KARACHI: In a rare development on Tuesday, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation visiting Pakistan met the country’s chief justice for discussions on judicial reforms, accountability and the recent controversial restructuring of a commission that recommends judges for Pakistan’s superior courts.
The finance ministry said on Sunday a three-member IMF mission would visit Pakistan in the coming week to conduct a Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment under the country’s 2024 Extended Fund Facility program for a $7 billion loan. The ministry said the mission’s report would recommend actions for addressing corruption vulnerabilities and strengthening integrity and governance, with the findings helping to shape structural reforms.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court said in a press release the IMF team led by Joel Turkewitz had met with Chief Justice Yahya Afridi.
The statement quoted the CJ as saying he would be “quite guarded” in his comments to the IMF team and the judiciary was “not used to direct interaction with such missions,” but it was taking place on the request of the finance division.
“He then highlighted key Constitutional developments with respect to the Judicial Commission of Pakistan and reforms, including senior-level judicial appointments, judicial accountability, and the restructuring of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP). He elaborated on the merits of integrating the judiciary and the parliamentary committee to ensure a more transparent and efficient judicial selection process,” the SC statement said.
Discussions during the meeting also centered on judicial accountability and mechanisms for addressing complaints against judges.
“The Chief Justice emphasized the importance of a robust and fair accountability process to uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary,” the statement said.
Mahir Binici, the IMF resident representative in Pakistan, said the mission is visiting Pakistan till Feb. 14 to prepare the way for a Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment (GCDA) to assess governance and corruption vulnerabilities, and propose recommendations to foster good governance such as promoting public sector transparency, accountability and integrity.
“The IMF team will meet with a range of stakeholders during the scoping mission, including Finance Division, Federal Board of Revenue, State Bank of Pakistan, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, Auditor General of Pakistan, and the Ministry of Law and Justice, as well as representatives from the business community, civil society, and international partners,” Binici said in a statement.
The finance ministry statement on Sunday had said the focus of the visiting mission would be to “examine the severity of corruption vulnerabilities across six core state functions.”
“These include fiscal governance, central bank governance and operations, financial sector oversight, market regulation, rule of law, and Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism,” it read.
The finance ministry said the IMF had long provided advice and technical assistance to foster good governance such as promoting public sector transparency and accountability.
“Traditionally the IMF’s main focus has been on encouraging countries to correct macroeconomic imbalances, reduce inflation, and undertake key trade, exchange, and other market reforms needed to improve efficiency and support sustained economic growth,” the finance ministry said on Feb. 9.
“While these remain its main focus in all its member countries, however the IMF has found that a much broader range of institutional reforms is needed if countries are to establish and maintain private sector confidence and thereby lay the basis for sustained growth.”
The IMF identified that promoting good governance in all its aspects, including ensuring the rule of law, improving the efficiency and accountability of the public sector, and tackling corruption, “are essential elements of a framework within which economies can prosper,” the ministry said, welcoming the IMF’s technical support and saying the assessment would aid efforts to promote transparency and institutional capacity.
The South Asian country, currently bolstered by a $7 billion IMF facility granted in September, is navigating an economic recovery.
The IMF is set to review Pakistan’s progress by March, with the government and central bank expressing confidence about meeting its targets.
In unprecedented development, Pakistan chief justice meets visiting IMF team
https://arab.news/gjcn6
In unprecedented development, Pakistan chief justice meets visiting IMF team
- Discusses judicial reforms, accountability, recent restructuring of commission that recommends judges to superior courts
- Finance ministry said on Sunday IMF mission would visit Pakistan to conduct Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment
India says killed over 100 militants in Pakistan strikes, Islamabad says 26 Indian military targets hit
- Lt. Gen. Rajiv Ghai, director general of military operations, said India’s armed forces struck nine militant infrastructure and training facilities
- Pakistan military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry said army targeted total of 26 Indian military installations in response to India’s missile strikes
ISLAMABAD: India’s military strikes into Azad Kashmir and Pakistan last week killed more than 100 militants including prominent leaders, the head of India’s military operations said on Sunday.
Lt. Gen. Rajiv Ghai, the director general of military operations, said India’s armed forces struck nine militant infrastructure and training facilities, including sites of the Lashkar-e-Taiba group that India blames for carrying out major militant strikes in India and the disputed region of Kashmir.
“We achieved total surprise,” Ghai said at a news conference in New Delhi, adding Pakistan’s response was “erratic and rattled.”
