ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Navy will host a multinational maritime exercise called ‘AMAN-21’ in the Arabian Sea later this month in which 45 countries are expected to participate, the navy said in a statement.
Commander Pakistan Fleet, Rear Admiral Naveed Ashraf, briefed the media about the exercise on Monday.
“Exercise AMAN, with the slogan ‘Together for Peace’ is being conducted on regular basis by Pakistan Navy biennially to project soft image of Pakistan,” a press release from the navy said. “The Exercise contributes toward regional peace and stability, resolve against terrorism in maritime domain, collaboration to maintain safe and sustainable maritime realm and above all enhance interoperability between regional and extra regional navies.”
Ashraf said this year’s exercise would be the seventh edition of AMAN with around 45 countries “participating with surface and air assets, Special Operation Forces/ Marine teams and observers/ senior officers.”
“The exercise has two major phases: harbor and sea phase,” the press release said. “Harbor activities would include seminars, discussions, demonstrations and international get-togethers. The sea phase would have tactical maneuvers on anti-piracy, counterterrorism, gunnery firing and search & rescue. Hallmark of the sea phase and Exercise AMAN — 21 would be International Fleet Review, witnessed by national and foreign dignitaries.”
Admiral Naveed Ashraf said AMAN would provide a “common forum for information sharing, mutual understanding and identifying the areas of common interests for all participating navies to achieve mutual goal of maintaining stability, peace and prosperity.”
Pakistan to host 45 navies for ‘peace’ exercise later this month
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Pakistan to host 45 navies for ‘peace’ exercise later this month
- This is the seventh edition of the AMAN exercise held by Pakistan Navy biennially to “project soft image” of the country
- Navy says exercise will provide participating navies a “common forum for information sharing, mutual understanding”
Challenges for millions pushed back to Afghanistan from Iran, Pakistan
- Over five million Afghans returned home since September 2023 as Iran, Pakistan ramp up deportations
- Those who returned face challenges in form of unemployment, lack of housing, shortage of electricity and water
KABUL: After decades hosting Afghans fleeing crises at home, Pakistan and Iran have ramped up deportations and forced millions back across the border to a country struggling to provide for them.
Whether arriving at the frontier surrounded by family or alone, Afghan returnees must establish a new life in a nation beset by poverty and environmental woes.
AFP takes a look at the people arriving in Afghanistan and the challenges they face.
FIVE MILLION
More than five million Afghans have returned home from Iran and Pakistan since September 2023, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The figure equates to 10 percent of the country’s population, according to the agency’s deputy head in Afghanistan, Mutya Izora Maskun.
Three million returnees crossed the borders just last year, some of whom have spent decades living abroad.
Such a huge influx of people would be hard for any country to manage, Maskun said.
INADEQUATE HOUSING
Months after arriving in Afghanistan, 80 percent of people had no permanent home, according to an IOM survey of 1,339 migrants who returned between September 2023 and December 2024.
Instead, they had to live in temporary housing made from materials such as stone or mud.
More recently, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) spoke to Afghans who arrived back between January and August last year about their living arrangements.
Three-quarters of tenants said they could not afford their rent, while the majority of families were sharing rooms with up to four people, according to the survey of 1,658 returnees.
DESPERATE SEARCH FOR WORK
Just 11 percent of adults pushed back from Pakistan and Iran were fully employed, the IOM survey found.
For those who returned in the first few months of last year, the average monthly income was between $22 and $147, according to the UNHCR.
WATER, ELECTRICITY SHORTAGES
More than half the returnee households lack a stable electricity supply, according to the IOM.
The agency said that households headed by women faced “significantly higher vulnerabilities,” with around half of them struggling to access safe drinking water.
SPEEDING UP LAND DISTRIBUTION
More than 3,000 plots of land have been distributed to returnees nationwide, Hamdullah Fitrat, the Afghan government’s deputy spokesman, said in mid-January.
The process “was accelerated,” he said while recounting a special meeting with supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.
On their arrival in Afghanistan, returnees usually receive help with transport, a SIM card and a small amount of money.
