ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Environment Minister Musadik Malik on Wednesday urged the international community to ease access to climate finance for vulnerable nations, saying Pakistan contributes less than one percent to global emissions but remains among the hardest hit by climate change.
Speaking in Geneva at a UN Capital Development Fund session on the sidelines of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions, Malik said developing countries like Pakistan face mounting climate threats despite minimal emissions and need more support from global financial institutions.
The BRS conventions are multilateral environmental agreements which focus on hazardous chemicals and waste management.
“Pakistan is among the countries most severely affected by climate change,” the Pakistani minister said, according to an official statement, adding this was despite the fact that it “contributes less than one percent to global carbon emissions.”
“The federal minister emphasized the need to simplify climate finance support,” the statement continued.
Malik reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to the Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty aimed at limiting global warming to below 2°C.
He said Pakistan was actively pursuing its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), with a focus on green growth, renewable energy and sustainable water systems.
Pakistan has faced recurring heatwaves, droughts and devastating floods.
In 2022, unprecedented monsoon rains left a third of the country submerged, killing about 1,700 people and leading to over $35 billion in infrastructure damage.
Pakistan also played a leading role in establishing the global loss and damage fund for climate-hit countries, though the mechanism has yet to become fully functional.
“Global development is not possible without climate justice,” Malik said, as he appealed for effective cooperation from international financial institutions for developing countries.
Pakistan urges simpler climate finance for vulnerable nations at Geneva forum
https://arab.news/yjdyq
Pakistan urges simpler climate finance for vulnerable nations at Geneva forum
- Environment Minister Musadik Malik says global development not possible without climate justice
- He says Pakistan is highly climate-vulnerable despite contributing less than 1 percent to global emissions
ADB approves $800 million program to support Pakistan’s public finance reforms
- ADB says the package will support tax reforms and digitalization to help boost fiscal sustainability
- It includes a $500 million guarantee to help Pakistan unlock up to $1 billion from commercial banks
KARACHI: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday approved an $800 million financing package for Pakistan to help the country improve fiscal sustainability, strengthen public financial management and support economic reforms.
The funding, part of the Improved Resource Mobilization and Utilization Reform Program (Subprogram 2), includes a $300 million policy-based loan and ADB’s first-ever policy-based guarantee of up to $500 million, which is expected to help Pakistan raise as much as $1 billion from commercial banks.
“Pakistan has made significant progress in improving macroeconomic conditions,” ADB’s Country Director for Pakistan, Emma Fan, said in a statement. “This program backs the government’s commitment to further policy and institutional reforms that will strengthen public finances and promote sustainable growth.”
The program supports reforms to tax policy, administration and compliance, along with improvements in public expenditure management, cash handling and digitalization.
It also aims to facilitate investment and private sector development, with the broader goal of reducing Pakistan’s fiscal deficit and public debt while creating space for development and social spending.
Khurram Schehzad, adviser to Pakistan’s finance minister, also confirmed the development in a social media post, saying “diplomacy” led by the finance ministry and economic affairs division had helped secure majority support at ADB Board.
The ADB said the program is backed by a comprehensive support package involving technical assistance and coordination with development partners to help Pakistan build long-term fiscal resilience.
A founding member of ADB, Pakistan has received more than $52 billion in public and private sector financing from the bank since 1966, spanning infrastructure, energy, transport, food security and social services.
ADB plays a leading role in supporting inclusive and sustainable development across Asia and the Pacific.
‘Nothing left’: Indian artillery strike wipes out three generations of women at Azad Kashmir home
- Qaisra Bibi, her daughter-in-law and granddaughter were inside kitchen for morning tea when Indian artillery shell hit their home on May 10
- India, Pakistan engaged in worst conflict in decades that killed around 70 people on both sides this month until US brokered a ceasefire
Abbaspur, POONCH: Blackened from the explosion, shards of a tin roof loosely hang from the branches of a wild apricot tree in the border village of Chaffar in Azad Kashmir’s Poonch district. What once used to be a modest kitchen is now littered with shattered stone, twisted metal and rubble.
