ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday called for the early completion of two major hydropower projects in the country with the assistance of Chinese engineers while emphasizing their “foolproof security.”
Sharif presided over a meeting in Islamabad to review the implementation of agreements and memoranda of understanding signed during his visit to China last month, aimed at enhancing collaboration in various fields, including business, agriculture, information technology, mining and energy.
During his five-day stay in China, he interacted with representatives of various firms and held meetings with top political leadership, highlighting Pakistan’s gradually improving macroeconomic situation while seeking business collaboration and increased investment.
Days after his return to Pakistan, however, a visiting Chinese official in Islamabad mentioned the country’s internal security deficit, describing it as a major challenge undermining the confidence of Chinese investors.
“The prime minister instructed WAPDA [Water and Power Development Authority] to establish safe centers to ensure foolproof security for Chinese nationals working on the Dasu and Diamer Bhasha projects,” said a statement released by his office, referring to two hydropower projects on the Indus River in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan regions.
“He also directed that these projects should be completed as soon as possible,” it added.
The prime minister said he would not tolerate any delay in the implementation of agreements with the Chinese authorities.
The meeting was told that a delegation of Chinese shoe manufacturing companies had visited Pakistan to discuss relocating their factories.
The statement said there was a potential for an investment of up to $8 billion by these companies.
The meeting was also briefed by the information technology ministry about Huawei’s progress on technical training for 300,000 students, facilitating business through a one-stop operation, and developments in smart governance and smart city projects.
The prime minister said he would personally oversee the implementation of various projects agreed between the two countries.
Discussing the development of agriculture in Pakistan on advanced and technological lines, he said it was vital to send 1,000 students to China on government scholarships for advanced training.
“Students from all four provinces, including Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, will be sent to China based on merit, with special preference given to students from underprivileged areas of Balochistan,” he said.
“The process of sending students for advanced agricultural training to China should begin from the next academic semester,” he added.
The prime minister also directed to expedite the development of Gwadar port, airport and industrial zone to turn it into a hub of regional trade.
PM Sharif directs fast-tracking of hydropower projects, emphasizes ‘foolproof security’ for Chinese workers
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PM Sharif directs fast-tracking of hydropower projects, emphasizes ‘foolproof security’ for Chinese workers
- PM says he will not tolerate any delay in the implementation of agreements made during his China visit
- He instructs the authorities to expedite Gwadar’s development to turn it into a hub of regional trade
Pakistan says ‘deeply values’ cooperation with Afghanistan as ties sour over deportations, militancy
Pakistan says ‘deeply values’ cooperation with Afghanistan as ties sour over deportations, militancy
- Pakistan says Kabul not doing enough to tackle militant groups using Afghan territory to target Pakistan, which it denies
- Over 600,000 Afghans expelled since November last year when Islamabad launched deportation drive against illegal foreigners
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Federal Minister for States and Frontier Regions, Amir Muqam, on Friday discussed bilateral ties with Charge d’Affaires of Afghanistan, Sardar Ahmed Khan Shakib, and said Pakistan “deeply valued” its cooperation with the neighbor on addressing the issue of Afghan refugees.
Relations between Islamabad and Kabul have soured in recent months amid a surge in militant attacks that Pakistan blames on Afghanistan, saying its Taliban rulers were not doing enough to tackle militant groups using its territory to target Pakistan, which they deny.
The Pakistani Taliban have stepped up attacks against Pakistan security forces in recent months, with daily assaults on army and paramilitary posts and targeted killings of police and government officials.
“Pakistan deeply values its longstanding friendship and cooperation with Afghanistan particularly in addressing issues concerning Afghan refugees,” Radio Pakistan reported Muqam as telling Shakib who called on him in Islamabad.
The statement said Shakib thanked Pakistan for extending the deadline of UNHCR-issued Proof of Registration (PoR) cards for almost 1.5 million Afghan refugees for one year.
Islamabad launched a deportation drive last year against illegal foreigners residing in the country after a spate of 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 last year, had also said undocumented migrants had drained its resources for decades.
