Latest news with #IslamabadAirport
Express Tribune
23-05-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
PM Shehbaz Sharif inaugurates Jinnah Square Murree Road Underpass
Listen to article Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif inaugurated on Friday the newly constructed Jinnah Square Murree Road Underpass, a project completed in 35 days. The underpass, which spans approximately 479 metres and features three traffic lanes, is part of a broader initiative to create a signal-free corridor from Islamabad Airport to Murree, aimed at alleviating traffic congestion and reducing travel time for commuters. During the inauguration ceremony, PM Sharif commended Interior Minister Senator Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi and his team, including Chairperson Capital Development Authority (CDA) Muhammad Ali Randhawa and IG Islamabad Police Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi, for their efforts in completing the project swiftly. He described the initiative as nationally beneficial, ensuring smooth connectivity to the scenic tourist destination of Murree. 'It has been due to the unity and harmony of the nation and the blessings of Almighty Allah. Moreover, the meritorious history of the nation will be remembered by the enemy forever,' the prime minister said. Apart from the underpass, the project includes a road network and landscaping. PM Sharif noted that the nearly 9-kilometre-long connectivity route would not only benefit the residents of Rawalpindi and Islamabad but also the entire nation through its enhanced connectivity heading towards Murree. Earlier, Interior Minister Naqvi briefed PM Sharif on the project's progress and future plans, including the design work for the Shaheen Chowk Underpass and upcoming tourism projects such as a Safari Park and Chairlift in the Murree region. The event was attended by Federal Ministers Hanif Abbasi, Dr Tariq Fazl Chaudhary, Ministers of State Talal Chaudhary and Talha Burki, and other parliamentarians. Moreover, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz also inaugurated the Nawaz Sharif Flyover in Sargodha. Provincial Minister Sohaib Ahmed Bharth informed her that the project had been completed in eight months at a cost of Rs2.2 billion. More than 30,000 vehicles are expected to use the 1.3km-long flyover daily. People travelling to Sargodha from Khushab, Mianwali and Bhakkar will benefit from the project.
Gulf Today
07-05-2025
- Gulf Today
Flight operations resume at major Pakistani airports
Flight operations at multiple airports, including Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi, have resumed after an eight-hour suspension prompted by escalating tensions between Pakistan and India. Aviation officials said that multiple flights resumed from major airports. At Karachi airport, two international flights and one domestic flight operated on Wednesday, signaling the gradual restoration of services. From Lahore, the first flight to Karachi - PA-401 operated by a private airline - departed. Meanwhile, international flights from Karachi saw varied schedules. PK-607 bound for Dubai departed ahead of time, while TK-709 for Istanbul was delayed. Passengers wait outside at Jinnah International Airport after all domestic and international flights were cancelled. AFP Additionally, Jeddah-Lahore flight PK-842, which had landed in Karachi due to escalation, was sent onward to Lahore Wednesday morning. Despite resumption of airport operation, the Pakistan International Airline (PIA) suspended its regular flight operations for 12 hours. On the other hand, Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) officials said Islamabad's airspace is open for flights. Furthermore, they said that Islamabad Airport's flight operation has also been restored as four private planes landed here. Meanwhile, the PAA has issued a new Notam (Notice to Airmen), announcing the re-closure of Lahore's airspace for various flight routes. The Notam states that the routes within Lahore's airspace will be closed for 24 hours. The Notam also confirmed the resumption of flight operations at the Islamabad Airport. It said incoming flights will be permitted to arrive in Islamabad after coordination and assistance from the Air Traffic Control. Pakistan had suspended flight operations at major airports following India's attack inside the country on Tuesday-Wednesday night.
