ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has said Pakistan’s retaliatory strikes inside Iran after Tehran struck Pakistan earlier this month was a “message to the whole region,” particularly archrival India, of the consequences of violating the South Asian nation’s sovereignty.
Last week Islamabad said it had hit bases of the anti-Pakistan, separatist Balochistan Liberation Front and Balochistan Liberation Army, after Tehran said its missiles struck bases of militants from the ‘Iranian terrorist group,’ Jaish al Adl (JAA).
The tit-for-tat strikes by the two countries were the highest-profile cross-border intrusions in recent years and raised alarm about wider instability in the region since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted on Oct. 7.
Iran and Pakistan share a 900 km, largely lawless border, and have long suspected each other of supporting, or at least behaving leniently, toward some militant groups operating on the other side of the border. Both deny the charges.
On Monday, Pakistan and Iran announced in a joint statement that ambassadors of both countries had been asked to return to their posts by Jan. 26 while the Iranian foreign minister would visit Pakistan on Jan. 29.
“There is desire on both sides for de-escalation but before that desire, what Pakistan demonstrated, the way we responded, that was a message to the whole of the region, it’s not just focused on Iran,” Kakar said in an interview to a local TV channel aired on Thursday.
“You have friends and foes in the region. If anyone violates your sovereignty, the intent of the state has been translated [with our response] and that was very important.”
When asked who in particular the message had been for, Kakar replied, “Of course India.”
Giving credit to Army Chief Gen. Asim Munir for taking the onus of the decision to carry out the attacks, he said not responding with airstrikes “was not an option” though it had been a “difficult decision” given Pakistan’s “brotherly” ties with Iran.
News of Iran’s airstrikes inside Pakistan came barely hours after Kakar met the Iranian foreign minister on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
In a separate interview, Kakar said teams from the two countries had met as per “diplomatic norms.”
“We had a very normal conversation on Pakistan-Iran bilateral relations and after a few hours we found out all this had happened,” Kakar told another TV channel.
“I was not just surprised, I was shocked and angered also. Like any Pakistani, I was angry and sad. If this had happened from India, which is an archenemy, you could always have expected this from them, but here, we still think they [Iran] are a brotherly Islamic country. So there was a great element of surprise that they would violate our sovereignty like this.”
But Pakistan’s “firm and swift response” had sent out a clear message, the PM added:
“That if anyone does this [attacks Pakistan] or thinks of doing this, then the answer for it would be very firm. It can’t happen that Pakistan will digest the violation of the sovereignty of its territory, no matter who does it, friend or foe.”
Pakistan’s response to Iranian airstrikes ‘message’ to whole region, India — PM
https://arab.news/b6nhb
Pakistan’s response to Iranian airstrikes ‘message’ to whole region, India — PM
- Islamabad and Tehran are moving to mend ties after exchanging military strikes earlier this month
- Carrying out retaliatory attacks was a “difficult decision” given brotherly ties with Iran, PM says
Pakistan mulls 'Super App' for public services, document verification in major technology push
- Pakistan has been urging technology adoption in public, private sectors as it seeks to become a key tech player globally
- The country this month launched the Indus AI Week to harness technology for productivity, skills development and innovation
KARACHI: Pakistan is planning to launch a “Super App” to deliver public services and enable digital document verification, the country's information technology (IT) minister said on Sunday, amid a major push for technology adoption in public and private sectors.
Pakistan, a country of 240 million people, seeks to become a key participant in the global tech economy, amid growing interest from governments in the Global South to harness advanced technologies for productivity, skills development and innovation.
The country's information and communications technology (ICT) exports hit a record $437 million in Dec. last year, according to IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja. This constituted a 23% increase month on month and a 26% increase year on year.
Pakistan's technology sector is also advancing in artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing, marked by the launch of Pakistan’s first sovereign AI cloud in November, designed to keep sensitive data domestic and support growth in the broader digital ecosystem.
“In developed countries, citizens can access all government services from a mobile phone,” Fatima said, announcing plans for the Super App at an event in Karachi where more than 7,000 students had gathered for an AI training entrance test as part of the ‘Indus AI Week.’
“We will strive to provide similar facilities in the coming years.”
Khawaja said the app will reduce the need for in-person visits to government offices such as the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and the Higher Education Commission (HEC).
The Indus AI Week initiative, which ran from Feb. 9 till Feb. 15. was aimed at positioning Pakistan as a key future participant in the global AI revolution, according to the IT minister.
At the opening of the weeklong initiative, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that Pakistan would invest $1 billion in AI by 2030 to modernize the South Asian nation’s digital economy.
“These initiatives aim to strengthen national AI infrastructure and make the best use of our human resource,” Khawaja said, urging young Pakistanis to become creators, inventors and innovators rather than just being the consumers of technology.
