KARACHI: The US envoy to Islamabad has promised to look into Pakistan’s request that the human and legal rights of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui are requested, foreign office spokesman Dr. Muhammad Faisal told Arab News.
Siddiqui, 46, was convicted in 2010 of seven counts of attempted murder and assault of US personnel in Afghanistan. She is serving an 86-year jail term at the Federal Medical Center, Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas.
Earlier, the foreign office in a statement issued on Wednesday said that the Government of Pakistan has been raising the issue of Siddiqui with US authorities regularly.
“Pakistan’s CG in Houston pays consular visits to Dr. Siddiqui, periodically, to inquire about her wellbeing and conveys her messages to Dr. Aafia’s family,” read the statement, adding that the issue of respecting Siqqiqui’s human and legal rights was also raised in the meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with Ambassador Alice Wells on Nov. 6. “The US side has promised to look into our request,” the statement read.
According to the statement, the foreign minister will soon meet Siddiqui’s sister in Islamabad.
Dr. Fowzia Siddiqui, Aafia’s sister, confirmed to Arab News that she has received a call from the foreign office about a meeting.
“The agenda and date has not been shared yet. I got a call from a foreign office official who told me that I will be summoned for a meeting next week,” she told Arab News.
Dr. Siddiqui, during a consular visit to her by Aisha Farooqui, the Pakistan’s consul general in Houston on Oct. 9, had requested that her message was sent to Prime Minister Imran Khan.
In the message, seen by Arab News, Dr. Siddiqui said that she wanted to get out of prison because her imprisonment in the US was illegal as she was kidnapped and taken to the US. “Imran Khan had supported me in the past also. I have always considered him one of my biggest heroes,” read the message Farooqui sent to Islamabad.
Siddiqui’s sister argued that through the “Transfer Of Offenders Ordinance-2002,” the Government of Pakistan may transfer Aafia to a Pakistani jail. “The least we have been demanding is not to free Aafia but to transfer her to a prison in Pakistan for completing the remaining term in her country,” she said.
On May 23 earlier this year, Pakistan’s consul-general in Houston met Dr. Siddiqui, who complained about physical and sexual abuse by prison staff.
“She was constantly disturbed in her room and her privacy was consistently violated by jail staff who harassed her, threatened her and attempted to sexually abuse her on a number of occasions,” Farooqui wrote in her report, a copy of which was leaked to Arab News.
Siddiqui’s sister, Dr. Fowzia Siddiqui, had told Arab News: “The leaking of this report will jeopardize Aafia’s life further as the prison guards will turn more vengeful.
“No words can describe the pain this report has inflicted on our hearts. No words can describe our agony.”
Farooqui said Siddiqui had claimed that staff “barged into her room, confiscated her belongings, made fun of her and even snatched her scarf off her head.”
The consul-general had recommended Islamabad seek a US Department of Justice inquiry into Siddiqui’s claims.
US promises to look into Aafia Siddiqui’s case, says Pakistan
US promises to look into Aafia Siddiqui’s case, says Pakistan
- The US envoy to Islamabad has promised to look at the request for rights of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, foreign office spokesman has told Arab News.
- Dr. Fowzia Siddiqui, sister of Aafia, said she will be summoned for a meeting next week on her sister’s case.
Over 600 IT firms, 100 foreigners attend ITCN tech conference in Lahore
- The three-day exhibition is set to fetch nearly $500 million investment from a dozen countries
- The companies participating in the expo include Microsoft, Inbox, Lenovo, HP, NetSol and Dell
ISLAMABAD: More than 600 IT companies, 55,000 participants, and around a hundred foreign delegates are attending an ongoing 24th edition of the ITCN Asia Conference in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, Pakistani state media reported on Friday, citing officials.
The main sessions at the three-day tech event include the Artificial Intelligence Summit, Global Security Symposium, Gaming and Scholars Roundtable, Investor Summit, Freelancer Summit, Made in Pakistan Roundtable Conference.
State Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja said the objective of the event was to highlight the expertise and products of Pakistan’s IT sector at the international level.
“Sixty eight percent of Pakistan’s population consists of young people and IT is a field that has a lot of opportunities available for them,” she told Radio Pakistan broadcaster. “The government’s vision is to bring as much skill training as possible for the youth in the IT sector.”
Khawaja said the government would provide cheap loans to the IT sector so that freelancers could thrive.
“The government has started the Industry Academia Bridge Program under which IT students in universities can collaborate with the private sector to get practical training while studying and secure their jobs,” she added.
Speaking on the opening day of the event at Lahore’s Expo Center on Friday, Khawaja said it was an honor for Pakistan to be a founding partner of the Digital Cooperation Organization, a global multilateral body launched in November 2020 to help enable digital prosperity for all, and a testimony to the country’s readiness to be one of the leading stakeholders in the global IT ecosystem.
“Pakistan’s digital progress and its position as a global stakeholder is underscored by its vibrant youth as Pakistan produces 10,000 IT graduates every year,” she said.
