Pakistan has been reaching out to all Afghan stakeholders as part of its facilitative efforts to ensure progress towards an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political settlement in Afghanistan. The visit to Pakistan of Dr Abdullah Abdullah, the chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation of Afghanistan, in September, and that of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former Mujahideen leader and two-time PM during the 1990s, in November came in the same context. Prime Minister Imran Khan…
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edit in The Frontier Post / December 22, 2020Pakistan and Iran Inaugurated a new official border crossing point of Rimadan-Gabd on Saturday. The new crossing points connects Rimadan, Iranian town and Gabd, a border town of Pakistan. The inauguration ceremony was attended by high government dignitaries from both Sides. Ms. Zubaida Jalal, Pakistan Minister for Defense Production and Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mohammad Eslami represented their countries at this occasion. Pakistan and…
Surely it’s no coincidence that Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi just concluded a very successful tour of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Prime Minister Imran Khan received the Saudi ambassador just when the news cycle was full of chatter of a possible breakdown in relations between Pakistan and the Gulf brethren states. The bit about Pakistan having to pay back some billions owed to Saudi Arabia, for which it had to seek China’s help…
Pakistan has a history of decades of warm relations with the Gulf countries which has benefitted both sides. The agreement about the return of Gwadar to Pakistan from Oman was a landmark event under Prime Minister Feroz Khan Noon. Pakistan provided manpower that played a significant role in the massive development of the Gulf region’s infrastructure, trained its military personnel and helped set up airlines in the Gulf. The Gulf provided jobs to tens of…
IN the field of international relations, sometimes differences between traditional allies do crop up, and it requires deft diplomacy to resolve these issues before they start to have a damaging effect on relations. Concerning the suspension of UAE visas for Pakistanis — as well as around a dozen other mostly Muslim-majority states — that took effect last month, the Emirati government has assured Pakistan that the curbs are “temporary”. The foreign minister was recently in…
The writer is a lawyer, formerly practising and teaching law in Lahore, and currently based in Singapore. He holds an LLM from New York University where he was a Hauser Global Scholar.Why must children suffer for this country to realise its mistakes? The list of children we have failed is long: Zainab Ansari, Malala Yousafzai, Aitzaz Hasan, the children of APS Peshawar. They had to suffer for the sins of this country’s rulers and elite…
The writer is Dawn’s external ombudsman and an author.NOTWITHSANDING the positive outcome of the two-day conference of Islamic foreign ministers in Niger’s capital last month, Pakistan need not be euphoric nor forget some of the fundamental differences between our pan-Islamic sentiments and those of the other members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation which are a little less zealous about it. At the same time, let us not confuse the ummah with the OIC. The…
The writer is an executive producer, Geo News and editor of Jang – The Economist annual edition.Human rights violations arising specifically from panchayats/jirgas (village councils) in Pakistan are signs of the times to come. Why panchayats/jirgas in particular? Because they are a microcosm of large swathes of our non-urban society, and poster cases of human apathy. While present-day panchayats are marginally effective in small civic disputes, these village councils almost always favor the rich and…
We have for some weeks been warning about one of the worst gas crises in years hitting the country this winter. Citizens are now beginning to feel what this may look like. The Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) has said that CNG supply to pumping stations in Sindh and Balochistan will be stopped for two days in a week, Saturday and Monday, although the SSGC says that as full as possible a supply will be…
The writer is a former ambassador to the US, UK and UN.THE evolving political situation in the country confronts both the government and opposition with difficult dilemmas. The decisions that followed the PDM’s Lahore rally and the atmosphere its combative campaign has created can be consequential in the days to come. The confrontation between the government and opposition continues to polarise the country and reinforce a fraught environment. Both sides have ruled out any dialogue…
Insufficient gas: Editorial in Dawn, 22 Dec 2020
SEVERAL gas consumers are facing shortages and a drop in pressure in Punjab and KP in spite of major cuts in supply to the power and transport sectors as well as captive plants in the industry. The factors behind the current gas shortages are said to be an increased demand for gas for heating and cooking at home as temperatures fall, delay in the arrival of an LNG vessel, and higher gas retentions allowed to…