Pakistan expresses solidarity with Nepal after floods kill over 150

A woman carrying a chair walks along a muddy street as the floodwater recedes from a residential area that was flooded by the overflowing Bagmati River following heavy rains in Katmandu, Nepal on September 29, 2024. (REUTERS)
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Updated 29 September 2024
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Pakistan expresses solidarity with Nepal after floods kill over 150

  • Nepal has shut schools for three days after two days of heavy rain triggered massive landslides and floods
  • The floods brought traffic and normal activity to a standstill in Katmandu, where 37 deaths were recorded

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday expressed solidarity with Nepal after floods and landslides killed more than 150 people, the Pakistani foreign office said.
Nepal has shut schools for three days after two days of heavy rain across the Himalayan nation triggered landslides and floods, officials said, with 56 people still missing.
The floods brought traffic and normal activity to a standstill in the Katmandu valley, where 37 deaths were recorded in a region home to 4 million people and the capital.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with all who have lost loved ones and livelihood in the floods,” the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement. “Pakistan stands in solidarity with the government and people of Nepal in this moment of tragedy.”
Television images showed police rescuers in knee-high rubber boots using picks and shovels to clear away mud and retrieve 16 bodies of passengers from two buses swept away by a massive landslide at a site on the key route into Katmandu.
Weather officials in the capital blamed the rainstorms on a low-pressure system in the Bay of Bengal extending over parts of neighboring India close to Nepal.
Heavy rains triggered flash floods and killed nearly 350 in Pakistan this monsoon season that began in late June, according to the country’s disaster management authority.
Pakistan and other countries in South Asia have seen erratic changes in weather patterns in recent years that scientists have blamed on climate change.
In 2022, unusually heavy rains triggered floods in many parts of Pakistan, killing over 1,700 people, inflicting economic losses of around $30 billion, and affecting at least 30 million people.


Bahraini commander witnesses Pakistan Navy passing-out parade in Karachi

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Bahraini commander witnesses Pakistan Navy passing-out parade in Karachi

  • Rear Admiral Ahmed Mohamed bin Ali says it is a matter of immense pleasure for him to review commissioning of personnel at his alma mater
  • The training you have received has prepared you to step into a challenging yet deeply satisfying career, he tells young officers, midshipmen

ISLAMABAD: Rear Admiral Ahmed Mohamed Ebrahim Al bin Ali, commander of Royal Bahrain Naval Force, witnessed passing-out parade of Pakistan Navy’s 124th Midshipmen and 32nd Short Service Commission Course in Karachi, where he spoke with the newly inducted officers.

The passing-out parade was held at the Pakistan Naval Academy, at which Commandant Commodore Zia-ur-Rehman congratulated 90 midshipmen and 38 cadets who had completed short service commission after going through academic and training phases.

In his address, Rear Admiral Ali said it was a matter of immense pleasure for him to review the commissioning of personnel at his alma mater, the Pakistan Naval Academy, which he had joined as a cadet in February 1983.

“You must be confident and self-assured that you have been trained at one of the best naval academies of the region. The training you have received at Pakistan Naval Academy has prepared you to step into a challenging yet deeply satisfying career,” he told the young officers and midshipmen.

“It has equipped you with essential military and academic skills and you should spare no effort to build up on these to achieve excellence in your professions.”

Pakistan armed forces have long been training cadets and officers from friendly countries. Currently, the Pakistan Naval Academy is training future officers from Bahrain, Djibouti, Iraq, Sri Lanka and Turkiye.

The Bahraini commander said that being here as the chief guest had taken him back to yesteryears and he would have flashbacks of the familiar sounds and aura of this naval academy.

“I cannot help but marvel at the wonderful transformation that has taken place since my days,” he said.

Pakistan and Bahrain have maintained close diplomatic, security, trade and defense relations and have undertaken joint training and security initiatives, besides regular high-level exchanges.

Bahrain’s Read Admiral Ali met Pakistan Naval Chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf earlier this week, according to Pakistan Navy. They discussed matters of mutual interest, regional maritime security and avenues for bilateral naval cooperation.

Earlier in Sept., Pakistan and Bahrain agreed to enhance cooperation in naval training and regional maritime security operations. During the same month, the Bahraini Chief of Defense Staff Lt. Gen. Thiab Saqer Abdulla Al-Nuaimi met with Pakistan’s Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu and expressed Bahrain’s interest in learning from the PAF’s experience in multi-domain operations.