“Together we will make Pakistan an IT hub as IT is the key toward growth of all sectors.”
A delegation of international investors belonging to 12 different countries is participating in the event that is expected to attract around $500 million investment, according to Pakistani state media.
Renowned international and national technology companies, including Microsoft, Inbox, Red Hat, TP-Link, Lenovo, HP, NetSol, Abacus and Dell, are participating in the three-day exhibition.
The event is being jointly supported by the Pakistani Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), Pakistan Software Export Board and Pakistan Software Houses Association.
Pakistan stocks close at record high amid IMF talks, tensions in Middle East
- The benchmark KSE-100 index surged by 647 points after morning trading hiccups due to reports of Israel’s attack on Iran
- Pakistani analysts say escalating tensions in Middle East will impact supply chain and increase import bill for Pakistan
KARACHI: Pakistan’s stock market recorded on Friday its highest-ever closing at 70,909 points, stock brokers and analysts said, attributing it to ongoing talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but cautioning about potential economic impact of Israel-Iran tensions in the Middle East.
Explosions were heard in Iranian city of Isfahan on Friday that were described as an Israeli attack by western media. However, Tehran has not officially confirmed the development as its response remains muted.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange witnessed some nervousness in the morning trading session, when news of Israel’s attack on Iran came in. But despite the development, the benchmark KSE-100 index surged by 647 points to close at 70,909 points.
“When news of the attack on Iran came this morning, its impact was seen in the Asian and European markets at one point,” Shehryar Butt, portfolio manager at the Karachi-based Darson Securities, told Arab News.
“Nikkei saw a decline of more than a thousand points, but despite this, the Pakistan Stock Exchange performed much better.”
The Pakistani bourse has recently been trading at record highs amid positive sentiment prevailing among investors due to hopes of the country’s successful talks with the IMF.
“The basic reason for this is that Pakistan is currently in the IMF program, and very serious discussions are taking place in Washington at this time,” Butt said.
Pakistan’s finance minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, is currently in Washington to hold talks with IMF officials for a new long-term loan program as Pakistan’s current $3 billion program is due to expire this month. The finance minister has expressed his hopes that the outline of the new program will be agreed next month.
Pakistan is expected to demand a loan size of around $7 billion but Jihad Azour, the IMF Middle East and Central Asia Director, said on Wednesday the reform package was more important than the size of the program.
“I would say the package of reform is now more important than the size of the program because we saw recently that the right measures provided the right response,” Azour said at a press briefing.
The surge in global oil prices amid geo political tensions and the Pakistani rupee’s recovery played “a catalyst role in Friday’s record close,” according to Ahsan Mehanti, CEO of the Arif Habib Corporation.
Though Pakistan’s market downplayed the Middle East tensions, but analysts said if the situation escalated, it would disrupt supply chain and impact Pakistan’s economy.
“The conflict between Iran and Israel will affect the Pakistani economy, quite a negative effect will be seen on the Pakistani economy because immediately after that, we saw geo-political situation worsening and oil started to rise,” Butt said, adding the rising global oil prices would impact Pakistan’s import bill.
Pakistan has imported petroleum products worth $12 billion during the July-March period of the current fiscal year, including $3.9 billion worth of crude oil and 2.9 billion worth of liquefied natural gas (LNG), according to official data.
Butt feared that if the situation persisted, then the attention of Saudi Arabia would also be drawn to the Middle East and the investment commitments made by the Kingdom with Pakistan could be delayed.
Haroon Sharif, an economist and former chairman of the Pakistan Board of Investment, said if the tensions in the Middle East escalated, their first impact would be on the stock market as foreign investors would like to shift their capital to safer markets.
“Another impact would be oil price escalation, hitting Pakistan’s trade deficit and traveling and cargo price would also escalate, increasing the cost of doing business,” Sharif said, adding that investors would hold their future expansion and investment plans till situation becomes stable.
Husain Haqqani, a former Pakistani ambassador to the United States and scholar at Washington DC’s Hudson Institute, said a prolonged conflict between Iran and Israel would increase uncertainty and instability across the Middle East.
“If Iran’s drone and missile attack on Israel was meant to show Iran’s reach, Israel has demonstrated its ability to strike deep inside Iran,” Haqqani told Arab News.
“Iran has several proxies that it can use while Israel has tremendous military and intelligence capabilities. Leaders of both countries have domestic political reasons to not be forgiving toward one another.”
Haqqani said the US would likely restrain Israel, while Iran would be constrained by its limited capability.
“After all, even after attacking with hundreds of missiles and drones, Iran was unable to cause real damage on ground in Israel,” he added.
Death toll from heavy rains in northwest Pakistan rises to 39
- The rains that began last Friday have damaged 2,391 houses across the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
- In southwestern Balochistan province, heavy rains have killed 15 people, triggered flash floods in several areas
PESHAWAR/QUETTA: The death toll from continuing rains in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province has risen to 39, while another 54 people have been injured in various incidents, the KP Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said on Friday.
