Pakistani airline Air Sial launches weekly flights from Islamabad to Riyadh

Passengers await Air Sial's inaugural Islamabad-Riyadh flight at Islamabad International Airport on October 31, 2024. (Air Sial)
Passengers await Air Sial's inaugural Islamabad-Riyadh flight at Islamabad International Airport on October 31, 2024. (Air Sial)
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Updated 03 November 2024
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Pakistani airline Air Sial launches weekly flights from Islamabad to Riyadh

Pakistani airline Air Sial launches weekly flights from Islamabad to Riyadh
  • Air Sial launches two flights per week from Islamabad to Riyadh, says airline 
  • Airline says will start flights from Lahore, other Pakistani cities to Riyadh “soon” 

ISLAMABAD: Air Sial, one of Pakistan’s most prominent private airlines, this week launched its weekly flights from Islamabad to Riyadh, announcing that flights from the eastern city of Lahore to the Saudi capital will commence “soon.”

Thousands of Pakistanis visit the Kingdom every year where they live and work, and to perform the voluntary Umrah pilgrimage at some of the holiest sites in Islam in Makkah and Madinah.

Several Pakistani airlines offer direct flights to Jeddah, Riyadh and other Saudi cities at economical rates, promoting religious tourism and connectivity between the two close allies. 

“Pakistani airline, Air Sial has commenced weekly flights to the Saudi capital Riyadh from Islamabad, with two flights per week,” Air Sial said in a statement it circulated among reporters on Sunday. 

“The management has announced that flights to Lahore will also start soon.”

Pakistan’s Welfare Attaché, Rana Muhammad Masoom, inaugurated the airline’s regional office in Riyadh on Thursday, Air Sial said, adding that community members and Air Sial’s country and regional management were also present at the ceremony.

(please embed Air Sial tweet here)

“A cake-cutting ceremony was held to celebrate the start of the weekly flights from Riyadh to Islamabad, and it was announced that new flights to Lahore and other cities will be launched soon,” the airline concluded. 

Air Sial was inaugurated in 2020 by the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce & Industry to improve air travel to and from Pakistan’s Sialkot city, a major industrial hub in Punjab. The airline uses a fleet of modern Airbus A320 aircraft for its operations. 


Italian ship ‘Amerigo Vespucci’ arrives in Pakistan for three-day goodwill visit 

Italian ship ‘Amerigo Vespucci’ arrives in Pakistan for three-day goodwill visit 
Updated 08 December 2024
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Italian ship ‘Amerigo Vespucci’ arrives in Pakistan for three-day goodwill visit 

Italian ship ‘Amerigo Vespucci’ arrives in Pakistan for three-day goodwill visit 
  • Vespucci’s arrival makes it the third visit by an Italian Navy ship to Pakistan in last two months
  • Pakistan says visit underscores strengthening of Pakistan-Italian relations, bilateral cooperation

KARACHI: Italian Navy sailing and training ship ‘IT Amerigo Vespucci’ arrived at the Karachi Port this week for a three-day visit aimed at fostering stronger bilateral ties between the countries, Pakistan Navy said in a statement. 

This marks the third consecutive visit of an Italian Navy ship to Pakistan in the last two months. Upon arrival at the Karachi Port, the Italian ship was received by officials from the Pakistan Navy, Italian Navy and Italian Ambassador to Pakistan Marilina Armellin.

“Italian Navy’s sailing and training ship, ITS Amerigo Vespucci, arrived at Karachi Port for a three-day goodwill visit as part of its global voyage,” Pakistan Navy’s media wing said on Saturday. 

The navy said that Vespucci’s visit underscores the strengthening of Pakistan-Italian relations in general and “growing” bilateral cooperation between the two navies in particular.

“Pakistan Navy remains committed to enhancing bilateral cooperation with regional and extra-regional navies, fostering global partnerships and ensuring a lawful maritime order,” it said. 

Pakistan regularly collaborates with navies from various parts of the world to ensure illicit activities such as smuggling, drug-trafficking and piracy are kept in check. 


