ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday congratulated Joseph Aoun for being elected as the new president of Lebanon, expressing Pakistan’s interest in strengthening bilateral cooperation between both countries.
Aoun’s election came weeks after a tenuous ceasefire agreement halted a 14-month conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and at a time when Lebanon’s leaders are seeking international assistance for reconstruction.
Aoun, no relation to former President Michel, was widely seen as the preferred candidate of the United States, whose assistance Lebanon will need as it seeks to rebuild.
In his message on X, Sharif wished Aoun success in his endeavors to lead Lebanon toward peace, stability and prosperity.
“Pakistan values its ties with Lebanon and looks forward to strengthen our bilateral cooperation,” the Pakistan prime minister said.
Pakistan and Lebanon share close relations. In December, Lebanon helped Islamabad safely evacuate around 300 Pakistani nationals stranded in Syria and transport them back home via chartered flights from Beirut.
Pakistan has also sent several relief consignments for the people of Lebanon during Israel’s bombardment of the Middle Eastern country.
Pakistan hopes for stronger ties with Lebanon as Joseph Aoun elected president
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Pakistan hopes for stronger ties with Lebanon as Joseph Aoun elected president
- Aoun’s election came weeks after a ceasefire deal halted a 14-month conflict between Israel, Lebanese group Hezbollah
- PM Shehbaz Sharif says Pakistan values its ties with Lebanon and looks forward to strengthen bilateral cooperation
Central bank issues microfinance banking license to Pakistan subsidiary of Egyptian fintech
- Halan Microfinance Bank Limited is a subsidiary of MNT-Halan, one of Egypt’s largest microfinance companies
- MNT-Halan acquired Advans Pakistan Microfinance Bank in 2024, rebranded it as Halan Microfinance Bank
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan said on Thursday it had granted a nationwide microfinance banking license to Halan Microfinance Bank Limited, a subsidiary of MNT-Halan, one of Egypt’s largest microfinance companies.
MNT-Halan acquired Advans Pakistan Microfinance Bank in March 2024 and rebranded it as Halan Microfinance Bank. Halan focuses on digital banking, mobile wallets, cards, and a Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) platform.
“The State Bank of Pakistan has granted a Nation-wide microfinance banking license to Halan Microfinance Bank Limited with effect from June 03, 2025,” the bank said in a statement.
“The MFB has recently been acquired by MNT-Halan, Egypt’s leading fintech company having global presence, offering business and consumer lending, digital payments and e-commerce solutions to the underserved and unbanked.”
Since 2012, Halan has served Pakistan’s southern Sindh province with a range of financial services for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. The fintech has a network of 19 branches.
Halan Microfinance Bank pledged a $10 million investment in 2025 to drive expansion across Pakistan, reinforcing its presence in the country’s financial sector.
MNT-Halan was founded in 2018 and serves over eight million customers, including over a million borrowers. It holds a significant market share of 25 percent in Egypt. The fintech initially started as a ride-hailing service but has since evolved into a digital financial services provider, offering a range of financial services through their app, including lending, payments, e-commerce, and more.
Pakistan PM orders tighter polio surveillance after northern Gilgit-Baltistan reports first case
- Pakistan has confirmed 11 polio cases in 2025 compared to 74 last year
- Pakistan, Afghanistan are only countries where polio remains endemic
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered that polio immunization efforts be enhanced after the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region reported its first case of the virus in seven years this week, the premier’s office said on Thursday.
Polio is a paralyzing disease that has no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of 5 are essential to provide children high immunity against the disease.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where polio remains endemic. Pakistan has reported 11 polio cases so far this year, compared to 74 cases in 2024.
Earlier this week, the poliovirus was detected in a child from the district of Diamer in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, according to the country’s polio eradication program.
“The prime minister expressed deep concern over the recent reported polio case in Diamer,” Sharif’s office said in a statement.
“Union Councils where more polio cases are being reported and immunization is not good should be closely monitored.”
