Monitoring Desk: Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry issues statement on AZAL plane crash, Azernews reports, citing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The statement reads:
“On December 25, an “Embraer 190” aircraft operated by “Azerbaijan Airlines,” on flight J2-8243 from Baku to Grozny, was directed towards Aktau city due to the necessity for an emergency landing and subsequently crashed near Aktau. The causes of the crash are currently under investigation.
There were 67 people on board, including 62 passengers and 5 crew members. Initial reports indicate that 32 individuals have survived, with some in critical condition.
Following the directive of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, a state commission chaired by Prime Minister Ali Asadov has been established to investigate the causes of the plane crash. Additionally, in response to the tragic accident, a delegation led by the Minister of Emergency Situations and the Minister of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan has been dispatched to Kazakhstan.
From the outset of the incident, the Consulate General of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Aktau has been actively working at the scene. In coordination with the Kazakh authorities, emergency rescue teams have been conducting urgent and operational measures.
AZAL plane crash updates. Photo by Azernews
Islamabad Bureau adds:
DND News Agency expresses profound grief over the sad incident of the crash of a commercial flight resulting in the death of passengers. During this difficult time, DND News Agency staff stands in solidarity with the survivors and their families and offers our thoughts and prayers for their swift recovery. May Allah have mercy on the souls of the departed and grant strength to those grieving their loss!
Islamabad, Pakistan: As expected a Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office spokesperson of the United Kingdom on December 23, 2024, expressed concerns over the conviction of 25 vandals who attacked state institutions on May 9, 2023.
Since the Pakistan Foreign Office did not respond to any reaction over the European Union’s statement on the same issue, it was expected that a series of statements would now arrive from European countries in favor of former prime minister Imran Khan and his followers.
On December 22, 2024, the European Union expressed over the sentencing of twenty-five civilians by a military court on 21 December in Pakistan. EU indirectly threatened Pakistan to withdraw the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status if Pakistan would not reverse the decision against PTI’s followers. Pakistan’s Foreign Office did not respond to the EU’s strong statement.
The UK’s statement called on the Government of Pakistan to uphold its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and withdraw convictions against followers of Imran Khan. This statement of the United Kingdom is yet to get a response from the Pakistan Foreign Office.
Suppose Pakistan had a proficient and swift team sitting in the Foreign Office of Pakistan. In that case, it should have responded with such a statement as ‘a glaring attempt of the EU as well as of the UK government to interfere in domestic issues of Pakistan’. Pakistan could respond to the EU and UK governments as follows:
“UK statement on Pakistan’s internal legal matter over the award of punishments to 9th May culprits is “Absolutely Unacceptable”.
The UK in an absurd and totally uncalled-for statement has raised objections over the trial of civilians in the military courts in Pakistan. Coming from a country which after the racial riots of 29 July 2024 in the Southport area of the UK, prosecuted over 200 people including three infants in a few days on the indirect charges of even posting on social media and handed down severe punishments after one of the worst crackdowns on its people following the riots.
All those who were convicted for their part in the violence were sent to prison within no time. Out of 54 convictions, 47 adults and 3 minors were given custodial sentences. Those who pleaded guilty were tried under a fast-track procedure; the others were remanded in custody.
Penalties were particularly severe for those not directly involved in the riots, but who even incited violence on social media. In Northampton, a 26-year-old man who had called for the burning of hotels and law firms helping migrants was sentenced to three years and two months in prison.
What the UK did to its people through severe crackdown was way overboard but Pakistan never raised any objection over it, being the UK’s internal matter, rather provided full support in identifying the culprit who was involved in spreading fake news.
Now, it’s ludicrous on the part of UK authorities to falsely point to a fair and established legal process being followed in Pakistan. Since 9 May 2023, 9th May culprits have been awaiting justice. After a lapse of over one and half years, Pakistan is concluding the long-due trials of the culprits against whom solid evidence and proof exist. The trials were conducted per the constitution and law of the land.
