US says ‘confident’ Pakistan can secure nukes after Biden uproar

Pakistani military helicopters fly past a vehicle carrying a long-range ballistic missile take part in a military parade in Islamabad, Pakistan, on March 25, 2021. (AFP/File)
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Updated 17 October 2022
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US says ‘confident’ Pakistan can secure nukes after Biden uproar

  • Biden made off-the-cuff remarks on Pakistan’s nuclear program last week while at a private Democratic Party fundraiser
  • He called Pakistan “one of the most dangerous nations in the world,” said it had nuclear weapons “without any cohesion”

WASHINGTON: The United States said Monday that it had confidence in Pakistan’s ability to control its nuclear arsenal after President Joe Biden expressed alarm, leading Islamabad to summon the US ambassador.

“The United States is confident of Pakistan’s commitment and its ability to secure its nuclear assets,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.

“The US has always viewed a secure and prosperous Pakistan as critical to US interests and, more broadly, the US values our long-standing cooperation with Pakistan,” he said.

Biden made the off-the-cuff remarks on Pakistan’s nuclear program Thursday while at a private Democratic Party fundraiser in California where he began to discuss challenges facing President Xi Jinping of China, a close ally of Pakistan.

“And what I think is maybe one of the most dangerous nations in the world: Pakistan. Nuclear weapons without any cohesion,” Biden said, according to a White House transcript.

Pakistan — proud to be the only declared nuclear power in the Islamic world — summoned US Ambassador Donald Blome to lodge a protest.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tweeted that Pakistan was a “responsible nuclear state” and that it takes safety measures “with the utmost seriousness.”

US officials have long privately voiced alarm about nuclear safety if the political situation changes in Pakistan, whose military and intelligence apparatus has assisted Afghanistan’s Taliban.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that Biden’s remarks should not hurt relations, noting that the president was not speaking at an official function.

But Bhutto Zardari, who recently visited Washington, called for more interaction, with Biden showing little interest in personally engaging his Pakistani counterparts.

Patel noted, however, that USAID chief Samantha Power and State Department Counselor Derek Chollet have both visited since devastating floods hit Pakistan.

“This is a relationship we view as important and it’s something that we’re going to continue to remain deeply engaged in,” he said.


Air monitor records pollution level in Lahore 80 times above WHO limit

Updated 9 sec ago
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Air monitor records pollution level in Lahore 80 times above WHO limit

  • For days, Lahore has been enveloped by smog, smoke from seasonal crop burning and winter cooling
  • The level of deadly PM2.5 pollutants peaked at 1,067, before dropping to around 300 in the morning

LAHORE: Air pollution in Pakistan’s second biggest city Lahore soared on Saturday more than 80 times over the level deemed acceptable by the World Health Organization (WHO), with an official calling it record high.
The level of deadly PM2.5 pollutants — fine particulate matter in the air that causes the most damage to health — peaked at 1,067, before dropping to around 300 in the morning, with anything above 10 considered unhealthy by the WHO.
“We have never reached a level of 1,000,” Jahangir Anwar, a senior environmental protection official in Lahore told AFP.
For days, Lahore has been enveloped by smog, a mix of fog and pollutants caused by low-grade diesel fumes, smoke from seasonal agricultural burning and winter cooling.
“The air quality index will remain high for the next three to four days,” Anwar said.
On Wednesday, the provincial environmental protection agency announced new restrictions in four “hot spots” in the city.
Tuk-tuks equipped with polluting two-stroke engines are banned, as are restaurants that barbecue without filters.
Government offices and private companies will have half their staff work from home from Monday.
Construction work has been halted and street and food vendors, who often cook over open fires, must close at 8 pm.
Smog is particularly pronounced in winter, when cold, denser air traps emissions from poor-quality fuels used to power the city’s vehicles and factories at ground level.


