ISLAMABAD: The chief of Pakistan’s top military spy agency, the ISI, on Saturday hosted a key security meeting of intelligence heads of regional countries, including China, to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, Pakistani media outlets widely reported on Sunday.
Though there was no official confirmation of the meeting by the Pakistani foreign office or military, an intelligence source confirmed the session to Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper and said it was attended by the intelligence heads from Russia, China, Iran and a number of Central Asian states.
“The hosting of the meeting by Pakistan reflects our sincerity for peace in the region and Afghanistan,” the source told Dawn.
Geo News said the participants of the meeting, which was hosted by Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed, the Director-General of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, “exchanged views on the security situation in Afghanistan, a few days after the Taliban announced an interim government to fill the political void.”
The Express Tribune newspaper said the ISI chief met his counterparts from Russia, China, Iran, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
The latest meeting follows Hameed’s recent visit to Afghanistan, where he met with the Afghan leadership in Kabul.
William J. Burns, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), also visited Pakistan on Thursday this week and met with army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa. The CIA director appreciated Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan, including its help in evacuation efforts, regional stability and peace.
Earlier this week, Pakistan hosted a virtual meeting of foreign ministers from China, Iran, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to discuss recent developments in Afghanistan and provide an opportunity to all regional stakeholders “to work together” for Afghanistan’s peace and stability, the foreign office said.
During the meeting on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi emphasized the importance of proceeding with a “realistic approach” on Afghanistan.
“Well-being of the Afghan people must remain the focus, as they had suffered enormously due to prolonged conflict and instability for more than forty years,” he said.
Qureshi also drew attention to the humanitarian crisis in the country and urged the international community to help prevent an economic meltdown in Afghanistan.
The Taliban retook control of the country in August as US and foreign troops withdrew after 20 years of conflict following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
The legitimacy of the government in the eyes of international donors and investors will be crucial for the economy as the country battles drought and the ravages of a conflict that killed an estimated 240,000 Afghans.
Humanitarian organizations have warned of impending catastrophe and the economy — reliant for years on many millions of dollars of foreign aid — is close to collapse.
On Thursday, the United Nations Development Programme warned that Afghanistan was on the brink of “universal poverty” as early as 2022.
In its response to the UNDP report, the Taliban urged the global community to continue providing aid and humanitarian support to its population of 38 million, telling Arab News that the group was working to tackle poverty and unemployment in Afghanistan.
Pakistan hosts meeting of regional intelligence chiefs to discuss Afghanistan — media
https://arab.news/49x4a
Pakistan hosts meeting of regional intelligence chiefs to discuss Afghanistan — media
- DG ISI meets counterparts from Russia, China, Iran, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan in Islamabad
- “Meeting by Pakistan reflects our sincerity for peace in region and Afghanistan,” intelligence source says
Pakistan unveils advanced anti-rape cell in Karachi to boost conviction rate in sexual violence cases
- The model cell is an improved version of a pilot project launched in the southern Pakistani city last year
- A medical legal department at the center of the new cell will work with the police, empower prosecution
KARACHI: Less than eight months after the inauguration of the pioneering Anti-Rape Crisis Cell in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province, authorities on Tuesday unveiled a model cell to address legal cases involving sexual- and gender-based violence.
According to War Against Rape, a non-profit organization, Pakistan witnessed 5,279 reported rape cases in 2021, with less than three percent resulting in convictions, highlighting the urgent need for such initiatives.
Dr. Summaiya Syed, Police Surgeon Karachi, said recent measures in the province, including the Sindh Sexual Violence Response Framework of 2021 and the launch of the pilot Anti-Rape Crisis Cell last year, had shown promising progress, taking the conviction rate in cases of sexual violence from five to 15 percent.
“It offers separate spaces which weren’t really available in the pilot project,” she said after the launch of the model cell at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Hospital in a ceremony attended by the provincial health minister, Dr. Azra Pehechu, as the chief guest.
“Now we have better a space, better organization, better referral pathways, better connections between those referral pathways and better availability of resources,” she added.
