For the mutual benefit of the two friendly nations, President Asif Ali Zardari emphasised on Monday the necessity of further strengthening bilateral ties between Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the areas of trade, economy, aviation, renewable energy, climate change, and human resource development. According to a press statement from the President Secretariat Press Wing, the president discussed these opinions with UAE Ambassador to Pakistan Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Al-Zaabi during their meeting at Aiwan-e-Sadr. In his conversation with the ambassador, the president emphasised the need for further cooperation in the aviation sector to support the Pakistani diaspora in the United Arab Emirates, particularly the start of Airbus A380 commercial flights. He stated that PSX investments should be promoted to Emirati companies.
For the sixth consecutive policy meeting, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decided to keep things as they are by keeping the key policy rate at 22% on Monday. This was the first choice made by the just elected administration. It also occurs ahead of the last assessment of the $1.1 billion payout under the current Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which is scheduled for March 14–18. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the central bank met earlier today and examined recent economic developments, according to a statement from the SBP. The committee made the observation that even while inflation had significantly decreased, it was still “high and its outlook is susceptible to risks amidst elevated inflation expectations” in reference to the decision to keep things as they were.
During an intelligence-based operation in North Waziristan District on the night of March 17 and 18, security forces shot and killed at least eight terrorists, including a terrorist commander who planned the Mir Ali attack, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement on Monday. The military’s media wing claims that the operation was conducted in response to reports of terrorist activity. At least eight terrorists, including high-value target terrorist commander Sehra alias Janan, were “sent to hell” during the operation, according to the ISPR, following a fierce gunfight.
On Monday, Deputy Speaker Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah and Speaker of the National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq expressed gratitude to the brave Pakistan Army soldiers for their successful operation against terrorists in North Waziristan. According to a news release, he declared that the Pakistan Armed Forces and the entire country would keep fighting terrorism together. In addition, he reaffirmed Pakistan’s determination to help the Pakistani military force its mission of driving out terrorists from its territory. He emphasised that every Pakistani stood shoulder to shoulder with its military forces and recalled the valiant sacrifices made by members of the country’s armed forces. He gave the Pakistani armed forces a heartfelt homage.
Josep Borrell, the head of EU foreign policy, claimed on Monday that Gaza had become the largest “open-air graveyard” in the world as a result of Israel’s military operation. “The best outdoor jail before the war was Gaza. It’s the best outdoor cemetery nowadays,” Borrell declared during a Brussels meeting of EU ministers. “It’s a graveyard for tens of thousands of people and also a graveyard for many of the most important principles of humanitarian law.” Borrell again restated his charge that by preventing relief trucks from entering Gaza, Israel was using starvation as a “weapon of war”. “Israel is creating hunger,” he declared at a meeting for humanitarian aid. The 27-nation EU has had difficulty responding to the Gaza War as a whole.
In the wake of a fresh request from the Palestinian militant organisation that also demanded increased supplies into Gaza—where the first food shipment by sea arrived—efforts to bring an end to the Israel-Hamas conflict seemed to be resuming on Saturday. Israel declared that it would send a delegation to Qatar to continue negotiations on a potential agreement. Plans for a military operation in Rafah, where the majority of Gaza’s population has sought safety after more than five months of fighting and hardship, were also advanced by it. The World Central Kitchen team, a US nonprofit, said that they had completed unloading nearly 200 tonnes of food. It released a statement saying, “All cargo was offloaded and is being readied for distribution in Gaza.”
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif stated on Sunday that the nation’s future depended on its educated and talented youth, and that in order to provide high-quality education, the federal government would assist high achievers by offering scholarship programmes so they could attend reputable international universities. In a meeting with Ikramullah, a student from the Balochistan province presently enrolled in the ninth grade at Lawrence College Murree, the prime minister shared similar opinions. Students from the Qila Saifullah neighbourhood impacted by the 2022 flood were given the opportunity to attend the nation’s prestigious educational institution on the prime minister’s orders. The prime minister remembers seeing the destitute student at Qila Saifullah’s Khasnoob camp.
Attaullah Tarar, the minister of information, asserted on Sunday that the accounts criticising the Pakistan Army and the soldiers who were killed in North Waziristan the day before were created by the social media team of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and he threatened to take legal action against them. A minimum of seven troops from the Pakistan Army, comprising a lieutenant colonel and a captain, accepted martyrdom during their engagement with terrorists during their assault on a security station located in the North Waziristan District. Speaking about the terror attack, Tarar stated that sacrifices have been made by the Pakistan Army, police, and people in the fight against terrorism. “I denounce the dehumanising social media campaign initiated by a political party against the martyrs and their offerings,” the information minister declared on Sunday at a press conference in Lahore.
President Asif Ali Zardari has issued a warning, stating that anyone found guilty of terrorism in the nation will face appropriate consequences. “To my brothers who stand guard at our borders, I promise that the blood of our sons [who gave their lives to defend the country] will not go in vain,” President Zardari uttered on Saturday following his attendance at the funeral prayers conducted at Rawalpindi’s Chaklala Garrison for Lieutenant Colonel Syed Kashif Ali and Captain Muhammad Ahmed Bader. The President said, “We will avenge them [our martyrs].” Moreover, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, and Chief of Staff of the Army Staff General Asim Munir attended the burial rites.
Strengthening legislative and economic links between Iran and Pakistan was a topic of discussion between Iran’s ambassador, Dr. Amiri Moghaddam, and Speaker of the National Assembly, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, on Sunday. A news release stated that Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq reiterated Pakistan’s long-standing familial tie with Iran, which is built in shared religious beliefs, history, and culture. In order to boost the economies of both countries, especially those residing on both sides of the common border, he underlined the necessity of deepening these links even further by extending collaboration across all mutual areas of interest, particularly in energy and trade. The speaker emphasised how both nations’ strategic locations offer substantial chances for promoting trade and connectivity on a regional and worldwide scale.
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