ISLAMABAD: Over 21,000 Pakistani expatriates in the Gulf states have so far lost their jobs amid the coronavirus pandemic, Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Overseas Pakistanis Sayed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari told Arab News in an exclusive interview on Friday.
“There were media reports that the United Arab Emirates alone had laid off more than 40,000 Pakistani workers after the COVID-19 outbreak which is completely wrong. In reality, 17,743 Pakistanis were laid off amid the coronavirus crisis in the UAE,” he said, adding that 1,245 Pakistani nationals in Saudi Arabia, 691 in Qatar, 600 in Oman, 500 in Kuwait, 387 in Bahrain and 200 in Iraq had been downsized until this week.
Bukhari hailed Saudi Arabia for ensuring job security for Pakistani nationals since the Kingdom issued a directive preventing companies from sacking Pakistani employees for three months during this difficult period.
“Unlike the UAE, where companies are laying off workers and sending them on forced and unpaid leave, Saudi Arabia is not doing that. Instead, it is giving them full salary,” he said.
The PM’s adviser continued that he had requested measures to support Pakistani workers in the Kingdom during his video call with Saudi Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Development Dr. Abdullah bin Nasser this week, adding that a lot of special measures were also being processed.
“Dr. Nasser informed me that Saudi Arabia had issued a decree through which Saudi companies will not lay off laborers for the next three months and all employees will continue to receive their full salary during the three-month period. The Kingdom also decided to extend the duration of entry and exit visas for Pakistani workers and Pakistani labor force will enjoy free of cost visa extension until December,” he said.
Asked about the repatriation of stranded Pakistanis, Bukhari said the government was moving toward regularizing flights to ensure the repatriation of all those people who wanted to come back to Pakistan.
“Majority of those who want to come back to Pakistan are from the Gulf region. Their number is about 90,000 so far. That is the reason we gave 17 flights to the UAE last week, and next week we are expanding flight operation for repatriation from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar along with the UAE where over 71,000 Pakistanis are waiting to come back home,” he said.
Bukhari informed that the government would increase the repatriation capacity from 2,000 people a week to 6,500 people a week before increasing it further to 8,000 in a few weeks.
On the issue of expensive air tickets by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), he said that PIA had reduced the fare of its special flights by 20 to 30 percent in an effort to extend maximum relief to the country’s citizens stranded in the UAE.
“People have uploaded videos on social media, claiming that our embassy in the UAE is giving tickets in black with overcharged rates which is absolutely wrong. No Pakistani embassy is involved in such an activity. However, there can be travel agents who may be overcharging to exploit people who want to return to Pakistan.”
When asked about his role in mismanaging the return of pilgrims from Iran, Bukhari reiterated his stance that he had no role in allowing them back into the country.
“One should simply think about it a little: Do I have the power to open the country’s border which requires five or six different departments to coordinate? Only a prime minister can exercise such authority and order the opening of border,” he clarified.
“I have sued the people who wrongly blamed me and now the case is in court. They played political gimmickry and will now pay the price,” he added.
Asked about a World Health Organization (WHO) report claiming that about 46 percent of Pakistan’s COVID-19 cases had travel history to Iran, Bukhari said: “Zaireen [or pilgrims] who have become the reason for local spread of the virus are those who came back from Iran by air and not those who entered Pakistan through the Taftan border.”
On the number of overseas Pakistanis who lost their lives to the pandemic, he said that his ministry was collecting information but did not have the exact figures.
“Many Pakistanis have died due to the coronavirus but we do not have the exact numbers. We are trying to collect the data but different countries are not providing us the breakdown of the nationalities of COVID-19 victims,” he said, adding that PIA had brought back 17 dead bodies from the UAE during the last few weeks.
“Next week, we will bring back dead bodies from Saudi Arabia as more than 10 bodies are stuck there. We have requests from Italy and other European countries as well, and we will respond to them whenever possible. All of these individuals may not have died due to the coronavirus, but PIA will bring maximum number of dead bodies back without seeking charges,” Bukhari added.
Over 21,000 Pakistani expats from Gulf region laid off amid COVID-19 – Zulfi Bukhari
https://arab.news/yh54f
Over 21,000 Pakistani expats from Gulf region laid off amid COVID-19 – Zulfi Bukhari
- Hails Saudi Arabia for asking companies not to sack Pakistani expats and pay full salaries for three months
- Denies involvement in Taftan border mismanagement, saying only PM can order authorities to open border
In Pakistan, ceasefire with India seen as military victory, fueling surge of nationalistic fervor
- Pakistan has trumpeted successes in the skies, claiming its pilots shot down five Indian fighter jets in aerial battles
- India has released satellite images showing serious damage to air strips and radar stations at Pakistani military bases
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani officials and the public on Monday celebrated a ceasefire with India as a victory in their latest military confrontation which had raised widespread concerns that the two nuclear powers could end up in all-out war before a sudden truce was called.
