Prime Minister Imran Khan is likely to restart his initiative of taking phone calls from the masses and giving them his response from May 11. The initiative is expected to restart when he returns from Saudi Arabia.
Khan is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia from May 7 to May 9. The issue of the release of Pakistani prisoners who are suffering in Saudi Arabia’s jails is likely to be highlighted by the PM.
This is the third telethon series to be done by PM Khan. He launched the event on March 28, which was a telethon for the Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme and also took calls from the general public on April 4th.
“It is the practical implementation of the promise made by the prime minister to the masses in his victory speech that he would be answerable before the people,” a PTI leader said.
Saudi Arabian authorities have passed a significant reform by appointing female workers at the Holy Ka’aba to perform various duties. The core responsiblity of the workers will be to serve female worshippers who come to pray and visit the Holy Ka’aba.
— الهيئة العامة للعناية بشؤون الحرمين (@AlharamainSA) May 3, 2021
According to details, the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques has appointed an estimated 1,500 females in different departments. A total of 600 women have been recruited in the Technical and Service Affairs Agency.
Previously, in a first, the Saudi Ministry of Interior had introduced historic reforms, appointing female security officers for the first time at the Grand Mosque.
According to the preliminary findings of IMF- Saudi Arabia, the Saudi female labour force participation rate is estimated to have increased by 13 percentage points to over 33 per cent over the past two years. This increase in percentage will help boost productivity, growth, and household incomes as these women become employed.
In a short period of just two years, the labour force participation rate of of Saudi women in the labour market expanded by an incredible 64 per cent in just two years.
Saudi Arabia is planning to add two Hindu scriptures Ramayana and Mahabharata to the national school curriculum.
As per details, the objective is to revamp the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) image according to Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman’s (MBS) Vision 2030.
Crown prince MBS wants to make Saudi Arabia culturally and religiously more dynamic and tolerant to fit in the global economy and to reduce its dependency on oil. It is an imperative initiative that is much needed to bring foreign investment to Saudi Arabia.
The report further stated that other cultural elements like yoga and Ayurveda will also be included in the school curriculum.
Besides literature from Hinduism, the curriculum will now involve the history and culture of other countries as well. The government has taken majors steps to overhaul the orthodoxy and bring cultural innovation after MBS took control in KSA.
A Saudi yogi, Nouf Almarwaai even tweeted screenshots of her son’s social studies exam with questions about Hinduism, Buddhism, and Hindu epics the Ramayana and Mahabharata. She is also dubbed Saudi’s first Yogiacharya and has even been awarded a Padma Shri by India.
The Saudi Ministry of Interior has introduced historic reforms, appointing female security officers for the first time at the Grand Mosque.
Pictures shared by the ministry show the women guards in security uniforms taking care of the safety of worshippers and pilgrims while ensuring all precautionary measures were being complied with.
“From the field, security of Hajj and Umrah,” wrote the Ministry in the caption.
Saudi Arabia’s recent move to allow women to climb the ranks in its internal security forces is one of the new reforms endorsed by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman bin Abdulaziz to advance women’s rights in the country.
Under his Vision 2030 initiative, Saudi women will be provided with several opportunities to participate in various disciplines and in roles previously allowed only to men.
Saudi Arabia has announced that only people immunised against COVID-19 will be allowed to perform the year-round Umrah pilgrimage during the month of Ramzan.
Al Jazeera, quoting the Saudi press agency, reported: “Immune persons who [have] received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine/immune person after 14 days of receiving the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine / immune person who has recovered from the infection will [only] be allowed to perform Umrah.”
It further said that “Umrah permits and visit permits for the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah will increase operational capacity during the month of Ramadan, which begins next week.”
The holy sites, which draw millions of pilgrims every year, are a key revenue earner for Saudi Arabia, which hopes to welcome 30 million pilgrims to the Kingdom annually by 2030.
A woman in Saudi Arabia has been fined 50,000 Saudi Riyals for miscounseling her friend and advising her to leave her husband and find a better one.
According to details, the husband will get the money while the woman has promised that she will not advise any married woman, regardless of her intentions, according to court records. Lawyers have described the court ruling as a unique judicial precedent.
The defendant’s friend’s husband filed a case against the woman for trying to destroy his marriage and wanted compensation for the stress he suffered because of this.
