Tag: Foreign Ministry

  • ‘Everyone was fleeing the site’: At least six people killed in Kabul bombing

    ‘Everyone was fleeing the site’: At least six people killed in Kabul bombing

    The Russian Foreign Ministry and Afghan officials have confirmed that two Russian embassy staff members were among six people who were killed in a suicide bombing near the entrance of the Russian embassy in Kabul.

    The attack was claimed by the Islamic State militant group.

    “As a result of the attack, two employees of the diplomatic mission were killed and there are also victims among Afghan citizens,” the ministry said.

    “I went to the Russian embassy to get a visa. We were sitting outside. The consul came and we showed him our papers, he guided us towards the entrance door of the embassy. Suddenly the blast occurred and I fell to the ground, “a man called Faiz Mohammad told Reuters.

    Ahmad Samir, a boy who suffered head injuries in the blast, said “There were so many injured people around, everyone was fleeing the site”.

    According to the police, the attacker was recognised and he was shot. “The suicide attacker, before reaching the target, was recognised and shot by Russian embassy [Taliban] guards,” said Mawlawi Sabir, the head of the police district.

    Police said the attacker was shot dead by armed guards as he approached the embassy gate.

    The bombing appeared to be the first to target a foreign diplomatic mission in Kabul since the Taliban takeover in 2021.

    Russia is one of the few countries to have maintained an embassy in Kabul after the Taliban took over the country more than a year ago.

    It is pertinent to mention that Moscow does not officially recognise the Taliban’s government, however, they have been in talks with officials over an agreement to supply gasoline and other commodities.

  • Pakistan rescues woman in love gone wrong, saves wife left in Indian jail by husband

    Pakistan rescues woman in love gone wrong, saves wife left in Indian jail by husband

    Pakistan has issued a nationality certificate, which will lead to becoming a citizen of Pakistan, to a stateless woman, Sumaira who has been stranded in India for four years. It was issued after verification by National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and her family. Pakistan Interior Minister has sent her nationality certificate to Foreign Ministry.

    Pakistan High Commission in India, New Delhi will issue travel documents and she will be able to come to Pakistan with her daughter who is four-years-old.

    According to her lawyer, Sohana Biswapatna, Sumaira was born in Qatar to Pakistani parents who moved from Karachi for employment. She married an Indian Muslim for love in Qatar without the consent of her parents. She illegally moved to India with her husband in 2016.

    Sumaira and her husband were arrested in 2017. However, her husband, who faced the charges of facilitating a foreign intruder, was released on bail after a few months. She remained in jail.

    She gave birth to a daughter in prison.

    The message she sent through her lawyer to BBC, “I have been punished by law for the mistake I made, but my sorrows and pains are not diminishing. The family had already separated, but now the husband in India has also turned away. At the moment, my only recourse is my country, Pakistan.”

    According to Sumaira, she wanted to confess her crime but her husband stopped her from giving a statement. The husband thought that India would deport her if she confessed. He was trying to find a way to release her from jail and settle her in India.

    Her case was stalled in India for three years as she did not confess to her crime.

    Her husband stopped visiting her and attending her calls without any explanation around after two to three years. After losing hope of reunion, she confessed to her crime.

    She was sentenced to a three year imprisonment, which she has already completed.

    Currently, she is living in a state shelter in Bengaluru, Karnataka, a state of India.

  • PM chastises envoys for indifferent attitude towards expats

    PM chastises envoys for indifferent attitude towards expats

    Prime Minister Imran Khan virtually addressed Pakistani ambassadors and high commissioners from across the globe on Wednesday.

    PM tweeted that he told all Pakistani missions abroad that their priority “must be the welfare and well-being of our greatest asset, overseas Pakistanis”.

    “Overseas Pakistanis are precious assets of the country,” the premier said, adding that it is unfortunate that Pakistani ambassadors do not treat them well.

     He read out complaints received on Citizens Portal and condemned the “callousness and insensitivity” displayed by embassy workers.

    “Expats face unnecessary delays and complications in availing routine services,” PM Imran said. He further added that complain resolution of the embassy is mostly firefighting and lacks a passion to solve these issues. “The job of embassies is to serve their citizens.”

    PM had recently recalled Pakistan’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Raja Ali Ejaz and six staff members after reports of their alleged mistreatment of the Pakistani expat community surfaced. The Foreign Office said there is zero tolerance for any lapse in public service delivery. “The feedback provided by Pakistani expats living in Saudi Arabia was shocking,” said PM. He added that an indifferent attitude towards the expat community is “unforgivable”.

    PM Imran in particular acknowledged the services of labour working abroad in tough conditions . “These workers deserve our utmost respect and the government will not spare anyone misbehaving with them.”