Tensions between India and Pakistan over an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad escalated last Wednesday, with India striking multiple Pakistani cities with missiles. Islamabad said 31 civilians were killed while India insisted it had hit “terrorist” infrastructure.
This followed nearly four days of the two nations hitting each other with missiles, drones and artillery in which dozens were killed, until Saturday evening when US President Donald Trump announced a surprise ceasefire that has largely held, except for a few alleged violations in the disputed Kashmir regions on both sides.
Pakistan has said its pilots shot down five Indian fighter jets in aerial battles, including three advanced French-made Rafales. India has released new satellite images showing serious damage to air strips and radar stations at what Indian defense officials say are multiple Pakistani military bases crippled by massive Indian airstrikes. Pakistan itself admitted India had tried to hit three air bases, including one in Rawalpindi, where the military’s highly fortified headquarters are located.
In both nations, political and military leaders are spinning the latest conflict as a victory.
On Monday, Pakistani Premier Sharif announced that his country would annually observe May 10 as ‘Youm-e-Marka-e-Haq,’ which means the Day of the Battle of Truth, to celebrate the success of Pakistan’s retaliatory strikes against India.
“The professional capabilities of our brave forces have made us proud,” Sharif said in a statement. “Youm-e-Marka-e-Haq will be celebrated every year across the country with enthusiasm and spirit of national unity.”
Even before the announcement of the commemoration day, crowds have gathered daily in the streets of several Pakistani cities since the ceasefire to celebrate what Sharif described as “military history” achieved by “our brave army in a spectacular fashion.” Parades have also been held at a land border crossing to shower the military with petals.
During a visit to a hospital where soldiers and civilians wounded during the four-day standoff were recovering, Pakistani army chief, General Asim Munir, said Pakistan’s retaliatory strikes were a “defining chapter” in the country’s military history, lauding the army’s “resolute and unified response” and the “steadfast support of the Pakistani people.”
Pakistan’s parliament also passed a resolution on Monday commending the army for its “victory.”
“[The House] commends the valiant armed forces of Pakistan for their exemplary professionalism, vigilance and courage in defending the sovereignty of Pakistan in response to unprovoked Indian aggression with exceptional restraint and responsibility, and through a measured and befitting response,” the resolution said.
“This House congratulates the entire nation which rose above all differences and stood united behind its leadership across the political spectrum with one voice.”
“HISTORY OF CONFLICT“
In India, premier Narendra Modi said New Delhi had only “paused” its military action and would “retaliate on its own terms” if there is any future militant attack on the country.
At a press briefing on Sunday, Indian military spokespeople offered more details on the offensive against Pakistan and claimed it was Pakistan that had first requested a ceasefire.
India said five of its soldiers were killed by Pakistani firing over the border and claimed Pakistan lost about 40 soldiers in firing along the line of control. It also claimed to have killed 100 terrorists living over the border in Pakistan. The numbers could not be verified.
It also claimed to have “downed a few Pakistani planes,” though it did not elaborate further. Asked about claims made by Pakistan, and backed up by expert analysis of debris, that Pakistani missiles had downed at least three Indian military jets during the offensive on Wednesday, including multimillion-dollar Rafale jets, India said, “losses are a part of combat” and that all its pilots had returned home.
The hostilities between the nuclear-armed rivals began after a deadly attack on tourists in Kashmir that killed 26 tourists last month. India accused Pakistan of backing the militants, a charge Islamabad denied.
Here is a look at multiple conflicts between the two countries since 1947:
1947 — Months after British India is partitioned into a predominantly Hindu India and a Muslim-majority Pakistan, the two young nations fight their first war over control of Muslim-majority Kashmir, then a kingdom ruled by a Hindu monarch. The war killed thousands before ending in 1948.
1949 — A UN-brokered ceasefire line leaves Kashmir divided between India and Pakistan, with the promise of a UN-sponsored vote that would enable the region’s people to decide whether to be part of Pakistan or India. That vote has never been held.
1965 — The rivals fight their second war over Kashmir. Thousands are killed in inconclusive fighting before a ceasefire is brokered by the Soviet Union and the United States. Negotiations in Tashkent ran until January 1966, ending in both sides giving back territories they seized during the war and withdrawing their armies.
1971 — India intervenes in a war over the independence of East Pakistan, which ends with the territory breaking away as the new country of Bangladesh. An estimated 3 million people are killed in the conflict.
