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Pakistan, Saudi Arabia have always stood by each other

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman riding in a carriage during a welcome ceremony in Islamabad on Feb. 18, 2019. (AFP file photo)
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Updated 14 August 2021
Raja Ali Ejaz
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Pakistan, Saudi Arabia have always stood by each other

Updated 14 August 2021
Raja Ali Ejaz




Ambassador Raja Ali Ejaz 

It gives me immense pleasure to extend my congratulations to my fellow Pakistanis on the Independence Day of Pakistan. I am happy to be celebrating the occasion with our brothers in our second home: Saudi Arabia.

This day provides us with an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to the ideals of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah, and to the aspirations of Dr. Allama Mohammed Iqbal. The founding father worked tirelessly for the creation of Pakistan so that the Muslims of the subcontinent could flourish in an independent homeland without any fear of oppression and injustice.

Since the inception of Pakistan, our leadership has consistently moved forward to realize the dreams of our founding fathers. We are proud to have developed into a responsible state in the comity of nations, through the untiring efforts of our people and leadership.

Pakistan, a country of more than 200 million people, is a progressive Islamic state with a functional parliament, independent judiciary, free media, vibrant civil society and resilient economy. Above all, Pakistan is endowed with abundant natural resources and inhabitants that are industrious and peace-loving.

Saudi Arabia and its leadership have a special place in the hearts of Pakistanis because of their outstanding services and guardianship of the two holy mosques. The countries have always stood by each other and the bilateral cooperation continues to grow.

We are grateful to the Kingdom for the warmth and hospitality extended to nearly 2.6 million Pakistanis, which is the largest overseas Pakistani community. Saudi Arabia has always acknowledged the contributions made by professionals and other workers from Pakistan to the development of the Kingdom. Saudi Vision 2030 provides opportunities for investors and professionals on both sides to enhance cooperation in all fields.

On this occasion, on behalf of the government and people of Pakistan, and myself, I would also like to express gratitude to the government and people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for providing free medical treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic to all Pakistanis. Further, the Kingdom undertook all necessary measures to protect the livelihoods of expatriate Pakistanis despite the economic slowdown.

Let us today renew our pledge to make Pakistan the state envisioned by its founding fathers. As ambassador, I congratulate all Pakistanis on this auspicious occasion. Let us work together to build our country and further strengthen our fraternal ties with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

May Allah bless Pakistan and Saudi Arabia with lasting peace and prosperity in the times ahead.

Long live Pakistan. Long live Saudi Arabia. Long live the Pakistan-Saudi friendship.

 

• Raja Ali Ejaz is the ambassador of Pakistan to Saudi Arabia

Topics: Pakistan Independence Day

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A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48

Updated 2 min 21 sec ago
AP
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A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48

  • Reacting swiftly, Wang, a former soldier, positioned his truck to block the highway, effectively stopping dozens of vehicles from advancing into danger
  • His wife got out of the truck to alert other drivers about the situation
Updated 2 min 21 sec ago
AP

BEIJING: A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country’s mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Wang Xiangnan was driving Wednesday along the highway in Guangdong province, a vital economic hub in southern China. At around 2 a.m., Wang saw several vehicles moving in the opposite direction of the four-lane highway and a fellow driver soon informed him about the collapse, local media reported.
Reacting swiftly, Wang, a former soldier, positioned his truck to block the highway, effectively stopping dozens of vehicles from advancing into danger, Jiupai News quoted Wang as saying. Meanwhile, his wife got out of the truck to alert other drivers about the situation, it said.
“I didn’t think too much. I just wanted to stop the vehicles,” Wang told the Chinese news outlet.
Wang’s courageous actions not only garnered praise from Chinese social media users but also recognition from the China Worker Development Foundation.
The foundation announced Friday that in partnership with a car company it had awarded Wang 10,000 yuan ($1,414). A charity project linked to tech giant Alibaba Group Holding also gave an equal amount to Wang, newspaper Dahe Daily reported. Wang told the newspaper he would donate the money to the families of the collapse victims.
Local media also reported that another man had knelt down to prevent cars from proceeding on the highway.
The accident came after a month of heavy rains in Guangdong. Some of the 23 vehicles that plunged into the deep ravine burst in flames, sending up thick clouds of smoke.
About 30 people were hospitalized. On Saturday, one was discharged from the hospital, state broadcaster CCTV reported. The others were improving, but one remains in serious condition.
On Saturday, the Meizhou city government in Guangdong said in a statement that authorities would conduct citywide checks on expressways, railways and roads in mountainous areas. A team led by the provincial governor is investigating the cause of the collapse, Southcn.com reported.
The Chinese government had sent a vice premier to oversee recovery efforts and urged better safety measures following calls by President Xi Jinping and the Communist Party’s No. 2 official, Premier Li Qiang, to swiftly handle the tragedy.
The dispatch of Zhang Guoqing, who is also a member of one of the ruling Communist Party’s leading bodies, illustrates the concern over a possible public backlash over the disaster, the latest in a series of deadly infrastructure failures.

