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Pakistan dispatches 16th relief consignment for war-afflicted people of Gaza, Lebanon

Pakistan dispatches 16th relief consignment for war-afflicted people of Gaza, Lebanon
This handout photo, taken and released by Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority on October 27, 2024, shows trucks of relief goods being dispatched to Gaza and Lebanon, in Islamabad. (Photo courtesy: NDMA)
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Updated 27 October 2024
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Pakistan dispatches 16th relief consignment for war-afflicted people of Gaza, Lebanon

Pakistan dispatches 16th relief consignment for war-afflicted people of Gaza, Lebanon
  • Each consignment contains 100 tons of winterized tents and blankets, says Pakistan’s disaster management agency 
  • Pakistan vows to continue relief shipments for Gaza and Lebanon, where Israeli military has killed thousands since last year
Updated 27 October 2024
SAIMA SHABBIR
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Sunday dispatched the 15th and 16th consignment of relief items for the war-affected people of Gaza and Lebanon, vowing to continue relief supplies to the areas amid Israel’s ongoing military campaigns.
The consignments were dispatched through road convoys from Islamabad to Amman in Jordan for the people of Gaza and Beirut. The relief items included 100 tons each of winterized tents and blankets, the NDMA said in a press release.
“In total 1,598 tons of relief items have been dispatched to affected people of Gaza and Lebanon,” the NDMA said.




In this handout photo, taken and released by Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority on October 27, 2024, officials hold press briefing as trucks of relief goods being dispatched to Gaza and Lebanon, in Islamabad. (Photo courtesy: NDMA)

The send-off ceremony was held at Islamabad International Airport. Parliamentarians Malik Ibrar and Raja Qamar ul Islam, Palestinian Ambassador to Pakistan Zuhair Darzaid and Lebanon’s Ambassador to Pakistan Ghassan Khatib were present at the ceremony.
“During the ceremony, the Parliamentarians emphasized the urgent need to provide relief to the war-affected populations of Palestine and Lebanon, considering the ongoing conflict and the needs of the affected communities,” the NDMA said.
“They reaffirmed the Government of Pakistan’s commitment to supporting their brothers and sisters in distress and stressed the importance of collaboration by welfare organizations and the Pakistani public in strengthening these efforts.”




In this handout photo, taken and released by Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority on October 27, 2024, airport officials load consignment of relief goods being dispatched to Lebanon, in Karachi. (Photo courtesy: NDMA)

Earlier on Sunday, Pakistan dispatched the 14th consignment of relief items from the southern port city of Karachi to Beirut. 
Pakistan has also set up a special account titled: “Prime Minister’s Relief Fund for Gaza and Lebanon,” under PM Shehbaz Sharif’s directions, for donations for the people of Gaza and Lebanon.
Pakistan does not recognize nor have diplomatic relations with Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters” and the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.




In this handout photo, taken and released by Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority on October 27, 2024, Pakistani government and Al-Khidmat Foundation officials gesture for a group photo next to consignment of relief goods being dispatched to Lebanon, in Karachi. (Photo courtesy: NDMA)

Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, Pakistan has repeatedly raised the issue at the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and other multilateral platforms and demanded international powers and bodies stop Israeli military actions in Gaza.

Topics: Pakistan Lebanon Pakistan Palestine War on Gaza Israeli aggression

Pakistan’s Imran Khan indicted for inciting supporters to attack military headquarters last year

Pakistan’s Imran Khan indicted for inciting supporters to attack military headquarters last year
Updated 1 min 22 sec ago
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Pakistan’s Imran Khan indicted for inciting supporters to attack military headquarters last year

Pakistan’s Imran Khan indicted for inciting supporters to attack military headquarters last year
  • Khan supporters attacked General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, other military installations on May 9, 2023, following his brief arrest in a land graft case
  • Others arrested in case include Omar Ayub Khan, Basharat Raja and Omar Chatha while 23 suspects including Zulfi Bukhari, Shahbaz Gill declared absconders
Updated 1 min 22 sec ago
AAMIR SAEED 

