Pakistan says renewed Kartarpur Corridor agreement with India to facilitate Sikh pilgrims
Pakistan says renewed Kartarpur Corridor agreement with India to facilitate Sikh pilgrims/node/2576386/pakistan
Pakistan says renewed Kartarpur Corridor agreement with India to facilitate Sikh pilgrims
Sikh pilgrims arrive to take part in a religious ritual on the occasion of the 481st death anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of Sikhism, at the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur near the India-Pakistan border on September 22, 2020. (AFP/File)
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has renewed its agreement with India for the Kartarpur Corridor that gives Indian Sikh pilgrims visa-free access to the final resting place of their religion’s founder, the Pakistani foreign office said on Tuesday.
The visa-free border crossing, from India to Kartarpur in the Narowal district of Pakistan’s Punjab, was inaugurated in November 2019 just ahead of the 550th birthday of Sikhism’s founder Baba Guru Nanak.
The corridor connects the Sikh shrines of Dera Baba Nanak in India to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, the final resting place of Guru Nanak, in Kartarpur and is seen as a rare example of cooperation and diplomacy between the two South Asian neighbors.
Originally signed on October 24, 2019 for a period of five years, the Kartarpur Corridor agreement between the nuclear-armed rivals was due to complete its term on Thursday.
“Its renewal underscores Pakistan’s enduring commitment to fostering interfaith harmony and peaceful coexistence,” the Pakistan foreign office said in a statement.
“The agreement continues to offer visa-free access to pilgrims from India, enabling them to visit the sacred site of Gurudwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur where Baba Guru Nanak, the revered founder of Sikhism, spent his final days. Since its inception, the Corridor has facilitated the pilgrimage of thousands of worshippers to this holy site.”
Much of the Sikh heritage is located in Pakistan. When Pakistan was carved out of India at the end of British rule in 1947, Kartarpur ended up on the Pakistani side of the border, while most of the region’s Sikhs remained on the other side.
For over seven decades, the Sikh community had lobbied for easier access to their holiest temple.
Pakistan’s initiative to open the corridor earned widespread appreciation from the international community, including the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres who described it as a “Corridor of Hope.”
“The Kartarpur Corridor fulfills the long-cherished aspirations of the Sikh community for an access to one of their most revered religious landmarks,” the Pakistani foreign office said.
“It reflects Pakistan’s recognition of the importance of safeguarding the rights of religious minorities.”
ISLAMABAD: Saad Siddiqui, the founder of the Pakistani e-learning platform Edversity, has been named social entrepreneur of the year at the 2025 BRICS and SCO Young Leaders Awards held in Kazan, Russia, state media reported on Wednesday.
This year’s awards received over 400 applications, including representatives of entrepreneurs, media influencers, researchers and environmental activists. Participants from 13 countries — Brazil, China, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and the UAE — competed for the prize. Nominees needed to be between 18 and 35 years old and citizens BRICS and SCO countries.
The event’s participants competed in five categories: Media Influencer of the Year, Social Entrepreneur of the Year, Public Diplomacy Project, Researcher of the Year, and Eco-Initiative of the Year. Pakistan’s state APP news agency said Pakistan’s Siddiqui had won the social entrepreneur title.
“Our focus is on providing affordable and accessible education in cutting-edge fields like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain, and Web3, empowering individuals to thrive in the global digital economy,” Siddiqui, who is also a member of the Prime Minister’s Youth Council, was quoted by APP as saying.
“Edversity is my vision to make technology education accessible to all, especially in underserved regions of Pakistan. Winning this award is a testament to Pakistan’s potential in innovation and entrepreneurship.”
While access to education was already a problem in Pakistan – 22.8 million of Pakistan’s over 70 million children are out of school – the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 closed down over 300,000 schools, affecting around 40 million children. The pandemic also rammed home the extent of the country’s digital divide as the fundamentals of connected life like smartphones and the Internet remained out of reach for millions of households, making it difficult to rely on virtual learning.
Eighty eight percent of South Asia’s school-age children have no Internet access at home, a December 2020 UNICEF-International Telecommunication Union report said. With only 33 percent of households having Internet access, many Pakistan students in particular encounter challenges using e-learning solutions, especially girls, UNICEF said in 2023.
KARACHI: Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau said on Wednesday it had kickstarted the process of seeking the extradition from the UAE of real estate tycoon Malik Riaz Hussain who is charged in a land corruption case involving former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife.
Hussain is one of Pakistan’s wealthiest and most influential businessmen and the country’s largest private employers. He is best known as the chairman of Bahria Town Limited, which claims to be Asia’s largest private real estate developer. Hussain currently lives in Dubai.
