Pakistan calls for enhancing aid, educational assistance for Palestinians
Pakistan calls for enhancing aid, educational assistance for Palestinians/node/2604455/pakistan
Pakistan calls for enhancing aid, educational assistance for Palestinians
Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar chairs a high-level meeting to review the status of ongoing assistance provided by Pakistan to the Palestinian people, in Islamabad on June 14, 2025. (Photo courtesy: MOFA)
ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday stressed the need to enhance humanitarian relief and educational assistance for Palestinians bearing the brunt of Israel’s military operations in Gaza and the West Bank, the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement.
The Palestinian death toll from the 20-month Israel-Hamas war has passed 55,000, the Gaza Health Ministry said this week. Israeli forces have destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displaced about 90 percent of its population and in recent weeks have transformed more than half of the coastal territory into a military buffer zone that includes the now mostly uninhabited southern city of Rafah.
Pakistan has dispatched several aid consignments for the people of Palestine since last year and also granted scholarships and admissions to hundreds of Palestinian students in Pakistani universities since the war began in 2023.
“Reaffirming Pakistan’s unwavering moral, political, and diplomatic support for the Palestinian cause, the DPM/FM emphasized the need to enhance the provision of humanitarian relief to the Palestinian people as well as to extend educational assistance to the Palestinian students,” the foreign office said.
The statement was issued after Dar chaired a meeting to review the status of the ongoing assistance provided by Pakistan to the people of Palestine.
“The DPM/FM expressed deep concern over the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza & West Bank, resulting from Israel’s blatant violations of human rights,” the statement said.
The war between the two sides began when Hamas fighters killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack in Israel and abducted 251 hostages. More than half the captives have been released in ceasefires or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight and recovered the remains of dozens more.
Israel’s military campaign, one of the deadliest and most destructive since World War II, has transformed large parts of cities into mounds of rubble. Hundreds of thousands of people are living in squalid tent camps and unused schools, and the health system has been gutted, even as it copes with waves of wounded from Israeli strikes.
KARACHI: Pakistan has offered to supply tropical fruits, vegetable and cereal crops to China as it signed more than two dozen agriculture-sector memorandums of understanding worth over $4 billion, its national food security ministry said on Saturday.
The MoUs were finalized at a business-to-business (B2B) investment conference held in Beijing on Sept. 4, coinciding with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit.
The country’s food security minister, Rana Tanveer Hussain, held meetings with leading agri-industry companies on the sidelines of the conference, inviting Chinese investment in areas like mechanization, seed development, smart farming and precision agriculture to enhance productivity and strengthen Pakistan’s food security.
“Highlighting China’s $215 billion annual agricultural import market, Mr.Hussain said Pakistan can play a significant role in supplying tropical and temperate fruits, vegetables and cereal crops,” the ministry said in a statement.
“He stressed that Pakistan, as China’s closest neighbor and a ‘brotherly country,’ offers geographical proximity and competitive pricing advantages compared to imports from Brazil and other Western countries,” it added.
Pakistan is already receiving agricultural assistance from China after Sharif’s visit last year, when Beijing launched a program to train 1,000 Pakistani agricultural graduates in three phases.
The first batch of about 300 students completed training in Shaanxi province in July, focusing on advanced farming practices, while a second group of 300 departed for China in August.
The initiative aims to equip Pakistan with innovative techniques such as precision agriculture, biotechnology mechanization and modern irrigation systems.
The latest MoUs also come as part of broader Pakistan-China economic cooperation.
Islamabad is planning to float Panda Bonds in the Chinese capital market to boost finances. The national food security ministry’s initiative reflects the government’s continued effort to tap into one of the region’s largest markets as the country pivots toward export-led growth.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will host South Africa for a multi-format tour in October, with the first One Day International to be played in Faisalabad in 17 years, the country’s cricket board said on Saturday.
The tour marks the start of Pakistan’s new cycle in the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27.
South Africa, the reigning Test champions, will open the two-match series at Lahore’s Qaddafi Stadium from Oct. 12-16, the venue’s first five-day contest since its renovation earlier this year to stage the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
The second Test will be held at Rawalpindi from Oct. 20-24. South Africa last toured Pakistan in January 2021, when they lost a two-Test series 2-0.
