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Saudi Arabia, IDB pledge $5.2 billion for Pakistan’s climate rebuilding efforts

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (left) meets the President of the Islamic Development Bank Dr. Muhammad Al-Jasser (right) on the sidelines of the Resilient Pakistan conference in Geneva, Switzerland on January 9, 2023. (Photo courtesy: Twitter/GovtofPakistan)
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Updated 09 January 2023
Reuters
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Saudi Arabia, IDB pledge $5.2 billion for Pakistan’s climate rebuilding efforts

  • Development comes as UN conference in Geneva drums up funds, other support to help Pakistan
  • A senior official says USAID will provide additional $100 million for Pakistan’s post-flood recovery
Updated 09 January 2023
Reuters

GENEVA: Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) have pledged $5.2 billion to support Pakistan in its climate rebuilding efforts, officials said on Monday.

The development came as a United Nations conference in Geneva drummed up funds and other support to help Pakistan cope with the fallout of last summer’s devastating flooding, which the UN chief called a “climate disaster of monumental scale” that killed more than 1,700 people in the immediate aftermath.

Millions are still living near contaminated and stagnant flood waters.

“I am pleased to announce that the Islamic Development Bank group, as part of contributing to the achievement of Pakistan’s climate resilience and development objectives, pledges a financing amount of $4.2 billion over the next three years,” Reuters quoted IDB president Muhammad Al-Jasser as saying in Geneva.

Pakistan Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb confirmed $1 billion assistance by Saudi Arabia in a Twitter post.

“The brotherly country Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has pledged $1 billion to assist Pakistan in daunting task of resilient recovery and rehabilitation,” Aurangzeb said.

A senior official from the US development agency USAID also said that Washington would provide an additional $100 million in funding for Pakistan’s recovery from the devastating floods.

“I am delighted to announce that the United States is making an additional 100-million-dollar commitment to Pakistan to help it recover from the devastating 2022 monster monsoon floods,” USAID Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman told reporters on the sidelines of a major conference in Geneva.

Topics: Pakistan Flood 2022 Pakistan Floods International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan Pakistan Saudi Ties

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Fathers of Noor Mukadam, Sara Inam call for expedited justice in daughters’ murder cases

Updated 7 sec ago
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Fathers of Noor Mukadam, Sara Inam call for expedited justice in daughters’ murder cases

  • The demand for quicker trials by fathers of the two high-profile murder victims highlights a stagnant justice system
  • The murders of Mukadam and Inam led to public outrage, calling into question the safety and rights of women in Pakistan
Updated 7 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The fathers of Noor Mukadam and Sara Inam, victims of two high-profile murders in Pakistan, held a news conference in the federal capital on Sunday, calling for expedited legal proceedings speedy justice in their daughters’ cases.
The media interaction was arranged exactly a year after Inam, a 37-year-old economist, was killed by her husband, Shahnawaz Amir, in suburban Islamabad.
The fathers of the two women not only pressed the judiciary for timely justice but also reignited the focus on the safety and rights of women in Pakistan which came under question after the two murders.
“It has been a year,” lamented Engineer Inam Rahim, Sara's father. “We were hoping this would take about six months since these were open-and-shut cases.”
He also asked the media not to forget about the murders and discuss them in newspapers and on television channels.
“We request you to continue to highlight these cases since that will raise our hopes of getting justice,” he continued, adding that his daughter was trapped by a husband whose main goal was her wealth and who eventually subjected her to brutal murder.
Shaukat Ali Mukadam, the father of Noor Mukadam who was murdered in July 2021, also called for a speedy trial.
“The courts will lose their credibility if such cases continue to remain pending in them,” he said.
His statement came as Zahir Jaffer, who was sentenced to death in his daughter’s murder case, filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of Pakistan in April 2023. The case has remained pending since then.