Earlier this month, a Pakistani court sentenced ex-premier Khan to 14 years in prison and his wife, Bushra, to seven years, in a case in which they are accused of receiving land as a bribe from Hussain through the Al-Qadir charitable trust during Khan’s premiership from 2018 to 2022 in exchange for illegal favors. Khan says he and his wife were trustees and did not benefit from the land transaction. Hussain has also denied any wrongdoing related to the case.
“We have written to the Federal Investigation Agency for the extradition,” a NAB spokesman told Arab News, explaining that after getting the go-ahead from NAB, the FIA would now pursue the case internationally, including by involving Interpol.
When asked if NAB was seeking Hussain’s extradition in the Al-Qadir case in which he is a co-accused with Khan and his wife, the spokesman replied, “Yes.”
Last week, defense minister Khawaja Asif confirmed that Pakistan would use its extradition treaty with the UAE to bring Hussain back.
Earlier this month, NAB had cautioned people against investing in Hussain’s new real estate venture to build luxury apartments in Dubai:
“If the general public at large invests in the stated project, their actions would be tantamount to money laundering, for which they may face criminal and legal proceedings.”
Responding to NAB on X, Hussain said “fake cases, blackmailing and greed of officers” had forced him to relocate from country because he was not willing to be a “political pawn.”
This was my decision yesterday and this is my decision today, no matter how much you oppress me, Malik Riaz will not testify!
Doing business in Pakistan is not easy, despite obstacles at every step, 40 years of blood and sweat, by the grace of Allah, the first world-class housing…
In 2019, Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) said Hussain had agreed to hand over 190 million pounds held in Britain to settle a UK investigation into whether the money was from the proceeds of crime.
The NCA said it had agreed to a settlement in which Hussain would hand over a property, 1 Hyde Park Place, valued at 50 million pounds, and cash frozen in British bank accounts.
The NCA had previously secured nine freezing orders covering 140 million pounds in the accounts on the grounds that the money may have been acquired illegally.
The agency said the assets would be passed to the government of Pakistan and the settlement with Hussain was “a civil matter, and does not represent a finding of guilt.”
The case against Hussain and ex-PM Khan now is that instead of putting the tycoon’s settlement money in Pakistan’s treasury, Khan’s government used the money to pay fines levied by a court against Hussain for illegal acquisition of government lands at below-market value for development in Karachi.
ISLAMABAD: The Global Firepower (GFP) Index, a yearly ranking of the world’s military powers, has ranked Pakistan the top 15 global military power in its 2025 listing, with archrival India ahead on fourth place.
The index uses over 60 individual measures to determine a nation’s PowerIndex (PwrIndx) score, with categories ranging from quantity of military units and financial standing to logistics capability and geography.
“The GFP Index denotes Pakistan as a top 15 global military power,” GFP said on its website. “For 2025, Pakistan is ranked 12 of 145 out of the countries considered for the annual GFP review. The nation holds a PwrIndx* score of 0.2513 (a score of 0.0000 is considered ‘perfect’).”
Pakistan’s nuclear-armed neighbor India was ranked a top 5 global military power, placing at 4 of 145 nations considered with a PwrIndx of 0.1184.
For air fleet strength, Pakistan ranked 7 out of 145 nations considered, while India was no 4.
In terms of naval strength, Pakistan was ranked 27 of 145 countries reviewed, while India was 6.
ISLAMABAD: A high-level American business delegation led by a close associate of the family of US President Donald Trump called on Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday, as Islamabad seeks to attract investments to shore up its $350 billion economy.
The delegation, led by Texas hedge fund manager Gentry Beach, arrived for a two-day visit on Monday to explore business opportunities in Pakistan, particularly in sectors like mining and minerals, renewable energy, infrastructure development and technology.
“During the meeting, the Prime Minister reaffirmed the government’s unwavering commitment to facilitating foreign investors by ensuring a conducive business environment, streamlined processes, and robust institutional support,” Sharif’s office said in a statement.
“Highlighting Pakistan’s strategic geographical location, a skilled and youthful workforce, and a rapidly expanding consumer market, the Prime Minister underscored the country’s unique appeal as a global investment destination.”
The statement also quoted Beach as acknowledging the Pakistan government’s “pro-investment policies” and expressing confidence in the nation’s future growth trajectory.
“This high-level engagement reflects the government’s proactive efforts to attract foreign direct investment, foster sustainable economic growth, and generate employment opportunities for the people of Pakistan,” the statement concluded.
Pakistan in 2023 nearly defaulted on the payment of foreign debts when the International Monetary Fund rescued it by agreeing to a $3 billion bailout to Pakistan. Last year, Islamabad secured a new $7 billion loan deal from the IMF. Since then, the country’s economy has started improving with weekly inflation coming down from 27 percent in 2023 to 1.8 percent earlier this month.
Sharif has also vowed to reduce dependence on foreign loans in the coming years and seek more direct investment.
