ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s human rights ministry recently announced it had launched the “Awaz” mobile application to report missing children and human rights violations across the country, saying the move would ensure a “quick and coordinated response” from authorities to curtail the menaces.
Kidnapping of children and subsequent sexual abuse has made headlines in Pakistan over the past few years. According to an annual report by Pakistani non-governmental organization “Sahil,” a total of 1833 abduction cases for children were reported across the country in 2023. Out of these, 105 (6 percent) cases were reported of sexual abuse after abduction.
Human rights violations in the South Asian state include restrictions on freedom of speech, extrajudicial killings, and torture, affecting marginalized communities, activists, and journalists. In 2020, Pakistan’s parliament passed the Zainab Alert, Recovery and Response Bill to ensure a speedy recovery of abducted children apart from all cases of kidnapping, rape, and murder of minor children to be investigated within three months.
“We are proud to introduce the Awaz app, which marks a significant milestone in our ongoing commitment to human rights,” Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar was quoted as saying by the rights ministry on Sunday. “It underscores our dedication to leveraging technology to ensure swift and effective action on every report and to uphold justice with unwavering resolve.”
The ministry said that the app allows users to report human rights violations, including missing or abducted children, and ensure “a quick and coordinated response” from authorities and community organizations.
The mobile app is currently available for download on Android operating system while an iOS version would be released “soon,” the ministry said.
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Saturday censured the election regulatory authority for its “dilatory tactics” to avoid the implementation of a judgment on reserved seats for women and minorities in the national and provincial legislatures that favored the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, warning of potential consequences.
The court has addressed the issue through a short order at a time when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition government is planning to get a constitutional amendment passed from parliament to allegedly give an extended term to the country’s top judge. The amendment requires two-third majority in both houses of parliament, though the coalition can lose a portion of its existing number of seats after the apex court ruling.
In a verdict on July 12, a 13-member bench of the court declared the PTI of Pakistan’s jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan eligible for the reserved seats after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) forced the party’s candidates to contest the February 8 polls as independents.
The ECP took the decision after the PTI lost its election symbol in the wake of a prolonged legal battle for not holding proper intra-party polls. Subsequently, the election body refused the reserved seats to the PTI on technical grounds, saying they were only meant for political parties instead of independent candidates.
The Supreme Court overturned the ECP decision, saying it had misconstrued an earlier verdict related to the election symbol by depriving the PTI of the reserved seats. Instead of giving the seats to the party, however, the election body filed a petition, seeking guidance on the matter and questioning the validity of the party’s organizational structure under the circumstances.
“The clarification sought by the Commission [ECP] … is nothing more than a contrived device and the adoption of dilatory tactics, adopted to delay, defeat and obstruct implementation of the decision of the court,” read the court’s four-page order.
“The attempt by the Commission to confuse and cloud what is otherwise absolutely clear as a matter of the Constitution and the law must therefore be strongly deprecated,” it added.
The government and its allies are currently struggling to complete the required two-third majority for the constitutional amendment allegedly to revisit the length of the top judge’s tenure.
As per the official tally, it is short of at least 13 lawmakers in the National Assembly and nine in the Senate to gain the required number.
In recent days, the top government leaders have tried to complete the numerical strength by wooing opposition parties like the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam of Maulana Fazlur Rehman and some PTI lawmakers who are yet to be declared members of the party due to the delayed implementation by the ECP of the Supreme Court judgment.
The four-page Supreme Court order may serve as a setback to these efforts since it recognizes the PTI-backed independent candidates “members of the parliamentary party of PTI in the National Assembly and Provincial Assemblies concerned, for all constitutional and legal purposes.”
“The continued failure of, and refusal by, the [ECP] to perform this legally binding obligation [of implementing the July verdict] may, as noted, have consequences,” the order said.
“This obligation must be discharged forthwith,” it added.
Speaking to Arab News, Abdul Moiz Jaferii, a legal expert, described the order without ambiguity.
“This is a clear order from the Supreme Court that all returned independent candidates of the PTI are deemed to be PTI lawmakers,” he said.
