You are here

  • Home
  • Pakistani minister, Iraqi envoy discuss possibility of free entry visas for pilgrims 

Pakistani minister, Iraqi envoy discuss possibility of free entry visas for pilgrims 

Pakistani minister, Iraqi envoy discuss possibility of free entry visas for pilgrims 
Iranian Shiite Muslim pilgrims arrive at the Zurbatiyah border crossing between Iran and Iraq on August 28, 2023. (AFP/File)
Short Url

https://arab.news/45r4x

Updated 14 July 2024
Follow

Pakistani minister, Iraqi envoy discuss possibility of free entry visas for pilgrims 

Pakistani minister, Iraqi envoy discuss possibility of free entry visas for pilgrims 
  • Pakistani Shia Muslims Muharram travel to Iraq’s Najaf, Karbala cities during Muharram every year
  • Iraqi envoy assures Pakistan’s interior minister of making travel easier for pilgrims, says state media 
Updated 14 July 2024
Arab News Pakistan
Follow

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi discussed the possibility of free entry visas for Pakistani pilgrims into Iraq with the country’s envoy Hamid Abbas Lafta, state-run media reported. 

Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala hold tremendous significance for Shia Muslims around the world, including from Pakistan, who travel to these cities during the first two months of the Islamic lunar calendar to recall the sacrifices made by Imam Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). 

Lafta met Naqvi and Chaudhry Salik Hussain, the minister for overseas Pakistanis in Islamabad to discuss ways to improve the travel experience for Pakistani pilgrims in Iraq. 

“The discussion highlighted the possibility of free entry visas for Pakistani pilgrims and increasing the number of people allowed to visit each year,” the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported. 

Pakistan’s national airline last week launched special flights to Najaf city during Muharram for the country’s pilgrims. Pakistan said it would operate return flights for pilgrims from Najaf from July 20. 

Naqvi expressed “serious concern” about travel agents charging Pakistani pilgrims excessive fees, ensuring the Iraqi envoy he would take action against those breaking the law. 

“He also requested the Iraqi government to consider the issue of permitting Pakistani pilgrims to keep their passports while in Iraq,” the APP said. 

The Iraqi ambassador assured full cooperation in making travel easier for Pakistani pilgrims and provided a list of travel agents who had been overcharging visitors, the state media said. 

“The two sides also agreed to quickly finalize a visa waiver agreement for diplomats and officials from both countries,” APP said. 

The APP said both countries are additionally working on a deal that will make it easier for Pakistani workers to obtain work permits in Iraq.

Topics: Pakistan Iraq Ties

Pakistan PM to hold sector-wise meetings with business leaders to strengthen economy

Pakistan PM to hold sector-wise meetings with business leaders to strengthen economy
Updated 7 sec ago
Follow

Pakistan PM to hold sector-wise meetings with business leaders to strengthen economy

Pakistan PM to hold sector-wise meetings with business leaders to strengthen economy
  • Shehbaz Sharif says he will hold these meeting twice a week, starting with the agriculture sector
  • He says economy has improved, adding the private sector should help consolidate the gains
Updated 7 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Friday he would hold sector-wise meetings with local business leaders from next week, as he assured them the government would address their concerns while asking them to increase investment in the economy.
Pakistan has undertaken stringent economic reforms following a prolonged financial crisis that forced it to seek loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Since then, macroeconomic indicators have improved significantly, though the government acknowledges the need for further consolidation through policies aimed at boosting exports and attracting investment.
Sharif met with local business leaders in the same context, saying his administration would seek input from the private sector and work to resolve economic concerns to strengthen the country’s financial outlook.
“Next Thursday, we will have the first sector-wise meeting in my office,” he said during his interaction with the top business leaders.
“I want decisions,” he added. “This meeting will be held twice a week. The sector will be led by four people. From our side, there will be the concerned ministry and secretaries. We will sit and take decisions. There will be no chit chat.”
Sharif said the first meeting would focus on the agriculture sector and directed relevant officials to engage with top businesses across various industries to prepare for future discussions.
Earlier, he noted that Pakistan’s economy was gradually improving while emphasizing his administration now planned to focus on employment, production, exports, industry and commerce, where private sector support was crucial.
“We are just going to act as a catalyst to support your efforts [and figure out] how to further ease your business conditions and create an environment,” he said.
Sharif urged Pakistani industrialists to invest locally and encourage foreign investors to do the same.
“Share the success stories,” he continued, adding that he had always believed domestic investment was key before attracting foreign entrepreneurs.
“Together we will turn it into a partnership to keep the economy going,” he added.