Needless to say, legal processes and laws vary from country to country as per the dictates of the ground. The trial of civilians in the military courts in Pakistan is a legally established process in Pakistan’s judicial system which takes its legal cover from the Constitution of Pakistan and the relevant laws of the land.
The UK will be better served by minding its own business, focusing on playing its long-due role over raising its voice on severe and worst violations of civil and political rights of the people of Gaza & Palestine, it must stop Israel from committing genocide.
The UK must avoid meddling in internal legal matters of Pakistan that too on the behest of Goldsmiths as Pakistan will not listen to any such absurd and uncalled-for political meddling from another country”.
Lahore, Pakistan: National College of Business Administration & Economics (NCBAE) Main Campus is offering an Introductory Level Certificate in Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) that is incredibly efficient and many therapists report significant breakthroughs in a single session.
Interested persons can contact Dean of Social Sciences Dr Asir Ajmal by sending an email at asirajmal@gmail.com
Islamabad, Pakistan: In 2014, the founding chairman of PTI Imran Khan announced a movement of Civil Disobedience. He burnt utility bills and ordered his followers not to pay utility bills to the state. He also announced that his followers living abroad should bypass legal banking channels and practice illegal means such as Hawala and Hundi to send money to their relatives in Pakistan. His statement was used against Pakistan thereafter when FATF was investigating the system of fund transfers to and from Pakistan.
At that time he was supported by all all-powerful cadre of the country therefore the government of former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif could not take any legal action against him for abetting the public to exercise illegal means of transfer of money to Pakistan. Even then when he was all all-powerful and practically untouchable person in Pakistan, nobody among his followers stopped paying utility bills and his movement of civil disobedience failed within a month. The time has changed and the power cadre that brought him in power is no longer available to him. His popularity had nosedived and his engross in the masses had vanished away. Now he is living with only lofty claims and statements and his latest call for civil disobedience would face the same fate that he is facing himself in jail.
There is no doubt left that the agenda of Imran Khan and his anarchist party is to harm the state and undermine its economic interests which have yet not changed. Even during his tenure as Prime Minister, Imran Khan made decisions that harmed the Pakistani economy, the consequences of which the nation is still suffering.
For some time now, he has been repeatedly threatening that if his demands are not met, he will call the nation for civil disobedience and will also prohibit Pakistanis living abroad from sending remittances through banking channels and following the illegal way of Hawala and Hundi to send money to their relatives in Pakistan. He knows his actions and his call for civil disobedience are not only against the country’s legal framework but can also seriously damage the economic stability and national unity and would also place overseas Pakistanis in danger when they use illegal means of transferring money from abroad to their country of origin. Due to such of his actions, his political opponents have reasons to claim that he has become an enemy of the country’s growing economy.
Let’s look at the civil disobedience movement in Pakistan. The Constitution of Pakistan guarantees public freedoms such as expression and peaceful assembly, but such activities that threaten national stability or affect the economy do not have any legal protection. Calls for civil disobedience, such as not paying taxes, not paying electricity and gas bills, etc., are considered illegal acts because they can disrupt public order or harm the economy.
The time will tell what action the sitting government of PMLN will take against him for instigating the public against the state. This time, PMLN will have no excuse to let him harm the economy. Last time in 2014, PMLN claimed it could not take any action against him as power cadres were playing him for the country as well as against the PMLN government of 2014.
Islamabad, Pakistan: On May 9, 2023, the miscreants of PTI wrote a dark chapter in the history of Pakistan on the clear instructions of their Cult Leader former prime minister Imran Khan.
Everyone saw how these miscreants attacked state properties and institutions. In one day, 220 military installations were targeted under a systematic plan. Above all, these miscreants systematically attacked, burned, and desecrated the monuments of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the country.