Pakistani elephant Sonia dies less than two weeks after reunion with sister Madhubala

Pakistani elephant Sonia dies less than two weeks after reunion with sister Madhubala
Updated 08 December 2024
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Pakistani elephant Sonia dies less than two weeks after reunion with sister Madhubala

Pakistani elephant Sonia dies less than two weeks after reunion with sister Madhubala
  • Elephant’s post-mortem to be carried out on Monday, says international animal welfare organization 
  • Sonia, sisters Madhubala, Malika and Noor Jehan, were brought from Tanzania to Pakistan in 2009

KARACHI: Pakistani elephant Sonia passed away at the Safari Park in Karachi on Sunday morning, an official confirmed, less than two weeks after she was reunited with her sister Madhubala after a 15-year-long separation. 

Sisters Sonia, Malika, Noor Jehan and Madhubala were caught in the wild in Tanzania at a young age and brought to Pakistan together in 2009 but were soon separated, with Noor Jehan and Madhubala moved to the Karachi Zoo and Malika and Sonia to the city’s Safari Park. 

Noor Jehan died in April 2023 at age 17 following a prolonged illness caused by neglect, leaving Madhubala alone at the zoo. After a 15-year-long separation, Madhubala was shifted to the Safari Park on Nov. 26 where she was reunited with Malika and Sonia, estimated to be between 17 and 19 years old. 

“Sonia, one of the three elephants at Karachi’s Safari Park, passed away this morning,” Amjad Zaidi, director of the Safari Park, told Arab News.

“There were no health issues, and she appeared to be in perfect condition,” he added. 

Dr. Amir Khalil, director of the international animal welfare organization FOUR PAWS, said a doctor from Lahore would conduct Sonia’s post-mortem at Safari Park on Monday. 

“Based on this post-mortem report, it will be clear what factors led to the unexpected demise of Sonia,” Dr. Khalil told Arab News, highlighting that Sonia’s last medical report showed she was deficient in protein. 

FOUR PAWS said last month that the three elephants’ health was being observed by head veterinarian Dr. Frank Göritz from the Leibnitz Institute of Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW), who has been involved in treating the elephants since 2021.

In November 2021, after the provincial Sindh High Court asked FOUR PAWS to assess the Pakistani elephants’ well-being, all four required better diet and medical treatment. 

Pakistani English-language daily Dawn reported in July that Sonia was found to have developed a swelling between her hind legs. Zaidi told Dawn that Sonia had developed the infection but was recovering. 

Animal rights activists have long campaigned about the plight of animals in Pakistan, especially elephants, and demanded they be provided adequate medical care and nutrition. 


Pakistan cricket boss promises ‘good news’ about Champions Trophy amid hosting standoff

Pakistan cricket boss promises ‘good news’ about Champions Trophy amid hosting standoff
Updated 08 December 2024
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Pakistan cricket boss promises ‘good news’ about Champions Trophy amid hosting standoff

Pakistan cricket boss promises ‘good news’ about Champions Trophy amid hosting standoff
  • Doubts persist over whether tournament will take place in Pakistan after India’s refusal to send cricket team 
  • Media outlets say PCB, ICC have reached deal to adopt “hybrid” model for Champions Trophy tournament

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Moshin Naqvi on Sunday promised the nation would receive “good news” about the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 cricket tournament to be hosted by Pakistan, as a standoff with India, which has refused to send its cricket team to the country, persists. 

Pakistan is scheduled to host the Champions Trophy 2025 tournament from February to March 2025 in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. However, the fate of the tournament remains unclear after India refused to tour Pakistan last month due to political tensions between the two countries. 

Media outlets, however, have reported that after several rounds of discussions between the PCB and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the International Cricket Council (ICC), the ICC and the PCB are believed to have reached an agreement to adopt the hybrid model for global tournaments being hosted in Pakistan or India until 2027.

Such an arrangement would allow the two to play their games at ICC tournaments being hosted by the other at a neutral venue.

“God willing, good news about the upcoming Champions Trophy will come out soon,” Naqvi said in a statement after meeting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday, as per the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). 

Naqvi reiterated that Pakistan was “fully prepared” to host the tournament on its soil, adding that he wanted Pakistan and cricket to both win.

Sharif threw his support behind Naqvi, saying that he had represented all 240 million Pakistanis at a recent ICC meeting in Dubai regarding the Champions Trophy. 

“Pakistan’s respect comes first and then comes everything else,” Sharif was quoted as saying by the PMO. 

Political tensions between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan have restricted cultural exchanges and bilateral sports events between the two nations.

The two neighbors have fought three wars, two of them over the Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir, which they both claim in full but rule in part.

India’s national cricket team has not toured Pakistan since 2008 due to soured political relations between the two neighbors, who play each other only in global multi-team tournaments at neutral venues.

