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PM Sharif stresses need for diversity, inclusion as Hindus celebrate Holi in Pakistan

PM Sharif stresses need for diversity, inclusion as Hindus celebrate Holi in Pakistan
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif speaks during a meeting in Islamabad on March 7, 2025. (PID/File)
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Updated 14 March 2025
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PM Sharif stresses need for diversity, inclusion as Hindus celebrate Holi in Pakistan

PM Sharif stresses need for diversity, inclusion as Hindus celebrate Holi in Pakistan
  • There are over 5 million Hindus in Pakistan who have often complained of discrimination, blasphemy accusations, abduction and forced conversions
  • Authorities, striving to improve Pakistan’s image regarding religious tolerance, have repeatedly asserted commitment to equal rights for all citizens
Updated 14 March 2025
KASHIF IMRAN
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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday stressed the importance of diversity and inclusion to build a stronger nation as he wished Hindus celebrating Holi in Pakistan.
The Hindu festival, which heralds the start of spring, is observed at the end of the winter season on the last full moon of the lunar month.
There are more than 5 million Hindus in Pakistan who have often complained of discrimination, blasphemy accusations, abduction and forced conversions.
Pakistani authorities, striving to improve the country’s image regarding religious tolerance, have repeatedly asserted the state’s commitment to diversity and equal rights for all citizens.
“I extend my heartfelt greetings to our Hindu community in Pakistan on the joyous occasion of Holi. The vibrant energy that surrounds this festivity mark the arrival of spring, symbolizing love and the triumph of good over evil,” Sharif said on X.
“While celebrating new beginnings, renewal, and the strengthening of relationships, this occasion also highlights the importance of diversity and the power of inclusion in building a stronger, more unified nation.”
Hindu men, women and children celebrate the festival by spraying colored powder solutions into the air through water guns and water-filled balloons and smearing it on each other. The devotees serve visitors with delicacies such as gujia, shakkarpaare, matri and dahi-bade as well as desserts and drinks.
People also gather around a lit bonfire and perform various rituals on the eve of Holi, symbolizing the victory of good over evil and removal of the old and the arrival of the new.
In Pakistan, major Holi festivities are witnessed in Tharparkar, Karachi and a number of other cities.
“May this festival of colors fill your lives with happiness, health success, and prosperity,” Sharif said on X. “Happy Holi!”

Topics: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif HOLI Hindu festival

Pakistan’s deputy PM briefs Saudi FM on response to India’s actions after Kashmir attack

Pakistan’s deputy PM briefs Saudi FM on response to India’s actions after Kashmir attack
Updated 11 sec ago
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Pakistan’s deputy PM briefs Saudi FM on response to India’s actions after Kashmir attack

Pakistan’s deputy PM briefs Saudi FM on response to India’s actions after Kashmir attack
  • Ishaq Dar criticizes India’s ‘baseless’ accusations against Pakistan, cautions against escalatory moves
  • Pakistan denies involvement in a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in which 26 were killed
Updated 11 sec ago
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, who also serves as foreign minister, briefed his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, on Islamabad’s response to India’s retaliatory moves after a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, saying his country would respond firmly to any external aggression.
The two leaders spoke over the phone amid heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors after gunmen killed 26 civilians in the tourist town of Pahalgam earlier this week.
India accused Pakistan of involvement in the attack — a charge Islamabad denied — before announcing a series of retaliatory steps, including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, expelling Pakistani diplomats and shutting down the Attari-Wagah border crossing.
Pakistan held a high-level national security meeting in response, criticizing Indian actions and promising a forceful response if New Delhi diverted river waters or resorted to any military action.
“DPM/FM [Dar] briefed Prince Faisal on decisions taken by Pakistan’s National Security Committee in the wake of unilateral measures announced by India,” the foreign office of Pakistan said in a statement after the phone call. “He rejected India’s baseless allegations and cautioned against further escalatory moves.”
“DPM/FM reaffirmed Pakistan’s resolve to respond firmly to any aggression,” the statement added.
Both ministers also expressed satisfaction with the state of bilateral relations and agreed to maintain consultations on evolving regional dynamics.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have long-standing ties, particularly in defense and diplomacy, and often coordinate positions at multilateral forums.
As part of its wider diplomatic outreach, Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch briefed ambassadors and senior diplomats in Islamabad earlier this week, highlighting the National Security Committee’s stance and reiterating Pakistan’s rejection of militancy in all its forms.
Pakistan also hosted the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s Special Envoy for Jammu and Kashmir, Yousef Al Dobeay, from April 19 to 22.
Officials briefed him on the situation in the disputed region of Kashmir while maintaining that the people of Kashmir looked to the Muslim world and the OIC for support in their struggle for self-determination.