1972 — India and Pakistan sign a peace accord, renaming the ceasefire line in Kashmir as the Line of Control. Both sides deploy more troops along the frontier, turning it into a heavily fortified stretch of military outposts.
1989 — Kashmiri dissidents launch a bloody rebellion against Indian rule. Indian troops respond with brutal measures, intensifying diplomatic and military skirmishes between New Delhi and Islamabad. India says Pakistan supports the insurgency, which it denies.
1999 — Pakistani soldiers and Kashmiri fighters seize several Himalayan peaks on the Indian side. India responds with aerial bombardments and artillery. At least 1,000 combatants are killed over 10 weeks, and a worried world fears the fighting could escalate to nuclear conflict. The US eventually steps in to mediate, ending the fighting.
2016 — Militants sneak into an army base in Indian-controlled Kashmir, killing at least 18 soldiers. India responds by sending special forces inside Pakistani-held territory, later claiming to have killed multiple suspected rebels in “surgical strikes.” Pakistan denies that the strikes took place, but it leads to days of major border skirmishes. Combatants and civilians on both sides are killed.
2019 — The two sides again come close to war after a Kashmiri insurgent rams an explosive-laden car into a bus carrying Indian soldiers, killing 40. India carries out airstrikes in Pakistani territory and claims to have struck a militant training facility. Pakistan later shoots down an Indian warplane and captures a pilot. He is later released, de-escalating tensions.
2025 — Militants attack Indian tourists in the region’s resort town of Pahalgam and kill 26 men, most of them Hindus. India blames Pakistan, which denies it. India vows revenge on the attackers as tensions rise to their highest point since 2019.
Both countries cancel visas for each other’s citizens, recall diplomats, shut their only land border crossing and close their airspaces to each other. New Delhi also suspends a crucial water-sharing treaty.
Days later, India strikes what it calls nine “terror” hideouts across Pakistan and Azad Kashmir with precision missiles. Islamabad retaliates and fires missiles and swarms of drones across multiple northern and western Indian cities, targeting military installations and air bases. India then targets Pakistan’s multiple air bases, radar systems and military installations. As the situation intensifies, the US holds talks with leadership of the two countries, and President Donald Trump announces a ceasefire has been reached.
— With inputs from AP
Pakistan finance minister says conflict with India won’t have large fiscal impact
- On Monday, US President Donald Trump said the US is ready to help India and Pakistan after a ceasefire agreement
- Pakistan faces a 29 percent tariff on exports to the US due to a $3 billion trade surplus, currently under a 90-day pause
KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: The recent military escalation with arch-rival India won’t have a large fiscal impact on Pakistan and can be managed within the current fiscal space, with no need for a new economic assessment, Pakistan’s Finance Minister said in an interview with Reuters on Monday.
Trade talks with the United States – which had played a key role mediating a ceasefire between the two countries – would likely have progress in “short order” and that Pakistan could import more high-quality cotton, more soy beans and was also exploring other asset classes, including hydrocarbons, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said in the online interview.
On Monday, US President Donald Trump said the US is ready to help India and Pakistan after a ceasefire agreement, claiming trade was a big reason they “stopped fighting.”
Pakistan faces a 29 percent tariff on exports to the US due to an approximate $3 billion trade surplus, but this is currently under a 90-day pause announced in April.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday approved a $1 billion loan disbursement to Pakistan as part of a larger $7 billion bailout agreement.
Aurangzeb said Islamabad would receive the tranche disbursement on Tuesday.
The IMF executive board also approved a fresh $1.4 billion loan to Pakistan under its climate resilience facility.
The federal budget for the next fiscal year, starting July, will be finalized within the next three to four weeks, with scheduled budget talks with the IMF to take place from May 14-23, he said.
Regarding the India-Pakistan conflict, Aurangzeb described it as a “short duration escalation” with minimal fiscal impact, stating it can be “accommodated within the fiscal space which is available to the government of Pakistan.”
When questioned about potential increased military spending in the upcoming budget, Aurangzeb deferred comment, saying it was premature to discuss specific plans. However, he said: “Whatever we need to do in terms of ensuring that our defense requirements are met will be met.”
Aurangzeb said he expects the Indus Water Treaty, which India unilaterally suspended, to be reinstated and rolled back to where it was.
He said there is not going to be any immediate impact from India’s suspension and Pakistan does not “even want to consider any scenario which does not take into account the reinstatement of this treaty.”
Tensions between India and Pakistan began mounting after the April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir on Hindu tourists that killed 26 people, sparking the worst clashes between the nuclear-armed neighbors in more than two decades.