Pakistan hosted the Asia Cup last year but was forced to shift all of India’s matches to Sri Lanka under a hybrid model after India refused to send its team to Pakistan. 


Pakistan dispatches first consignment of flood relief items to Malaysia

Pakistan dispatches first consignment of flood relief items to Malaysia
Updated 08 December 2024
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Pakistan dispatches first consignment of flood relief items to Malaysia

Pakistan dispatches first consignment of flood relief items to Malaysia
  • Torrential rains and floods have killed at least 30 in Malaysia and Thailand since last week 
  • Consignment comprises 40 tons of relief items such as food packs, winterized tents and medicines

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday sent its first consignment of relief items for the flood-hit people of Malaysia, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said, reiterating Islamabad stands in solidarity with Kuala Lumpur. 

Since last week, at least 30 people have died and more than half a million households in Malaysia and Thailand have been hit by torrential rain and flooding that authorities say have been the most severe in decades.

Pakistan’s deputy prime minister this week offered help to Malaysia as it struggles to evacuate and rehabilitate people reeling from the floods. 

“On directions of Prime Minister, Pak NDMA has dispatched the first consignment this morning at 0500 hrs through a chartered plane from Islamabad International Airport to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia,” NDMA said. 

The consignment consisted of 40 tons of relief items including food packs, winterized tents, blankets, medicines and life jackets as per the current need of flood affectees in Malaysia, the authority said. 

“A second consignment of equal volume is scheduled to depart in next week further reinforcing Pakistan’s steadfast commitment to assisting flood-hit Malaysia,” the NDMA said. 

Pakistan is one of the worse affected countries due to climate change impact. The South Asian country suffered cataclysmic floods in 2022 that killed over 1,700 people and destroyed critical infrastructure that inflicted losses on it worth Rs33 billion. 

“Having faced its own share of natural disasters, Pakistan deeply understands the challenges and hardships such calamities bring,” the NDMA said.

“This shared understanding and empathy drive Pakistan’s efforts to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Malaysia in its recovery journey.”


Pakistan’s foreign office activates crisis management unit for citizens stranded in Syria

Pakistan’s foreign office activates crisis management unit for citizens stranded in Syria
Updated 08 December 2024
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Pakistan’s foreign office activates crisis management unit for citizens stranded in Syria

Pakistan’s foreign office activates crisis management unit for citizens stranded in Syria
  • Syrian opposition forces say President Bashar Assad has fled country after losing control of Homs 
  • Pakistan says embassy in Damascus continues to actively assist Pakistani nationals stranded in Syria

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office activated its Crisis Management Unit (CMU) to help out stranded citizens in Syria, state-run media reported this week, amid increasing turmoil in Syria as the civil war there intensifies. 

Syrian opposition forces have staged a dramatic comeback against President Bashar Assad after the fierce fighting that broke out last week reached its decisive stages. 

Syrian opposition forces announced on Saturday they had gained full control of the key city of Homs after only a day of fighting, leaving Assad’s 24-year rule dangling by a thread. They also said that Assad had fled the country as the opposition forces advanced.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has activated its Crisis Management Unit (CMU) to facilitate Pakistanis in Syria,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Saturday. 

It said the decision was taken in response to the ongoing developments and the evolving situation in Syria. The state broadcaster urged Pakistani citizens in Syria to reach out for help at 051-9207887 and also email at [email protected].

“Meanwhile, the Embassy of Pakistan in Damascus continues to actively assist Pakistani nationals in Syria,” Radio Pakistan said. 

Pakistan earlier this week expressed alarm at the increasing turmoil in Syria and called for de-escalation in violence in the country. 

The fall of Homs and threat to the capital pose an immediate existential danger to the Assad dynasty’s five-decade reign over Syria and the continued influence there of its main regional backer, Iran.

The pace of events has stunned Arab capitals and raised fears of a new wave of regional instability.
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Turkiye and Russia issued a joint statement saying the crisis was a dangerous development and calling for a political solution.

Syria’s civil war, which erupted in 2011 as an uprising against Assad’s rule, dragged in big outside powers, created space for militants to plot attacks around the world and sent millions of refugees into neighboring states.

Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, the strongest rebel group, is the former Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria regarded by the US and others as a terrorist organization, and many Syrians remain fearful it will impose draconian Islamist rule.

US President-elect Donald Trump has said the US should not be involved in the conflict and should “let it play out.”