Tehran’s envoy praises Pakistan Navy for rescuing 23 Iranian fishermen

Updated 38 min 8 sec ago
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Tehran’s envoy praises Pakistan Navy for rescuing 23 Iranian fishermen

  • These Iranian fishermen were rescued from a fishing vessel that reported problems in its engine and injury to a crew member
  • Pakistan Navy Ship Zulfiqar responded to a distress call by Iranian vessel stranded 1,200 nautical miles from its home port

ISLAMABAD: Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghadam on Friday extended his heartfelt gratitude to Pakistan Navy for its swift response to a recent maritime emergency, wherein 23 Iranian fishermen were rescued from a fishing boat in the open sea, Pakistani state media reported.
Pakistan Navy said it had rescued the fishermen this week from a sailing vessel that reported problems in its engine and injury to a crew member in the Gulf of Aden.
Pakistan Navy Ship PNS Zulfiqar deployed on the Regional Maritime Security Patrol responded to a distress call made by Iranian fishing dhow, Al Muhammadi, which was stranded over 1,200 nautical miles from its home port.
In his message of appreciation, Ambassador Moghadam praised the Pakistan Navy’s professionalism and commitment, emphasizing the longstanding spirit of mutual support between Iran and Pakistan in international rescue and humanitarian assistance efforts.
“The people of Iran are truly grateful for Pakistan’s unwavering readiness to assist in times of need, exemplifying the close bonds and mutual commitment that Iran and Pakistan have cherished throughout their history,” he was quoted as saying by the Pakistani state-run APP news agency.
The timely and successful rescue operation was an expression of the Pakistan Navy’s determination to ensure the safety of human life at sea. It has rescued Iranian vessels and their crew members in the past as well.
Ambassador Moghadam recalled a similar incident in March, when the Pakistan Navy provided critical assistance by rescuing eight Iranian fishermen after a fire broke out on their vessel, the report said.


Pakistani, Saudi women’s football teams to play friendly match in Qatar on Dec. 7

Updated 02 November 2024
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Pakistani, Saudi women’s football teams to play friendly match in Qatar on Dec. 7

  • The Saudi Arabian Football Federation proposed hosting the match during the teams’ training camp in Qatar
  • Pakistan and Saudi Arabia last year signed agreement to foster strong ties for the promotion of football

ISLAMABAD: The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) has invited the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) to a friendly match between their senior women’s national teams on Dec. 7, the PFF said on Friday.
The SAFF had proposed hosting the match between the two teams during their training camp in Qatar, scheduled within the upcoming FIFA match window from November 25 to December 7, according to the PFF.
“The match will take place on December 7, 2024, in Qatar,” it said in a statement. “The PFF has begun preparations and further details will be shared in due course.”
The development comes as Pakistani authorities seek to diversify athletic interests and skills beyond the nation’s predominant passion for cricket, promoting sports like futsal to broaden the athletic landscape.
Despite the cultural and social hurdles, these efforts include encouraging more participation among women, who rarely have opportunities to engage in sports and international competitions.
In Dec. last year, the PFF announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) to foster strong ties for the mutual benefit, promotion, growth and success of football in both federations.
This was the first such collaboration in the history of Pakistani football, according to Haroon Malik, a PFF official who signed the MoU with SAFF President Yasser Al-Misehal in Riyadh.


Pakistan reports two more polio cases amid vaccination drive to stem spread of virus

Updated 02 November 2024
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Pakistan reports two more polio cases amid vaccination drive to stem spread of virus

  • Pakistan’s polio crisis appears to be deepening, with the country reporting 45 cases so far this year
  • Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where polio remains an endemic

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has reported two more cases of the wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in its northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the country’s polio program said late Friday, bringing the nationwide tally to 45 this year.
The regional reference laboratory at the National Institute of Health confirmed the virus in a girl in the Lakki Marwat district and in a boy in Dera Ismail Khan.
These are the second polio cases reported from DI Khan and Lakki Marwat this year, where environmental samples have tested positive in recent months.
The development comes amid an ongoing polio vaccination campaign to inoculate more than 45 million children from Oct. 28 till Nov. 3 across Pakistan.
“It is critical for parents to open their door to vaccinators and ensure that all children in their care receive OPV [oral polio vaccine] to keep them protected from the devastating effects of polio,” the polio program said in a statement.
So far this year, 22 polio cases have been reported from Balochistan, 12 from Sindh, nine from KP and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
WPV1 has been detected in environmental samples in 76 districts from all four provinces, indicating widespread circulation of the virus and a continued serious risk to children’s well-being from the disease, according to the polio program.
Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five is essential to keep them protected.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where polio remains an endemic. Since late 2018, Pakistan has seen a resurgence of cases and increased spread of poliovirus, highlighting the fragility of gains achieved in the preceding three years.


