Here’s what’s happening across the border: Imran Khan says Pakistan won’t fight imposed war on its soil anymore; World Economic Forum report claims water crisis could affect Pak economy drastically.
Pak govt offers land to build hotels for Sikh pilgrims
Pakistan railway minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed Monday announced his government’s decision to provide land to Sikh organisations to help construct modern hotels in Kartarpur, Nankana Sahib, and Narowal cities of the Punjab province.
A railway station in Kartarpur has also been promised for Sikh pilgrims visiting Pakistan, reports Dawn.
The minister was addressing reporters after bidding farewell to Indian Sikh pilgrims who left for Lahore in special trains after completing their religious ceremonies at Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hassan Abdal.
Rashid further said that the government has offered 10 acres of land in Kartarpur and Nankana Sahib while another 5 acres in Narowal to Sikh organisations to set up five-star hotels for the accommodation of visiting Sikh pilgrims.
Additionally, train services would be provided from Nankana Sahib to Kartarpur and hostels would be established near all Sikh pilgrimage sites.
Won’t fight any other ‘imposed war’ in Pakistan, says PM Khan
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan Monday told the tribal leaders in Waziristan that Pakistan had “fought an imposed war” inside its territory, promising that “we shall not fight any such war again in Pakistan”, reports Dawn.
Khan travelled to Miranshah, a town in the North Waziristan district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, Monday and was accompanied by army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa and KP chief minister Mahmood Khan. This was Khan’s first visit to the recently merged tribal areas of North Waziristan, now a district of KP after the 25th Constitutional Amendment was finalised this year in May necessitating the merger of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) with the KP province.
“No other country or armed forces have done what Pakistan and its military have done in the war against terrorism,” Khan was quoted as saying by army spokesperson Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor in a tweet Monday.
PM in NWD. “No other country or armed forces have done what Pak & its armed forces have done in war against terrorism. ”We have fought an imposed war inside our country at a very heavy cost of sweat, blood & eco. We shall not fight any such war again inside Pakistan”, PM.(1/3). pic.twitter.com/prBzxWkOuq
— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) November 26, 2018
The PM also said that Pakistan will play its “role in the Afghan peace process along with other stakeholders as peace in Afghanistan is critical for achieving enduring peace in Pakistan”.
PM in NWD. “We are for peace beyond borders especially in Afghanistan. We shall play our role in Afghan peace process along with other stake holders as peace in Afghanistan is critical for achieving enduring peace in Pakistan”, PM. (2 of 3). pic.twitter.com/Ddbdrtpufx
— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) November 26, 2018
Khan also commended people of erstwhile FATA for “courageously facing challenging and difficult times of terrorism”. FATA before its merger with KP was subject to a more than a decade of intense insurgency, militancy and terrorism due to which lakhs of people were displaced in the past and several killed.
PM appreciated people of erstwhile FATA/ KP for courageously facing challenging & difficult times of terrorism. He hailed achievements of Pak Army, other security forces & intel agencies for their successful ops against terrorists.
“A new Pakistan is in the making”, PM.(3 of 3). pic.twitter.com/EOvmCC3YEZ— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) November 26, 2018
The Prime Minister was also informed about various security, developmental and rehabilitation projects that are being implemented in the region.
According to a press release issued by the army’s media wing, PM Khan also announced a number of welfare packages for the newly merged districts mainly in the fields of health, education, employment and administration.
Looming water crisis biggest risk for Pak economy, claims WEF report
Problems such as water crisis, unmanageable inflation, terrorist attacks, failure of urban planning and critical infrastructure will affect the ease of doing business in Pakistan, a World Economic Forum report says.
According to an article in Dawn, the report highlights 10 major risks to doing business in South Asia, including failure of national governance, unmanageable inflation, unemployment and under-employment, failure of regional and global governance, cyber attacks, failure of critical infrastructure, energy price shock, failure of financial mechanism or institution, water crises and large-scale involuntary migration.
The report was filed after an ‘executive opinion survey’ was conducted in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka between January and June.
Indian Sikh pilgrim receives free heart treatment in Pakistan
A 63-year-old Sikh pilgrim from India, Ratan Singh, suffered a cardiac arrest at the Gurdwara Panja Sahib, Hassan Abdal and was rushed to Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology Hospital Monday.
The hospital decided to treat him free of cost on humanitarian grounds. He successfully underwent an angioplasty surgery, reports The Express Tribune.
Gen. Dr Azhar Kiyani (retd), the head of the institution, performed the surgery on Ratan Singh.
The rare gesture by Pakistan comes after India’s Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu laid the foundation stone of the Kartarpur corridor Monday, aimed at linking Dera Baba Nanak in India to Pakistan’s Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur.