Pakistan urges World Bank support on economic reforms, development agenda

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Navy warship Yarmook participated in two defense exhibitions held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the navy said on Friday, highlighting the South Asian nation’s robust defense ties and active role in global maritime security.
The International Defense Exhibition (IDEX) and Naval Defense Exhibition (NAVDEX), held on Feb. 21-25 in Abu Dhabi, are premier global platforms to showcase advanced defense technologies and latest innovations, and to foster international collaboration.
More than 200,000 visitors attended the joint exhibition that saw participation of over 1,500 exhibitors from 65 countries, according to the IDEX website. Naval vessels from eight nations, including Pakistan, participated in the exhibition.
Upon arrival in Abu Dhabi, the Pakistani ship was received by Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UAE Faisal Niaz Tirmizi, followed by the Yarmook commanding officer’s meetings with various dignitaries to discuss matters of mutual interest, according to Pakistan Navy’s Directorate General of Public Relations (DGPR).
“During its stay, PNS YARMOOK remained open to visitors and welcomed numerous officials from the armed forces, business, and corporate sectors,” the DGPR said in a statement.
“Distinguished visitors included the UAE’s Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, Romania’s Minister of National Defense, Yemen’s Defense Minister, the Chief of the Romanian Naval Forces, the Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Naval Forces, the Commander of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces, the Commander of the Royal Bahrain Navy, and the CEO of DAMEN Shipyard.”
Pakistan’s participation in NAVDEX 2025 highlights its strong defense ties with the UAE and its active role in global maritime security initiatives.
“Upon departure, PNS YARMOOK also conducted a passage exercise with the UAE Navy Ship AL-EMARAT,” the DGPR added.
PNS Yarmook regularly participates in joint operations and exercises with friendly countries in addition to its own operations.
Last July, Pakistan deployed PNS Yarmook to protect commercial vessels arriving at its ports. In August 2024, the warship conducted bilateral exercises with allied navies in Bahrain as part of a Regional Maritime Security Patrol deployment, aimed at enhancing naval coordination and joint operational capabilities in the region.

ISLAMABAD: Health authorities have confirmed two new cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in Pakistan, the country’s polio program said on Thursday.
Polio is a paralyzing disease that has no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of 5 is essential to provide children high immunity against the disease.
The South Asian country has been witnessing an intense resurgence of the virus and reported a total of 74 cases last year, raising several questions about the gains made in recent years in the fight against the viral disease.
Health authorities have confirmed one new case of the virus in the Kambar district of the southern Sindh province and another in the Mandi Bahauddin district of the Punjab province, according to the country’s polio program.
“This is the third polio case from Sindh and the first from Punjab this year, bringing the total number of cases in the country to five,” the polio program said in a statement.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the last two countries in the world where polio remains an endemic.
Immunization campaigns have succeeded in most countries and have come close in Pakistan, but persistent problems remain. In the early 1990s, Pakistan reported around 20,000 cases annually but in 2018 the number dropped to eight cases. Six cases were reported in 2023 and only one in 2021.
Pakistan’s polio program began in 1994 but efforts to eradicate the virus have since been undermined by vaccine misinformation and opposition from some religious hard-liners who say immunization is a foreign ploy to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western spies. Militant groups also frequently attack and kill members of polio vaccine teams.
Pakistan this month concluded its first nationwide anti-polio campaign of 2025, with 99 percent of the targets achieved, according to the polio program. The campaign, conducted on Feb. 3-9, vaccinated more than 45 million children.
“[An] fIPV-OPV (fractional dose inactivated poliovirus vaccine-oral polio vaccine) campaign is underway in Karachi and Quetta Division to vaccinate nearly 1 million children with the injectable and oral polio vaccines for an added immunity boost,” the polio program said.
“Moreover, a targeted vaccination activity in 104 union councils bordering Afghanistan or having Afghan refugee camps/populations is also in progress (February 24-28) to vaccinate over 0.66 million children, to reduce the risk of cross-border and internal poliovirus transmission.”
“The Polio Programme urges all parents to get their children vaccinated against polio at every opportunity to keep them protected from this devastating disease,” it added.
This week, the World Health Organization said Saudi Arabia had reaffirmed its $500 million pledge to eradicate polio from Pakistan and Afghanistan under the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).
The GPEI hopes to declare an end to the wild virus and the vaccine-derived variant by 2027 and 2029, respectively, compared with a previous deadline of 2026 for both forms.