Arab News
01-05-2025
- Arab News
Pakistani Hajj pilgrims praise ‘remarkably smooth' Makkah Route Initiative immigration process
ISLAMABAD: The first batch of Pakistani Hajj pilgrims who arrived in Madinah under the Kingdom's Makkah Route Initiative on Wednesday praised its 'remarkably smooth' immigration process, thanking the Saudi government for the facility. The Makkah Route Initiative is designed to streamline immigration processes by enabling pilgrims to complete official travel formalities at their departure airports. Initially tested in Islamabad in 2019, the program was later expanded to Karachi, benefitting tens of thousands of Pakistani travelers. This saves pilgrims several hours upon arrival in the Kingdom, as they can simply enter the country without having to go through immigration again. Pakistan kicked off its pre-Hajj flight operations on Tuesday, with the first batch of 900 Pakistani pilgrims arriving in Madinah from Islamabad, Karachi and other cities. Those who arrived from Karachi and Islamabad praised the Makkah Route Initiative for making their travel hassle-free. 'It was remarkably smooth as the Saudi immigration process was completed at Islamabad Airport without the need to wait in long queues,' Tariq Khan, a resident of Pakistan's northwestern Swabi city, told Arab News over the phone from Madinah. Around 50,500 Pakistani pilgrims in total from Islamabad and Karachi will travel to Saudi Arabia under the Makkah Route Initiative this year. Khan, who is performing Hajj for the second time since 2016, said the pre-departure immigration process had saved pilgrims' considerable time. 'The difference was [like] night and day,' Khan, comparing his Hajj journey in 2016 to the present one. 'This time, the process was efficient and stress-free, allowing us to focus on the spiritual aspects of our journey.' Upon landing, Khan said pilgrims bypassed the usual immigration queues while buses were waiting to transport them directly to the hotel. 'Our luggage, which had been tagged and processed in Islamabad, arrived at the hotel shortly after we did,' he noted. Shamim Akhtar, who arrived from Karachi, described the immigration process as 'exceptionally well-organized.' 'Dedicated immigration counters at Karachi Airport handled all formalities efficiently and the staff was courteous,' she told Arab News. 'And the entire process was completed swiftly, allowing us to reach the boarding lounge without hassle.' She thanked the Saudi government for extending the service to Karachi, saying the Makkah Route Initiative significantly reduced the stress and time associated with international traveling during Hajj. 'It's a commendable effort that enhances the overall pilgrimage experience,' she said. 'EXCELLENT ARRANGEMENTS' Osama Anwar, an information technology professional from Pakistan's eastern city of Rawalpindi, praised the entire Hajj process from submitting the application to the mandatory trainings organized by the government, and the 'smooth' travel facilitated under the Makkah Route Initiative. 'Under the Route to Makkah, arrangements were very good and it was a very smooth process at the airport,' he said. 'It hardly took us just 20 to 25 minutes to reach the hotel from the airport in Saudi Arabia.' He said pilgrims had been guided thoroughly about the process. 'Now that we have arrived in Madinah, we found that excellent arrangements have also been made here including good rooms and food arrangements,' Anwar said. This year's annual pilgrimage will take place in June, with nearly 89,000 Pakistanis expected to travel to Saudi Arabia under the government scheme and over 23,620 Pakistanis expected to perform Hajj through private tour operators.
Arab News
11-04-2025
- Health
- Arab News
Islamabad airport becomes Pakistan's first to introduce measures for passengers with mental disability
ISLAMABAD: Islamabad Airport has introduced a special facility for passengers with 'mental disorders,' the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said this week, making it the first airport in the country to offer such services. This move aligns with international trends in making air travel more inclusive and reflects growing awareness in Pakistan about mental health needs, particularly in high-stress environments like airports. 'Islamabad International Airport is honored to provide special facilities to passengers with mental disorders,' the CAA said in a statement. A special sunflower ribbon will be issued to people with 'invisible disabilities,' the CAA said, so that they were eligible for 'preferential facilities at every counter.' 'Children with autism and other mental disorders are benefiting from the facility,' the statement added. According to Human Rights Watch, estimates of the number of people living with disabilities in Pakistan wildly vary from 3.3 million to 27 million. Pakistan has enacted a Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act to protect and promote the rights of people with disabilities. The Pakistani government has implemented policies and programs, including the National Policy for Persons with Disabilities (2002) and the National Plan of Action for Persons with Disabilities (2006), aimed at addressing the needs of people with disabilities. Several organizations, including the National Council for the Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons (NCRDP), provincial councils, and disability-focused NGOs, are working to improve the lives of people with disabilities in Pakistan.