“The election commission is now left with no choice but to notify all independent returned candidates as lawmakers of the PTI forthwith,” he added. “The top court has censured the ECP for delaying the implementation, but now one can hope that this issue will come to a logical conclusion within days with allocation of the reserved seats to the PTI.”
ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia has offered a 15 percent investment in the Reko Diq copper and gold mine project in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, according to Pakistani state-owned media on Saturday.
Reko Diq is considered one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper and gold resources, primarily operated by Canada’s Barrick Gold, which holds a 50 percent stake in it.
The remaining stake is owned by three federal state-owned enterprises and the Balochistan provincial government, though Pakistan has also invited Saudi Arabia to invest in the project.
“Saudi Arabia has offered fifteen percent investment in Reko Diq Mining project,” the Radio Pakistan said in one of its reports. “The Kingdom has also offered grants to build road infrastructure around the Reko Diq project.”
“Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) has approved the structure of the offer but the final decision has been left to the Cabinet Committee on Intergovernmental Transactions,” it added.
Pakistan set up the SIFC, a civil-military hybrid body, last year in June with the sole purpose of reviving the frail national economy, dented by low foreign exchange reserves, currency depreciation and record inflation.
Barrick Gold’s top official, Mark Bristow, has also acknowledged the Saudi interest in the project, saying his company would not dilute its equity.
However, he added that Barrick Gold would not oppose any decision by the Pakistan government to sell part of its stake to Saudia Arabia.
Radio Pakistan said the government in Islamabad expects up to $5 billion investment in the mining and agriculture sector by June next year.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday criticized the recent decision by the United States to impose sanctions on commercial entities accused of aiding Pakistan’s ballistic missile program, calling it “biased and politically motivated.”
The US imposed the sanctions on a Chinese research institute and several companies on Thursday, alleging they had supplied missile-applicable items to Pakistan.
State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement the Beijing Research Institute of Automation for Machine Building Industry had collaborated with Pakistan to procure equipment for testing rocket motors for the Shaheen-3 and Ababeel systems, and potentially for larger systems.
He maintained that the US decision reflected its commitment to “act against proliferation and associated procurement activities of concern, wherever they occur.”
“Pakistan considers this action as biased and politically-motivated,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in response to media queries related to the development. “Similar listings of commercial entities in the past were based on mere suspicion [and] involved items not listed under any export control regime and yet were considered sensitive under broad, catch-all provisions.”
The administration in Washington had also targeted three China-based companies with sanctions last year in October on similar grounds.
“It is widely known that some countries, while claiming strict adherence to nonproliferation norms, have conveniently waived licensing requirements for advanced military technologies to their favored states,” Baloch continued.
“Such double standards and discriminatory practices undermine the credibility of global nonproliferation regimes, increase military asymmetries, and endanger international peace and security,” she added.
China has already said it will “firmly protect” the rights and interests of Chinese companies and individuals.
One of its diplomats in Washington said this week his country “opposes unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction that have no basis in international law or authorization of the UN Security Council.” With input from Reuters
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s national hockey team suffered a 2-1 defeat in the last pool match against India on Saturday at the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy 2024 at the Moqi Hockey Training Base in Hulunbuir, China.
The two traditional rivals played with determination, with Pakistan securing an early advantage when Ahmad Nadeem netted a field goal, putting India under pressure.
However, the momentum shifted when the rival team responded with two consecutive goals in the first half, securing a lead they maintained until the final whistle.
“What a game,” Hockey India proclaimed on social media platform X. “India vs Pakistan lived up to the hype with non-stop action and intense rivalry!”
The Pakistan team had already secured a spot in the semifinals before facing India.
The Green Shirts remained unbeaten until today’s match, having secured a 5-1 victory against hosts China on Thursday, which moved them to second place on the points table.
“It is a collective team effort, we are learning by each match,” Hannan Shahid, who was named “hero” of Thursday’s match, said after the win.
Shahid said his side conceded too many cards in the start of the tournament, but had overcome it.
