ISLAMABAD: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Sunday hailed a report by Amnesty International on Israeli apartheid against Palestinians as an “international instrument.”
The term ‘apartheid’ was originally used to refer to a political system in South Africa which explicitly enforced racial segregation, and the domination and oppression of one racial group by another. It has since been adopted by the international community to condemn and criminalize such systems and practices wherever they occur in the world.
Amnesty International said its new investigation showed that Israel imposed a system of oppression and domination against Palestinians across all areas under its control: in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and against Palestinian refugees, in order to benefit Jewish Israelis.
Laws, policies and practices, which were intended to maintain a cruel system of control over Palestinians, had left them fragmented geographically and politically, frequently impoverished, and in a constant state of fear and insecurity, the UK-based rights group said.
Quoting the report, the OIC said Israel’s system of oppression and domination over Palestinians constituted a “crime against humanity.”
“The OIC hailed the report as an international instrument, considering it yet another confirmation of the violations, crimes and racial policies of the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people,” it said on Twitter.
Israel has occupied the Palestinian territories since the six-day war of 1967. Excluding annexed east Jerusalem, some 475,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank regarded as illegal under international law, alongside more than 2.9 million Palestinians.
Clashes break out frequently in Palestinian population centers in the West Bank when Israeli troops mount incursions to carry out arrests.
Amnesty’s 280-page report features a slew of allegations against Israel. One of the most egregious and widespread is the forcible displacement of the Palestinian people, whether through home demolitions, intimidation, legal mechanisms or by the creation of adverse living conditions.
The OIC called on the international community to take necessary measures to make Israel account for its violations, crimes and policies of apartheid against Palestinians.
OIC hails amnesty report accusing Israel of enforcing 'apartheid' on Palestinians
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OIC hails amnesty report accusing Israel of enforcing 'apartheid' on Palestinians
- The term ‘apartheid’ was originally used for a political system in South Africa that enforced racial segregation
- Amnesty says Israeli laws, policies had left Palestinians impoverished, fragmented geographically, in constant state of fear
IMF warns against policy slippage amid weak recovery as it clears $1.2 billion for Pakistan
- Pakistan rebuilt reserves, cut its deficit and slowed inflation sharply over the past one year
- Fund says climate shocks, energy debt, stalled reforms threaten stability despite recent gains
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s economic recovery remains fragile despite a year of painful stabilization measures that helped pull the country back from the brink of default, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned on Thursday, after it approved a fresh $1.2 billion disbursement under its ongoing loan program.
The approval covers the second review of Pakistan’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the first review of its climate-focused Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), bringing total disbursements since last year to about $3.3 billion.
Pakistan entered the IMF program in September 2024 after years of weak revenues, soaring fiscal deficits, import controls, currency depletion and repeated climate shocks left the economy close to external default. A smaller stopgap arrangement earlier that year helped avert immediate default, but the current 37-month program was designed to restore macroeconomic stability through strict monetary tightening, currency adjustments, subsidy rationalization and aggressive revenue measures.
The IMF’s new review shows that Pakistan has delivered significant gains since then. Growth recovered to 3 percent last year after shrinking the year before. Inflation fell from over 23 percent to low single digits before rising again after this year’s floods. The current account posted its first surplus in 14 years, helped by stronger remittances and a sharp reduction in imports. And the government delivered a primary budget surplus of 1.3 percent of GDP, a key program requirement. Foreign exchange reserves, which had dropped dangerously low in 2023, rose from US$9.4 billion to US$14.5 billion by June.
“Pakistan’s reform implementation under the EFF arrangement has helped preserve macroeconomic stability in the face of several recent shocks,” IMF Deputy Managing Director Nigel Clarke said in a statement after the Board meeting.
But he warned that Islamabad must “maintain prudent policies” and accelerate reforms needed for private-sector-led and sustainable growth.
The Fund noted that the 2025 monsoon floods, affecting nearly seven million people, damaging housing, livestock and key crops, and displacing more than four million, have set back the recovery. The IMF now expects GDP growth in FY26 to be slightly lower and forecasts inflation to rise to 8–10 percent in the coming months as food prices adjust.
The review warns Pakistan against relaxing monetary or fiscal discipline prematurely. It urges the State Bank to keep policy “appropriately tight,” allow exchange-rate flexibility and improve communication. Islamabad must also continue raising revenues, broadening the tax base and protecting social spending, the Fund said.
Despite the progress, Pakistan’s structural weaknesses remain severe.
Power-sector circular debt stands at about $5.7 billion, and gas-sector arrears have climbed to $11.3 billion despite tariff adjustments. Reform of state-owned enterprises has slowed, including delays in privatizing loss-making electricity distributors and Pakistan International Airlines. Key governance and anti-corruption reforms have also been pushed back.
The IMF welcomed Pakistan’s expansion of its flagship Benazir Income Support Program, which raises cash transfers for low-income families and expands coverage, saying social protection is essential as climate shocks intensify. But it warned that high public debt, about 72 percent of GDP, thin external buffers and climate exposure leave the country vulnerable if reform momentum weakens.
The Fund said Pakistan’s challenge now is to convert short-term stabilization into sustained recovery after years of economic volatility, with its ability to maintain discipline, rather than the size of external financing alone, determining the durability of its gains.
