Current Final

Tag: Afghanistan

  • Hina Rabbani meets Deputy PM of Interim Afghan Govt

    Hina Rabbani meets Deputy PM of Interim Afghan Govt

    Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Hina Rabbani Khar, held a meeting with Deputy PM of Interim Afghan Govt. Abdul Salam Hanafi. Bilateral trade, connectivity & people-to-people contacts were discussed during the meeting.


    In the meeting matters of bilateral importance focused on political consultations between the two governments.

    She also held a meeting with Women Chamber of Commerce. During the meeting Pakistan expressed a keen interest in strengthening linkages between women entrepreneurs of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

    This visit is being perceived as important because it is led by a female minister and that this is a top Pakistani official’s first visit since the April government transition.

  • Pakistan Customs seizes 67 non-custom paid vehicles in an operation

    Pakistan Customs seizes 67 non-custom paid vehicles in an operation

    Pakistan Customs has impounded 67 non-custom paid vehicles in a crackdown against the smugglers in Quetta.

    67 non-custom paid vehicles, sugar, and fertiliser valued at approximately Rs336 million were confiscated in accordance with the Prime Minister’s goal to eradicate smuggling.

    The Customs team launched a crackdown in Nokandi, Quetta, and thwarted the attempt to smuggle goods across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

    Earlier, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) said on February 21 that non-custom paid vehicles worth Rs11.2 billion were seized between July 2021 and January 2022.

    During the July–January 2020–2021 period, smuggled goods worth a total of Rs35 billion were discovered, compared to Rs22 billion during the same time the previous year.

    Many people in Quetta continue to purchase non-custom vehicles despite the fact that they are illegal since they are much more expensive than legal or custom-paid vehicles.

    For instance, if a car is sold for Rs5 million at a dealership or local car market, it may be offered by smugglers for Rs2.5 million or even less. As these are smuggled vehicles, non-custom-paid automobiles are less expensive and lack the necessary paperwork or legal documents.

  • PM Shehbaz offers to talk to India but onus on New Delhi to take steps for ‘meaningful engagement’

    PM Shehbaz offers to talk to India but onus on New Delhi to take steps for ‘meaningful engagement’

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday he was “absolutely willing and ready” to engage with India for the sake of regional peace and prosperity, but the onus was on New Delhi to take necessary measures for “meaningful engagement“.

    While addressing the 6th summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia in Kazakhstan, the premier said, “I am absolutely ready and willing to have a serious dialogue and discussion with our counterparts, Indians, provided that they show sincerity of purpose and they show that they are ready to discuss issues that have really kept us at a distance over decades.”

    PM Sharif stressed that the people deserved that resources be diverted to their education and health.

    I want to leave behind a legacy of peace and progress

    “I want to leave behind a legacy of peace and progress for the prosperity of the coming generations of our region,” he said.

    “Pakistan’s first priority at the moment is to revive rapid and equitable economy,” he stated, regretting that issues that have kept the two countries apart had hampered the promotion of bilateral trade and investment.

    “This has to come to a stop,” he stressed, “but the onus remains on India to take the necessary steps for meaningful and result oriented-engagement.

    PM on Kashmir

    PM Sharif highlighted India’s unabated atrocities in Jammu and Kashmir for the last seven decades where Kashmiris faced the continued denial of their right to self-determination.

    He urged other countries to take notice of India’s “Bullet over ballot” policy as it blatantly quashed the United Nations Security Council’s resolution on holding a plebiscite in Kashmir.

    “India has become a threat to its minorities, neighbours and the entire region,” he said.

    Prosperous and stable Afghanistan is not only in the interest of Pakistan but also for the international community

    On Afghanistan, he said four decades of conflict took not only a heavy toll on the country but also upon Pakistan.

    Pakistan, he said, suffered immense damage to its peace and security with serious consequences in the shape of 80,000 casualties and billions of dollars in financial losses.

    The prime minister expressed satisfaction that after immense sacrifices, Pakistan was now able to control extremism and terrorism on its soil while managing to host four million Afghan refugees.

    “A prosperous and stable Afghanistan is not only in the interest of Pakistan, but also for the international community,” he said.

  • ‘Changing threat matrix of terrorism is need of the hour’: PM Shehbaz responds to Kabul suicide blast killing 19

    ‘Changing threat matrix of terrorism is need of the hour’: PM Shehbaz responds to Kabul suicide blast killing 19

    A suicide bomb attack on a classroom of hundreds of students preparing for exams in Kabul, Afghanistan on Friday killed at least 19 people.

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif, extending his condolences, said, “Deeply grieved at the loss of young lives in a horrific suicide attack at a learning center in Kabul. Words can’t express this sheer barbarism. We send our deepest condolences & most sincere sympathies to the bereaved families & people of Afghanistan.”

