ISLAMABAD: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has started 11 special flights to take Saudi iqama holders of Pakistani origin back to the Kingdom after officials of the Arab state gave them a 72-hour ultimatum to return amid mounting fear of coronavirus, a PIA official said on Saturday.
“We have started 11 special flights along with our regular flights to Saudi Arabia. Earlier we got permission for seven flights from the Saudi authorities, but we sought it for four more and they granted it,” PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez told Arab News over the phone from Karachi.
The Saudi authorities on Thursday announced a range of measures to contain the threat of coronavirus as cases of viral infection increased in the Kingdom. These include temporary suspension of travel of citizens and expatriates to a number of countries, including the European Union, Switzerland, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and some African nations. It also gave a 72-hour period to citizens and those with valid residency permits to return to the Kingdom before the travel suspension decision came into effect.
Hafeez said that PIA would not be able to take all the passengers to Saudi Arabia within the stipulated time since the number of passengers was too high. Many of these iqama holders had taken leave from work and were visiting Pakistan.
“It is an emergency situation so normal operations will not be able to cater to this demand. We can manage aircraft availability, but we are not getting slot permission due to heavy influx of flights from all over the world. The ultimatum is for the whole world which has created a flight congestion in the Kingdom,” he said.
“The return of iqama holder from all over the world in 72 hours is not manageable,” he continued. “Therefore, we hope that the Kingdom will extend the deadline.”
Pakistan’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia Raja Ali Ejaz said the mission was in touch with the Saudi authorities on the issue of the 72-hour deadline.
“Pakistan’s direct flights to the Kingdom have four destinations that includes Jeddah, Riyadh, Makkah and Medina. We are in contact with the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) to arrange special flights to the Kingdom to facilitate Pakistani citizens,” he told Arab News via phone from Riyadh on Friday.
Faizan Akthar, member of Pakistan’s Travel Agents’ Association, said that requests for tickets to various Saudi cities had registered a significant increase during the past few days.
“I have received hundreds of calls to arrange urgent tickets for Saudi Arabia during the last two days. Unfortunately, tickets are not available, though the clients offered extra money,” Akhtar said while speaking to Arab News from Rawalpindi.
Ifrat Hussain from Jhelum, who works at an auto workshop in Tabuk, said he could not find any flights to return to the Kingdom and worried about his job.
“I took a leave and came here last month. I booked my return ticket for April 5. After the deadline was announced, I tried my best to get an urgent ticket. Now I am worried about my job since it is difficult to know when will the ban be lifted,” he told Arab News.
Another iqama holder, Muddassar Gillani from Muzaffarabad, works at a poultry farm in Riyadh. He requested the Pakistani authorities to help its nationals save their future.
“I tried to pay double the amount to get a ticket but remained unsuccessful. Under the circumstances, I request the Pakistani government to help us get back to our jobs because they are at stake. The government must arrange special flights and request Saudi officials to extend the deadline,” he said.
11 special flights to bring Saudi iqama holders back to Kingdom — PIA
https://arab.news/5xsg6
11 special flights to bring Saudi iqama holders back to Kingdom — PIA
- Pakistan’s national flag carrier has initiated 11 special flights to the Kingdom
- Iqama holders want Pakistani government to request the Saudi authorities to extend the 72-hour deadline for their return
Vietnamese ambassador’s wife found safe in Islamabad hours after being reported missing
- The envoy’s wife left for a parlor at around 11 AM and left her phone behind, making her lose contact with family
- Police say they traced her through safe city cameras while she was at the Megazone Entertainment Hub in F-9 Park
ISLAMABAD: Police in Pakistan’s federal capital on Saturday traced the wife of the Vietnamese ambassador to the country with the help of safe city cameras and cellular technology, hours after she was reported missing by her husband in Islamabad.
The ambassador’s spouse had left her residence at around 11 AM to visit a parlor, leaving her phone and purse at home, which made her lose contact with her family, the police said.
Soon after the incident was reported, Inspector General of Islamabad Police Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi visited the residence of Ambassador Nguyen Tien Phong along with senior officials from his department and constituted seven different teams to locate the envoy’s spouse.
“The ambassador’s spouse was traced while she was at the Megazone Entertainment Hub in F-9 Park with the help of safe city cameras and cellular technology,” Taqi Jawad, a police spokesperson, told Arab News.
“She was sitting there calm and cool when the police team along with her husband approached her,” he said. “They spoke to each other in the Vietnamese language for a minute and left for their home happily.”
Some media organizations also reported the ambassador’s wife was upset with her husband and had left her residence to go for swimming and bowling.
However, Jawad said she had lost contact with the envoy and her family, creating fears that she had gone missing.
“She is reunited with her family while the ambassador thanked the police for their efforts to trace her,” he added.
