Latest news with #Islamabad
Free Malaysia Today
an hour ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
India asks IMF to reconsider Pakistan programme over ‘terror funding'
Pakistan came to the brink of default in 2023 but was saved by a US$7 billion bailout from the IMF. (Reuters pic) SRINAGAR : Indian defence minister Rajnath Singh said today the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should reconsider a US$1 billion loan to Pakistan, alleging Islamabad was 'funding terror'. 'I believe a big portion of the US$1 billion coming from IMF will be used for funding terror infrastructure,' Singh told troops at an air force base in western India. 'I believe any economic assistance to Pakistan is nothing less than funding terror'. India and Pakistan last week launched missiles, drones and artillery strikes on each other before a ceasefire that began Saturday. The IMF last week approved a loan programme review for Pakistan, unlocking around US$1 billion in much-needed funds and greenlighting a new US$1.4 billion bailout despite India's objections. India – which also represents Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh on the IMF board – abstained on the review vote, a statement from its finance ministry voicing 'concerns over the efficacy of IMF programmes in the case of Pakistan given its poor track record'. Pakistan came to the brink of default in 2023, as a political crisis compounded an economic downturn and drove the nation's debt burden to terminal levels. It was saved by a US$7 billion bailout from the IMF – its 24th since 1958. Singh claimed it was 'now clear that in Pakistan terrorism and their government are hand in glove with each other'. 'In this situation there is a possibility that their nuclear weapons could get their way into the hands of terrorists. This is a danger not just for Pakistan but the entire world,' he said. Fighting between New Delhi and Islamabad began when India launched strikes on May 7 against what it called 'terrorist camps' in Pakistan following an April attack in Indian-administered Kashmir which killed 26 people. New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing the rebels it claimed were behind the attack – the deadliest on civilians in Kashmir in decades. Pakistan denies the charge. Four days of intense drone, missile and artillery exchanges ensued, leaving around 70 people, including dozens of civilians, dead on both sides.
Arab News
2 hours ago
- General
- Arab News
Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem, Muhammad Yasir in Asian Athletics Championships javelin finals
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Olympic medalist Arshad Nadeem and compatriot javelin thrower Muhammad Yasir have qualified for the finals of the 26th Asian Athletics Championships in South Korea. The championship, running from May 27 till May 31, is featuring over 2,000 athletes from 43 countries, who are competing across 45 track and field events at the Gumi Civic Stadium. Nadeem advanced to the final with a powerful throw of 86.34 meters on his first and only attempt in the A qualification round, while Yasir secured his spot in the final with a 76.07-meter throw in the B qualification round. 'Alhamdulillah, qualified this morning for the final competition tomorrow afternoon at 1:10pm Pakistan time at the Asian Championships,' Nadeem said on X. 'As always I would need your support and prayers.' Alhamdulilah qualified this morning for the final competition tomorrow Afternoon at 1.10PM Pakistan time at the Asian Championships. As always I would need your support and prayers — Arshad Nadeem (@ArshadOlympian1) May 30, 2025 Nadeem tops the 21-member field. He is followed by Sri Lanka's Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage with a throw of 83.71 meters and Japan's Yuta Sakiyama with a throw of 81.36 meters. Yasir entered the final ranked 9th. Nadeem made history at the 2024 Paris Olympics by winning Pakistan's first-ever athletics gold with a record-breaking javelin throw of 92.97 meters. His throw not only set a new Olympic and Asian record but also ended Pakistan's 32-year Olympic medal drought. He has since become a national hero, inspiring millions with his journey from humble beginnings in smalltown Mian Channu to the top of the Olympic podium.
