US lobbied UN rights council to dilute Pakistan’s Gaza proposal, diplomats say

US lobbied UN rights council to dilute Pakistan’s Gaza proposal, diplomats say
Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, attends a side event during the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, March 26, 2024. (REUTERS/ File)
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Updated 04 April 2025
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US lobbied UN rights council to dilute Pakistan’s Gaza proposal, diplomats say

US lobbied UN rights council to dilute Pakistan’s Gaza proposal, diplomats say
  • UN rights council adopted the resolution moved by Pakistan seeking Israel's accountability
  • Despite forsaking the council, US lobbied to block any new UN investigation against Israel

GENEVA: Two months after President Donald Trump announced a halt to US engagement with the United Nations Human Rights Council, Washington is influencing its work by applying pressure publicly and behind the scenes, seven diplomats and rights workers said.

The United States left its seat empty during a six-week session of the 47-member council ending on Friday, but its lobbying and pressure had some success, the sources told Reuters.

They said the US, which has accused the council of an anti-Israel bias, had focused on blunting a proposal by Pakistan on the creation of an International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM), the most rigorous type of UN investigation, on Israel's actions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The version of Pakistan's proposal that was passed on Wednesday by the council, whose mission is to promote and protect human rights worldwide, did not include the creation of the IIIM.

The council already has a commission of inquiry on the Palestinian Territories, but Pakistan's proposal would have created an additional probe with extra powers to gather evidence for possible use in international courts.

A March 31 letter sent by Brian Mast, Chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, and James R. Risch, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, cautioned against voting the proposal through.

“Any HRC member state or UN entity that supports an Israel-specific IIM ... will face the same consequences as the ICC faced,” the letter said.

It appeared to be referring to sanctions approved by the House of Representatives on the International Criminal Court in protest at its arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and former defence minister over Israel’s campaign in Gaza.

The final version of Pakistan’s proposal referred only to an invitation to the UN General Assembly to consider an IIIM in the future.

Two Geneva-based diplomats said they had received messages from US diplomats before the change of wording asking them to oppose the new investigation.

“They were saying: ‘back off on this issue,’” said one, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Reuters could not establish whether the revision was a direct result of US actions.

A US State Department spokesperson said it was complying with the executive order signed by Trump on Feb. 4 withdrawing the US from the council and would not participate in it, adding: “As a matter of policy, we do not comment on private diplomatic conversations.”

Pakistan’s diplomatic mission in Geneva did not respond to a request for comment.

“The US seems to be trying to have it both ways. It doesn’t want to pay for or participate in the UN but it still wants to boss it around,” said Lucy McKernan, Deputy Director for United Nations at Human Rights Watch’s Geneva office.

‘RAW POWER’

The US and Israel are not members of the council but, like all UN member states have informal observer status and a seat in the council’s meeting chamber.

International human rights institutions are now at a critical juncture, said Phil Lynch, Director of International Service for Human Rights, a non-governmental organization.

“We are potentially confronting a future characterised by lawlessness and raw power,” he said.

The US was once the top donor to the UN rights system, but Trump has said the UN is “not being well run” and aid cuts by his administration have forced scalebacks.

The US and Israel have also opposed the mandate of one of the council’s independent experts during this session.

The Israeli ambassador said on March 24 that Francesca Albanese, a critic of Israeli actions in Gaza, had breached a UN code of conduct through “blatant antisemitic behaviour and discourse,” a diplomatic note showed.

The US State Department spokesperson said Albanese was “unfit for her role.”

“The correspondence received is under consideration,” council spokesperson Pascal Sim said, adding that whenever the council makes a nomination, “it does so with the knowledge that the mandate-holder is expected to serve up to six years in this function.”

The internal body that ensures UN experts adhere to a code of conduct condemned what it described as a coordinated campaign against Albanese, according to a letter from the Coordination Committee of Special Procedures dated 28 March.

It found no evidence to support Israel’s complaints against Albanese. However, it is introducing social media guidelines for UN experts in light of some concerns raised about her X posts.

