Browsing: International – Pakistan
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (L) stands with Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir prior to a quadrilateral meeting between the United…
Pakistan said on Thursday that there were no discussions about a military reaction from Islamabad under the Makkah agreement in response to the Houthis’ attacks on Saudi Arabia, but added that Pakistan will “act” when the “time comes”.The comments by Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesperson came in response to a question on how Islamabad plans to fulfill its obligations under a joint defence accord it signed with Turkiye and Saudi Arabia.The joint defence agreement signed last month stipulates that an armed attack on any one of the three countries will be regarded as an attack on all of them.”There is no such thing under discussion right now … When time comes (we) will act under the agreement,” foreign ministry spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said at a weekly media briefing.There are also no plans to expand the Mecca alliance at this moment, Khan added. Source link
Pakistan welcomed on Monday a decision by an international tribunal that a landmark water-sharing treaty remained in force, despite India's suspension of its participation.’Pakistan welcomes this finding by the Court that interim measures are warranted,’ the government said in a statement following the decision by the Court of Arbitration in The Hague requiring India to pause work on a dam project. Source link
The defence ministers of Pakistan and Kuwait at the signing ceremony in Islamabad yesterday. Pakistan and Kuwait signed the “Protocol Agreement-2026” yesterday, expanding military co-operation between the two countries. The agreement was signed by Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Kuwait’s Defence Minister Sheikh Abdullah Ali Abdullah al-Salem al-Sabah. It builds on the Defence Co-operation Agreement-2023 and covers training, capacity-building, border management and other mutually agreed areas. During their meeting, the two sides discussed prospects for military and defence co-operation, regional and international developments and issues of common interest, as well as efforts to support regional security, stability and their bilateral strategic partnership. Kuwait’s Ministry of Defence described the agreement as a milestone in bilateral military ties, establishing a framework to enhance operational co-ordination, exchange expertise and improve the readiness and integration of the two armed forces. The accord is the latest step in Pakistan’s expanding defence partnerships in the Gulf. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement in Riyadh on September 17 last year. The pact sought to deepen defence co-operation and joint deterrence and stipulated that any aggression against either country would be considered aggression against both. That bilateral framework was followed on August 7, this year by the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement which grouped Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye. The trilateral pact similarly states that an armed attack against any one of the three countries would be regarded as an attack against all. Its stated objectives include strengthening collective security and promoting peace, security and stability in the region and beyond. Source link
The death toll from a fire that broke out Wednesday morning at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in the capital Islamabad has risen to 15 newborns, Pakistani medical sources said.Pakistani media, citing hospital sources, reported that ten women and seven children were rescued from the hospital following the blaze.A rescue official said earlier that the fire broke out at around 7:00 a.m. in the maternity and gynecology ward after and air-conditioning units reportedly exploded. Source link
This handout picture provided by Iran’s parliament speaker office shows Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (R) receiving Pakistan’s army chief Syed Asim Munir (L) in Tehran on…
Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan was transferred back to jail yesterday, authorities said, hours after the popular politician was taken to hospital for court-ordered medical checks.The Supreme Court ordered on Tuesday that Khan, 73, be taken to the private Shifa International Hospital in the capital Islamabad for treatment, after his lawyers filed a petition over health concerns.The ex-cricket captain and his wife Bushra Bibi, who is also his spiritual guide, were both sentenced late last year to 17 years in prison in a case Khan argues was politically motivated.Information Minister Attaullah Tarar wrote on X that Khan was taken to a public hospital instead of Shifa, blaming the “security situation” caused by supporters at the private clinic.”A team of qualified doctors, including an ophthalmologist, a cardiologist and a physician, conducted a detailed examination of him and declared him medically fit,” Tarar said.”After the completion of this entire process, he was transferred back to Adiala Jail.”Provincial MP Sohail Afridi, a senior leader in Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, criticised the handling of the hospital visit.The authorities “don’t even take the court seriously”, Afridi told a news conference in Islamabad.”This is against the whole judicial system,” he added, saying the party would “file a contempt of court case”.Hundreds of police, some wielding sticks, were deployed near Shifa late on Thursday, with roads leading to the hospital cordoned off ahead of the expected transfer.Dozens of supporters had waited outside the hospital.The court had warned against public gatherings on the hospital grounds or the use of information about Khan’s health for political gain, cautioning that any breaches could lead to the order being reversed.The next court hearing was set for September 16.The former prime minister received eye treatment at the same public hospital earlier this year, with his family and lawyer saying at the time that he had lost most of the vision in his right eye.Khan’s sister Uzma Khan, a medical doctor, was present during Friday’s examination.She told reporters at the same news conference Afridi spoke at that her brother “kept saying, ‘I am not OK. I have no books, no human contact'”.”Only his eye was checked, nothing else,” she added.”We are not satisfied with the treatment. The hypertension is due to the lack of human contact. Solitary confinement is torture, and Khan has been subjected to it for the past 10 months.”Khan’s personal physician, Faisal Sultan, whom the court said would be involved with the medical checks, told the news conference he had waited at Shifa hospital during the night before being told Khan would not be taken there.Haleem Adil Sheikh, a senior PTI leader, told AFP there was hope in the party that Khan “would receive better treatment” after the court order.But after changing the hospital and then moving Khan “back to jail, we’ve lost that hope as well”, he said.Khan was prime minister from 2018 to 2022 before being removed in a no-confidence vote during a political crisis over tensions between his government and the powerful military establishment.He has since faced multiple legal cases on corruption and other charges, which Khan and his PTI party maintain are politically motivated.His arrest triggered nationwide protests in May 2023, some of which turned violent and led to hundreds of arrests. Source link