On Saturday, a ceasefire in the Himalayan region was announced by Trump, following four days of fighting and diplomacy and pressure from Washington.
Army chief, PM to fund reconstruction of Pakistan mosque damaged by Indian strikes — minister
- India last week struck multiple Pakistani cities with missiles over an attack in the disputed Kashmir region
- Four missiles struck a mosque and an adjacent house in Muridke, killing three civilians and injuring two others
KARACHI: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief General Asim Munir will personally finance the reconstruction of a mosque damaged by an Indian missile strike in the Muridke city of Punjab’s Sheikhupura district, a Pakistani federal minister announced on Monday.
India last week struck multiple Pakistani cities with missiles over an attack in the disputed Kashmir region. The strikes drew a “precise, proportionate” response from Islamabad.
However, four Indian missiles hit a mosque and an adjacent house within a complex in Muridke that New Delhi said belonged to a militant group, an allegation Pakistan has denied.
On Monday, Food Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, Gen Munir and other officials paid a visit to the Government Jamia Ummul Qura Mosque in the eastern Pakistani city.
“Announcing the government’s decision to reconstruct the mosque, he (Hussain) stated that the PM and the army chief have pledged to rebuild the mosque at their personal expense,” the Pakistani Ministry of National Food Security and Research said in a statement.
The Indian strikes had killed three Pakistani civilians and injured two others, according to Pakistani media.
During Monday’s visit, Pakistani officials met with the injured civilians and inquired about their well-being, according to the national food ministry. They announced top-tier medical care along with support for the families of the martyrs.
The visit came as director generals of military operations from India and Pakistan held talks, Reuters reported, following a US-brokered ceasefire that stopped four days of intense drone, missile and artillery fire.
Last week’s hostilities were triggered by a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam resort town that killed 26 tourists on April 22. New Delhi blamed Pakistan for the assault, Islamabad denied it.
Kashmir has remained a flashpoint between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947, with both claiming the region in full but ruling it in part. Both countries have fought two of their three wars over the region.
Modi says India has only ‘paused’ military action against Pakistan
- India won’t “tolerate nuclear blackmailing” by Pakistan, would take stern action for any future militant attack, Modi says
- His comments were the first since Saturday’s understanding between India and Pakistan to stop all military actions
NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday India has only “paused its military action” against Pakistan and would “retaliate on its own terms” if there is any future militant attack on the country.
His comments were the first since Saturday’s understanding between India and Pakistan to stop all military actions on land, in the air and at the sea in a US-brokered ceasefire.
The escalating hostilities between the two nuclear-armed rivals after a deadly attack on tourists in Kashmir had threatened regional peace.
“We will be monitoring every step of Pakistan,” Modi said in an address to the nation, adding that India won’t “tolerate nuclear blackmailing” by Pakistan and would take stern action for any future terror attack.
“This is not an era of war, but this is not an era of terrorism either. There should be zero tolerance for terrorism,” Modi said.
The PM’s comments come from as Indian and Pakistani authorities both said Monday there was no firing reported overnight along the heavily militarized region between their countries, the first time in recent days the two nations were not shooting at each other.
“The night remained largely peaceful across Jammu and Kashmir, and other areas along the international border,” the Indian army said in a statement, adding that no incidents had been reported.
Senior military officials from India and Pakistan spoke via a hotline on Monday, the state-run Pakistan Television reported. It gave no details, but the two sides were to assess if the ceasefire was holding and how to ensure its implementation. There were fears it would not hold after they accused each other of violations just hours after it was announced.
Local government officials in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, called Azad Kashmir, reported no incidents of cross-border firing along the Line of Control and said that civilians displaced by recent skirmishes between Pakistani and Indian forces were returning to their homes.
Pakistan’s military spokesperson, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif, said late Sunday that Pakistan remains committed to upholding the ceasefire and will not be the first to violate it.
Soon after the ceasefire announcement on Saturday, Pakistan reopened all of its airports and restored flight operations. India followed up Monday with reopening of all the 32 airports that were shut temporarily across northern and western regions due to the flare up in tensions.
“It’s informed that these airports are now available for civil aircraft operations with immediate effect,” the Airports Authority of India said in a statement.
The militaries of the two countries have been engaged in one of their most serious confrontations in decades since last Wednesday, when India struck targets inside Pakistan it said were affiliated with militants responsible for the massacre of 26 tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The tourists, mostly Indian Hindu men, were brutally killed in front of their families in the meadow town of Pahalgam last month.
India accused Pakistan of backing the militants who carried out the massacre, a charge Islamabad denied. The incident first led to a spat of tit-for-tat diplomatic measures by both the nations, sending their bilateral ties to a near historic low.