 


China to launch space mission Thursday as Pakistani astronaut selection begins for future flights

China to launch space mission Thursday as Pakistani astronaut selection begins for future flights
Updated 15 sec ago
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China to launch space mission Thursday as Pakistani astronaut selection begins for future flights

China to launch space mission Thursday as Pakistani astronaut selection begins for future flights
  • Pakistani astronaut will visit a Chinese space station under a cooperation pact signed in February
  • Shenzhou-20 crewed spaceflight will carry zebrafish and bacteria for life science experiments in orbit

BEIJING: China is set to launch its Shenzhou-20 mission that will carry three astronauts to the Chinese space station Tiangong at 5.17 p.m. on Thursday local time (0917 GMT), state media said on Wednesday.

The main purpose of the mission is to complete the in-orbit rotation with the Shenzhou-19 crew which is scheduled to return to the Dongfeng landing site on April 29, China Manned Space Agency officials said at a press conference broadcast on CCTV.

The Shenzhou-20 spaceflight from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China will carry astronauts Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, CCTV said.

The spaceflight will be Chen Dong’s third and the first for the other two — a space engineer and a former air force pilot.

They will conduct space science and application experiments, install a space debris protection device as well as extravehicular payload and equipment, and perform recovery tasks.

The mission will also bring with it zebrafish, planarians and streptomyces as research objects to carry out three life science experiments at the space station.

The crew, scheduled to return to Earth in late October, can expect a resupply mission via the unmanned Tianzhou-9 cargo spacecraft.

The country’s fourth batch of astronauts set to participate in Shenzhou spaceflights is currently in training, featuring for the first time astronauts from China’s special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau, as well as Pakistan.

The Hong Kong and Macau astronauts are likely to carry out their first mission as early as 2026, state media reported.

China said the selection of the Pakistani astronauts is underway. Both countries signed an agreement for space cooperation in February.

One of the two Pakistani astronauts that will join the Chinese missions is set to focus on payloads and scientific research aboard China’s space station.


Pakistan offers condolences after gunmen kill 26 tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir

Pakistan offers condolences after gunmen kill 26 tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir
Updated 12 min 14 sec ago
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Pakistan offers condolences after gunmen kill 26 tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir

Pakistan offers condolences after gunmen kill 26 tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir
  • The incident happened in Pahalgam where unidentified assailants gunned down mostly domestic tourists
  • Such attacks have historically strained ties between the two nuclear rivals, pushing them close to war

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday voiced concern over the killing of civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir, after at least 26 people were gunned down by unidentified assailants at a tourist site in the region’s deadliest attack on non-combatants in decades.
The shooting occurred Tuesday afternoon in Pahalgam, a popular resort town in the Anantnag district, when armed men emerged from forest cover and opened fire on crowds of mostly domestic tourists.
Indian officials said the attack bore the hallmarks of an organized militant assault, though no group claimed responsibility for it. Survivors described a calculated and prolonged attack, with gunmen selectively targeting men and sparing women.
“We are concerned at the loss of tourists’ lives in an attack in Anantnag district of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir,” the foreign office of Pakistan said in a statement.
“We extend our condolences to the near ones of the deceased and wish the injured a speedy recovery,” it added.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who cut short a state visit to Saudi Arabia in response, called the attack a “heinous act” and pledged that the perpetrators would be brought to justice.
Such attacks have historically strained ties between India and Pakistan, two nuclear-armed rivals with a long-standing dispute over Kashmir. In 2019, a suicide bombing in Pulwama killed 40 Indian paramilitary personnel and triggered cross-border air strikes, pushing the neighbors to the brink of war.
New Delhi has repeatedly blamed Islamabad for backing militant groups operating in the region, an allegation Pakistan denies, insisting it supports only the political aspirations of Kashmiris.
On Wednesday, India’s army also reported killing two gunmen in a separate incident near the Line of Control, the de facto border separating the Pakistani and Indian sides of Kashmir, in Baramulla district, describing it as a foiled infiltration attempt.
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since 1947, with both countries claiming it in full. A violent separatist insurgency has simmered in the Indian-administered part since the late 1980s, although militant violence had declined in recent years.
Tuesday’s attack has also promoted global reaction, with US President Donald Trump and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen condemning the violence and pledging support for India in pursuing the assailants.


