In Eid message, Biden renews pledge to respect all faiths

US President Joe Biden used his Eid message on Monday to renew the commitment to respecting all faiths and beliefs.

The US leader also underlined the need to help those “millions of displaced persons and refugees around the globe who are spending this sacred holiday separated from their families and unsure of their future”.

Mr Biden pledged to resume the tradition of celebrating Eid at the White House this year to “honor the inspiring Muslim Americans who are leading efforts to build greater understanding and unity across our nation”.

The tradition was discontinued by the Trump administration, apparently because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pakistan’s US Ambassador Masood Khan also noted in his Eid message that President Biden would hold a special Eid event at the White House during the Eid holidays.

Mr Biden’s first two points — respecting all faiths and helping refugees and displaced persons — are also key points of his administration’s foreign policy. In March, the United States endorsed a UN resolution that declared March 15 as the anti-Islamophobia Day. It was on this day in 2019 that a right-wing extremist murdered over 50 Muslims in a terror attack on two mosques in New Zealand.

Pakistan had moved the resolution which was cosponsored by 55 — mainly Muslim — countries.

Mr Biden noted in his message that Eid marks the completion of a holy month dedicated to devotion and reflection, when families and communities come together to celebrate their blessings.

“And Eid is also an occasion for Muslims to remember all those who are struggling or impacted by poverty, hunger, conflict, and disease, and to recommit to building a better future for all,” he said

As Muslims across the United States celebrate Eid, “let us renew our dedication to our foundational commitment to respecting all faiths and beliefs”.

President Biden noted that the Holy Quran urges people to stand firmly for justice and “reminds us that we were created as nations and tribes so that we may get to know one another”.

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With all eyes on economic cooperation, high-powered UAE delegation due in Pakistan today

A high-powered United Arab Emirates (UAE) delegation is due in Pakistan today to explore opportunities on the economic front after Islamabad sought a multibillion-dollar investment from Abu Dhabi.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, on his return from Saudi Arabia, had stopped in the UAE last week to hold a meeting with President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and other top officials.

In the meeting, the premier requested the emirates senior officials to explore investment opportunities in Pakistan. The UAE has already rolled over its deposits of $2 billion lying with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

“A high-level delegation of the UAE is coming to Pakistan to meet their counterparts on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s request to the ruler of UAE. A number of proposals will be discussed and explored during this visit.

Federal Minister for Finance Miftah Ismail confirmed that the UAE delegation was coming to Pakistan to explore investment opportunities. He made it clear that the visit was not meant to seek any further aid package from the UAE.

During their visit, the UAE’s economic experts would also meet PM Shehbaz Sharif in Lahore today. The delegation will also interact with the government’s economic team and deliberate on ways to accelerate the economic activities between the two countries.

The prime minister will also host a dinner reception for the delegation, which will be held to discuss the promotion of economic and trade relations as well as investment.

The members of the delegation will be apprised of a conducive atmosphere for investment in Pakistan. The discussion on cooperation in the fields of energy, economy, and petroleum industry is also on the agenda.

 

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Imran Khan ready to sit with PM Shehbaz on early polls issue: Sheikh Rashid

Former in­­terior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has said he is making efforts to clear “misunderstandings” between the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and the establishment, claiming that ex-premier Imran Khan is ready to sit with incumbent Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the issue of holding early elections if (early polls are) guaranteed by “powerful quarters”.

Mr Rashid, who as the head of the Awami National League-Pakistan remained part of the PTI-led coalition government, said that the PTI would stage a long march to the federal capital by the end of this month and the marchers would stay in Islamabad till the announcement of election date.

He was of the opinion that the PTI should not have confronted any state institutions rather the party should sit with the Election Commi­ssion of Pakistan (ECP) so that it could convince the commission on early polls.

“I have started efforts yesterday to remove misunderstanding between them (PTI and the establishment),” he said in an interview with VOA correspondent Ali Furqan on Monday.

“I am in favour of peace with army, but in case of ‘war’ I will stand by Imran Khan,” Mr Rashid said.

He agreed that there was something wrong [in the last regime] due to which allies like the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) parted ways with the PTI. However, he said, “I was not expecting this from MQM.”

He said Mr Khan was ready to hold talks with the Sharif government for early general elections, but it required the guarantee of “powerful quarters”.

