NEW YORK CITY: Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, Munir Akram, remembers the day the recent floods that would eventually submerge a third of his country began.
“The extreme heat melted the glaciers,” he said. “We have 7,000 glaciers in the mountains of Pakistan. This resulted in flash floods. And then the extreme heat led to high precipitation, which resulted in the massive torrential rains that came.
“It is perhaps difficult to imagine the magnitude of the disaster and this became clear to all of us, and to the world, as the waters ran over the rivers into the villages, towns, fields, destroying 7,000 kilometers of roads, 300 bridges, over a million homes, seven million acres of standing crops.”
During a visit to the country this month, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the situation in Pakistan as “climate carnage.” He had never seen anything like it on this scale before, he said, as the flooded land covered an area three times the size of his own country, Portugal.
This disaster of monumental magnitude has resulted in more than 1,400 deaths, and caused damage estimated at more than $30 billion. A catastrophe of hitherto unimaginable proportions, it has once again propelled the issue of climate change to the top of the international agenda, dominating every discussion during the annual gathering of world leaders at the UN General Assembly in New York this month.
“This is the consequence of climate change, of global warming,” Akram told Arab News on the sidelines of the UN event. “And the supreme irony is that Pakistan is not responsible for global warming; we emit only 0.8 percent of global carbon emissions and yet Pakistan is the most significantly impacted country by this.
“I think the (UN) secretary-general has spoken eloquently about that when he visited the affected areas and he has called for massive assistance to Pakistan, not only as a humanitarian gesture but also as part of, like, climate justice.
“It is unjust that Pakistan should face the consequences of the actions of those who are the largest emitters and have been the largest emitters for so many decades.”
China, the US and the nations that make up the membership of the EU are the three largest global emitters of greenhouse gases, which cause the Earth’s surface and lower atmosphere to warm.
Guterres has for years called for the biggest producers of greenhouse gases not only to lower their emissions but also to finance the response to the effects of climate change in less-wealthy countries and regions — such as Pakistan, drought-hit Horn of Africa, and the Small Island States that are also particularly vulnerable to flooding — when they face extreme weather events resulting from those emissions.
“I think that all the honest people around the world recognize that global warming and climate change is a reality and that it is having very enormous impacts around the world, especially on developing countries,” said Akram.
“Therefore there is a growing support for the proposal of the developing countries that at least $100 billion should be provided annually for climate finance, that at least half of this should go to adaptation — so far, it’s only 20 to 25 percent of those (funds that go) for adaptation — and that when countries such as Pakistan (are) damaged so grievously, to the extent of 10 percent of the gross domestic product, that there is a responsibility on the part of the international community, especially those who have a historical and current responsibility for having the highest emissions, to provide support in the recovery of countries which suffer from the impact.”
Pakistan is putting forward a proposal for the creation of a financial facility that would be permanently available to compensate countries for the effects of climate change. This is in addition, Akram said, to Islamabad’s suggestion that climate-adaptation efforts, often deemed the “orphan child” of climate talks, should receive at least 50 percent of all climate financing, along with an increased emphasis on the importance of speeding up mitigation efforts, “especially by those who are the highest emitters and who have been historically the highest contributors to global warming over the last 150 years.”
Turning to the situation in neighboring Afghanistan, the Pakistani envoy expressed “disappointment” at the human rights record of the Taliban in the year since they took over the country by force following the withdrawal of Western forces in August last year.
“We are all disappointed that some of the promises that were made with regard to human rights, women’s rights and counterterrorism have not been fulfilled and it remains a priority for us to promote those objectives,” Akram said.
However he added that it would be counterproductive to disengage from talks with the Taliban government or to try to isolate and punish it. He said such actions would condemn the entirety of the Afghan population to further suffering and starvation “and that is certainly not the objective of the international community.”
Akram urged the global donors to continue to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and engage in the economic revival of the country, including improvements to its banking system. He also called for the nation to be allowed to use the resources available to it, including the release of overseas assets currently frozen by the international community. Pakistan is actively engaged in this process, he added.
Calling for “a pathway for normalization” as a major weapon in the fight against terrorism, Akram urged the Taliban to “take effective action not only against (Daesh), which is of course the major concern for the international community, but also against terrorist organizations such as the TTP (Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan), which is not only threatening but actually resorting to cross-border attacks against Pakistan.”
The plight of women in Afghanistan under the Taliban is another topic that has dominated discussions during the UN General Assembly, with Afghan women living in exile making the case for their compatriots in a country that is the only one in the world that actively denies women the right to an education. They have called on world leaders to label the regime’s actions against women as “gender apartheid,” in the hope the term will become a catalyst in Afghanistan for change in terms of the treatment of women, just as it once did in South Africa on issues of race relations.
Pakistan’s foreign minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, told Arab News last week that the plight of women in Afghanistan should be an issue not only for the wider international community but for the Muslim world in particular because “Islam is what gave women their rights. Islam is what protects women’s rights.”
Akram believes in pursuing “a strategy of persuasion” with the Taliban on the issue.
“We need to convince the Taliban that their position on this issue is out of step with the requirements of human rights, Islamic law or Islamic practice as such, and we are fully behind this,” he said.
“All we say is let’s do it in a way of persuasion, of trying to convince them through (for example) illustration of best practices in the Islamic world of how women are treated and how women are contributing to the welfare of the nations.
“And perhaps the Taliban — at least those who are younger, educated and know the world — will soon come to be convinced that this is the right way to do it. And hopefully, Afghanistan will then emerge into a stage of development that is more consistent with international norms.”
All honest people recognize global warming is real, says Pakistani envoy
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All honest people recognize global warming is real, says Pakistani envoy

