ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has condemned a bomb attack at a guesthouse in Afghanistan’s eastern Logar province that killed at least 25 people, mostly students, and injured dozens more on Friday evening.
The blast had struck just as guests were breaking their fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Most of the casualties were high school students who had traveled from different villages Logar’s capital of Pul-e Alam for their university entrance exam.
Hassibullah Stanekzai, chief of Logar’s provincial council, told Arab News the force of the blast was “so enormous that it broke down glasses of some houses even one kilometer away. In total, 25 lost their lives, 110 were wounded.”
“Pakistan strongly condemns the heinous terrorist attack in Pul-e-Alam, capital city of Logar province, Afghanistan in which scores of innocent lives were lost and many others were injured,” the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement.
“The people and the Government of Pakistan offer heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and pray for the quick recovery of the injured.”
While it was not immediately clear who was behind the blast, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani accused the Taliban. The group has not commented on the incident yet.
Violence in Afghanistan has escalated in recent weeks after US President Joe Biden announced the United States would not observe the May 1 deadline agreed with the Taliban to withdraw troops and would postpone the pullout to end two decades of foreign military presence until Sept. 11.
Pakistan condemns deadly bomb attack on students in eastern Afghanistan
https://arab.news/94km3
Pakistan condemns deadly bomb attack on students in eastern Afghanistan
- Most of the casualties were high school students who had traveled to Pul-e Alam for exams
- It is not immediately clear who was behind the blast that killed at least 25 people and wounded 110 others
Uzbekistan president arrives in Pakistan to increase trade, defense, energy cooperation
- Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev leads high-level delegation of ministers, business leaders on Feb. 5-6 visit, says state media
- Visit takes place days after Pakistan, Uzbekistan reaffirmed $2 billion trade target during intergovernmental commission meeting
ISLAMABAD: Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev arrived in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad on Thursday, with a high-level delegation to identify new avenues for bilateral cooperation in trade, defense, energy and other avenues, state-run media reported.
The visit takes place after the 10th session of the Pakistan–Uzbekistan Intergovernmental Commission (IGC) on Trade, Economic and Scientific-Technical Cooperation was held in Islamabad on Feb. 2. Both sides reaffirmed their $2 billion trade target and agreed to push for regional connectivity, develop trade routes and accelerate cooperation in several sectors.
Mirziyoyev was given a red-carpet welcome when his aircraft landed at the Nur Khan Airbase, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said. He was welcomed by President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and senior members of the cabinet.
“Discussions will focus on reviewing the entire gamut of bilateral relations and identifying new avenues to further deepen cooperation in diverse sectors, including trade, energy, defense, education, people-to-people exchange and regional connectivity,” APP reported.
The Uzbek president will meet President Zardari, hold delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Sharif, and address the Pakistan-Uzbekistan Business Forum during his visit.
Mirziyoyev’s visit takes place two days after Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev arrived in Islamabad to hold talks on trade, business and connectivity.
Pakistan and Kazakhstan signed 37 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) and set a target of raising bilateral trade to $1 billion within a year during Tokayev’s visit.
Pakistan and Uzbekistan have steadily increased economic ties in recent years as Islamabad seeks greater access to landlocked Central Asian markets, aiming to position itself as a regional transit and trade hub linking South Asia with Central Asia.
Pakistan was the first Central Asian partner with which Uzbekistan signed a bilateral Transit Trade Agreement, along with a Preferential Trade Agreement in March 2022, covering 17 items, which became operational in 2023.
Pakistan’s finance ministry said last month that Azerbaijan’s state energy company SOCAR was set to finalize an investment in the country’s oil and gas sector following high-level engagements at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