Pakistan concluded a nationwide polio vaccination campaign on June 1, the third this year. The drive had aimed to inoculate 45 million children under the age of five across 159 districts of the country.
In the early 1990s, Pakistan reported around 20,000 polio cases annually. By 2018, that number had dropped to just eight. In 2021, only one case was reported, and six cases were recorded in 2023.
Pakistan’s polio eradication program began in 1994, but efforts have been repeatedly undermined by misinformation and resistance from some religious hard-liners. These groups claim that immunization is a foreign plot to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western espionage.
Militant groups have also frequently attacked polio vaccination teams and the security personnel assigned to protect them.
A Pakistani police officer was killed on May 27 when gunmen opened fire on a team of health workers conducting a door-to-door polio vaccination campaign in the southwestern Balochistan province during the latest inoculation drive.
Pakistan appointed vice chair of UN Security Council’s counterterrorism body
- Pakistani officials call the appointment international recognition of Islamabad’s counterterrorism efforts
- Pakistan has also been named chair of the Security Council committee overseeing sanctions against the Taliban
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan was appointed vice chair of the United Nations Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee on Wednesday, a move its officials described as international recognition of the country’s efforts to combat militancy and engage constructively within the UN system.
The committee, established in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks through Resolution 1373, monitors how UN member states implement counterterrorism measures.
Pakistan was also named chair of the Security Council committee overseeing sanctions against the Taliban, and co-chair of two informal working groups, one on improving the Council’s transparency and procedures and another on sanctions-related issues.
“These appointments represent an acknowledgment of Pakistan’s active engagement with the United Nations system, including its constructive role as an elected member of the Security Council,” the mission said in a statement. “They are also an international recognition of Pakistan’s counterterrorism efforts.”
These developments come nearly a month after New Delhi targeted Pakistani cities following a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 tourists. Indian officials blamed Pakistan for the assault, though the administration in Islamabad denied involvement and called for an “impartial” international probe.
The situation, however, escalated into a four-day military conflict before a US-brokered ceasefire was announced on May 10 by President Donald Trump.
Pakistan has also said in the past it has been targeted by armed militant factions operating from neighboring Afghanistan and “sponsored by India.” Both Kabul and New Delhi deny the charge, though Pakistan’s presence on the Taliban sanctions committee could carry significance in this context.
The Pakistani mission at the UN said it would work with other member states to help strengthen multilateral efforts against militant violence.
Pakistan, which began its two-year term as an elected member of the Security Council in January, has advocated for greater inclusivity and equity in global governance institutions, including reform of the UN’s working methods.
‘A flower snatched from us’: Family demands justice for murdered TikTok influencer
- Police say Sana Yousaf, who had over a million TikTok followers, was shot dead after rejecting a man’s advances
- Her killing has reignited debate over women’s safety in Pakistan, where gender-based violence remains widespread
KARACHI: The father of a teenage Pakistani TikTok influencer shot dead this week in Islamabad said on Wednesday he had wanted her to join the bureaucracy, but she had set her sights on the medical field to serve the people of Pakistan.
Sana Yousaf, 17, was shot dead at her home on Monday evening by another social media influencer, 22-year-old Umar Hayat, after she rejected his repeated advances, Islamabad Police chief Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi told reporters on Tuesday.
Originally from Chitral, around 400 kilometers north of the capital, Yousaf had 1.1 million followers on TikTok and over 600,000 on Instagram. Her videos ranged from lip-syncing to songs to food tastings and makeup tutorials.
The last clip posted to her TikTok account— a montage of her birthday celebration with friends— has already garnered 18.6 million views.
“My wish was for her to go on to do CSS [Central Superior Services],” Syed Yousuf Hasan, her father, told Arab News by phone from his ancestral village of Chuing in Chitral.
“But she insisted that she wanted to go into the medical field so that she could serve her country, Pakistan, and its people more,” he continued. “That was her dream.”
