’s wife in a corruption case, his lawyer confirmed, saying that no evidence had been found she had gained financial benefit from a trust.
Government officials allege Khan, 71, and his third wife Bushra Wattoo received land worth millions of dollars as a bribe from a real estate tycoon Malik Riaz Hussain through the Al-Qadir Trust, a non-governmental welfare organization set up by Wattoo and Khan in 2018 when he was still in office.
The trust runs a university outside Islamabad devoted to spirituality and Islamic teachings, a project inspired by the former first lady, who is also commonly known as Bushra Bibi and has a reputation as a spiritual healer.
“NAB court confirmed pre-arrest bail of Bushra Bibi today in Al Qadir Trust 190 million pounds case,” Barrister Salman Safdar, Khan’s lawyer, wrote on social media platform X.
“There was no evidence of financial gain; benefitting in any manner from the trust.”
Khan was briefly arrested on May 9 in connection with the case, with riots breaking out throughout the country that saw military and government installations attacked. The former prime minister was released shortly but was arrested in August in a separate case related to the sale of state gifts illegally.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Pakistan’s corruption watchdog, filed a reference against Khan in December 2023 in the case. In February this year, the former prime minister and Wattoo were indicted by an accountability court.
Despite the bail, however, Wattoo will stay in prison as she is also serving a sentence in another case, where a trial court declared her marriage to Khan in 2018 as unlawful.
Local media reports said the prosecution presented three more witnesses in court during Tuesday’s hearing in the case, who were cross-examined by defense lawyers. The court summoned other witnesses in the next hearing, which was adjourned till July 5.
Khan, who is the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, has been in jail since last August and was convicted in some cases ahead of a national election in February. He is also fighting dozens of other cases which are continuing. Khan and his party say the charges were politically motivated to thwart his return to power.
In recent months, Pakistani courts have suspended Khan’s jail sentences in two cases about the illegal acquisition and sale of state gifts and also overturned his conviction on charges of leaking state secrets.
However, he has remained in prison due to the unlawful marriage case conviction. Khan also faces a trial under anti-terrorism charges in connection with the May 9 violence.
With input from Reuters
UAE aviation team begins four-day security assessment of Karachi airport
- Assessment is part of efforts between two countries to enhance aviation security standards in Pakistan
- Several airlines provide significant connectivity for travelers between the UAE and Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: A team of the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) on Tuesday kicked off a four-day security assessment of the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, with the exercises aimed at improving the aviation security standards in the South Asian country.
The GCAA’s team last week reviewed aviation security measures at the Islamabad International Airport in Pakistan’s capital. The two-member GCAA delegation led by Abdullah Al Kaabi, senior director of Avsec Affairs, arrived in Karachi on Tuesday for the four-day assessment, the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) said in a statement.
“Over the next four days, the team will be inspecting the implementation of various security measures at the airport, with a specific focus on measures for flights to the UAE,” the PCAA said.
The PCAA said the assessment is part of ongoing collaborative efforts between the GCAA and the PCAA to enhance aviation security standards in Pakistan.
Pakistan and the UAE enjoy decades-old fraternal relations. Several airlines operate multiple flights per day connecting Pakistan’s major cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar to the UAE’s Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Dubai.
Pakistan PM forms high-level committee to tackle potential monsoon emergencies
- Pakistan’s disaster management agency says country will receive heavy rains in first two weeks of July
- PM Sharif stresses providing timely information on monsoon to people living in risk-prone areas
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formed a high-level committee on Tuesday to handle potential emergencies during the upcoming monsoon season in Pakistan, state media reported, as the South Asian country braces for heavy downpours this month.
Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) last week warned the country is expected to receive heavy monsoon rains in July, particularly in Sindh and Punjab provinces, which it said could face an “emergency” situation.
Pakistan is recognized as one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change effects in the world. Unusually heavy rains in June 2022 triggered flash floods in many parts of the country, killing over 1,700 people, inflicting losses of around $30 billion, and affecting at least 30 million people.
“Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday formed a high-level committee to handle potential emergencies during the upcoming monsoon season,” the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said.
The prime minister was chairing a review meeting to address the monsoon forecast and its potential emergencies, APP said, adding that it was attended by federal ministers, all chief executives of Pakistan’s four provinces, and Chairman NDMA Lt. Gen. Inam Haider Malik.
Sharif emphasized integrating advanced monsoon information into national broadcasts, stressing the importance of regular dissemination of weather updates to farmers and people living in areas vulnerable to floods.
He emphasized that farmers and residents living near rivers and canals should be updated daily through the media and other information sources.
“He instructed all relevant institutions to remain on high alert during the monsoon and directed the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to support all provincial governments and related agencies,” APP stated.
The NDMA briefed the prime minister that all four provinces are expected to receive heavy rains in the first and second weeks of July.
“The forum was informed that this year’s monsoon rains in Pakistan will move from the southeast to the north,” APP said. “Rainfall is expected in the Potohar region and the eastern part of Punjab during the first week of July.”
Heavy rains in Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Gujranwala, Lahore, and Faisalabad, with scattered rainfall anticipated in Bahawalpur, Multan, Sahiwal, and Dera Ghazi Khan divisions are expected in the second week of July, the NDMA said.
It said that a flood-like situation is expected in Sutlej, Chenab, and Ravi rivers during the first two weeks of August. The NDMA said it had finalized preparations for relocation and emergency response in the areas surrounding these rivers.
