ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Thursday that the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) should be strengthened to prevent any false flag operation in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Addressing a news conference in Islamabad, Qureshi announced that the government would launch an awareness campaign from Saturday to sensitize people about the ongoing situation in Kashmir. He added that the campaign would include photo exhibitions, solidarity rallies and seminars.
Among other events, he continued, the prime minister would address the Azad Kashmir Legislative Assembly in Muzaffarabad and speak at a public rally in Mirpur on February 5.
India, he noted, was being “deceitful” by trying to create and impression that Pakistan was blowing the situation in Kashmir out of proportion.
The foreign minister reminded the participants of the gathering that the people of Indian-administered Kashmir were under a security lockdown for the last 175 days, adding that the administration in New Delhi had trampled their fundamental rights and transformed the region into a prison for its eight million residents.
Qureshi also expressed his government’s resolve to highlight the recent developments in Kashmir until its people were allowed to exercise their right to self-determination.
He said that Pakistan was doing its best to take up the issue “at the highest level,” noting that Prime Minister Imran Khan discussed it during his meeting with United States President Donald Trump and briefed the American leader on the complexity of the situation and its likely outcomes.
The foreign minister said it was due to the government’s efforts that the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) recently arranged two important sessions on Kashmir after about 50 years.
In its latest meeting on the subject on January 17, the world body was briefed about the ongoing situation in Kashmir by the UN political department and UNMOGIP.
Qureshi talked about his own meeting with the UN secretary general and the president of the Security Council after the session and how he gave them a low down on what was going on in the disputed Himalayan territory.
He reiterated that the world needed to take stock of developments in Kashmir since any dispute between two nuclear-armed neighbors would prove disastrous for everyone.
Pakistan calls for strengthening UN military observer group in Kashmir
https://arab.news/5758k
Pakistan calls for strengthening UN military observer group in Kashmir
- FM Qureshi says the government will launch a Kashmir awareness campaign from Jan. 25
- The PM will address the legislative assembly in Muzaffarabad and a public rally in Mirpur on Feb. 5
Pakistan, global crypto exchange discuss modernizing digital payments, creating job prospects
- Pakistani officials, Binance team discuss coordination between Islamabad, local banks and global exchanges
- Pakistan has attempted to tap into growing crypto market to curb illicit transactions, improve oversight
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s finance officials and the team of a global cryptocurrency exchange on Friday held discussions aimed at modernizing the country’s digital payments system and building local talent pipelines to meet rising demand for blockchain and Web3 skills, the finance ministry said.
The development took place during a high-level meeting between Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) Chairman Bilal bin Saqib, domestic bank presidents and a Binance team led by Global CEO Richard Teng. The meeting was held to advance work on Pakistan’s National Digital Asset Framework, a regulatory setup to govern Pakistan’s digital assets.
Pakistan has been moving to regulate its fast-growing crypto and digital assets market by bringing virtual asset service providers (VASPs) under a formal licensing regime. Officials say the push is aimed at curbing illicit transactions, improving oversight, and encouraging innovation in blockchain-based financial services.
“Participants reviewed opportunities to modernize Pakistan’s digital payments landscape, noting that blockchain-based systems could significantly reduce costs from the country’s $38 billion annual remittance flows,” the finance ministry said in a statement.
“Discussions also emphasized building local talent pipelines to meet rising global demand for blockchain and Web3 skills, creating high-value employment prospects for Pakistani youth.”
Blockchain is a type of digital database that is shared, transparent and tamper-resistant. Instead of being stored on one computer, the data is kept on a distributed network of computers, making it very hard to alter or hack.
Web3 refers to the next generation of the Internet built using blockchain, focusing on giving users more control over their data, identity and digital assets rather than big tech companies controlling it.
Participants of the meeting also discussed sovereign debt tokenization, which is the process of converting a country’s debt such as government bonds, into digital tokens on a blockchain, the ministry said.
Aurangzeb called for close coordination between the government, domestic banks and global exchanges to modernize Pakistan’s payment landscape.
Participants of the meeting also discussed considering a “time-bound amnesty” to encourage users to move assets onto regulated platforms, stressing the need for stronger verifications and a risk-mitigation system.
Pakistan has attempted in recent months to tap into the country’s growing crypto market, crack down on money laundering and terror financing, and promote responsible innovation — a move analysts say could bring an estimated $25 billion in virtual assets into the tax net.
In September, Islamabad invited international crypto exchanges and other VASPs to apply for licenses to operate in the country, a step aimed at formalizing and regulating its fast-growing digital market.