However, he dismissed the impression that PTI’s long march was aimed at inviting martial law. “Imran Khan does not want to shake hands with the leaders of Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition government, but there can be talks regarding elections if the establishment guarantees,” he added.

When the PTI was in power, Mr Khan had said multiple times that he would never sit with Sharif-like “corrupt” leaders on “any issue”.

After the no-confidence vote against Mr Khan last month, the former opposition parties have formed a coalition government with PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif as its prime minister.

Mr Rashid said the army wanted to maintain the continuity of democracy and the only way to maintain it was to hold early elections, otherwise, neither PTI nor the PML-N-led government would survive.

The AML chief said: “Imran Khan is going to gather millions of people in Islamabad and in that case the country would go into a state of uncertainty which may lead to civil war.”

PTI chief Imran Khan earlier on Saturday announced a march towards Islamabad in the last week of May.

Mr Rashid said that if Mr Khan succeeded in bringing a large number of people to Islamabad, his politics would reign while his only demand was early elections. “The PTI does not want to topple the government, but the marchers will not return from Islamabad without announcement of the date of general elections,” he added.

Talking about the fall of the PTI government, he said there were “some misunderstandings with the institutions” which should not have happened. He said he was against a conflict with the army and still wanted “reconciliation”.

When asked to elaborate specific reasons that had caused differences between Mr Khan and the army, the minister refused to reply. However, he said, he had started making efforts from May 1 to remove the “misunderstanding”.

Mr Rashid said he had nothing to do with the Masjid-i-Nabwi incident, but he was clear that the present rulers would be “welcomed in a similar way wherever they go”.

On cases of incitement to violence at the holy mosque, he said he had spent many years in jail in fake cases in the past and was still ready for arrest. He said he had intended to retire from politics, but in the present circumstances he would take part in the elections at Mr Khan’s behest.

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Pakistan celebrates Eidul Fitr with traditional zeal and fervour

Pakistanis are celebrating Eidul Fitr with traditional zeal and fervour today (Tuesday) without COVID-19 restrictions for the first time in two years.

Three separate Eids were celebrated in the country — North Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkwa, and the rest of Pakistan — as the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee's decision was not unanimously accepted across the country.

The day witnesses traditional food items being prepared at home. Large prayer gatherings were held to mark the auspicious occasion, while special prayers were made for the country's stability and prosperity.

PM urges showing compassion to people in need

In his message on the occasion, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif extended greetings to the nation as well as Muslim Ummah on Eidul Fitr and urged the countrymen to show compassion and take special care of the people in need while celebrating the festival.

The prime minister said Allah had awarded Muslims with Eidul Fitr after the month of Ramadan.

He said considering Ramadan’s spirit of patience, sacrifice and compassion, it was incumbent upon the followers to be extra cautious about the needs of the poor and needy while celebrating the Eid.

The prime minister said his government was committed to ensuring the country’s deliverance from the load shedding and was making all-out efforts to achieve the objective.

He also directed the authorities concerned to refrain from carrying out power outages for the three days of Eid-ul-Fitr to allow the people to enjoy the occasion.

He said keeping in view the Eid pleasures and the hardships of the inflation-hit people, the government had also decided not to increase the oil price.

The prime minister assured the nation that every moment of his tenure and all of his capabilities would be utilised to bring ease to the people’s lives.

In the coming days, the people would also feel the reduction in their hardships "as an outcome of the government’s efforts".

The prime minister also asked the countrymen to remember the people of Palestine and the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir on the occasion of Eid and pray for their liberation from oppression.

He also expressed his good wishes for the people of Afghanistan and prayed for durable peace, progress, and prosperity in the war-torn country.

President's message

Separately, in his message, President Dr Arif Alvi, while greeting the countrymen on Eidul Fitr, said it was a day of giving, blessings, and forgiveness.

The president prayed to Allah to make the day a source of joys and eases.

The president said Eid required the celebrators to share their joys with the poor by fully supporting them to achieve real happiness and exercise the true spirit of the festival.

President Alvi prayed to Allah to inculcate, in our personalities, the characteristics of love for worship, self-control, and passion to sacrifice, which we had been practicing throughout Ramadan.