It was here that a mortar shell struck hours before a ceasefire was announced between Pakistan and India. The Indian mortar shell instantly killed three generations of women, a mother, her daughter-in-law and two-year-old granddaughter, on the morning of May 10.
India and Pakistan engaged in a four-day military conflict that killed around 70 people on both sides last month, with the two nations attacking each other with fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery until the United States (US) brokered a ceasefire.
Wajid Kayani, a Pakistani army soldier posted in Lahore at the time of the strikes, took heavy, reluctant steps as he led Arab News to a heap of rubble where his wife, mother and infant daughter had breathed their last in the wake of the cross-border skirmishes.
“[Just a night before], I had spoken to my mother and wife over the phone. They were both worried about the shelling,” he said.
“My mother told me and my younger brother [also a soldier], ‘May God protect you both. If someone has to go [die], let it be me.’ That’s what she said… and I can’t forget it. It’s unbearable,” Kayani said as he broke down.
The deceased women were identified as Qaisra Bibi, Kayani’s mother, his wife Areesha Qayyum and their daughter Hadiya Wajid, who would have turned two on May 27.
All three of them were inside the kitchen for morning tea when the first shell struck the house, according to the family. Another shell landed just meters away, striking a tree and punching holes into the surrounding walls.
The kitchen, once used to prepare meals for a large joint family, now wears the look of a charred, cratered space. Broken plates, half-melted pots and a ruined gas cylinder are scattered around.
Faiz Muhammad Kayani, the 70-year-old head of the family, struggled to speak as he entered the drawing room of the house with the help of a walking stick. Dozens of mourners have been visiting the family since the attack, but the elderly man, father to three sons and four daughters, is unable to come to terms with the horror he witnessed.
That morning, Faiz was at his younger son’s adjacent house and was coming to feed the livestock when he heard the shell strike his elder son’s house.
“I ran… I ran fast. But what was left to see? There was nothing left… just mud and stones,” he said in a shallow voice.
“They were buried underneath.”
The 70-year-old fell silent before excusing himself from further conversation.
Bitter rivals India and Pakistan have fought three wars, including two over the disputed region of Kashmir, since gaining independence from British rule in 1947. Both claim the Himalayan territory in its entirety but rule it in part.
The latest conflict was sparked by a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam town that killed 26 tourists on April 22. New Delhi blamed the attack on Pakistan, which Islamabad denied and called for a credible, international probe.
‘SCATTERED ACROSS BUSHES’
Kayani’s younger brother, Muhammad Sajid Kayani, also a soldier posted in Azad Kashmir’s Kotli sector, reached the house around 2 p.m. on the day of the tragedy.
“Despite the shock, [our] father pulled out the first body. Her [sister-in-law Qayyum] legs had been blown off,” Sajid said.
Their neighbors were unable to help as the shelling continued for hours. Sajid’s sister, who lived nearby, arrived shortly afterward and began searching for their mother.
“She found only our mother’s face. The rest of her body was scattered across the bushes. We had to collect the limbs piece by piece,” Sajid said.
“She found my little niece Hadiya under the rubble. Her left arm was missing. Her stomach was ripped open, and her intestines were outside.”
But Hadiya was not the only child hit by the artillery fire.
“One of our nieces was just stepping inside through the kitchen door into the main house when the shell hit,” Sajid said.
“She was badly injured, shrapnel tore through her legs. She’s still recovering.”
The family held the funeral by 2:30 p.m. on May 10, hours before their eldest son, Kayani, could return home from Lahore.
“I couldn’t even attend the burial of my wife, daughter, and mother,” Kayani said, citing heavy shelling and road closures as the reasons.
The two brothers returned to the wreckage the following day to search for anything left.
“We started clearing mud and lifting stones. That’s when we found more of our mother’s remains, her abdomen, and other parts. It must’ve weighed around 20 kgs. We buried them in a separate grave,” Wajid said.
“On the third day, we found even more, collected in a [huge metal] plate, and buried again in the same cemetery.”
Kayani’s daughter, Hadiya, was laid to rest in the same grave as her mother, Areesha. Her small body was torn apart by the attack and the family had no choice but to bury them together, given the intense shelling and chaos at the time.
His older daughter, just four years old, survived the attack. Her trauma, however, continues to run deep.
“She flinches at every little thing,” Kayani said. “She barely speaks anymore… just sits there, quiet. Too quiet.”
Pakistan military says seven militants killed in counter-terror operations in Balochistan
- Pakistan says militants killed in separate operations in Balochistan’s Kalat and Kachhi districts on June 2
- Security forces have been battling insurgency in Balochistan, country’s most impoverished province, for years
ISLAMABAD: Seven militants were killed in two separate counter-terror operations in southwestern Pakistan on June 2, the military’s media wing said on Tuesday as Islamabad battles insurgency in its Balochistan province.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, said five militants were killed during an intelligence-based operation in Balochistan’s Machh town located in the Kachhi district on June 2. The same day, it said two other militants were killed in a separate IBO in Margand area located in Balochistan’s Kalat District after security forces discovered a “terrorist” hideout.
The ISPR said weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from the slain militants, who it alleged were actively involved in numerous militant activities.
“Security forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminate the menace of Indian-sponsored terrorism from the country,” the military’s media wing said. “And reaffirm the nation’s unwavering resolve to bring the perpetrators of Indian-sponsored terrorism and their facilitators to justice.”
Pakistan’s security forces have been battling an insurgency in Balochistan, the country’s most impoverished province, for years. Separatist militants have often targeted security forces, police, foreigners and ethnic Punjabi commuters and workers, who they see as “outsiders,” by wresting control of highways and remote towns in the area.
Pakistan has repeatedly rejected allegations by ethnic Baloch militant groups that it denies locals a share in Balochistan’s mineral and gas resources. The government points to various health, educational and development schemes in Balochistan that it supports.
Balochistan has seen a spike in militant violence in recent days. An IED blast killed two tribal leaders and injured seven others on Saturday in a remote mountainous town in Quetta district.
Pakistan’s military accuses India of funding and training ethnic Baloch separatist outfits, the most prominent of which is the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), to carry out attacks on Pakistani soil. Delhi rejects the allegations and accuses Pakistan of stoking militancy in the region of Kashmir that India administers.
In March, BLA fighters stormed a train in Balochistan and held hundreds of passengers hostage before the military launched an operation to rescue them.
Pakistani delegation demands resumption of ‘comprehensive’ dialogue with India in briefing to OIC envoys
- Tensions between neighbors Pakistan, India remain high after they struck ceasefire on May 10
- Pakistani delegation will present Islamabad’s position on Pakistan’s recent conflict with India
ISLAMABAD: A high-level Pakistani delegation set up by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif this week briefed members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at the United Nations, calling for the resumption of a “comprehensive dialogue” with India to resolve the Kashmir dispute and other issues, Pakistan’s mission to the UN said.
Led by former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the nine-member parliamentary delegation arrived in New York on Monday as the first stop in a diplomatic mission to present Pakistan’s position in world capitals following Islamabad’s recent military conflict with India. The group headed by Bhutto Zardari will visit New York, Washington DC, London and Brussels. Another delegation, led by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Syed Tariq Fatemi, will also visit Moscow.
Tensions between Pakistan and India are high after they struck a ceasefire on May 10 following the most intense military confrontation between the nuclear-armed neighbors in decades. Both countries accuse the other of supporting militancy on each other’s soil — a charge both capitals deny.
The latest escalation last month took place following weeks of tensions after India blamed Pakistan for supporting an April 22 attack on the Kashmir territory it governs that killed 26 tourists. Pakistan denied involvement in the incident and called for an international probe. Both countries traded missiles, artillery fire and drone strikes before Washington brokered a ceasefire on May 10.