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan was indicted on Thursday on charges of inciting his supporters to attack the military’s headquarters (GHQ) in the Pakistani garrison city of Rawalpindi last year, his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said.
On May 9, 2023, a day after Pakistan’s powerful military publicly rebuked Khan for repeatedly accusing a senior military officer of trying to engineer his assassination, the former PM was arrested by the national anti-corruption agency in a land graft case. 
The arrest sparked a wave of protests by Khan supporters across the country, with the government saying rioters attacked important state buildings and ransacked military facilities, including the GHQ in Rawalpindi and the residence of the army’s top commander in the eastern city of Lahore. 
Hundreds of PTI supporters and dozens of leaders were subsequently arrested while police registered cases against the party’s top leaders, including Khan. 
“Former prime minister Imran Khan, opposition leader Omar Ayub Khan, former law minister Punjab Basharat Raja and several others have been indicted in the GHQ case by ATC [anti-terrorist court],” the PTI said in a statement. 
“Indictment was announced within Adiala prison premises,” the party added, referring to the prison in Rawalpindi where Khan has been incarcerated since last year. 
“Omar Ayub, others, have been taken into custody despite being on transit bails,” the PTI said, adding that the party’s legal team would challenge the indictment in court and “hopefully justice will be served.”
During the hearing of the case in the Adiala prison, the court declared 23 suspects including key Khan aides Shahbaz Gill and Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari, absconders.
The hearing of the case has been adjourned until Dec. 10.

In a post on X, the PTI said the “fabricated case” exposed the “reality of an undeclared martial law in Pakistan.”
The federal government and military have not yet commented on Khan’s indictment. 
Nearly 2,000 people were arrested following the May 9 protests and at least eight were killed. The government had called out the army to help restore order.
Thought Khan was released on bail within days of the May 9 arrest, he was later arrested again in August 2023 after he was handed a three-year prison sentence in a corruption case. He has been in jail since then.

His party was barred from Pakistan’s election on Feb. 8 2024, but the would-be candidates stood as independents.

Despite the ban and Khan’s imprisonment for convictions on charges ranging from leaking state secrets to corruption, millions of the former cricketer’s supporters voted for him. Independent candidates from his party won the highest number of seats but not enough to form a government on their own. Khan cannot be part of any government while he remains in prison.

Khan and his party say all legal cases against him are based on made-up charges to keep him out of politics at the behest of the army after he had fallen out with the military’s generals. The army denies the accusation.

With inputs from Reuters 

Topics: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan PTI protests

Pakistan army calls for action against ‘political elements’ using ‘fake news for vested interests’

Pakistan army calls for action against ‘political elements’ using ‘fake news for vested interests’
Updated 46 min 9 sec ago
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Pakistan army calls for action against ‘political elements’ using ‘fake news for vested interests’

Pakistan army calls for action against ‘political elements’ using ‘fake news for vested interests’
  • Military’s statement comes after pro-Imran Khan supporters stormed Islamabad last month, demanding his release from prison
  • Khan’s PTI party says at least 20 of its supporters were killed in raid to disperse protesters while the government says four troops died
Updated 46 min 9 sec ago
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: A meeting of top commanders of the Pakistan army chaired by Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir on Thursday called on the government to pass laws to check “unfettered and unethical use” of freedom of expression, saying those spreading “fake news for vested political interests” needed to be brought to justice.

The military’s statement comes as the government has vowed legal action against thousands of supporters of jailed ex-premier Imran Khan who stormed Islamabad last month, demanding his release from prison. The government says protesters killed four security officers in clashes while Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party says at least 12 of its supporters died and “hundreds” were injured as security agencies used live ammunition rounds to disperse protesters, which authorities deny. 

Party leaders have described the raid on the protest site as a “massacre,” with social media platforms awash with pictures and video footage that the government has called “fake propaganda” by PTI followers. The government also says there were no civilian casualties. The army was deployed by the government during the raid to disperse protesters, but authorities say only police and paramilitary troops participated while the military acted as a “third line of defense.”

In the aftermath of the protests, the coalition government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formed two task forces: one to identify and take legal action against rioters and another to track and bring to justice suspects behind what the government describes as a “malicious campaign” to spread “concocted, baseless and inciting” online news, images and video content against the state and security forces.
 
In a statement released after the Corps Commanders conference on Thursday evening, the army said the forum had “noted with concern the malicious propaganda done in the aftermath of the lawful deployment of the Army in the capital to secure key government buildings and provide safe & secure environment for the valued visiting delegations.”

“This pre-planned coordinated and premeditated propaganda reflects continuity of a sinister design by certain political elements as an attempt to drive a wedge between the public & Armed Forces and institutions of Pakistan,” the statement said in what was a clear reference to the PTI party. “This futile attempt, fueled and abetted by external players, will never be successful.”

The army called on the government to promulgate and implement laws and regulations to check “unfettered and unethical use of freedom of expression to spew venom, lies and sow the seeds of polarization.”

“Those spreading fake news for vested political / financial interests need to be identified and brought to justice,” the statement added. “Forum resolved that Army remains committed to serving the nation & public and guard against all external and internal threats without any bias and political affiliation, and any attempt to pitch innocent people against each other and use of violence as an instrument for vested gains can never be tolerated.”