Pakistan’s finance chief seeks deeper US trade ties, welcomes reform efforts at global lenders

Pakistan’s finance chief seeks deeper US trade ties, welcomes reform efforts at global lenders
Updated 55 min 34 sec ago
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Pakistan’s finance chief seeks deeper US trade ties, welcomes reform efforts at global lenders

Pakistan’s finance chief seeks deeper US trade ties, welcomes reform efforts at global lenders
  • Muhammad Aurangzeb downplays US tariff concerns, says Pakistan sees greater opportunity in rebalancing trade
  • IMF chief says the international lender is trying to determine how to design loan programs for countries like Pakistan

KARACHI: Pakistan’s finance minister said on Tuesday the country wants to broaden trade and investment ties with the United States, especially in minerals critical to the energy transition, while also joining other vulnerable economies in urging reforms at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb is currently in Washington to attend the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings, where policymakers are grappling with debt distress, climate vulnerabilities and growing calls from the Global South to reshape how multilateral institutions lend and design reforms.
The IMF has acknowledged the need to tailor programs more toward pro-growth reforms and private-sector led development, particularly for repeat borrowers like Pakistan.
“We genuinely believe that there’s a win-win situation,” Aurangzeb said at the Atlantic Council, pointing to high-level US interest in Pakistan’s copper and rare earth potential. “Reko Diq is only the first one... the value addition and downstream stuff is going to be really game-changing for Pakistan.”
Aurangzeb downplayed concerns over US tariffs, saying the country saw greater opportunity in rebalancing trade and attracting strategic investment.
He reiterated a high-level delegation from Islamabad would visit Washington in the coming weeks to explore broader cooperation beyond tariffs, citing minerals, agriculture and green technology as key areas.
On multilateral reform, Aurangzeb welcomed the willingness of IMF and World Bank leaders to reassess their lending frameworks, especially in light of liquidity strains across the Global South.
“These institutions also need to have ownership and accountability at their end to really drive impact,” he said, calling for a system that allows countries like Pakistan to access flexible financing and avoid perpetual debt cycles.
He praised recent efforts to unify public and private sector arms within the World Bank and to coordinate better with other lenders like the ADB and AIIB.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Tuesday the international lending agency was not just telling countries to get their own houses in order, but was also looking at the way it does business, including conducting a review of how it designs loan programs, and determines their length and conditions.
She said the IMF was also looking at countries that have had repeated programs, such as Pakistan, Argentina and Egypt, to ensure loan programs were designed the right way.
Pakistan has been in over 20 IMF programs, including a $7 billion Extended Fund Facility finalized last year to stabilize its economy.
Aurangzeb said the government was pursuing structural reform, with a focus on climate, population, and fiscal sustainability, including efforts to broaden the tax base and digitize enforcement.
– With input from Reuters


Pakistan’s foreign investment dropped 19% during first nine months of FY25— central bank

Pakistan’s foreign investment dropped 19% during first nine months of FY25— central bank
Updated 55 min 40 sec ago
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Pakistan’s foreign investment dropped 19% during first nine months of FY25— central bank

Pakistan’s foreign investment dropped 19% during first nine months of FY25— central bank
  • Foreign portfolio investment dropped by 514% in July-March FY25 period, says state bank
  • Pakistani financial analysts attribute decline to political uncertainty, lack of ease of doing business

KARACHI: Pakistan’s foreign investment declined by 19% to $1.3 billion during the first nine months of this fiscal year through March, recent data from Pakistan’s central bank said, with analysts attributing the slump to political uncertainty and lack of ease of doing business.
As per the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) latest data, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Pakistan rose by 14% to $1.64 billion in the same period, compared to $1.44 billion the country attracted a year ago. 

However, the total foreign investment also includes foreign portfolio investment (FPI), which are foreign investments in a country’s stocks, bonds and other securities. The SBP said FPI dropped by a staggering 514% as foreigners sold $269 million of the country’s equity and debt during July-March this fiscal year. Last year, foreign investors were holding $65 million in Pakistan’s stocks and bonds during the same period.

Pakistan’s government has said the country is on its path to economic progress. Pakistan formed the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) in 2023 after coming to the brink of a sovereign default. The SIFC is a civil-military body that aims to attract foreign investment in minerals, agriculture, livestock, tourism, defense and other important sectors.

