Direct Hajj flights from Pakistan to Makkah to start June 5

 Pakistani Muslim pilgrims walk towards a waiting plane at Lahore International airport bound for Saudi Arabia to perform the annual Hajj pilgrimage. (AFP file photo)
Pakistani Muslim pilgrims walk towards a waiting plane at Lahore International airport bound for Saudi Arabia to perform the annual Hajj pilgrimage. (AFP file photo)
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Updated 02 June 2023
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Direct Hajj flights from Pakistan to Makkah to start June 5

Direct Hajj flights from Pakistan to Makkah to start June 5
  • Pakistan so far only transported pilgrims performing Hajj under official scheme to Madinah
  • People traveling straight to Makkah will have 8-day stay in Madinah after completing Hajj

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will start operating direct Hajj flights to Makkah from Monday, the country’s religious affairs ministry has announced.

The Pakistani government began transporting pilgrims to Saudi Arabia under the official Hajj scheme on May 21.

However, the flights have only been going to Madinah. Many Pakistani worshippers in the Kingdom are now making their way to Makkah by bus as the annual Islamic pilgrimage, due to begin on June 26, draws near.

In a statement, the ministry said: “The first direct flights from Pakistan to Jeddah airport are scheduled to begin on June 5.”

The flights to Makkah will be operated from 10 cities in Pakistan, including Rahim Yar Khan, and Sukkur, state-owned news agency the Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

Pilgrims traveling direct to Makkah, will have an eight-day stay in Madinah after completing Hajj.

Pakistan will launch a post-Hajj return flight operation on July 4.

In January, Saudi Arabia restored Pakistan’s pre-coronavirus pandemic Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims and removed the upper age limit of 65.

The country plans to send 80,000 people to perform the pilgrimage under the government scheme this year, while the rest will use private tour operators.

 


Pakistan ex-PM Khan replaced as party head

Pakistan ex-PM Khan replaced as party head
Updated 5 sec ago
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Pakistan ex-PM Khan replaced as party head

Pakistan ex-PM Khan replaced as party head
  • Gohar Khan a ‘temporary arrangement,’ says PTI’s media spokesman
  • Imran Khan has been locked up since August while awaiting trial in several cases

ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, currently in jail facing myriad charges he says are rigged to keep him from contesting elections next year, was replaced on Saturday as head of the party he founded, officials said.

Khan launched the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party in 1996, failing to win a single seat in an election the next year but growing rapidly to become the biggest bloc in the National Assembly following the 2018 vote, propelling him to the premiership.
He was ousted last year in a vote of no confidence brought by a coalition headed by two long-established parties that have shared power for much of Pakistan’s history, when the military hasn’t been in charge. Khan, who has been locked up since August while awaiting trial in several cases, including an allegation of leaking state documents, was replaced as party chairman by Gohar Khan, a barrister not related to Imran, a party official said.

Imran Khan. (AFP)

The change was forced after the Election Commission of Pakistan warned PTI last month they risked losing their emblem — a cricket bat — unless an internal ballot was held for party officers.
Election symbols are crucial in a country where the adult literacy rate is just 58 percent, according to World Bank data.
Khan, a former international cricketer, who captained Pakistan to World Cup victory in 1992, was barred from standing in the party poll while in prison. “This is a temporary arrangement,” said Syed Zulfiqar Bukhari, PTI’s media spokesman.
PTI is struggling against a widespread crackdown, with leading party figures either jailed or forced to leave the party.
Politicians in the South Asian country are often tangled in legal proceedings that rights monitors say are orchestrated by the powerful military, which has ruled the country directly for more than half of its history and continues to enjoy immense power.
“A PTI supporter will vote for the election symbol, for Imran Khan,” political analyst Hasan Askari Rizvi said on Saturday.
“He (Khan) remains the moral leader of the PTI.”
Also on Saturday, a hearing into a graft case Khan faces at a special court inside the jail where he is held was adjourned, with his lawyers protesting that media had been barred despite another judge ordering the trial to be open.
On Wednesday, a court quashed a graft conviction against three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who returned from self-imposed exile in October to launch a political comeback.
Sharif is currently on bail appealing several convictions for corruption in an attempt to clear his name ahead of elections scheduled in February.
His younger brother Shehbaz Sharif came to power in the coalition that ousted Khan.

