ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has been “deeply concerned” by the continuation of hostilities in Ukraine, a Pakistani state minister has said, as Russian forces continued their push in the east of the country.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar said this while participating virtually in a high-level international donor’s conference for Ukraine held in Warsaw, Poland on May 5.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February. On Saturday, Russia’s defense ministry said it had destroyed an ammunition depot in Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region and shot down two Ukrainian warplanes.
Ukrainian forces made some advances near Kharkiv and Kherson, inflicting heavy losses, while also suffering losses of their own, a Ukrainian presidential adviser said. The fighting is now threatening to cause a global food crisis.
“Pakistan is deeply concerned by the initiation and continuation of war in Ukraine,” the Pakistani foreign ministry quoted Khar as saying at the donors’ conference on Thursday.
“We are grieved by reports of large civilian casualties, massive outflow of refugees and internal displacement of people in Ukraine and reports of violations of international humanitarian law.”
The international community must respond to this humanitarian crisis with empathy and generosity, the Pakistani state minister urged.
“The Ukraine conflict has far-reaching implications for international security and world economy, with the developing countries hardest hit by the disruption in supply chains and the food and energy crisis,” she said.
Khar said Pakistan continued to call for diplomacy and dialogue for an early, negotiated end to the Ukraine conflict. “Immediate cessation of hostilities is a must to prevent further loss of life and to ease the humanitarian situation,” she added.
The donors conference in Warsaw raised around $6.5 billion for Ukraine, while Khar said Islamabad was in the process of dispatching a second consignment of humanitarian supplies to the Ukrainian people. Pakistan delivered over 15 tons of humanitarian assistance, including food and medicines, to Ukraine in March.
Pakistan ‘deeply concerned’ by continuation of hostilities in Ukraine
https://arab.news/cqjne
Pakistan ‘deeply concerned’ by continuation of hostilities in Ukraine
- Hina Rabbani Khar says world must respond to this humanitarian crisis with empathy, generosity
- Islamabad also in process of dispatching another consignment of humanitarian supplies to Ukraine
IMF hails Pakistan privatization drive, calls PIA sale a ‘milestone’
- Fund backs sale of national airline as key step in divesting loss-making state firms
- IMF has long urged Islamabad to reduce fiscal burden posed by state-owned entities
KARACHI: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Saturday welcomed Pakistan’s privatization efforts, describing the sale of the country’s national airline to a private consortium last month as a milestone that could help advance the divestment of loss-making state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
The comments follow the government’s sale of a 75 percent stake in Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to a consortium led by the Arif Habib Group for Rs 135 billion ($486 million) after several rounds of bidding in a competitive process, marking Islamabad’s second attempt to privatize the carrier after a failed effort a year earlier.
Between the two privatization attempts, PIA resumed flight operations to several international destinations after aviation authorities in the European Union and Britain lifted restrictions nearly five years after the airline was grounded following a deadly Airbus A320 crash in Karachi in 2020 that killed 97 people.
“We welcome the authorities’ privatization efforts and the completion of the PIA privatization process, which was a commitment under the EFF,” Mahir Binici, the IMF’s resident representative in Pakistan, said in response to an Arab News query, referring to the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility.
“This privatization represents a milestone within the authorities’ reform agenda, aimed at decreasing governmental involvement in commercial sectors and attracting investments to promote economic growth in Pakistan,” he added.
The IMF has long urged Islamabad to reduce the fiscal burden posed by loss-making state firms, which have weighed public finances for years and required repeated government bailouts. Beyond PIA, the government has signaled plans to restructure or sell stakes in additional SOEs as part of broader reforms under the IMF program.
Privatization also remains politically sensitive in Pakistan, with critics warning of job losses and concerns over national assets, while supporters argue private sector management could improve efficiency and service delivery in chronically underperforming entities.
Pakistan’s Cabinet Committee on State-Owned Enterprises said on Friday that SOEs recorded a net loss of Rs 122.9 billion ($442 million) in the 2024–25 fiscal year, compared with a net loss of Rs 30.6 billion ($110 million) in the previous year.