    He further tweeted, “As I stated in my address at UNGA, terrorism continues to threaten not just Afghanistan & Pakistan but also the world. The international community should not let its guard down. Strengthening global cooperation against changing threat matrix of terrorism is need of the hour.”

  • ‘Today’s India is changed’: Bilawal on getting no flood aid from India

    ‘Today’s India is changed’: Bilawal on getting no flood aid from India

    Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, in an interview with France 24, said that Pakistan is grateful for the global assistance it has received however the country does not want aid, it wants justice.

    He said, “Our message is that we don’t want to beg, we don’t want aid, we want justice. This is a global catastrophe as a result of global action and it requires a global situation.”

    When asked if India had offered any help and whether Pakistan had asked for any, the minister termed Pakistan-India relations as “complicated”.

    “We have a long and complicated history. unfortunately, India today is a changed India and is no longer the secular country promised by its founding fathers for all its citizens,” he said.

    He, further added that the country “is increasingly becoming a Hindu-supremacist India at the expense of its Christian and Muslim minorities not only within India but unfortunately in the disputed region of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).”

    He said Pakistan is seeing multiple challenges in the future such as health catastrophe, disease epidemics, crop shortage, livestock loss, food security, and more. However, he expressed hope saying, “Every crisis creates an opportunity and in this crisis, the opportunity is that we must build back in a more resilient way and greener way.”

    On Afghanistan and its tough rules and regulations on women, Bilawal said Pakistan had still not officially recognised the Afghan government.

    He said it would be in the Afghan government’s favour to fulfil its promises to the international community and its nation to gain legitimacy and a path to international recognition.

    When asked about the recent protest happening in Iran over a young woman’s death allegedly because of the morality police, Bilawal said he had seen the Iranian foreign minister’s response on the issue and said he trusted the neighbour to “keep to their word” for an incident inquiry despite “living in extremely difficult circumstances”.

  • Today marks one year since Afghan girls were banned from attending school

    Today marks one year since Afghan girls were banned from attending school

    United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres took to Twitter to urge Taliban authorities in Afghanistan to revoke the ban on girls’ education that was implemented a year ago.

    He said, “Sunday marks one year since girls were banned from attending high school in Afghanistan. A year of lost knowledge and opportunity that they will never get back. Girls belong in school. The Taliban must let them back in.”

    “It is profoundly damaging to a generation of girls and to the future of Afghanistan itself”, said Markus Potzel, the acting head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). The UN has called the ban ‘tragic and shameful.

    According to UNAMA, more than a million teenage girls have been deprived of education across the county.

    Earlier this month, dozens of girls protested in an eastern Afghan city due to the closure of schools for girls.

    When the Taliban seized power in August last year, they did reopen high schools for boys on September 18 but banned secondary school girls from attending classes.

    Education Minister Noorullah Munir termed this act a “cultural issue”. He said that many rural people do not want their teenage daughters to attend school.

    Earlier this year, the Taliban said that schools for girls would be opened after March 21 with the caveat that girls and boys must be completely segregated in schools

    However, schools were opened for a small period of time and again were shut down

    At the time, the Ministry of Education said that the schools would be closed until a plan was drawn up in accordance with Islamic law and Afghan culture.

    Despite the fact that the international community has on multiple occasions made the education of girls a key demand for any future recognition of the Taliban administration, the group has barred Afghan girls and women with certain restrictions including covering themselves from head to toe and not to travelling alone.

  • Pakistani qaum, yeh cricket hai bhei, racism check mein rakho

    Pakistani qaum, yeh cricket hai bhei, racism check mein rakho

    Sports brings pride and recognition to a country and for Pakistan, cricket is one of the most celebrated games. It brings both joy and heartache to millions of Pakistanis. With Pakistan and Sri Lanka playing the final of Asia Cup 2022, we wish both teams luck but we obviously want Pakistan to win! Pakistanis all around the world will be rooting for our boys in green. Cricket and our men in green are a source of continuous pride for the country but what we witnessed from the audience stands in the match between Pakistan and Afghanistan was nothing but disappointing at so many levels. The Afghanistan-Pakistan cricket rivalry is fast crossing the acceptable margins, even surpassing the age-old rivalry between India and Pakistan.

    Afghanistan and Pakistan faced each other in an important Asia Cup fixture in the Super Four round, where the stakes were too high. Afghanistan needed a win to keep their chances alive, while Pakistan needed to clinch this win to be in the final. Afghanistan was close to victory but the Pakistani team bounced back at the last minute, stealing the game away. The event witnessed some heated moments between Afghan and Pakistani players, charging up the spectators on both sides. Afghan fans purportedly indulged in verbal abuse and later ended up throwing seats at the Pakistani fans, prompting many observers to say the spirit of the game has been ‘tainted’. Sports fabs across the world sometimes show uncouth behaviour, be it cricket or football or any other game. It is always difficult to see one’s own side lose but it does not mean that fans of the winning team should be subjected to violence.