“We are looking forward to welcome South Africa for the opening series of our ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 campaign,” Pakistan Cricket Board Chief Operating Officer Sumair Ahmed Syed said in a statement.
“Starting the new cycle against the current Test champions will provide quality cricket for our players and fans,” he continued. “The return of ODI cricket to Faisalabad after 17 years is a special moment. Iqbal Stadium holds a proud place in our cricketing history and we are excited to bring international cricket back to this part of the country.”
The PCB said in a statement following the red-ball matches, both sides will contest three Twenty20 internationals (T20Is) from Oct. 28 to Nov. 1, beginning in Rawalpindi before shifting to Lahore.
The tour will conclude with three ODIs from Nov. 4-8 at Faisalabad’s Iqbal Stadium, where Pakistan last played an ODI in April 2008, defeating Bangladesh by seven wickets.
TOUR SCHEDULE
Oct. 12-16: First Test, Qaddafi Stadium, Lahore
Oct. 20-24: Second Test, Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium
ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: The United States will send six flights carrying relief aid for flood-affected people in Pakistan, the military said in a statement after the arrival of the first consignment on Saturday, as three major rivers flowing from India continued to surge at multiple points with forecasters warning of fresh torrential rains until Sept. 9.
Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province has been battered by devastating floods since late last month, owing to torrential monsoon rains and major water releases by upstream India into the Ravi, Sutlej and Chenab rivers, killing 50 people and bringing the seasonal death toll in the province to 231 since June.
Punjab is also home to half of the country’s 240 million people and accounts for much of its wheat and rice production, creating food security concerns as initial estimates suggest 1.3 million acres of agricultural land have been inundated in the province amid the flooding of the three rivers. Nationwide, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said 905 people have been killed in rain and flood-related incidents since the monsoon began on June 26.
Earlier in the day, the US embassy announced in a social media post that an American military aircraft had delivered essential supplies for flood relief at the request of the Pakistani military, adding that its Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker extended condolences to the people of Pakistan, whose lives have been uprooted by the widespread, catastrophic flooding.
The Pakistani security forces along with other government departments have been doing rescue and relief work in most areas of the province.
“In response to the ongoing flood situation, the United States of America through Army Central Command (US ARCENT) has extended humanitarian assistance for the flood-affected population of Pakistan,” the military’s media wing, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), said in a statement.
“A total of six flights carrying relief consignments are scheduled to arrive in Pakistan, comprising essential items including tents, dewatering pumps and generators,” it added.
The ISPR confirmed the first of the six flights arrived in Pakistan earlier in the day, adding that the relief items were formally handed over to the army.
“The consignments will be moved to Army Flood Relief Camps for onward distribution among the flood-affected people,” it continued.
The NDMA also issued a statement during the day, saying its officials held two consultative sessions with a US Disaster Response Group, indicating the two countries are collaborating on flood relief.
“The discussion ... covered risk financing through contingency funds and insurance for rapid recovery, integrated search and rescue operations using advanced technology and the success of early warning systems, which enabled thousands to self-evacuate during the 2025 floods, reducing casualties,” it said.
“The US is committed to supporting Pakistan’s relief activities ... through logistic support, technical expertise and humanitarian assistance,” the statement added.
RIVERS RISING
Meanwhile, the Flood Forecasting Division reported a continued surge in river flows on Saturday afternoon, with the Chenab carrying 291,558 cusecs at Chiniot and 449,668 cusecs at Trimmu Headworks near Jhang, both classified as high flood.
Further downstream, Panjnad in southern Punjab was flowing at 384,124 cusecs, also rated high.
On the Ravi, flows reached 159,690 cusecs at Balloki Headworks south of Lahore and 97,242 cusecs at Sidhnai in Khanewal, both flagged as very high flood. At Shahdara, near the provincial capital Lahore, 103,160 cusecs were recorded, a high flood level.
