ISLAMABAD: Pakistan premier Imran Khan’s government backed down Friday over its controversial decision to appoint a member of a persecuted religious minority as an economic adviser, underscoring the pressure it faces from hardline Islamists.
Atif Mian, an MIT-educated Pakistani-American economics professor at Princeton University, was recently named member of a new economic advisory council.
Mian is an Ahmadi, a religious minority which has long been persecuted in deeply conservative Muslim-majority Pakistan, and the announcement sparked swift backlash from Islamist groups.
Ahmadis consider themselves Muslims, but their beliefs are seen as blasphemous in most mainstream Islamic schools of thought. They are designated non-Muslims in Pakistan’s constitution.
Government officials initially defended the decision, but within days caved to mounting pressure from the religious right.
“The government has decided to withdraw the nomination of Atif Mian from the economic advisory committee,” Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry wrote on his official Twitter account, saying the government wanted to work with all sections of society, including Islamic clerics.
Blasphemy is a hugely inflammatory charge in Pakistan, and can carry the death penalty.
The state has never executed a blasphemy convict, but mere accusations of insulting Islam have sparked mob lynchings, vigilante murders, and mass protests.
Khan caused concern with his full-throated defense of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws during his election campaign earlier this year, with fears he was mainstreaming extremist thought which could deepen sectarian divides, empower radical groups, and even provoke violence.
Analysts have warned that Pakistan’s economy is the most urgent challenge facing Khan’s new government, as a balance-of-payments crisis looms.
The government has said it will decide by the end of this month if it needs to seek a bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
Imran Khan’s government caves in to pressure over minority economic adviser
Imran Khan’s government caves in to pressure over minority economic adviser
- Atif Mian, an MIT-educated Pakistani-American economics professor at Princeton University, was recently named member of a new economic advisory council
- Mian is an Ahmadi, a religious minority which has long been persecuted in deeply conservative Muslim-majority Pakistan
Egypt’s El-Sisi accepts invite to join Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’
- Kosovo has been a close ally with the US which supported its independence from Serbia in 2008
- Italy will not take part in Board of Peace initiative, daily Corriere della Sera reports
CAIRO: Egypt’s foreign ministry said Wednesday that President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has accepted an invitation from US President Donald Trump to join his “Board of Peace.”
Egypt “announces its acceptance of the invitation and its commitment to fulfilling the relevant legal and constitutional procedures,” the statement said, praising Trump for his Middle East policies.
“Egypt expresses its support for the Board of Peace’s mission for the second phase of the comprehensive plan to end the conflict in Gaza,” it added.
Kosovo said on Wednesday it had accepted an invitation from US President Donald Trump to join his “Board of Peace.”
“I am deeply honored by the President’s personal invitation to represent the Republic of Kosovo as a founding member of the Board of Peace, standing shoulder to shoulder with the United States in the pursuit of a safer world,” Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani wrote on X.
“America helped bring peace to Kosovo. Today, Kosovo stands firmly as America’s ally, ready to help carry that peace forward,” Osmani said.
Kosovo, a Balkan country of 1.6 million people, has been a close ally with the United States which supported its independence from Serbia in 2008.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said Wednesday that he has agreed to join the Board of Peace in a departure from an earlier stance when his office criticized the makeup of the board’s committee tasked with overseeing Gaza.
Italy won’t take part in US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” initiative, daily Corriere della Sera reported on Wednesday, citing concern that joining such a group led by a single country’s leader would violate Italy’s constitution.
Trump’s plan has so far drawn cautious reactions from Western allies, as diplomats say it could undermine the work of the United Nations.
Norway and Sweden, meanwhile, said they would not be joining the board at this stage, following in the footsteps of France, which has expressed concern the board could seek to replace the United Nations as the mediator in global conflicts.
