Erdogan, Pakistan PM Sharif to meet in Istanbul on Sunday
'During the meeting, bilateral relations, regional and international issues, including the fight against terrorism, will be discussed,' Fahrettin Altun said on X
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
2 days ago
- Arab News
Legal experts eye UN General Assembly action on Gaza
ISTANBUL: The UN General Assembly must be empowered to urgently intervene in Gaza and send a protective military force to help its devastated population, the non-government Gaza Tribunal project said Monday. The body, which groups international academics, rights advocates and legal experts, was set up in London in 2024 aiming to mobilize public opinion and pressure governments 'to end the genocide' in Gaza. Addressing a news conferences in Istanbul, its leader Richard Falk, a former UN rapporteur for Palestinian rights, said the tribunal called on governments to act before it was 'too late.' The aim was 'the empowerment of the UN General Assembly to organize a protective, armed intervention in Gaza to overcome the disruption of humanitarian aid and the continuing devastation and destruction of the people,' said the 94-year-old American emeritus law professor. Since the Hamas October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, Gaza has been hit by a huge Israeli military onslaught that aid agencies say has caused a dire humanitarian crisis in the Palestinians territory. 'We urge governments around the world to take immediate steps to empower the veto-free UN General Assembly that ... so far has been frustrated in its attempts to end the Gaza genocide,' the group said in a statement. Israel has repeatedly denied there is any genocide in Gaza or that it blocks humanitarian aid. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that calls to end the war 'harden' the Hamas resolve to fight the conflict. Falk said the move could be established through policy instruments like the 1950 'United for peace' resolution or the more recent 'Responsibility to protect' (R2P) doctrine. The first lets the UN General Assembly act when the Security Council fails to maintain international peace and security. It was adopted at US urging in the early stages of the 1950-53 Korean war to sidestep a systematic Soviet Security Council veto. The R2P was passed in 2005 aiming to prevent a repeat of the horrors of the 1994 Rwanda genocide and the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia. 'If we do not take action of a serious and drastic kind at this time, (it) will be too late to save the surviving people,' said Falk who worked for decades on Palestinian rights and was repeatedly denounced for his harsh stance on Israel. He said Gaza Tribunal hoped to have the issue added to the agenda of next month's UN General Assembly in New York. World powers are deeply divided over whether military intervention to halt atrocities is justified, with critics seeing it as a smokescreen for meddling in other nations' internal affairs. Amnesty International on Monday accused Israel of enacting a 'deliberate policy' of starvation in Gaza — a charge Israel has repeatedly rejected. The 2023 Hamas attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's offensive has killed more than 61,944 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza which the UN considers reliable.
Arab News
2 days ago
- Arab News
Pakistan demands collective response to climate change as monsoon rains kill 657 since June
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday demanded a collective response from the nation to climate change impacts, state-run media reported, as Pakistan reels from devastating floods that have killed at least 657 since the onset of the monsoon rains in late June. Deadly floods in the country's northern region, especially its northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, have killed at least 323 people and injured 156 since Aug. 15, as per the provincial disaster management authority (PDMA). Raging hill torrents flattened several homes and swept away dozens of people in KP's Swat, Buner, Bajaur, Torghar, Mansehra, Shangla and Battagram districts last week. Officials said several bodies were found on Sunday in the worst-hit Buner district. Pakistan's government launched a Monsoon Tree Plantation Drive on Monday, with state broadcaster Radio Pakistan saying more than 41 million saplings will be planted across the country during the campaign. 'President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif have called for collective response to climate change through advancement of Green Pakistan Programme,' state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported. In his message, Zardari said the Green Pakistan Programme is a national initiative to expand forest cover, rehabilitate degraded lands, restore the balance of nature and promote nature-based solutions. 'The President said the well-being and progress of any nation are grounded in the preservation of its forests and natural environment,' the statement added. In his message, the prime minister called on federal and provincial governments, social and religious leaders, and citizens of all ages to renew their commitment to planting more trees. 