ISLAMABAD: Leader of the Hezb-e-Wahdat-e Islami party of Afghanistan, Karim Khalili, arrived in Islamabad today, Monday, on a three-day visit that will focus on ongoing peace talks between the Kabul government and Taliban insurgents.
Khalili’s visit is part of Pakistan’s ongoing policy to reach out to a broad base of political leaders in Afghanistan “to forge common understanding on the Afghan peace process and deepen people-to-people linkages,” the foreign office said in a curtain raiser on Sunday.
During the visit, the Afghan delegation will call on Prime Minister Imran Khan as well as meet Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaisar, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and other dignitaries.
“Ustad Karim Khalili is an important Afghan political leader and head of Herb-e-Wahdat, a leading political party in Afghanistan. Our engagement with him and his party is part of Pakistan’s policy of across-the-board engagement with all important Afghan leaders and stakeholders,” Ambassador of Pakistan to Afghanistan, Mansoor Khan, told Arab News on Monday.
Hizb-e-Islami Chief Gulbuddin Hekmatyar also visited Pakistan in October, weeks after Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, made a trip to Islamabad.
“We have been engaged with him [Khalili] for many weeks to plan his visit to Pakistan for discussions about progress in the Afghan peace process and strengthening of people-to-people engagement with Afghanistan,” the envoy said. “Ustad Khalili had also visited Pakistan in the past.”
“Pakistan remains steadfast in its support for an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political solution of the conflict in Afghanistan through an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process,” the foreign office statement on Sunday said.
The Wahdat party aims to represent Afghanistan's Hazara Shia community. There have been reports that Khalili’s visit is linked to the murders earlier this month of 11 Hazara Shia coal miners in Pakistan, which were claimed by Daesh. The Afghan foreign ministry has said 7 of the 11 miners were Afghan migrant workers.
Leader of Afghanistan’s Hezb-e Wahdat party begins Pakistan visit
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Leader of Afghanistan’s Hezb-e Wahdat party begins Pakistan visit
- Khalili is on a three-day trip that will focus on peace talks between the Kabul government and Taliban insurgents
- His delegation will meet the Pakistani PM, foreign minister, national assembly speaker and other leaders
Pakistan to launch last 2025 anti-polio nationwide drive targeting 45 million children next week
- Over 400,000 frontline health workers will participate in Dec. 15-21 nationwide polio vaccination campaign, say authorities
- Pakistan is one of only two countries in the world, the other being Afghanistan, where wild poliovirus remains endemic
KARACHI: Pakistan will kick off the last nationwide anti-polio vaccination campaign of 2025 targeting 45 million children next week, the National Emergencies Operation Center (NEOC) said on Monday, urging parents to coordinate with health workers during the drive.
The campaign takes place days after Pakistan launched a nationwide vaccination drive from Nov. 17-29 against measles, rubella and polio. Pakistan said it had targeted 22.9 million children across 89 high-risk districts in the country with oral polio vaccination drops during the drive.
Over 400,000 health workers will perform their duties during the upcoming Dec. 15-21 nationwide polio vaccination campaign, the NEOC said in a statement.
“Parents are urged to cooperate with polio workers and ensure their children are vaccinated,” the NEOC said. “Complete the routine immunization schedule for all children up to 15 months of age on time.”
Health authorities aim to vaccinate 23 million children in Punjab, 10.6 million in Sindh, over 7.2 million in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, over 2.6 million in Balochistan, more than 460,000 in Islamabad, over 228,000 in Gilgit-Baltistan and more than 760,000 children in Pakistan-administered Kashmir during the seven-day campaign, it added.
Pakistan is one of only two countries in the world where wild poliovirus remains endemic.
Polio is a highly infectious and incurable disease that can cause lifelong paralysis. The only effective protection is through repeated doses of the Oral Polio Vaccine for every child under five during each campaign, alongside timely completion of all routine immunizations.
Islamabad’s efforts to eliminate poliovirus have been hampered by parental refusals, widespread misinformation and repeated attacks on anti-polio workers by militant groups. In remote and volatile areas, vaccination teams often operate under police protection, though security personnel themselves have also been targeted and killed in attacks.
