Pakistani Catholics hold vigils, praise Pope Francis for raising voice for Gaza

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Updated 22 April 2025
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Pakistani Catholics hold vigils, praise Pope Francis for raising voice for Gaza

Pakistani Catholics hold vigils, praise Pope Francis for raising voice for Gaza
  • Pontiff had reiterated call for Gaza ceasefire during last public appearance on Easter Sunday
  • Pope remembered as revered advocate for peace, interfaith dialogue, and rights of the poor

LAHORE: Catholics in Pakistan have been holding prayers and vigils for Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church who died on Monday, remembering him as an advocate for peace and praising him for speaking up for the “oppressed” in Gaza. 

The pope was 88 and had suffered a serious bout of double pneumonia this year, but his death came as a shock after he had been driven around St. Peter’s Square in an open-air popemobile to greet cheering crowds on Easter Sunday.

In the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, a small number of Catholics in the Muslim-majority country held prayers and a candlelight vigil for Pope Francis at the Cathedral Church of the Resurrection.

Church leaders and worshippers described the pope as a revered advocate for peace, interfaith dialogue, and the rights of the poor. The pontiff had reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during his brief appearance before thousands of Catholic pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Vatican’s open-air Easter Sunday mass. 

“Pope Francis was a personality who spoke above all for humanity. All his services conveyed a message of peace and harmony. Even his last words, which we can call his final will, were a prayer to God for peace,” priest Irfan Fiaz, 34, said. 

“Pope Francis always prayed for the people, for our country, and constantly carried the message of brotherhood, peace, and security. And this message was not just limited to words, he practiced what he preached. There was harmony between his words and actions.”

Syed Mehmood, 50, chairman of a local peace committee, appreciated the pope for speaking up for the rights of Muslims and the “oppressed in Palestine and Gaza.”

“Wherever there was oppression against humanity, whenever there was injustice, the voice of Pope Francis was the first and the loudest to be heard, and his strong voice made a real impact,” Mehmood told AFP. 


’Posterity won’t forgive us’: Pakistan urges world powers to secure ceasefire for Gaza

’Posterity won’t forgive us’: Pakistan urges world powers to secure ceasefire for Gaza
Updated 31 sec ago
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’Posterity won’t forgive us’: Pakistan urges world powers to secure ceasefire for Gaza

’Posterity won’t forgive us’: Pakistan urges world powers to secure ceasefire for Gaza
  • Israel’s military offensive has killed 53,900 Palestinians since Oct. 2023, according to Gaza health authorities
  • With food still critically short after nearly three-month blockade, Washington says it is working to restore ceasefire

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday called on international powers to ensure a lasting and immediate ceasefire in Gaza, warning that “posterity will not forgive us” if Israel’s military offensive in the besieged enclave continued.

Fierce Israeli attacks are ongoing, including most recently on a school building where dozens of Palestinians sheltering inside were killed.

With food still critically short after a nearly three-month blockade, Washington says it is working to restore a ceasefire more than 19 months into the war, but progress is elusive.

“We condemn the untold stories of miseries and atrocities in the land of Gaza where more than 50,000 Palestinians have been martyred and as I speak this story of bloodbath continues,” Sharif said in Tehran at a joint press conference with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian.

“It’s high time that international community uses its influence to bring ceasefire and lasting ceasefire in that part of the world, otherwise posterity will not forgive us.”

Israel launched its latest air and ground war in Gaza after a cross-border attack by the Hamas group on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people by Israeli tallies, with 251 hostages abducted into Gaza. The war has killed more than 53,900 Palestinians since, according to Gaza health authorities, and devastated the coastal strip. 

The entire 2.1 million population of Gaza is facing prolonged food shortages, with nearly half a million people in a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death, according to the World Health Organization. Food security groups say more than 93 percent of children in Gaza, about 930,000, are at risk of famine. Using satellite data, the United Nations estimated in February that 69 percent of the structures in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed.

With most of Gaza’s two million population squeezed into an ever narrowing zone on the coast and in the area around the southern city of Khan Younis by Israel’s military operation, international pressure to get aid in quickly has ratcheted up.

Israel’s initial blockade on Gaza, immediately following the October 7 attacks, prevented the entry of humanitarian aid for several weeks. As the war progressed, aid has been allowed in limited quantities.

