ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, visited different naval facilities in Dubai and Abu Dhabi during his official visit to United Arab Emirates, Pakistan Navy media wing said on Tuesday.
“During the visit, the Naval Chief called on Commander of the UAE Naval Forces, Chief of Staff UAE Armed Forces, UAE’s Defense Undersecretary in Dubai and also visited Shipbuilding Facility, Naval Forces Institute & Ghantout Naval Base at Abu Dhabi,” Navy said in a statement.
At Naval Headquarters in Dubai Commander of the UAE Naval Forces, Rear Admiral (Pilot) Saeed Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan, welcomed Pakistan Navy Chief and in meeting discussed matters of mutual interest and bilateral naval collaboration were discussed. “Both the dignitaries agreed upon further enhancing bilateral naval collaboration in diverse realms,” the statement read.
Naval Chief highlighted Pakistan Navy’s contribution for ensuring maritime security and peace in the region through Regional Maritime Security Patrols (RMSP) and participation in Combined Maritime Forces (CMF).
“A number of senior officers of UAE Naval Forces were trained in Pakistan,” which depicts the “eternal bond of friendship and brotherhood” between Pakistan and the UAE, the statement added.
The current visit of the naval chief will further augment and expand defense ties between the two countries in general and armed forces in particular, said the official handout.
Pakistan, UAE set to enhance naval collaboration in diverse realms
Pakistan, UAE set to enhance naval collaboration in diverse realms
- Pakistani navy chief visited UAE naval facilities
- Many senior officials of UAE Naval Forces have been trained in Pakistan
Pakistan vaccinates over 26 million children amid declining polio cases
- Pakistani authorities say polio cases dropped to 31 in 2025 from 74 a year earlier
- Over 400,000 workers deployed as Pakistan, Afghanistan run simultaneous campaigns
KARACHI: Pakistan on Wednesday said its first nationwide polio vaccination drive of 2026 was continuing for a third day, with health workers having immunized more than 26.8 million children amid a decline in reported cases of the crippling disease.
The campaign, being conducted simultaneously in Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan, comes after Pakistan reported 31 polio cases in 2025, a significant drop from 74 cases in 2024, which officials had described as alarming.
More than 400,000 polio workers are going door to door across the country to administer oral polio drops to children, the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) said.
“More than 26.8 million children have been vaccinated nationwide in the first two days of the campaign,” it said in an update, urging parents to cooperate with vaccination teams and ensure their children receive the drops.
According to the statement, more than 14.5 million children have been vaccinated in Punjab, 5.88 million in Sindh, 4.32 million in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and around 1.28 million in Balochistan.
Vaccination figures also included nearly 294,000 children in Islamabad, more than 165,000 in Gilgit-Baltistan and 446,000 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Health authorities warned that polio is an incurable disease that can cause lifelong paralysis, stressing that sustained immunization efforts were essential to prevent its spread.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where polio remains endemic, and both have stepped up coordinated vaccination drives in recent years amid concerns about cross-border transmission.
