ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar arrived in Zurich on Sunday to attend the World Economic Forum summit, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said, where key business and government leaders are scheduled to meet next week to deliberate on crucial global issues.
Pakistan’s foreign office said earlier this week that Kakar would visit Davos from January 15-19 for the 54th WEF summit. It said Kakar would attend three key thematic events during the official trip, which include: Preventing An Era of Global Conflict, Restoring Faith in the Global System, and Preventing Economic Fracture.
He would also deliver a keynote address for a session titled: ‘Trade Tech’s Trillion Dollar Promise.’
“Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar arrived here on Sunday to participate in the 54th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos to be held from January 15 to 19,” the APP said in a report.
Kakar was received by Pakistan’s permanent representative to Geneva, the country’s ambassador to Switzerland, and high-level officials upon his arrival.
“During his visit, Prime Minister Kakar would lead a special ‘Invest in Pakistan’ event,” APP added.
The WEF describes itself as an international organization for public-private cooperation. It engages the foremost political, business, cultural, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas.
The forum was established in 1971 as a not-for-profit foundation and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The theme of this year’s meeting is “Rebuilding Trust.”
Pakistan used last year’s WEF summit to spotlight the immense damages inflicted by the disastrous 2022 floods and seek international economic assistance from world powers.
Pakistan’s PM arrives in Zurich for World Economic Forum summit
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Pakistan’s PM arrives in Zurich for World Economic Forum summit
- Kakar to deliver keynote address, meet important government and business leaders during WEF summit
- Pakistan’s prime minister will also lead a special ‘Invest in Pakistan’ event, says state-run media
Pakistan remembers Benazir Bhutto, first woman PM in Muslim world, on death anniversary
- Bhutto was daughter of ex-PM Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who was hanged during reign of former military ruler Gen. Zia-ul-Haq
- Year before assassination in 2007, Bhutto signed landmark deal with rival Nawaz Sharif to prevent army interventions
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other Pakistani leaders on Saturday paid tribute to Benazir Bhutto, the first woman prime minister in the Muslim world who was assassinated 18 years ago in a gun and bomb attack after a rally in the city of Rawalpindi.
Born on Jun. 21, 1953, Bhutto was elected premier for the first time in 1988 at the age of 35. She was deposed in 1990, re-elected in 1993, and ousted again in 1996, amid allegations of corruption and mismanagement which she denied as being politically motivated.
Bhutto only entered politics after her father was hanged in 1979 during military ruler Gen. Zia-ul-Haq’s reign. Throughout her political career, she had a complex and often adversarial relationship with the now ruling Sharif family, but despite the differences signed a ‘Charter of Democracy’ in 2006 with three-time former PM Nawaz Sharif, pledging to strengthen democratic institutions and prevent military interventions in Pakistan in the future.
She was assassinated a year and a half later.
“Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto took exemplary steps to strengthen the role of women, protect the rights of minorities, and make Pakistan a peaceful, progressive, and democratic state,” PM Shehbaz Sharif, younger brother of ex-PM Nawaz Sharif, said in a statement on Saturday.
“Her sacrifices and services are a beacon of light for the nation.”
President Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto’s widower, said Bhutto believed in an inclusive Pakistan, rejected sectarianism, bigotry and intolerance, and consistently spoke for the protection of minorities.
“Her vision was of a federation where citizens of all faiths could live with dignity and equal rights,” he said. “For the youth of Pakistan, her life offers a clear lesson: speak up for justice, organize peacefully and do not surrender hope in the face of adversity.”
Powerful families like the Bhuttos and the Sharifs of Pakistan to the Gandhis of India and the Bandaranaike family of Sri Lanka have long dominated politics in this diverse region since independence from British colonial rule. But none have escaped tragedy at the hands of rebels, militants or ambitious military leaders.
It was Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Bhutto’s father, who founded the troubled Bhutto dynasty, becoming the country’s first popularly elected prime minister before being toppled by the army in 1977 and later hanged. Both his sons died in mysterious circumstances.
Before her assassination on Dec. 27, 2007, Bhutto survived another suicide attack on her motorcade that killed nearly 150 people as she returned to Pakistan after eight years in exile in October 2007.
Bhutto’s Oxford-educated son, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, now leads her Pakistan Peoples Party, founded by her father, and was foreign minister in the last administration of PM Shehbaz Sharif.
Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, Bhutto’s daughter who is currently the first lady of Pakistan, said her mother lived with courage and led with compassion in life.
“Her strength lives on in every voice that refuses injustice,” she said on X.
Pakistan has been ruled by military regimes for almost half its history since independence from Britain in 1947. Both former premiers Imran Khan and the elder Sharif, Nawaz, have alleged that they were ousted by the military after they fell out with the generals. The army says it does not interfere in politics.