Khan, who remains a popular figure in Pakistan despite being in prison and facing several court cases, has led a campaign of unprecedented defiance against the Sharif coalition and the all-powerful military, which he accused of being behind his ouster from office in 2022. The army denies it interferes in politics.

Topics: Pakistan Army Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir

Pakistan court issues arrest warrant for ex-PM Imran Khan’s wife in state gifts case

Pakistan court issues arrest warrant for ex-PM Imran Khan’s wife in state gifts case
Updated 05 December 2024
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Pakistan court issues arrest warrant for ex-PM Imran Khan’s wife in state gifts case

Pakistan court issues arrest warrant for ex-PM Imran Khan’s wife in state gifts case
  • Couple is accused of undervaluing gifts from a state repository and buying them at a lesser price
  • Khan, who has been in jail since August 2023, says all cases against him are politically motivated
Updated 05 December 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: A court in Pakistan has issued an arrest warrant for jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s wife, Bushra Khan, due to her repeated absence from hearings in a graft case, Pakistani media widely reported on Thursday.

The Islamabad High Court last month granted Khan bail in what has popularly come to be called the new Toshakhana case, filed in July and involving a jewelry set worth over €380,000 gifted to the former first lady by a foreign dignitary when Khan was prime minister from 2018-2022. The couple was accused of undervaluing the gift and buying it at a lesser price from the state repository. Both deny wrongdoing. 

Khan has been in jail since August last year following his conviction in four cases, two of which have been suspended, including an original one relating to state gifts, and he was acquitted in the rest.

On Thursday, in addition to the arrest warrants, the court also served a notice to Bushra Khan’s guarantor.

“Why should your surety bonds not be seized?” Geo News reported, quoting a judge hearing the case. The proceedings were subsequently adjourned till Dec. 9.

Here is a look at some of the allegations against Khan, the 72-year-old cricketer-turned-politician, named in dozens of cases since he was ousted from office in 2022, that have kept him behind bars for more than a year.

GRAFT ALLEGATIONS

Khan was first arrested in May 2023 in relation to allegations that him and Bushra received land worth up to 7 billion rupees ($25 million) as a bribe through a trust created in 2018, while he still 

His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has maintained the land was donated for charitable purposes.

Khan was released on bail after three days in prison, during which his supporters attacked and set fire to military and other state installations, with eight people killed in the violence.

ABETTING VIOLENCE

Khan is facing anti-terrorism charges in connection with the violence that followed his arrest in May last year, and in relation to which several of his supporters have already been sentenced.

PTI said in July that authorities had issued fresh arrest warrants for him in three different cases related to the clashes.

STATE SECRETS

Khan was accused of making public a classified cable sent to Islamabad by Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington in 2022, while he still held office.

He was acquitted in the case in June.

UNLAWFUL MARRIAGE

Khan and his wife were accused of breaking Islamic law by failing to observe the mandated waiting period between Bibi’s divorce from her previous husband and their marriage in 2018 .

They were acquitted of the charges in July.

With inputs from Reuters

Topics: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan Former Prime Minister Imran Khan Bushra Bibi

Pakistan’s PIA to resume flights to Europe in January after EU agency lifts ban

Pakistan’s PIA to resume flights to Europe in January after EU agency lifts ban
Updated 05 December 2024
AP
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Pakistan’s PIA to resume flights to Europe in January after EU agency lifts ban

Pakistan’s PIA to resume flights to Europe in January after EU agency lifts ban
  • Ban in place since 2020 after 97 people died when a PIA plane crashed in Karachi
  • Ban was causing a loss of nearly $150 million a year in revenue to PIA, officials say
Updated 05 December 2024
AP

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s state-run airline is preparing to resume direct flights to European countries early next month, officials said Thursday, days after the European Union’s aviation safety agency lifted a ban on Pakistan International Airlines flying to Europe over compliance with its safety standards.
The ban on PIA by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency had been in place since 2020 after 97 people died when a PIA plane crashed in Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province.
The ban was causing a loss of nearly $150 million a year in revenue to PIA, officials say.
Airline spokesman Abdullah Hafeez said after more than four years the first direct flight from the capital Islamabad to Paris will resume in early January.
He told The Associated Press that EASA has expressed “complete satisfaction over the safety standards of PIA” and that arrangements are underway to resume PIA’s flights to other cities in the European countries.
The EU agency had said it was “concerned about the validity of the Pakistani pilot licenses” when it imposed the ban in 2020. It said it was concerned about Pakistan’s capability in certifying and overseeing its operators and aircraft in accordance with applicable international standards.
The Airbus A320 plane carrying 91 passengers and eight crew members from Lahore crashed in a residential area in May 22, 2020 while trying to land at Karachi airport. There were only two survivors.
Pakistan’s then aviation minister said during investigations that nearly a third of Pakistani pilots had cheated on their pilot’s exams. PIA at the time grounded 150 pilots.
A government probe later concluded that the crash was caused by a pilot’s error.
Travel agents on Thursday said customers were making calls to inquire about the new flights.
Hafeez, the PIA spokesman, said the airline will soon announce the schedule of flights to other destinations in Europe.
“If you have your breakfast in Pakistan, you will be having your lunch in Paris,” he said.

