ISLAMABAD: Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha has arrived in Pakistan to attend a global conference on girls’ education in Muslim countries, according to the Pakistani education ministry.
Pakistan’s education ministry will host the global conference titled, “Girls’ Education in Muslim Communities: Challenges and Opportunities,” in Islamabad on Jan. 11-12.
Around 150 representatives from 47 countries, including education experts, religious scholars, diplomats, and politicians are expected to partake in the summit.
Pakistani Education Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui received the OIC secretary-general upon arrival in the South Asian country.
“Bringing together global leaders, educators, and changemakers to discuss innovative solutions and inspire progress for #GirlsEducation in Muslim communities,” the Pakistani education ministry said on Friday.
“This landmark event is a step toward creating opportunities, breaking barriers, and empowering future generations. Let’s ensure #EducationForAll and drive meaningful #GlobalConversations that transform lives!“
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will inaugurate the conference and deliver a keynote address at the opening session on Saturday. Pakistan’s foreign office said Sharif will reaffirm the nation’s commitment to promoting girls’ education and gender equality.
An “Islamabad Declaration” will be announced at the end of the conference on Sunday that would outline decisive steps to transform girls’ education in Islamic countries, according to Siddiqui.
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai will also attend the summit in person, a spokesperson for the Malala Fund charity confirmed.
Yousafzai was evacuated from Pakistan in 2012 after being shot by the Pakistan Taliban, who were enraged by her activism, and she has returned to the country only a handful of times since.
“I am excited to join Muslim leaders from around the world for a critical conference on girls’ education,” she said Friday in a post on X.
“On Sunday, I will speak about protecting rights for all girls to go to school, and why leaders must hold the Taliban accountable for their crimes against Afghan women & girls.”
Pakistan’s neighbor Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls and women are banned from going to secondary schools and universities.
On Thursday, Siddiqui 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.
The Pakistani education minister hoped that Afghanistan would also join representatives from other Islamic countries and attend the conference in Islamabad.
“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,” he told reporters at 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.
Siddiqui 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,” he added.
OIC secretary-general arrives in Pakistan to attend summit on girls’ education in Muslim countries
https://arab.news/j39pc
OIC secretary-general arrives in Pakistan to attend summit on girls’ education in Muslim countries
- The conference’s aim is to stress Islam’s message that both men, women have right to education
- Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai will also attend the summit in Islamabad in person
Pakistan’s defense minister backs army spokesman’s criticism of Imran Khan
- Khawaja Asif calls the military’s response to Khan’s recent remarks ‘measured’
- He accuses Khan’s PTI party of ‘changing its identity’ by siding against Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday defended a scathing news conference by the military’s spokesman a day earlier, in which the latter accused former prime minister Imran Khan of promoting an anti-state narrative that he said had become a national security threat.
Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, who heads the military’s media wing as director general of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), addressed journalists on Friday in response to Khan’s latest social media post accusing Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir of being responsible for “the complete collapse of the constitution and rule of law in Pakistan.”
During the briefing, Chaudhry described the incarcerated former premier as a “narcissist” and a “mentally ill individual,” though he said it up to the government to determine how it wanted to deal with him.
Asked about the military’s viewpoint against Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, Asif told reporters in the city of Sialkot the former premier had long used harsh language against state institutions and political opponents.
“When this kind of language is used for individuals as well as for institutions, then a reaction is a natural outcome,” he said. “The same thing is happening on the Twitter accounts being run in his [Khan’s] name. If the DG ISPR has given any reaction to it, then I believe it was a very measured reaction.”
The minister said Khan and PTI leaders had continued to target the army despite the sacrifices made by soldiers in the fight against militancy and during the four-day conflict with India in May.
He said PTI should recognize those sacrifices by supporting “our soldiers and martyrs” rather than “the terrorists.”
“Imran Khan speaks on every issue. Why did he not speak [in favor of the military] during the war [with India]?” Asif said. “Even during the war he kept targeting the military leadership. He continued to use inappropriate language for them.”
“People whose conduct is like this, whose language does not spare even the martyrs, how can they say ... that the DG ISPR should not say this or should not say that?” he continued. “He absolutely should.”
Asif added that Khan and his party had “changed their identity,” adding they were no longer standing with Pakistan.
PTI has not officially responded to his comments yet.