 


France, Philippines eye security pact to allow joint military combat exercises

France, Philippines eye security pact to allow joint military combat exercises
Updated 9 min 19 sec ago
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France, Philippines eye security pact to allow joint military combat exercises

France, Philippines eye security pact to allow joint military combat exercises
  • France has deployed its navy ships to the South China Sea to promote freedom of navigation and push back against Chinese expansionism

MANILA: France and the Philippines are considering a defense pact that would allow them to send military forces to each other’s territory for joint exercises, the Philippine defense chief said on Saturday after holding talks with his French counterpart.
Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said in a joint press conference with French Minister for the Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu that they were seeking authorization from their heads of state to begin negotiations.
“We intend to take concrete steps into leveling up and making more comprehensive our defense cooperation, principally by working to get authorization from our respective heads of state and relevant agencies to begin negotiations for a status of visiting forces agreement,” Teodoro said.
“The first goal is to create interoperability or a strategic closeness between both armed forces, see how both navies work together, how air forces work together,” Lecornu said through an interpreter. The Philippines has such an agreement — which provides a legal framework for visits of foreign troops — only with the United States, its longtime treaty ally, and with Australia. Negotiations between the Philippines and Japan are also underway for a reciprocal access agreement that would allow Japanese and Philippine troop deployments to one another for military exercises and other security activities.
The Philippine and French defense chiefs agreed to deepen defense cooperation, including by boosting intelligence and information exchanges to address security threats, Teodoro said.
They agreed to sustain Philippine and French ship visits and underscored the importance of upholding international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, he said.
That language has often been used by the US and the Philippines, along with their allies, in their criticism of China for its increasingly aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea.
France has deployed its navy ships to the South China Sea to promote freedom of navigation and push back against Chinese expansionism. China claims virtually the entire waterway and has constructed island bases protected by a missile system in the past decade, alarming smaller claimant states, including the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia.
Washington has repeatedly warned that it is obligated to defend the Philippines, its oldest treaty ally in Asia, if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under armed attack, including in the South China Sea.

 


7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes off the southern Philippines and tsunami warnings are issued

7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes off the southern Philippines and tsunami warnings are issued
Updated 41 min 34 sec ago
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7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes off the southern Philippines and tsunami warnings are issued

7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes off the southern Philippines and tsunami warnings are issued
  • The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially said that based on the magnitude and location, it expected tsunami waves to hit the southern Philippines
  • In Japan, authorities issued evacuation orders in various parts of Okinawa Prefecture

MANILA: A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 struck Saturday off the southern Philippine coast, prompting many villagers to flee their homes in panic around midnight after Philippine authorities issued a tsunami warning.
The quake struck at 10:37 p.m. at a depth of 32 kilometers (20 miles), according to the US Geological Survey. There were no immediate reports of major damage or casualties.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially said that based on the magnitude and location, it expected tsunami waves to hit the southern Philippines and parts of Indonesia, Palau and Malaysia. But the center later dropped its tsunami warning.
In Japan, authorities issued evacuation orders in various parts of Okinawa Prefecture, including for the entire coastal area, affecting thousands of people.
Teresito Bacolcol, the head of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, told The Associated Press his agency advised residents along the coast of southern Surigao del Sur and Davao Oriental provinces to immediately evacuate to higher ground or move farther inland.
Owners of boats in harbors, estuaries or shallow coastal waters off the two provinces should secure their boats and move away from the waterfront, the quake agency said in its tsunami warning. Boats already at sea should stay offshore in deep waters until further advised, it said.
Based on the quake’s magnitude, Bacolcol said a 1-meter (3.2-foot) tsunami may hit but the wave could be higher in enclosed coves, bays and straits.
Villagers were fleeing their homes to safety around midnight in Hinatuan town and outlying areas in Surigao del Sur province, according to authorities and the government’s disaster-response agency, which said that it could not immediately provide specific details.
Pictures posted on Hinatuan government’s Facebook account show residents fleeing to higher ground on foot or aboard cars, trucks, motorcycles and tricycle taxis at night.
More than three hours after the quake hit, Bacolcol said there was no report of a tsunami hitting the coast from his agency’s field offices but added authorities would continue monitoring.
The Philippines, one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries, is often hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the ocean. The archipelago is also lashed by about 20 typhoons and storms each year.


Japan looks to Saudi Arabia for ‘new forms’ of collaboration: Shikata

Japan looks to Saudi Arabia for ‘new forms’ of collaboration: Shikata
Updated 02 December 2023
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Japan looks to Saudi Arabia for ‘new forms’ of collaboration: Shikata

Japan looks to Saudi Arabia for ‘new forms’ of collaboration: Shikata
  • With COP28 talks taking place in the UAE, decarbonization is part of many countries’ objectives and green strategies

DUBAI: Japanese Cabinet Secretary for Public Affairs Shikata Noriyuki told Arab News Japan that deep ties between his country and Saudi Arabia will pave the way for more opportunities to collaborate.

“There are emerging opportunities for a new way of life,” he said. “Especially if Saudi Arabia takes a leading role in presenting this new way of life with regards to sustainability issues.”

With COP28 talks taking place in the UAE, decarbonization is part of many countries’ objectives and green strategies.

Shikata said that when Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio visited Saudi Arabia in July, it was clear that the Kingdom was on a path to transformation.

“We sense very rapid change taking place in the Kingdom. It’s very impressive,” he added.