Until the government initiated the expulsion drive last year, 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.
In October 2023, Pakistan announced phase one of the “Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan” with a 30-day deadline for “undocumented” aliens to leave the country or be subject to deportation, putting 1.4 million Afghan refugees at risk. Over 600,000 Afghans have been expelled under this phase.
In phase two, Afghans holding Pakistan-issued Afghan citizenship cards (ACCs) will be expelled while phase three is expected to target those with UNHCR-issued PoR cards.
Major victory for ex-PM Khan as Pakistan top court rules party eligible for reserved seats
- Khan’s PTI was denied its share of 70 reserved seats which were allotted to parties part of PM Sharif-led ruling coalition
- Supreme Court says the PTI was and is a political party and eligible for reserved seats for women and minorities
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top court on Friday delivered a landmark verdict saying the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan was eligible for reserved seats in parliament, mounting pressure on the fragile ruling coalition of premier Shehbaz Sharif.
PTI candidates contested the Feb. 8 general elections as independents after the party was barred from the polls and though these independents won the most seats, 93, the election commission ruled they were not entitled to their share of 70 seats reserved for women and minorities since these were meant for political parties only. The seats were then allotted to other parties, mostly from those in Sharif’s ruling coalition.
In Pakistan, parties are allocated 70 reserved seats — 60 for women, 10 for non-Muslims — in proportion to the number of seats won in general elections. This completes the National Assembly’s total 336 seats. A simple majority in Pakistan’s parliament is 169 out of 336 seats.
In March, both the ECP and Peshawar High Court in separate rulings said the independents were not eligible for the reserved seats, dealing a blow to the embattled PTI’s governing prospects and proving to be a major setback for Khan, who has been in jail since last August. The verdicts were subsequently overruled by the Supreme Court, which has since last month been hearing a set of petitions on the issue.
On Friday, the Supreme Court set aside the Peshawar High Court verdict and said the ECP order declaring the PTI ineligible for reserved seats was “ultra vires of the constitution, without lawful authority and of no legal effect.”
“PTI shall be eligible for women and ministries reserved seats in parliament,” Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa said as he read the verdict in one of the petitions filed by the PTI-backed bloc, calling on the ECP to recalculate the number of reserved seats Khan’s party was entitled to.
PTI’s Syed Shibli Faraz, currently serving as the leader of the opposition in the Senate, said this was a “historic” day in Pakistani politics.
“Heartiest congratulations firstly to the Pakistani public and their leader Imran Khan,” Faraz told reporters after the court ruling was announced.
The PTI is currently entitled to around 23 reserved seats, which does not affect the parliamentary majority of the Sharif-led coalition government.
The verdict also bolsters the political position of Khan’s supporters, whose rallying cry has been that the election commission and a pro-military caretaker government that oversaw the polls indulged in electoral fraud to deprive it of a victory. The ECP denies this.
“PTI WAS AND IS A PARTY”
All candidates from Khan’s PTI party were forced to contest the February polls as independents after the party was stripped of its election symbol of the cricket bat by the ECP on the technical grounds that it did not hold intra-party elections, a prerequisite for any party to take part in polls.
After the election, the PTI-backed candidates were forced to join Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) party to claim a share of 70 reserved seats as independents are not eligible for the extra seats.
“It is declared that lack of denial of an election symbol does not in any way affect the right of a political party to participate in an election,” said the court order in one of the PTI petitions, which was supported by eight judges and opposed by five of the 13-member full court bench. “The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, PTI, was and is a party.”
The order said elected members of the PTI could not be declared independents or candidates of the SIC and gave the PTI 15 days to submit its list of candidates entitled for reserved seats to the election commission.
Addressing a press conference, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said the government would wait for the detailed judgment to decide on its course of action, but pointed out that the petitions had been filed by the SIC but “relief” had been given by the court to the PTI, which did not file the pleas.
“A lot of confusion and questions has been born from this judgment,” he told reporters. “A situation has been created in which there is little clarity.”