Pakistan recalls injectable medicine amid eye infection reports, initiates probe

Updated 24 September 2023
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Pakistan recalls injectable medicine amid eye infection reports, initiates probe

  • The interim health minister assures the public of transparent inquiry, vows to prosecute those responsible
  • The government had received complaints related to loss of sight among diabetic patients using Avastin in Punjab
Updated 24 September 2023
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s interim health minister Nadeem Jan said on Sunday the government had recalled an injectable medicine from the market after receiving reports it had caused eye infections and loss of sight among patients in the Kasur, Multan, Lahore, and Sadiqabad districts located in the eastern Punjab province.
According to media reports, the caretaker administration in Punjab formed a five-member committee to investigate the issue, following complaints related to a locally manufactured injection called Avastin which was used by diabetic patients in the province.
The federal health minister invited his provincial counterpart to Islamabad to discuss the issue in the wake of this development. He said authorities had launched an investigation and would soon assign responsibility for the matter.
“Investigations are ongoing,” Jan said in a televised statement. “A committee has been formed, comprising five of our most senior experts, who will analyze the issue from all angles and provide us with a comprehensive report within the next three days.”
“As of now, the batch of medicine in question has been recalled,” he continued. “It is now in our possession, and its sales are prohibited.”
The minister explained the investigation team was tasked with determining whether the problem was caused by the medicine itself, issues in its supply chain, the skill level of the administering doctors, or the sterilization process.
He added the government had filed a police report against two individuals representing the supply company and had initiated legal action against them.
Jan assured the public of a transparent inquiry, adding the authorities would share their findings and prosecute those responsible for causing harm to patients.

Topics: Pakistan Medicines eye infections

Asian Games: Sri Lanka beat Pakistan to set up India cricket final

Updated 24 September 2023
AFP
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Asian Games: Sri Lanka beat Pakistan to set up India cricket final

  • Pakistan manage below-par 75-9 in 20 overs against Sri Lanka 
  • Pakistan and Bangladesh will face off for bronze on Monday
Updated 24 September 2023
AFP

HANGZHOU, China: In-form Sri Lanka, fresh from a stunning Twenty20 series victory in England, beat Pakistan by six wickets on Sunday to reach the women’s cricket final at the Asian Games and set up a clash with India.
Pakistan never got going on a difficult batting surface affected by days of rain at the Zhejiang University of Technology ground in Hangzhou, and could only muster a below-par 75-9 in their 20 overs.
Left-arm medium pace bowler Udeshika Prabodhani led the Sri Lankan attack with three wickets and Kavisha Dilhari took two with her offspin.
Sri Lanka sauntered to their target with 21 balls to spare to spark wild celebrations as their players ran on to the field to high-five and hug each other.
Earlier, the Indians routed Bangladesh for 51 on the same ground with all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar, only drafted into the squad as a last-minute replacement, taking four wickets.
They wasted no time in racing to an eight-wicket victory with more than 11 overs remaining as Jemimah Rodrigues top-scored with an unbeaten 20.
Rodrigues is yet to be dismissed in the Asian Games, scoring 47 not out in the quarter-final against Malaysia, which was later abandoned because of rain.
It was the second time in just over a week that Sri Lankan cricketers had proven party-poopers by preventing a Pakistan-India major cricket final.
The country’s men’s team beat Pakistan in the semifinal of the 50-over Asia Cup in Colombo to prevent a final showdown against their fierce rivals India.
Earlier this month, Sri Lanka’s women secured a historic first-ever white-ball series triumph over England, winning 2-1.
Pakistan and Bangladesh will face off for bronze on Monday before India take on Sri Lanka in the gold-medal match.

Topics: Cricket Asian Games

Train crash in eastern Pakistan injures at least 30

Updated 24 September 2023
AP
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Train crash in eastern Pakistan injures at least 30

  • Lahore-bound passenger train collides with another in Shaikhupura district
  • Railway authorities suspend driver, assistant, two members of ground staff
Updated 24 September 2023
AP

LAHORE: A passenger train collided with another already parked and carrying goods in eastern Pakistan on Sunday, injuring at least 30 passengers, five of them seriously, officials said.

