LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar left for Saudi Arabia on Friday to perform Umrah, an Islamic pilgrimage to Makkah that can be undertaken at any time of the year.
It will be his second journey to the holy Muslim city this year since he also performed Umrah with his family in February.
“The chief minister is not going there in his official capacity,” Muhammad Rafiullah, a public relations officer at the CM Secretariat, told Arab News. “An additional chief secretary of the provincial administration along with another officer will also accompany him. All of them are going there in their private capacity and will spend money from their own pocket.”
The chief minister reached the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore without protocol, received his boarding card, and waited in the queue with other passengers.
“He will stay in Muscat and then go to Madinah. He will pray for the solidarity of the country as well as for the freedom of the people of Kashmir,” he added.
Sources say that while Buzdar is going to the Kingdom in his private capacity, he desires to participate in the washing ceremony of the Holy Kaaba.
“He desires to be among the lucky individuals who are going to participate in the ceremony,” another official at the CM office told Arab News, requesting not to be named. “He will spend that entire day in the House of God.”
Punjab chief minister leaves for Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah
Punjab chief minister leaves for Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah
- CM Usman Buzdar is undertaking the journey in private capacity
- Buzdar desires to participate in the washing ceremony of Holy Kaaba
EU, Pakistan sign €60 million loan agreement for clean drinking water in Karachi
- Project will finance rehabilitation, construction of water treatment facilities in Karachi city, says European Investment Bank
- As per a report in 2023, 90 percent of water samples collected from various places in city was deemed unfit for drinking
ISLAMABAD: The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Pakistan’s government on Wednesday signed a €60 million loan agreement, the first between the two sides in a decade, to support the delivery of clean drinking water in Karachi, the EU said in a statement.
The Karachi Water Infrastructure Framework, approved in August this year by the EIB, will finance the rehabilitation and construction of water treatment facilities in Pakistan’s most populous city of Karachi to increase safe water supply and improve water security.
The agreement was signed between the two sides at the sidelines of the 15th Pak-EU Joint Commission in Brussels, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
“Today, the @EIB signed its first loan agreement with Pakistan in a decade: a €60 million loan supporting the delivery of clean drinking water for #Karachi,” the EU said on social media platform X.
https://x.com/eupakistan/status/2001258048132972859
Radio Pakistan said the agreement reflects Pakistan’s commitment to modernize essential urban services and promote climate-resilient infrastructure.
“The declaration demonstrates the continued momentum in Pakistan-EU cooperation and highlights shared priorities in sustainable development, public service delivery, and climate and environmental resilience,” it said.
Karachi has a chronic clean drinking water problem. As per a Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) study conducted in 2023, 90 percent of water from samples collected from various places in the city was deemed unsafe for drinking purposes, contaminated with E. coli, coliform bacteria, and other harmful pathogens.
The problem has forced most residents of the city to get their water through drilled motor-operated wells (known as ‘bores’), even as groundwater in the coastal city tends to be salty and unfit for human consumption.
Other options for residents include either buying unfiltered water from private water tanker operators, who fill up at a network of legal and illegal water hydrants across the city, or buying it from reverse osmosis plants that they visit to fill up bottles or have delivered to their homes.
The EU provides Pakistan about €100 million annually in grants for development and cooperation. This includes efforts to achieve green inclusive growth, increase education and employment skills, promote good governance, human rights, rule of law and ensure sustainable management of natural resources.