After this mischief of the mischievous party PTI, the law came into action and the mischievous people involved in it were identified from CCTV footage. Authentic and undeniable evidence was collected against them and then legal action was initiated against them under the Constitution of Pakistan and their cases were sent to military courts where they were delayed for some time as the trial of civilians in military courts was challenged. Recently the Constitutional Bench ordered the Military Courts to pronounce sentences against these mischievous people, after which 25 mischievous people had been punished for their mischievous acts. There was a delay in giving this sentence and during this time due to the weak justice system, many incidents of mischief took place, the biggest of which took place on November 26. If this punishment process had started at the right time and they had been punished much earlier, the incidents of mischief up to May 9 and November 26 would not have taken place.
The reaction of the miscreant party PTI and its founder to the punishment of the miscreants who created the dark chapter of May 9 was expected in advance. However, it is worth noting that earlier they used to say that none of our workers were involved in the events of May 9 and if anyone was, they should be punished according to the constitution and law and now when punishments are being given, their outcry is beyond understanding…?
The allegation of the founder of PTI that the CCTV footage of May 9 was also without evidence. He should be asked if the CCTV footage exists. Did he not see how his nephew Hassan Niazi was insulting the uniform of the Pakistan Army? Did he not see how the miscreants of his party were burning Jinnah House and looting there? Does he not see that the miscreants are breaking the GHQ gate, attacking the Mianwali base, now that the confessional statements of these miscreants have also come to light, after which the false allegations of the founder of PTI have no value?
After the process of punishment has begun by the founder of PTI and his party, this crying and wailing is actually to make the transparent system of justice controversial, in which they cannot succeed in any way. Now they see that according to the Constitution of Pakistan, the hand of the law is now going to reach the necks of those who planned the May 9 tragedy, facilitated it, incited the youth of Pakistan, and insulted other state institutions including the Pakistan Army. To avoid this, they are now trying to avoid it by attracting their external masters, especially the Zionist masters.
Strangely there is talk of engaging this miscreant political party in a dialogue, and some responsible elements of PMLN are prompting and promoting the idea of political dialogue with PTI. Does this situation express confusion within the ruling party?
Should the government of Pakistan initiate dialogue with this group that has been constantly involved in injecting digital terrorism into the country targeting the armed forces of Pakistan or should the government deal with this group as a terrorist group should have been dealt with?
The investigation of Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed and the charge sheet against him also confirmed that the ‘Niazi-Faiz Gang’ planned mutiny in the country on May 9. The statements of convicted persons in the May 9 case are enough to believe that everything that happened on May 9 was well planned by PTI leadership and Imran Khan was the mastermind but party leaders were also part of this lethal move against the state. Important personalities of PMLN such as Kh Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Sanaullah Khan, and even Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have been saying that PTI is not a party but rather a group of vandals having only one target that is harming the country. Defence Minister Kh Asif more than once said that PTI behaves like a terror group.
Shreds of evidence confirm that this group is surely involved in digital terrorism against the country then why is the government offering negotiation or political dialogue with a group that has the sole target of destroying the country? Should this group not have been dealt with as a terrorist group?
News regarding political dialogue between PTI has been acting as a terrorist group and the government is sending the wrong message to the public that asks if PTI has an agenda to destroy the country and what should government is not dealing with it as a terrorist group and of course, there should no negotiation or parlays with a terror organization. It looks like there is no clarity among the ruling party on how to deal with PTI and there are some within the ruling elite that have soft corners for a terrorist organization such as PTI.
Islamabad, Pakistan: 16 more brave soldiers of the Pakistan Army laid their lives for their motherland while fighting with TTP terrorists (officially called Khwarij) on the night of 20-21 December 2024, when a group of Khwarij attempted to attack a Security Forces Check Post in general area Makeen, South Waziristan District.
According to a statement of Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR) of Pakistan Armed forces, the attempt was effectively thwarted by own troops and in the ensuing fire exchange, eight khwarij were sent to hell. However, during an intense fire exchange, Sixteen brave sons of the soil, having fought gallantly embraced Shahadat.