The two expelled each other’s diplomats, shut their airspace, land borders, and suspended a crucial water treaty.
After Wednesday’s strikes in Pakistan, both sides exchanged heavy fires along their de facto border in the restive Kashmir region followed by missile and drone strikes into each other’s territories, mainly targeting military installations and air bases. Dozens of civilians were killed on both the sides in heavy shelling, the two countries said.
The Indian military on Sunday for the first time claimed its strikes into Azad Kashmir and Pakistan last week killed more than 100 militants, including prominent leaders.
Lt. Gen. Rajiv Ghai, the director general of India’s military operations, said India’s armed forces struck nine militant infrastructure and training facilities, including sites of the Lashkar-e-Taiba group that India blames for carrying out major militant strikes in India and the disputed region of Kashmir.
Ghai said at least 35 to 40 Pakistani soldiers were killed in clashes along the Line of Control, the de facto border that divides the disputed Kashmir region between India and Pakistan. Five Indian soldiers were also killed, he said.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Thursday said his country’s armed forces had killed 40 to 50 Indian soldiers along the Line of Control. Pakistani military also claimed to have shot down five Indian fighter jets and inflected heavy losses on Indian military installations by targeting 26 locations in India.
The Associated Press couldn’t independently verify the claims made by India and Pakistan.
Air Chief Marshal AK Bharti, the director general India’s air operations told a news conference on Monday that despite “minor damage (s) incurred, all our military bases and air defense systems continue to remain fully operational, and ready to undertake any further missions, should the need so arise.”
Bharti reiterated that New Delhi’s fight was “with terrorists, and not with Pakistan military or its civilians.”
Trump says used US trade ties to persuade India, Pakistan on ceasefire
- India and Pakistan last week used fighter jets, drones, missiles and artillery to attack each other in the worst fighting between them in decades
- The two countries reached an understanding to stop all military actions on land, in the air and at the sea on Saturday in a US-brokered ceasefire
ISLAMABAD: President Donald Trump said on Monday he had used United States (US) trade ties with India and Pakistan to persuade the nuclear-armed nations to back off from further military confrontation and agree to a ceasefire.
India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop all military actions on land, in the air and at the sea on Saturday in a US-brokered ceasefire to cease escalating hostilities that had spiraled alarmingly, threatening regional peace.
The two sides used fighter jets, drones, missiles and artillery to attack each other in the worst fighting between them since the 1999 Kargil war, leaving around 70 people dead on both sides of the border.
Speaking at an event at the White House, Trump said the countries ended hostilities for a lot of reasons “but trade is a big one,” adding that Washington was already negotiating a trade deal with India and would soon start negotiating with Pakistan.
“On Saturday, my administration helped broker a full and immediate ceasefire, I think a permanent one, between India and Pakistan, ending a dangerous conflict of two nations with lots of nuclear weapons. They were going at it hard and heavy, and it was seemingly not going to stop,” he said.
“I said, ‘Come on, we are going to do a lot of trade with you guys. Let’s stop it. Let’s stop it. If you stop it, we will do trade, if you don’t stop, we are not going to do any trade.’ People have never really used trade the way I used it.”
While Trump thought his administration had brokered a permanent ceasefire between India and Pakistan, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a Monday evening speech India had only “paused” military action against Pakistan.
Pakistan will have to get rid of its “terrorist infrastructure” if it wants to be “saved,” Modi said in his first comments since the ceasefire.
“I will tell the global community also, if we talk to Pakistan, it will be about terrorism only...it will be about Pakistan-occupied Kashmir,” Modi said, referring to Azad Kashmir.
Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations and both countries have fought three wars, two of them over the disputed region of Kashmir. Last week’s military conflict between them was also triggered by a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 tourists on April 22.
India struck multiple Pakistani cities on Wednesday, blaming the April 22 attack on Pakistan. Islamabad denied any complicity in the assault and reciprocated with similar strikes against Indian military targets.
Modi’s comments came a day after Pakistan said its response to Indian strikes was a “great example” of the coming together of all elements of Pakistan’s national power, warning of a similar response to any future attempts to challenge the country’s sovereignty and integrity.
“No one should have any doubt that whenever our sovereignty would be threatened and territorial integrity violated, the response would be comprehensive, retributive and decisive,” Pakistani military spokesman Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said at a presser.
On Sunday, Trump also said he would try to work with both India and Pakistan to see if they can resolve their dispute over Kashmir.
“I will work with you both to see if, after a ‘thousand years,’ a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, referring to India and Pakistan.
India has for years insisted Kashmir is a bilateral issue and not allowed any third-party mediation.