- Munir Akram told Arab News his country is proposing the creation of a financial facility that would be permanently available to compensate countries for the effects of climate change
- He said he is ‘disappointed’ with the rights record of the Taliban in Afghanistan but added it would be counterproductive to break off from talks with them and isolate the government
Kremlin says it pays close attention to Trump statements after he voices disappointment with Putin call

- Kremlin leader had told Trump that Russia expects to agree a date for a third round of peace talks with Ukraine
- Russia would prefer to achieve its goals in Ukraine by political and diplomatic means
MOSCOW: The Kremlin said on Friday that Russia closely follows all of Donald Trump’s statements after the US president said he was “very disappointed” with his latest conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the war in Ukraine.
Trump, who had confidently stated last week that Putin was “looking to settle” the conflict, said after Thursday’s phone call that he did not think the Russian leader was looking to stop it.
Asked about the comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “Of course, we are paying very close attention to all of President Trump’s statements.”
He did not address Trump’s implied criticism of Putin.
Trump, who returned to the White House in January with a promise to swiftly end the “bloodbath” in Ukraine, said after Thursday’s call: “I didn’t make any progress with him at all.”
Peskov said Putin had told Trump that Russia would prefer to achieve its goals in Ukraine by political and diplomatic means, but in the meantime would continue what it calls its “special military operation.”
He said the Kremlin leader had told Trump that Russia expects to agree a date for a third round of peace talks with Ukraine, following earlier talks in May and June.
At least five dead in Pakistan building collapse: police

- Up to 100 people had been living in the building
- Roof and building collapses are common across Pakistan
KARACHI: A five-story building collapse in Pakistan on Friday killed at least five people and left six injured, with more victims trapped under the rubble, police said.
Rescuers and residents in the mega port city of Karachi worked together to pull people from the debris after the incident at around 10:10 a.m. (0510 GMT).
“We have so far retrieved five dead bodies and six injured people,” a senior local police official, Arif Aziz, said.
Up to 100 people had been living in the building, he added.
Saad Edhi, of the Edhi welfare foundation that is leading the rescue operation, said there could be “at least eight to 10 more people still trapped,” describing it as a “worn out building.”
He put the death toll at four.
Roof and building collapses are common across Pakistan, mainly because of poor safety standards and shoddy construction materials in the South Asian country of more than 240 million people.
But Karachi, home to more than 20 million, is especially notorious for poor construction, illegal extensions, aging infrastructure, overcrowding, and lax enforcement of building regulations.
After decades of service, Taiwan retires its last F-5 fighter jets

- To keep pace with increased threats from mainland China, Taiwan has been upgrading both its manned and unmanned aerial assets
HUALIEN, Taiwan: After decades in service, Taiwan’s Vietnam-era F-5 fighter jets are being retired as part of the island democracy’s transition to more advanced hardware.
To keep pace with increased threats from mainland China, Taiwan has been upgrading both its manned and unmanned aerial assets, including purchasing 66 of the latest generation F-16V fighters and upgrading existing aircraft to modern specifications.
China claims the island as its own territory and has never dropped its threat to invade since the sides split amid civil war in 1949.
The air force invited journalists on Friday to witness one last flyby by the F-5, which first entered service with Taiwan in 1965 and most of which have now been converted to trainers, reconnaissance planes or decoys.
The planes began moving into a backing role 30 years ago when Taiwan began acquiring more modern American F-16s, French Mirage 2000s and domestically developed Ching Kuos.
The F-5 is one of the world’s most widely produced jets, with Taiwan the largest operator at one point with 336, producing some 100 domestically. Dozens of countries still use them, including the US, which uses them as pretend opponents in training exercises.
The planes gained favor for their high speed and maneuverability, alongside their low cost and ease of maintenance. For Taiwan, they guarded the skies above the Taiwan Strait against mainland China’s Soviet and domestically built fighters.
Taiwan’s F-5s were based along the eastern coast, separated from China by both the 160 kilometer (100 mile)-wide Taiwan Strait and Taiwan’s formidable Central Mountain Range.
Rio to host BRICS summit wary of Trump