In a statement sent to media, the PTI said 86 PTI-backed returned candidates in the National Assembly and 107 in the Punjab Assembly, 91 in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and 9 in the Sindh Assembly “are entitled to be counted for the purpose of election to the reserved seats on the basis of proportional representation.” It is expected that the PTI could get up to 23 reserved seats after Friday’s judgment.
PM Sharif formed a weak coalition with other parties after the Feb. 8 general elections produced a hung parliament.
Sharif’s PML-N party’s 79 and the PPP’s 54 seats together made a simple majority in parliament to form a government at the center and also roped in smaller parties in the coalition.
PM calls for restructuring Pakistan wheat board weeks after import crisis protests
- Wheat has nine percent share in Pakistan’s agriculture sector and contributes 2.2 percent of GDP
- Pakistan saw weeks of protests by farmers demanding government stop wheat imports that had flooded market
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called for the restructuring of the country’s wheat board and steps to enhance production of wheat and other crops, his office said on Friday, weeks after farmer protests over wheat imports.
Pakistan saw weeks of protests this year by farmers in Punjab, the country’s largest province and “bread basket,” who demanded the government stop wheat imports that had flooded the market at a time when they expected bumper crops.
Pakistan’s wheat production during 2023-24 stood at 31.4 million tons as compared to 28.2 million tons last year, posting a growth of 11.6 percent. According to official data, the country had over 36 million tons of wheat stock by June, including carry-forward stock.
Wheat has a 9 percent share in Pakistan’s agriculture and contributes 2.2 percent of the GDP and is harvested in Pakistan from April to June, with peak vegetation development occurring between late March and early February.
Sharif, while presiding over a meeting of officials of the national food security ministry and other bodies, issued directives to include representatives of the Land Information and Management System and the Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) in the wheat board.
“Farmer representatives should be included in the wheat board,” Sharif was quoted as saying in a statement issued by his office.
The prime minister urged authorities to devise an alternate strategy to purchase wheat and consult Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Kashmir and provincial governments in this regard.
During earlier protests, farmers had said the import of wheat in the second half of 2023 and the first three months of this year had resulted in excess amounts of the commodity in the country, leading to reduced prices.
Official data shows Pakistan spent over $1 billion to import 3.5 million tons of wheat from July 2023 till May 2024.
Agriculture is one of the most significant income sectors in Pakistan, making up nearly 23 percent of the GDP of the country.
‘We can’t wait another year’: disaster-hit nations call for climate aid
- This year has witnessed a string of catastrophes on multiple continents, from floods and landslides to heatwaves and wildfires
- Unprecedented flooding in Pakistan in 2022 killed over 1,7000, caused more than $30 billion in damages and economic losses
PARIS: Countries on the frontlines of climate change have warned they cannot wait another year for long-sought aid to recover from disasters as floods and hurricanes wreak havoc across the globe.
The appeal came during a meeting of the “loss and damage” fund that will conclude Friday amid concerns it is unlikely to be able to approve climate aid until 2025.
“We cannot wait until the end of 2025 for the first funds to get out the door,” Adao Soares Barbosa, a board member from East Timor and a long-standing negotiator for the world’s poorest nations, told AFP.
“Loss and damage isn’t waiting for us.”
Nearly 200 nations agreed at the UN COP28 summit last November to launch a fund responsible for distributing aid to developing countries to rebuild in the wake of climate disasters.
That historic moment has given way to complex negotiations to finalize the fund’s design, which some countries worry will not move at a pace or scale that matches the tempo of extreme-weather disasters afflicting their people.
“The urgency of needs of vulnerable countries and communities cannot be left until we have every hair in place for this fund,” said Barbosa.
Damage bills for climate disasters can run into the billions and there is barely enough cash set aside for loss and damage at present to cover just one such event, experts say.
This year has witnessed a string of catastrophes on multiple continents, from floods and landslides to heatwaves and wildfires.
Delegates met in South Korea for the second meeting of the loss and damage fund this week as Hurricane Beryl left a trail of destruction across the Caribbean and North America.