Former Pakistan’s prime minister Imran Khan gestures as he speaks during an interview with AFP at his residence in Lahore. (AFP/File Photo) The Pakistani government challenged yesterday a Supreme Court order to move jailed former prime minister Imran Khan to a private hospital, a petition filed with the court showed. The move could dash the hopes of Khan’s party and family, who have been calling for him to be given access to healthcare and visitation rights, and also spark public discontent over the treatment of the hugely popular cricketer-turned-politician. Khan, 73, has been in jail in the garrison city of Rawalpindi since August 2023, convicted in a string of cases that he says were politically driven after he fell out with the country’s powerful military and was removed from office the previous year. The Supreme Court order, seen by Reuters, had on Tuesday directed the government to move Khan to the private Shifa International Hospital in the capital Islamabad within two days. It also specified that he be given access to his personal physician. “This order is not within four walls of the law,” Pakistan’s Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said in a video-recorded statement issued on Tuesday night. In its petition, the government said moving a convicted felon to a private hospital based “on a report which does not disclose any condition requiring immediate medical treatment will severely disturb the whole criminal justice system.” “If the interim order is not recalled it will open a flood gate of prisoners seeking similar relief, which under the prevalent law cannot be granted,” it added. Khan’s sons have repeatedly expressed concern regarding his deteriorating health, while his lawyers have said he has lost significant vision in his right eye while in prison. His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has welcomed the order, saying it should be implemented “immediately, fully, and without delay”.The court order also directed the authorities to ensure a telephone call twice a week between Khan and his two sons, who live in London. His younger son, Kasim, said his health was “all that mattered”.“We hope the government adheres to the court orders…allows calls and issues our visas to Pakistan simply so we can come and see him,” he said in a statement shared with Reuters.Kasim and his older brother Sulaiman — raised in Britain after Khan’s divorce from their mother, British socialite and filmmaker Jemima Goldsmith — have not seen their father since 2022 in the absence of a visa. Since he lost power in a parliamentary no-confidence vote, Khan has faced multiple cases, including over state gifts, instigating violent attacks on military and state installations, and an accusation of an unlawful marriage. All convictions but one have been suspended or overturned, with appeals pending. He denies wrongdoing. PTI won power in 2018 and retains a large support base across key provinces but was stripped of its election symbol ahead of elections in 2024.Its candidates, who were forced to contest as independents, won the most seats in the election but fell short of the majority needed to form a government. Source link
Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan speaks with Reuters during an interview, in Lahore. (Reuters/File Photo) The Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered yesterday that former prime minister Imran Khan be moved to hospital from jail, meeting a longstanding demand of his party and family, who had raised concerns about his health.Cricketer-turned-politician Khan, 73, has been in jail in the garrison town of Rawalpindi since August 2023, convicted in a string of cases that he says were politically driven following his ouster in 2022. His sons repeatedly expressed concern regarding his deteriorating health last year, with his lawyers saying he had lost significant vision in his right eye while in prison.”Mindful of the fundamental right, we are issuing this order to ensure health and safety of the prisoner,” said Justice Shahid Waheed, head of the three-judge bench that heard the petition.The court directed that Khan be moved to Shifa International Hospital in the capital Islamabad within 48 hours and remain there until September 16, Khan’s spokesperson Naeem Haider Panjutha said on X. It also ordered the creation of a medical panel for his treatment, including a cardiologist, general medicine specialist, eye specialist and Khan’s personal physician.Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party welcomed the order, saying it should be implemented “immediately, fully, and without delay”.”We wish it had happened sooner so his eye and general health would not have deteriorated this much,” PTI spokesperson Zulfikar Bukhari said.The party also appealed to its members and Khan’s supporters not to gather outside the hospital, in accordance with the court’s order.NO REACTION FROM GOVERNMENTThere was no reaction from the government to the court order and the information and interior ministries did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. Khan’s younger son, Kasim, said his health was “all that mattered”. “We hope the government adheres to the court orders…allows calls and issues our visas to Pakistan simply so we can come and see him,” he said in a statement shared with Reuters. Kasim and his older brother Sulaiman — raised in Britain after Khan’s divorce from their mother, British socialite and filmmaker Jemima Goldsmith — have not seen their father since 2022 in the absence of a visa. Since he lost power in a no-confidence vote, Khan has faced multiple cases, including over state gifts and an accusation of an unlawful marriage. Some convictions have been suspended or overturned, with appeals pending. He denies wrongdoing.Khan’s initial arrest in May 2023 sparked protests that saw hundreds of people attacking state buildings and rampaging through military installations.His supporters have similarly taken to the streets on several occasions in the years since to demand his release. Cricket greats from around the world, including from across the border in rival India, demanded better treatment for Khan in February, expressing “deep concern” about his prison conditions.The government had denied allegations of mistreatment.PTI won power in 2018 and retains a large support base across key provinces but was stripped of its election symbol ahead of the 2024 vote.Its candidates, who were forced to contest as independents, won the most seats in the election but fell short of the majority needed to form a government. Source link
Pakistan said yesterday the United States and Iran were close to “some sort” of deal despite reports of new attacks on shipping in regional waters. The comments offered some hope that Iran and the US can end a stalemate that has in effect blocked the vital waterway, through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flowed before the war. Prospects for a deal had appeared to dim on Monday after the sides’ latest remarks and demands. In an interview with Bloomberg News, Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said: “Things are shaping up again in favour of a peace arrangement or a deal.”“The signals in the last two three days are that we are close to some sort of an arrangement.” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in Tehran yesterday, Araghchi’s Telegram channel said, without providing further details.Pakistan and Qatar have been the main mediators in the conflict in which thousands have been killed — mainly in Iran and Lebanon — since US and Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28. Source link