Pakistani school clerk arrested after losing $8,000 in student exam fees to online gambling

Updated 02 November 2024
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Pakistani school clerk arrested after losing $8,000 in student exam fees to online gambling

  • Shahzad Jamal, a government school employee, was tasked with gathering annual matriculation exam fees
  • He collected the amount from over 800 students, many of them belonging to families with limited means

QUETTA: Police in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province have arrested a school clerk accused of gambling away Rs2.3 million ($8,282) in exam fees, collected from over 800 students, a senior official confirmed Friday.
The clerk, Shahzad Jamal, worked at Government Model High Secondary School in Zhob district, located about 335 kilometers from Quetta, the provincial capital.
Tasked with gathering annual matriculation exam fees from 9th and 10th-grade students and depositing them in a bank, Jamal instead used the funds for online gambling.
Superintendent of Police in Zhob Saboor Agha told Arab News on phone that Jamal was detained during a raid on his residence on Tuesday night.
“Shahzad Jamal had already shifted his family to Peshawar and was planning to escape, but we apprehended him from his residence in Zhob,” he said.

In this photo, taken on October 25, 2024, Principal Wazir Khan meets students at the Government Model Secondary High School in Zhob district, Balochistan. The clerk, Shahzad Jamal, worked at Government Model High Secondary School has been arrested for gambling away Rs2.3 million ($8,282) in exam fees, collected from over 800 students, according to police. (Photo courtesy: Wazir Khan)

“During the interrogation, he confessed to his crime,” he added. “Jamal had previously won around Rs500,000 [$1,800] through online gambling, which emboldened him and made him hope for another big win.”
A conversation with the school authorities revealed that Jamal had been collecting examination money for several weeks.
“The clerk had been collecting the annual exam fee from the students since the beginning of October,” Wazir Khan, the school principal, said. “He kept the money in a safe inside his office, but after the school hours, he started using the Rs2.3 million on an online gambling app called 1Xbet where he lost it.”
1Xbet, an international online gambling platform operated from Cyprus, has thousands of users worldwide, including in Pakistan.
When Khan discovered the loss, he reported it to the police.
According to Zaki Khalid, a Rawalpindi-based analyst who studies online gambling, such platforms operate within the shadows of the global financial system.

In this photo, taken on October 26, 2024, students and local tribesmen protest outside the Government Model Secondary High School in Zhob district, Balochistan, against the clerk, Shahzad Jamal, who gambled away Rs2.3 million ($8,282) in exam fees, collected from over 800 students, according to police. (Photo courtesy: Wazir Khan)

“These gambling companies avoid using traditional banking channels for deposits and withdrawals, instead encouraging users to use mobile cash-transfer apps,” he explained.
Khalid added that online gambling saw a boom in Pakistan during the coronavirus pandemic, driven by increased Internet usage.
“Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube are major advertising spaces for these companies,” he continued. “In Pakistan and India, YouTubers even promote earning money through apps like 1Xbet.”
Abdullah Khan, a 17-year-old 10th-grade student at the school, was devastated to learn his exam fees were lost to gambling.

In this photo, taken on October 26, 2024, students and local tribesmen protest outside the Government Model Secondary High School in Zhob district, Balochistan, against the clerk, Shahzad Jamal, who gambled away Rs2.3 million ($8,282) in exam fees, collected from over 800 students, according to police. (Photo courtesy: Wazir Khan)

“I worked hard to save Rs2,800 ($10) to pay for my matriculation exams after 10 years of my education career,” he told Arab News, adding that he earns his living selling fruit from a pushcart.
Khan, who dreams of becoming a successful businessman, said many of his classmates come from families with limited means, making it difficult to pay the exam fees again.
In response to the incident, provincial education authorities extended the exam fee deadline to November 11 to support affected students.
“We have extended the form submission date, but the school must pay the exam fees and recover the amount from the clerk, which is mandatory,” said Ejaz Baloch, Chairman of the Balochistan Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, while speaking to Arab News.