Pakistan’s business and investment landscape poses considerable challenges. Complex and inconsistent regulations, inadequate protection of intellectual property rights, and ever-changing taxation policies are some of the many business climate challenges cited by investors. Security concerns marked by internal and regional conflicts also undermine investor confidence in protection and profitability of their investments. The Pakistani government launched the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) in June 2023 to attract foreign investment from allies and other nations. Since its creation, the SIFC’s scope has expanded into a wide range of policy areas.
Despite the challenging investment climate, the United States is one of Pakistan’s largest sources of FDI. US companies have profitable operations across a range of sectors, notably franchise operations, fast-moving consumer goods, agribusiness, and financial services. Other sectors attracting US interest include ICT, renewable energy and health care services.
The Karachi-based American Business Council, a local affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce, has more than 60 US member companies, most of which are Fortune 500 companies and span a wide range of sectors. The Lahore-based American Business Forum has 23 founding members and 22 associate members. The US-Pakistan Business Council, a division of the US Chamber of Commerce, also supports US-based companies that do business with Pakistan.
In February 2023, the United States and Pakistan concluded the ninth meeting under the US–Pakistan Trade and Investment Framework and first ministerial-level meetings since 2016.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani journalists and rights activists on Tuesday described a new law passed by both houses of parliament and aimed at regulating social media content as an attack on freedom of expression, with hundreds of journalists and activists protesting against the legislation in the federal capital and other cities.
The law, which amends the much-criticized Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) in 2016, would establish the Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority to perform a range of functions related to social media, including being able to order the immediate blocking of unlawful content targeting judges, the armed forces, parliament or provincial assemblies or material that promotes and encourages terrorism and other forms of violence against the state or its institutions. The authority would have its own investigation agency and tribunals. Those found to have disseminated false or fake information face prison sentences of up to three years and fines of two million rupees ($7,200).
The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) led rallies in cities including Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore on Tuesday to demand the government withdraw the bill, which has been passed by the National Assembly and Senate but has yet to be signed into law by the president.
“We do not accept this amendment bill … this law curtails our freedom of press and freedom of expression,” PFUJ secretary general Nasir Zaidi told Arab News at the protest in Islamabad.
“This is the darkest day in the history of journalism and the history of freedom of journalists, against which we are protesting.”
Zaidi explained that the new law would establish four regulatory authorities for social media platforms, digital platforms and even electronic media.
Journalist and anchorwoman Asma Shirazi blamed the government for bulldozing the legislation through the parliament without consulting stakeholders.
“We all agree that there should be some legislation [to curb fake news] but the stakeholders must be taken on board and they must be consulted in the legislation formation,” she told Arab News.
Usama Khilji, a director at Bolo Bhi, a digital rights advocacy forum, said the law posed a threat to Pakistani citizens, especially journalists and social media users who expressed their views online.
“Four new bodies related to social media, including a tribunal and an authority, are all appointed by the government and the government can fire the chairperson at any point [under new law],” Khilji said. “What we also see is a three-year jail term for sharing false or fake information but that is a very broad and vague definition.”
Khilji said the law granted regulatory authorities the power to block entire social media platforms legally.
“The broad powers that have been given will have a far-ranging impact,” he said.
Khilji also said the new law risked Pakistan’s GSP plus trade status with the European Union, under which it gets preferential access to markets for implementing international conventions on human rights, labor rights, environmental protection, and good governance.
Speaking on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday, Federal Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain, who moved the bill, said the law would not apply to TV channels or newspapers but only to “miscreants” spreading false news on social media platforms.
“Even the opposition during their speeches in the house essentially acknowledged the need for the PECA law,” he said. “They admitted that there is a lot of filth online that needs to be addressed.”
Information Minister Ataullah Tarar told reporters after the passage of the bill by the lower house of parliament last week that it would not apply to “working journalists”:
“This is the first time the government has defined what social media is. There is already a system in place for print and electronic media and complaints can be registered against them.”
The information minister said the law had to be passed because the Federal Investigation Agency, previously responsible for handling cybercrime, “does not have the capacity to handle child pornography or AI deep fake cases.”
Tarar added that the government was also aiming to bring social media journalists, including those operating YouTube accounts, under the tax framework.
The operative part of the new bill outlines that the Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority would have the power to issue directions to a social media platform for the removal or blocking of online content if it was against the ideology of Pakistan, incited the public to violate the law or take the law in own hands with a view to coerce, intimidate or terrorize the public, individuals, groups, communities, government officials and institutions, incited the public to cause damage to governmental or private property or coerced or intimidated the public and thereby prevented them from carrying on their lawful trade and disrupted civic life.
The authority will also crackdown on anyone inciting hatred and contempt on a religious, sectarian or ethnic basis as well as against obscene or pornographic content and deep fakes.
Rights activists say the new bill is part of a widespread digital crackdown that includes a ban on X since February last year, restrictions on VPN use and the implementation of a national firewall.
The government denies the measures are aimed at censorship.
