Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani health officials on Saturday launched a seven-day vaccination campaign against polio as part of efforts aimed at eliminating the crippling disease amid a steady decline in fatalities and infections from the coronavirus, which had recently overwhelmed the country’s fragile health system.

The anti-polio campaign, which began amid tight security, aims to vaccinate as many as 34 million children across Pakistan, including former Taliban strongholds bordering Afghanistan, a government statement said.

ISLAMABAD, Aug 15 (APP): Pakistan on Saturday summoned a senior Indian diplomat to the foreign ministry for registering its strong protest over the ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces along the Line of Control (LoC) on August 14, 2020.

Due to indiscriminate and unprovoked firing by the Indian occupation forces in Dhudhnial Sector of the LoC, three-year old Zulekha, daughter of Mushtaq, resident of Village Tejian, sustained serious injuries.

15 Aug 2020; MEMO: Pakistan on Friday cautiously reacted to the controversial deal between the UAE and Israel to normalize ties, declaring the development with “far-reaching implications.”

“We have noted the Joint Statement announcing agreement of UAE and Israel to have full normalization of relations. This is a development with far-reaching implications,” said a statement from the Foreign Ministry.

14 Aug 2020; MEMO: Pakistan’s army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, will visit Saudi Arabia on Sunday in an effort to calm escalating diplomatic tensions between the two countries over the unrest in Kashmir.

Reuters quoted Pakistani army spokesman, General Babar Iftikhar, as saying that General Bajwa will visit Riyadh, but claimed the visit was pre-planned and “primarily military affairs oriented”.

ISLAMABAD, Aug 13 (APP): Pakistan on Thursday rejected the Afghan media report and statement by their foreign ministry alleging that the Pakistan military was conducting “illegal” fencing of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

In a statement, the Foreign Office Spokesperson made clear that the fencing along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border was being done to address Pakistan’s serious security concerns and was fully in accordance with the established norms of international law, without encroaching into Afghan territory.

ISLAMABAD, Aug 10 (APP): Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday stressed that the United Nations must play its rightful role in addressing the grave situation in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and ensuring that Kashmiris exercise their right to self-determination, promised to them in the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
He was talking to President-elect of the 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Volkan Bozkir, who called on him here.

ISLAMABAD, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- At least 64 people were killed, and dozens of others were injured in heavy monsoon rain-triggered flash floods and different rain-related incidents, during the last three days in different regions of Pakistan, said a report from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Sunday evening.

According to the report released by the NDMA, at least 19 children and nine women are among those who lost their lives in different rain-related incidents in areas ranging from the north to the south of the country.

ISLAMABAD, Aug 10 (APP): President-elect of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Volkan Bozkir on Monday expressed his strong support for the longstanding dispute of Jammu and Kashmir, linking it with peace and stability of the South Asian region.

“The Jammu and Kashmir dispute needs to be settled through peaceful means,” the visiting UNGA dignitary said at a joint press stakeout with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi here at the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

ISLAMABAD, Aug 9 (NNN-APP) – The president-elect of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, Volkan Bozkir, will visit Pakistan from today Aug 9 to 10, at the invitation of the government of Pakistan.

Bozkir, a veteran Turkish diplomat, was elected president of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly in June, this year.

ISLAMABAD, Aug 08 (APP): Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi Saturday said that Pakistan remained steadfast in support of an inclusive political settlement in Afghanistan.

“Good to speak (with Mike Pompeo) and to reiterate Pakistan’s continued stand for regional peace and security. We remain steadfast in support of an inclusive political settlement in Afghanistan,” the foreign minister said on Twitter.