The two countries agreed to a truce on Saturday after talks to defuse their most serious military confrontation in decades. The two armies exchanged gunfire, artillery strikes, missiles and drones that killed dozens of people.
As part of the ceasefire, the nuclear-armed neighbors agreed to immediately stop all military action on land, in the air and at sea. On Sunday, Pakistan’s military said it did not ask for a ceasefire, as claimed by India, but rather it was India that had sought the ceasefire.
At a televised news conference, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry said Pakistan’s armed forces targeted a total of 26 Indian military installations in response to India’s missile strikes which were launched before dawn Wednesday.
He said the military had vowed it would respond to the Indian aggression, and it has fulfilled its commitment to the nation. Sharif warned that any threat to Pakistan’s sovereignty or territorial integrity would be met with a “comprehensive, retributive, and decisive” response.
He said Pakistan exercised “maximum restraint” during the counterstrike, employing medium-range missiles and other munitions, and that no civilian areas were targeted inside India.
Competing claims of how many killed
The escalation in violence began last week after a gun massacre of tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir on April 22. India blamed the attack on Pakistan, which denied any involvement.
Ghai said at least 35 to 40 Pakistani soldiers were killed in clashes along the Line of Control, the de facto border that divides the disputed Kashmir region between India and Pakistan. Five Indian soldiers were also killed, he said.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Thursday said his country’s armed forces had killed 40 to 50 Indian soldiers along the Line of Control.
Following India’s Wednesday strikes, Pakistan sent drones multiple times in many locations in Kashmir and Indian cities that were neutralized, said Air Marshal A.K. Bharti, the operations head of the Indian air force. He said India responded with “significant and game-changing strikes” Saturday, hitting Pakistan’s air bases.
Bharti refused to comment on Pakistani claims of shooting down five Indian fighter jets, but said “we are in a combat scenario and losses are a part of combat.” He claimed India also “downed (a) few planes” but did not offer any evidence.
The Associated Press could not independently verify all the actions attributed to India or Pakistan.
Saturday’s ceasefire was shaken just hours later by overnight fighting in disputed Kashmir, as each side accused each other of repeatedly violating the deal. Drones were also spotted Saturday night over Indian-controlled Kashmir and the western state of Gujarat, according to Indian officials.
People on both sides of the Line of Control reported heavy exchanges of fire between Indian and Pakistani troops. The fighting subsided by Sunday morning.
In the Poonch area of Indian-administered Kashmir, people said the intense shelling from the past few days had traumatized them.
“Most people ran as shells were being fired,” said college student Sosan Zehra, who returned home Sunday. “It was completely chaotic.”
In Pakistan-controlled Kashmir’s Neelum Valley, which is 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the Line of Control, residents said there were exchanges of fire and heavy shelling after the ceasefire began.
“We were happy about the announcement but, once again, the situation feels uncertain,” said Mohammad Zahid.
Indian and Pakistan officials to speak Monday
US President Donald Trump was the first to post about the ceasefire deal, announcing it on his Truth Social platform. Indian and Pakistani officials confirmed the news shortly after.
Pakistan has thanked the US, and especially Trump, several times for facilitating the ceasefire.
India has not said anything about Trump or the US since the deal was announced. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting on Sunday with top government and military officials.
India and Pakistan’s top military officials are scheduled to speak today, Monday.
India and Pakistan have fought daily since Wednesday along the rugged and mountainous Line of Control, which is marked by razor wire coils, watchtowers and bunkers that snake across foothills populated by villages, tangled bushes and forests.
They have routinely blamed the other for starting the skirmishes, while insisting they themselves were only retaliating.
Kashmir is split between the two countries and claimed by both in its entirety.
They have fought two of their three wars over the region and their ties have been shaped by conflict, aggressive diplomacy and mutual suspicion, mostly due to their competing claims
In Karachi, 145-year-old veterinary hospital offers free lifeline for animals
- Richmond Crawford Veterinary Hospital named after British commissioner known for his efforts for animal welfare
- Facility offers wide range of free procedures like surgeries and orthopedic treatment for animals with broken bones
KARACHI: Safia Ahmed sat with her fluffy white Persian cat, Simba, last week in the storied hallway of Karachi’s time-worn Richmond Crawford Veterinary Hospital, waiting for her turn.
A vet soon called her in, examined Simba and administered treatment. He also gave Ahmed medicine to take home for the cat.