The “massive” destruction witnessed in recent weeks “puts immense pressure on us to deliver on our work,” Richard Sherman, the South African co-chair of the board steering the negotiations, told the meeting.
The fund said it wanted money approved “as soon as possible, but realistically by mid-2025,” according to an official document seen by AFP.
In an appeal for faster action, Elizabeth Thompson, a board member from Barbados, said Hurricane Beryl alone had caused “apocalyptic” damage worth “multiple billion dollars.”
“In five islands of the Grenadines... 90 percent of the housing is gone... Houses look like packs of cards and strips of wood, roofs are gone, trees are gone, there is no food, there is no water, there is no power,” she said.
“We cannot keep talking while people live and die in a crisis that they do not cause.”
Thompson said the fund needed to reflect “the urgency and the scale required to respond to... the risk, the damage and the devastation faced by people across the world who need this fund.”
Wealthy nations have so far pledged around $661 million to the loss and damage fund. South Korea contributed an additional $7 million at the start of this week’s meeting.
“That would hardly cover the likely losses from one major climate-related disaster,” Camilla More, of the International Institute for Environment and Development, told AFP.
Some estimates suggest developing countries need over $400 billion annually to rebuild after climate-related disasters. One study put the global bill at between $290 billion and $580 billion a year by 2030, and rising after that.
In one example in 2022, unprecedented flooding in Pakistan caused more than $30 billion in damages and economic losses, according to a UN-backed assessment.
Developing nations had been pushing for a specific fund to distribute aid to recover from climate impacts for 30 years, and the agreement struck in November was hailed a major diplomatic breakthrough.
“(But) ee can’t have a fund without money,” said Brandon Wu from ActionAid.
Technical discussions are taking place this year over the details of the loss and damage fund, including with the World Bank which will house the fund on an interim basis.
The Philippines was chosen this week to host the fund’s board.
Contentious discussions remain to decide how the money is allocated and in what form it should be made available to countries.
On Tuesday, more than 350 nongovernmental organizations sent a letter to the fund’s board demanding that a substantial share of the money be made directly available as small grants to local communities and indigenous groups.
Pakistan says unaware Israeli nationals aboard plane that made emergency landing in Karachi
- Flydubai flight to Colombo made emergency landing at Jinnah International Airport on Wednesday
- Israeli media quoted the Israeli foreign ministry as saying flight was also carrying two Israeli citizens
KARACHI: The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) said on Thursday it was not aware of the reported presence of Israeli nationals on a flydubai flight that made an emergency landing in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi earlier this week.
Flydubai flight FZ-569 was en route to Colombo, Sri Lanka from Dubai, when a woman aboard the plane fell ill, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing at the Jinnah International Airport on Wednesday.
Israeli newspaper, The Times of Israel, reported the flight was carrying two Israeli citizens among passengers, citing the Israeli foreign ministry. The ministry said it had “worked, together with others, to ensure the welfare” of the Israelis, the report added.
But a PCAA spokesperson, Saifullah Khan, said Pakistani authorities were unaware of the presence of Israeli nationals on the flight.
“The report about the Ffydubai flight 569 just had that it was en route to Colombo from Dubai and the condition of some woman [aboard] worsened and it landed at 11pm [on Wednesday] in Karachi,” Khan told Arab News.
“But she expired. Her body was sent to [Pakistani charity] Khidmat-e-Khalq Foundation in Malir and the plane left at 3am [on Thursday]. It was not mentioned [in the report] how many passengers were aboard and what their nationalities were.”
The woman, who later died on the plane, was a Sri Lankan national, according to Khan. Her body was flown to Sri Lanka on another flight.
Pakistan does not recognize nor have diplomatic relations with 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.
Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza in October last year, Pakistan has repeatedly raised the issue at the United Nations and OIC and demanded international powers and multilateral bodies stop Israeli military actions in the Palestinian territory.
Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, told The Independent’s Urdu service the flydubai flight was diverted to Karachi due to a medical emergency.
“The Sri Lankan woman aboard the plane was examined by a medical team and declared dead, after which the body was taken off the plane,” she said. “No other passenger got off the plane.”