- The city, with beefed-up security, will play host to leaders and diplomats from 11 emerging economies
- Tensions in the Middle East, including Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, will weigh on the summit
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil: A summit of BRICS nations will convene in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday and Monday, with members hoping to weigh in on global crises while tiptoeing around US President Donald Trump’s policies.
The city, with beefed-up security, will play host to leaders and diplomats from 11 emerging economies including China, India, Russia and South Africa, which represent nearly half of the world’s population and 40 percent of its GDP.
Brazil’s left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will have to navigate the absence of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who will miss the summit for the first time.
Beijing will instead be represented by its Prime Minister Li Qiang.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who is facing a pending International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant, will not travel to Brazil, but is set to participate via video link, according to the Kremlin.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, fresh from a 12-day conflict with Israel and a skirmish with the United States, will also be absent, as will his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, a Brazilian government source said.
Tensions in the Middle East, including Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, will weigh on the summit, as well as the grim anticipation of tariffs threatened by Trump due next week.
“We’re anticipating a summit with a cautious tone: it will be difficult to mention the United States by name in the final declaration,” Marta Fernandez, director of the BRICS Policy Center at Rio’s Pontifical Catholic University said.
China, for example, “is trying to adopt a restrained position on the Middle East,” Fernandez said, pointing out that Beijing was also in tricky tariff negotiations with Washington.
“This doesn’t seem to be the right time to provoke further friction” between the world’s two leading economies, the researcher said.
BRICS members did not issue a strong statement on the Iran-Israel conflict and subsequent US military strikes due to their “diverging” interests, according to Oliver Stuenkel, an international relations professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation.
Brazil nevertheless hopes that countries can take a common stand at the summit, including on the most sensitive issues.
“BRICS (countries), throughout their history, have managed to speak with one voice on major international issues, and there’s no reason why that shouldn’t be the case this time on the subject of the Middle East,” Brazil’s Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said.
However, talks on finding an alternative to the dollar for trade between BRICS members are likely dead in the water.
For Fernandez, it is almost “forbidden” to mention the idea within the group since Trump threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on countries that challenge the dollar’s international dominance.
Brazil, which in 2030 will host the COP30 UN climate conference, also hopes to find unity on the fight against climate change.
Artificial intelligence and global governance reform will also be on the menu.
“The escalation of the Middle East conflict reinforces the urgency of the debate on the need to reform global governance and strengthen multilateralism,” said foreign minister Vieira.
Since 2023, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Iran and Indonesia have joined the BRICS, formed in 2009 as a counter-balance to leading Western economies.
But, as Fernandez points out, this expansion “makes it all the more difficult to build a strong consensus.”
A bill setting new limits on asylum-seekers passes in the Dutch parliament

- The Dutch Red Cross has estimated 23,000 to 58,000 people live in the Netherlands without an official right to residence
THE HAGUE, Netherlands: A pair of bills cracking down on asylum-seekers wishing to settle in the Netherlands has passed in the Dutch parliament after wrangling and soul-searching by some lawmakers who feared the law would criminalize offering compassionate help to undocumented migrants.
The legislation cuts temporary asylum residency from five to three years, indefinitely suspends the issuance of new asylum residency permits and reins in family reunions for people who have been granted asylum. It passed in the lower house late Thursday evening but could still be rejected in the upper house.
The Dutch Red Cross has estimated 23,000 to 58,000 people live in the Netherlands without an official right to residence.
Taking tough measures to rein in migration was a policy cornerstone for the four-party coalition led by the Party for Freedom of anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders. The coalition collapsed last month after just 11 months in office, and migration is expected to be a key issue ahead of the snap election Oct. 29.
Wilders pulled the plug on the coalition saying it was taking too long to enact moves to rein in migration. His coalition partners rejected the criticism, saying they all backed the crackdown. His party currently holds a narrow lead in opinion polls over a center-left two-party bloc that recently agreed to a formal merger.
The opposition Christian Democrats withdrew their support for the legislation put to the vote Thursday over a late amendment that would criminalize people living in the Netherlands without a valid visa or asylum ruling — and would also criminalize people and organizations that help such undocumented migrants. The amendment was introduced by a member of Wilders’ party and passed narrowly because a small number of opposition lawmakers were not present for the vote.
The vote took place in the final session of parliament before lawmakers broke for the summer. The upper house will consider the legislation after it returns from the recess. If Christian Democrats in the upper chamber reject it, the legislation will be returned to the lower house.