Islamabad

14 June 2022; MEMO: Pakistan has rescued and repatriated 169 of its citizens who were stranded in Syria, after they travelled to the country as Shia pilgrims.

According to a statement by Pakistan International Airlines' (PIA) spokesperson, Abdullah Hafeez Khan yesterday, one of its aircraft was sent to the northern Syrian city of Aleppo to pick up the 169 Pakistani citizens.

Islamabad, May 23 (PTI) Pakistan on Monday launched a nationwide anti-polio drive to vaccinate more than 43 million children after the third case of the crippling virus surfaced in the country last week.

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif inaugurated the second polio campaign of the year 2022 at the Prime Minister's house and assured that the government would take all measures to eradicate the crippling disease, according to a statement.

Beijing, May 22 (PTI) Pakistan's new Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi will hold talks on Sunday in the Chinese city of Guangzhou to firm-up the all-weather ties between the two countries.

This is Bilawal's maiden visit to China after he took over as Foreign Minister following the fall of Imran Khan government.

Their meeting was being held in Guangzhou as Beijing is currently under semi-lockdown to contain the fast-spreading Omicron variant of the COVID-19.

ISLAMABAD, May 19 (APP): National hockey team manager Olympian Khawaja Muhammad Junaid has said that qualifying for the next year’s World Cup would be the key objective for his side at the Asia Cup.

“The top three teams will secure berths in the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup in India in 2023. Hence, we are focused only at a podium finish at the event,” Junaid told APP on phone before flying to Indonesia along with the Pakistan team on Wednesday night.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Faced with rising violence, Pakistan is taking a tougher line to pressure Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to crack down on militants hiding on their soil, but so far the Taliban remain reluctant to take action — trying instead to broker a peace.

Last month came a sharp deterioration in relations between the two neighbors when Pakistan carried out airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan. Witnesses said the strikes hit a refugee camp and another location, killing at least 40 civilians. UNICEF said 20 children were believed to be among the dead.

ISLAMABAD, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Wednesday kicked off a fresh nationwide anti-polio campaign after three new cases of the crippling disease were reported in the country.

"We have launched a new anti-polio campaign with a renewed zeal and focus ... A polio-free Pakistan is our national goal," the prime minister said on Twitter.

Millions of children up to the age of five would be given polio drops by health workers across the country as part of the door-to-door vaccination campaign.

Islamabad, May 13 (PTI) Pakistan's President Arif Alvi has written to Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, asking him to form a judicial commission to probe the alleged "regime change conspiracy" to oust former prime minister Imran Khan and to prevent a "political powder keg" from igniting in the country.

Khan, ousted through a no-trust vote on April 10, has accused the US of orchestrating the fall of his government after he decided to follow an independent foreign policy over the issue of Ukraine. The US repeatedly refuted Khan's allegations.

Lahore, Apr 22 (PTI) In a veiled warning to Pakistan's military establishment, former prime minister Imran Khan has given an ultimatum to those who have ousted him to rectify their "mistake" by holding early elections or else his supporters will reach the capital to overthrow the "imported government".

Addressing a rally of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) at Minar-i-Pakistan in Lahore on Thursday night, Khan lashed out at the new coalition government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and those who brought it to power.

Lahore, Apr 21 (PTI) In a veiled attack on Pakistan's Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, former prime minister Imran Khan has alleged that "some elements" in the powerful establishment who indulged in "bad practices" were responsible for his unceremonious ouster from power.

by Omar Ahmed