ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday demanded an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza along with a humanitarian corridor for international aid agencies to provide relief to the people of Palestine ahead of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s summit in Gambia this weekend.
The ceasefire call was issued by the country’s newly appointed deputy prime minister, Ishaq Dar, while addressing the summit’s preparatory meeting in the Gambian capital of Banjul, where he arrived on Wednesday.
Dar is scheduled to participate in the OIC summit, convened to discuss and address major issues affecting the Muslim world, ranging from political and economic challenges to social and cultural matters.
These summits aim to promote Muslim solidarity in social and political affairs, coordinate efforts to safeguard the interests and well-being of Muslims and work toward resolving conflicts and issues in the Muslim world.
“Dar expressed Pakistan’s deep concern about the ongoing genocide and starvation of Gaza people and called for the reactivation of OIC’s Ministerial Committee on Israeli aggression against the Palestinians, offering Pakistan’s assistance to the body,” said the state-owned Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) news agency.
The report said he called for an end the Israeli siege leading to a humanitarian crisis for the people of Palestine and to hold Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration accountable for its “war crimes.”
“Ishaq Dar stressed the imperative of joint action by the OIC to confront rising Islamophobia, which was manifested by an increasing number of incidents of discrimination, violence, and incitement against Muslims around the world,” the APP report continued.
“He stated that while global social media platforms had set for themselves a clear understanding and the responsibility of content relating to ‘Antisemitism’ and ‘Holocaust denial’, same was not the case for blasphemous and anti-Islamic content that was responsible for widespread distress among Muslims and the global wave of Islamophobia,” it added.
The Pakistani deputy prime minister is scheduled to interact with leaders of other Muslim states at the two-day OIC summit beginning on Saturday.
NEW DELHI: India’s foreign direct investment into Dubai surged to over $3 billion in 2024, making the South Asian nation its top investor, the latest data shows.
Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism announced earlier this week that the most populous of the UAE’s seven emirates attracted 52.3 billion dirhams ($14.20 billion) in estimated FDI capital in 2024.
India was “the top source country with the highest total estimated FDI capital into Dubai, accounting for 21.5 percent,” the main authority for the planning, supervision and development of Dubai’s business and tourism sectors said in a statement.
The value amounts to about $3.05 billion and was five times higher than in 2023, when India was Dubai’s fifth largest FDI capital contributor.
In 2024, India was followed by the US at 13.7 percent, France with 11 percent, the UK at 10 percent, and Switzerland with 6.9 percent.
India was also the second-largest player in FDI projects to Dubai, accounting for 15 percent of them, preceded only by the UK at 17 percent.
Business leaders saw the surge of Indian investment not only in Dubai but also in the whole UAE as facilitated by a series of bilateral agreements, especially the 2022 UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which has eliminated trade barriers, lowered tariffs, and eased business operations, making it easier for companies in both countries to access each other’s markets.
Adeeb Ahamed, managing director of LuLu Financial Holdings and chair at the Middle East Council of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said it has enabled “remarkable economic collaboration” and allowed Indians “to take full advantage of this favorable (investment) atmosphere.”
In Dubai, business services, software and IT services, consumer products, food and Beverages, and real estate are currently the top sectors representing Indian FDI, according to the FICCI’s data.
“This diversification reflects Indian businesses’ strategic approach to global expansion. The regulatory environment — the 2022 Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and 2024 Bilateral Investment Treaty have significantly reduced barriers, while world-class infrastructure and bilateral agreements have created an ecosystem where Indian enterprises can truly flourish,” FICCI director general Jyoti Vij told Arab News on Wednesday.
“This meteoric rise from the fifth to first position as Dubai’s top FDI source demonstrates our growing global ambitions and capabilities.”
QUETTA: The Pakistan army took control of a main railway station in the southwestern Balochistan province where dozens of empty coffins were brought on Wednesday, an eyewitness said, as security forces continued a rescue operation to free hundreds of people taken hostage by separatist militants who hijacked a train a day earlier.
The separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) bombed part of a railway track and stormed the Quetta-Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express on Tuesday afternoon in Mushkaaf, an area in the mountainous Bolan range of Balochistan. The group said on Tuesday night it was holding 214 people as hostages, including military, police and intelligence officials, while a security official said 190 passengers had been rescued by Wednesday afternoon.
