Hospital built by UAE at forefront of Pakistan’s fight against COVID-19

Hospital staff are seen at Pakistan-Emirates Military Hospital (PEMH) in Rawalpindi on Aug. 29, 2020. (AN photo)
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Updated 30 August 2020
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Hospital built by UAE at forefront of Pakistan’s fight against COVID-19

  • Has treated more than 10,000 coronavirus patients since March
  • Built at a cost of $108mln, the Pakistan-Emirates Military Hospital was launched three years ago

ISLAMABAD: More than 10,000 people have been treated for COVID-19 at the Pakistan-Emirates Military Hospital (PEMH) in Rawalpindi since March, a senior hospital official told Arab News on Saturday.




A staff member of Pakistan-Emirates Military Hospital (PEMH) talks to military officials on Aug. 29, 2020. (AN photo)

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, the hospital served as a dedicated treatment and research center for coronavirus patients and treated over 10,000 patients of varying severity by offering a full spectrum of treatment ranging from ventilatory support to stem cell therapy and generating valuable research during the course of crisis,” Major General Mahmood Sultan, Commandant PEMH, added.

Launched in May 2017, under the UAE-Pakistan Assistance Program (UAEPAP), the PEMH was built at the cost of $108 million and is one of several facilities tasked with fighting the coronavirus outbreak in the country.




A staff member of Pakistan-Emirates Military Hospital (PEMH) in Rawalpindi is wearing protective gear on Aug. 29, 2020. The hospital is a dedicated treatment and research center for coronavirus patients. (AN photo)

“The PEMH is the largest ISO-9001-2015 certified hospital of Pakistan Armed Forces which offers state of the art indoor and outdoor multidisciplinary care to its patients,” Sultan said, adding that it can “expand its bed capacity from 1,000 to 1,500 beds” and draws its “strength from its academic credentials.”

“It is an affiliated teaching hospital for undergraduate medical students of the Army Medical College and is also recognized in 24 disciplines for postgraduate training of doctors,” Sultan said.




Pakistan-Emirates Military Hospital (PEMH) staff member talks to Arab News in Rawalpindi on Aug. 29, 2020. (AN photo)

In addition to facilitating Pakistan in its anti-coronavirus fight, the UAE has also sent three shipments containing 18.3 tons of medical aid and food supplies and 20,000 coronavirus testing kits, in the past three months.

Other development measures include the reconstruction of seven health facilities in Swat, Bajaur, and Dir districts after they were destroyed by floods in 2010, while work is underway for the provision of four more hospitals in South Waziristan, at a total cost of $125 million.




People stand in front of the Pakistan-Emirates Military Hospital (PEMH) building in Rawalpindi on Aug. 29, 2020. The hospital has treated more than 10,000 coronavirus patients. (AN photo)

According to the UAEPAP website, the reconstruction of these hospitals will “accelerate the provision of medical services to the local population.”

The UAEPAP was established in 2010 and has overseen several development and humanitarian projects in Pakistan, particularly in the education, infrastructure, and health care sectors.


Pakistan commerce minister visits Bangladesh to boost trade amid thaw in ties

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Pakistan commerce minister visits Bangladesh to boost trade amid thaw in ties

  • Jam Kamal’s visit follows Sheikh Hasina’s ouster last year, which strained Bangladesh’s ties with India
  • The Pakistan minister will meet senior officials and business leaders to boost economic collaboration

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Commerce Minister Jam Kamal arrived in Bangladesh on Wednesday for a four-day visit aimed at expanding trade ties after years of strained relations, with meetings planned with senior officials and business leaders.

Kamal’s trip comes in the wake of the ouster of former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina in a popular uprising last year.

Hasina, long seen as close to India and critical of Pakistan, fled to New Delhi after her fall, putting pressure on Dhaka’s ties with India. The political shift opened space for Pakistan and Bangladesh — one nation until the bloody 1971 war of independence — to edge closer again, with senior officials from both sides holding meetings at global forums.

“Federal Minister for Commerce, H.E. Jam Kamal Khan, arrived in Bangladesh on Wednesday to begin a four-day official visit, scheduled from August 21 to 24, 2025,” the commerce ministry said in a statement.

“The visit is aimed at strengthening bilateral trade ties and enhancing economic cooperation between Pakistan and Bangladesh,” it added.

“During his stay, the Commerce Minister will hold high-level meetings with his Bangladeshi counterpart, senior government officials, and leading business representatives to explore new avenues of collaboration in trade and investment.”

Earlier this month, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Bangladeshi High Commissioner Md. Iqbal Hussain Khan in Islamabad, expressing satisfaction at the revival of bilateral mechanisms to rebuild ties.