    Former diplomats react to PM’s comments

    Former Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua tweeted she was deeply dismayed at the unwarranted criticism of the foreign ministry.

    Former Foreign Secretary and Ambassador of Pakistan to the US Jalil Abbas Jilani does not completely agree with PM Imran. In a tweet, the former diplomat said that he wished the PM was properly briefed about working of Missions. “Services like attestation of degrees, marriage certificates, licenses etc are referred to HEC, Interior or Provincial govts for verification. You don’t get timely response. Hence delays. Blaming envoys unfair.”

    Jilani also said that the foreign service of Pakistan suffers from “decades of neglect, political paralysis and resource constraints”.

    Jilani and Janjua were not the only former diplomats to be irked by PM’s comments. Former Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir also tweeted that PM’s ire and critique of the foreign ministry and envoys is misplaced.

  • Khashoggi: Pakistan in solidarity with KSA while world demands holding MBS accountable

    Khashoggi: Pakistan in solidarity with KSA while world demands holding MBS accountable

    While rest of the world demands that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman be held accountable for journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, Pakistan has said it stands in solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

    “We have noted that the Saudi government termed Jamal Khashoggi’s murder as an ‘abhorrent crime’ and a ‘flagrant violation of the Kingdom’s laws and values’,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement after public release of the US Administration’s declassified intelligence report, containing its “assessment” on the killing of Khashoggi.

    The Saudi government has further underlined that it took all possible measures within its legal system to ensure that the individuals responsible were properly investigated, convicted and sentenced and that justice was served, the Pakistani statement maintained.

    “Pakistan recognises Saudi efforts in this regard and expresses solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” said the press release.

    It added that Pakistan underscores adherence to the rule of law, respect for national sovereignty, and protection and promotion of human rights by all states, in accordance with their respective constitutional frameworks and international obligations.

  • Pakistan rejects Indian statements on Gilgit-Baltistan status

    Pakistan rejects Indian statements on Gilgit-Baltistan status

    Pakistan has rejected the Indian Ministry of External Affairs’ irresponsible and unwarranted statement regarding Gilgit-Baltistan.

    A Foreign Ministry statement said India has no legal, moral or historical standing on the issue.

    “For more than 73 years, India has been in illegal and forcible occupation of parts of Jammu and Kashmir. Regurgitation of false and fabricated claims by India can neither change the facts nor divert attention from India’s illegal actions and continuing humanitarian crisis resulting from the perpetration of the worst human rights violations in Indian illegally occupied valley,” the statement said.

    Pakistan’s position on the Jammu & Kashmir dispute remains firmly anchored in the relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions, it said, adding that the final resolution of the Jammu & Kashmir dispute was only possible through the exercise of the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination by holding free and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the UN.

    “Administrative, political and economic reforms are a long-standing demand of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan. The envisaged provisional reforms reflect the aspirations of the indigenous populace of Gilgit-Baltistan,” it said.

    Pakistan called upon India to immediately end its illegal and forcible occupation of parts of Jammu and Kashmir and “comply with its international obligations by allowing the Kashmiris to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination through a free and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations as enshrined in the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.”

    India had earlier rejected what it called an attempt by Pakistan to bring material changes to a “disputed territory”, after Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan declared the provisional provincial status to Gilgit-Baltistan.

  • KYA BOLA? (Jul 21): Foreign Ministry’s $25,000 for bathroom decor to ‘Peeth mein chura ghonpnay wala Shehbaz’

    KYA BOLA? (Jul 21): Foreign Ministry’s $25,000 for bathroom decor to ‘Peeth mein chura ghonpnay wala Shehbaz’

    Following are some snippets that stood out from Urdu newspapers on July 21, 2020, which The Current takes no responsibility for.

    Foreign Ministry’s approval of $25,000 for bathroom decor

    It has been reported by Daily Jang that the Foreign Ministry has approved $25,000 for the decor of bathroom of Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations (UN). An amount of $50,000 has already been spent on the renovation of the official’s residence.    

    ‘Judges ko phone kr k marzi k faislay lenay walay‘

    Daily Jang has quoted Federal Minister for Communication Murad Saeed as saying,“Judges ko phone kr k marzi k faislay lenay walay humein jamhooriyat ka dars de rahay hain.”

    ‘Peeth mein chura ghonpnay wala Shehbaz’

    According to Daily Jang, Punjab Information Minister Fayazul Hasan Chohan has said, “Barray bhai aur bhateeji ki peeth mein chura ghonpney walay Shehbaz Sharif pr Bilawal aitebaar krnay se hichkacha rahay hain.”

    His statement came as PML-N President and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Sunday spoke to each other over the phone and discussed the prevailing political situation and the possibility of holding an All Parties Conference (APC) after Eid.