Topics: Pakistan economy

Telecom authority chief meets Starlink team amid push to launch Pakistan operations

Telecom authority chief meets Starlink team amid push to launch Pakistan operations
Updated 9 min 24 sec ago
Follow

Telecom authority chief meets Starlink team amid push to launch Pakistan operations

Telecom authority chief meets Starlink team amid push to launch Pakistan operations
  • Starlink owner Elon Musk has said company is awaiting government approval to launch services in Pakistan
  • PTA says Starlink is yet to obtain security clearance, a prerequisite for obtaining a license and launching services 
Updated 9 min 24 sec ago
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: The chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Maj Gen (retd) Hafeez ur Rehman, met Starlink officials in Spain this week as the international telecommunications provider seeks approvals to launch operations in Pakistan.
US businessman Elon Musk, who owns Starlink, has said the company is awaiting government approval to launch services in Pakistan. Starlink has completed registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), according to Musk. The PTA, however, has said Starlink is yet to obtain security clearance, a prerequisite for obtaining a license and launching services in Pakistan.
Starlink users access the Internet for data or voice communication by using a small dish antenna to bounce signals off a constellation of satellites overhead.
“The discussion focused on improving affordable broadband access, particularly in underserved areas, to bridge the digital divide and accelerate digital transformation,” the PTA said in a statement after the meeting between the authority’s chairman and Starlink officials on the sidelines of the GSMA Mobile World Congress 2025 in Barcelona.
The PTA chairman confirmed that Starlink’s registration was in process with the national satellite regulatory body, a legal prerequisite for getting a PTA license for satellite-based Internet services.
“The Starlink team shared insights on satellite-based Internet solutions in competitive World of Cellular Mobile services and its potential impact on remote regions. Both sides discussed regulatory frameworks and operational strategies for seamless service integration,” the statement added.
Pakistan’s telecom sector has evolved significantly over the past two decades, but still faces challenges in terms of infrastructure development, especially in rural and remote areas, gaps that the possible entry of Starlink could address, its proponents say.
Pakistan, with a population of over 240 million, has experienced a 40 percent drop in Internet speeds in recent months, due to what is widely believed to be the government’s implementation of a nationwide firewall that it says is aimed at blocking malicious content and protecting networks.
The South Asian nation incurred $1.62 billion in losses due to Internet outages and social media shutdowns in 2024, surpassing losses in war-torn Sudan and Myanmar, according to a Top10VPN.com report. Rights activists say the disruptions are part of a state-led digital crackdown aimed at censoring critical voices. The government denies this.

Topics: Starlink Starlink satellites Pakistan internet Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Elon Musk

Palestinian embassy honors young Pakistani siblings for steadfast advocacy on Gaza

Palestinian embassy honors young Pakistani siblings for steadfast advocacy on Gaza
Updated 37 min 22 sec ago
Follow

Palestinian embassy honors young Pakistani siblings for steadfast advocacy on Gaza