Sharif recalled his “warm and productive” exchanges with Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Mohammad Yunus, most recently at the D-8 summit in Cairo last December, and said Pakistan was eager to broaden cooperation in political, economic and cultural areas while boosting trade and people-to-people contact.

The Bangladeshi envoy, according to Sharif’s office, briefed him on steps being taken by both countries to ease travel, trade and connectivity and voiced his intent to “further strengthen the historic bonds of friendship.”


Pakistan slams Muslim-only UN terror list, flags global rise of right-wing extremism

Updated 51 min 33 sec ago
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Pakistan slams Muslim-only UN terror list, flags global rise of right-wing extremism

  • Pakistan says UN terror list contradicts the world body’s own stance that terrorism is not tied to any religion
  • Its envoy maintains TTP, BLA and Majeed Brigade are collaborating in cross-border attacks against Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday highlighted a global policy blindspot at the United Nations Security Council that was allowing right-wing and fascist movements to fuel extremist violence without attracting the same level of scrutiny as Muslim groups, despite posing serious threats in various parts of the world.

In remarks at a high-level Security Council briefing on threats to international peace, Pakistan’s UN envoy Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said his country had suffered deeply from militancy and condemned terrorism in all its forms. However, he urged the international community to revisit the global counterterrorism discourse, calling for a uniform application of the term “terrorism.”

“There has been a surge in the emergence of right-wing, extremist and fascist movements in several countries and regions of the world leading to terrorist violence,” he told the Council. “Yet, we see a strong inclination to see acts by non-Muslims not as terrorism, but often described just as violent crime.”

“It is not understandable, and is indeed unacceptable, that every name on the Security Council’s terrorism lists is Muslim, while terrorists and violent extremists elsewhere escape scrutiny,” he said. “There is no non-Muslim in the lists. This must change.”

Ahmad pointed out this approach ran counter to the UN’s own position that terrorism should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilization or ethnic group.

The Pakistani envoy also reiterated his country’s concern over the challenge of militant violence emanating from Afghanistan, calling it “the single most potent threat” to the region and the world.

He cited the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as the largest UN-designated militant outfit operating from Afghan soil, with nearly 6,000 fighters posing a direct threat to Pakistan’s national security.

“With safe havens close to our borders, it directly threatens our national security,” Ahmad continued, adding there was “credible evidence of collaboration” between the TTP and the separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Majeed Brigade.

These groups, he noted, had jointly targeted Pakistan’s strategic infrastructure, economic projects and civilians.

He recounted recent attacks including the hijacking of a passenger train in Balochistan earlier this year in March and a school bus attack in Khuzdar in May that left 10 people dead, eight of them children, pointing out that these acts were carried out by the same groups.

Ahmad accused Pakistan’s “principal adversary in the region” of sponsoring militant violence on its soil without naming India, saying it was also carrying out “extra-territorial assassinations that have gone global.”

He also condemned a cross-border strike by New Delhi in May that killed 54 Pakistani civilians, including 15 children, and led to an intense four-day war between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.


Pakistan to continue accepting Hajj applications for remaining 1,640 seats under government scheme

Updated 21 August 2025
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Pakistan to continue accepting Hajj applications for remaining 1,640 seats under government scheme

  • Hajj applicants facing difficulties due to torrential rains and emergency situations, says religion ministry
  • Heavy rains and floods have killed over 400 people in several parts of the country since last week

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will continue accepting Hajj applications for the remaining 1,640 seats under the government scheme on Thursday, the religious affairs ministry said, noting that torrential rains were causing difficulties for people in applying for the Islamic pilgrimage. 

Pakistan’s religion ministry announced earlier this month that it has been allocated a quota of 179,210 pilgrims for this year’s Hajj. Out of these, the ministry said around 118,000 seats have been allocated under the government scheme and the rest to private tour operators.

The religious affairs ministry said on Monday it has received 114,500 applications under the government scheme since Aug. 4 and will continue to accept applications for the remaining ones. In a statement on Wednesday, the ministry said only 1,640 seats remain under the government Hajj scheme.

“It has been decided to continue accepting applications for the vacant seats tomorrow (Thursday), Aug. 21,” the ministry said. “Applicants are facing difficulties due to rains and emergency conditions.”

Heavy rains and floods in several parts of the country have killed over 400 people since Aug. 15. In Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, torrential rains since last week have killed over 400 people. In Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi, heavy rains have killed at least 17 people since Aug. 19. 

Pakistan has designated 14 banks to receive Hajj applications. 

“Once all seats are filled, the designated banks will immediately stop accepting Hajj applications,” the ministry clarified. 

Under the government scheme, pilgrims can choose between a long package (38-42 days) and a short package (20-25 days), with costs ranging between Rs1,150,000 and Rs1,250,000 ($4,050–4,236).

