THE HAGUE: The Dutch ambassador to Pakistan is to return to Islamabad next month after receiving a death threat last year, reportedly from Islamists angry over anti-Islam tweets by far-right politician Geert Wilders, Dutch media said Saturday.
Ardi Stoios-Braken "will fly back to Islamabad in early February," the daily tabloid Algemeen Dagblad reported.
She was on leave in the Netherlands in late October last year when she received word "that a letter arrived at the embassy from Pakistani authorities."
"The letter spoke of a 'specific threat' and was related to the Mohammed cartoon contest which had already been cancelled months before," the paper said.
Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok said in November that Stoios-Braken, a veteran diplomat, faced "threats" in Pakistan, apparently over "blasphemous depictions" by Wilders on Twitter.
Wilders in August called off a planned Prophet Mohammed cartoon competition that stirred anger in Pakistan.
Pakistan's interior ministry in October wrote a secret memo on plans to "target" the Dutch ambassador by the hardline Islamist Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan party (TLP), media from both countries reported at the time.
The TLP, founded in 2015, led protests in August calling for Pakistan to sever diplomatic relations with the Netherlands over the Wilders cartoon contest.
The TLP has denied making any threats.
Meanwhile the Netherlands last year granted a temporary stay to a Pakistani lawyer who saved Asia Bibi, a Christian woman convicted of blasphemy, from death row.
The country accorded Saif-ul-Malook the temporary stay after he fled Islamabad when violence erupted following the Pakistani Supreme Court's acquittal of Bibi on the charges.
The Pakistani government has since launched a crackdown on the TLP, charging its leaders with sedition and terrorism.
But authorities also struck a deal with the protesters to end the violence, forming an agreement which included allowing a final review of the Supreme Court's judgement.
Pakistan's Supreme Court will decide next week whether to allow an appeal against Bibi's acquittal, a lawyer involved in the case said.
Dutch ambassador to return to Pakistan after Wilders row: report
Dutch ambassador to return to Pakistan after Wilders row: report
- Dutch Foreign Minister had said in November that Stoios-Braken faced "threats"
- Netherlands last year granted a temporary stay to a Pakistani lawyer who saved Asia Bibi
Pakistan set to launch 5G spectrum auction process today
- Finance and IT ministers to inaugurate next-generation mobile services auction
- 5G rollout expected to boost Pakistan’s digital economy and telecom sector
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is set to formally launch the process for auctioning spectrum for next-generation mobile services, or 5G, at a ceremony in Islamabad today, Tuesday, the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications said.
The auction marks a key step toward introducing fifth-generation mobile technology in Pakistan, where more than 190 million people use mobile phones but most networks currently operate on fourth-generation (4G) infrastructure.
“Federal Minister for Finance Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb and Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja will address the inauguration ceremony of the Next Generation Mobile Services (NGMS)/5G spectrum auction and formally launch the auction,” the IT ministry said in a media alert.
Officials say the rollout of 5G could significantly improve Internet speeds and support the growth of Pakistan’s digital economy, including sectors such as e-commerce, fintech, cloud computing and artificial intelligence.
Pakistan, a country of more than 240 million people, is one of the world’s largest telecom markets by population. However, the rollout of 5G has faced delays in recent years due to regulatory, economic and spectrum-allocation challenges.
The government has previously said the spectrum auction will determine which telecom operators will acquire the frequencies needed to deploy 5G infrastructure across the country.
Further details on the auction framework and timeline are expected to be shared during the ceremony, which will be broadcast live on state television.
