Pakistan minister reaffirms equal rights for minorities, condemns Gaza violence at Holi event
Pakistan minister reaffirms equal rights for minorities, condemns Gaza violence at Holi event/node/2598088/pakistan
Pakistan minister reaffirms equal rights for minorities, condemns Gaza violence at Holi event
Pakistan’s religious affairs minister, Sardar Muhammad Yousaf (fifth from right), attends a government-hosted Holi celebration in Islamabad, Pakistan, on April 22, 2025. (APP)
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s religious affairs minister reaffirmed the state’s commitment to equal rights for religious minorities, according to an official statement on Wednesday, while condemning Israeli military actions in Gaza during a government-hosted Holi celebration in Islamabad.
Speaking at the event organized by the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, Sardar Muhammad Yousaf said that minorities in Pakistan enjoyed full constitutional freedoms and equal rights.
He described Pakistan as a peaceful country where all citizens are entitled to benefit from protections guaranteed under the law.
“Religious minorities are enjoying equal rights and complete freedom,” the minister said while addressing the ceremony. “They have clear representation in the Senate, National Assembly and provincial assemblies.”
The minister also highlighted state-backed welfare measures for minorities, including dedicated funds for the upkeep of religious sites, a five percent quota for minorities in public sector employment and reserved seats in educational institutions.
Yousaf also condemned Israeli actions in Gaza, reaffirming Pakistan’s longstanding support for Palestinian rights.
“Pakistan has always raised its voice in support of the rights of the Palestinian people,” he said.
In recent years, Pakistan has sought to promote religious inclusion and faith-based tourism, hosting Hindu and Sikh pilgrims from India and abroad, and welcoming visiting Buddhist monks.
Despite these efforts, rights groups note that religious minorities in the country continue to face episodes of discrimination and violence.
Also addressing the gathering, Minister of State for Religious Affairs Keso Mal Kheel Das emphasized the role of minorities in Pakistan’s development and prosperity.
He voiced concern over what he described as the silence of international human rights organizations in the face of violence against Muslims in Gaza and Indian-administered Kashmir.
The Holi celebration was also attended by prominent members of Pakistan’s minority communities, including women and children.
Iran says it killed six ‘terrorists’ linked to Israel in province bordering Pakistan
Iranian media says the group planned an attack on a ‘vital’ site in eastern Iran, without providing details
Authorities say seven ‘non-Iranian’ suspects were involved in the main team, with no nationality disclosed
Updated 23 August 2025
AFP
TEHRAN: Iranian forces have killed six militants in a raid in the restive southeast, state media reported Saturday, saying they were members of a “terrorist” group linked to arch enemy Israel.
“During an intense exchange of fire with terrorists in Sistan-Baluchistan province, six assailants were killed and two others arrested,” official news agency IRNA said, citing a statement from the intelligence services.
The report did not provide an exact location or say when the raid took place.
Sistan-Baluchistan, which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, has long been a flashpoint for clashes between security forces and armed groups, including drug traffickers and separatists.
IRNA said there were “documents” indicating “the Zionist nature” of the group targeted in the latest raid, adding that its members had planned to attack a “vital” facility in Iran’s east, without elaborating.
The report said that “the main operation team” was composed of “seven non-Iranian terrorists,” but did not specify their nationality.
Two intelligence agents and a police officer were wounded in the gunfight, IRNA said.
Iran regularly reports deadly ambushes in the province targeting police or members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
On Friday, the Sunni jihadist group Jaish Al-Adl (Army of Justice), which Tehran outlaws as a “terrorist” organization, claimed an attack in Sistan-Baluchistan that killed five police officers.
On Sunday, Iranian state media said security forces had killed seven members of another jihadist group, Ansar Al-Furqan, also in Sistan-Baluchistan.
The province, which is home to a large Sunni Muslim Baluch minority, is one of the poorest regions of the Shiite-majority country.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Saturday his country wanted a “forward-looking” relationship with Bangladesh based on what unites the two nations, while calling for the revival of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation to help deliver peace and prosperity across the neighborhood.
