ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday extended an olive branch to India and asked the nuclear arch-rival to “virtually” join the 19th summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), if Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi could not come to Islamabad to attend it, local media reported.
Pakistan was to host the summit in 2016, but India boycotted the moot and persuaded a few other member states to do the same as well. According to the SAARC charter, the summit cannot take place if any of the members stays out.
Since 2016, New Delhi has consistently been staying away from the summit thus delaying the gathering of leaders of eight South Asian nations.
“Pakistan considers SAARC an important forum. We are willing to host the 19th SAARC summit and if India has any issue in attending the summit in person then it can attend the moot virtually,” the Express Tribune quoted Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi as saying at a news conference in Islamabad.
“If India cannot attend the summit in Islamabad, at least it should not stop other members,” he said, extending an invitation to all SAARC members for the next summit.
Despite Indian intransigence, he said, SAARC played an active role in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, but could not realize its true potential.
Last month, SAARC Secretary-General Esala Ruwan Weerakoon had arrived in Islamabad on his first visit since assuming office in March 2020.
On his visit to the Pakistani foreign office, Qureshi said Pakistan was committed to host the SAARC summit if “artificial obstacles” created in its way were removed. He had reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to the principles and objectives of the SAARC charter for the welfare of the people of the region, economic integration and regional prosperity.
Speaking further at Monday’s news briefing, the foreign minister said his country would continue to fence its border with Afghanistan, amid a row with the new Afghan Taliban authorities.
Pakistan has fenced most of the 2,600 km (1,615 mile) border despite protestations from Kabul, which has always contested the British-era boundary demarcation that splits families and tribes on either side.
Multiple incidents have occurred in recent weeks, wherein local Taliban soldiers tried to remove the fence along the Pakistan-Afghan border.
The first such incident was reported a day before Pakistan hosted an extraordinary session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers on Afghanistan last month.
The acting Afghan foreign minister was also part of the summit, which agreed to establish a Humanitarian Trust Fund to channel assistance to Afghanistan, appoint a special envoy and work together with the UN in the war-ravaged country.
“We are not silent [on border fencing issue]. We had installed fence on the Pak-Afghan border and our effort will continue,” Qureshi said at a press briefing in Islamabad.
“Afghanistan is our friend and neighboring country, we have engagement with them. We will overcome the problems which have been witnessed through diplomatic channels with them.”
The Pakistani foreign minister said there were a few people who wanted to play up this issue. “We think it is not in the interest of Pakistan to play up this issue, but we will protect our interests,” he said.
In the first incident on December 18, Taliban soldiers in Afghanistan disrupted the erecting of a security fence by the Pakistani military along the border between the two countries, Reuters reported, citing Afghan officials.
A video circulating on social media showed Taliban soldiers seizing spools of barbed wire and one senior official warning Pakistani soldiers stationed in security posts in the distance not to try to fence the border again.
Afghan defense ministry spokesman Enayatullah Khwarazmi said Taliban forces stopped the Pakistani military from erecting an “illegal” border fence along the eastern province of Nangarhar on Sunday.
He played down the incident, saying everything was now normal. The Pakistan army had not responded to Reuters’ request for comments.
The fencing was a main reason behind the souring of relations between previous US-backed Afghan governments and Islamabad. Recent standoffs indicate the matter remains a contentious one for the Taliban, despite their ties with Islamabad.
The lawless mountainous border was historically fluid before Pakistan began erecting a metal fence four years ago, of which it has completed 90 percent.
Pakistan asks India to attend SAARC summit ‘virtually’
https://arab.news/m9chf
Pakistan asks India to attend SAARC summit ‘virtually’
- Pakistan was to host the summit in 2016, but India boycotted the gathering
- Foreign Minister Qureshi says will continue to fence border with Afghanistan
Pakistan extends condolences to Afghanistan after flash floods kill over 150
- Heavy rains on Friday caused flash floods in Afghanistan’s Baghlan, Takhar and Badakhshan provinces
- Pakistan stands in solidarity with people of Afghanistan during this difficult time, the foreign office says
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday extended condolences to the Afghan government over the loss of more than 150 lives in flash floods in northern Afghanistan, the Pakistani foreign office said.
Heavy rains on Friday caused flash floods in Baghlan, Takhar and Badakhshan provinces that have killed 153 people and injured another 138, according to the interim Afghan interior ministry.
Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities sent helicopters overnight to assist civilians after reports emerged that over 100 people were stranded in these areas.
“The Government and the people of Pakistan express their heartfelt condolences on the tragic loss of life and widespread damage to property caused by heavy rains and flash floods in several provinces of Afghanistan,” the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims, injured and the communities affected by this natural calamity and we pray for the early recovery of those missing.”