Arab News
3 hours ago
- Business
- Arab News
At Tajikistan summit, Pakistan PM urges world action over India's ‘weaponization' of Indus waters
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday drew the world's attention to India's 'weaponization' of water by suspending Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan, urging the world to not let millions of lives to be held 'hostage.' India announced on April 23 that it was putting the 1960 World Bank-mediated treaty in abeyance after it accused Pakistan of backing an attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. Islamabad has denied complicity and called for a credible, international probe into it. The IWT grants Pakistan rights to the Indus basin's western rivers — Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab — for irrigation, drinking, and non-consumptive uses like hydropower, while India controls the eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej — for unrestricted use but must not significantly alter their flow. India can use the western rivers for limited purposes such as power generation and irrigation, without storing or diverting large volumes, according to the agreement. Speaking at the International Conference on Glaciers' Preservation in Dushanbe, Sharif said the world must recognize that water transcends political boundaries, connects communities and sustains ecosystems and cultures, demanding world action over New Delhi's move to suspend the IWT. 'We are now witnessing an alarming new low, the weaponization of water, India's unilateral and illegal decision to hold in abeyance the Indus Water Treaty which governs the sharing of the Indus basin's water is deeply regrettable,' he said, urging that lives of millions of Pakistanis must not be held hostage to 'narrow political gains.' 'Our waters and our glaciers... bind us in a shared destiny. Let us protect and preserve nature's precious bounties for our planet and our peoples.' The IWT suspension was among a series of punitive measures India announced against Pakistan over the Kashmir attack that killed 26 people. The archfoes this month traded missile, drone and artillery fire in their worst fighting since 1999 Kargil War before agreeing to a ceasefire on May 10. India has maintained its decision to keep the treaty, which ensures water for 80 percent of Pakistani farms, in abeyance, while Islamabad has said it will contest the move at every forum. Sharif also urged the world to expedite its climate action to protect glacial systems, which were the lifeline of their civilization, culture and economy. He said his country witnessed firsthand the peril of glacial melt in 2022, when devastating floods submerged Pakistan, washing away standing crops over millions of acres, affecting over 30 million people and causing more billions of dollars in damages. 'We only contribute less than half percent of the total world emissions, and yet we are one of those 10 most vulnerable countries facing this menace [of climate change],' he said. 'I pray to Allah Almighty that other countries do not face this kind of devastation which we faced back in 2022, but it will not be protected through words and speeches, it requires comprehensive, a plan, and immediate implementation.' Pakistan believes in shared responsibility and collective action, according to Sharif. There is an urgent need for an enhanced global climate action to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change. 'The developed countries must meet their climate financial commitments without any delay and with a balanced focus on adaptation and mitigation as well as loss and damage,' he said. 'Adequate funding for climate resilient infrastructure and overcoming financing gap remains critical for climate vulnerable countries.' Islamabad has been urging the international community to ensure faster and simpler disbursements from the global fund to help vulnerable countries respond to climate-related losses. The Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) was established at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt in 2022 and a year later, nearly 200 nations agreed to the operationalization of $575 million as part of it. However, disbursements under the program have since been slow, hampering climate adaptation efforts in developing countries.
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South China Morning Post
6 hours ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Why is China speeding up work on Pakistan dam after India held Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance?
Read more here: Following a short military confrontation between Islamabad and New Delhi in early May 2025, Beijing announced it would speed up construction of a dam in northern Pakistan that is being built under the China-centred trading network called the Belt and Road Initiative. The announcement was likely made following the temporary suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty by India, which guarantees Pakistan a steady flow of water from Indian-administered Kashmir. The Mohmand dam is one of several Chinese-financed projects and part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
Arab News
16 hours ago
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistani high court to hear Imran Khan's appeal in Al-Qadir land bribe case on June 5
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) will take up the Al-Qadir Trust case involving former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife on June 5, marking the first hearing since the couple was sentenced over four months ago, the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said Thursday. A Pakistani court sentenced Khan to 14 years and his wife, Bushra Bibi, to seven years in prison last January. The centers on allegations that they received land as a bribe from real estate tycoon Malik Riaz Hussain through their charitable foundation, the Al-Qadir Trust. The trust, founded in 2018 while Khan was still in office, is accused by authorities of being used as a front for illegal benefits. The PTI has long maintained the case lacks merit and repeatedly requested the high court to hear their petition to suspend the convictions. This is the first time the IHC has scheduled proceedings since the lower court verdict in January, which was delayed at least three times before being delivered. 'Al-Qadir Trust case is scheduled for hearing on June 5,' the PTI said in a statement during the day. The hearing will be conducted by a two-member IHC bench led by acting Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif, according to the court's cause list. PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan, speaking to reporters outside the Supreme Court earlier this week, said the party had met with the chief justice to press for the case to be listed. 'Release [of Khan and his wife] will take place once the case is heard,' Gohar told reporters. 'We still hope the case will be heard on June 5.' The Al-Qadir case stems from £190 million that the UK repatriated to Pakistan in 2019 after the Pakistani real estate tycoon settled a British investigation into suspected criminal assets. Authorities allege that instead of depositing the funds in Pakistan's national treasury, Khan's government used the money to help Hussain pay court-imposed fines in a separate case related to land acquired illegally in Karachi at below-market rates. Khan, who has been in jail since August 2023 and is facing a slew of legal cases, says all charges against him are politically motivated. He accuses Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the country's powerful military of orchestrating the crackdown to sideline him, a claim both Sharif and military officials deny.
