Pakistan conducts successful training launch of surface-to-surface Shaheen-II ballistic missile

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said on Thursday he would represent Pakistan at the upcoming Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) extraordinary meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) in Jeddah on Mar. 7, where the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the Palestinian cause will be discussed. 

The OIC meeting will reportedly take place next month amid backlash and uproar from Arab and OIC countries over US President Donald Trump’s proposed plan to redevelop Gaza into an international beach resort, after resettling Palestinian inhabitants. The US president called on Jordan and Egypt to take in Palestinians, with the remarks drawing sharp reactions from both countries as well as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and others. 

Dar, who was in New York on a three-day visit to the US to attend a United Nations conference on multilateralism this week, told reporters he had discussed Trump’s proposal with the foreign ministers of Iran, Egypt, Malaysia, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye recently.

“He said reportedly Arab leaders were scheduled to meet on the situation on Feb. 27 and Gulf leaders on Mar. 5 ,which would follow the extraordinary CFM meeting on Mar. 7 in Jeddah in which he would represent Pakistan,” state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said. 

Dar pointed out that Pakistan had also issued a strong statement on proposals to resettle Palestinians from Gaza, saying that they had all the right to their land.

Dar, who also serves as Pakistan’s foreign minister, said despite limited resources Pakistan sent several consignments of relief goods to Gaza, Lebanon and Syria. He said Pakistan also hosted around 200 Palestinian medical students, allowing them to complete their medical education in Pakistani medical colleges.

Israel’s war on Gaza, which began after the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas, has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians and displaced almost all of Gaza’s 2 million population by laying waste to swathes of neighborhoods, schools and hospitals. A six-week uneasy truce announced on Jan. 19 between Hamas and Israel ended 15 months of war. 

Pakistan does not recognize nor have diplomatic relations with Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters” and the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

The South Asian country regularly sent relief supplies for the people of Gaza during Israel’s 15-month war. 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani education fintech startup EduFi bagged first place at an international competition held recently during the four-day LEAP 2025 tech conference in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan’s state television said on Thursday, bagging $250,000 as cash prize after beating over 2,000 competitors.
The international tech conference was held from Feb. 9-12 at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center in Malham. Among the highlights of the conference was the Rocket Fuel Pitch Competition for startups, which provides entrepreneurs with an opportunity to showcase innovative ideas to a global audience of investors and industry leaders.
EduFi streamlines the borrowing process for students, helping them finance their education. It does its own credit-vetting, then pays tuition for approved students who repay the loan on a monthly basis as they study. It won first prize at the Rocket Fuel Pitch Competition last week.
“Aleena Nadeem from Pakistan has won first place and a cash prize of $250,000 at the International Information Technology Exhibition leap held recently in Saudi Arabia,” Pakistan Television (PTV) said in a report.
“This is the First time in the history of the Rocket Fuel Pitch International competitions that Pakistan has achieved this honor,” the state-run media said, adding that EduFi beat 2,000 competitors to win first prize.
EduFi’s founder and CEO Aleena Nadeem received the award at the ceremony held last week in Riyadh. An MIT graduate who interned at McKinsey during college and then worked in London for Goldman Sachs and Ventura Capital, Nadeem has been involved in education issues since she was in high school, as per Forbes. 
She was included in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list in 2024 for her work with EduFi.