Sanitization operation is being conducted in the area and the perpetrators of the heinous act will be brought to justice. Security forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave men further strengthen our resolve
Islamabad, Pakistan: After getting approval from the Supreme Court this week, the military courts announced the verdict of the May 9 2023 Mutiny case on Saturday punishing 25 culprits involved in the May 9, 2023 vandalism.
The formation of a Judicial Commission would frustrate the legal process against the culprits of the May 9 incidents
On 9 May 2023, the nation witnessed tragic incidents of politically provoked violence and arson at multiple places, marking a dark chapter in the history of Pakistan. Building on a sustained narrative of hate and lies, politically orchestrated attacks were carried out on the installations of the Armed Forces including desecration of the monuments of Shuhada.
These blatant acts of violence not only shocked the nation but also underscored the necessity of checking this unacceptable attempt of political terrorism to impose its own perverted will through violence and coercion.
Sequel to the events of this ‘Black Day’, through meticulous investigations, irrefutable evidence was collected to legally prosecute the accused involved in the 9th May tragedy. Certain cases were subsequently referred for Field General Court Martial as per law, where they underwent trials following due process.
On 13 December 2024, a seven-member Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan directed that the cases pending due to an earlier order of the Supreme Court be finalized and judgments in the cases of those accused found involved in these violent incidents be announced.
The sentences of the other accused are also being announced as soon as their legal process is completed. The decision on the sentences of May 9 is an important milestone in the provision of justice for the nation. The sentences of May 9 are a clear message to all those who are exploited by a few vested interests. These sentences are a warning to those who fall victim to political propaganda and poisonous lies to never take the law into their own hands in the future.
The details of the 25 convicted accused are as follows:
1. Jan Muhammad Khan, son of Toor Khan, involved in the Jinnah House attack, sentenced to 10 years in prison with hard labor
2. Muhammad Imran Mehboob, son of Mehboob Ahmed, involved in the Jinnah House attack, sentenced to 10 years in prison with hard labor
3. Raja Muhammad Ehsan, son of Raja Muhammad Maqsood, involved in the GHQ attack, sentenced to 10 years in prison with hard labor
4. Rehmatullah, son of Manjoor Khan, involved in the Punjab Regimental Center Mardan attack, sentenced to 10 years in prison with hard labor
5. Anwar Khan, son of Muhammad Khan, involved in the PAF base Mianwali attack, sentenced to 10 years in prison with hard labor
6. Muhammad Afaq Khan, son of M. Ashfaq Khan, involved in the Bannu Cantt attack, was sentenced to 9 years in prison with hard labor.
7. Dawood Khan, son of Amir Zeb, involved in the Chakdara Fort attack, was sentenced to 7 years in prison with hard labor.
8. Faheem Haider, son of Farooq Haider, involved in the Jinnah House attack, was sentenced to 6 years in prison with hard labor.
9. Zahid Khan, son of Muhammad Khan, involved in the Multan Cantt check post-attack, was sentenced to 4 years in prison with hard labor.
10. Yasir Nawaz, son of Amir Nawaz Khan, involved in the Punjab Regimental Center Mardan attack, was sentenced to 2 years in prison with hard labor.
11. Abdul Hadi, son of Abdul Qayyum, involved in the Jinnah House attack, was sentenced to 10 years in prison with hard labor.
12. Ali Shan, son of Noor Muhammad, involved in the Jinnah House attack, was sentenced to 10 years in prison with hard labor.
13. Dawood Khan, son of Shad Khan, involved in the Jinnah House attack, was sentenced to 10 years in prison with hard labor.
