ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Minister for Religious Affairs Pir Noorul Haq Qadri claimed on Tuesday that Israel’s secret service, Mossad, was trying to spread sectarianism in Pakistan by using fake social media accounts.
“A female Mossad operative in Israel is spreading sectarian material in Pakistan by using a fake account,” he told a gathering organized by the Council of Islamic Ideology in Islamabad to commemorate the National Minorities Day. “This woman identifies herself as Aisha, has good command of Arabic, and regularly shares sectarian material on social media.”
The minister did not provide further details, and Arab News could not independently verify his claim. However, he added that “ignorant people” using these platforms spread the material without considering its implications.
Addressing the event that focused on pluralism and sectarian harmony, he said that the government had organized the convention to raise awareness about this issue and request scholars and general public not to fall for the Israeli conspiracy.
“We have noticed that blasphemous material related to sacred religious personalities gets frequently distributed [on social media]. It’s all planned,” he warned.
“For four decades, the conspiracy to destabilize Pakistan along linguistic, religious and ethnic lines has failed,” Qadri said. “Now the last attempt is a conspiracy to spread riots among Shias, Sunnis, Barelvis, Deobandis and Salafis.”
The minister said that the Council of Islamic Ideology should introduce a “new national charter” to promote harmony and understanding among different sects.
“The Muttahida Ulema Board Punjab, Milli Yakjehti Council and Inter-Faith Harmony Committee have made separate efforts to eradicate sectarianism. The Council of Islamic Ideology should put all these efforts together in the form of a new national charter,” he added.
“The state will maintain its writ in any case,” Qadri continued. “It is unfortunate that administrative officials have been urging scholars to remain peaceful before the arrival of Muharram [the first month of the Islamic calendar] since scholars should do it themselves.”
Minister says Israel’s Mossad fueling sectarianism in Pakistan through social media
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Minister says Israel’s Mossad fueling sectarianism in Pakistan through social media
- Pir Noorul Qadri says a conspiracy is being hatched to destabilize Pakistan by creating riots among different sects
- The minister also urged the Council of Islamic Ideology to promote sectarian harmony in the country
Pakistani minister seeks enhanced pilgrimage arrangements in meeting with top Saudi Hajj official
- Aneeq Ahmed urges Saudi minister to accommodate Pakistani pilgrims near areas where Hajj rituals are performed
- The Saudi minister says the kingdom has limited the number of private tour operators to improve Hajj services
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s interim religious affairs minister Aneeq Ahmed discussed pilgrimage arrangements for next year with Saudi Hajj and Umrah minister Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah on Friday, requesting him to accommodate people from his country in areas situated closely to the places where the annual religious ritual is performed.
Ahmed is currently on a week-long visit to the kingdom where he has held meetings with senior officials to explore the possibility of expanding the Makkah Route Initiative beyond Islamabad to make the journey of Pakistani pilgrims more convenient.
He said after his conversation with the Saudi minister that the kingdom had agreed increase facilities for people of Pakistan who are interested in performing Hajj in the coming year.
“Accommodation, food and travel facilities for pilgrims will be finalized as soon as possible,” Ahmed was quoted as saying in a statement by his ministry.
“He asked Saudi Minister Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah that flight schedule of Pakistani pilgrims should be finalized soon,” the statement continued. “Additionally, they should be accommodated near the pilgrimage places. The Makkah Route project should also be launched from other cities besides Islamabad.”
It added the Saudi minister pledged to offer more support to Pakistani pilgrims, saying the kingdom had already taken several measures to facilitate people performing Hajj.
He said that it had limited the number of private tour operators from 80 countries in the world and would only allow those companies that have 2,000 pilgrims.
“Karachi and Lahore are being considered for inclusion in the Makkah Route Initiative,” he added.
The initiative was introduced in Pakistan to provide customs and immigration services to pilgrims at their airport of origin to save them substantial time after arriving in Saudi Arabia.
According to official statistics, more than 26,000 Pakistani pilgrims benefited from the facility at the Islamabad airport this year.
Imran Khan’s woes set to rule him out of Pakistan election race
- Participation of Imran Khan, the main opposition leader and former prime minister, in January’s general election is doubtful
- Khan remains in jail after being convicted in a graft case in August despite his three-year sentence being suspended by a court
ISLAMABAD: The participation of main opposition leader and former Prime Minister Imran Khan in Pakistan’s general election set for January next year remains doubtful. Khan, winner of the last election in 2018, remains in jail after being convicted in a graft case in August despite his three-year sentence being suspended by a court.
Here are some facts about the options for Khan, 70, who is the country’s most popular party leader according to independent opinion polls:
BARRED FROM PUBLIC OFFICE
Khan, 70, remains barred from holding public office for five years due to his conviction, despite the suspension of his jail sentence. The bar will remain in place until his conviction is overturned by the high court, where he has appealed, a situation that currently rules him out of the January elections.
It remains unclear if his appeal will be decided in time for the next election, but aside from this graft case, the former cricket star faces dozens of other serious cases, too, which carry sentences from five years up to a death penalty.
STATE SECRETS CASE
Khan remains in judicial custody for a case related to leaking state secrets, which is at a pre-trial stage being heard by a special court that holds proceedings at a prison where he’s detained on security grounds. This week, another court allowed police to add sedition charges against him in two cases related to abetting attacks against military installations on May 9 by his supporters to protest against his brief arrest.
KHAN’S PTI WEAKENED
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party can still contest the elections and will seek to tap into a sympathy vote, but it has been severely hobbled by the departure of key leaders in the aftermath of the May violence and the crackdown that ensued.
