The government of Pakistan should hold serious talks with the Taleban in the larger interest of the country, said the central leader of the Pakistan’s Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI) party, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, here on Monday.
Talking to Arab News before leaving for Pakistan after performing Umrah, Haideri said he strongly believed that if serious efforts are made to bring Taleban to the negotiating table, progress could be achieved in improving the law and order situation in the country.
Responding to a question over Pakistan’s ties with India, the JUI leader said India would never be able to realize its dream of becoming a superpower in the region. Referring to the checkered history of the two countries, he said that India always accused Pakistan of everything that went wrong on its side of the border.
“Be it the Mumbai attacks of 2008 or the attack on the Indian Parliament, India instantly starts a blame game without providing incriminating evidence. We can never accept India as a superpower.”
He said that Kashmir was a key issue and no secret deal would be allowed on this matter. “We will never allow anyone to betray the trust of the Kashmiris.”
JUI, Haideri said, would continue to maintain its current stance on India.
Describing the recently held elections — which saw for the first time in the history of Pakistan, transition of power from one elected government to another — as rigged, the JUI leader said he had never experienced such elections in his lifetime.
Haideri accused members of the Frontier Constabulary and other government officials of casting bogus votes. He said that results of the elections were carefully manipulated to confine the Pakistan People’s Party to Sindh, to throw Imran Khan of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf out of Punjab and to strip religious parties of whatever mandate they enjoyed.
Criticizing the previous PPP-led government over its failure to solve the basic problems of the people, Haideri advised the current government — which his party is a part of — to make all-out efforts for the eradication of the problems facing the nation.
He said that his party joined the government to help it solve the ongoing problems as according to him all political parties had to play their roles in that regard.
Pakistan must talk to Taleban, says JUI leader
Pakistan must talk to Taleban, says JUI leader
Rwanda in ‘initial’ talks with US over migration deal
- Great Lakes nation — often viewed as an island of stability in a turbulent region — previously made a similar multi-million deal with Britain to receive deported illegal migrants
- FM Olivier Nduhungirehe: ‘Those reports are true, we are engaged in discussions with the Government of the United States of America’
KIGALI: Rwanda and Washington are in the early stages of talks to receive immigrants from the United States, the Rwandan foreign minister told state media.
Washington has been pushing a mass deportation drive, with President Donald Trump’s administration negotiating highly controversial arrangements to send migrants to third countries.
The Great Lakes nation — often viewed as an island of stability in a turbulent region — previously made a similar multi-million deal with Britain to receive deported illegal migrants. However, it was scrapped immediately after a new government was elected last year.
Foreign minister Olivier Nduhungirehe confirmed earlier reports that Rwanda was among countries talking to Washington over a migrant deal, following a question on state TV on Sunday.
“Those reports are true, we are engaged in discussions with the Government of the United States of America,” he said.
Noting the similar agreement with the British, Nduhungirehe said such a deal “is not something new to us.”
However, while he confirmed that the two nations were engaged in “ongoing” talks, he said “they are not yet conclusive to determine the direction this will take.”
“I would say the discussions are in their initial stages, but we continue to talk about this problem of migrants,” he said, without giving further details.
When contacted by AFP about the talks he said: “You will be informed when the discussions will be finalized.”
Washington’s deal with El Salvador has created a furor, notably after a US official acknowledged that authorities mistakenly expelled one Salvadoran man but that the United States could not bring him back.
The Kigali-London deal was also controversial, with the UK’s Supreme Court ruling that sending migrants to Rwanda through the agreement would be illegal because it “would expose them to a real risk of ill-treatment.”
The tiny nation of roughly 13 million people has been criticized by rights groups over its human rights record and increasingly diminished freedom of speech.
Rwanda has also faced mounting pressure over its involvement in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the east of which has been re-engulfed in conflict after a lightning strike by a Rwandan-backed military group.
Thousands of people gather near Buckingham Palace to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day
- Britain started its commemorations of V-E Day three days early, because Monday is a public holiday in the UK
LONDON: Thousands of people lined the roads around the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace on Monday as British and allied troops paraded past at the start of four days of pageantry to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.