The rains that began last Friday have caused damages to 2,391 houses in several districts across the province, according to the PDMA.
Khyber, Dir Lower and Upper, Chitral Upper and Lower, Swat, Shangla, Bajaur, Malakand, Karak and Tank districts have been declared the most affected by the downpours.
“As many as 23 children, eight men and eight women are among those died in rain related incidents during the last eight days,” the PDMA said in a statement on Friday.
The current spell of showers, which began on April 17, was likely to continue till April 21, the PDMA said this week.
The provincial government has released Rs110 million to be distributed among the affected families and dispatched aid, including tents, kitchen kits, blankets, hygiene kits, mosquito nets and mattresses, to the affected areas, according to the authority.
As the rains were expected to continue intermittently until April 21, the PDMA said it had already a letter to administration of all districts to remain alert and take precautionary measures.
In the southwestern Balochistan province, heavy rains have killed 15 people since Friday and triggered flash floods in several areas, according to provincial authorities.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti said climate change had become a “challenge” for the provincial government.
“Current rains are unusual which were never reported in a thousand years,” he told reporters on Friday. “The government has been helping the masses with available resources and our teams have reached all districts to help the people affected by rains and floods.”
Pakistan has received heavy rains in the last three weeks that have triggered landslides and flash floods in several parts of the South Asian country.
The eastern province of Punjab has reported 21 lighting- and roof collapse-related deaths, while Balochistan, in the country’s southwest, reported 10 deaths as authorities declared a state of emergency following flash floods.
In 2022, downpours swelled rivers and at one point flooded a third of Pakistan, killing 1,739 people. The floods also caused $30 billion in damages, from which Pakistan is still trying to rebuild.
CM Bugti promises ‘good governance’ as 14-member cabinet takes oath in Pakistan’s Balochistan
- Development came more than two months after Balochistan elected its representatives in Feb. 8 national polls
- CM Sarfraz Bugti says the formation of the cabinet took time due to consultation with all coalition partners
ISLAMABAD: Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti on Friday promised “good governance” and provision of maximum relief to public as his 14-member cabinet took oath in the southwestern Pakistani province, Pakistani state media reported.
The cabinet members were sworn in at a ceremony held at the Governor House in the provincial capital of Quetta, where Governor Malik Abdul Wali Kakar administered the oath to them.
The development came more than two months after Balochistan elected its representatives in the national election that was held on February 8, this year.
Bugti said the formation of the cabinet took time due to consultation with all coalition partners, the state-run APP news agency reported.
“Balochistan was facing many challenges, including terrorism,” he was quoted as saying in the report. “Providing maximum relief to the public and strengthening good governance were key priorities for the provincial government.”
Balochistan is the site of a long-running insurgency by separatist and religiously motivated militants, who have recently carried out a number of attacks in the region.
Gunmen this month killed nine people, who hailed from the eastern Punjab province, after abducting them from a bus on a highway near the Noshki district. The outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack.
Although the government says it has quelled the insurgency, violence by groups demanding independence from the central government has persisted in the province.
Pakistan says will continue ‘constructive engagement’ with Riyadh to enhance economic, strategic partnership
- Saudi foreign minister visited Islamabad this week to discuss investments
- Saudi deputy defense minister is also currently visiting Pakistani capital
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office said on Friday the South Asian country would continue its “constructive engagement” with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to enhance economic and strategic partnerships between the longtime allies.
Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud came to Islamabad on a two-day visit this week aimed at strengthening bilateral economic cooperation and pushing forward previously agreed investment deals. Pakistan has said it pitched investment projects worth$30 billion to Riyadh during Prince Faisal’s visit.
The Saudi official’s visit followed a meeting in Makkah between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in which the Kingdom had pledged to expedite $5 billion in investments.
“We will continue our constructive engagement with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to enhance our economic and strategic partnership,” foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at a weekly briefing, giving details of Prince Faisal’s visit, whose purpose she said “was to accelerate discussions on enhanced bilateral economic cooperation in the follow up of the understandings reached between Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia His Royal Highness Mohammed bin Salman.”
At a ‘Saudi Arabia-Pakistan Investment Conference’ co-chaired by the two foreign ministers in Islamabad, the two sides discussed investment proposals in diverse sectors such as energy, mining, agriculture, information technology, construction, human resource development and exports, Baloch said, adding that the investment conference was aimed at paving the way for Saudi investments in Pakistan.
“The Foreign Ministers of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia discussed global and regional developments,” Baloch added.
“There was unanimity of views on the increasing instability in the region. The two Foreign Ministers urged de-escalation and called for an immediate ceasefire, lifting of the siege of Gaza and access to unimpeded humanitarian aid for the besieged people of Gaza.”
The spokesperson said Pakistan was “deeply disappointed” at the result of last night’s debate at the United Nation Security Council and its inability to reach consensus and recommend Palestine’s membership of the UN to the General Assembly.
“We regret the US decision to veto the draft resolution granting full membership of the UN to Palestine,” Baloch said.