The Sutlej remained the most critical, swollen by upstream releases from India. At Ganda Singh Wala near Kasur, 303,828 cusecs were passing through, classified as exceptionally high flood. Downstream levels included 137,232 cusecs at Sulemanki, rated high, and 103,465 cusecs at Islam Headworks, classified as medium flood.
Addressing a news conference, Director General of the Punjab Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said the surge at Panjnad was expected to peak at around 600,000 cusecs, adding that the flood wave of up to 800,000 cusecs was then projected to move downstream with additional water from the Indus River before reaching the Guddu Barrage in Kashmore district.
The flood water is expected to reach Sindh between Sept. 7 and 8, raising the risk of inundation in low-lying areas.
According to a situation report released Friday by the Sindh administration’s flood monitoring cell, 1,651 villages are likely to be affected and more than 1.6 million people are at risk, with 121,769 already displaced. The province has set up 528 relief camps and 155 medical camps, where over 33,000 patients have been treated. More than 360,000 livestock have also been evacuated.
Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon said evacuations were underway in low-lying areas a day earlier, while Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah instructed officials this week to take proactive steps to protect people and livestock, saying no life should be lost in the floods this year.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities said on Saturday they have vaccinated more than 19 million children in an ongoing anti-polio drive, part of a nationwide campaign to eradicate the crippling disease.
Polio is an incurable, highly infectious virus that can cause lifelong paralysis and can only be prevented through repeated oral vaccination and routine immunization. Pakistan recorded 74 cases in 2024, a sharp rise from six in 2023 and just one in 2021, highlighting the challenge of eradication.
Overall, the country has made major gains since the 1990s, when annual cases exceeded 20,000, reducing the toll to eight by 2018.
“All segments of society must play their national role in eliminating polio,” the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) said in a statement. “Welcome polio teams and ensure that every child under five is given drops in every campaign to protect them from the disease.”
The statement added more than 19.2 million children have so far received polio drops in the campaign that began Sept. 1 across 99 districts.
The breakdown included around 4 million in Punjab, nearly 8.4 million in Sindh, 3.96 million in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 2.16 million in Balochistan.
In Islamabad, more than 442,000 children were vaccinated, while figures stood at 112,000 in Gilgit-Baltistan and 164,000 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Efforts to eliminate the disease have been hampered by parental refusals, widespread misinformation and repeated attacks on polio workers by militant groups. In remote and volatile areas, vaccination teams often operate under police protection, though security personnel themselves have also been targeted during these campaigns.
The NEOC said the campaign has also been complicated by seasonal floods, which have forced authorities to postpone the drive in nine districts of Punjab.
It added that the vaccination push in Bajaur and Upper Dir located in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province will begin on Sept. 15.
KARACHI: Pakistani authorities have arrested 60 people attempting to cross illegally by sea into Iran, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said on Saturday, as the country intensifies its crackdown on human smuggling networks.
The official FIA statement did not specify why those detained were heading to Iran, though many Pakistanis, particularly manual laborers, seek employment opportunities there.
The government restricted overland travel to neighboring Iran earlier this year amid security concerns in the country’s volatile southwestern Balochistan province.
“Illegal attempts to travel to Iran by sea were thwarted, with 60 suspects arrested,” the FIA said in a statement, calling the development the result of a “major operation.”
The detained individuals mostly hailed from the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, though nine of them were from Gujranwala in the eastern Punjab province.
“The suspects were arrested in Jiwani,” the statement continued, referring to a small coastal town in Balochistan’s Gwadar district, located near the Pakistan-Iran border on the Arabian Sea.
“Four cases have been registered against them, and investigations have been initiated following their arrest,” it added.
The development comes amid a broader government push against human smuggling, which led to a series of deadly boat tragedies over the past two years.
These included shipwrecks off Greece in mid-2023, a December 2024 disaster near Greece’s coast, a January 2025 sinking off Morocco and two separate capsizings off Libya in early and mid-2025.
On the Iranian side, authorities have also ramped up action against undocumented people, fueled in part by security concerns tied to its military conflict with Israel.
Tehran has cited espionage risks and militant infiltration, particularly in the restive Sistan-Baluchistan province.
