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In swansong to parliament, Pakistan PM says will ‘cooperate’ with new government

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In this photo released by Press Information Department, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addresses lawmakers during the last session of current parliament, in Islamabad, Pakistan, on August 9, 2023. (AP)
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Outgoing Pakistani federal cabinet is pictured in Islamabad, Pakistan, on August 9, 2023. (Government of Pakistan)
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Updated 09 August 2023
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In swansong to parliament, Pakistan PM says will ‘cooperate’ with new government

  • Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif terms his 16-month-long career as chief executive ‘most difficult test of my life’
  • National Assembly failed to undertake legislative, economic reforms to provide relief for masses, says analyst
Updated 09 August 2023
Aamir Saeed

ISLAMABAD: In his farewell speech to Pakistan’s parliament on Wednesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif promised to cooperate with any political party that wins the upcoming general elections and forms its government at the center.

Sharif was addressing members of Pakistan’s lower house of the parliament, the National Assembly, in a farewell session. The Pakistani prime minister has announced he would send a summary for the dissolution of the National Assembly to the president on Wednesday, who has to dissolve parliament within 48 hours after which it will automatically stand dissolved. After the government’s term expires, the president is bound to appoint a caretaker prime minister in consultation with the outgoing prime minister and opposition leader. The same procedure is followed by governors in the provinces. 

Sharif’s 16-month tenure as prime minister was marked by political chaos, confrontation, and economic uncertainty. At the heart of Pakistan’s political crisis is former prime minister Imran Khan, who was arrested after his conviction on graft charges by a local Islamabad court on Saturday, and subsequently disqualified by Pakistan’s election regulator on Tuesday for a period of five years. 

“I will send a proposal to the president tonight for dissolution of the assembly,” Sharif told fellow lawmakers at the National Assembly, adding that he would meet Leader of the Opposition Raja Riaz tomorrow, Thursday, to discuss the candidates for the interim prime minister. 

“Tomorrow will be our first meeting,” the premier said. “As per the constitution, we will have three days to reach a decision [on the caretaker prime minister's appointment].” 




Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a group photo with the members of the National Assembly in Islamabad, Pakistan August 9, 2023. 

The prime minister termed the 16-month-long tenure as the country’s chief executive “the most difficult test of my life.” 

“I had never seen such a hard test in my 38-year political career,” he said. “Whoever comes into power, we will cooperate with them.” 

He denounced the violent protests that followed Khan’s brief arrest on May 9 which saw government buildings and military installations attacked in various parts of the country. 

“It was a rebellion against the army, the state, and [army chief] General Asim Munir,” Sharif said.  

 However, without taking Khan’s name, Sharif said one should not celebrate if a leader is disqualified from politics.  

“And if some have distributed sweets [to celebrate the verdict], it is not right. It is not a good tradition,” he added.  

He accused the previous government of incompetence, saying that its economic policies put Pakistan through immense burdens which his government had to bear.  

“Under very difficult circumstances, all the members of the coalition government battled the challenges together, including the floods of 2022 which wreaked havoc in Sindh, Balochistan, and KP,” the Pakistani prime minister said.  

The premier said the previous government had violated the IMF conditions, damaging Pakistan's dignity and integrity. “The previous government damaged relations with friendly countries that resulted in an increase in our difficulties,” he said. 

After the parliament stands dissolved on Wednesday night, elections would be due by November. But the government’s move last week to approve the results of a fresh digital census has thrown polls into uncertainty, as the Election Commission is now bound under the constitution to draw new constituency boundaries as per the results of the latest population count. That process could take up to six months and would mean polling day is pushed back by months. 

 

 

Pakistan’s election regulator has already said it cannot hold general elections on the basis of the new population count within the stipulated three-month deadline if it has to finalize fresh delimitations of constituencies. 

Political analysts said the National Assembly failed to arrest inflation, economic downfall and undertake legislative and economic reforms to provide relief to the masses. 