Israel has recently announced that a new aid system, sponsored by the United States and run by private contractors, will soon begin operations from four distribution centers in the south of Gaza, but many details of how the system will work remain unclear. The UN has already said it will not work with the new system, which it says will leave aid distribution conditional on Israel’s political and military aims.

Israel says its forces will only provide security for the centers and will not distribute aid themselves.

Even as the aid has begun to slowly trickle in, the Israeli military has continued its intensified ground and air operation launched last week, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said would end with Israel taking full control of the Gaza Strip.


Pakistan’s moon sighting committee to meet today to determine Eid Al-Adha dates

Pakistan’s moon sighting committee to meet today to determine Eid Al-Adha dates
Updated 19 min 52 sec ago
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Pakistan’s moon sighting committee to meet today to determine Eid Al-Adha dates

Pakistan’s moon sighting committee to meet today to determine Eid Al-Adha dates
  • Eid Al-Adha is expected to fall on June 7 this year
  • Annual Hajj pilgrimage will commence on June 4

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s moon sighting committee will meet in Islamabad today, Tuesday, to observe the crescent marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Dhul Hijjah and announce the dates for the Eid Al-Adha festival, the ministry of religious affairs said.

Dhul Hijjah is the twelfth and final month of the Islamic calendar, a sacred month during which the Hajj pilgrimage and Eid Al-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice, take place. It is considered one of the four holy months in the Islamic calendar, with its first ten days particularly revered and considered the best days of the year for performing righteous deeds. 

Commemorating the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son on God’s command, Muslims mark the Eid Al-Adha holiday by slaughtering animals such as sheep, cows and goats. The meat is shared among family and friends and also donated to the poor.

Eid Al-Adha is observed on the 10th day of Dhul Hijjah.

“The meeting of Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee for sighting the moon of Dhul Hijjah 1446 AH will be held in the evening of Tuesday, May 27, 2025, at Islamabad,” the ministry of religious affairs said in a notification. 

Meetings of the zonal and district committees would also be held at their respective headquarters in parallel, it added. 

The chairman of Pakistan’s moon sighting committee would subsequently announce a decision on the date for Eid Al-Adha based on testimonies received from different corners of the country about the sighting of the new crescent.

Eid Al-Adha is expected to fall on June 7 this year while the annual Hajj pilgrimage will commence on June 4.


Chinese official discusses security with delegation from Pakistan’s Balochistan

Chinese official discusses security with delegation from Pakistan’s Balochistan
Updated 26 May 2025
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Chinese official discusses security with delegation from Pakistan’s Balochistan

Chinese official discusses security with delegation from Pakistan’s Balochistan
  • Chinese nationals have been in crosshairs of separatist militants in Balochistan where China has a strategic port and mining interests
  • Beijing has been pushing Pakistan to allow its own security staff to provide protection to thousands of Chinese citizens working there

BEIJING: China’s Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Liu Bin met with a delegation from Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan on Monday, according to a ministry statement.

The two sides exchanged views on issues including security and cooperation between China and the province.

Chinese nationals have been in the crosshairs of separatist militants who believe Beijing is helping Pakistan exploit minerals in the underdeveloped province of Balochistan, where China has a strategic port and mining interests.

Beijing has been pushing Pakistan to allow its own security staff to provide protection to thousands of Chinese citizens working there, frustrated by the string of attacks on its citizens.

The push came after a bombing at the Karachi airport last October killed two Chinese engineers who were returning there to work at a power plant.


Pakistan says IMF approved $1 billion loan tranche ‘on merit’ despite Indian push for review

Pakistan says IMF approved $1 billion loan tranche ‘on merit’ despite Indian push for review
Updated 26 May 2025
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Pakistan says IMF approved $1 billion loan tranche ‘on merit’ despite Indian push for review

Pakistan says IMF approved $1 billion loan tranche ‘on merit’ despite Indian push for review
  • India has raised concerns with IMF on its loans to Pakistan after militant attack Delhi blamed on Islamabad
  • Last week, India announced plans to approach Financial Action Task Force to place Pakistan on grey list again

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Monday the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had approved a $1 billion disbursement for Pakistan on “merit” despite India leaving “no stone unturned” to convince the lender to review the payout.

