Pakistan

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The lives of Afghan women and girls are being destroyed by a “suffocating” crackdown by the Taliban since they took power nearly a year ago, Amnesty International said in a report released Wednesday.

After they captured the capital, Kabul, in August 2021 and ousted the internationally backed government, the Taliban presented themselves as having moderated since their first time in power, in the 1990s. Initially, Taliban officials spoke of allowing women to continue to work and girls to continue their education.

ISLAMABAD, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Around 310 people have been killed and 295 others injured in separate rain-related incidents in Pakistan since June 14 as heavy downpours continued to lash the country, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said.

A total of 175 women and children are among the dead, the NDMA said in a situation report released Sunday, adding that the rains have partially or fully damaged nearly 8,979 houses along with 48 bridges and several shops across the country.

ISLAMABAD, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The Border and Health Services Pakistan has been strictly monitoring the entry routes to the country after the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the monkeypox outbreak an international public health emergency, the Pakistani Health Ministry said.

Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Abdul Qadir Patel instructed the relevant federal and provincial authorities to take necessary steps to barricade the outbreak of the disease in the country, the ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

ISLAMABAD, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Hamza Shahbaz from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Friday won the election in the provincial assembly to retain his position as the chief minister of Pakistan's eastern Punjab province, the deputy speaker of the assembly announced.

Shahbaz, son of Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, secured 179 votes against 176 votes received by Pervaiz Elahi, a joint candidate of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of former prime minister Imran Khan and the Pakistan Muslim League (PML), said deputy speaker Dost Mazari.

ISLAMABAD, Jul 21 (APP): Japan has removed Pakistan from the category of red-listed countries in relation to  COVID-19. 

“As a result of the efforts of the embassy of Pakistan, Tokyo, the government of Japan has removed Pakistan from the category of red-listed countries in relation to COVID-19,” a statement of the Pakistan embassy in Tokyo said. 

The new categorization will come into effect from July 27 onwards.

The precautionary measures against COVID-19 will remain in place. 

ISLAMABAD, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The government and people of Pakistan extended heartfelt condolences to the Egyptian government and people on the loss of lives and injuries to many in a tragic road accident in southern Egypt, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said.

"We express the deepest sympathies to the families of the deceased and pray for the speedy recovery of those injured," the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Hundreds of people have been killed in Afghanistan since the Taliban overran the country nearly a year ago, even though security on the whole has improved since then, the United Nations said in a report Wednesday.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan also highlighted the poor situation of women and girls since the Taliban takeover and how they have been stripped of many of their human rights under Afghanistan’s current rulers.

ISLAMABAD, Jul 19 (APP): Pakistan’s High Commission in London launched “The Legacy Project” to plant 7,500 trees across the UK and establish a welfare fund to celebrate the achievements of British Pakistanis during the last 75 years.

The Legacy Project was launched as a collaborative effort by the British Pakistan Foundation (BPF) in partnership with the National Trust, World Congress of Overseas Pakistanis (WCOP), The Pakistan Society, and a host of other British Pakistani organizations.

ISLAMABAD, Jul 19 (APP): Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Hissein Brahim Taha on Tuesday received Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the OIC Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh and discussed the areas of mutual cooperation.

Held at the OIC headquarters in Jeddah, the meeting was a follow-up on the implementation of the resolutions adopted by the 48th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers held in Islamabad, on March 23, 2022.

ISLAMABAD, Jul 18 (APP): Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood on Monday urged the Afghan government to address the international community’s expectations regarding inclusivity, respect for the rights, including girls’ education; and effective counter-terrorism measures.

The foreign secretary, in a meeting with China’s Special Envoy on Afghanistan Ambassador Yue Xiaoyong, also stressed the importance of de-freezing of Afghanistan’s foreign reserves.