“In Sindh, Karachi, Mirpur Khas, Nawabshah, Sukkur, and Hyderabad are expected to experience heavy rains in the second and fourth weeks of July,” APP said. “Additionally, monsoon showers are forecasted for Tharparkar, Badin, Thatta, and Umarkot in the third week of August.”
The NDMA said heavy rains are expected in Hazara, Malakand, Mardan, Peshawar, Kohat, Bannu, and Dera Ismail Khan in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province during July. Monsoon rains in the province are expected to persist until the third week of August.
Meanwhile, heavy rains have been forecast in Balochistan’s border areas located alongside Sindh’s coastal belt during the second and fourth weeks of July, and first two weeks of August.
“Additionally, significant rainfall is expected in Lasbela, Armada, Khuzdar, Barkhan, Sibi, and Zhob in the third week of August,” the state media reported.
The NDMA said “adequate stocks” of boats, tents, drainage pumps, medicines, and other essential items were available for people in areas prone to rain-related disasters, adding that preparations for the monsoon started in January with emergency response exercises ongoing since March.
Sharif was told that rescue agencies, Provincial Disaster Management Authorities (PDMAs), Pakistan Army troops and the NDMA remain on high alert in risk-prone areas. NDMA said it has launched a mobile phone application for monsoon alerts, weather conditions, and advance information.
“It was explained that a National Monsoon Contingency Plan has been drafted and distributed to relevant institutions and provincial governments to manage any monsoon-related emergency situations,” APP said.
Pakistan says Imran Khan’s arrest ‘internal matter’ after UN report calling for release
- UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said in an opinion issued on Monday Khan’s detention was ‘arbitrary’
- Khan has been in jail since last August and was convicted in number of cases ahead of general elections in February
KARACHI: Pakistan’s law ministry said on Tuesday former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s legal challenges were an “internal matter” after a UN human rights group declared the ex-premier’s detention arbitrary and in violation of international law.
The Geneva-based UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said in an opinion issued on Monday that the “appropriate remedy would be to release Mr. Khan immediately and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law.”
Khan, who is the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, has been in jail since last August and was convicted in some cases ahead of a national election in February. He is also fighting dozens of other cases which are continuing. Khan and his party say the charges were politically motivated to thwart his return to power.
“The arrest of founder PTI and the pending cases as an internal matter of Pakistan,” law minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said in a statement. “As a sovereign state in Pakistan, the constitution and prevailing laws are enforced by the courts.”
In recent months, Pakistani courts have suspended Khan’s jail sentences in two cases about the illegal acquisition and sale of state gifts, and also overturned his conviction on charges of leaking state secrets.
However, he has remained in prison due to a conviction in another case in which a trial court ruled that his 2018 marriage was unlawful. Khan also faces a trial under anti-terrorism charges in connection with violence in May last year.
“Founder PTI has all rights as per national constitution and law and international norms, he is in jail as a convicted prisoner,” Tarar’s statement said. “Relief to founder PTI in many cases is a reflection of a transparent and fair trial and judicial system. Any demand beyond the constitution, law and international norms will be called discriminatory, biased and unfair.”
Khan came to power in 2018 and was ousted in 2022 after what is widely believed to be a falling out with Pakistan’s powerful military. He alleged the US orchestrated his ouster in cahoots with the Pakistani military and his political rivals through a parliamentary no-confidence vote. All three deny the accusations.
Multiple legal cases were brought against Khan after he was ousted from the PM’s office and he was also disqualified as a candidate in February’s election.
Despite not running himself, candidates backed by Khan secured the highest number of seats, but the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) formed a fragile coalition government.
The US, Britain and the European Union expressed concern about reported irregularities in the elections and urged a probe while United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern about violence and the suspension of mobile communications services during the elections.
With inputs from Reuters
Pakistan PM commends ‘unwavering resolve’ of army as nine militants killed in anti-terror operations
Pakistan PM commends ‘unwavering resolve’ of army as nine militants killed in anti-terror operations
- Islamabad blames ongoing surge in militant attacks on Pakistani Taliban militants it says are operating from Afghanistan
- Afghan Taliban rulers in Kabul say violence in Pakistan is a domestic issue, it does not allow militants to operate on its territory
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday congratulated the army for military operations in which nine militants were killed in the country’s northwest, lauding soldiers for their “unwavering resolve” in fighting militancy.
The army said on Monday nine militants were killed in two separate military operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province amid a surge in militancy that Islamabad blames on neighboring Afghanistan, saying Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, leaders run camps there to train insurgents who launch attacks inside Pakistan. The Afghan Taliban rulers in Kabul say rising violence in Pakistan is a domestic issue for Islamabad and it does not allow militants to operate on its soil.
The TTP pledges allegiance to, and gets its name from, the Afghan Taliban, but is not directly a part of the group. Its stated aim is to impose Islamic religious law in Pakistan, as the Taliban have done in Afghanistan.
“The entire nation stands shoulder to shoulder with the valiant sons of Pakistan’s armed forces for purging the country from the scourge of terrorism,” Radio Pakistan quoted the prime minister as saying on Tuesday. “Unwavering resolve of the guardians of Pakistan for establishing peace in the country is highly commendable.”
Pakistani forces were able to effectively dismantle the TTP and kill most of its top leadership in a string of military operations from 2014 onwards in the country’s tribal areas, driving most of the fighters across the border into Afghanistan, where Islamabad says they have regrouped. Kabul denies this.
Last month, the federal government announced it would launch a new counter-terrorism operation, Azm-e-Istehkam, but the campaign has so far been opposed by opposition parties.
