MAKKAH MUKARMA , Jun 20 (APP):More than 50 accomplished daughters of Pakistan with diverse professional backgrounds are diligently serving and providing crucial support to Pakistani hajj pilgrims in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, exemplifying the growing empowerment and recognition of Pakistani women in important roles, enriching the nation’s representation in hajj affairs.

The remarkable women in the Pakistan Hajj Mission hold significant leadership positions, showcasing their expertise and dedication, and play a crucial role in ensuring a smooth and fulfilling experience for prospective pilgrims on their sacred journey.

These women are serving in various sections in Mission’s Main Control Office (MCO), Makkah Mukarma.
They bravely perform their duties as Haram Guides at various exit point of the Grand Masjid, assisting and guiding prospective Hajj pilgrims despite the scorching heat, he continued.

Female doctors and paramedics were playing a significant role in offering free medical assistance to prospective pilgrims participating in both private and government hajj programs in Saudi Arabia, making invaluable contributions.

Mehreen Baloch, Deputy Director of Complaints and Discipline at MCO, Makakh, told APP that the Hajj mission for 2023 is an intricately organized endeavor, considering its intricate nature, vast scope, and delicate nature.
She said the females are actively contributing to the meticulously planned Hajj mission as muavineen e hujjaj (female assistants to pilgrims).

This recognition comes in light of the substantial participation of over 34,000 female pilgrims from Pakistan, showcasing the significant role played by women in the country’s diverse spheres.

She said female muavineen are assigned as Haram guides along the routes to and from various entry and exit points of Masjid-al-Haraam.

Dressed in green jackets adorned with the Pakistani flag, these daughters of Pakistan serve as an indispensable component of the Hajj Mission, symbolizing the progressive spirit of the nation.

According to her, a notable characteristic of this specific mission is the multifaceted involvement of female muavineen-e-hujjaj in numerous leadership positions within the Main Control Office (MCO), which serves as the central hub of the Hajj Mission, as well as in field formations across all eight sectors.

BEIJING, June 20 (APP)::The first “Midsummer Literature Night” activity, sponsored by China National Publications Import & Export (Group), was held in Beijing.

Guests included officials of China National Publications and the China Writers Association, diplomats from Pakistan, Turkiye and Canada, Chinese writers and over 30 overseas sinologists and publishers, China Daily reported.

Lin Liying, general manager of China National Publications, said in her speech the Beijing International Book Fair is a platform for writers, translators and publishers from all over the world to communicate and share insights, and literature is a bridge to connect different cultures.

“The Midsummer Literary Night is intended to pay tribute to the writers and translators who pass on culture from generation to generation through books and stories, so we can better understand each other and continue to innovate”, she said.

Nasreen Fatima, cultural counselor at the Pakistani embassy in China, said literature helped strengthen communication and ties between different ethnic groups.

In recent years, she added, China and Pakistan had enjoyed increasingly close cooperation in the fields of art, literature and publishing.

At this year’s Beijing International Book Fair the launch of the Chinese version of four Pakistani literary works was held at the National Convention Center.

In the spirit of sincere cooperation, Fatima said, the two countries will continue to strengthen literary exchanges and promote mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples in the future.

Chinese poet Xichuan, British sinologist Shen Rufeng, Turkish sinologist Ji Lai and Polish sinologist Ni Kexian gave poetry recitations in their respective languages. With literature as a link, the activity brought guests from different countries closer in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.

APP/asg

BEIJING, June 20 (APP):In a significant development in China-Pakistan bilateral trade, the Chinese customs has allowed the export of Pakistan’s boiled beef to China providing a big opportunity for Pakistani exporters to tap $15 billion Chinese market, Pakistan Ambassador to China, Moin ul Haque said in a statement.

In a landmark decision, the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) has granted access to Pakistani boiled beef to enter the Chinese market.

The imported Pakistani beef must originate from cattle younger than 30 months, and the meat must be boneless, having undergone a stringent heat treatment process.