“This assembly proved to be just a pawn in the hands of some of the powerful and failed to deliver to the public,” Rasul Bakhsh Rais, a senior political analyst, told Arab News. “Just completing a five-year constitutional term doesn’t mean anything to the public.” 

Rais said the assembly completed its term without a "vibrant opposition" and violated numerous parliamentary and political traditions by tightening the noose against political opponents. “This assembly has contributed almost zero in strengthening the democratic norms and democracy in the country,” he said. 

Adnan Rehmat, a political analyst, said the outgoing assembly is the first one in Pakistan's history where a prime minister was ousted through a parliamentary vote, adding that it “helped strengthen the democratic process within the parliament.” 

He, however, said Sharif’s government failed to introduce much-touted economic reforms during its tenure while the assembly could not deliver to the public's expectations. 

“This assembly was a mixed bag of expectations, failures, and ground realities in our countries to run an effective government,” he added. 

Topics: Shehbaz Sharif

A Hindu festival in southwestern Pakistan brings a mountainous region to life

Updated 9 sec ago
AP
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A Hindu festival in southwestern Pakistan brings a mountainous region to life

  • Pakistan’s largest Hindu festival, Hinglaj Yatra, began on Friday and ends on Sunday
  • Organizers says more than 100,000 are expected to participate in the festival 
Updated 9 sec ago
AP

HINGLAJ, Pakistan: The ascent of steep mud volcanoes marks the start of Hindu pilgrims’ religious rituals in southwestern Pakistan.

They climb hundreds of stairs or clamber over rocks to reach the summit, tossing coconuts and rose petals into the shallow crater while seeking divine permission to visit Hinglaj Mata, an ancient cave temple that is the focus of their three-day worship.

The dramatic surroundings of Hingol National Park in Baluchistan province are the setting for Pakistan’s largest Hindu festival, Hinglaj Yatra, which started on Friday and ends on Sunday. Organizers say more than 100,000 Hindus are expected to participate.

Muslim-majority Pakistan is home to 4.4 million Hindus, just 2.14 percent of the population, and Hinglaj Mata is one of the few Hindu sites that continues to draw large numbers of pilgrims every year from across the country.

Muslims and Hindus generally live peacefully in Pakistan, from where most of the Hindus migrated to India when it was divided by British colonialists in 1947. But there have been attacks on Hindu temples in recent years as relations between the rivals remain tense.

Hindu devotees walk toward a mud volcano to start Hindu pilgrims' religious rituals for an annual festival in an ancient cave temple of Hinglaj Mata in Hinglaj in Lasbela district in the Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province, Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP)

Hindus believe Hinglaj Mata is one the places where the remains of Sati, the goddess of marital felicity and longevity, fell to earth after she ended her life.

Maharaj Gopal, the temple’s most senior cleric, explains why people flock to it.

“It is the most sacred pilgrimage in the Hindu religion,” said Gopal. “Whoever visits the temple and worships accordingly during these three days will have all of their sins forgiven.”

The journeys begin hundreds of kilometers (miles) away, mostly from neighboring Sindh province. Hundreds of packed buses set off from cities like Hyderabad and Karachi, traveling along the Makran Coastal Highway that hugs Pakistan’s south and southwest.

Hindu devotees attend an annual festival in an ancient cave temple of Hinglaj Mata in Hinglaj in Lasbela district in the Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province, Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP)

But there’s scant parking and vehicular access to the holy sites, so many pilgrims disembark and complete their travel by walking over parched and rocky terrain, sometimes barefoot and carrying children or luggage.

It’s a few kilometers (miles) from the main road to the mud volcano and then, from there, almost 45 kilometers (25 miles) to Hinglaj Mata.

Winds buffet the desert-like conditions, churning up dust that whips the eyes, nose and mouth. The pilgrims’ festive cheer and brightly colored apparel are a contrast to the arid landscape. Strong gusts distort people’s celebratory cries of “Jai mata di” and “Jai shiv shankar.”

Kanwal Kumar, 28, was visiting the temple for the first time with her husband. “We have yet to conceive a child after six years of marriage, so we are hopeful for help from the goddess,” she said. “We believe that no one returns empty-handed. All wishes are granted by Hinglaj Mata.”

