The London-based Jammu & Kashmir Council for Human Rights (JKCHR) has filed a report with the United Nations to raise the issue of some 400 Pakistani women stranded in India for over a decade. Most of these women hail from the Pakistani side of Kashmir, and were married to Kashmiri freedom fighters who crossed over … Read more
ISLAMABAD: A consultative workshop on Innovative Financing for Agricultural Research was jointly organised by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFSR) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations to provide an opportunity to look at examples of financial mechanisms for research in Pakistan and around the world. Federal Minister … Read more
Samoa: The world must take urgent action on climate change at upcoming UN talks in Glasgow or low-lying Pacific nations will face a dire future, Samoa’s new leader has told AFP in an interview. Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, who took office as Samoa’s first female prime minister in late July, gave a stark assessment of the … Read more
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres thanked Pakistan and seven other countries for their support of continuing UN operations in Afghanistan, which is facing a major humanitarian crisis. “The Secretary-General is indeed very grateful for the generosity of member states – including Pakistan, Denmark, Kazakhstan, North Macedonia, Poland, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the United … Read more
BEIJING: China Special Envoy for Climate Change Xie Zhenhua held talks upon invitation with visiting US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry in Tianjin, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment said on Friday. The two sides conducted candid, in-depth and pragmatic dialogues and had a full exchange of views on key issues, including the … Read more
The UN Security Council passed a resolution calling for Taliban to facilitate safe passage for people wanting to leave Afghanistan, allow humanitarians to access the country, and uphold human rights, including for women and children. Thirteen of the 15 ambassadors voted in favour of the resolution, which further demanded that Afghanistan should not be used … Read more
Pyongyang: Nuclear-armed North Korea appears to have restarted its plutonium-producing reprocessing reactor in a deeply troubling development, said the UN atomic agency. The agency maintained that it’s a possible sign Pyongyang is expanding its banned weapons programme. The development of the 5-megawatt reactor in Yongbyon — North Korea’s main nuclear complex — comes with nuclear … Read more
As part of the humanitarian air bridge, the first cargo flight of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) carrying medical supplies of World Health Organisation (WHO) landed in Mazar-e-Sharif on Monday. The PK-234 (Boeing 777 AP-BHV), flew from Dubai and landed at the Mazar-e-Sharif Airport – the first international flight to the country’s fourth-largest city after the … Read more
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged countries to fulfill their obligations to prevent and prosecute cases of enforced disappearance, a “cowardly practice” which the coronavirus pandemic has made even more difficult to combat. The UN chief made the appeal in his message to mark the International Day honouring victims of this serious human rights violation, … Read more
Pakistan would like an “inclusive, broad-based government” in Afghanistan, but the question of recognition would arise only after the leaders of Taliban and other groups, now in talks, form a government, Ambassador Munir Akram said. “We are consulting with all the regional countries in order to have a coordinated approach on the issue of not … Read more
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has underscored that Pakistan will continue to play its constructive role in support of the efforts to promote peace and stability in Afghanistan. In a telephonic conversation with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the foreign minister appreciated the contribution of the United Nations in addressing the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. Antonio … Read more
Executive Director United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) David M Beasley on Thursday called on Prime Minister Imran Khan and appreciated Pakistan’s role in facilitating the work of his organisation in providing food assistance to the people in Afghanistan. The Rome-based WFP official also discussed the ways for the continued provision of humanitarian assistance to … Read more
The UN refugee agency says millions of Afghans caught in deteriorating situation in Afghanistan are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance and protection and must not be forgotten by the international community. “UNHCR remains concerned about the risk of human rights violations against civilians in this evolving context, including for women and girls”, Shabia Mantoo, … Read more
KABUL: The Taliban are going house-to-house searching for opponents and their families, according to an intelligence document for the UN that deepened fears on Friday. The Taliban have been conducting “targeted door-to-door visits” of people who worked with US and NATO forces, according to a confidential document by the UN’s threat assessment consultants seen by … Read more
DUBAI: Harnessing science, technology and innovation will be key to ensuring sustainable, inclusive and resilient food systems by 2030, Arab News quoted experts, as saying, ahead of September’s UN Food Systems Summit in New York. However, much needs to be done to ensure the world is prepared to feed a population that is projected to grow from … Read more
As the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged the group and all other parties “to exercise utmost restraint to protect lives and ensure that humanitarian can be addressed.” A statement issued to the UN press corps said that Guterres is following with deep concern the rapid turn of the events … Read more
TALUQAN: Taliban have captured Warsaj district, the last bastion of the Afghan government in northern Takhar province and further consolidated their position in the northern region, an elder of the district Hajji Abdul Malik said on Saturday. “Warsaj district collapsed to the Taliban fighters on Friday evening and the security forces based there retreated to … Read more
NEW YORK: Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Munir Akram rejected Afghan and US allegations of Pakistani support to the Taliban fighters making rapid advances across Afghanistan, saying that those claims were emanating from the “people in Kabul” trying to explain their national forces’ failure to resist the insurgents. “There is no support from Pakistan,” he categorically told … Read more
UNITED NATIONS: A United Nations climate panel has confirmed in its strongest language ever that the impacts of human-caused climate change are severe and widespread, and that while there is still a chance to limit that warming, some impacts will continue to be felt for centuries. “It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the … Read more
Pakistan on Saturday welcomed the statement by the spokesperson of UN Secretary-General, reaffirming the United Nations’ position on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said the statement reaffirms that the United Nations’ position on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is well-established and has not changed. “Pakistan particularly appreciates the timeliness … Read more
JEDDAH: The Consulate General of Pakistan organised an event to observe Youm-e-Estehsaal-e-Kashmir. Prominent members of the Pakistani/Kashmiri community, representatives of the ethnic and Arab media attended the event. The event started with reading out of special messages of President Dr Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. Key speakers included … Read more
ISLAMABAD: Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday called on the international community to hold India accountable for the usurpation of the rights of Kashmiris. In a statement on Youm-e-Istehsal, the PML-N president expressed solidarity with the people of occupied Kashmir on the second anniversary of India’s illegal unilateral revocation of the … Read more
UNITED NATIONS: As the coronavirus crisis continues to exacerbate restrictions on the government spending throughout the world, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has welcomed the decision by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to approve a $650 billion allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to “boost liquidity”. The UN chief issued a statement on the policy change … Read more
UNITED NATIONS: The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has called for an immediate end to fighting in urban areas, as the Taliban continues a ground assault in the south of the country. UNAMA said civilians are bearing the brunt of the violence as fighting enters cities, according to a post on its official Twitter … Read more
ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday, once again, urged India to take back its unilateral action of August 5, 2019 in Jammu and Kashmir, and called upon New Delhi to end oppression and state-terrorism in the occupied territory. “India must respect the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and let Kashmiris exercise their … Read more
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that a corrupt society could not make progress, whereas those countries made economic strides that had eliminated this curse from their societies. The prime minister said there was a rule of law in prosperous countries. “Corruption at the low level did not bankrupt a country, it had always … Read more
UNITED NATIONS: Two United Nations agencies, World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), have warned that in the next four months, conflict, coronavirus and the climate crises are likely to increase hunger in 23 countries, including Afghanistan. “Families that rely on humanitarian assistance to survive are hanging by a thread. When we … Read more
Pakistan on Friday categorically rejected ‘false, untenable and self-serving comments’ made by the spokesperson of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on the recently concluded elections in Azad of Jammu and Kashmir. “India cannot hide the fact that it is in illegal occupation of parts of Jammu and Kashmir,” the Foreign Office said in a … Read more