'Tree plantation campaigns are not merely symbolic actions; they are a national duty aimed at protecting a healthy, natural environment for future generations and at preventing the destruction caused by climate change,' he added. The prime minister said increasing Pakistan's tree plantation rate is 'critically important' to counter the harmful effects of climate change, noting that the South Asian country ranks among nations most severely affected by climate change. 'The recent abnormal monsoon rains and the resulting floods and loss of lives and property once again underscore the fact that proactive measures against climate change are essential for Pakistan,' he added. KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Sunday visited Buner, where he promised survivors compensation for their financial losses, urging residents of disaster-prone areas to relocate from there. 'The data of all the losses is being compiled,' CM Gandapur told reporters in Buner. 'It is beyond our power to compensate the loss of lives, but we will compensate financial losses, damages to private property.' Several people were still missing on Sunday and search efforts were focused on areas where homes were flattened by water torrents that swept down from the mountains, carrying massive boulders that smashed into houses like explosions. The NDMA has forecast more 'heavy to very heavy rainfall' in parts of the country over the next 24 hours, particularly in Islamabad, KP, Punjab and Azad Kashmir, under the current weather system. The monsoon season brings South Asia about three-quarters of its annual rainfall, vital for agriculture and food security, but also brings destruction. 'The intensity of this year's monsoon is around 50 to 60 percent more than last year,' NDMA chief Lt. Gen. Inam Haider told journalists in Islamabad on Sunday. 'Two to three more monsoon spells are expected until the first weeks of September.' Pakistan is one of the world's most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change and is contending with extreme weather events with increasing frequency. Monsoon floods in 2022 submerged a third of the country and killed around 1,700 people.
Arab News
3 days ago
- Arab News
Pakistan to create digital IDs of citizens in economic transformation push
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will develop digital identities of all its citizens to enable secure and efficient payments, Pakistani state media reported on Sunday, amid the Islamabad's push for economic transformation. The report comes weeks after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed provincial governments to fully cooperate with the center to move the country toward a 'cashless' system as the central government aims to digitize the economy for greater transparency. Pakistan is a cash-dominated market where a significant portion of transactions, particularly in the informal sector, are conducted in cash. In recent years, the country's central bank has taken steps to ensure a transition toward a more cashless economy so that transactions are more traceable, reducing chances of tax evasion and corruption. Pakistan's digital payments have also been on the rise. Since its 2021 launch, the central bank's Raast system has processed over 892 million transactions worth Rs20 trillion ($72 billion) as of July 2025. On Sunday, PM Sharif presided over a review meeting in Islamabad on cashless economy, at which he directed provincial chief secretaries to fully cooperate with the federal government in expanding the Raast digital payment system to the district level. 'The meeting was briefed that Pakistan will develop digital public infrastructure to create digital IDs for every citizen, integrating national Identity Cards, biometrics, and mobile numbers,' the Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported. 'These digital IDs will enable secure and efficient payments. It was further said that the provincial governments have shown significant progress in linking government-to-public and public-to-government payments with the Raast system.' Pakistan, a country of over 240 million people, has a vast informal economy and low tax compliance. The government has long identified digitization as a key tool to improve governance, reduce corruption and expand the country's narrow tax base. The government has set an ambitious tax collection target of Rs14,131 billion ($49.46 billion) for the fiscal year 2025-26 (FY26), reflecting a nine-percent increase over last year's goal. Last month, Pakistan launched the Merchant Onboarding Framework that requires banks and payment providers to equip all merchants with Raast-enabled digital payment tools such as QR codes and POS [Point of Sale] systems. In May, the government also approved setting up the Pakistan Digital Assets Authority to regulate blockchain-based financial infrastructure. Speaking at Sunday's meeting, Sharif said his government was working on a priority basis to digitize the economy and transform financial transactions to cashless and digital system. 'Federal development agencies have granted Right of Way for fiber connectivity, while discussions are ongoing with Pakistan Railways and the National Highway Authority to expand digital infrastructure,' the report said, citing officials at the meeting.