While this was a routine visit for Ahmed, a devoted owner of two Persian cats and two parrots, the hospital is anything but ordinary.
Established in 1880, the state-run Richmond Crawford Veterinary Hospital offers free treatment and has a 145-year legacy of animal welfare.
The facility, on Karachi’s busy M.A. Jinnah Road, is named after a British commissioner in the southern Sindh province known to hold a deep affection for animals, according to Dr. Chandar Kumar, the veterinary officer currently in charge of the facility, which functions under the Sindh provincial government’s Livestock Department.
“In 1840, Crawford had bought this plot ofland. After that, he left [for Britain]. Later, our respected community elders, including Parsis, Muslims and Hindus, came together and established an institution in his name,” Kumar told Arab News.
“This institution has been providing treatment for animals, working on their health and administering vaccinations ever since.”
Animal rights activists have long raised concerns over routine neglect, abuse and exploitation of domestic animals, livestock, stray populations and wildlife in Pakistan, calling for improved health care facilities.
In Karachi, a city exceeding 20 million, a mere 27 public animal care centers are operational, a majority of them being clinics and dispensaries.
The number of animals that daily pass through the doors of Crawford highlights the important role the hospital plays in trying to bridge this gap, especially for those who cannot afford private clinics.
“We have a daily OPD [Outpatient Department examination] of over 100 animals,” said Dr. Kumar, adding that all kinds of animals, from domestic pets like cats and dogs, small livestock like sheep and goats, and occasionally even larger animals, were daily brought to the facility.
Dr. Shalla Sharon Hayat, a veterinary surgeon at Crawford, said the hospital offered a wide range of facilities, including surgeries and orthopedic treatment for animals with broken bones that required complex procedures.
“It was opened with the vision of providing facilities where even a person from the underprivileged class who loves animals can have their pets cared for as well as an upper-class person who loves animals,” Hayat said.
Ahmed couldn’t agree more.
“This has become a great convenience for us because we can’t really afford to go to private clinics,” she said after Simba’s treatment. “If the government hadn’t set this up, we wouldn’t have been able to afford it.”
Iqbal Masih, who was at the hospital with his dog Lucky, a Maltese mix, concurred.
“I’ve been taking care of him for four years, and I love him very much,” Masih said.
“Whenever he gets a fever or any problem, I immediately take him to the doctor. I had brought another dog to them before as well, they gave the right medicine.”
Apart from animal care, the hospital also has great architectural significance in the Karachi landscape, said Peerzada Salman, the author of ‘Karachi — Legacies of Empires,’ a photographic history of the city.
“It’s a very simple building, built in the style of the renaissance. The ground floor has arches and above it is square windows. Such buildings are rare in Karachi nowadays,” Salman said.
The author commended locals who resisted an attempt to demolish the hospital and build a skyscraper in its place some 20 years ago but added that the historical building currently needed attention.
“If those involved in heritage preservation pay attention to it and renovate it properly, it would be great as it holds dual importance: one as a hospital for animals and the other as a building with historical significance,” Salman added.
Surgeon Hayat described the hospital as a central part of Karachi’s larger ecosystem.
“In any ecosystem, animals play a very significant role,” she said. “And those who care for them and raise them deserve our respect.”
Pakistan’s stock exchange halts trading for an hour, exchange notification shows
- A 5 percent increase in KSE-30 index from previous day’s close led to market halt as per stock market regulations
- Development takes place amid Saturday’s ceasefire announcement between India and Pakistan after clashes
Pakistan’s stock exchange halted trading on Monday for an hour, according to an exchange notification, after the benchmark KSE-100 share index rose 8.84 percent in early trade.
A 5 percent increase in the KSE-30 index from the previous trading day’s close led to a market halt as per stock market regulations. All equity and equity based markets have been suspended, as per the notification.
Markets will reopen at 10:42 a.m. local time (0542 GMT).
Saturday’s ceasefire in the Himalayan region, announced by US President Donald Trump, followed four days of intense firing and diplomacy and pressure from Washington.
Indian shares also rallied on Monday.
Pakistan says will prioritize water treaty, Kashmir and ‘terrorism’ in potential talks with India
- India last month unilaterally suspended decades-old treaty, which ensures water for 80 percent of Pakistani farms
- Both nuclear-armed nations agreed to a ceasefire on Saturday after exchanging missile and drone attacks last week
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said Islamabad will prioritize the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), the Kashmir dispute and “terrorism” issues in potential talks with India, state-run media reported on Monday, days after armed clashes between the two concluded.