In Khan’s absence, the PTI was being led by former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, but he too has been arrested in the state secrets case.
ROLE OF THE MILITARY
Analysts say the military-backed caretaker government, which has been questioned by the election commission over its credibility, wouldn’t let Khan bounce back, especially as independent polls show him to be the most popular party leader, a standing that could earn the PTI a good showing in January’s election.
Khan and his party continue to accuse the military of being behind his ousting and the crackdown.
The military, which according to analysts brought Khan to power in 2018, denies being behind his removal. His criticism of the armed forces and its top brass has not eased, and his appeals to the military to open talks with him haven’t yielded a response.
The military’s support remains key to anyone looking to attain power in Pakistan.
Pakistan PM says pushing for $10 billion disbursement of pledged flood-relief funds
- Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar points out Pakistan’s flood recovery plan was built around the international pledges
- The climate-induced floods affected million people and killed over 1,700 during last year’s monsoon season
KARACHI: Pakistan is striving to get donors to release $10 billion in pledges to help it recover from devastating floods by launching rebuilding projects that hinge on the funding, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-haq Kakar said on Friday.
Donors from around the world stepped up after Pakistan was hammered by floods last year and the $10 billion amounts to more than half of what Islamabad estimated it needed to rebound from the disaster.
“In all our interactions, one point has been that the projects are designed in accordance with the pledges, and that we ensure that they convert to tangible financial assistance,” Kakar told the national broadcaster.
“We’re trying to ensure that the amounts promised and pledged to us are dispersed to Pakistan and are spent on those affected by the floods,” he said.
Such funding is crucial for cash-strapped Pakistan but the government says it has not arrived, amid growing concerns about its future debt obligations. An IMF bailout was delayed until July this year over concerns about a lack of fiscal reform.
Among the donors were the Islamic Development Bank with $4.2 billion, the World Bank with $2 billion, Saudi Arabia with $1 billion, as well as the European Union and China. France and the United States also made contributions.
The floods, which scientists said were aggravated by global warming, affected at least 33 million people and killed more than 1,700 from the beginning of the monsoon season in mid-June 2022 until mid-November that year.
UK police release new images in fresh appeal for clues about British-Pakistani girl’s death
- Surrey Police hope the release of images will prompt people to share information about Sara Sharif and her family
- UK authorities were alerted about her death by a call from Pakistan in which a man identified himself as her father
LONDON: British police on Friday released new pictures and renewed their appeal for information into the death of a 10-year-old girl, whose father will face trial for her murder.
Sara Sharif’s body was discovered at her family’s home in southern England on August 10.
A post-mortem examination revealed Sharif had sustained “multiple and extensive injuries” over a long period.
Her father, stepmother and uncle have been charged with murder and causing or allowing the death of a child.
They are expected to stand trial next autumn.
Surrey Police said they were releasing the new images “as part of our ongoing appeal for information to help us build a picture of her life prior to the discovery of her body.”
Police added that the photos “present Sara in the way we believe she may have dressed in the months prior to her death.”
“We are hoping that these images will prompt more people to come forward with information about her and her family.”
One of the pictures shows Sharif wearing a black hijab in what looks like a school photo and in the other she is wearing a blue hijab.
Sara’s father Urfan Sharif, 41, his partner Beinash Batool, 29, and his brother Faisal Malik, 28, traveled to Pakistan the day before her body was found.
An early morning emergency call alerting officers to Sara’s death was made from Pakistan by a man identifying himself as the father, according to detectives.
Following a month in the South Asian country, they returned to the UK on September 13 and were arrested on arrival at London’s Gatwick Airport.
They have been remanded in custody and are due to appear in court on December 1 for a plea hearing.
Their trial is due to begin on September 2, 2024 and is expected to last six weeks.
IMF chief wants Pakistan to increase tax revenue from rich, protect vulnerable
- The poor segments have been suffering due to high inflation which the government has attributed to IMF reforms
- Kristalina Georgieva says economic reforms are not easy to implement but they are in the interest of Pakistani people
ISLAMABAD: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Friday her organization had been consistently communicating the need for Pakistani authorities to generate more tax revenue from wealthier social segments while protecting the underprivileged classes in the country.
The top IMF official made the comment during a brief interaction with a Pakistani reporter on the sidelines of the 78th United Nations General Assembly session in New York.
Her statement comes against the backdrop of spiraling inflation in Pakistan which has primarily affected the poor. The government has consistently attributed the increasing cost of living in the country to stringent economic reforms recommended by the international lender while approving a $3 billion bailout in June.
“Let me send a simple message to everybody in Pakistan,” she said while speaking to Geo News correspondent. “What we are asking in our program is please collect more taxes from the wealthy and please protect the poor people of Pakistan.”
“I do believe that this is in line with what people in Pakistan would like to see for the country,” she added.
The IMF chief acknowledged the conditions laid down by her organization to revitalize Pakistan’s economy and address the mistakes of the past were not easy to implement.
However, she maintained they were in the interest of the people of Pakistan.
Georgieva statement comes following her meeting with Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Tuesday in which she was briefed on measures taken by the country’s interim administration to stabilize the economy.
The IMF asked Pakistan to raise energy prices and following market-driven exchange rate which made the CPI hit a record 38 percent this year and the national currency plummet to all-time lows.
Kakar said he had a “constructive dialogue” with the IMF chief who, in turn, said there was an agreement to follow policies to ensure stability and foster sustainable and inclusive growth in Pakistan.