The province has been the site of a low-level separatist insurgency for decades, with separatist groups accusing the government of stripping the province’s natural resources and leaving its people mired in poverty. They say security forces routinely abduct, torture, and execute ethnic Baloch, allegations echoed by human rights campaigners. Government officials and security forces strongly deny violating human rights and say they are uplifting the province through development projects, including multi-billion-dollar schemes funded by China.
A Pakistan Army soldier stands guard, after the attack on a train by separatist militants in Bolan, at the railway station in Mushkaf, Balochistan, Pakistan on March 12, 2025. (REUTERS)
On Wednesday afternoon, an Arab News eyewitness described seeing dozens of empty coffins being brought to the Quetta Railway Station in the provincial capital. He said the station was overrun with army personnel while dozens of family members of hostages had arrived in search of their loved ones. These included the family of Amjad Yasin, the 50-year-old driver of the Jaffar Express, who officials said on Tuesday had been killed in the assault.
“We have been contacting railway officials since yesterday, but no one is telling the truth,” Amir Yasin, the driver’s younger brother, told Arab News.
“There are multiple reports coming about my brother’s death but how can we believe it until we see his body?”
Passengers rescued by security forces from a passenger train attacked by insurgents comfort each other upon their arrival at a railway station in Quetta, Pakistan on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP)
Ghulam Muhammad Sumroo, a railway official, told Arab News 16 passengers, including two injured Railway Police officers, had reached Mach Railway Station and were being moved to Quetta, the provincial capital.
Muhammad Abid, a railway employee who was on the train and arrived at Mach Station, described the attack as the most “horrific day” of his life.
“We were sitting in one of the compartments of Jaffar Express when a powerful explosion targeted the train and intense firing started,” he told Arab News over the phone.
“We hid in the washrooms with other passengers, but then armed men came in and off boarded us from the train,” he added. “After checking our identity cards, they asked us to run on the track. My life flashed before my eyes when I saw dozens of armed men standing on the railway track.”
Muhammad Ashraf, a 68-year-old passenger traveling to Hafizabad in Punjab to meet his daughter, said that when the train departed from Paneer Railway Station, he heard an explosion about seven to eight kilometers into the journey, followed by intense gunfire, saying many people had been killed and injured.
A train carrying empty coffins to the siege site, stands at a railway station in Quetta on March 12, 2025. (AFP)
“Armed men boarded the train and asked everyone to leave the train or prepare to die,” he told Arab News, adding that the militants made the passengers walk on the tracks for three and a half hours on foot.
Ashraf said the militants had detained over 200 passengers, in his rough estimate.
One security official with direct knowledge of the ongoing rescue operation to take back control of the train and free hostages said 190 passengers had been freed and at least 30 militants had been killed.
He said there were suicide bombers aboard the train, who were using women and children as “human shields.”
“Due to the presence of women and children with suicide bombers, extreme caution is being exercised in the operation,” the official said. “Security forces are continuing their operation to eliminate the remaining terrorists.”
The official said the militants were in touch with their “handlers” in Afghanistan, echoing a common accusation by Pakistani security and government officials that a recent spike in militancy was being orchestrated from the neighboring country. The Taliban rulers in Kabul deny they allow Afghan soil to be used by insurgents to plan or carry out terror attacks.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the BLA, which has demanded a prisoner exchange within 48 hours, said the Pakistan government was not taking its demands seriously and was trying to free hostages through military action.
“BLA warns the enemy that if the Pakistani army commits any further aggression, even if a single bullet is fired, 10 more personnel will be eliminated,” it said.
“If our demands are not met within [the stipulated] time and the state’s stubbornness continues, then 5 hostages will be eliminated for every passing hour after the ultimatum ends.”
How separatist militants hijacked a train in Pakistan
Jaffar Express was heading to Peshawar city from Quetta with 425 people on board
Militants blew up railway tracks, fired at train and trapped locomotive inside tunnel
Updated 20 min 2 sec ago
Reuters
Pakistani security forces are carrying out a rescue operation to free dozens of passengers taken hostage by separatist militants who hijacked their train in the southwest of the country on Tuesday.
Here is a look at what happened, and the current situation.
THE TRAIN
The Jaffar Express was heading to the city of Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, with 425 people on board when it was attacked.
The passengers included personnel from the Pakistani army and other security forces who were traveling on leave.
THE ATTACK
Militants blew up the railway tracks and opened fire on the train, killing the driver and trapping the locomotive inside a tunnel before taking control of it.