“Although the SIFC has been instrumental in generating leads for foreign investment, the actual materialization of flows has been weak due to hurdles in executing these,” Shankar Talreja, director of research at brokerage firm Topline Securities Limited, told Arab News on Friday. 
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has tasked his government to increase exports to $60 billion in the next five years, seeking to boost its foreign exchange reserves.  
However, the country’s foreign reserves have declined to $10.6 billion during the week ended Apr. 11, as per the SBP’s figures. The amount is hardly enough to cover two months of imports whereas the International Monetary Fund (IMF) wants Pakistan to increase its reserves to support three months of imports. 
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and the finance ministry’s spokesperson Qamar Sarwar Abbasi did not respond to Arab News’ request for comments. 
While Sharif’s government has signed various memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with several countries over the past year, it has not been able to attract even $3 billion in investment since the last two decades, since FY09, as per the central bank’s data. 
Talreja said some foreign companies wanted to make major investments in Pakistan’s refinery sector but frequent changes in the country’s tax structure led to a “hue and cry” from them.
“The ease of doing business is quite low in Pakistan due to higher taxes and frequent bubbles in the economy led by inconsistent macro policies,” Talreja explained. 

‘ZERO GROWTH IN PER CAPITA INCOME
Financial analyst Sana Tawfik said besides political uncertainty and a high cost of doing business, Pakistan’s fragile balance of payment position has been a permanent concern for risk-averse investors. 

These investors have seen Islamabad approach the IMF for frequent financial bailouts whenever it has tried to achieve an import-driven 5-6 percent growth, she said. 
“Pakistan’s macroeconomic situation is no doubt improving but then we have to see how sustainable this improvement is,” Tawfik, the head of research at Arif Habib Limited, told Arab News. 
 


Pakistan, Turkiye demand immediate ceasefire in Gaza, separate state for Palestinians 

Pakistan, Turkiye demand immediate ceasefire in Gaza, separate state for Palestinians 
Updated 22 April 2025
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Pakistan, Turkiye demand immediate ceasefire in Gaza, separate state for Palestinians 

Pakistan, Turkiye demand immediate ceasefire in Gaza, separate state for Palestinians 
  • Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif meets Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara
  • Both leaders discuss cooperation in energy, mining, military and defense, says Sharif’s office

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, reiterating their demand for the establishment of a separate and independent state for the people of Palestine. 

Sharif is in Ankara on a two-day official visit to discuss bilateral ties between the two states, the regional situation and economic opportunities. 

Pakistan and Turkiye have both repeatedly condemned Israel for its military campaign in Gaza, which has claimed the lives of over 51,000 Palestinians since October 2023. 

“We strongly condemn the brutal killings of over 50,000 innocent Palestinians, including women and children,” Sharif said during a joint press conference with Erdogan.

“We have called for an immediate ceasefire and unhindered flow of humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian people. We renewed our call for a viable, independent and contiguous Palestinian state with pre-1967 borders and Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital,” he added.

Erdogan praised Pakistan for always adopting a “resolute” stance on the Palestinian issue, noting that Islamabad had given one of the strongest reactions to the ongoing “genocide” in Gaza. 

“We will continue to work together toward the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state on the basis of 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital and on the basis of its territorial integrity,” the Turkish president said. 

Erdogan urged Turkish investors to develop joint business projects in Pakistan, saying that he discussed promoting mutual investments in Pakistan with Sharif and the allocation of a free economic zone for Turkish companies in the South Asian country. 

“We wish to further develop our relations in the fields of military and defense industry through joint projects,” he said. 

In a separate statement, Sharif’s office said he discussed the importance of enhancing economic collaboration with Turkiye, especially through joint ventures and bilateral investments, with Erdogan. 

The Prime Minister’s Office said Sharif highlighted opportunities for cooperation in the fields of energy and mining, joint ventures in defense and agri production. 

The PMO said Sharif also spoke about enhancing regional and bilateral connectivity to boost trade and deepen cooperation in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.

Pakistan and Turkiye enjoy close cultural, historical and military relations which they are now expanding into the realms of trade, economy and investment as both countries seek to develop their economies.

As long-standing allies and strategic partners, Pakistan and Turkiye maintain a tradition of regular exchanges and have institutionalized leadership-level mechanisms such as the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC).

The 7th session of the HLSCC was held in Islamabad on Feb 12-13 this year, and co-chaired by Sharif and Erdogan.