ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s education minister on Thursday hoped Afghanistan would join representatives from 47 other Islamic countries and attend the upcoming global conference on girls’ education in Muslim countries, scheduled to be held later this week in Islamabad.
Pakistan’s education ministry will host the global conference titled: “Girls’ Education in Muslim Communities: Challenges and Opportunities” from Jan. 11-12 in Islamabad. Pakistan’s foreign office said on Wednesday that 150 representatives from 47 countries, including education experts, religious scholars, diplomats, and politicians are expected to partake in the summit.
Since the Afghan Taliban seized Kabul in August 2021, women and girls have been gradually barred from attending secondary school and university, undertaking most forms of paid employment, and attending public spaces such as public parks or gyms by the government there.
“We have extended an invitation to Afghanistan to participate in this conference and hope that their delegation will attend, as it is a very important neighboring country,” Education Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui told reporters during a media briefing in Islamabad.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, at least 1.4 million Afghan girls have been denied access to secondary education, according to a report by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) released in August last year.
The minister said everyone respects tribal customs and cultures, but all such practices must align with Islamic values in Muslim countries, adding that nothing holds precedence over them.
“In Islam, there is no justification for restricting women’s education,” Siddiqui said.
He said that while the conference will officially kick off on Saturday, a session of the world’s religious scholars on girls’ education, chaired by the religion minister, will take place on Friday.
Siddiqui said the Muslim World League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and key Islamic countries are actively participating in this event.
“Malala Yousafzai, a renowned activist for girls’ education, will also participate in this conference,” he said, adding that experts and representatives from diplomatic missions in Islamabad from non-Muslim countries will also attend the event.
Describing the objective of the conference, he said the primary aim of the conference is to stress the implementation of the Islamic message, which clearly states that both men and women have the right to education.
“By promoting girls’ education, we can build better homes, a better society and a stronger nation,” he said.
He said education in Pakistan was currently in an emergency state as millions of children were out of school and needed important steps to deal with this situation.
Siddiqui said that an “Islamabad Declaration” will be announced after the conference on Sunday.
“This declaration will outline decisive steps to transform the trends of girls’ education in Islamic countries by mobilizing all available resources,” he said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will inaugurate the event and deliver the keynote address at the opening session on Jan. 11.
Pakistan’s foreign office said Sharif will reaffirm the nation’s commitment to promoting girls’ education and gender equality.
Pakistan hopes Afghanistan joins other Islamic countries at girls’ education summit
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Pakistan hopes Afghanistan joins other Islamic countries at girls’ education summit
- Pakistan to host global conference on girls education in Islamabad from Jan. 11-12
- No justification for restricting women’s education in Islam, says education minister
Pakistan arrests two suspected human smugglers amid ongoing crackdown
- Islamabad has intensified crackdown on human trafficking after multiple boat tragedies involving Pakistani migrants in recent years
- This week, crew members of humanitarian rescue ship Ocean Viking rescued several Pakistanis among 44 migrants off the coast of Libya
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested two human smugglers from the eastern province of Punjab, the agency said on Sunday, as part of an ongoing nationwide crackdown to dismantle trafficking networks and curb illegal migration.
Islamabad has intensified its crackdown on human trafficking networks after multiple boat tragedies resulted in its citizens getting killed in recent years. This week, crew members of humanitarian rescue ship Ocean Viking rescued Pakistanis among 44 migrants off Libya’s coast.
The FIA said it had conducted raids in Punjab’s Okara and Mianwali districts and arrested two suspects involved in visa fraud and human smuggling, who had swindled a few individuals out of Rs1.15 million ($4,142) on pretext of sending them to Oman.
“The suspects had gone into hiding after receiving money from citizens,” the agency said in a statement. “An investigation has been launched after the arrest of the suspects.”
Several Pakistanis attempt the dangerous and illegal journey each year in a bid to escape surging inflation and opt for a better life as the cash-strapped country navigates a tricky path to economic recovery from a macroeconomic crisis.
In 2023, hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, drowned when an overcrowded vessel sank in international waters off the southwestern Greek town of Pylos, marking one of the deadliest boat disasters ever recorded in the Mediterranean Sea.
Other incidents have also seen Pakistani migrants perish in shipwrecks off Italy, Tunisia and Libya, highlighting the persistent risks faced by people attempting irregular sea crossings to Europe.
Pakistani authorities have repeatedly urged citizens not to undertake such perilous journeys, while international agencies warn that smugglers continue to exploit economic hardship and conflict to lure migrants onto unsafe boats.