14. Umar Farooq, son of Muhammad Sabir, involved in the GHQ attack, was sentenced to 10 years in prison with hard labor.
15. Babar Jamal son of Muhammad Ajmal Khan, involved in the PAF base Mianwali attack, sentenced to 10 years in prison with hard labor
16. Muhammad Hasher Khan son of Tahir Bashir, involved in the Jinnah House attack, sentenced to 6 years in prison with hard labor
17. Muhammad Ashiq Khan son of Naseeb Khan, involved in the Jinnah House attack, sentenced to 4 years in prison with hard labor
18. Khurram Shahzad son of Liaquat Ali, involved in the Multan Cantt check post attack, sentenced to 3 years in prison with hard labor
19. Muhammad Bilawal son of Manzoor Hussain, involved in the Jinnah House attack, sentenced to 2 years in prison with hard labor
20. Syed Alam son of Maazullah Khan, involved in the Punjab Regimental Center Mardan attack, sentenced to 2 years in prison with hard labor
21. Laiq Ahmed son of Manzoor Ahmed, involved in the ISI office Faisalabad attack, sentenced to 2 years in prison with hard labor
22. Ali Iftikhar son of Iftikhar Ahmed, involved in the Jinnah House attack, sentenced to 10 years in prison with hard labor
23. Ziaur Rehman son of Azam Khurshid, involved in the Jinnah House attack, was sentenced to 10 years in prison with hard labor.
24. Adnan Ahmed son of Sher Muhammad, involved in the Punjab Regimental Center Mardan attack, was sentenced to 10 years in prison with hard labor.
25. Shakirullah son of Anwar Shah, involved in the Punjab Regimental Center Mardan attack, was sentenced to 10 years in prison with hard labor.
Cases are also pending against several accused in various anti-terrorism courts. True justice will be served when the masterminds and planners of May 9 are brought to justice. Punishment will be given according to the constitution and law. The state of Pakistan will ensure the rule of law by providing complete justice in the incidents of May 9. By providing justice in the May 9th case, the misguided and destructive politics based on violence will be buried. According to the constitution and law, all convicted criminals have the right to appeal and other legal remedies
Monitoring Desk: The killing of top Russian General Igor Kirillov along with his assistant confirmed again connections between emerging terrorism and Central Asian republics.
This was the second event of terrorism in Russia where Central Asian men were allegedly involved while videos and footage arriving from Syria also indicate the presence of thousands of Central Asian men conquering Syrian cities as foot soldiers of forces of former Alqaeeda leader.
Russia said on Wednesday it had detained a suspect who had confessed to planting and detonating a bomb in Moscow that killed General Kirillov, who was the chief of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Protection Troops, on the instructions of Ukraine’s SBU security service.
In the March 2024 jihadist massacre at Moscow’s Crocus City Hall, four Tajik citizens were held for allegedly murdering at least 143 people in the concert hall. last week. Some of the Tajiks arrested including Faridun Shamsiddin emigrated to Russia, then traveled to Turkey, before returning to Moscow in early March. BBC reported that Turkey is a convenient country for a migrant worker to renew a Russian permit and is also seen as somewhere where IS’s Afghan-based affiliate Islamic State Khorasan can recruit militants.
In both cases of terrorism in Russia, Ukrainian secret services allegedly recruited Central Asian youth while the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) force recruited them thereby sending a possibility that Central Asian men are available as ‘hire-guns’ and their recruitment allegedly by Western allied forces is dangerous for all who are not aligned with NATO forces.
In December 2020, Uzbekistan brought home 25 women and 73 children from Syria where they had been staying at camps with other families of Islamic State fighters.
Central Asian republics border Russia, Iran, China, and Afghanistan and three of them are on the hit list of Western allies while one (Afghanistan) is a launching pad of terrorism where Western allied forces had already left NATO-grade war weapons that had been used against Pakistan now.
The merging scenario can be dangerous for the region if such Central Asian youth are hired against China and Iran in the future as hired-gun as they would have Afghanistan as a terrorism launching pad.
Islamabad, Pakistan: On December 19, 2024, the US again imposed sanctions on Pakistan, and the Foreign Office of Pakistan believes the US decision to impose sanctions is unfortunate and biased.