“He [Bhutto Zardari] reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to peace, restraint, and diplomacy, and called for the restoration of the Indus Waters Treaty, full respect for the ceasefire, and the resumption of a comprehensive dialogue with India, with the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute at its core,” Pakistan’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations said in a statement on Monday.
Following the attack at the Pahalgam tourist resort in April, India suspended the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan. The move drew a sharp response from Islamabad, which said any attempts to divert or stop the flow of its waters by India would be considered an “act of war.”
About 80 percent of Pakistani farms depend on the Indus system, as do nearly all hydropower projects serving the country of some 250 million.
“Mr. Bhutto expressed grave concern at the unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty — a move that Pakistan considers a blatant act of weaponizing water and a violation of international and treaty obligations,” the statement said.
The former Pakistani foreign minister thanked OIC countries for their efforts and role aimed at de-escalation, mediation and ceasefire during the conflict. He highlighted that the only path to peace was in dialogue, engagement and diplomacy.
“Mr. Bilawal Bhutto underlined that OIC has emerged as the moral conscience of the world in these difficult times and thanked the OIC member states for their steadfast support for the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” the statement said.
The statement said that the OIC’s permanent representatives appreciated Pakistan’s briefing and reaffirmed their solidarity with the country.
“They reiterated their concern over the worsening security situation in South Asia and stressed the importance of upholding the principles of the UN Charter and international law and in this regard, the sanctity of treaties, including the Indus Waters Treaty,” Pakistan’s permanent mission to the UN said.
Separately, the delegation also met Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, president of the UN Security Council for June, according to a press release issued by
Bhutto Zardari’s residence, Bilawal House.
“The Pakistani delegation stressed that in the face of a growing trend of unilateralism and escalation, the Security Council must play its crucial role to ensure peace and conflict resolution,” it said.
The delegation urged the Security Council to play a “proactive role” in promoting de-escalation, ensuring respect for international law and treaties and facilitating peaceful resolution of disputes.
The statement said Birkett reaffirmed the Security Council’s commitment to upholding international peace and security in line with its mandate.
Over 200 inmates escape Karachi prison after earthquake, confirms Sindh Police
- Sindh’s top cop confirms one prisoner was killed on Monday night as police attempted to maintain order during chaos
- Prisoners managed to escape outer gate of Malir prison after it was damaged by tremors, says Sindh home minister
KARACHI: Around 213 inmates managed to escape from the Malir prison in Karachi last night after they were shifted outside their cells due to safety concerns when the city was shaken by tremors, Sindh’s top police officer said on Tuesday, confirming that one prisoner had also been killed.
Sindh Home Minister Zia-ul-Hasan Lanjar told reporters earlier that inmates at the Malir prison in Karachi panicked when tremors shook the city on Monday night. He said it became difficult to prevent around 1,000 inmates from escaping through the outer gate of the jail, which had been damaged by the quake.
“The incident occurred when prisoners were temporarily moved out of their barracks due to safety concerns,” Inspector-General Sindh Ghulam Nabi Memon told Arab News.
“Taking advantage of the chaos, around 1,000 inmates gathered at the jail’s main gate and 213 prisoners managed to force the gate open and flee.”
Memon said 78 of the prisoners who had managed to flee were re-arrested by police. In his interaction with reporters on Monday night, Lanjar confirmed that no “hardened criminal” had managed to escape the jail following the late-night chaos.
Memon said Malir prison houses small-time offenders, particularly those involved in narcotics and its consumption.
“The escapees were mostly from this category and their mob mentality played a role in escaping the jail,” he said.
He confirmed Lanjar’s statement that one prisoner had been killed as police attempted to maintain order following the jailbreak. The Sindh home minister had also said five persons, which included both prisoners and police officials, were injured in the clashes.
