ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday invited jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to resume its reconciliatory talks with the government after it withdrew from the process this week, offering the formation of a parliamentary committee to probe results of the 2024 general elections.
Pakistan held its general election on Feb. 8, 2024 that was marred by a mobile Internet shutdown and unusually delayed results. The polls threw up a hung National Assembly and were followed by weeks of protests by opposition parties over allegations of rigging and vote count fraud.
Khan last week called on his party’s members and supporters from all walks of life to mark Feb. 8 as a “Black Day” and hold protests across the country to protest alleged rigging of last year’s polls. The call came amid renewed tensions between Khan’s party and the government, following the PTI boycott of the latest round of reconciliatory talks with the government on Jan. 28.
Khan’s party blames the government for the breakdown of negotiations, saying it did not release political prisoners and establish judicial commissions to investigate violent protests of May 9, 2023, and Nov. 26, 2024. The government blames Khan’s party for walking away from the talks “unilaterally” before they had a chance to respond to the PTI’s demands.
“I am absolutely ready in all honesty and with pure intentions that this dialogue moves forward,” Sharif said in televised comments after presiding over his cabinet’s meeting. “I feel that they [PTI] should come and sit, we are ready for a House committee.”
Negotiations began last month, and three rounds have been held so far. At the last meeting on Jan. 16, the PTI gave the government seven days to announce the truth commissions, a deadline that expired on Jan. 23. Subsequently, the PTI announced it was abandoning the talks process.
Sharif said his government was ready to bring all facts regarding the polls to light.
“The committee formed by Khan to probe the 2018 elections should complete its work and another be formed for the 2024 elections,” he said.
“Similarly, if you talk about the Nov. 26 protest, a House committee should be formed to probe the 2014 PTI party protest [against Sharif’s party] and the Nov. 26 one too.”
Khan’s ouster in a parliamentary no-trust vote in 2022 has plunged Pakistan into a political crisis, particularly since the PTI founder was jailed in August last year on corruption and other charges and remains behind bars. His party and supporters have regularly held protests calling for his release, with many of the demonstrations turning violent.
Khan’s first arrest in May 2023 in the land graft case in which he was sentenced last week sparked countrywide protests that saw his supporters attack and ransack military installations in an unprecedented backlash against Pakistan’s powerful army generals.
Although Khan was released days later, he was rearrested in August of that year after being convicted in a corruption case. He remains in prison and says all cases against him are politically motivated.
Pakistan PM invites Imran Khan’s party to resume talks, offers audit of 2024 elections
https://arab.news/mf5qk
Pakistan PM invites Imran Khan’s party to resume talks, offers audit of 2024 elections
- Pakistan held its general election on Feb. 8, 2024 that was marred by a mobile Internet shutdown and unusually delayed results
- The polls threw up a hung National Assembly and were followed by weeks of protests by opposition parties over rigging claims
Pakistan, other Muslim states raise alarm over Gaza situation after heavy flooding
- Cold winter rains have repeatedly lashed the sprawling tent cities, turning Gaza’s dirt roads into mud and causing damaged buildings to collapse
- The situation has been compounded by lack of sufficient humanitarian access, acute shortages of essential life-saving supplies and materials
ISLAMABAD: Foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other Muslim nations on Friday voiced concern over the situation in Gaza, following severe flooding triggered by heavy rains in the territory.
As 2026 begins, the shaky 12-week-old ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has largely ended large-scale Israeli bombardment of Gaza. But Palestinians are still being killed almost daily by Israeli fire, and the humanitarian crisis shows no signs of abating.
Cold winter rains have repeatedly lashed the sprawling tent cities over past weeks, turning Gaza’s dirt roads into mud and causing buildings damaged in Israeli bombardment to collapse. UNICEF says at least six children have now died of weather-related causes.
In a joint message, foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, expressed their “deepest concern” over the situation, compounded by lack of sufficient humanitarian access, acute shortages of essential life-saving supplies, and the slow pace of the entry of essential materials required for the rehabilitation of basic services.
“The ministers highlighted that the severe weather has laid bare the fragility of existing humanitarian conditions, particularly for almost 1.9 million people and displaced families living in inadequate shelters,” the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a joint statement.
“Flooded camps, damaged tents, the collapse of damaged buildings, and exposure to cold temperatures coupled with malnutrition, have significantly heightened risks to civilian lives, including due to disease outbreaks, especially among children, women, the elderly, and individuals with medical vulnerabilities.”
The statement came a day after UNICEF said a 7-year-old, Ata Mai, had drowned Saturday in severe flooding that engulfed his tent camp in Gaza City. Mai had been living with his younger siblings and family in a camp of around 40 tents.
They lost their mother earlier in the war, according to the UN agency.
Video from Civil Defense teams, shown on Al Jazeera, showed rescue workers trying to get Mai’s body out of what appeared to be a pit filled with muddy water surrounded by wreckage of bombed buildings. The men waded into the water, pulling at the boy’s ankle, the only part of his body visible. Later, the body is shown wrapped in a muddy cloth being loaded into an ambulance.
Foreign minister of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other states appreciated the efforts of all United Nations (UN) organizations and agencies as well as non-government organizations (NGOs) in continuing to assist Palestinian civilians and deliver humanitarian assistance under extremely difficult and complex circumstances.
“They demanded that Israel ensure the UN and international NGOs are able to operate in Gaza and the West Bank in a sustained, predictable, and unrestricted manner, given their integral role in the humanitarian response in the Strip. Any attempt to impede their ability to operate is unacceptable,” the statement read.
The foreign ministers reaffirmed support to President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza, with a view to ensuring the sustainability of the ceasefire, bringing an end to the war in Gaza, to secure a dignified life for the Palestinian people who have endured prolonged humanitarian suffering, and leading to a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.
“In this context, they stressed the urgent need to immediately initiate and scale up early recovery efforts, including the provision of durable and dignified shelter to protect the population from the severe winter conditions,” the statement read further.
“The ministers called on the international community to uphold its legal and moral responsibilities and to pressure Israel, as the occupying power, to immediately lift constraints on the entry and distribution of essential supplies including tents, shelter materials, medical assistance, clean water, fuel, and sanitation support.”
