����ֱ��

ISLAMABAD: ����ֱ��’s aid agency King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) continues its humanitarian activities in crisis-hit countries, particularly targeting vulnerable families and communities.

In Syria, it distributed 393 food parcels to displaced families from As-Suwayda Governorate to Daraa Governorate, benefiting a total of 393 families.

In Sudan’s Sennar State, it distributed 1,440 food parcels to displaced families in East Sennar, with 9,974 individuals benefiting from it as part of the 2025 Food Security Support Project in Sudan.

In Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, 135 food packages were given to Afghan returnees from Pakistan. The returnees are now at Omari Camp of the Torkham border crossing.

In Wadi Khaled, Lebanon, more than 3,700 displaced Syrians and vulnerable families in the host community benefited from the 752 food packages given under the KSrelief initiative

Meanwhile in Yemen, 1,350 cartons of dates were distributed in Salh District of Taiz Governorate as part of the 2025–2026 date distribution project.

KSrelief also implemented a technical training program on air conditioning system maintenance in Aden with 20 beneficiaries taking part in specialized workshops.

The program aims to empower underprivileged communities by equipping them with technical skills that improve their economic prospects and facilitate their integration into the labor market.

Aside from trainings, KSrelief also provided psychological support to 333 individuals in Aden through counseling sessions and specialized training courses. The activities were aimed at promoting mental health and alleviating the psychological impact of crises in affected communities.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has established separate immigration counters for foreigners at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport to reduce clearance delays, an official said on Sunday, with the facility to be extended to airports nationwide.

The development follows Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s directives to authorities this year to improve services at airports across Pakistan to facilitate passengers, businesspeople, tourists and overseas Pakistanis as part of the country’s efforts to boost tourism and foreign investment.

Pakistan, bolstered by a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program, is currently making efforts for export-led economic growth and has signed several agreements and memorandums of understanding with a number of countries, particularly those in the Gulf and Central Asia.

“Practical steps have been initiated to improve the immigration system and new immigration counters have been established for foreign passengers at Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore this week,” Mehmood Ali Khokhar, a Federal

Investigation Agency (FIA) spokesperson, told Arab News.

“With these new counters, foreign travelers will no longer face unnecessary delays in immigration clearance.”

Pakistan’s travel and tourism market is projected to grow at an annual rate of 6.75 percent between 2025 and 2029 to reach an estimated market volume of $5.53 billion by 2029, according to Statista, a German online platform that specializes in data gathering.

Similar immigration counters would gradually be established at all international airports across the country, according to Khokhar. This would also make the immigration process faster and easier for Pakistani citizens returning home.
“The purpose of these measures is to upgrade immigration services to meet international standards,” he added.