After Big Ben tolled at the stroke of noon, actor Timothy Spall recited the victory speech that Winston Churchill delivered to a roaring crowd in central London on May 8, 1945. Britain started its commemorations of V-E Day three days early, because Monday is a public holiday in the UK.
The Cenotaph, the nation’s war memorial, was covered with Union Jack flags. It was the first time that the memorial had been draped in the flags since it was unveiled by King George V in 1920, two years after the end of World War I.
About 1,300 members of the British armed forces are being joined by troops from the United Kingdom’s NATO allies and Ukraine — a nod to the present war in Europe. The procession started in Parliament Square and swept past Buckingham Palace, where King Charles III took the salute.
Maria Crook, 69, who wore a hat with red, white and blue ribbons, traveled from Devon to London to watch the procession.
“I think it’s extremely important to pay our respects and honor those who have died for us,” she said.
In Dhaka, Makkah Route facility eases Bangladeshi pilgrims’ Hajj journey
- Around 87,000 Bangladeshis will be going for Hajj in 2025
- Special pilgrimage flights from Dhaka began on April 29
Dhaka: Bangladeshi pilgrims have welcomed the Hajj immigration procedures under the Makkah Route initiative, which are easing the process for tens of thousands of pilgrims departing for Saudi Arabia from the nation’s main international airport.
Most of the pilgrims are departing from Dhaka under the flagship pre-travel program.
The Kingdom launched the initiative in 2019 to help pilgrims meet all the visa, customs and health requirements at the airport of origin and save them long hours of waiting before and upon arrival in Saudi Arabia.
This year, Hajj is expected to start on June 4, and special pilgrimage flights from the Bangladeshi capital began on April 29.
“The Makkah Route initiative … It’s very pleasant for the pilgrims of Bangladesh. It is, of course, time-saving and being done comfortably,” Hajj director Mohammad Lokman Hossain told Arab News over the weekend.
“They didn’t have to wait in a long queue and it’s very beneficial to the pilgrims.”
Bangladesh is among seven Muslim-majority countries — including Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Morocco, Turkiye and Cote d’Ivoire — where Saudi Arabia is operating its Makkah Route initiative.
One of the most populous Muslim-majority countries, Bangladesh was granted a quota of 127,000 pilgrims in 2025. But only about 87,000 will be going this year due to high inflation and rising cost of airfares to the Middle East.
The pilgrims appreciated the way the Saudi facility was organized at the airport as they prepared to board their flights to the Kingdom.
“We have completed the immigration formalities very easily. There was no delay, no waiting. It’s like we came and everything was done,” Mohammad Ruhul Kuddus, a businessman from Dhaka, told Arab News.
For Oaliur Reza, the immigration process took only a minute.
“I had no idea about these services. I just found out about it for the first time and I had a very good experience,” Reza said.
“Just within a minute, I passed the immigration, and I liked this service the most.”
Abdul Awal, a businessman from the city of Feni, recalled how different it had been the first time he performed Hajj, when the Makkah Route initiative was not yet introduced.
“I like the current system a lot. It made things easier. The difficulties of the pilgrims have been reduced now significantly compared to the years before (the Makkah Route initiative),” Awal said.
“There were plenty of computerized service counters here for the pilgrims. Praise be to God, it’s very good.”
Europe launches a drive to attract scientists and researchers after Trump freezes US funding
- The European Union is launching a drive to attract scientists and researchers with offers of grants and new policy plans
- It comes after the Trump administration froze US government funding linked to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives
PARIS:The European Union launched a drive on Monday to attract scientists and researchers to Europe with offers of grants and new policy plans, after the Trump administration froze US government funding linked to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
“A few years ago, no one would have imagined that one of the biggest democracies in the world would cancel research programs under the pretext that the word diversity was in this program,” French President Emmanuel Macron said at the “Choose Europe for Science” event in Paris.
“No one would have thought that one of the biggest democracies in the world would delete with a stroke the ability of one researcher or another to obtain visas,” Macron said. “But here we are.”
