ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office expressed regret over the “interference” by some diplomatic missions in the country that raised concern over the government’s handling of an ongoing protest by Baloch activists in Islamabad, saying the country could deal with its internal affairs on its own.
Last week, the Embassy of Norway issued a brief statement on social media after reports of a crackdown on Baloch protesters in Islamabad, saying it was important to respect freedom of expression and the right to peaceful demonstration.
Many of these Baloch activists came to the federal capital after covering more than 1,600 kilometers from Turbat district where a 24-year-old resident, Balach Baloch, was said to be killed by a law enforcement agency in custody, putting a spotlight over the issues of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.
A similar statement was also issued by the European Union whose envoy in Islamabad said the country’s commitment to free expression was vital to a preferential trade agreement EU member states offered to Pakistan.
“The interference of foreign embassies in Pakistan is regrettable,” the foreign office spokesperson, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, in her year-end media briefing, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) news agency.
She said Pakistan had an independent judiciary that could examine such issues and make appropriate decisions.
The government has tried to negotiate with the Baloch activists, but they have demanded a probe into the state of human rights in Pakistan’s southwest by the United Nations.
The foreign office spokesperson also provided a brief overview of the country’s diplomatic endeavors at the outset of the briefing, saying Pakistan was satisfied with the results of its efforts in the multilateral settings.
Pakistan criticizes foreign ‘interference’ in Baloch activists’ Islamabad protest
https://arab.news/2r8jf
Pakistan criticizes foreign ‘interference’ in Baloch activists’ Islamabad protest
- Foreign office says the country has an independent judiciary that can examine such issues and take suitable decisions
- European diplomats recently expressed concern over reports of a crackdown against Baloch activists in the federal capital
Pakistan vaccinates over 44.6 million in final anti-polio drive of 2025
- Pakistan has reported 30 polio cases so far this year, underscoring fragile progress against virus
- Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where polio remains endemic
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has vaccinated 44.6 million children against poliovirus in the last nationwide immunization campaign of the year, health authorities said on Monday.
The seven-day anti-polio campaign was launched on Dec. 15, targeting children under the age of five. It was conducted simultaneously in Pakistan and Afghanistan, according to Pakistan’s National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC), which oversees eradication efforts.
Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan are the only two countries where transmission of the wild poliovirus has never been interrupted, posing a risk to global eradication efforts. The virus, which can cause irreversible paralysis, has no cure and can only be prevented through repeated oral vaccination.
“The final National Polio Eradication Campaign of 2025 has been successfully concluded,” the EOC said in a statement. “During the national polio campaign, vaccination of more than 44.6 million children was successfully completed.”
Giving a breakdown of the numbers, the EOC said approximately 22.9 million children have received polio drops in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province, around 10.6 million in Sindh, more than 7.1 million in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province and more than 2.54 million children in Balochistan.
In Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, over 450,000 children received polio drops while in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, approximately 274,000 children have been vaccinated, the NEOC said.
In Azad Jammu & Kashmir, over 714,000 children received polio drops.
Pakistan has reported 30 polio cases so far in 2025, underscoring the fragility of progress against the virus. The country recorded 74 cases in 2024, a sharp increase from six cases in 2023, reflecting setbacks linked to vaccine hesitancy, misinformation and access challenges in high-risk areas.
Health officials say insecurity remains a major obstacle. Polio workers and their security escorts have repeatedly been targeted in militant attacks, particularly in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, complicating efforts to reach every child.
A gun attack targeting a polio vaccination team in Pakistan’s northwestern Bajaur district on Dec. 16 left one police constableand a civilian dead.
Natural disasters, including flooding, have also disrupted vaccination campaigns in recent years.
“Polio workers and security personnel who served during the national campaign are the true heroes of the nation,” the EOC said.