India and Pakistan exchanged missiles and drone attacks last week, which saw the worst fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbors in decades before the two sides declared a ceasefire brokered by the US on Saturday. Tensions escalated after India blamed Pakistan for being involved in an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in Pahalgam, where 26 tourists were killed. Islamabad denied involvement.
After the Pahalgam attack on April 22, India suspended the decades-old IWT unilaterally, prompting Pakistan to say that it considered any attempts to stop or redirect the flow of its waters “an act of war.” Another bone of contention between the two countries is the issue of the disputed territory of Kashmir. Both countries claim the Muslim-majority region in full but govern only parts of it. They have fought two out of three wars since 1947 on the disputed territory.
“When asked about potential talks, he [Asif] emphasized that Pakistan would prioritize three major issues of contention including Indus Waters Treaty, Kashmir and terrorism which need to be resolved to ensure peace in the region,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
Speaking to a private television channel, Asif was quoted by state media as saying that the Pakistani armed forces’ capabilities are “globally recognized and admired.” The minister said Pakistan’s military response has left India disappointed and their “arrogant posture reduced to nothing but dust.”
“Khawaja Asif stated that India’s policymakers have been compelled to reassess their policies in light of Pakistan’s strong response,” Radio Pakistan said.
Militancy has also been a major issue between the two nuclear-armed nations. India accuses Pakistan of arming and supporting separatist militants in the part of Kashmir that it governs. Islamabad denies the allegations and says it only extends moral and diplomatic support to the people of Kashmir and has always defended their right to self-determination.
The IWT ensures water for 80 percent of Pakistani farms. India said it held the treaty, which was signed between the two states in 1960 and has been in force since then, in abeyance following the Pahalgam attack.
The IWT grants Pakistan rights to the western rivers — Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab — for irrigation, drinking, and non-consumptive uses like hydropower, while India controls the eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej — for unrestricted use but must not significantly alter their flow.
India can use the western rivers for limited purposes such as power generation and irrigation, without storing or diverting large volumes, according to the agreement.
Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Amir Muqam said any attempt to stop Pakistan’s share of water could lead to dangerous escalation between the two countries.
“Stopping or reducing our share is absolutely not acceptable and can lead to further and dangerous escalation,” he told Arab News on Sunday. “The revival of the Indus Waters Treaty in its current form remains a top priority on the agenda in any negotiations between the two countries.”
Pakistan’s Sajid Ali Sadpara summits seventh-highest mountain without supplemental oxygen
- Sajid Ali Sadpara, son of legendary climber Ali Sadpara, summited Nepal’s Dhaulagiri mountain on May 10
- Pakistan has produced several professional climbers who have summited some of the world’s tallest peaks
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani climber Sajid Ali Sadpara has successfully summited the world’s seventh-highest mountain in Nepal, Dhaulagiri, without the use of supplemental oxygen, the mountaineer said recently.
Sadpara is the son of legendary Pakistani climber, Muhammad Ali Sadpara, who died in his quest to summit K2, the second-highest mountain in the world, in February 2021. Pakistani officials also declared Iceland’s John Snorri and Chile’s Juan Pablo Mohr, who were on the quest with Ali Sadpara to summit the mountain, dead.
Alpine Club of Pakistan’s Secretary Karrar Haidri told the Associated Press of Pakistan that Sadpara was able to achieve the feat with the support of Seven Summit Treks, a commercial adventure operator based in Nepal.
“Alhamdulilah [praise be to Allah], Dhaulagiri summit without oxygen and unsupported yesterday 10 May with the team of Seven Summit Treks,” Sadpara posted on his Facebook page on Sunday.
In one of the images he uploaded with the post, Sadpara can be seen holding up the Pakistan flag as he reached the summit.
Dhaulagiri is located in the Dhaulagiri mountain range of Nepal’s Himalayas. It is also known as the “White Mountain” and is considered very popular among the eight-thousanders for expeditions. It lies northwest of Pokhara, an important tourist center in Nepal.
Pakistan has produced several professional climbers, both men and women, who have summited some of the world’s tallest peaks. Its Gilgit-Baltistan is a sparsely populated northern region administered by the country as an autonomous territory.
It is home to some of the tallest peaks in the world and a major tourist destination. Thousands of tourists and foreign climbers visit the region each year for expeditions on various peaks, paragliding and other sports activities.