The Hindu festival brings the Pakistani park to life. Hundreds of stalls spring up to sell snacks, drinks, jewelry, and clothing. Vats of hot food are prepared in the open air or thatched huts. Pilgrims purchase coconuts, sweetmeats, flowers, and incense for their ritualistic offerings.

Aloo Kumar, 55, wanted to express her gratitude to Lord Shiva, one of Hinduism’s three most important deities. “He blessed our family with a grandson,” Kumar said, gesturing toward the boy beside her cradling his baby sibling. “We prayed for a grandson during last year’s festival.”

Hindu devotees perform their rituals during an annual festival in an ancient cave temple of Hinglaj Mata in Hinglaj in Lasbela district in Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province, Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP)

Hinglaj Mata thrums with activity, even after dark. Fairy lights and other decorations adorn the shrine and pilgrims jostle for position in front of it, sometimes holding up babies so the deities can bless them. Stewards urge them to pay their respects and move along.

The park’s Hingol River provides Hindu pilgrims with the opportunity for ritual bathing, like the Ganges in India.

While there is no ban on Hindu worship in Pakistan, openly practicing the faith is not routine as ties between India and Pakistan are broken. Their interactions are riddled with animosity and suspicion after having fought three wars, built up their armies and armed them with nuclear weapons.

Travel restrictions and hostile bureaucracies largely keep people from crossing the border for leisure, study and work, although the countries sometimes make exceptions for religious pilgrimages, usually for India’s Sikhs.

The decades of political hostility present a challenge for the minority Hindu community, as many in Pakistan equate Hindus with India. The reverse exists in India, where Muslims complain of discrimination.

Versimal Divani, the general secretary of Hinglaj Mata, lamented that only Hindus in Pakistan can attend the festival.

“We can visit this temple in our beloved country whenever our heart desires,” said Divani. “But this is not the case for the rest of the world’s Hindus. I would like the Pakistani government to issue them visas so they can come here and take blessings with them. It’s good for people-to-people contact and it’s good for the economy too.”
 

Topics: Hindu festival

Pakistan considers Chinese nationals’ security its ‘core responsibility,’ says interior minister

Updated 28 April 2024
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Pakistan considers Chinese nationals’ security its ‘core responsibility,’ says interior minister

  • Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi meets Chinese Consul General Zhao Shiren in Islamabad
  • A suicide attack in northwestern Pakistan last month killed five Chinese engineers and a Pakistani 
Updated 28 April 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi this week assured China’s consul general that the security of Chinese nationals in the South Asian country is Pakistan’s “core responsibility,” state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said, as Islamabad looks to bolster security of foreign nationals amid a surge in attacks. 

Pakistan says it has taken steps to enhance Chinese nationals’ security in the country after a suicide bomber last month attacked a convoy of Chinese engineers working on a hydropower project in the northwestern town of Dasu. Five Chinese engineers and their Pakistani driver were killed in the attack. 

The attack was the third major one in a little over a week on China’s interests in the South Asian nation, where Beijing has invested over $65 billion in energy, infrastructure and other projects as part of its wider Belt and Road initiative.

“Chinese nationals’ safety is our core responsibility, instructions have been issued to the concerned agencies to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens,” Naqvi told Chinese Consul General Zhao Shiren during a meeting in Islamabad on Saturday. 

“The minister informed about the measures taken about the security of Chinese citizens, adding that it is our national responsibility.”

The minister assured Shiren that Pakistani authorities would not allow conspiracies to harm Pakistan’s friendship with China. 

Meanwhile, the Chinese envoy said the two countries were all-weather friends. 

Chinese interests in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province have also been under attack primarily by the militants, who seek to push Beijing out of the mineral-rich territory.

Pakistan is home to an insurgency launched by ethnic Baloch separatists who seek secession from the central government in the country, blaming it for the inequitable division of natural resources in the southwestern Balochistan province. The government denies this. 

