Latest news with #Zardari
Business Recorder
6 hours ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Pakistan seeks to forge strong relationship with Bangladesh: President
LAHORE: President Asif Ali Zardari has said that Pakistan wants to forge strong bilateral ties with Bangladesh in all areas including commerce, trade, sports, culture, and people-to-people relations. He said this while speaking at a reception hosted in honour of Bangladesh and Pakistan Men's cricket teams, here at the Governor's House on Sunday. Pakistan Cricket Board ( PCB) hosted the reception, which was attended by the Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider Khan, Chairman PCB Mohsin Naqvi, High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Pakistan Muhammad Iqbal Hussain, BCB cricket Operations Head Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, Advisor to Chairman PCB Amir Mir, team officials, and members of Pakistan and Bangladesh cricket teams. The President also expressed the desire to visit Bangladesh and recalled his student days at the Pitaro Cadet College and the lasting friendships he made during those days. He added that he was in close contact with Bangladeshi college friends even today. 'Pakistan government is trying to work together to build a stronger relationship with Bangladesh,' he said, adding: 'We need to keep investing in people and come up with solutions to take our relations to new heights.' He further said Pakistan businessmen wish to collaborate with Bangladeshi businesses, adding that the Pakistani government is also interested in working with the Bangladeshi government in the long run. 'We have a bright future as two nations', he remarked. President Zardari also recognized the progress made by Bangladesh over the past 50 years, adding Bangladesh is a success story in the world both financially as well as in human resource capital and everybody knows. 'Allah has given you strength financially and in the form of manpower,' he said, adding: 'Bangladesh was destined to progress and prosper vis a vis exports business and Pakistan will contribute as much as it can.' Reminiscing on the shared history and pangs of separation as brothers when the two brothers parted ways in 1971, President Zardari said the younger generation was not aware of the pain we had gone through as the older generation, adding that we had broken each other's hearts in the past and there was a need to mend the hearts today, emphasizing the need for reconciliation and mutual understanding a message that resonated deeply in his address. Recognizing transformative power of cricket as a sport which helps in uniting people throughout the world, he said 'I am happy to host you all in Pakistan, in Lahore. And I hope that there will be many such trips'. President Zardari reassured the Bangladesh envoy to Pakistan of his full support in furthering the bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries. He hailed the Bangladesh tigers for their immense talent and wished them a great future. He also lavished on the young Pakistan team and expressed the hope it will do well on the international front. 'The world is young, you are young and it's your time. We've seen our time; this is your time. All of you are going to see the future and I bless you and I hope that you'll have an eventful good future,' Zardari said. President Asif Ali Zardari appreciated the performance of both teams in the ongoing T20 series. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
7 hours ago
- Business
- Express Tribune
Pakistan seeks stronger ties with Bangladesh
President Asif Ali Zardari said on Sunday that Pakistan intended to forge strong bilateral relations with Bangladesh in all areas, including commerce, trade, sports, culture and people-to-people ties. Speaking at a reception hosted to Bangladesh and Pakistan Men's cricket teams at the Governor's House here on Sunday, he said the Pakistan government was trying to work together to build a stronger relationship, adding that it could not happen overnight but "we need to keep investing in people and come up with solutions to take our relations" to new heights. The Bangladesh cricket team is in Pakistan to play a three-match T20I series. Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider Khan, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, Bangladesh High Commissioner to Pakistan Muhammad Iqbal Hussain, BCB Operations Head Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, team officials, and members of Pakistan and Bangladesh cricket teams were present. Zardari said that Pakistan businessmen wished to collaborate with Bangladeshi businesses, adding that the Pakistani government was also interested in working with the Bangladeshi government in the long run. "We have a bright future as two nations", the president remarked. Zardari eulogised the rich history of Bangladesh and its people, adding that the Bengali nation was one of the oldest and richest nations in the region and had a proud history. He also recognised the progress made by Bangladesh over the past 50 years. "Bangladesh is a success story in the world both financially as well as in human resource capital and everybody knows. Allah has given you strength financially and in the form of manpower. "Bangladesh is destined to progress and prosper and Pakistan will contribute as much as it can," he said. Reminiscing on the shared history and pangs of separation as brothers, when the two brothers parted ways in 1971, Zardari said that the younger generation was not aware of the pain "we had gone through as the older generation", adding that we had broken each other's hearts in the past and there was a need to mend the hearts today". He stressed the need for reconciliation and mutual understanding. Recognising transformative power of cricket as a sport, which helps in uniting people throughout the world, he said: "I am happy to host you all in Pakistan, in Lahore. And I hope that there will be many such trips". Zardari also expressed the desire to visit Bangladesh, adding that he had not been to Dhaka for a long time. He fondly recalled his student days at the Cadet College Petaro and the lasting friendships he made during those days, adding that he was in contact with Bangladeshi college friends even today. President Zardari reassured the Bangladesh envoy to Pakistan of his full support in furthering the bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries. He hailed the Bangladesh tigers for their immense talent and wished them a great future. He also lavished praise on the young Pakistan team and expressed the hope they will do well on the international front. "The world is young, you are young and it's your time. We've seen our time, this is your time. All of you are going to see the future and I bless you and I hope that you'll have an eventful good future," President Zardari maintained.