“Hero of the team award is a result of my team’s effort, they created chances for me to score and I am happy how we have progressed in the tournament,” he added.
Others who scored goals for Pakistan included Rehman Abdul and Ahmad Nadeem, while Jiesheng Gao scored the only goal for China.
Trump paid no ‘heed’ to Imran Khan’s imprisonment, Pakistani-American aide says
Trump aide Sajid Tarar says some Pakistani-Americans conveying through social media that Trump could push for Khan’s release if elected, but there is ‘no truth to it’
Khan and his PTI party have waged an unprecedented campaign of defiance against Pakistan’s military and now the PTI is aiming to mobilize public for Khan’s release
ISLAMABAD: Sajid Tarar, a Pakistani-American businessman and close aide to Donald Trump, said on Friday that a few Pakistani-Americans had tried to discuss former prime minister Imran Khan’s imprisonment and local Pakistani politics with the US presidential nominee at a recent fundraiser, but Trump “did not pay any heed to it.”
Khan, who is in jail since last August, was ousted from the PM’s office in 2022 in a parliamentary vote of no confidence after what is widely believed to be a falling out with Pakistan’s powerful military, which denies being involved in politics.
Since his removal, Khan and his party have waged an unprecedented campaign of defiance against the military and now his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party is aiming to mobilize the public through rallies for its leader’s release from jail in “politically motivated” cases.
Tarar, who lives in Maryland and met Trump through his lawyer in 2016, is one of 136 members of Trump’s finance team and is believed to be instrumental in raising funds and organizing election campaigns for the former president across the US.
In an interview with Arab News, the Trump aide said some Pakistani-Americans had been conveying through social media that the US presidential nominee could push for Khan’s release if he was elected, but there was “no truth to it.”
“Even if Trump wins, obviously, he won’t be interfering in Pakistan’s judicial system to get Imran Khan released,” Tarar, who moved to the US from Pakistan’s Mandi Bahauddin district to study law some 36 years ago, told Arab News over the phone.
“Some Pakistani-Americans have been pedaling this thing on social media, but there is no truth to it that President Trump would interfere in local Pakistani politics.”
Tarar stressed that Trump had a relationship with the prime minister of Pakistan during his tenure in the office and not with an individual, referring to Khan’s meeting with Trump in the White House in July 2019.
“Representatives of different political parties in Pakistan, including the PTI, have approached me to lobby and meet Trump, but this has not materialized yet,” he added.
This file photo, posted on January 7, 2018, shows Sajid Tarar (right), a Pakistani-American businessman and close aide to former US president Donald Trump, during an event in Washington. (Photo courtesy: Facebook/Sajid Tarar)
Trump is facing Democratic nominee and US Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election due to be held on November 5, with both candidates struggling to get maximum support of all communities, including Pakistani and Muslim diaspora, in the upcoming elections.
Tarar claimed that a majority of Muslim population in the US supported the Republican nominee in the upcoming presidential election, following the failure of President Joe Biden’s administration to have a ceasefire in Gaza.
“The majority of Muslim voters, including the Pakistani diaspora in the US, has been aligning with Trump after the Biden administration’s failure to manage a ceasefire in Gaza,” he said.
Muslims in America have been visibly divided between Republican and Democratic camps ahead of the presidential election in November. Historically, majority of American Muslims have voted for the Democrats, but this time they appear to be leaning toward Republican nominee Trump.
The US presidential election campaign is currently at its peak and both candidates are struggling to woo voters, promising different reforms and policies, according to Tarar. Some 17 percent Muslims voted for Trump in the previous election, but this is going to be more than 50 precent in this election.
The Pakistani-American aide is currently in California for Trump’s fundraising and has been mobilizing Muslim communities, including 0.7 million Pakistanis, in the US. He believes Pakistan-US diplomatic and defense relations would improve under the Trump administration, which will bring peace and stability to the region and the world.
“Pakistan being next to China and Afghanistan cannot be ignored at all [by the US] as the Trump administration will be fully focusing on terrorism eradication and stability in the region,” the aide said.
