ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday expressed his deep concern over Israel’s “brutal military onslaught” in the West Bank and Gaza, state-run media reported, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Palestine.
Dar was speaking at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit being held against a backdrop of widespread anger over Israel’s military actions in Gaza. The Jewish state has killed nearly 35,000 Palestinians and caused massive destruction of hospitals, schools and residential neighborhoods in the densely populated area.
The Pakistani deputy prime minister arrived in Gambia on Wednesday to present his country’s perspective on a wide range of issues, including the war in Gaza and the rights situation in Indian-administered Kashmir.
“Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Sunday expressed Pakistan’s deep concern over Israel’s ongoing brutal military onslaught against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank,” the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported.
“In the backdrop of the genocide of Palestinians and atrocities of Israeli forces, he urged the OIC Member States to work together for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.”
Dar also expressed Pakistan’s support for Palestine’s admission as a full member of the UN, demanding the resumption of the process for a two-state solution in the Middle East.
The Pakistani deputy prime minister called for the creation of a viable, contiguous and sovereign state of Palestine based on the pre-1967 borders.
Dar also spoke on an uptick in Islamophobic sentiments and incidents in different parts of the world, particularly since the outset of Israel’s war in Gaza last year in October.
He urged the OIC to formulate a joint strategy to work with global social media platforms to harmonize their content regulation policies for blasphemous, anti-Islamic and Islamophobic content.
“Dar also strongly condemned the surge in anti-Pakistan rhetoric and Islamophobic narratives by India’s political leaders during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections which threatened the regional stability,” the APP said.
He urged the OIC to work collectively to address the existential threat of climate change, which caused catastrophic floods in Pakistan in 2022 that killed over 1,700 people and affected over 33 million in total.
Dar met The Gambia’s president and his counterparts from Turkiye and Azerbaijan to discuss enhancing bilateral trade and economic cooperation, Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesperson said in a statement.

SANGHAR: Riaz Ali, 34, would stack brick over brick and bond them with mortar, a thick paste of cement, water and sand, as he built homes and did other manual labor work for years in the southern Pakistani district of Sanghar.

In 2022, he started making engaging video content that included throwing and catching mortar, targeting a tall pole with a motorbike tire and some prank videos, which have not only turned the daily wager into a millionaire but also a digital sensation.

Ali, better known as Riaz Jaan, initially posted videos on TikTok after which a friend advised him to post them on YouTube. He created his YouTube channel in April 2022 which was monetized only nine months later.

He now earns 20 times more than what he used to make two years ago.

“As a laborer, my wage was Rs1,500 [per day]. In a month, I used to earn Rs30,000 or Rs35,000 ($107-$125) as it was an inconsistent livelihood,” he told Arab News on Thursday.

“From YouTube, I earn more than Rs500,000 ($1,795) per month.”

Ali, who has 1.9 million subscribers on YouTube, 439,000 followers on TikTok and 359,000 on Facebook, says his content went viral through YouTube Shorts — vertical videos that have a duration of 60 seconds or less.

“My first earnings on YouTube were Rs800,000 ($2,872). I had never seen such a huge amount of money before. My family and I were so delighted that such a significant sum had come into my hands,” he said.

“After YouTube, my life changed. As they say, when Allah gives, He gives abundantly.”

Ali, who started working as a daily wager in 2010, has left his laboring job since becoming a digital sensation but still makes videos related to his former work.

He has also enabled the sharing of his viral videos on YouTube, helping several other content creators have engagement on their channels.

“There are people from various countries who repost my content and videos on their channels, and their channels have also been monetized,” he said. “I have granted them permission.”

This success has helped Ali buy two residential plots and two buffaloes, send his children to better schools, and take care of his family in a much better way. The 30-year-old has also bought a mobile phone worth Rs500,000, which he uses to create quality video content.

But Ali has not kept his success to himself and has passed his digital skills on to his family, friends and whoever he found willing to learn.

“Besides myself, my brother also has a YouTube channel where he posts labor-related videos. His channel has also been monetized,” he told Arab News.

“Additionally, I have two sons, Ali Ayan and Zeb Zohan, whose channel is also monetized.”

He says neither his brother’s nor his sons’ channels gained traction in the beginning and so, he began posting his content on their channels, which helped them gain momentum. Consequently, both channels were monetized.

The 30-year-old offers free, informal consultancy services to youth, who are interested in establishing their own YouTube channels, in his hometown of Jhol in Sanghar. He says he has around 50 to 60 youngsters, who either have monetized channels or are actively working toward them.

“I guide them all, and they follow my directions,” Ali said.

Ali Raza, a farmer and a friend of Ali, got inspired by seeing his friend earn through YouTube. Raza created his own account on the video-sharing website, where he posts funny videos.

“Since Riaz Jaan is teaching others, I also joined his group. It’s been four months since my YouTube channel has been monetized,” Ali Raza told Arab News.

“I earn between Rs25,000 and Rs30,000 ($89-$107) per month.”