Topics: Pakistan China Ties Chinese workers

Pakistan to conduct week-long polio vaccination drive in Sindh, KP from Apr. 29

Updated 28 April 2024
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Pakistan to conduct week-long polio vaccination drive in Sindh, KP from Apr. 29

  • Campaign to begin in 25 districts of Sindh, 13 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, says state media 
  • Eight million children in Sindh, 2.8 million in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to be vaccinated during campaign
Updated 28 April 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government will conduct a week-long polio immunization program in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southern Sindh provinces from Apr. 29, the state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Sunday. 

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where the poliovirus, which causes paralysis and can be a life-threatening disease, is endemic.

“A week-long National Immunization Campaign will begin in twenty-five districts of Sindh and thirteen districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from tomorrow,” Radio Pakistan said in a report. 

Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah chaired a meeting of the Provincial Task Force for Eradication of Polio in Karachi on Saturday. Shah directed all district administrations to cooperate with the polio teams and make the drive successful, the report said. 

“The meeting was informed that around eight million children up to the age of five years would be administered anti-polio vaccines during the campaign,” the report said. 

Meanwhile, over 2.8 million children will be administered anti-polio drops during the drive, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Emergency Operation Center said. 

“Twenty-one thousand teams have been constituted for this purpose,” the report added. 

Pakistan’s efforts to contain polio have often been met with opposition, especially in the country’s northwestern KP province, where militants have carried out attacks against vaccinators and the security teams guarding them. 

Many believe in the conspiracy theory that polio vaccines are part of a plot by Western outsiders to sterilize Pakistan’s population.

Pakistani masses’ doubts regarding polio campaigns were exacerbated in 2011 when the US Central Intelligence Agency set up a fake hepatitis vaccination program to gather intelligence on former Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. 

Topics: Provincial Task Force for Eradication of Polio anti-polio campaign

Six-day ‘Study in Dubai’ fair highlights UAE’s growing appeal to Pakistani students

Updated 49 min 10 sec ago
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Six-day ‘Study in Dubai’ fair highlights UAE’s growing appeal to Pakistani students

  • Foreign student enrollment has increased in Dubai since the launch of its education policy over six years ago
  • Educational professionals say Dubai is competing with traditional destinations like the US, UK and Australia
Updated 49 min 10 sec ago
Muhammad Ibrahim

ISLAMABAD: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has gained traction as a major higher education destination for Pakistani students, university representatives and local admissions professionals noted this week, as the six-day “Study in Dubai” fair concluded in Lahore on Saturday after touring various cities.
Dubai has seen a significant increase in foreign student enrollments since the launch of the UAE National Strategy for Higher Education 2030 more than six years ago. UAE authorities reported this month international enrollments have risen by 25 percent since the 2022-23 academic year, including a seven percent increase among Pakistani students.
Education professionals believe Dubai is increasingly competing with traditional education destinations such as the United States, United Kingdom and Australia.
“What we have observed is that Pakistani students have started moving toward the Emirates,” Muhammad Shoaib told Arab News on Tuesday when the education fair was held in Rawalpindi.
“This is particularly because there have been some policy changes in the mainstream destinations, like Canada, Australia and the UK,” he continued. “Furthermore, we have seen that many reputable universities from the US, UK and Australia have started opening their campuses in Dubai.”


Dubai is currently home to 45 private universities offering over 650 programs, with degrees in business, engineering, information technology and media being the most sought-after among students.
Several top-ranking institutions of learning, including New York University, University of Birmingham, and Australia’s Curtin University, have opened their campuses there in recent years.
Wali-Ur-Rehman, the country manager for Curtin University’s Dubai campus in Pakistan, said the growth in international enrollment was due to increased postgraduate funding and greater job opportunities for those pursuing higher education in Dubai.
“We have seen a massive growth, from 2023 to 2024, of 40 percent [in terms of student applications] in the [Dubai] market, coming from Pakistan especially,” he said.
Daniyal Ahmed, a 19-year-old aspiring candidate for study in Dubai, described the UAE as an “ideal option” for him due to its proximity to Pakistan.
“Dubai has well-known universities now, like New York University and Khalifa University, which are performing quite well,” he said.