Pakistan stood in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan during this difficult time, it added.
Pakistan itself experienced its “wettest April since 1961,” the country’s weather agency said this month, with at least 144 deaths in thunderstorms and house collapses due to heavy rains.
April rainfall was recorded at 59.3 millimeters, “excessively above” the normal average of 22.5 millimeters, Pakistan’s metrology department said in its monthly climate report.
While much of Asia was sweltering due to heatwaves, Pakistan’s national monthly temperature for April was 23.67 degrees Celsius (74 degrees Fahrenheit) 0.87 degrees lower than the average of 24.54, the report noted.
In the summer of 2022, a third of Pakistan was submerged by unprecedented monsoon rains that displaced millions of people and cost the country $30 billion in damage and economic losses, according to a World Bank estimate.
Pakistan PM calls recent diplomatic, trade engagements with Saudi Arabia ‘great progress’
- The statement came days after Saudi minister Ibrahim Al-Mubarak led high-level business delegation to Pakistan
- Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have lately been working to increase bilateral trade and investment in multiple fields
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has described the recent diplomatic and trade engagements between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia as “great progress,” saying both countries now have a way forward for mutual cooperation in several fields.
Sharif said this in an interview with Al-Arabiya News Channel, days after Saudi Arabia’s Assistant Minister of Investment Ibrahim Al-Mubarak led a delegation to Pakistan that comprised representatives of some 30 Saudi companies from the fields of IT, telecom, energy, aviation, construction, mining exploration, agriculture and human resource development. The Saudi delegates held business-to-business (B2B) with Pakistani counterparts to explore various trade and investment opportunities in the South Asian country.
The visit by the Saudi business delegation came on the heels of one by Sharif to Riyadh on Apr. 27-30, where he met the Saudi Crown Prince and discussed with him bilateral economic partnership. This was Sharif’s second meeting with the crown prince in a month. Before that, he also met him when he traveled to the Kingdom on April 6-8. The Saudi foreign minister was also in Pakistan last month, a trip during which Pakistan pitched projects worth at least $20 billion to Riyadh.
During the interview, Sharif said both countries had achieved “great progress” from the recent engagements and talks were being held between both sides with regard to certain fields.
“So far, we have achieved great progress. We have identified areas of mutual cooperation, both at the level of G2G, government-to-government, and B2B, business-to-business,” the prime minister said. “And we have now a clear-cut way forward, mutual cooperation, investments in the fields of mines and minerals, renewable energy.”
Sharif said Saudi Arabia had acquired great expertise in solar energy and a Pakistani delegation was in Riyadh for talks with Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power, which has a portfolio of power generation and desalinated water production plants in the Kingdom as well as several countries.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have lately been working to increase bilateral trade and investment deals, with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last month reaffirming the Kingdom’s commitment to expedite an investment package of $5 billion.
The two countries enjoy strong trade, defense, and cultural ties. The Kingdom is home to over 2.7 million Pakistani expatriates and serves as a top source of remittances to the cash-strapped South Asian country.
Pakistan telecom operators agree to block mobile connections of tax non-filers — regulator
- Last month, the tax regulator said it had decided to block mobile connections of 500,000 people who did not file tax returns
- The FBR has communicated the first batch of 5,000 non-filers to telecom operators for blocking of their mobile connections
ISLAMABAD: Telecom operators in Pakistan have agreed to block mobile phone connections of individuals who had not filed their income tax returns for Tax Year 2023, the country’s tax regulator said on Saturday, with the first batch of non-filers, including 5,000 individuals, already communicated to the operators.
Pakistan’s narrow tax base and enduring tax evasion issue have often led to the problem of insufficient revenue collection. The shortfall exacerbates the government’s tendency to run a high fiscal deficit, often financed through domestic and international borrowing.
In Dec., the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) said the country had a “very narrow tax base” of around 5.2 million people in 2022, out of a population of 240 million people and it had planned to add 1.5 million new taxpayers to the existing base during this fiscal year.
Late last month, the tax regulator said it had decided to block mobile connections of 500,000 people who had not filed their tax returns and has since engaged with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and telecom Operators to enforce its income tax general order.
“After several deliberations, the telecom operators have agreed to initiate the manual blocking process in small batches until their systems are fully equipped to automate it,” the FBR said in a statement.
“In this regard, the first batch comprising 5000 non-filers has been communicated to the telecom operators today for compliance regarding SIM blockage.”
Subsequent batches will be sent to telecom operators on a daily basis, according to the FBR. The operators have also started sending messages to non-filers regarding blocking of their connections.
The development comes amid efforts by the government to broaden the tax base, including digitalization of the tax collection system to prevent leakages as a large segment of the national economy remains undocumented.