Applicants are required to deposit a first installment of Rs500,000 [$1764] or Rs550,000 [$1941] depending on the package, while the remaining dues will be collected in November.

Saudi Arabia had approved the same quota for Pakistan in 2025, though private tour operators last year struggled to utilize their share, saying they faced technical and financial delays, even as the government filled its quota of over 88,000 pilgrims.


Pakistan gear up for AFC U23 Asian Cup qualifiers in Saudi Arabia with training camp

Updated 20 August 2025
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Pakistan gear up for AFC U23 Asian Cup qualifiers in Saudi Arabia with training camp

  • Qualifiers will take place from Sept. 1-9, feature 44 teams in total in groups of 11
  • Pakistan have been placed with hosts Cambodia, Iraq and Oman in Group G

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan are gearing up for the qualifiers of the Saudi Arabia-hosted AFC Asian Cup 2026, with a training camp in Islamabad, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) said on Wednesday.

The qualifiers will feature 44 sides each drawn into 11 groups, which will be contested from Sept. 1-9. The 11 group winners and the four best-ranked runners-up will join Saudi Arabia, who are hosting the tournament for the first time, in January’s finals.

Pakistan has been placed in Group G with Iraq, Cambodia and Oman. While the tournament will be hosted in Saudi Arabia, one member of the group will host all qualifier matches. Cambodia has been picked as the host for all Group G AFC Asian Cup qualifier matches.

“Initially, 50 players selected through tryouts are participating in the camp,” the PFF said in a statement on Wednesday. “The final 23-member squad will be announced later.”

Pakistan Head Coach Nolberto Solano joined the U23 team at the Jinnah Sports Complex in Islamabad for the training camp, the PFF said.

Pakistan will play its first match against Iraq on Sept. 3, followed by its second one against hosts Cambodia on Sept. 6. The Green Shirts play their final group stage match against Oman on Sept. 9.


Karachi educational institutions ordered shut as 17 killed amid heavy rains, flooding

Updated 20 August 2025
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Karachi educational institutions ordered shut as 17 killed amid heavy rains, flooding

  • Karachi received over 200 mm of rainfall from Aug. 19-20, triggering urban flooding
  • Karachi has often seen moderate rains trigger flooding in several parts of the city

KARACHI: All educational institutions in Pakistan’s financial hub Karachi will remain closed on Thursday, the Sindh College Education Department said in a notification, as the city reels from heavy monsoon rains and urban flooding that have killed 17 people this week.

The intense monsoon downpours, which began in Karachi on Tuesday, have killed 17 people according to the Rescue 1122 emergency service. Major arteries of the city were flooded with water, leaving citizens stranded for hours on Tuesday and Wednesday. News outlets reported that several areas of the city remained without power for over 24 hours till Wednesday night.

Private weather forecasting company WeatherWalay said the city experienced “an extraordinary rainfall event” from Aug. 19-20, recording the highest 24-hour precipitation in over four decades when it received between 150-259 millimeters of rainfall across various locations. The development prompted authorities to close businesses and educational institutions on Wednesday.

Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab, meanwhile, said most of the city’s roads, including its major thoroughfares and important underpasses, were cleared for traffic on Wednesday morning.

“All public and private educational institutions within the territorial jurisdiction of Karachi Division under the administrative control of the College Education Department, Government of Sindh shall remain closed on Thursday, 21 August, 2025 due to heavy rains,” the education department’s notification said on Wednesday.

According to details shared by Rescue 1122 about the 17 deaths, six were caused by electrocution while six were killed by structures collapsing. Four drowned due to the intense rains while one person was killed in a fire incident.

Karachi, a city of more than 20 million with dilapidated infrastructure, has often seen even moderate rains trigger flooding in parts of the city, threatening residents’ lives and causing hours-long power outages.

Karachi has faced repeated bouts of urban flooding in recent years. In July-August 2009, the heaviest rains in three decades killed at least 26 people and damaged infrastructure.

Torrential downpours in August 2017 left 23 dead and large parts of the city paralyzed, while heavy rains in 2019 killed 11, mostly from electrocution and collapsing structures.

The following year brought the worst flooding in nearly a century, with record-breaking rainfall in August 2020 killing more than 40 and cutting power to many neighborhoods for days.

In July 2022, intense monsoon showers again submerged parts of the city, killing at least 14 in early July and several more later that month.

Karachi has been lashed with heavy rains at a time when Pakistan is witnessing an intense monsoon season that has already ravaged several areas, particularly in the country’s north, where cloudburst-triggered deluges have killed nearly 400 people since Aug.15.

In total, over 700 Pakistanis have died in this year’s monsoon season, which began on Jun. 26, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).