Telegraph
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Trump's ‘reverse Nixon' charade insults our intelligence
George Walden, a British diplomat and one of a tiny handful of Westerners in China at the time, said he was spat at and denounced as a Russian 'revisionist swine' by gangs of fanatical Maoist youth on the streets of Beijing. He recounts in his book China: A Wolf In The World? how he also learnt from visiting impromptu bomb shelters in the hutongs that Mao Zedong was preparing for war with the USSR. We now know that Chinese forces had ambushed and killed 60 Soviet troops on the border at the Ussuri River. The Russians brought in reinforcements armed with tactical nuclear weapons. Moscow then put out feelers to the Nixon administration: would the US object if the USSR knocked out China by launching a first strike against its nuclear weapons installations in Xinjiang? Nixon warned them off. It became clear to both Nixon and his guru Henry Kissinger that a) they could play off China and the Soviet Union against each other in a triangular strategy of detente; and b) that better links to Beijing could help the US extract itself from the quagmire of the Vietnam War. The Daily Telegraph had its own cameo moment in the secret talks. Its stringer in Pakistan, MFH Beg, spotted Kissinger at Islamabad Airport being smuggled on to a Pakistani Boeing 707 with Chinese navigators and headed for Beijing. He put through a breathless call to the editor, who spiked the scoop of the year, thinking Beg must be drunk. There are Russians who fear vassal dependency on China. 'The East is not our friend,' once grumbled Sergei Sobyanin, then Moscow mayor, but he nevertheless renamed Europe Square as Eurasia Square last year, and loyally toes the line on China. A whole generation now in key posts has internalised the Primakov doctrine, which deems American hegemony to be the permanent and overarching threat to Russia. Only by teaming up with China can the two together force a restructuring of the global order and defend themselves against liberal contagion. Putin had some trouble persuading the collegium of the FSB security services two weeks ago that Trump's overtures are a basis for anything durable. 'We understand that not everyone is happy with the resumption of Russian-American contacts. Western elites are still determined to stoke instability and will try to disrupt the dialogue. We see this. We need to take this into account,' he said. The Russians know that Trump won the US election narrowly and that his hold on Congress is fleeting. 'It is highly unlikely that Russia has any desire to separate itself from China,' said Angela Stent, a fellow at the Center for the United States and Europe. 'There is a fundamental mistrust of the US among the current and probably future Russian leadership. They're not going to squander this relationship with China built up over the past couple of decades.' If Trump's reverse Nixon play were authentic and were to succeed to any degree, it would inevitably throw China and Europe into each other's arms, creating a de facto pact between two of the world's three big economic blocs (with the UK back in the EU). The US would swap its rich European equal for a poor Russian 'petrol station masquerading as a country', to borrow from the late senator John McCain. There is an even more horrible possibility that Trump will go in a different direction. While he has hit China with tariffs, he has eschewed a serious fight with Beijing so far. One can imagine another of his theatrical deals that effectively cedes the Far East to China. He seems to see the world as a 19th-century concert of great powers – in his head, America, Russia and China – each with an imperial 'droit de regard' over its own sphere. Europe has no place in this. It is for him the despised weakling and cultural degenerate. One fears that it is not so much reverse Nixon as a reborn Metternich system of iron-fist reactionary powers colluding to hold back liberal ideas, this time on a global scale. Nixon and Kissinger must be turning in their graves.