Topics: China collapse highway

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Russia says it shot down four US-made long range missiles over Crimea

Updated 13 min 41 sec ago
Reuters
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Russia says it shot down four US-made long range missiles over Crimea

  • The ATACMS missiles, with a range up to 300km were used for the first time in the early hours of April 17
Updated 13 min 41 sec ago
Reuters

MOSCOW: The Russian defense ministry said on Saturday its air defense forces shot down four US-produced long-range missiles over the Crimea peninsular, weapons known as Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) that Washington has shipped to Ukraine in recent weeks.
The ministry said later that Russian aircraft and air defense systems had downed a total of 15 ATACMS in the past week.
On Tuesday, Russian officials said Ukraine had attacked Crimea with ATACMS in an attempt to pierce Russian air defenses of the annexed peninsula but that six had been shot down.
A US official said in Washington last month that the United States secretly shipped long-range missiles to Ukraine in recent weeks.
The ATACMS missiles, with a range up to 300km were used for the first time in the early hours of April 17, launched against a Russian airfield in Crimea that was about 165 km (103 miles) from the Ukrainian front lines, the official said.
The Pentagon initially opposed the long-range missile deployment, concerned that taking the missiles from the American stockpile would hurt US military readiness.
There were also concerns that Ukraine would use them to attack targets deep inside Russia, a step which could lead to an escalation of the war toward a direct confrontation between Russia and the United States.
Separately on Saturday, the Russian defense ministry said that in the last week its forces had destroyed a military train carrying equipment and arms produced in the West and supplied to Ukraine by NATO.
The scale of the damage, exact date and location were not disclosed.
Reuters is not immediately able to corroborate battlefield accounts from either side.
On Thursday, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron promised 3 billion pounds ($3.7 billion) of annual military aid for Ukraine for “as long as it takes,” adding that London had no objection to its weapons being used inside Russia, drawing a strong rebuke from Moscow.

Topics: Russia-Ukraine Conflict Russia Ukraine

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South Sudan removes newly imposed taxes that had triggered suspension of UN food airdrops

Updated 25 min 7 sec ago
AP
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South Sudan removes newly imposed taxes that had triggered suspension of UN food airdrops

  • The UN earlier this week urged South Sudanese authorities to remove the new taxes, introduced in February
  • There was no immediate comment from the UN on when the airdrops could resume
Updated 25 min 7 sec ago
AP

JUNA, South Sudan: Following an appeal from the United Nations, South Sudan removed recently imposed taxes and fees that had triggered suspension of UN food airdrops. Thousands of people in the country depend on aid from the outside.
The UN earlier this week urged South Sudanese authorities to remove the new taxes, introduced in February. The measures applied to charges for electronic cargo tracking, security escort fees and fuel.
In its announcement on Friday, the government said it was keeping charges on services rendered by firms contracted by the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.
“These companies are profiting ... (and) are subjected to applicable tax,” Finance Minister Awow Daniel Chuang said.
There was no immediate comment from the UN on when the airdrops could resume.
Earlier, the UN Humanitarian Affairs Agency said the pausing of airdrops had deprived 60,000 people who live in areas inaccessible by road of desperately needed food in March, and that their number is expected to rise to 135,000 by the end of May.
The UN said the new measures would have increased the mission’s monthly operational costs to $339,000. The UN food air drops feed over 16,300 people every month.
At the United Nations in New York, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said the taxes and charges would also impact the nearly 20,000-strong UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, “which is reviewing all of its activities, including patrols, the construction of police stations, schools and health care centers, as well as educational support.”
An estimated 9 million people out of 12.5 million people in South Sudan need protection and humanitarian assistance, according to the UN The country has also seen an increase in the number of people fleeing the war in neighboring Sudan between the rival military and paramilitary forces, further complicating humanitarian assistance to those affected by the internal conflict.