Taking the same stage at the Sorbonne University, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU’s executive branch would set up a “super grant” program aimed at offering “a longer-term perspective to the very best” in the field.
She said that 500 million euros ($566 million) will be put forward in 2025-2027 “to make Europe a magnet for researchers.” It would be injected into the European Research Council, which already has a budget of more than 16 billion euros ($18 billion) for 2021-2027.
Von der Leyen said that the 27-nation EU intends “to enshrine freedom of scientific research into law” with a new legal act. As “the threats rise across the world, Europe will not compromise on its principles,” she said.
Macron said that the French government would also soon make new proposals to beef up investment in science and research.
Last month, hundreds of university researchers in the United States had National Science Foundation funding canceled to comply with US President Donald Trump’s order to end support to research on diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as the study of misinformation.
More than 380 grant projects have been cut so far, including work to combat Internet censorship in China and Iran and a project consulting with Indigenous communities to understand environmental changes in Alaska’s Arctic region.
Some terminated grants that sought to broaden the diversity of people studying science, technology and engineering. Scientists, researchers and doctors have taken to the streets in protest.
While not mentioning the Trump administration by name, von der Leyen said that it was “a gigantic miscalculation” to undermine free and open research.
“We can all agree that science has no passport, no gender, no ethnicity, no political party,” she said. “We believe that diversity is an asset of humanity and the lifeblood of science. It is one of the most valuable global assets and it must be protected.”
Von der Leyen’s drive to promote opportunities in Europe in the field of science and take advantage of US policy shifts dovetails with the way that she has played up the potential for trade deals with other countries since Trump took office in January and sparked a tariff war last month.
The former German defense minister, and trained doctor, vowed that the EU would also address some of the roadblocks that scientists and researchers face, notably excessive red tape and access to businesses.
Macron said that science and research must not “be based on the diktats of the few.”
Macron said that Europe “must become a refuge” for scientists and researchers, and he said to those who feel under threat elsewhere: “The message is simple. If you like freedom, come and help us to remain free, to do research here, to help us become better, to invest in our future.”
Pakistan conducts second missile test since renewed India standoff
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan military said on Monday it had conducted a missile test with a range of 120 kilometers (75 miles), the second launch in two days as tensions with India have soared over disputed Kashmir.
New Delhi has blamed Islamabad for backing a deadly attack on tourists on the Indian side of Kashmir last month, sparking a fresh stand-off between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
“The launch was aimed at ensuring the operational readiness of troops and validating key technical parameters, including the missile’s advanced navigation system and enhanced accuracy,” the military said in a statement.
On Saturday, the military said it had tested a surface-to-surface missile with a range of 450 kilometers (280 miles).
It did not say where either of the tests took place.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he was satisfied with the military’s “full preparedness for national defense.”
“The successful training launch clearly shows that Pakistan’s defense is in strong hands,” he said in a statement.
The missile training launch comes after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he has given his military “full operational freedom” to respond to the April 22 attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people.
Pakistan has denied any involvement and called for an independent probe.
Islamabad warned last week of an imminent air strike from its neighbor and has repeatedly made clear it will respond with force to any aggression by India.
International pressure has been piled on both New Delhi and Islamabad — who have fought several wars over the disputed Kashmir region — to de-escalate.
The two sides have exchanged nightly gunfire for more than a week nine along the militarised Line of Control, the de facto border, according to Indian defense sources.
Muslim-majority Kashmir, a region of around 15 million people, is divided between Pakistan and India but claimed in full by both.
On the Pakistani side, emergency drills have been carried out on playing fields, residents have been told to stock up on food and medicine, and religious schools have been closed.
In Indian-run Kashmir, a vast manhunt seeking the gunmen continues across the territory, while those living along the frontier are moving further away — or cleaning out bunkers fearing conflict.
Sharif has postponed an official visit to Malaysia scheduled for Friday as tensions mounted, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Monday.
His office said the two sides spoke on Sunday night and that he “conveyed that he looked forward to paying an official visit to Malaysia later this year.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was in Islamabad on Monday for an official visit.
“Pakistan is presenting its case to friendly countries,” Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told reporters on a visit to Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Monday.
