Tag: US

  • US Congressman expresses concern over the flood crisis in Pakistan

    US Congressman expresses concern over the flood crisis in Pakistan

    United States (US) Congressman Gregory W. Meeks has expressed sympathies and offered condolences over the loss of hundreds of lives due to the catastrophic situation of floods in Pakistan.

    Meeks, who is chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, held a meeting with Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Masood Khan.

    During the meeting, Khan thanked Chairman Meeks for expressing solidarity with the flood victims, saying that the country is trying to deal with this natural catastrophe, reports Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).

    Khan also thanked the US for its financial assistance for the Pakistani flood victims and relief activities.

    Earlier, US Secretary Antony Blinken had announced $1 million to build resilience against natural disasters in addition to $100,000 in immediate relief for the flood victims of Pakistan.

    Meeks visited Pakistan in 2020. During the visit, he met Pakistani parliamentary and government leaders and members of civil society.

    On Thursday, the Pakistani government declared the ongoing flood situation in the country a “national emergency”. 

    At least 937 people have died in floods caused by heavy rains in Sindh and Balochistan provinces.

    According to the data issued by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), 234 people have lost their lives to rain and flood-related incidents in Balochistan and 306 people have lost their lives in Sindh. 165 people have lost their lives in Punjab and 185 have lost their lives in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

  • US firm to buy Pakistan’s Cloudways for $350 million

    US firm to buy Pakistan’s Cloudways for $350 million

    Cloudways, a Pakistani company that offers small and medium-sized businesses cloud hosting and software as a service (SaaS) capabilities, will be acquired by New York Stock Exchange-listed company DigitalOcean Holdings for $350 million.

    A large amount of the consideration, according to a business statement posted on Wednesday, would be paid over a 30-month period after the transaction closes in September.

    According to DAWN, this will be one of the largest acquisitions in Pakistan’s history due to the hefty amount of the transaction. According to the company, this deal will make workflows simpler for small and medium-sized companies that are seeking less complicated ways to develop and grow their digital operations.

    The projected revenue for Cloudways in fiscal 2022 is more than $52 million, which would indicate a three-year compound annual growth rate of more than 50 per cent.

    Since 2014, DigitalOcean and Cloudways have been strong collaborators. About 50 per cent of Cloudways’ clients are currently powered by DigitalOcean infrastructure.

    Serving a clientele that is both global and expanding, both companies will service more than 124,000 clients who make monthly payments of over $50, or around 84 per cent of the pro forma company’s total revenue.

    For specific small and medium-sized enterprises wishing to outsource their on-ramp to the internet, Cloudways offers straightforward on-boarding and day-to-day management.

    The company assists such organisations in offloading the challenges of cloud infrastructure so they may focus more on managing and growing their operations.

  • US refuses to comment on Imran Khan’s terrorism charges

    US refuses to comment on Imran Khan’s terrorism charges

    The United States (US) refused to comment on the terrorism case registered against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.

    “This is a matter for the Pakistani legal and judicial system”, said US State Department spokesperson Ned Price.

    “It is not directly a matter for the US and that’s because we don’t have a position on one political candidate or party versus any other political candidate or party.”

    Ned Price added that the US supports the “peaceful upholding of democratic, constitutional, and legal principles in Pakistan and around the world”.

    Read more: Rejected: White House says they have nothing to do with Khan’s allegation of a US-backed ‘foreign conspiracy’

    Imran Khan was booked under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) after he threatened Additional District and Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry and senior officers of the Islamabad Police. However, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) granted transit bail to Khan till August 25.

    The IHC also issued a show-cause notice to the PTI chairman today (August 23) and summoned him on August 31 in a contempt of court case.

  • ‘Absolutely no truth,’ PTI denies Imran Khan had a video call with US envoy

    ‘Absolutely no truth,’ PTI denies Imran Khan had a video call with US envoy

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan allegedly contacted United States (US) Ambassador Donald Blome via a video call. The alleged video call took place on August 4 (Thursday) around 1:45 pm to 2:15 pm, reports Muhammad Saleh Zaafir for The News.

    However, Shireen Mazari denied these reports and said this is “part of vilification campaign” planned against Imran Khan.