Russia, Iran, China, and Pakistan are facing the Season of US Sanctions and surprisingly all four countries are members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) from the Global South and believe in Indigenous defence capabilities, and are achieving an impressive level of self-reliance over defence requirements. Against all four countries, the United States has ‘reasons to believe that they are endangering US security”. This US mantra of ‘reason to believe’ destroyed Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan in the past when the US said that it had reasons to believe that Iraq had chemical weapons as well as weapons of mass destruction while it claimed that it had reasons to believe that Afghanistan had ‘dirty bomb’ and it also had reason to believe that Qadaffi was a constant threat to US security in the Middle East.
The US Department of State has reasons to sanction Russia (Ukraine War and otherwise), it is believed that Iran wants to develop nuclear weapons for its defence requirements so it is under a constant wave of sanctions. Regarding China, the US has categorically said that it is the most dangerous enemy of the United States so is facing a constant series of sanctions. What for Pakistan is facing the Season of US Sanctions? Islamabad is a time-tested ally of Washington and has been at the forefront in South Asia whenever its support was required. Furthermore, US sanctions are mostly related to Pakistan’s missile program that is decades old and is per defence demands in an environment where its historic enemy India has been trying to find reasons to harm Pakistan. Besides, why did this series of US sanctions start just after former prime minister Imran Khan was voted out of power?
In October 2023, the US imposed sanctions on three Chinese suppliers to Pakistan’s missile program. This was two days after Pakistan conducted its second test launch of the Ababeel medium-range ballistic missile.
In September 2024, the United States imposed sanctions on five Chinese companies and an individual claiming they were supplying equipment to test large-diameter rocket motors, including the Shaheen-3 and Ababeel, and, potentially, other larger systems.
In October 2024, the US blacklists over two dozen firms tied to Pakistan and Iran weapons programs, citing they were supporting missile and drone developments and violations of Pakistan and Iran, calling activities of firms contrary to US national security, including violating export controls, aiding restricted weapons programs, and attempting to bypass sanctions on Russia and Iran. The US Commerce Department stated that “nine Pakistani entities were added to the ban list for contributing to Pakistan’s ballistic missile program.
There are circles within the government of Pakistan that believe that this harsh treatment of the United States against an old friend like Pakistan has something very serious behind and the move is planned by the Zionist lobby that since long wanted to damage Pakistan’s strategic assets and now this lobby became dangerously annoyed when its assets Imran Khan was removed from the power through a vote of no-confidence. Security circles in Pakistan since long claimed that TTP and BLA are directly being funded by India at the direction of the Zionist lobby as India and Israel collaborate against their enemies. Since Imran Khan has been a strategic partner of the Zionist lobby through the House of Goldsmith, this lobby has accelerated its project to destroy Pakistan as it destroyed several countries in the Middle East and Africa. An impartial review of the situation suggests that the claims of security circles of Pakistan are not unfounded because the entire Zionist lobby has geared up to put multidimensional pressure on Pakistan including through US politicians demanding the release of Imran Khan, Zionist media blaming Pakistan for human rights abuses and US State Department slapping Pakistan with sanction and drawing a triangle of Iran-China-Pakistan and claiming this triangle is a security threat to US interests globally. During Imran Khan’s tenure, this lobby managed to harm Pakistan’s relations with China, and the flagship project of Chinese BRI—CPEC was closed down and Chinese firms were harassed through accusations of corruption in Chinese projects. This lobby also managed to create a rift among all friends of Pakistan such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE, and even European Union countries. Fortunately, Khan was voted out before the total damage was done at a diplomatic level. Now this lobby is working day and night to implement this anti-Pakistan plan and Imran and his associates inside and outside the country are constantly busy selling anti-national narratives, sometimes articles in foreign media, sometimes anti-Pakistan demonstrations abroad, sometimes boycotting domestic products, sometimes attacking the federation, sometimes a movement of civil disobedience and advising Pakistanis not to send remittances, so that they are determined to destroy the entire country to achieve their goals and now they are happy with this attack on Pakistan’s security and are encouraging America to impose such restrictions.
