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In maiden Pakistan visit, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar meets PM Shehbaz, President Alvi

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  • Ilhan Omar also meets ex-prime minister Imran Khan.
  • She will also visit cities to get better understanding of Pakistan.
  • Congresswoman is on a four-day visit to Pakistan — April 20-24.

ISLAMABAD: Muslim US Congresswoman Ilhan Abdullah Omar on Wednesday met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Arif Alvi during her maiden visit to Pakistan.

The Congresswoman is on a four-day visit to Pakistan — April 20-24 — where apart from having meetings with the political leadership in Islamabad, she will visit Lahore and Azad Jammu and Kashmir to have a greater understanding of Pakistan’s cultural, social, political, and economic potential, the PM’s Office said.

Meanwhile, the prime minister, during their meeting at the PM Office, warmly welcomed her on her first-ever visit to Pakistan and appreciated her courage of convictions and political struggle.

The premier hoped that it would lead to deepening people-to-people ties and strengthen exchanges between the Parliament of Pakistan and the US Congress.

The prime minister underscored that Pakistan valued its long-standing relationship with the United States and wanted to further deepen bilateral cooperation based on mutual respect, trust, and equality.

He highlighted that constructive engagement between the two countries could help promote peace, security, and development in the region.

During the meeting, matters of mutual interest including Pakistan-US bilateral relations as well as regional situations were discussed. Maintaining that the US was Pakistan’s largest trading partner, the prime minister emphasised the need to further enhance cooperation between the two countries, especially in the trade and investment fields.

The prime minister lauded the efforts of the Pakistani diaspora in reinforcing the Pakistan-US ties and added that Islamabad deeply valued their contribution to national development and growth.

The prime minister highlighted the serious human rights situation in the Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir and stressed the importance of peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, enabling the region to realize its economic potential and promote social progress.

The prime minister emphasised that a peaceful and stable South Asian region can focus on its growth and development. He added that concerted efforts, at the global level, were needed to deal with the scourge of Islamophobia.

In response, the congresswoman thanked the prime minister and hoped that her visit to the country would help strengthen ties between Pakistan and the US Congress.

Omar meets President Alvi

Earlier, the visiting US Congresswoman called on President Arif Alvi at Aiwan-e-Sadr.

Speaking on the occasion, President Alvi said that Pakistan values its longstanding relationship with the US and expressed the hope that the constructive engagements between the two countries would promote peace and development in the region.

He emphasised the need for further improving bilateral relations in various fields for the mutual benefit of the two countries.

He apprised the visiting dignitary about the atrocities being committed by the PM Modi-led government in India against minorities, particularly Muslims.

He said that India was involved in the genocide of Muslims and committed gross human rights violations against them.

He also highlighted the role played by Pakistan in the promotion of peace in the region as well as its sacrifices against the war on terror.

The president underlined that IT is the most important sector for investment and urged US businessmen to invest in this sector.

Omar said that both countries had huge potential to improve and strengthen bilateral relations. She appreciated the role played by Pakistan against Islamophobia, particularly towards the adoption of UN resolution in this regard.

Omar ‘appreciates’ Khan for his stance on Islamophobia

The Muslim US congresswoman also met former prime minister Imran Khan at his residence in Bani Gala, Islamabad.

Sharing a photo of PTI Chairman Imran Khan and Ilhan Omar on her Twitter handle, former minister for human rights Shireen Mazari said that matters of mutual interest, Islamophobia, and other issues were discussed in the meeting.

“Ilhan expressed her admiration for Imran Khan and his position on and work against Islamophobia globally,” she wrote.

Speaking on the occasion, Imran Khan appreciated her courageous and principled position on issues, she added

Who is Ilhan Omar?

The 39-year-old Omar belongs to the Democrats and represents the State of Minnesota in Congress. She is one of the two Muslim women elected to the US Congress in 2018.

An experienced Twin Cities policy analyst, organiser, public speaker and advocate, Omar was sworn into office in January 2019, making her the first African refugee to become a Member of Congress, the first woman of colour to represent Minnesota, and one of the first two Muslim-American women elected to Congress.

