ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s participation in Expo 2020 Dubai will renew its ties with the United Arab Emirates, Islamabad’s envoy to the UAE said on Sunday.
The first world fair to be held in the Middle East, Expo 2020 Dubai opened on Friday. Delayed by one year, the event aims to attract 25 million visitors over the next six months.
Pakistan is one of over 190 countries showcasing their cultures and innovations inside pavilions on the 438-hectare exhibition site.
“Our participation would renew closer connection and effective interaction between our two countries,” Ambassador Afzaal Mahmood said in an interview with Emirates News Agency (WAM).
“Through Pakistan Pavilion, we wish to invite the international community to learn about our nation, visit Pakistan for tourism and do business with our country,” he said.
On the first day of the exhibition, WAM said, the Pakistani pavilion was visited by some 8,000 people.
Themed “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future,” Expo 2020 Dubai is divided into three sub-theme districts: Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability. The Pakistani pavilion is in the Opportunity area.
Themed “Pakistan: The Hidden Treasure,” it was built with $14 million funding support from the UAE and inaugurated by the Pakistani prime minister’s adviser on commerce and investment, Abdul Razak Dawood in March.
“It will serve as the hub of business opportunities and promoting our 7,000 years old culture,” Dawood said at the time, adding that Pakistan expects Expo 2020 to give the Pakistani business community “access to networking with the international market and investors.”
Pakistan’s participation in Expo 2020 to ‘renew’ ties with UAE — envoy
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Pakistan’s participation in Expo 2020 to ‘renew’ ties with UAE — envoy
- Expo 2020 Dubai, hosting exhibitors from 200 countries, starts on Friday after delay of a year due to the pandemic
- Pakistan’s pavilion, themed “Pakistan: The Hidden Treasure,” is located in the Opportunity area of the exhibition site
Traders say Karachi plaza fire caused $54 million losses as death toll climbs to 71
- Rescuers work through unstable debris as identification continues, compensation announced
- Rising death toll underscores scale of the disaster and the challenges now facing forensic teams
ISLAMABAD: A deadly fire at a major shopping plaza in Pakistan’s largest city of Karachi has killed at least 71 people and caused estimated losses of up to Rs15 billion ($53.6 million), traders and officials said on Friday, as recovery teams continue searching unstable debris and families await identification of victims.
The fire broke out on Jan. 17 at Gul Plaza, a densely packed commercial complex in the heart of Karachi that housed more than 1,200 shops. The blaze burned for over 24 hours before being brought under control, trapping workers and shoppers inside and leaving large sections of the building structurally unsafe.
Deadly fires are a recurring problem in Karachi, a city of more than 20 million people, where overcrowded markets, aging infrastructure, illegal construction and weak enforcement of safety regulations frequently contribute to disasters. Officials say a blaze of this scale is rare.
“We have processed 71 sets of remains, of which 20 have been identified,” chief police surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed said on Friday, underscoring the scale of the disaster and the challenges facing forensic teams.
Identification has been significantly slowed by the condition of the remains recovered from the site, Syed said, noting that many bodies were found in fragments, complicating DNA analysis and prolonging the process for families waiting for confirmation.
Tanveer Pasta, president of the Gul Plaza Market Association, said all shops in the plaza were destroyed, estimating total losses at up to Rs15 billion ($53.6 million).
“There were big importers sitting here,” he told Arab News on Thursday. “Just three days before this fire, 31 [shipping] containers were unloaded.”
Relatives of dozens of missing persons have remained near the destroyed plaza and at hospitals even after submitting DNA samples, with some families expressing frustration over the pace of recovery and identification.
Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab said the city administration remained focused on rescue operations and on returning victims’ remains to their families as quickly as possible. His remarks came after he visited the homes of several victims, according to a statement from his office.
“Rescue personnel of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation are still engaged in the rescue operation, while the administration is making every effort to hand over [remains] of the victims, loved ones to their families at the earliest,” Wahab was quoted as saying.
Earlier this week, the Sindh provincial government announced compensation of Rs10 million ($35,720) for the family of each person killed in the blaze and said affected shopkeepers would also receive financial assistance.
Authorities have not yet confirmed the cause of the fire. Police have said preliminary indications point to a possible electrical short circuit, though officials stress conclusions will only be drawn after investigations are completed.