Circles in the government of Pakistan believe that there is a collaborative move against Pakistan by using US-funded media houses such as Voice of America, DIVA, and Radio Mashal, and on the other hand, facilitators such as Adil Raja, Imran Riaz, Siddique Jan, Moeed Pirzada and Zalmay Khalilzad are operating day and night to attack Pakistan through accusing Pakistan for human right abuses. Meanwhile, when organizations like Amnesty International and the Human Rights Commission protect them by becoming their shields, covering them in the cloak of sympathy.
‘False narrative building is a dangerous weapon made by world powers, powered by money and semiotic techniques for killing democracies in developing countries such as Pakistan. All cognitive tools are being used to create fault lines by fanning religion, sectarianism, ethnic discrimination, or linguistics. At the same time, an effective atmosphere is being created for its effectiveness by strangling the state’s economy and national security institutions. The sooner this is recognized and broken, the better, otherwise it will not take long to reach the situation of Syria, Libya, Iraq’, commented academician and semiotician Shazia Anwer Cheema when asked to comment on the situation that Pakistan is facing.
She was of the opinion that it is the foremost responsibility of the state machinery to align all resources in a synchronizing way to fight back the situation and the core responsibility lies on media managers of Pakistan to realize the situation and engage media academicians and practitioners to mitigate the situation.
Beijing, China: The BRI Green and Low-Carbon Expert Network (GLEN) was formally launched in Beijing.
The network, supported by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China (MEE), brings together global experts to facilitate collaboration, consultation, and capacity building in green development.
The opening session was attended by high-level dignitaries, including Zhao Yingmin, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China, Salvador Moncada, Ambassador of Honduras to China, Khalil Hashmi, Ambassador of Pakistan to China, and Erik Solheim, Vice President of the BRIGC Governing Board and Co-Chair of the Board of Europe-Asia Center. The session highlighted the critical role of international cooperation in fostering a sustainable, low-carbon future under the Belt and Road framework.
Mustafa Sayed
In a significant recognition of his contributions and expertise, Mustafa Hyder Sayed, Executive Director of the Pakistan-China Institute, has been appointed as an inaugural member of the BRI GLEN for a 3-year term. Mustafa Sayed’s appointment underscores his leading role in fostering sustainable development initiatives, particularly within the Belt and Road framework, and his advocacy for green economic transition across partner nations.
The launch of GLEN aligns with President Xi Jinping’s eight pledges for high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, announced during the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in October 2023. As a core pillar of the BRI International Green Development Coalition (BRIGC), GLEN will serve as a collaborative platform for experts to design green policies, provide project consultations, and develop standards for low-carbon growth.
In its capacity, the prestigious network will contribute its expertise toward supporting BRI partner countries in green development planning and environmental governance. Its role will encompass critical responsibilities such as policy deliberations, providing technical support for green financing and ESG assessments, and advising on environmental impact assessments for international projects.
The launch ceremony brought together a diverse group of stakeholders, including government officials, financial institutions, industry leaders, and academic experts, reflecting a shared commitment to accelerating low-carbon initiatives. The appointment of Mustafa Sayed highlights Pakistan’s growing influence in shaping sustainable global policies and further strengthens the country’s partnership with China in driving environmental stewardship under the BRI.
Lahore, Pakistan: National College of Business Administration & Economics (NCBAE) Main Campus is offering an Introductory Level Certificate in Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) that...
Islamabad, Pakistan: In 2014, the founding chairman of PTI Imran Khan announced a movement of Civil Disobedience. He burnt utility bills and ordered his...
Islamabad, Pakistan: 16 more brave soldiers of the Pakistan Army laid their lives for their motherland while fighting with TTP terrorists (officially called Khwarij)...
Islamabad, Pakistan: After getting approval from the Supreme Court this week, the military courts announced the verdict of the May 9 2023 Mutiny case...