Topics: South Sudan UN food airdrops Taxes

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Saudi taekwondo athlete Donia Abu Taleb wins Best Arab Achievement Award

Updated 38 min 21 sec ago
Arab News
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Saudi taekwondo athlete Donia Abu Taleb wins Best Arab Achievement Award

  • Taleb, the first Saudi athlete to directly qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics, receives honor from Egyptian sports minister
  • Saudi Taekwondo Federation named Best Arab Federation in recognition of its achievements both locally and internationally
Updated 38 min 21 sec ago
Arab News

RIYADH: Saudi taekwondo standout Donia Abu Taleb has been honored with the Best Arab Achievement Award at a ceremony in Cairo celebrating the achievements of Arab athletes.

About 40 athletes from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, Tunisia, Jordan, Algeria, Qatar and Morocco were honored, along with businessmen from various Arab countries.

Egypt’s Minister of Youths and Sports, Ashraf Subhi, handed the recognition to Taleb, the first Saudi athlete to directly qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The Saudi Taekwondo Federation was also awarded the Best Arab Federation in recognition of its achievements both locally and internationally, particularly Taleb’s qualification for the Paris Olympics.

Mohammed Al-Shehri, executive director of the federation, accepted the award on behalf of the sports group.

Topics: taekwondo

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More migrant dinghies cross Channel to England despite Rwanda threat

Updated 46 min 48 sec ago
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More migrant dinghies cross Channel to England despite Rwanda threat

  • The arrivals illustrate the difficulties British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces on his pledge to tackle illegal migration and “stop the boats“
  • Sunak hopes his flagship Rwanda policy to deport those arriving in Britain without permission to the African nation will deter people from making the Channel crossing
Updated 46 min 48 sec ago

STRAIT OF DOVER: Dozens of people in two rubber dinghies reached the southern coast of England on Saturday, the latest among thousands of asylum-seeking migrants to make the risky sea crossing from France this year.
Bobbing on the waves of the English Channel on a clear morning, the boats sailed across the narrow strip of sea separating France and Britain, with a French naval vessel following them until they reached English waters.
Their largely male passengers, some of whom were in orange life jackets and waving, were taken aboard a British Border Force vessel off Dover.
The arrivals illustrate the difficulties British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces on his pledge to tackle illegal migration and “stop the boats,” ahead of a national election expected later this year.
More than 8,000 people have arrived so far this year on small boats, with many fleeing war or famine and traveling through Europe to Britain, making the start of this year a record for such arrivals.
Sunak hopes his flagship Rwanda policy to deport those arriving in Britain without permission to the African nation will deter people from making the Channel crossing. Five people died in the attempt last month.
The government hopes to operate the first flights to Rwanda in 9-11 weeks.
“The unacceptable number of people who continue to cross the Channel demonstrates exactly why we must get flights to Rwanda off the ground as soon as possible,” a spokesperson for Britain’s Home Office said.
“We continue to work closely with French police who are facing increasing violence and disruption on their beaches as they work tirelessly to prevent these dangerous, illegal and unnecessary journeys.”

Topics: English channel France British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak Rwanda policy migrants

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Latest updates

Russia puts Ukraine's Zelensky on wanted list, TASS reports
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
Russia says it shot down four US-made long range missiles over Crimea
South Sudan removes newly imposed taxes that had triggered suspension of UN food airdrops
More migrant dinghies cross Channel to England despite Rwanda threat

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