Topics: Pakistan International Airlines Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)

Pakistan says lack of ‘political will’ in India hindering dialogue to resolve disputes

Pakistan says lack of ‘political will’ in India hindering dialogue to resolve disputes
Updated 05 December 2024
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Pakistan says lack of ‘political will’ in India hindering dialogue to resolve disputes

Pakistan says lack of ‘political will’ in India hindering dialogue to resolve disputes
  • India and Pakistan have fought three wars, engaged in numerous skirmishes since they became separate nations in 1947
  • Relations reached a new low in 2019 when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi revoked the limited autonomy of Kashmir
Updated 05 December 2024
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday lamented a lack of “political will” in India to resolve differences between the two South Asian archrivals through dialogue and diplomacy, calling on New Delhi to take steps to create a “conducive environment” for negotiations on long-standing disputes.

Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have fought three wars and engaged in numerous skirmishes on their shared borders since they became separate nations after the end of British colonial rule in 1947. 

Relations reached a new low in 2019 when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi revoked the limited autonomy of Kashmir, a Himalayan region that is ruled in part but claimed in full by both India and Pakistan. Islamabad responded to the Modi’s administration’s action by suspending bilateral trade and downgrading diplomatic ties with New Delhi.

“Pakistan has always said that it desires cooperative relations with all its neighbors, including India,” foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told reporters at a weekly news briefing in Islamabad. 

“We have consistently advocated constructive engagement and result-oriented dialogue to resolve all outstanding issues, including the general engagement. However, the political will to resolve disputes and differences through dialogue and diplomacy seem lacking on India’s part.”

The spokesperson said Pakistan believed in “peaceful coexistence” and wanted peace and stability in the region. 

“However, it takes two to tango,” she added. “We can only wish our eastern neighbor to take steps to create a conducive environment for advancement of peace and dialogue and resolution of long-standing disputes.”

AFGHANISTAN

Speaking about reports that the Taliban government in neighboring Afghanistan had barred women from nursing and midwifery classes, the spokesperson said Pakistan’s constitution guaranteed women the right to education and the country wanted to see similar rights for women in other nations also. 

The rights of Afghan women have been curtailed since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan three years ago. Women and girls have been gradually barred from attending secondary school and university, engaging in most forms of paid employment, traveling without a male family member, and accessing public spaces.

Health services remained one of the few sectors where women were still employed. After the bans on university studies, those who sought to become health professionals turned to midwifery and nursing training institutes. 

“With regard to question regarding education of nurses and doctors, our position on the rights of women and girls, especially for their inherent right to education, is clear and consistent,” Baloch said. 

“We believe that every man and woman has the inherent right to education in accordance with the injunctions of Islam. We believe Islam grants equal access to education and women rights. Islam is an egalitarian religion that guarantees women the right to education and to inherit and own property.”

BANGLADESH

Commenting on Pakistan’s growing diplomatic outreach with Bangladesh, the spokesperson said Pakistan was committed to strengthening and promoting bilateral relations with Dhaka. 

“Bangladesh is a brotherly Muslim country and a South Asian partner, and we wish to enhance economic and commercial exchanges and connectivity with Bangladesh,” Baloch said.

Pakistan and Bangladesh share a complex history, having been one nation, East and West Pakistan, until Bangladesh gained independence in 1971 following a liberation war supported by India. Since then, Bangladesh has grown closer to India, Pakistan’s regional rival. 

But Dhaka’s ties with New Delhi have frayed after a student-led revolution in August this year toppled Bangladesh’s autocratic leader Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India by helicopter.

“We will continue to engage with Bangladesh and other countries in the region to promote economic cooperation and bilateral trade,” the Pakistani foreign office spokesperson said. 

Topics: Pakistan India Ties Pakistan Afghanistan Ties Pakistan Bangladesh Ties

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