    During the alleged conversation between the US envoy and PTI chief, Khan expressed reservations about the US policy against his then-government in the Centre, reports Khalid Azim Chaudhry for Samaa News. In response, the ambassador said that he has been in the office for only two months. However, he assured Khan that he would convey the message to the Biden administration.

    The video call allegedly took place after the meeting between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister (CM) Mahmood Khan and Donald Blome last week in Peshawar. Blome visited the provincial capital to hand over ambulances to the government. Mahmood Khan reportedly arranged a call between his party chief and the US official.

    Absolutely no truth: Shireen Mazari

    Former federal minister and PTI leader Shireen Mazari denied that there has been any contact between Khan and Blome.

    “There is absolutely no truth in Imran Khan having had any conversation on cell/video link with US envoy Blome. It is part of a vilification campaign planned against IK by an Imported govt terrified of IK politically. We expect more such fake claims and evidence will follow,” tweeted Shireen Mazari.

    “We do not comment on what transpires during private diplomatic meetings like the one between Ambassador Blome and the KP chief minister,” said US Embassy spokesman Nick Hersh.

    Khan blamed the US for his ouster and accused the Biden administration for the success of the vote of no-confidence against him.

  • ‘No restriction on Pakistani doctors and students to work, train in US’: PMC clarifies

    ‘No restriction on Pakistani doctors and students to work, train in US’: PMC clarifies

    The Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) has denied media reports claiming doctors who attended medical schools in Pakistan might not be permitted to practice in the United States (US) after January 2024.

    “Unfortunately over the last few days a malicious and false campaign in the media and social media has been initiated falsely claiming that PMC has failed to meet the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) criteria while referring to the decision of the US medical regulators requiring that foreign doctors entering the US in 2024 onward would be those graduating from or licensed by regulatory authorities recognised by WFME,” says the PMC statement.

    “Currently all Pakistani doctors and graduates are able to work and train in the USA without any hindrance. PMC has been working in close coordination with the US regulatory authorities including ECFMG and the Federal State Medical Boards (FSMB) ensuring that there is no hindrance in Pakistani doctors and medical graduates being recognized in the USA. In addition to ECFMG and FSMB, the Association of Physicians of Pakistani-descent of North American (APPNA) are also supporting PMC’s recognition by WFME as evidenced by their recent communications with the Honourable Prime Minister of Pakistan and the Minister for Health,” it added.

    “PMC has initiated the recognition process for WFME after exhaustive preparations and fulfilling all requirements over the last 18 months. WFME will be over the next 6 to 12 months evaluating the PMC and its recognized medical colleges to complete the recognition process, on completion of which Pakistan will be able to obtain the WFME recognition in 2023, well before the 2024 deadline. The WFME process is a phase wise process of evaluation which culminates in a physical assessment expected during the first half of 2023.”

    Media reports claimed that Pakistan has until January 2024 to finish the accreditation process and obtain recognition for its medical programmes, but officials with the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) are concerned that Pakistan may miss the deadline.

    It is being reported that the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) is concerned that Pakistan may miss the deadline. Though the Pakistan Medical & Dental Council (PMDC) initiated the process, it was eventually replaced by the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) through a presidential ordinance.

    The PMC Act does not meet the criteria to get recognition from the WFME. However, as per the PMC, it has “formally initiated the application process for the recognition”. The entire process, including the on-site visit by the WFME, is expected to take 12 to 15 months.

    “It is not going to be easy to get accreditation by 2024 as there is a long list of conditions which include quality of education, criteria for inspections of colleges, rules, faculty and many other things,” PMA Secretary General Dr Qaiser Sajjad told Dawn.

  • Pakistan removed from US human trafficking watchlist

    Pakistan removed from US human trafficking watchlist

    The United States (US) removed Pakistan from its human trafficking watchlist.

    Although Pakistan was taken off the “watchlist,” Pakistan remains on Tier 2, which serves as a warning that penalties might be imposed if it didn’t make any further progress and will be downgraded to Tier 3, which would lead to sanctions.

    Tier 2 nations are those who are making considerable efforts in that direction. Pakistan’s performance in combating trafficking, according to the study, has improved.

    “The government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period, considering the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, if any, on its anti-trafficking capacity; therefore Pakistan was upgraded to Tier 2,” the report said.