In this photograph, taken on April 23, 2024, Pakistani education consultant speaks to aspiring candidate for higher education in abroad during an event with the title “Study in Dubai” in Rawalpindi. (AN Photo)


Asked about the traditional destinations preferred by students pursuing higher education, he said Pakistanis were beginning to face difficulties in securing visas to go to European universities.
Ahmed also mentioned Dubai’s education strategy, saying it included an expanded professional experience initiative, providing a variety of career training programs to students, such as on-campus work, job shadowing, joint ventures and vocational training.

Topics: Study in Dubai

Pakistan’s PM Sharif to kick off World Economic Forum engagements in Riyadh today

Updated 29 min 52 sec ago
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Pakistan’s PM Sharif to kick off World Economic Forum engagements in Riyadh today

  • Sharif to participate in special WEF meeting today, meet Saudi finance minister and IMF managing director
  • PM Shehbaz Sharif is in Riyadh to attend two-day World Economic Forum meeting on global growth and energy
Updated 29 min 52 sec ago
Shahjahan Khurram

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will kick off his World Economic Forum engagements in Riyadh today, Sunday, during which he is scheduled to take part in a special meeting on global health and engage with prominent personalities, his office said in a statement. 

Sharif arrived in Riyadh on Saturday to attend a two-day WEF meeting on global collaboration, growth and energy, which will be held in the Saudi capital from April 28-29.

The prime minister was extended an invitation to attend the meeting by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Professor Klaus Schwab, the WEF executive chairman.

“PM Shehbaz Sharif and his delegation will present Pakistan’s priorities in global health, fintech, climate change, inclusive energy and rejuvenating growth,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement on social media platform X.

The PMO said Sharif will also meet Kuwait’s emir, Meshal Al Ahmed Al Jabr, and Saudi ministers of finance, industry and investment separately. 

“The Prime Minister will also meet the Co-Chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund and the President of the Islamic Development Bank,” the PMO said. 

Prior to Sharif’s departure, the PM Office said he would be accompanied by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb. 

It said Sharif’s participation in the forum will afford Pakistan an opportunity to highlight its priorities in global health architecture, inclusive growth, revitalizing regional collaboration, and the need for striking a balance between promoting growth and energy consumption.

Sharif met Adviser at the Royal Court of Saudi Arabia and General Secretary of Saudi-Pakistan Supreme Coordination Council Mohammed bin Mazyad Al-Tuwaijri on Saturday to discuss economic cooperation between the two countries. 

The two sides reviewed the progress on the Saudi investment in Pakistan, which came under discussion during the visit of the Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan recently to Pakistan.
 
“Al-Tuwaijri and his delegation expressed deep interest in the Saudi investment by the Saudi government and companies in Pakistan,” the state-run APP said.

Sharif will also attend the 15th session of the Islamic Summit Conference organized by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on May 4-5 in the Gambian capital of Banjul to discuss a variety of regional and global issues, including Palestine, Islamophobia, climate change and the status of minorities, the Pakistani state-run APP news agency reported.

The session will be held under the slogan “Enhancing Unity and Solidarity through Dialogue for Sustainable Development,” according to a press release issued by the OIC General Secretariat.

The Islamic Summit is a principal organ of the OIC focused on the formulation, development, and implementation of decisions made by 57 member states. It is attended by concerned heads of state such as prime ministers, presidents, emirs and other equivalent heads.

Topics: PM Shehbaz Sharif Pakistan Saudi Ties World Economic Forum

Latest updates

A Hindu festival in southwestern Pakistan brings a mountainous region to life
Pakistan considers Chinese nationals’ security its ‘core responsibility,’ says interior minister
Pakistan to conduct week-long polio vaccination drive in Sindh, KP from Apr. 29
Six-day ‘Study in Dubai’ fair highlights UAE’s growing appeal to Pakistani students
Pakistan’s PM Sharif to kick off World Economic Forum engagements in Riyadh today

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