Dr. Syed said they had learned several things from the pilot project which were utilized while setting up the new establishment.
“We hope that here since now we have dedicated referral pathways, dedicated SOPs [standard operating procedures] will be followed,” she added. “I have better staff provisions over here. We hope to take that [conviction ratio] higher.”
Maliha Zia, Associate Director Legal Aid Society, said facilities like anti-rape cells generate proper and effective evidence in cases of rape which can be used during the prosecution stage.
She said the government of Sindh, along with the police and the judiciary, had been working extensively for the last three years on improving the state’s response to rape cases.
The initiatives taken by the provincial authorities, she added, included training of medical staff to understand the role that they need to play during the trial and the necessary changes they need to make while reporting these cases.
“All this work has culminated in the establishment of an anti-rape crisis cell which not only puts together the medical legal department at the center, a capacitated medical legal department, but connects it directly with the police and prosecution to make an effective case,” Zia continued, adding strong medical evidence and solitary statement of the survivor would result in conviction rates.
Pakistan’s top court resumes hearing on alleged intelligence interference in judiciary
- The Supreme Court took up the case after six high court judges accused powerful spy agencies of intimidating them
- Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa says that judgments and court orders ‘shout’ on their own if there has been any meddling
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top court on Tuesday resumed the hearing of a case involving accusations by six high court judges of interference and intimidation by the country’s powerful intelligence agencies in judicial matters.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan took up the case after six out of the eight Islamabad High Court judges accused the military’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency of intimidating and coercing them over legal cases, particularly those with significant political consequences.
The judges provided various examples of alleged interference, including a case concerning Pakistan’s imprisoned former prime minister, Imran Khan. They also mentioned incidents where they said their relatives were abducted and tortured, and their homes were secretly surveilled, aiming to coerce them into delivering favorable judgments in specific cases.
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, who has repeatedly noted that judicial meddling would not be tolerated, mentioned that such interference could occur in multiple ways.
“Interference can be from within and without, from intelligence agencies, from one’s colleagues and family members or from social media,” he said.
He maintained that judgments and court orders “shout” on their own if there has been interference.
The CJP initially constituted a seven-member bench that last heard the matter on April 3. However, the bench had to be reconstituted after Justice Yahya Afridi recused himself.
Prior to that, the top Supreme Court judge also discussed the matter with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, during which it was decided to form an inquiry commission.
However, a former Pakistan chief justice, Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, who was asked to head the commission, recused himself, asking the Supreme Court to deal with the issue on an institutional level.
Pakistani actress Mahira Khan bags ‘Artist in Fashion’ award at EMIGALA ceremony in Dubai
- EMIGALA awards in Dubai acknowledge creative and innovative impacts in the beauty and fashion industries
- With a string of successful projects in film and TV, Mahira Khan is considered Pakistan’s most successful actress
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani actress Mahira Khan bagged the “Artist in Fashion” award at the recently held prestigious EMIGALA awards in Dubai, where some of the world’s biggest names in fashion and beauty worldwide were honored.
Khan was in attendance at the award ceremony held at Festival Bay in Dubai on Apr. 27 and 28. The event featured an array of A-list attendees such as Brazilian-American beauty personality Camila Coelho, Lebanese-British fashion entrepreneur Karen Wazen, Dubai Bling star Loujain Adada, social media sensation Narins Beauty, Indian singer Arjit Singh and Khan, among others.
The EMIGALA awards acknowledge the creative and innovative impacts of global celebrities in the realms of beauty and fashion.
“The Artist in Fashion, Mahira Khan,” Emi Gala Awards wrote on Instagram with a picture of Khan posing with her trophy on Monday.
Khan is counted among Pakistan’s most prolific actresses, gaining widespread recognition for her work in her country’s entertainment industry. The Pakistani actress became a household name after a string of successful drama serials following which she forayed into movies and made her mark across the border in India.