The center of the meat should reach a temperature of at least 70 degrees Celsius for a minimum of 30 minutes.

The production enterprises of heat-treated beef have to be located in Pakistan and operate under Pakistani official supervision, adhering to the veterinary health and public health regulations of both China and Pakistan.

Before exporting heat-treated beef to China, the producer must be registered with China, and only the heat-treated beef produced after the registration date is allowed for export.

The announcement also details extensive requirements about animal disease management, processing conditions, storage, certification, packaging, transportation, and labelling.

Talking to APP, Commercial Counselor, Pakistan Embassy, Beijing, Ghulam Qadir said that with a huge potential to export beef, Pakistan is likely to start exporting boiled meat to the Chinese market in the near future.

China had agreed to import meat from Pakistan during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Beijing in November last. Both sides were in the process of exchanging documents.

Giving further details, he said that beef will be boiled up to 70 degrees centigrade to make it foot and mouth disease (FMD) free before its export to China.

Three processing plants having good reputations and capacity have already been approved by the concerned authorities of China.

About the current potential of meat export, he said that the country could export about 66,000 tons of meat annually but the Chinese market’s demand is huge.

“One Chinese company has a plan to import 50,000 tons of meat from Pakistan. But, we have to maintain supply for the demand of our own consumers in Pakistan”.

The export of meat would play a key role in achieving Pakistan’s export target of US$10 billion to China in the future, he opined.

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 20 (APP):Pakistan has told the international community that state-sponsored hate speech against Muslims and calls for their ‘genocide’ in India have reached “epidemic proportions”, and called for putting an end to this campaign.

“State-sponsored hate speech against Muslims and calls for Muslim ‘genocide’ in India have reached epidemic proportions,” Ambassador Munir Akram said in his remarks at an event to commemorate the 2nd International Day for Countering Hate Speech.

The Pakistani envoy drew attention to the recent warning of Gregory Stanton, the head of Genocide Watch, about the possibility of genocide in Indian-occupied Kashmir and in Assam and other parts of India itself.

“The international community must act now to stop the Islamophobic and anti-Christian campaign of the Hindu zealots in India,” Ambassador Akram said.

“It is sad that the champions of Human rights are willing to embrace those responsible for mass murder and gross atrocities in the services of dubious geopolitical objectives.”

Morocco spearheaded efforts that led to the 2021 UN General Assembly resolution that established the International Day.

Pakistan, Ambassador Akram said, was particularly alarmed at the global resurgence of hate in the form of xenophobia, racial and religious intolerance and acts of discrimination and violence against minorities, especially the stigmatization of Muslims communities and individuals in the rampant rise of Islamophobia.

“The abhorrent acts of desecration of Holy Quran, earlier this year, in several European countries are recent instances of Islamophobic hatred,” he said.

“Yet, the worst manifestation of such Islamophobic hate is the anti-Muslim campaign led by the Hindutva inspired government in India to “cleanse” India of all vestiges of its rich Islamic heritage.”

Ambassador Akram called for reaffirming the commitment to promoting peace, tolerance, inter-religious and intercultural dialogue, and countering hate speech.

“In particular,”, he added, “the practice of insulting any religion and acts of hate and violence on the basis of religion or belief must be universally outlawed.”

Pakistan, he said, will continue to advance the international efforts to protect individuals, communities and nations from hate speech and related xenophobia, intolerance, discrimination, negative stereotyping, stigmatization, violence, and incitement to violence.

Earlier, UN General Assembly President Csaba Korosi called for more global action towards eradicating hate speech

“It would be my wish that we would not have to observe this day. It would be my wish that hate speech were a thing of the past,” he said.

Hate speech is most often directed at women and girls, ethnic and religious minorities, and migrants and refugees.

Korosi noted that it is spreading on social media and online, “feeding a global rise in violence”. Some companies are also profiting from advertisements interspersed with online manifestations of hate speech. .

Furthermore, a UN Strategy and Plan of Action on the issue “offer us a firm step in the right direction.”

