ISLAMABAD: The top US diplomat in Pakistan, Ambassador Donald Blome, held a series of meetings with the country’s leading political figures on Saturday, as general elections scheduled for February of next year draw closer.
Blome visited former prime minister Nawaz Sharif at his Lahore residence to discuss the bilateral relations between Pakistan and the United States.
Sharif, convicted by an accountability court for 10 years on corruption allegations, returned to Pakistan last month after a four-year self-exile in London.
The ex-premier, whose Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party deems all cases against him politically motivated, left the country in an air ambulance in 2019 after being released from prison on eight-week medical bail.
Since his return, it is widely said that Sharif has been viewed by the powerful security establishment of Pakistan as the preferred candidate for the country’s top political office.
“The Quaid [leader] PML-N Muhammad Nawaz Sharif emphasized the significance of Pakistan’s relations with the United States,” his party said in a statement released on social media following the meeting. “He particularly recalled his various interactions with the U.S. leaders where both sides had always acknowledged the importance of Pakistan-U.S. ties.”
Sharif and Blome discussed the bilateral ties and cooperation on multilateral matters of mutual interest between Pakistan and the US.
“Both the leaders acknowledged the importance of steadfast and sturdy partnership between the two countries,” the statement added. “They recognized the importance of exploring avenues to boost cooperation and building on the successful outcomes that underpin the robust U.S-Pakistan bilateral relationship.”
They also deliberated over a number of diverse issues related to trade, economy, climate change, security and regional stability.
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Blome also met Jahangir Khan Tareen, the patron-in-chief of the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party, discussing economic reforms.
Tareen, once a close aide of former prime minister Imran Khan, established his own political faction, potentially undermining the vote banks of Khan and Sharif’s political parties in Punjab province.
The US ambassador met Pakistan Peoples Party’s Yousuf Raza Gilani in Multan to discuss a broad spectrum of issues.
US envoy to Pakistan engages with top political leaders ahead of 2023 elections
https://arab.news/8536g
US envoy to Pakistan engages with top political leaders ahead of 2023 elections
- Donald Blome discusses US-Pakistan bilateral ties with the founding PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif
- The US ambassador also held meetings with Jahangir Khan Tareen and PPP’s Yousuf Raza Gilani
Pakistan establishes Hajj control rooms in Makkah, Madinah to facilitate pilgrims
- Around 15,819 Hajj pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia weeks before Hajj 2024 kicks off
- Hajj control rooms in Makkah and Madinah are open 24 hours a day, says Pakistani official
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has established two control rooms, one each in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah to facilitate Hajj pilgrims, the religion ministry confirmed on Wednesday, as thousands of Pakistanis continue to arrive in Saudi Arabia ahead of the annual Islamic pilgrimage.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) has confirmed that around 15,819 pilgrims from the country have arrived in Saudi Arabia weeks before the Hajj begins.
This year, 179,210 Pakistanis will perform Hajj under government and private schemes. Pakistan kicked off a month-long flight operation last week. Five airlines— PIA, Saudi Airlines, Airblue, Serene Air, and Air Sial— will operate 259 flights from eight major Pakistani cities to Jeddah and Madinah till June 9.
The government intends to facilitate thousands of Pakistani pilgrims through Hajj control rooms to ensure their pilgrimage remains free from hassles.
“We have established two control rooms: a main control room in Makkah and a branch office in Madinah to facilitate the pilgrims,” Muhammad Umer Butt, a religious affairs ministry spokesperson, told Arab News via phone from Madinah.
He said both control rooms in Makkah and Madinah would facilitate pilgrims 24 hours throughout the day.
“All pilgrims are provided with a card they wear for identification, and on the back of each card, the control room numbers are listed so they can contact the control room by phone in case of any emergency or complain,” Butt explained.
He said this year Pakistan has followed the Saudi government’s lead in digitizing Hajj through the Pak Hajj mobile application. Butt said the app provides all necessary information, including the ability to lodge complaints and track their status.
“We have a live dashboard established in the control room under the complaint management system which showed all the details of complaints received and solved, movement of the pilgrims and other general queries,” he shared.
During the last seven days, the spokesperson said 195 complaints received through the Pak Hajj mobile app have been resolved, and 25 pilgrims who lost their way to their respective destinations in the holy cities were guided.
He added that the Loss and Found department located 111 bags and seven wheelchairs which were handed over to their owners.
Butt said as Pakistani Hajj pilgrims were currently arriving in Madinah, the control room there was more active compared to the one in Makkah and was staffed with 54 personnel, and 18 Hajj assistants (Muaveneen).
“These pilgrims will go to Makkah from May 17 after their eight-day stay in Madinah,” he said.
Butt said the Makkah control room was staffed with only eight people as Pakistani pilgrims have not started to arrive in the holy city yet.
“Along with this all adviseries issued by the Saudi government and Pakistani Hajj mission are also uploaded on the application through these control rooms,” he said.
PM Sharif to meet officials in Azad Kashmir today following deadly protests in region
- The unprecedented protests against price hikes broke out last Friday and resulted in four fatalities
- The protests were called off after Shehbaz Sharif’s administration approved $82 million in subsidies
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will embark on a daylong visit to Azad Kashmir on Thursday where he will interact with officials and visit the site of a hydropower project, just a few days after a massive public protest in the region resulted in at least four fatalities.
The unprecedented protests against price hikes broke out last Friday and spread across the semi-autonomous Himalayan territory under Pakistan’s administration.
One police officer was killed in the clashes while three protesters lost their lives in clashes taking place in different parts of the region.
The Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), which organized the demonstrations, announced to end its protest on Tuesday after the Sharif administration approved $82 million in subsidies to provide relief to people who objected to the increase in flour prices and electricity tariffs.
“Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will arrive in Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir today for a one-day visit,” his office announced in a statement circulated in the morning. “A meeting will take place between the Prime Minister of Pakistan and the Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Chaudhry Anwar ul Haq.”
Sharif will also address the cabinet of the Government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir that will be broadcast by the state-owned news channel.
He will also meet with the leaders of the Kashmiri freedom movement.
“The Prime Minister will visit the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project where he will be briefed,” the statement added.
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from Britain in 1947, with both countries ruling part of the territory, but claiming it in full.
Pakistan has frequently criticized New Delhi for mismanaging the portion of Kashmir under its rule, accusing it of rights violations while using its forces to suppress people and their aspirations.
Pakistan PM condemns gun attack on Slovakian counterpart, offers prayers for recovery
- Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot multiple times while coming out of a government meeting on Wednesday
- The attack was described as unprecedented in a country where no such previous incident has been reported
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday condemned the attack on Robert Fico, his Slovakian counterpart who was shot multiple times while coming out of a government meeting, saying he was praying for the leader of the central European state.
Fico was rushed to a hospital after the gun attack on Wednesday where he fought for his life in what was described by his administration as a “political assault.”
Speaking to the media after Fico’s surgery, Deputy Prime Minister Tomas Taraba said the medical procedure had gone well and the 59-year-old Slovakian leader was expected to survive the assassination attempt.
“Strongly condemn shocking attack on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico,” the Pakistani PM said in a social media post. “Our thoughts and prayers with him and his family. Wish him quick recovery and good health.”
“We stand by government and people of Slovak Republic in these critical moments,” he added.
Fico’s party won the last general election in the European state held in September 2023.
The Slovak leader is a four-time prime minister and political veteran who has been criticized by his rivals for swaying his country’s foreign policy in Russia’s favor.
The gun attack was described as unprecedented, with analysts pointing out there had been no such previous incident reported against any minister or prime minister in Slovakia.
Ex-PM Khan expected to make first public appearance since arrest in top court hearing via video link
Ex-PM Khan expected to make first public appearance since arrest in top court hearing via video link
- Supreme Court instructed the government to make arrangements for Khan to argue his case against NAB amendments
- Khan has largely been kept out of the public eye by the authorities since his arrest last August on graft charges
ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan is expected to appear before Pakistan’s top court via video link today, Thursday, to present his arguments in a case related to accountability law amendments in what may become his first public appearance since last August after being arrested on corruption charges.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s previous administration amended the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Ordinance in May 2022, reducing several powers of the country’s anti-graft body after describing it as a tool of political engineering in the country.
One of the amendments limited the NAB jurisdiction only to cases involving over Rs500 million, leading Khan and his party to argue that these changes were meant to close cases against leaders of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party.
In June 2022, Khan challenged the amendments in the Supreme Court, claiming they would effectively “eliminate any white-collar crime committed by public office holders.” After reviewing the case, the top court reinstated the original provisions of the law in September 2023, but the government decided to challenge the decision the very next month.
“The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder [Imran Khan] can present his arguments in the upcoming hearing via video link if he wishes to do so,” Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa said during the last hearing of the government’s intra-court review appeal on Tuesday.
The court said it had allowed the former prime minister to be represented by a counsel, though he decided to personally argue the case. It also instructed the relevant authorities to make necessary arrangements to enable Khan to present his argument before the bench.
The former prime minister, who was ousted from power in a no-confidence vote in April 2022, became tangled in a slew of legal cases, a frequent hazard for opposition figures in Pakistan.
Since his arrest in August 2023 after his conviction in a graft case, Khan has been through prison trial in many cases and has largely been kept out of the public eye, where he enjoys a massive following among his supporters.
A two-member Islamabad High Court bench granted him bail in a £190 million embezzlement case on Wednesday, asking him to submit a Rs1 million surety bond.
However, Khan continues to serve prison sentence in other cases, including one in which he has been convicted of divulging state secrets.
In major relief for consumers, Pakistan slashes petrol price by Rs15.39 per liter
- After Rs15.39 per liter reduction, new price of petrol has been set at Rs273.10 per liter
- Finance Division says decision taken due to declining prices of petroleum products in global market
KARACHI: Pakistan’s government on Wednesday slashed the price of petrol by Rs15.39 per liter for the next 15 days, with the move expected to bring major relief for consumers in a country reeling from inflation over the past two years.
Pakistan typically adjusts petroleum prices on a fortnightly basis, taking into account fluctuations in the international energy market and the rupee-dollar exchange rate. The latest decrease brings the price of petrol down from Rs288.49 to Rs273.10 per liter.
According to an official notification by the Finance Division released on Wednesday night, the price of high-speed diesel has also seen a downward revision of Rs7.88 per liter, setting it at Rs274.08 from Rs281.96.
“The prices of petroleum products have seen a decreasing trend in the international market during the last fortnight,” the Finance Division said in a press release.
“The Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has worked out the consumer prices, based on the price variations in the international market. The prices of Motor Spirit & HSD for the next fortnight, starting from 16th May, 2024, are accordingly being lowered.”
Pakistan slashed prices of petrol by Rs5.45 per liter on May 1 due to declining prices of petroleum products in the global energy market.
The South Asian country significantly increased fuel prices after securing a short-term, $3 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last year.
The rising rates also led to spiraling inflation in the country, though the government started offering relief to the people by gradually bringing down the petroleum prices.
Pakistan is already in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to secure another loan which is expected to be bigger in terms of size and duration.