Pakistan, which has been facing an economic meltdown, is also making efforts to introduce structural economic reforms. The South Asian country has to meet a primary budget deficit target of Rs401 billion ($1.44 billion), or 0.4 percent of its gross domestic product, for the current fiscal year before the government presents its budget in June.
Pakistan health ministry to launch national program to address malnutrition in country
- Pakistan has witnessed extensive consequences of malnutrition, including birth defects, impaired brain development, reduced work capacity
- Ministry says the government is cognizant of serious situation of malnutrition aggravated by global conflicts, climate change leading to food insecurity
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s national health ministry said on Saturday it had decided to launch a national nutrition program to address the issue of malnutrition in the country, in coordination with the planning ministry and provincial governments.
The decision was made at a maiden meeting of the National Nutrition Task Force, presided over by Health Secretary Nadeem Mahbub. The high-level task force was constituted on the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Pakistan has witnessed extensive consequences of malnutrition, including devastating birth defects for babies, impaired brain development in young children, and reduced work capacity among adults.
The health ministry said the incumbent government was cognizant of the serious situation of malnutrition aggravated by global conflicts and climate change leading to food insecurity and high inflation.
“The [task force] has been constituted to provide technical oversight and guidance on Nutrition Policy and programming, developing future directions and roadmaps for nutrition landscape in the country and facilitate and carry out inter-sectoral and multisectoral coordination and advocacy around nutrition,” it said in a statement.
The ministry said it had directed its nutrition wing to prepare a new PC1, planning tool for the development of a project, in coordination with the Planning Commission and the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) to avoid duplication and cover the areas and interventions which were not covered previously.
In his remarks, Additional Health Secretary Syed Moazzam Ali highlighted the importance of fresh data on malnutrition for proper policy and programming and stressed the need to carry out the National Nutrition Survey as soon as possible.
“Provinces are the real game changers in the success of any program and their strong collaboration and commitment toward nutrition programming is pivotal to address malnutrition in the country,” he said.
Special Health Secretary Syed Waqar-ul Hassan stressed upon the need for convergence of all sectors and stakeholders to address the root cause of malnutrition, highlighting that the ministry alone could not eliminate malnutrition.
The meeting was attended by country representatives of the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), representatives from donor and UN organizations, international and national NGOs, line ministries and provincial government representatives along with academia.
Dr. Mehreen Mujtaba, nutrition director at the health ministry, shared Pakistan would hold its first-ever National Nutrition Conference in June-July, this year to get the guidance of local and international experts in the fields of health and nutrition, thanking participants for their valuable contributions to the meeting.
Ex-president Alvi denies being picked to head PTI amid reports of talks with army
- The statement came amid speculation about Alvi being made PTI chairman to resolve party’s issues with establishment
- These speculations create confusion in a party whose leadership is ‘wrongfully and unjustly incarcerated,’ Alvi says
ISLAMABAD: Arif Alvi, former president and a close aide of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, on Saturday denied being appointed chairman of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) opposition party.
The statement came amid widespread speculation about Alvi being made the PTI chairman to resolve the party’s issues with the powerful military establishment whom Khan has accused of sidelining him, according to some media reports.
The reports suggested the former president had been tasked with the “important” job following his meeting with Khan at Adiala jail in Rawalpindi, however, Alvi denied these reports.
“There is unnecessary speculation that Mr.@ImranKhanPTI intends to appoint me as Chairman of the party. There is no such thing being envisaged by my leader nor was it discussed in my meeting with him,” he said on X.
“These speculations create confusion in a party whose leadership is wrongfully & unjustly incarcerated.”
Alvi said the incumbent PTI chairman Gohar Khan was leading the party well. “I would like to put this inaccurate non-issue to rest with a clear denial,” he added.
Alvi’s meeting with Khan came a day after the ex-premier reportedly turned down the Pakistani military’s demand to apologize for the violent protests, allegedly staged by his supporters over his brief arrest in a graft case, that targeted military installations and public property on May 9, 2023.
Hundreds were arrested in the aftermath and some were tried by military courts after the authorities promised to bring the perpetrators and instigators of the violence to justice.
During the alleged crackdown against the PTI, Alvi, who was the then president, was said to be making efforts to bridge the gap between his party and Pakistan’s powerful military.
Khan was ousted in 2022 after falling out with Pakistan’s powerful military leaders who many say backed him into power in 2018. In opposition, he waged an unprecedented campaign of defiance against the military establishment which has directly ruled the South Asian nation for nearly half of its history.
Arguably Pakistan’s most popular politician, Khan says the cases against him are “politically motivated,” aimed at keeping him from returning to power. The military denies it.