Pakistan secured a $7 billion bailout program from the IMF last year and was granted a new $1.3 billion climate resilience loan in March. Earlier this month, Pakistan received the second tranche of special drawing rights worth $1,023 million from the IMF under the extended fund facility (EFF) program, bringing disbursements to $2 billion within the latest bailout. 

The program is critical to the $350 billion economy and Pakistan has said it has stabilized under the bailout that helped it stave off a default threat.

India raised concerns with the IMF on its loans to Pakistan, asking for a review earlier this month as tensions soared after an attack on Hindu tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad — an accusation it denies. The tensions erupted into military fighting as the two nuclear-armed nations launched missiles and drones deep into each other’s territories and exchanged gunfire on their de facto border, the Line of Control, until a ceasefire was announced on May 10. Nearly 70 people combined were killed on both sides of the border.

“Our armed forces and political leadership, the way they stood up against the [Indian] aggression, the entire nation has celebrated it, and rightly so,” Aurangzeb told reporters in Islamabad. 

“At the same time, there was no stone left unturned in terms of ensuring that the [IMF board] meeting doesn’t happen and if the meeting does happen, then these items are not on the agenda, whether it’s the second tranche [of $7 billion loan] under the EFF or the RSF [Resilience and Sustainability Facility] of $1.3 billion in terms of our climate resilient facility.”

The finance minister said he was thankful that the IMF went on to discuss and decide the Pakistan case “on merit.”

Last week, India also announced plans to approach the global financial watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), to place Pakistan on its grey list and said it would oppose a World Bank plan to focus $20 billion in lending to the cash-strapped nation over the coming decade on development issues like the impact of climate change as well as boosting private-sector growth.

Pakistan was removed from the FATF grey list in 2022, receiving a clean bill of health on terror financing, which significantly improved its standing with international lenders, crucial for its crisis-hit economy.
 


Iranian president calls for cooperation with Pakistan to combat militant activity on shared border 

Iranian president calls for cooperation with Pakistan to combat militant activity on shared border 
Updated 26 May 2025
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Iranian president calls for cooperation with Pakistan to combat militant activity on shared border 

Iranian president calls for cooperation with Pakistan to combat militant activity on shared border 
  • Iran and Pakistan have variously accused each other of not doing enough to stamp out militants allegedly sheltering across shared border
  • Last year, Iran launched strikes inside Pakistan’s border, saying it had destroyed terror bases, with Islamabad responding with strikes of its own 

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad and Tehran should increase cooperation to combat militant activity on their shared border, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday during a televised news conference with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. 

Sharif arrived in Iran on Monday after a visit to Istanbul as part of a regional diplomacy tour that will also include trips to Azerbaijan and Tajikistan. 

Relations between Iran and Pakistan have been strained in recent years, with both sides accusing each other of not doing enough to stamp out militants allegedly sheltering across their shared border.

“We believe that the joint borders between Iran and Pakistan should be free from any insecurity and free from the presence and activity of terrorist and criminal groups,” Pezeshkian said during a joint press conference with Sharif.

“In this regard, we believe we need to promote cooperation at the border areas to fight against those who are trying to create trouble.”

President of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian (R) and Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif shake hands after a joint press statement, at Sa'dabad Palace in Tehran on May 26, 2025. (PMO)

Last year, Iran launched strikes inside Pakistan’s border, saying it had destroyed two bases of Jaish al Adl, a Pakistan-based group that Tehran accuses of attacking Iranian security forces. Pakistan launched strikes on separatist militants inside Iran in response, saying it hit bases of the separatist Baloch Liberation Front and Baloch Liberation Army.

The militant groups operate in an area that includes Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan and Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province. Both regions are restive, mineral-rich and largely underdeveloped and wracked by decades-long separatist insurgencies. 

The tit-for-tat conflict quickly de-escalated and the foreign minister of Iran visited Islamabad, with both nations saying they respected each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and would expand security cooperation in a bid to mend ties.

The most notable deal between the neighboring countries — a 2010 gas pipeline agreement from Iran’s South Fars field to Pakistan’s Balochistan and Sindh — also remains stalled.

During meetings on Monday, the two countries discussed the spectrum of bilateral ties. 

“We discussed expanding bilateral relations in different sectors including politics, economy, culture as well as international cooperation between the two countries,” Pezeshkian said at the joint press conference. 

In May, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi visited Pakistan to help ease tensions between Pakistan and India during the worst military confrontation in decades between the nuclear-armed neighbors.