Pakistan’s religious affairs minister directs Hajj staff to enhance pilgrim guidance in Saudi Arabia
Pakistan’s religious affairs minister directs Hajj staff to enhance pilgrim guidance in Saudi Arabia
- Chaudhry Salik Hussain emphasizes effective communication, seeking deployment of guides fluent in various dialects
- He asks Hajj welfare crew to perform their responsibilities with devotion, calling it a ‘sacred duty’ to serve pilgrims
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Religious Affairs Minister Chaudhry Salik Hussain instructed the country’s Hajj welfare staff in Saudi Arabia on Saturday to proactively guide pilgrims in various Pakistani languages, ensuring that these religious devotees can perform their spiritual journey as conveniently as possible.
Hussain issued this instruction during an orientation session held by Pakistan’s Hajj mission in the kingdom to familiarize support staff in Makkah with the pilgrims’ needs.
According to official statistics, Pakistan has decided to employ 550 individuals to assist pilgrims during this year’s Hajj, not including the doctors and paramedics providing medical facilities to Pakistani pilgrims in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.
The minister emphasized the need for effective communication, asking the Hajj mission to deploy guides fluent in different Pakistani dialects at the Grand Mosque and other sacred places.
“This move will enhance the experience of pilgrims and help them navigate the area with comfort, given Pakistan’s multicultural nature and linguistic diversity,” he said.
He urged the Hajj mission to ensure the pilgrims were provided with the best possible facilities and services during their stay in the kingdom and to show greater compassion and empathy toward them.
He also instructed the guides to be deployed at bus stations to facilitate pilgrims’ commutes from one point to another.
Hussain further asked the Hajj welfare crew to perform their responsibilities with devotion, highlighting that serving the pilgrims was a “sacred duty.”
Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and requires every adult Muslim to undertake the journey to the holy Islamic sites in Makkah at least once in their lifetime if they are financially and physically able.
Pakistan has a quota of 179,210 pilgrims. The annual Islamic pilgrimage is expected to take place from June 14 to June 19 this year.
Pakistan, UK agree to enhance cooperation in counter-terrorism, organized crime and illegal immigration
- The understanding to this effect was reached during Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s visit to UK
- Both sides this week signed a Letter of Intent to combat illegal migration and drug-prevention
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the United Kingdom (UK) have agreed to enhance cooperation in the fields of counter-terrorism, organized crime and prevention of illegal immigration, the Pakistani interior ministry said on Saturday.
The understanding to this effect was reached during Naqvi’s visit to the UK, where he visited the National Crime Agency (NCA), Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and National Situation Center in London.
The Pakistani interior minister held meetings with NCA Director-General James Babbage, and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Director-General Jonathan Allen, according to the Pakistani interior ministry.
“During the meetings, it was agreed to enhance cooperation in the fields of counter-terrorism, organized crime, and cybersecurity was also discussed during the meetings,” the ministry said in a statement.
“It was agreed to enhance cooperation in areas such as drug trafficking, cybercrime, illegal immigration and anti-narcotics.”
Naqvi welcomed the UK’s cooperation in combating the challenge of cybercrime and emphasized the need to adopt a common strategy to deal with the challenge of militancy, according to the interior ministry statement.
Naqvi later visited the National Situation Center, where he was briefed how the center plays a fully active role and monitors the situation in case of a crisis.
The Pakistani interior minister is currently on an official visit to the United Kingdom. During his visit, Pakistan and the UK have signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to improve coordination between their law enforcement agencies to help combat illegal migration and foster cooperation in drug-prevention. The initiative will also help improve cooperation in combating illicit financial threats and tracking crimes along air and sea borders.
The UK signed a major deal with Pakistan in 2022 under which foreign criminals and immigration offenders from the UK can be returned to Pakistan. Under the new plan, Pakistani nationals with no legal right to remain in the UK, including criminals, failed asylum seekers and immigration offenders, can be removed.
Pakistanis make up the seventh largest number of foreign criminals in prisons in England and Wales, totaling nearly 3 percent of the foreign national offender population.
Heatstroke cases rise in Multan as Pakistan bakes under blistering heat wave
- Doctors at Nishtar Hospital say increasing number of patients coming in with heatstroke, dehydration and diarrhea
- Pakistan saw temperatures surge past 50 degrees Celsius recently as heat wave grips Pakistan and India
ISLAMABAD: The temperature in a small, enclosed room in Multan’s Nishtar Hospital is cooler than the temperature outside as three patients infused with an intravenous drip lay on beds and a round water cooler with the words “ORS,” meaning oral rehydration solution, sits at a table in the room.
This is the scene at the heat wave “bay,” a separate unit at the largest public hospital in the city, that is dedicated to heat stroke patients. The 1000-bed hospital, which has been functioning since 1953, has allocated two rooms of its Emergency Ward for patients who come in with cases of dehydration, high blood pressure, diarrhea and other risks associated with a heat stroke.