    While the cricketing rivalry between Afghanistan and Pakistan may be in its infancy, it has got all the ingredients for a heated contest courtesy the political history both countries share. After the disappointing scenes between the fans, there was an immense backlash against the Afghans. But the reaction of many Pakistanis was quite disappointing and downright racist. Pakistanis calling Afghans ‘namak haram’ — racist term often used to address Afghan refugees living in Pakistan — was not just uncalled for but also wrong. No one should have to bear verbal abuses and being called ungrateful or other names. Refugees deserve to be treated with dignity. This is what we also demand from western nations when it comes to Muslim refugees so why display racism against refugees in our own country? Also, to taunt an entire nation and another country because of the shenanigans of a few fans is just wrong. It is a game and one needs to accept both win and defeat with grace.

    We just hope that the teams and supporters watching the Asia Cup final today show resolve and grace. May the best team win.

  • Pakistan to import vegetables from neighbouring countries to overcome shortage

    Pakistan to import vegetables from neighbouring countries to overcome shortage

    After devastating floods ravaged the nation, Pakistani officials made the decision to import onions and tomatoes from Iran and Afghanistan due to the rising prices and imminent food crisis.

    The production and supply of vegetables and other crops has been impacted by the recent torrential rains and flooding.

    At a meeting presided over by Commerce Minister Naveed Qamar, the Ministry of Commerce made the announcement. The minister also examined the country’s supply of tomatoes and onions.

    To address the nationwide demand for these crops, the session voted to facilitate the import of onions and tomatoes from Afghanistan and Iran.

    According to The News, the panellists predicted that there will be a tomato and onion shortage in the nation within the next three months. They also stated that because recent flooding has harmed crops, a shortage and price increase are anticipated.

    The News reports that the importation of tomatoes and onions will help to uplift their availability and maintain their pricing.

    The Ministry of Commerce would collaborate with the FBR and the Ministry of National Food Security, it was decided at the meeting. The session also resolved to request reductions in taxes and charges from the federal cabinet’s Economic Coordination Committee for imported tomatoes and onions.

    Earlier, Qamar had emphasised the importance of taking quick action to make tomatoes and onions available to consumers and to stabilise the skyrocketing costs of these commodities. Due to a lack of supply in the market as a result of recent floods, the price of onions and tomatoes has reached Rs 300 per kg.

  • ’We never tried to oppress the media’: Imran Khan

    ’We never tried to oppress the media’: Imran Khan

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in his interview with The Guardian spoke at length about media freedom during his time as prime minister, forced disappearance in Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

    ‘We never tried to oppress the media’: Khan

    “In my time, we never tried to oppress the media. The only problem was that sometimes the 
 security agencies — three or four times we found out that picked someone up and immediately when we found out we would immediately have them released,” said Khan.

    They [security people] were responsible for picking up people: Khan

    “They [security forces] were responsible for picking up people, but according to them they were involved in this insurgency, which was going on in Balochistan and the tribal area bordering Afghanistan. So they would blame that, with some justification, because you could not convict terrorists in the courts because you wouldn’t get witnesses,” said Khan while speaking about forced disappearances and missing persons.

    Eventually Afghan women, the Afghan people, will assert their rights: Imran Khan

    “Eventually Afghan women, the Afghan people, will assert their rights. They are strong people,” he said. “But if you push the Taliban from the outside, knowing their mindset, they will just put up defences. They just hate outside interference,” said Khan about Afghanistan.

  • TTP leader Omar Khalid Khorasani killed in Afghanistan

    TTP leader Omar Khalid Khorasani killed in Afghanistan

    Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP) senior commander Omar Khalid Khorasani has been killed in the Paktika province of Afghanistan.

    “A vehicle reportedly carrying TTP Mohmand chief Omar Khalid Khorasani, aka Abdul Wali Mohmand, Mufti Hassan, and Hafiz Dawlat Khan, was targeted in Sharki village, near Margha, in Bermal district of Paktika province,” one Afghan official told The Express Tribune.

    Omar’s real name was Abdul Wali Mohmand and he previously headed the TTP in the Mohmand Agency bordering Afghanistan.

    It is pertinent to mention here that Omar was a member of the TTP team involved in negotiations with Pakistani officials, Pashtun jirgas, and recently with religious scholars over the past few weeks.

    According to Dawn, in July 2017, one of the UN Security Council’s sanctions committees, upon Pakistan’s request, approved the addition of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar to the list of entities and individuals subject to the assets freeze, travel ban, and arms embargo.

    The United States added Omar’s name to the US State Department’s Rewards for Justice wanted list in March 2018. The US had announced a reward of up to $3 million for information on him.