Pakistan

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This particular column is based on my last trip to Lahore from Cambridge, where I am considered a ‘Lahore Specialist’. Just imagine!! Last month, the university further promoted and confirmed a ‘lifelong’ research position. I will not tell what it is named. The last time I flew in on our national airline trip, it was a disaster. Oh it was delayed several times with an unannounced departure. Not surprised. No wonder it was banned. The seats were reshuffled, disgraceful food quality, insipid tea (… most like cold tea, Sir!), the lights inside going crazy and snappy crew reassuring the aircraft will not crash. It was a delight to enter the dust-bowl skies of Lahore and the searing heat. For once, the Begum literally looked red. Before leaving for Lahore I visited a sub-continental eatery in Cambridge called ‘Dishoom’, which started pre-Partition in Bombay (Mumbai), then opened a branch in Karachi and then moved to London and finally to Cambridge. It is a Parsi-owned eatery and if you tell them that you are from ...

The Privatisation Commission on Friday signed an agreement with financial advisers for the privatisation of Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL), a statement from the Ministry of Privatisation said. Founded in 1961 as the ADBP, it was renamed and incorporated as ZTBL in 2002 under the Companies Ord­inance 1984. The bank of­­fers agricultural credit and banking services to farmers nationwide and remains Pakistan’s largest public-sector agri lender. Last month, the Board of the Privatisation Com­mission had approved the ap­­pointment of financial advisers for the divestme­nt of ZTBL, marking it as one of the government’s priority transactions in the current privatisation pipeline. “The Privatisation Commission has signed a Financial Advisory Services Agreement (Fasa) with a consortium led by Next Capital Limited for the strategic privatisation of Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL),” the statement said. It added that the consortium also includes Ijaz Ahmed and Associates, Baker Tilly Mehmood Idrees Qamar, Execut...

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is closely monitoring the flood situation and has directed immediate relief operations in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that his country is seeking self-reliance in energy independence and the development of its own powerful defence systems, vowing to defend his country’s interests “like a wall”. Modi delivered his annual Independence Day address from the ramparts of New Delhi’s Red Fort at a time when India faces intense pressure and threats of additional tariffs from the United States. “Self-reliance is the foundation of developed India,” Modi said after a flypast of military helicopters scattered flower petals above an invited crowd of thousands. “Freedom becomes meaningless if someone becomes too dependent on others.” Ties between New Delhi and Washington have been strained by Trump’s ultimatum that India end its purchases of Russian oil, a key source of revenue for Moscow as it wages its military offensive in Ukraine. India has said it “stands ready” to support efforts to end the Ukraine war and endorses a summit to be held between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Put...

Pakistan has strongly rebuked recent Israeli statements hinting at a so-called “Greater Israel” and the forced eviction of Palestinians from Gaza, branding the remarks “provocative, illegal, and utterly unacceptable.

A man who was believed to have been running from a raid by US immigration agents died on Thursday after being hit by a car on a freeway, police said. City managers in Monrovia, near Los Angeles, said police had been called after there were reports of activity by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at a Home Depot. During the raid, one man ran from the parking lot of the hardware store — a place where day labourers commonly gather looking for casual work — and onto a busy freeway during rush hour, Monrovia City Manager Dylan Feik told media. A spokesman for the California Highway Patrol (CHP) said the 40-year-old man was taken to a hospital, where he died from his injuries a few hours later. Neither CHP nor the city were immediately able to provide any details on the man’s identity. Feik said: “The city has not received any communication or information from ICE.” ICE did not immediately respond to an AFP request for information. Masked and armed agents from ICE and US Border Patrol began carrying ...

Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has lauded the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police for foiling 14 terrorist attacks planned by what he described as “Fitna al-Hindustan” on August 14.

Advocacy groups filed a criminal case against Germany’s foreign and interior ministers on Friday, accusing them of failing to protect Afghan nationals in Pakistan with German admission approvals from deportation to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Pakistan has begun deporting documented Afghan refugees ahead of a September 1 deadline, a move the United Nations warns could force more than one million to leave. The decision followed the interior ministry’s announcement on July 31 that PoR cardholders — the last category of Afghans legally residing in Pakistan without visas — became unlawful residents after their cards expired on June 30. A letter from the interior ministry, dated August 4, was sent to the chief secretaries and police chiefs of the four provinces, as well as Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, detailing the implementation of the ongoing Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan (IFRP). Among those at risk are more than 2,000 Afghans approved for relocation to Germany under programmes for peop...

A Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government helicopter involved in flood rescue operations has crashed, officials confirmed.

Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik Friday, called on Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and discussed matters of mutual interest.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Friday said that counterterrorism dialogue between Pakistan and the United States will help in formulating a joint action plan amid strengthening ties between the two countries. According to a statement by the interior ministry today, Naqvi met with US Acting Coordinator for Counterterrorism Gregory LoGerfo. Both officials discussed bilateral relations and agreeed to increase cooperation in various fields, including counterterrorism, border security and counter-narcotics, “The counterterrorism dialogue will help in formulating a joint action plan,” the statement quoted Naqvi as saying during the meeting. The minister hoped for “positive results of Pak-US cooperation in eliminating terrorism”. Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry, Acting US Ambassador Natalie Baker and the federal interior secretary were also present on the occasion, it added. “There has been an extraordinary improvement in Pak-US relations after the coming to power of President Donald Trump,” Naqvi s...

The district administration has announced that the dam’s spillways will be opened today at 1 pm to regulate the water flow, following continuous rainfall in recent days, and the water level at Rawal Dam has risen significantly, reaching 1,751.

Pakistan has taken the forefront in uniting regional partners to advocate for a just and effective Global Plastics Treaty, emphasizing the need for equitable access to green financing and technology for developing nations.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday inaugurated a special economic zone (SEZ) in Islamabad to be set up by a Chinese textile group — projected to generate exports worth $400 million for the country, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported. Pakistan has held strong bilateral relations with China, which has supported it through many investments and development projects, such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which, currently in its second phase, has been termed a “lifeline” for the country’s economy. The phase II of the program is expected to focus on industrialisation, spe­c­ial economic zones, clean ene­rgy, agriculture and livelihood projects. PM Shehbaz welcomed the establishment of an SEZ, saying that the “initiative would facilitate technology transfer, skill development, and sustainable industrial growth”. The project will be set up by the Chinese textile group Challenge Fashion Private Limited, which is set to invest $100m over five years in the project. PM Shehbaz met with the compa...

BAHAWALPUR: Allappa police in Multan booked three persons, including a hakeem (herbalist) on Thursday, for allegedly sexually assaulting the women patients visiting his ‘clinic’, recording their videos and later blackmailing them. According to police sources, the case was registered on the report of a constable, Muhammad Owais, who says the hakeem was running a clinic, where he installed secret cameras in the examination room. He says the hakeem, in connivance with his two accomplices, sexually assaults the women patients visiting the clinic, on the pretext of examining them and records their videos. The suspects would later extort money, jewellery and other valuables from these women by blackmailing them. He said the suspects also uploaded obscene videos of some of the women patients on social media. Acting on the complaint, Allappa police registered a case against the suspects who are yet to be arrested. WOMAN TORTURED: A man, along with his brother, allegedly tortured his wife and forcibly cut her hair in ...

Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Minister Dr Musadik Malik called for equitable access to green financing and other resources for developing nations at a meeting in Geneva on Friday, state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported. He chaired the meeting on the sidelines of the fifth session of the plastic pollution treaty negotiations taking place in Geneva. Billed as the most important environmental deal since the 2015 Paris climate accord, the 10-day summit brought delegates from 185 countries to finalise a global treaty to control plastic pollution. “Pakistan led a regional dialogue with Bangladesh, Egypt, Tajikistan, Malaysia, and Sudan for an interactive briefing,” according to a statement posted by Malik’s team on X. “Minister Musadik called for a fair Global Plastics Treaty and equitable green financing, so support reaches nations most impacted by pollution and climate challenges,” the statement added. At the meeting, the climate minister noted, “those responsible for the highest levels o...

Pakistan and the Federated States of Micronesia have formally established diplomatic relations to open up avenues for bilateral cooperation. The Federated States of Micronesia are an island nation located in the western Pacific Ocean that joined the United Nations in 1991, according to the UN’s website. Both countries’ permanent representatives to the UN signed an agreement at a ceremony in New York, the Pakistan Mission to the UN said in a press release on Thursday. “Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN, and Federated States of Micronesia’s counterpart, Ambassador Jeem S. Lippwe, signed a joint communiqué to formalise the relationship between the two countries,” the Pakistan Mission said. Addressing the ceremony, Ambassador Ahmad noted: “The relations would open up avenues for cooperation in the field of human resource management, capacity building and climate change.” Both Missions would “work closely on key matters, especially promotion of international peace and s...

Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities marked the fourth anniversary of their takeover on Friday, buoyed by Russia’s first official recognition of their government, a step they hope other countries will follow. Parades were planned in several cities, including in central Kabul, where helicopters were set to drop flowers and the white-and-black flags of the Taliban’s “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” fluttered across the city to mark their capture of the capital on August 15, 2021. Taliban members gathered on Thursday night at a square near the shuttered US embassy — seat of their enemy during their 20-year insurgency — waving flags and setting off fireworks, an AFP journalist said. The military parade held last year with much fanfare at the Bagram airbase, once the linchpin for US-led operations, was cancelled this year, without public explanation. The Taliban government remains largely isolated on the global stage over restrictions imposed under their interpretation of Islamic law, targeting women in particular. V...