Topics: Pakistan Saudi Arabia ties Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud

Pakistan warns Indian suspension of Indus Waters Treaty could set precedent for China

Pakistan warns Indian suspension of Indus Waters Treaty could set precedent for China
Updated 25 April 2025
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Pakistan warns Indian suspension of Indus Waters Treaty could set precedent for China

Pakistan warns Indian suspension of Indus Waters Treaty could set precedent for China
  • New Delhi suspended the river-sharing agreement after a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir
  • PM Sharif’s aide says Pakistan is discussing the situation with friendly countries and the United Nations
Updated 25 April 2025
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) could set a precedent for China to block the Brahmaputra River, a senior aide to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif warned on Friday, potentially putting New Delhi in a difficult position.
India relies on rivers that originate in China, particularly from the Tibetan Plateau, where major waterways like the Brahmaputra and Sutlej rivers begin.
China’s dam-building activities and lack of a formal water-sharing agreement have raised concerns in India about future water security during floods or droughts. The absence of binding treaties leaves India vulnerable to upstream decisions made by Beijing.
In 2016, China blocked the flow of the Xiabuqu River, which feeds the Brahmaputra, as part of a hydropower project in Tibet after a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir.
“If India does something like this that they stop the flow [of rivers] to Pakistan, then China can also do the same thing,” Rana Ihsaan Afzal said while speaking to Geo News. “But if things like this happen then the entire world will be in a war.”
The IWT is a landmark water-sharing agreement signed in 1960 between India and Pakistan, brokered by the World Bank, to manage the use of rivers flowing through both countries from the Himalayas. Under the treaty, India was granted control over the three eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas and Sutlej — while Pakistan received rights over the three western rivers — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab.
Despite multiple wars and ongoing tensions, the treaty has largely held as a rare example of sustained cooperation.
However, India on Wednesday suspended the six-decade-old river-sharing treaty with Pakistan as part of a series of measures following a deadly militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, for which it holds Islamabad responsible.
Pakistan has denied any involvement in the attack, in which gunmen killed 26 people at a tourist site in Pahalgam, a scenic town in Anantnag district, marking the deadliest assault on civilians in the country in nearly two decades.
Highlighting that India’s actions threatened the food security of 250 million people, Afzal said under international water laws, upper riparian countries cannot “stop” water but may only “regulate” it.
He added that upper and lower riparian countries coexist peacefully across the world and warned that India’s threat could undermine the entire system of peaceful water-sharing mechanisms, potentially escalating tensions toward conflict.
“This will not be easy at all,” he said. “The United Nations and lower riparian countries throughout the world will raise their voice against it.”
Afzal confirmed that Pakistan was engaging friendly countries through diplomatic channels and was also in contact with the UN.

Topics: Indus river Pakistan India

Pakistan PM hails negative SPI inflation, says economic indicators improving

Pakistan PM hails negative SPI inflation, says economic indicators improving
Updated 25 April 2025
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Pakistan PM hails negative SPI inflation, says economic indicators improving

Pakistan PM hails negative SPI inflation, says economic indicators improving
  • SPI focuses on short-term price movements that affect low- and middle-income households most directly
  • Shehbaz Sharif says the government wants to pass on the benefits of improving economy to the public
Updated 25 April 2025
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday expressed satisfaction over the annual decline in Pakistan’s Sensitive Price Index (SPI), which he said had fallen to -3.52% in April 2025, compared to 26.94% in the same month last year.
The SPI measures weekly changes in the prices of essential items such as food, fuel and utilities across various consumption groups. Unlike the broader Consumer Price Index (CPI), which captures overall inflation, the SPI focuses on short-term price movements that affect low- and middle-income households most directly.
“The [SPI] rate stood at 26.94% in the same month last year, whereas in April 2025, it has been recorded at minus 3.52%,” the prime minister said in a statement issued by his office.
“The country’s economic indicators are improving with each passing day,” he added. “The government is making every effort to ensure that the benefits of these improving economic indicators reach the public.”
Sharif also commended his economic team for their efforts in stabilizing the economy and curbing inflation.​
In May 2023, Pakistan experienced its highest recorded inflation, with the CPI reaching 38% year-on-year, driven by surging food and energy prices.
The recent decline in the SPI indicates potential relief for consumers,​ though the government continues to face challenges in managing the economy, including meeting fiscal targets and securing external financing.