Some of those rescued said they crouched low when the firing started, while others spoke of passengers who had been injured or killed.
RESCUE OPERATION
Security forces have launched a massive operation to free the hostages, deploying special forces and helicopters, and 155 passengers have been rescued so far.
Some 27 militants have also been killed, sources say.
However, attackers wearing suicide bombs, who have been seated next to some of the hostages, have made the rescue efforts tougher.
THE DEMANDS
Ethnic armed group Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which has claimed responsibility for the attack, has demanded the release of Baloch political prisoners, activists, and missing persons who it says were abducted by the military, within 48 hours.
It has threatened to start executing the hostages if the government does not fulfil the demand.
GOVERNMENT RESPONSE
Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has condemned the attack and said security officials are “repelling” the militants.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has called the attackers “enemies” of Pakistan and vowed to foil their conspiracy to destabilize the nation.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani tennis player Talha Waheed has set a new Guinness World Record for the most number of serves in a minute, 59, breaking the previous record of 42, the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) said on Wednesday.
The PTF described Waheed as a seasoned competitor who was featured in national and international matches with “an impressive record” in the 35+, 40+ and 45+ doubles categories, in addition to winning multiple national titles. Waheed has also attained a career-high International Tennis Federation ranking of 144 in the 40+ doubles category.
The Pakistani tennis player followed a “rigorous three-month training regimen” after which he made his official attempt to set the record on Nov. 8, 2024, in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore, the PTF said. Waheed adhered strictly to Guinness World Records guidelines in his attempt, the federation said.
“On March 10, 2025, Waheed received official confirmation from Guinness World Records, declaring him the new world record holder,” the PTF said.
The previous record was achieved by American tennis player John Perry in 2019, who registered 42 successful serves in one minute.
PTF President Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and other tennis players congratulated Waheed on this remarkable achievement.
“Talha’s achievement is unique and securing a place in the Guinness Book of World Records is no easy task,” Qureshi said. “This will serve as a great inspiration and a major boost for tennis in Pakistan.”
Pakistan has a modest tennis presence, with Qureshi being the most successful player to reach Grand Slam finals in doubles. Despite limited infrastructure and funding challenges, the PTF continues to promote the sport to increase international representation in a country where cricket dominates.
Tennis has also taken a step back in the country over the past year with the rise of Padel.
This is not the first time a Pakistani has set a Guinness World Record. Previous record holders include Ali Moeen Nawazish who passed 23 A-level subjects, Naseem Hameed who became South Asia’s fastest woman and the city of Karachi which created the largest human-formed national flag.
Martial artist Muhammad Rashid also holds multiple records for smashing objects, showcasing Pakistan’s global excellence and determination.
ISLAMABAD: BIONIKS, which specializes in orthotics and prosthetics, has become the first startup from Pakistan to win the prestigious Zero Project Award 2025 for helping include people with disabilities in the workforce by using advanced prosthetic technology, a press release said this week.
The Zero Project Award 2025 is an international award given for innovative solutions that promote the rights of persons with disabilities.
BIONIKS, established in 2016, had sold 700 prosthetics up until last year by leveraging AI tools and 3D scanning for custom designs.
“BIONIKS Pakistan is among 77 winners from 522 global nominations for the Zero Project Award 2025 recognized at a UN event for its AI-powered prosthetics,” the company said in a post on X.
Pakistan may have missed the Champions Trophy 2025, but there’s still a victory to celebrate!
Bioniks Pakistan is among 77 winners from 522 global nominations for the Zero Project Award 2025, recognized at a UN event for its AI-powered prosthetics.@ZeroProjectorg | @UNpic.twitter.com/WbBPsSjNuw
The startup was recognized for contributions to advancing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, placing it among the world’s most “impactful and scalable” technology. It is the first Pakistani company to win the Zero Project Award.
Anas Niaz, BIONIKS CEO, dedicated the award to disabled people who deserved the opportunity to live “independently with dignity.”
“Our mission is to revolutionize the way technology serves the disabled community,” he said in a statement. “Through our devices, we aim to lead the way to zero barriers and provide individuals with the advance prosthetic technology.”
In January, BIONIKS launched a mobile AI-powered limb factory in Gaza to provide customized prosthetic arms and legs to amputees.
The company gained international attention in 2021 when it made a multi-grip bionic arm for four-year-old Mohammed Sideeq, the youngest recipient of such a prosthetic limb.