Railway authorities suspended the driver of the Lahore-bound passenger train, his assistant and two of the ground staff for negligence as an investigation has been opened, said top railways official Shahid Aziz.

Aziz said the incident happened in Shaikhupura district near Qila Sattar Shah station early morning as the passenger train which left Mianwali for Lahore was directed to the track where the goods train was already parked.

He said most of the injured were treated at the train station, but those with serious injuries were moved to hospital and the tracks were quickly cleared.

Such accidents are common in Pakistan where railways suffer from decades-old signal systems and tracks.

Topics: train accident Train Crash

Ex-PM Khan’s party welcomes anti-terror court’s decision to grant bail to women supporters

Updated 24 September 2023
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Ex-PM Khan’s party welcomes anti-terror court’s decision to grant bail to women supporters

  • Former lawmaker Rubina Jamil, social media activist among nine granted bail by anti-terror court in Lahore
  • Khan’s supporters were arrested for attacking the residence of Lahore Corps Commander on May 9
Updated 24 September 2023
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party leaders on Sunday welcomed an Anti-Terrorism Court’s (ATC) decision to grant bail to nine PTI supporters, among them five women, in a case relating to the attack on a senior military officer’s residence months ago.

An ATC in Lahore granted post-arrest bail to former PTI MNA Rubina Jamil and eight others on Saturday who were arrested on charges of attacking the official residence of the Lahore Corps Commander on May 9. 

Angry PTI supporters took to the streets following Khan’s brief arrest on May 9 on graft allegations, torching government buildings and attacking military installations in many parts of the country. Scores of people were arrested for attacking the senior military officer’s Lahore residence, among them former lawmakers Alia Hamza and Rubina Jamil, and prominent fashion designer Khadijah Shah. 

Following the protests, police registered cases against the suspects under Section 121 (waging or attempting to wage war or abetting waging of war against Pakistan), Section 131 (abetting mutiny, or attempting to seduce a soldier, sailor or airman from his duty) and Section 146 (rioting) under the Pakistan Penal Code. 

While the ATC granted bail to Jamil, social media activist Sanam Javed, Afshan Tariq, Shahbano, Ashima Shuja, Mubeen Qadri, Syed Faisal Akhtar, Ali Hassan, and Mohammad Qasim, the same was denied to 39 others including Hamza and Shah. 

“A welcome first step,” PTI leader and former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa finance minister Taimur Khan Jhagra wrote on social media platform X. 

“The 9 given bail must be released. It is the reputation of the state that suffers when justice is seen not to be served, as is the case here.”

Jhagra said that “not a shred” of evidence of arson or destruction of public property linking PTI’s supporters to the acts of May 9 has been found. 

Former PTI MNA Ali Muhammad Khan agreed with Jhagra, saying that the women who were granted bail should be released too. 

“No doubt our sisters have endured alot and now when given bail by ATC they must be released & allowed to re-join their families and kids,” he wrote on X. 

 While Khan insists he did not instigate supporters to attack law enforcers on May 9, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said on Sept. 3 that the protests were aimed at starting a mutiny or civil war in the country. 

“I think its target as a nucleus was the serving army chief and the team around him. All of them,” Kakar had said during an interview with a private news channel. 

While Khan’s party alleges it is being victimized, Kakar has said the law would take its course and PTI supporters would not be targeted unfairly by military courts. 

Topics: Ex-PM Imran Khan anti-terror court PTI party

Latest updates

Fathers of Noor Mukadam, Sara Inam call for expedited justice in daughters’ murder cases
Iran says arrested 28 Daesh members over Tehran plot with international links, including Pakistan
Pakistan recalls injectable medicine amid eye infection reports, initiates probe
Asian Games: Sri Lanka beat Pakistan to set up India cricket final
Train crash in eastern Pakistan injures at least 30

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