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With all eyes on economic cooperation, high-powered UAE delegation due in Pakistan today

A high-powered United Arab Emirates (UAE) delegation is due in Pakistan today to explore opportunities on the economic front after Islamabad sought a multibillion-dollar investment from Abu Dhabi.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, on his return from Saudi Arabia, had stopped in the UAE last week to hold a meeting with President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and other top officials.

In the meeting, the premier requested the emirates senior officials to explore investment opportunities in Pakistan. The UAE has already rolled over its deposits of $2 billion lying with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

“A high-level delegation of the UAE is coming to Pakistan to meet their counterparts on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s request to the ruler of UAE. A number of proposals will be discussed and explored during this visit.

Federal Minister for Finance Miftah Ismail confirmed that the UAE delegation was coming to Pakistan to explore investment opportunities. He made it clear that the visit was not meant to seek any further aid package from the UAE.

During their visit, the UAE’s economic experts would also meet PM Shehbaz Sharif in Lahore today. The delegation will also interact with the government’s economic team and deliberate on ways to accelerate the economic activities between the two countries.

The prime minister will also host a dinner reception for the delegation, which will be held to discuss the promotion of economic and trade relations as well as investment.

The members of the delegation will be apprised of a conducive atmosphere for investment in Pakistan. The discussion on cooperation in the fields of energy, economy, and petroleum industry is also on the agenda.

 

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Pakistan celebrates Eidul Fitr with traditional zeal and fervour

Pakistanis are celebrating Eidul Fitr with traditional zeal and fervour today (Tuesday) without COVID-19 restrictions for the first time in two years.

Three separate Eids were celebrated in the country — North Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkwa, and the rest of Pakistan — as the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee's decision was not unanimously accepted across the country.

The day witnesses traditional food items being prepared at home. Large prayer gatherings were held to mark the auspicious occasion, while special prayers were made for the country's stability and prosperity.

PM urges showing compassion to people in need

In his message on the occasion, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif extended greetings to the nation as well as Muslim Ummah on Eidul Fitr and urged the countrymen to show compassion and take special care of the people in need while celebrating the festival.

The prime minister said Allah had awarded Muslims with Eidul Fitr after the month of Ramadan.

He said considering Ramadan’s spirit of patience, sacrifice and compassion, it was incumbent upon the followers to be extra cautious about the needs of the poor and needy while celebrating the Eid.

The prime minister said his government was committed to ensuring the country’s deliverance from the load shedding and was making all-out efforts to achieve the objective.

He also directed the authorities concerned to refrain from carrying out power outages for the three days of Eid-ul-Fitr to allow the people to enjoy the occasion.

He said keeping in view the Eid pleasures and the hardships of the inflation-hit people, the government had also decided not to increase the oil price.

The prime minister assured the nation that every moment of his tenure and all of his capabilities would be utilised to bring ease to the people’s lives.

In the coming days, the people would also feel the reduction in their hardships "as an outcome of the government’s efforts".

The prime minister also asked the countrymen to remember the people of Palestine and the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir on the occasion of Eid and pray for their liberation from oppression.

He also expressed his good wishes for the people of Afghanistan and prayed for durable peace, progress, and prosperity in the war-torn country.

President's message

Separately, in his message, President Dr Arif Alvi, while greeting the countrymen on Eidul Fitr, said it was a day of giving, blessings, and forgiveness.

The president prayed to Allah to make the day a source of joys and eases.

The president said Eid required the celebrators to share their joys with the poor by fully supporting them to achieve real happiness and exercise the true spirit of the festival.

President Alvi prayed to Allah to inculcate, in our personalities, the characteristics of love for worship, self-control, and passion to sacrifice, which we had been practicing throughout Ramadan.

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PM Shehbaz extends Eid greetings to Muslims and overseas Pakistanis across the world

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has extended Eid greetings to Muslims and overseas Pakistanis across the world.

In a tweet today [Monday], the Prime Minister also extended warm Eid greetings to his fellow Muslim leaders over the close of holy month of Ramazan, reaffirming Pakistan's resolve to further strengthen ties with them.

As the holy month of Ramazan draws to a close, I want to wish a happy & blessed Eid Mubarak to Muslims & overseas Pakistanis across the world. I also extend warm Eid greetings to my fellow Muslim leaders & reaffirm Pakistan’s resolve to further strengthen our ties.

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) May 2, 2022

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