    “The government allocated resources for the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) and amended the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act (PTPA) to remove provisions that allowed fines in lieu of imprisonment for sex trafficking crimes with women and children as victims,” the report added.

  • Google to delete location history of users visiting abortion clinics in the US

    Google to delete location history of users visiting abortion clinics in the US

    In response to mounting concerns that their information could be used to prosecute people seeking reproductive care and other personal services, Google said that it will automatically delete records of user trips to sensitive areas, including abortion clinics in the United States (US).

    Without mentioning abortion, Google stated on Friday that it would keep fighting back against improper or excessively broad requests for data by the US government.

    “Some of the places people visit — including medical facilities like counseling centres, domestic violence shelters, abortion clinics, fertility centres, addiction treatment facilities, weight loss clinics, cosmetic surgery clinics, and others — can be particularly personal,” Google said in a post on its website. “If our systems identify that someone has visited one of these places, we will delete these entries from Location History soon after they visit.”

    Google also said that it will release updates that would let those who use its Fitbit wearables to track their periods to remove numerous logs at once.

    The development came a few days after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, a landmark ruling that granted the right to abortion. The court determined that there is no constitutional right to an abortion, leaving it up to the states to decide whether or not to allow abortions.

  • US embassy expands interview waiver eligibility for Pakistanis

    US embassy expands interview waiver eligibility for Pakistanis

    The United States (US) Mission in Pakistan has announced the expansion of the interview waiver for Pakistani citizens who are renewing B1/B2 tourist and business visas at the US Embassy in Islamabad and the US Consulate General in Karachi.

    In a press release, the US embassy stated that Pakistanis who are 45 and older with valid or expired B1/B2 visas within the last four years are eligible to participate.

    However, some eligible visa holders may be required to appear for interviews at the US Embassy or Consulate-General after submitting their applications as it is required by US law.

    Applicants can check their eligibility for an interview waiver by visiting the website of the US Mission in Pakistan.

    This step has been taken to improve customer service and speed up the procedure of the renewal of tourist and business visas for qualified and eligible Pakistani citizens.

  • First Black woman becomes US Supreme Court justice

    First Black woman becomes US Supreme Court justice

    Ketanji Brown Jackson is the first Black woman in the history of the United States (US) to become a justice of the country’s top court. She was sworn in to the US Supreme Court on Thursday by Chief Justice John Roberts and her mentor, Associate Justice Stephen Breyer.

    Ms Jackson, 51, will replace Justice Stephen Breyer, joining the court’s three-member liberal minority.

    “I am truly grateful to be part of the promise of our great nation,” said Jackson.

    Jackson served eight years as a federal trial court judge. She earned two degrees from Harvard University and had worked as the Harvard Law Review’s editor. Prior to her judicial assignments, she served as a public defender in Washington before starting a private practice.

  • US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar submits resolution against India

    US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar submits resolution against India

    United States (US) Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has submitted a resolution in the House of Representatives on Tuesday in which she condemned the human rights abuses in India.

    The resolution said that the House has expressed grave concern about the “worsening treatment” of religious minorities in India and called on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to designate India as a “country of particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.

    The resolution includes two reports i.e. a report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and a Report on International Religious Freedom 2021 by the US State Department which was published on June 2, 2022.

    The resolution highlighted that the USCIRF had called for designating India as a country of particular concern for three consecutive years.

    According to the resolution, the report mentioned cases of the Indian government’s “repression of religious minority leaders and voices for religious pluralism in India, including the Jesuit human rights defender Father Stan Swamy and the Muslim human rights advocate Khurram Parvez”.

    According to the resolution, the report said: “Many of the incidents [on minorties] were violent, unprovoked, and/or encouraged or incited by government officials.”

    The resolution said that in the International Religious Freedom 2021 report by State Department there are numerous examples of violence and threats of violence against religious minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians, in India throughout 2021.

    It added that while presenting the report, Blinken himself said that “In India, the world’s largest democracy and home to a great diversity of faiths, we’ve seen rising attacks on people and places of worship.”

    In April, Omar made a visit to Pakistan’s part of Kashmir. She said the issue should get more attention from the US which prompted an angry response from India. The congresswoman has always highlighted the Kashmir issue on several platforms.