The initiative was taken after the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) warned of multiple heat waves in the country till June. Parts of Pakistan have seen temperatures as high as 52.2 degrees Celsius (126°F) over the last week as South Asia swelters in a hot summer — a trend scientists say has been worsened by human-driven climate change.
“Definitely there are heat stroke patients coming in here at Nishtar Hospital,” Medical Superintendent Dr. Muhammad Kazim Khan told Arab News on Friday. “There are daily two to three heat stroke patients.”
The hospital has also been treating patients for dehydration, hypertension and other similar problems in recent weeks.
Khan said the hospital’s “heat stroke rooms” were equipped with central air conditioning, with patients having access to all medicines and ORS, a solution of water, salts and sugar to replenish electrolytes lost through dehydration.
In case of a heat stroke, patients spend up to eight hours at the facility before being discharged upon the physician’s advice, according to the medical superintendent.
“Otherwise, if they suffer any complications, then we shift them to a ward where after spending a day or two, they are again discharged,” he said.
Muhammad Mazhar, 50, said he sought treatment at the hospital Thursday night after suffering from diarrhea and vomiting. He was put on a drip and discharged after his condition improved, only to find the symptoms worsened on Friday.
“I came here again an hour ago and have been put on a drip again,” Mazhar told Arab News. “Right now, I am feeling better.”
Aamna Bibi, 45, was shifted to the hospital after she complained of stomach pain.
“I have been sick for the past five years,” she said. “I faint [whenever the heat gets too much] and I am also a heart patient and I also have diabetes.”
Mazhar said the weather in Multan had become “unbearable.”
“The heat in Multan is severe,” Mazhar said. “When a person goes out, it feels as if he is stepping on coals.”
Khan urged people to be careful during heat waves, advising them to avoid venturing outdoors unnecessarily and stay hydrated at all times by increasingly consuming water and juices.
Diabetes, heart diseases and respiratory illnesses, associated with heat stroke, could become “very dangerous” for patients during a heat wave, he warned.
“If we don’t get a season of rainfall and the temperature continues to remain this high, then no doubt there can be a lot of disaster,” the official said.
“And there may be chances of heat wave patients increasing.”
Beijing sees Pakistan PM’s visit as opportunity to make ‘greater progress’ in strategic partnership
- Pakistan aims to woo Chinese investors during the visit as it looks to boost investment to support its economy
- For Beijing, the security of Chinese nationals and interests in Pakistan is likely to be a key issue to be discussed
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s upcoming visit to China will serve as an opportunity for both countries to make “greater progress” in their all-weather strategic, cooperative partnership, China’s foreign ministry said on Friday.
Pakistan’s foreign office announced on Friday that Sharif would be visiting China from June 4 till June 8 on an invitation extended to him by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Chinese investment and financial support since 2013 have been key for the South Asian nation’s struggling economy, including the rolling over of loans so that Islamabad is able to meet external financing needs at a time its foreign reserves are critically low.
Sharif’s visit will seek to upgrade cooperation under the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is a key part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.
“China and Pakistan have in recent years had close high-level exchanges, steadily advanced practical cooperation, conducted fruitful and high-quality cooperation on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and maintained sound communication and coordination in international and regional affairs,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a press briefing on Friday.
“China stands ready to work with Pakistan through this visit to make greater progress in our all-weather strategic cooperative partnership and take new steps in the building of an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era.”
China has invested billions in various power projects and road networks in Pakistan under the $65 billion CPEC plan, but the implementation of various projects has slowed in recent months.
During his visit, Sharif will meet President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Zhao Leji.
“The leaders of the two countries will have an in-depth exchange of views on China-Pakistan relations and issues of mutual interest, and jointly draw up a blueprint for the growth of bilateral relations,” Mao said.
On Friday, Sharif asked Pakistani officials to carve out a “comprehensive plan” for business-to-business (B2B) engagements during his visit to China, which comes at a time when Pakistan is looking to boost foreign investment to support its fragile economy after averting a default last year, thanks to a $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout.
“An important aspect of the PM’s visit will be meetings with corporate executives of leading Chinese companies dealing in oil and gas, energy, ICT [information and communication technology], and emerging technologies,” Pakistani foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said.
The security of Chinese interests is another issue that is likely to top the agenda during Sharif’s visit as Chinese citizens and interests have been regularly attacked by militants in Pakistan.
Most recently, five Chinese engineers, who were working on a dam in northwest Pakistan, were killed in a suicide bombing in March.
Beijing has pressed Pakistan to guarantee the safety of Chinese organizations and personnel working there. The announcement of Sharif’s visit comes days after Pakistan announced it had arrested 11 militants involved in the bombing.
Islamabad has said the militants operate out of Afghanistan, but Kabul has rejected the charges.