He stated in his complaint that the defendant badly counselled his wife and urged her not to listen to him, saying: “My wife’s friend incited my disobedience, by giving her advice that harmed our marital relationship.”
“She used to tell my wife ‘You should find someone better for yourself. Show him who’s the boss. Don’t let them push you around’,” he added.
On the other hand, the defendant said she wanted nothing but the best for her friend.
The court advised the partners to determine what advice they should take seriously and what to ignore, because “friends may ruin a relationship by giving bad advice out of jealousy”.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health has said that only people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 will be allowed to attend Hajj this year.
“The COVID-19 vaccine is mandatory for those willing to come to Hajj and will be one of the main conditions [for receiving a permit],” read a statement signed by the Minister of Health.
In 2020, the Kingdom reduced the number of pilgrims to around 1,000 to avoid the spread of the coronavirus barring Muslims from around the world from the rite for the first time in modern times.
In the same notification, Saudi Minister of Health Dr Tawfiq al-Rabiah said the government must be prepared to “secure the manpower required to operate the health facilities in Mecca and Medina”.
These facilities will be stationed at entry points for pilgrims, he said, in addition to a formation of a vaccination committee for pilgrims within Saudi Arabia.
“We have noted that the Saudi government termed Jamal Khashoggi’s murder as an ‘abhorrent crime’ and a ‘flagrant violation of the Kingdom’s laws and values’,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement after public release of the US Administration’s declassified intelligence report, containing its “assessment” on the killing of Khashoggi.
The Saudi government has further underlined that it took all possible measures within its legal system to ensure that the individuals responsible were properly investigated, convicted and sentenced and that justice was served, the Pakistani statement maintained.
“Pakistan recognises Saudi efforts in this regard and expresses solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” said the press release.
It added that Pakistan underscores adherence to the rule of law, respect for national sovereignty, and protection and promotion of human rights by all states, in accordance with their respective constitutional frameworks and international obligations.
Anchor Usama Ghazi, among other journalists with a presence on YouTube, has claimed that Saudi Arabia is desperate to improve ties with Pakistan as it needs to get closer to the new Biden administration in the United States (US); however, it seems that the civil and military leadership in Pakistan may have moved on.
Islamabad recently returned $1 billion to Riyadh as the second instalment of a $3 billion soft loan, as the country reached out to Beijing for a commercial loan to help it offset pressure to repay the last $1 billion in January.
“Now that Pakistan will no longer be under Saudi pressure but the Kingdom will be fearing missing out on a lot under a new US government; it is trying to improve relations with Pakistan that have suffered blows over the past few months,” Ghazi said in a YouTube video, citing Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s closeness with former US president Donald Trump as a major reason.
He went on to claim that a new world was being formed with Pakistan, China, Russia, Turkey and even Iran if Biden’s US removes Trump-imposed sanctions on the country.
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“Saudi Arabia is regretting not outrightly supporting Pakistan on the Kashmir issue against India and seeking back the loan […] but now the ball is in Pakistan’s court,” he said and added that leadership in Pakistan was no longer under any burden. “They have appointed Bilal Akbar as the new envoy [to Saudi Arabia] and Gen (r) Raheel Sharif is already there.”
While the journalist also mentioned the under-construction Iran–Pakistan gas pipeline and what impact would it have in the new world, it is relevant to note that Ghazi is not the only one to have come forward with such claims regarding alleged Saudi desperation for better ties with Pakistan.
Senior journalist Irshad Bhatti had earlier claimed that the Saudi government has refused to let former convicted PM Nawaz Sharif, leading to speculations if it was an attempt to appease the Pakistani government.
The holy city of Madina has been acknowledged as the world’s healthiest cities by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
As per reports, the holy city is believed to be the first city having a population of more than 2 million to be recognised under the organization’s healthy cities program.
The city’s integrated program included a strategic partnership with Taibah University to record government requirements on an electronic platform for the organisation’s review.
It gained the authorization after WHO team said that it complies with the global standards required to be included in the list of the world’s healthiest cities.
Meeting goals set by the Madinah Region Strategy Project and the launch of a “Humanising Cities” program were included in the criteria of the accreditation.
A total of 22 government, community, charity, and volunteer agencies helped prepare for the WHO accreditation.
As per the world health organisation, “a healthy city is one that is continually creating and improving the physical and social environment for its citizens”.
It also works on expanding those community resources which enable people to mutually support each other in performing all the functions of life and developing to their maximum potential.