Japan is also working on its own transformation, specifically a green one. The cabinet secretary said, however, that the change will need collaboration with the Gulf region as well as other Asian countries.

“We want to work on joint projects or investments to encourage such a green transformation in the rest of Asia,” he said. “This is kind of conducive to our vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

At COP28, Japan introduced its new strategy to achieve a carbon-zero economy, which includes the idea of carbon pricing for the first time.

Japan not only will focus on the carbon emissions of major corporations, but also target zero-emission housing.

“This includes insulated windows to avoid extra heating costs,” Shikata said.

Other initiatives have been put in place, including the newly announced India-Middle East trade corridor.

“Japan is very attentive to this connectivity initiative between India and the Middle East,” he said, adding that a similar project is in the works with other Asian countries.

“We want to combine smart houses and urban transport so that we are eventually talking about smart, sustainable and carbon-neutral cities,” Shikata told Arab News Japan.

The conditions in Gaza have also been a topic of conversation at COP28, and Japan has consistently supported a two-state solution in order to realize peace.

“We have been working on the Jericho Agro-Industrial Park and trying to create jobs,” the cabinet secretary said, adding that Japan is encouraging its companies to invest. “However, with the political situation, it is very difficult to encourage investment.”

The industrial park aims to develop a fully functional and operational innovation business center in Palestine’s Jericho to improve the competitiveness of local businesses operating there.

There have been reports that Israeli strikes since Oct. 7 had damaged Japan International Cooperation Agency offices in Gaza.

However, Shikata said that once the situation in the enclave calms down, Japanese organizations will have “good motivation to go back and support reconstruction.”

* This article originally appeared on Arab News Japan, click here to read it.


Malaysia says COP28 should address ‘devastating’ climate toll of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza

Malaysia says COP28 should address ‘devastating’ climate toll of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza
Updated 02 December 2023
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Malaysia says COP28 should address ‘devastating’ climate toll of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza

Malaysia says COP28 should address ‘devastating’ climate toll of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza
  • Environment minister says Israeli occupation ‘robs’ Palestinians of their right to improve climate resilience
  • Israeli military has dropped an estimated 40,000 tons of explosives on Gaza since Oct. 7

DUBAI: The ongoing COP28 summit should address the climate and environmental impact of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza, Malaysia’s environment minister said on Saturday.

Political and business leaders from nearly 200 countries are gathered in Dubai this week for the UN’s annual meeting, which aims to address some of the most pressing points related to global warming and the climate crisis.

As world leaders are in talks over the issues, Turkish President Tayyip Erodgan, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and Jordan’s King Abdullah have all said that discussions on climate change should not exclude the topic of Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza.

Malaysia’s Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad told Arab News that besides the humanitarian toll — with 15,000 people killed since October and many more injured or missing — the Israeli bombardment of the Palestinian enclave is also destroying the environment.

In retaliation for the Oct. 7 attack by the Gaza-based militant group Hamas, the Israeli military has dropped an estimated 40,000 tons of explosives on the 365-sq.-km territory, nearly four times more than the combined weight of the nuclear bombs dropped by the US on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan in 1945.

“The unprecedented levels of assault unquestionably inflict a devastating impact on the environment,” the minister said on the sidelines of the climate summit. “Addressing this is non-negotiable.”

For the hundreds of thousands of people internally displaced by the attacks, toxic contamination from the explosives has made the air difficult to breathe and the water undrinkable.

“The world cannot ignore what is happening there — be it from a humanitarian or climate justice standpoint,” Nik Nazmi said, adding that it is resulting in “not only the Palestinians losing lives, but arguably (also) their future.”

With COP28 featuring several points on which participants need to find common ground — including phasing out fossil fuels, how to decrease emissions from global food production, how to finance energy transition in developing countries, and how to help those countries adapt as climate-related disasters mount— the Malaysian minister also raised the general issue of Israel’s military occupation thwarting climate action in Palestinian territories, particularly in Gaza.

“The occupation robs Palestinians of their right and ability to improve climate resilience due to the inordinate control over Palestinian land, water, and other vital natural resources,” he said

Israel controls water reserves not only in Gaza but also in the West Bank, and uses more than five times the amount of water consumed in those two locations combined, according to B’Tselem, a Jerusalem-based NGO documenting human-rights violations in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.

The amount of water accessible daily to the Palestinians is the amount the World Health Organization prescribes as the minimum in disaster zones.

“It is very much a climate injustice. Gazans are facing a climate crisis further compounded by the loss of land due to rising sea levels, severe lack of access to clean water for Palestinians, lack of sanitation, impact on food security ... all of which aggravate the impact of prolonged conflicts,” Nik Nazmi said.

“They will struggle to cope with climate-change impacts, and are weakened by the turmoil that disrupts livelihoods and interrupts any access to food and other sustenance.”