Palestinian embassy honors young Pakistani siblings for steadfast advocacy on Gaza
  • Hafiah, Hafi have campaigned for the children amputated in Gaza, which has featured blood-written notes and open letters to global authorities
  • Palestine’s envoy commends the young brother and sister for turning ‘pain into power, grief into hope, and silence into a voice that echoes across borders’
Updated 37 min 22 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The Palestinian embassy has hosted a reception to honor two young Pakistani siblings, Ubaydah Al Fiddhah Hafiah (11) and Ghulam Bishar Hafi (13), for their steadfast support and advocacy for the children of Gaza, Pakistani state media reported on Friday.
While the development comes amid a ceasefire that has brought a measure of relief to the people of Gaza, it cannot undo the irreversible damage done, particularly the thousands of limbs lost by Palestinian children during the prolonged attacks, which some have described as an act of infanticide.
Hafiah and Hafi have rigorously campaigned for the children amputated in Gaza, which featured blood-written notes and open letters to global authorities. Their campaign, “Voice for the Voiceless,” is considered one of the most impactful advocacy efforts and has earned official recognition from Palestinian authorities.
Palestinian Ambassador to Pakistan Dr. Zuhair Zaid has expressed profound gratitude to the siblings for their unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian cause, and has praised their courageous efforts in an official letter of appreciation, the APP news agency reported.
“I find myself at a loss for words, overwhelmed by the depth of your courage, the purity of your love, and the boundless compassion you have shown,” Dr. Zaid wrote, emphasizing that their message was a powerful reminder that “humanity is still alive in its purest form.”
He described their advocacy as an “unbreakable bond that transcends distance and time” between the people of Pakistan and Palestine.
The Pakistani brother-sister duo has called for urgent global intervention to provide care and rehabilitation to thousands of orphaned and permanently disabled children in Gaza.
Their campaign began in 2024, coinciding with the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression on June 4, and their first blood-written protest notes were presented to international platforms, including the United Nations, urging the world to listen to the “Voice of the Voiceless.”
Their advocacy continues to inspire a global movement, proving that even the youngest voices can resonate across borders in the fight for justice and humanity.
The ambassador commended the ability of the young brother and sister to turn “pain into power, grief into hope, and silence into a voice that echoes across borders,” according to the report. He acknowledged the depth of their advocacy, stating that their words, “written with hands so young yet hearts so vast” held profound significance.
Prof. Dr. Aurangzeb Hafi, the father and mentor of the siblings, quoted the ambassador as saying that Palestine “owned” these two children, their petitions, resolutions, and protest notes issued as part of their campaign against the atrocities committed against Gazan children.
The Palestinian ambassador discussed with Prof. Hafi the pressing need to protect and resettle orphaned children from Gaza, particularly those left amputees due to the ongoing violence, according to the report. The ambassador assured the siblings that their message of sacrifice would never fade.
“From the depths of my heart, I thank you. I honor you. And I promise that your message will continue to inspire millions,” he stated.
Israel’s war on Gaza, which began after the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas, has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and displaced almost all of Gaza’s 2 million population by laying waste to swathes of neighborhoods, schools and hospitals.
Palestinian territory – encompassing the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including East Jerusalem – has been occupied by Israel since 1967. Pakistan does not recognize Israel and has consistently called for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters.

Woman leader of Baloch rights movement says nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Woman leader of Baloch rights movement says nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
Updated 28 min 43 sec ago
Follow

Woman leader of Baloch rights movement says nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Woman leader of Baloch rights movement says nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
  • Dr. Mahrang Baloch is a leading rights activist for the ethnic Baloch minority in Pakistan
  • She leads the Baloch Yakjehti Committee human rights movement based in Balochistan
Updated 28 min 43 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Dr. Mahrang Baloch, a leading rights activist for the ethnic Baloch minority in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, has said she has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, the most prestigious prize in the world that recognizes peace efforts.

Baloch leads the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), a human rights movement based in Balochistan that has led protests and sit-ins in the province, and organized marches to the federal capital, Islamabad, against alleged enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and other human rights abuses. The government and military, which has a huge presence in the rugged, impoverished region bordering Afghanistan and Iran, deny involvement. 

Baloch became an activist after her father’s abduction and eventual death in 2011 at the hands of what she says were state authorities, who deny the allegations. 

“Media personnel have been reaching out to me about this news, and I can confirm that it is true,’ Baloch wrote on X in response to a tweet about her being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. 

“I am deeply honored by this nomination, but it is not about me. It is about the thousands of Baloch who have been forcibly disappeared and the families demanding justice. The fight for human rights in Balochistan must not be ignored by global civil society and civilized nations.”

 

 

Nobel prize nominations are strictly kept a secret but several Norwegian parliamentarians and other academics are privileged to publicly announce their preferred candidates each year to raise publicity both for the nominee and the nominator.

Baloch insurgent groups have been fighting for a separate homeland for decades to win a larger share of benefits for the resource-rich Balochistan province. The military has long run intelligence-based operations against insurgent groups, who have escalated attacks in recent months on the military and nationals from longtime ally China, which is building key projects in the region, including a port at Gwadar.

Balochistan has also been plagued by enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings for decades. Families say men are picked up by security forces, disappear often for years, and are sometimes found dead, with no official explanation. Government and security officials deny involvement and say they are working for the uplift of the province through development projects. 