Yousaf was pursuing her goal of becoming a doctor and was enrolled in the Faculty of Science (FSc), a two-year pre-university qualification at the intermediate level.
“She was intelligent, talented and cheerful, and her presence would light up any gathering,” Hasan, a government officer, said. “She was like a son to me, like a brave son.”
Yousaf had been expected to travel to Chitral to celebrate Eid Al-Adha with her family. Hasan said she was especially close to him, her mother and her younger brother.
Her uncle, Syed Kausar Ali Shah, described her as an “exceptionally talented child” with a strong sense of purpose.
“She had a vision and used to say, ‘Our parents have invested in us, and we will repay that by serving our ancestral region.’”
‘NO FORGIVENESS’
On Wednesday, an Islamabad district and sessions court remanded Hayat in judicial custody for 14 days, according to a police spokesperson.
Yousaf’s murder has sparked renewed outrage over women’s safety in Pakistan. Activists and rights groups criticized social media users for victim-blaming the teenager as news of her killing broke.
Violence against women is frequently reported in Pakistan, especially in cases involving rejected marriage proposals or women active on social media platforms like TikTok.
Feminist groups and civil society activists have announced protests in several cities on Thursday to demand accountability for Yousaf’s murder.
Hasan, too, is seeking justice.
“If someone enters your home and kills, then there should be no forgiveness for that person,” he said. “Our demand is that he be punished publicly in the same way he treated us.”
Shah said the family and the people of Chitral were proud of Yousaf for standing her ground.
“She was our whole world,” he said, his voice breaking. “She was a flower that was snatched from us.”
US hails Pakistan role in India ceasefire, counterterrorism cooperation
- Natalie Baker says Pakistan-US partnership has boosted security in both countries and the region
- She praises Pakistan for choosing path to peace with India, hopes to expand ties ‘into new frontiers’
ISLAMABAD: The United States on Wednesday praised Pakistan’s leadership for helping broker a ceasefire with India and deepening counterterrorism cooperation, saying such efforts had made both nations and the wider region more secure.
The comments were made by US Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker at her country’s Independence Day reception in Islamabad.
The ceasefire was announced by President Donald Trump on May 10 following a four-day standoff between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan, during which the two sides exchanged missile, drone and artillery fire in one of the most intense military escalations in their recent history.
“Our collaboration helped broker a ceasefire between Pakistan and India, a reminder that when we stand together, even persistent tensions can find a path to peace,” Baker said in her remarks.
“I want to echo President Trump’s deep appreciation to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal [Asim] Munir for their leadership and commitment in choosing the path of peace,” she continued, calling their vision “transformative” while hoping to “take the US-Pakistan relationship into new frontiers.”
The US diplomat described the security and defense cooperation between the two countries as a pillar of bilateral partnership.
“For decades, our militaries have trained together, operated together and stood together to address shared threats, from terrorism to regional instability,” she continued. “Through joint exercises, capacity-building programs and military education exchanges, we’ve improved not only the security of our own nations but the safety of the wider region.”
“I want to acknowledge and thank our US and Pakistani military officials for your dedication, sacrifice and shared mission to make both our countries safer – a legacy we deeply honor,” she added.
Baker cited Pakistan’s recent capture and extradition of the Daesh militant responsible for the deadly 2021 Abbey Gate bombing in Kabul as a major milestone, saying it reflected growing operational trust between the two countries.
The attack killed 13 American service members and over 160 Afghan civilians during the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“Thanks to the leadership and resolve of Pakistan’s military and security authorities, terrorists are being brought to justice,” she said.
“As President Trump noted in his March address to the US Congress, the bravery and wisdom of Pakistan’s leadership has made both of our nations more secure.”
The event marked the 249th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence and was attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other senior Pakistani officials, diplomats, business leaders and civil society representatives.
Baker said the bilateral US-Pakistan relationship had grown stronger across multiple sectors, from security and trade to innovation and cultural exchange.