Dar’s visit follows months of increased official contacts after ties began to ease in the wake of Bangladesh’s former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s ouster last year in a popular uprising. Hasina, widely viewed as close to India and critical of Pakistan, fled to New Delhi soon after her downfall, straining relations between Dhaka and New Delhi.
The shift also created space for Bangladesh and Pakistan – once a single nation until the bloody 1971 war of independence – to reset relations.
Dar, who arrived in Dhaka earlier today, is on the highest-level trip by a Pakistani official to Bangladesh since Hasina’s ouster.
“Notwithstanding the twists and the turns of history, the people of Pakistan have fraternal sentiments toward the people of Bangladesh and hold them in the highest esteem,” he said, as he addressed a gathering at the Pakistan High Commission. “We recognize and respect the sovereign choices of the Bangladeshi nation, and believe in a future where our relations are defined not by what divides us, but what unites us.”
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar arrives in Dhaka on August 23, 2025, on a two-day official visit to Bangladesh. (Handout/MoFA)
“I wish to underscore the strong desire of the government of Pakistan to forge a cooperative and forward-looking relationship with Bangladesh,” he added.
Dar noted the Pakistan-Bangladesh relations had seen “a number of positive developments” over the past year, citing significant progress across multiple streams of cooperation.
He pointed out that the frequency of high-level exchanges had increased, institutional mechanisms were being revived, economic and commercial ties were gaining momentum and educational and academic collaborations were being explored alongside cultural exchanges, describing the current phase as marked by “new energy and fresh enthusiasm.”
The Pakistani deputy prime minister added both countries shared common ground on several regional and international issues and reiterated support for reviving SAARC, a forum that has largely been dysfunctional since 2016, when India boycotted a planned Islamabad summit amid tensions with Pakistan.
No leaders’ summit has been held since. Pakistan’s push to revive the bloc comes as ties with India are at a low for both Islamabad and Dhaka.
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar arrives in Dhaka on August 23, 2025, on a two-day official visit to Bangladesh. (Handout/MoFA)
“South Asia, home to nearly a quarter of humanity, cannot afford to lag behind in regional cooperation and integration,” the deputy PM said. “We are hopeful that SAARC will be reinvigorated, and our distances will shorten.”
Earlier, Dar met leaders of Bangladesh’s newly formed National Citizen Party (NCP), a student-led movement that spearheaded the protests which unseated Hasina.
The party, formally launched earlier this year, has called for a “second republic” with a new constitution aimed at strengthening democracy and social justice.
Its emergence has reshaped Bangladesh’s political landscape, challenging decades of dominance by traditional parties and giving voice to younger generations.
Dar emphasized the need for greater interaction between the youth of the two countries.
As part of his outreach to political stakeholders, he also met a delegation of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party and discussed ways to strengthen bilateral relations between the two nations.
Additionally, he interacted with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party leadership and affirmed his country’s commitment to stronger ties on the basis of mutual respect and benefit.
The Pakistan deputy PM is scheduled to meet Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and senior officials including Adviser for Foreign Affairs Md. Touhid Hossain and Adviser for Commerce SK Bashir Uddin during his two-day stay in Dhaka.
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar said on Saturday the government had restored electricity in most flood-affected districts in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, reported state media, as the nationwide monsoon death toll climbed to 788 since late June.
Annual monsoons are vital for agriculture and replenishing water supplies, but in recent years they have also unleashed destructive flooding and landslides
The latest downpours, which intensified from Aug. 15 in districts such as Swat, Shangla, Buner and Swabi, killed hundreds across KP and raised fears of a repeat of the catastrophic 2022 floods that submerged a third of the country and caused $30 billion in damage.
More rain is forecast through the end of the month, likely to affect Islamabad, Azad Kashmir, KP, Punjab, Gilgit-Baltistan and coastal districts in Sindh and Balochistan.
“Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar says the electricity has mostly been restored in flood affected areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” Radio Pakistan said.
“Giving the latest updates about rescue and relief efforts … he said that out of sixty feeders, fifty-two have been restored in Swat, Shangla, Buner and Swabi,” it added.
Tarar also said the remaining eight feeders will soon be restored.
The minister said no national highways were blocked at present and federal authorities were assisting the KP government in reopening provincial roads.
He added that the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has been coordinating with provincial bodies, while the Pakistan Army has deployed units to reinforce rescue and relief work.
According to the latest NDMA situation report, the monsoon death toll in the country has reached 788, with over 1,000 people injured in rain-related incidents from Jun. 26 to Aug. 23.
KP has been the worst-hit, with 469 deaths, most of them caused by the recent cloudbursts beginning on Aug. 15.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has also instructed the disaster agencies to step up their activities in flood-hit areas, and prepare for the next two monsoon spells forecast by the weather authorities.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi said on Saturday any talks with India over sporting ties would only take place on an equal footing, stressing that his country would not seek negotiations with its neighbor.
Political tensions between the two nuclear-armed states, including a four-day military conflict earlier this year, have spilled into sports, with India announcing this week it would no longer allow any bilateral sporting clash with Pakistan. Instead, teams from both countries will only meet in multilateral tournaments.
Initially, New Delhi’s restriction was only limited to cricket.
“We are very clear that whenever talks [on sporting ties] are held with India, they will be on an equal footing,” Naqvi told reporters in Lahore when asked about New Delhi’s latest decision
“There will be no more begging for negotiations,” he continued. “That time has gone. Whatever happens will be on the basis of equality.”
The PCB chief also voiced hope that Pakistan’s players would put up a strong performance in their Asia Cup cricket clash against India, scheduled for the coming month in the United Arab Emirates.
Cricket, the most popular sport in both countries, has long been a casualty of fraught relations.
In recent years, the two boards have followed a “hybrid model” in which tournaments hosted by Pakistan had some of the matches shifted to neutral venues to accommodate India’s refusal to tour.
Pakistan, which urged India not to let politics overshadow cricket, sent its men’s team for the 2023 One-Day International World Cup in India.
However, this time round, as India prepares to host the Women’s World Cup, Pakistan will play all their matches in Colombo.
India has also hardened its stance further since the May military standoff, with New Delhi now issuing a formal ban on any bilateral sporting encounters.
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Saturday the country could not ignore the rapid growth of digital assets, pointing out that about 15 percent of citizens were already involved in the sector, prompting the government to work on a regulatory framework for virtual investment.
The minister’s remarks came at the Leadership Summit on Blockchain and Digital Assets in Islamabad, where he highlighted the need to harness emerging technologies to align Pakistan’s economy with global trends.
He said the government’s role was to provide a regulatory framework and enabling environment, while the private sector and youth were expected to drive innovation.
“When you see 20 to 25 million citizens of this country participating in this activity in one form, shape or the other … you cannot ignore that,” he said in his address to the conference.
He added the realization that “10 to 15 percent of the citizens of this country” were investing in virtual assets led to the genesis of the discussion on cryptocurrency in Pakistan.
Aurangzeb said the government had already established the Pakistan Crypto Council and the Pakistan Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority, whose inaugural meeting is scheduled on Monday, August 25.
A draft bill on digital investment and virtual assets is also being submitted to the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and will soon be moved to the National Assembly for approval.
The Pakistani finance chief described the expansion of digital assets as part of Pakistan’s entry into the “new economy,” stressing the importance of transparency, clear rules and learning from international models.
“I’m very clear that the private sector has to lead this country, and the government just needs to provide the ecosystem,” he added.
Aurangzeb noted it was vital for Pakistan to accelerate its economic journey by embracing new global trends, though he also maintained that “we must go into this with our eyes and ears open.”