She had her Bollywood debut opposite iconic actor Shah Rukh Khan in a crime action film, “Raees,” which was released in 2017. The Pakistani celebrity was also working on other Indian movie projects, though they could not take off when relations between the two countries deteriorated in 2016 after an Indian army brigade headquarters came under attack in Uri. The administration in New Delhi suspected Pakistan’s involvement which was denied by officials in Islamabad.
In 2021 Khan achieved another milestone when she debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, representing L’Oreal Paris Hair in her country. She has also represented various renowned local brands such as Elan, Zohra Rahman, and Menahel and Mehreen.
Death toll from heavy rains in northwestern Pakistan surges to 92
- Heavy rains in Pakistan’s northwest have injured 110, destroyed 4,200 houses since Apr. 10, says authority
- Prone to natural disasters, Pakistan consistently ranks among countries most affected by impacts of climate change
PESHAWAR: The death toll from rain-related incidents in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province since Apr. 10 has surged to 92 while the number of injured has increased to 116, a spokesperson of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) confirmed on Tuesday.
The rains which began on Apr. 10 have destroyed 4,200 houses and damaged 5,900 others, PDMA spokesperson Anwar Shehzad shared. At least 17 people have been killed and 23 injured in rain-related incidents over the past three days, as per data from the PDMA’s latest report on Tuesday.
The report said the 17 dead included nine men, three women and five children while the 23 injured included nine men, three women and 11 children. Deaths and financial losses due to heavy rains were reported in Bajaur, Swat, Mansehra, Battagram, Dir Lower, Malakand, Lakki Marwat, Shangla, Mohmand and South Waziristan districts, the PDMA report added.
“At least 92 persons have died including women, children, and elderly people while 116 others were wounded since Apr. 10 in incidents involving roof collapse and lightning in parts of the province,” Shehzad told Arab News.
The PDMA’s report said the authority, district administrations and relief teams are engaged in relief activities in the affected districts. “The PDMA has also directed district administrations of the affected districts to provide immediate financial support to the victims,” it added.
Pakistan has received heavy rains this month that have triggered landslides and flash floods in several parts of the country.
The eastern province of Punjab has reported 21 lighting- and roof collapse-related deaths, while Balochistan, in the country’s southwest, reported at least 15 deaths this month from torrential rains.
In 2022, unprecedented rains swelled Pakistan’s rivers and at one point flooded a third of the country, killing 1,739 people. The floods also caused over $30 billion in damages, from which Pakistan is still trying to rebuild.
Pakistan has been prone to natural disasters and consistently ranks among the most severely affected countries in the world due to the effects of climate change.
Pakistani PM says IMF approval of $1.1 billion funding to bring economic stability
- Funding is last tranche of a $3 billion standby arrangement with the IMF secured last year
- Islamabad is seeking a new, larger long-term Extended Fund Facility agreement with the IMF
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday the International Monetary Fund’s approval of $1.1 billion in funding for Pakistan would bring economic stability, amid discussions for a new bailout loan.
The funding is the second and last tranche of a $3 billion standby arrangement with the IMF, which Islamabad secured last summer to help avert a sovereign default.
The approval came a day after Sharif discussed a new loan program with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh.
“Sharif expressed his satisfaction over the release of the last financial tranche of the IMF today,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement. “Receiving the last tranche of 1.1 billion dollars from the IMF will bring more economic stability in Pakistan.”
This is the second Stand-by Arrangement (SBA) for short-term financial assistance that Pakistan has completed, the last one being in 2016 during the government of three-time PM Nawaz Sharif, who is Sharif’s elder brother.
“Bitter and difficult decisions were taken for the economic security of Pakistan, but their fruits are coming in the form of economic stability,” Sharif added about reforms under the IMF program.
The $350 billion economy faces a chronic balance of payments crisis, with nearly $24 billion to repay in debt and interest over the next fiscal year — three-time more than its central bank’s foreign currency reserves.
Islamabad is seeking a new, larger long-term Extended Fund Facility (EFF) agreement with the fund after the current standby arrangement expires this month, and continuing with necessary policy reforms to rein in deficits, build up reserves and manage soaring debt servicing.