FACTOID

Topics: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Pakistan economy

VISA to triple Pakistan office size, partner with 1-Link, PayPak — finance minister

VISA to triple Pakistan office size, partner with 1-Link, PayPak — finance minister
Updated 25 April 2025
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VISA to triple Pakistan office size, partner with 1-Link, PayPak — finance minister

VISA to triple Pakistan office size, partner with 1-Link, PayPak — finance minister
  • Muhammad Aurangzeb hails company’s role in advancing digital payments and financial inclusion
  • The finance minister also assures the US financial services company of the government’s full support
Updated 25 April 2025
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Thursday US financial services company Visa will triple the size of its office in Pakistan and collaborate with the country’s first-ever domestic payment card scheme, 1Link and PayPak.
Visa Inc. is a global payments technology company that operates one of the world’s largest electronic payment networks, enabling consumers and businesses to make payments using Visa-branded credit, debit and prepaid cards.
Visa doesn’t issue cards itself but partners with banks and financial institutions to do so. 1Link and PayPak is similar in concept to Visa or Mastercard but is designed specifically for local use within Pakistan.
The Pakistani minister, currently in Washington, appreciated Visa’s role in the digitalization of his country’s economy during a meeting with the company’s regional vice president, Andrew Torre.
“He [Aurangzeb] noted that Visa’s decision to triple the size of its office in Pakistan and its collaboration with 1Link and PayPak would contribute significantly to promoting financial inclusion, e-commerce, transaction security, and payment gateways in Pakistan, as well as facilitate remittances,” the finance ministry said in a statement issued after the meeting.
It added the finance minister also assured the company of the government’s full support in resolving any issues faced by them.
Aurangzeb’s meeting with Torre came as the country works toward a more inclusive and digitally empowered economy, with government backing and private sector innovation aligned.

Topics: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb

Pakistan Senate rejects Indian attempt to link it to Kashmir tourist attack

Pakistan Senate rejects Indian attempt to link it to Kashmir tourist attack
Updated 25 April 2025
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Pakistan Senate rejects Indian attempt to link it to Kashmir tourist attack

Pakistan Senate rejects Indian attempt to link it to Kashmir tourist attack
  • Deputy PM Ishaq Dar says India must be held accountable for its acts of ‘terrorism’ in Pakistan
  • He also reaffirms Pakistan’s ‘moral, political and diplomatic’ support to the people of Kashmir
Updated 25 April 2025
Usama Iqbal Khawaja

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Senate on Friday unanimously passed a resolution condemning what it called India’s “frivolous and baseless” attempts to link Islamabad to a deadly shooting in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, rejecting the allegation and accusing New Delhi of using “terrorism” as a political tool.
India has blamed Pakistan for the attack in the scenic town of Pahalgam in Kashmir’s Anantnag district, where gunmen killed 26 civilians on Tuesday in the deadliest assault on non-combatants in nearly two decades.
Pakistan has denied any involvement in the incident, with Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar reading out the resolution in the upper house of parliament that was later adopted by all the lawmakers.
“The Senate of Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestation, emphasizes that killing of innocent civilians is contrary to the values upheld by Pakistan [and] rejects all frivolous and baseless attempts to link Pakistan with the Pahalgam attack of 22nd April 2025 in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
The resolution denounced India’s suspension of the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty and reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination.
It also accused India of waging a “mala fide campaign” to malign Pakistan.
“The country’s sovereignty, security and interests demand that India should be held accountable for its involvement in different acts of terrorism and targeted assassinations on the soil of other countries, including Pakistan,” Dar continued.
He also reaffirmed Pakistan’s “unwavering moral, political and diplomatic support for and commitment to the Kashmiri people’s just struggle for realization of their inalienable right to self determination.”

Topics: Senate of Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar Pakistan India Ties

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