International rights bodies like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch as well as opposition political parties have also long highlighted enforced disappearances targeting students, activists, journalists and human rights defenders in Balochistan. The army says many of Balochistan’s so-called disappeared have links to separatists. Military spokesmen have also variously accused rights movements like the BYC of being “terrorist proxies.”

Last year, Baloch was stopped at the airport and barred from traveling to New York to attend an event in New York City in honor of her and 99 others recognized on the 2024 TIME100 Next list.

In July last year, she was part of the Baloch Raji Muchi sit-in in Gwadar, an event aimed at uniting the Baloch against rights abuses. 

In 2023, Baloch led the Baloch Long March, journeying by foot with hundreds of others from the city of Turbat in Balochistan to Islamabad to protest human rights violations and enforced disappearances. 

Topics: Baloch Yakjehti Committee Mahrang Baloch Nobel Peace Prize

Related

Islamabad says will engage with prominent Baloch rights movement provided no ‘ulterior motive’ video
Pakistan
Islamabad says will engage with prominent Baloch rights movement provided no ‘ulterior motive’
Pakistani activist says offloaded from US-bound flight to attend ‘Time100 Next’ gala
Pakistan
Pakistani activist says offloaded from US-bound flight to attend ‘Time100 Next’ gala

Trump’s plans for travel ban ‘unfortunate, big setback,’ Pakistanis say

Trump’s plans for travel ban ‘unfortunate, big setback,’ Pakistanis say
Updated 57 min 37 sec ago
Reuters
Follow

Trump’s plans for travel ban ‘unfortunate, big setback,’ Pakistanis say

Trump’s plans for travel ban ‘unfortunate, big setback,’ Pakistanis say
  • New travel ban by Trump could bar people from Afghanistan, Pakistan from entering US as soon as next week 
  • New ban could affect tens of thousands of Afghans who have been cleared for resettlement in the US as refugees
Updated 57 min 37 sec ago
Reuters

ISLAMABAD: Pakistanis and an Afghan national living in Islamabad this week called a new potential US travel ban ‘unfortunate,’ saying it could affect young Pakistanis who invested money to study in US universities.
A new travel ban by President Donald Trump could bar people from Afghanistan and Pakistan from entering the US as soon as next week based on a government review of countries’ security and vetting risks, three sources familiar with the matter said.
Speaking to Reuters, Syed Abbas Haider, a 29-year-old Islamabad resident, said a potential ban would be “unfortunate and strange,” considering that the people and government of Pakistan consider the US “an ally and supporter.”
The new ban could affect tens of thousands of Afghans who have been cleared for resettlement in the US as refugees or on Special Immigrant Visas because they are at risk of Taliban retribution for working for the US during a 20-year war in their home country.
Ehsanullah Ahmadzai, a 31-year-old Afghani who has been living in Islamabad for three years, said restrictions should not be placed on vulnerable people who need US assistance.
Trump issued an executive order on January 20 requiring intensified security vetting of any foreigners seeking admission to the US to detect national security threats.
That order directed several cabinet members to submit by March 12 a list of countries from which travel should be partly or fully suspended because their “vetting and screening information is so deficient.”
Afghanistan will be included in the recommended list of countries for a complete travel ban, said the three sources and one other who also asked not to be identified.
The three sources said Pakistan also would be recommended for inclusion.
The departments of State, Justice and Homeland Security and the Office of the Director for National Intelligence, whose leaders are overseeing the initiative, did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

Topics: Dnald Trump US travel ban

Latest updates

Saudi Arabia to host US-Ukraine talks in Jeddah
Saudi Arabia to host US-Ukraine talks in Jeddah
Culture Ministry launches Saudi-Chinese Cultural Year
Culture Ministry launches Saudi-Chinese Cultural Year
Turkiye’s Erdogan says backs air, sea truce in Ukraine war
Turkiye’s Erdogan says backs air, sea truce in Ukraine war
Saudi multi-billion-dollar corporations are driving strategic investments in startup ecosystem
Saudi multi-billion-dollar corporations are driving strategic investments in startup ecosystem
Bangladesh police use tear gas to disperse Islamist march in Dhaka
Bangladesh police use tear gas to disperse Islamist march in Dhaka

Search form

Print Edition
Read pdf version Subscribe now
© 2025 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.