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Business Standard
3 days ago
- Politics
- Business Standard
Pak passes law to curb child marriages, sets minimum marriage age to 18
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday signed into law a bill fixing the minimum age for marriage at 18 years to curb child marriages despite opposition from right-wing clerics. The Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Bill, seeking to protect the rights of children and eventually eradicate marriages of children under the age of 18, was sent to the president's approval on May 27 after sailing through both houses of Parliament. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman shared on X a presidential notification related to the approval of the legislation. The Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Bill, 2025 is assented to, as passed by the Parliament, the notification read. Pakistan has reached a milestone in the enactment of important legislation against child marriages, she said. Zardari accented to the bill despite strong opposition from religious groups and even the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), a constitutional body tasked to offer counsel on legal issues, in a ruling said that classifying marriage under the age of 18 as rape did not conform with Islamic law. Rehman said that the approval of the bill was successful despite resistance from various sections, adding that President Zardari signed the bill despite pressure. The signing of the Child Marriage Restraint Bill is a symbol of a new era of reforms in Pakistan, she said. She hailed the approval as a victory for the protection of the rights of women and children, adding, This law was possible after a long and difficult struggle. This bill is not just a law, it is a commitment that our girls have the right to education, health and a prosperous life, Rehman continued. She thanked PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, party leaders, other political parties and representatives of the opposition and the public for their support to the bill. Earlier, CII member Maulana Jalaludin, who belongs to the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), said President Zardari should prevent anarchy in society by not signing the bill.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Pakistan enacts law to curb child marriages
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday (May 30, 2025) signed into law a bill fixing the minimum age for marriage at 18 years to curb child marriages despite opposition from right-wing clerics. The Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Bill, seeking to protect the rights of children and eventually eradicate marriages of children under the age of 18, was sent to the President's approval on May 27 after sailing through both houses of Parliament. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman shared on X a presidential notification related to the approval of the legislation. 'The Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Bill, 2025 is assented to, as passed by the Parliament,' the notification read. 'Pakistan has reached a milestone in the enactment of important legislation against child marriages,' she said. Mr. Zardari accented to the bill despite strong opposition from religious groups and even the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), a constitutional body tasked to offer counsel on legal issues, in a ruling said that classifying marriage under the age of 18 as rape did not conform with Islamic law. Ms. Rehman said that the approval of the bill was successful despite resistance from various sections, adding that President Zardari signed the bill despite pressure. 'The signing of the Child Marriage Restraint Bill is a symbol of a new era of reforms in Pakistan,' she said. She hailed the approval as a victory for the protection of the rights of women and children, adding, 'This law was possible after a long and difficult struggle.' 'This bill is not just a law, it is a commitment that our girls have the right to education, health and a prosperous life,' Ms. Rehman continued. She thanked PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, party leaders, other political parties and representatives of the opposition and the public for their support to the bill. Earlier, CII member Maulana Jalaludin, who belongs to the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), said President Zardari should prevent anarchy in society by not signing the bill.
Business Recorder
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Partly Facetious: Budget will have to be approved by IMF
'I was wondering….' 'Hey, a country's survival always trumps the economy, so I reckon defence outlay will increase in the forthcoming budget.' 'That's not what I was wondering about?' 'Oh well the budget will have to be approved by the International Monetary Fund or else all external resource inflows will dry up – rollovers, multilateral and bilateral loans as we need around 19.5 billion dollars for next year to…' 'Nope wasn't wondering about that either.' 'I saw the Palestinian representative to the Security Council burst into tears…' 'Nope not wondering about that either. I don't think the US policy is changing anytime soon and without that nothing will change.' 'Shares of the Chinese firm that sold us the planes that downed the French Rafale have risen and I heard their share price is rising so were you wondering if the interest on the Chinese rollovers…' 'Shush, the two transactions are separate.' 'OK I give up what were you wondering about?' 'Who is our first lady?' 'President Zardari has appointed his daughter Assefa as the first lady.' 'Can he do that?' 'Unless you amend the constitution to stipulate that only a wife can be so declared…' 'Right, perhaps they can club that together with the twenty-seventh amendment that reports suggest would change the status of an acting chief justice to a non-acting chief justice.' 'Shut up anyway, by appointing Assefa President Zardari has shown to the uneducated masses that the first lady in Pakistan is not the wife of the prime minister but…' 'Don't be facetious – the President is not left with many prerogatives after the eighteenth amendment but the prerogative to select his first lady….' 'Hmmmm but seriously the seat of power is with the Prime Minister and…' 'Really? Is that where the seat of power is?' Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