Launched three years ago by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, these initiatives recognize hate speech as a precursor to atrocity crimes, including genocide and crimes against humanity. They also call for addressing the root causes and drivers.

In his message for the Day, the UN chief said UN offices and teams across the world are confronting hate speech by implementing local action plans, based on the strategy.

“The United Nations is consulting governments, technology companies and others on a voluntary Code of Conduct for information integrity on digital platforms, aimed at reducing the spread of mis and disinformation and hate speech, while protecting freedom of expression,” he added.

The commemorative event was organized by Morocco and the UN Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect.

The Secretary-General’s message was read by Alice Wairimu Nderitu, the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide.

She said that as the Organization’s “global focal point for hate speech”, her Office will continue to prioritize UN response efforts, both online and off.

“We need action that addresses the impact hate speech has on those targeted and more broadly on society from a prevention perspective. We also need to ensure that we address its root causes by promoting inclusion, non-discrimination and protecting civil space,” she said.

Ms. Nderitu also highlighted the value of country-led efforts, including through regional initiatives, which “continues to be crucial if we are to turn the tide on (hate speech).”

APP/ift

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 20 (APP): : After years of extensive negotiations, the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction Monday adopted a historic maritime biodiversity treaty, with Pakistan calling it a “momentous achievement of multilateralism.”

A loud applause rang out when the conference adopted without a vote the “Draft agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction.”

“I hope you know that you were all applauding and cheering for yourselves,” commented Rena Lee, a Singaporean diplomat, who was President of the Intergovernmental Conference.

The text, as an international legally binding instrument under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, aims to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction.

A treaty to protect biodiversity in waters outside national boundaries, known as the high seas, covering nearly half of earth’s surface, had been under discussion for more than 20 years, but efforts repeatedly stalled until March.

That’s when delegates to an intergovernmental conference established by the U.N. General Assembly agreed on a treaty which was then subject to legal scrutiny and translated into the U.N.’s six official languages.

The new treaty will be opened for signatures on Sept. 20, during the annual meeting of world leaders at the General Assembly, and it will take effect once it is ratified by 60 countries.

Speaking in explanation of position after the action, two Member States took the floor, with Russia distancing his delegation from consensus due to the text’s risk of politicization, among other issues. Venezuela’s delegate, meanwhile, pointed out that his country is not a party to the Law of the Sea Convention, and therefore, is not bound by its norms.

Prior to the adoption, the President of the UN General Assembly, Csaba Korosi of Hungary, noted that the Member States recognized a common problem, came together, overcame differences and advanced transformative, sustainable solutions designed to protect humanity’s shared treasure ‏— the environment.

“Ultimately, you succeeded in crafting an agreement that testifies to the power of multilateralism,” he said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, stressing that the ocean is the lifeblood of the planet, said: “Today, you have pumped new life and hope to give the ocean a fighting chance.”

There are threats on multiple fronts, with climate change heating the planet, disrupting weather patterns and ocean currents, as well as altering marine ecosystems and the species living there. Sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic have recently risen so high “that they are literally off the charts”, he pointed out.

In his remarks, Ambassador Munir Akram, permanent representative of Pakistan to the U.N., said the treaty
heralds a new era of international cooperation through a legally binding instrument to protect the biodiversity in the high seas and to better balance the conservation and sustainable use of marine genetic resources.

He applauded the perseverance and tremendous efforts put in by all delegations, especially to bridge the gap between the developed and the developing countries through strenuous negotiations. It will be a significant addition to the existing international ocean governance framework and will allow humanity to continue to enjoy the social, economic and environmental benefits that the high seas have to offer.

Ambassador Akram , however, underscored that the scope and legal effects of the freedom of maritime scientific research specified in Article 7 of the agreement should be interpreted in light of the relevant provisions of the Law of the Sea Convention. As such, he stressed such research cannot provide the legal basis for any claim to ownership or proprietary rights in any part of the marine environment or its resources.

While many Member States called for the agreement be rapidly ratified and implemented, some detailed specific steps that first must be taken.