Born in Somalia, she and her family fled the country’s civil war when she was eight. The family spent four years in a refugee camp in Kenya before coming to the United States in the 1990s. In 1997, she moved to Minneapolis with her family. 

As a teenager, Omar’s grandfather inspired her to get involved in politics. Before running for office, she worked as a community educator at the University of Minnesota, was a Policy Fellow at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs and served as a Senior Policy Aide for the Minneapolis City Council.

In 2016 she was elected as the Minnesota House Representative for District 60B, making her the highest-elected Somali-American public official in the United States and the first Somali-American State Legislator. Rep. Omar served as the Assistant Minority Leader, with assignments to three house committees; Civil Law and Data Practices Policy, Higher Education & Career Readiness Policy and Finance, and State Government Finance.

Omar has staunchly supported Kashmiris in the Indian Occupied Kashmir and has often tweeted her support for them.

In 2019 after the annexation of Kashmir by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Omer had called for an immediate restoration of communication; respect for human rights, democratic norms, and religious freedom; and de-escalation in Kashmir, saying that the international organisations should be allowed to fully document what is happening on the ground.

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Four Pakistanis were saved from people smugglers by the Pakistan Embassy in Iran.

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Four Pakistanis were saved from people traffickers in Iran.
As the number of cases of trafficking in persons has grown, the Embassy of Pakistan has worked with the Government of Iran to save four Pakistani citizens. Because of the rescue effort, the people who were smuggling people were also caught.
The Pakistanis officially came to Iran, but they were later taken by a group of people traffickers who tortured them and told their families they needed a large ransom to free them. Their lives were saved when the embassy of Pakistan and the government of Iran stepped in at the right time.
In his message, Ambassador Muhammad Mudassir Tipu asked Pakistanis who want to visit Iran to do so properly and keep in touch with the Embassy of Pakistan in case something goes wrong. He also told them to stay alert so they wouldn’t fall victim to Human Smugglers.
The rescued Pakistanis, Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum, Muhammad Suhail, Muhammad Arsalan, and Muhammad Khurram, expressed their gratitude to the Embassy of Pakistan and the Government of Iran for their untiring efforts in securing their release

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Pakistan Achieves Macroeconomic Stability: Finance Minister Aurangzeb Highlights Government Success

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Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb says that the government’s policies have made Pakistan’s economy stable over the past year.
He talked about lower inflation and interest rates, more foreign exchange assets, and the stabilisation of the currency in an interview with the Global Media Company Forbes.
In talking about the structural changes and how important it is to get local investors involved, Muhammad Aurangzeb said that the government’s main goal is to make the economy stable so that investments can come in.
According to the finance minister, Pakistan has the third-largest number of freelancers in the world. The government is working to make the environment more favourable for them so that they can get a lot of investment and grow the economy through exports.

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PM Meets Chief Justice: Talks About Missing Persons, Pending Tax Disputes, and Judicial Reforms

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Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif met with Pakistan’s Chief Justice Yahya Afridi in the Chief Justice House. They talked about important topics such economic difficulties, ongoing tax cases in the nation’s courts, and judicial reforms.
The Prime Minister offered his best wishes and congratulated Chief Justice Afridi on taking office at the meeting.
He commended the Chief Justice’s initiative in making sure that justice is delivered in a timely and effective manner.
The Chief Justice’s efforts to visit remote areas of South Punjab, Interior Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in order to conduct personal assessments of the legal system were especially welcomed by the Prime Minister.
Afridi’s interactions with many stakeholders to reform the legal framework and increase access to justice were also praised by him.
The Prime Minister emphasised the need for prompt and merit-based decisions to support economic stability and offer relief to businesses by highlighting the long-pending tax cases in several courts.
He asked the Chief Justice to expedite decisions in certain instances in order to clear the backlog of cases.
The Prime Minister’s opinion was welcomed by Chief Justice Afridi, who also asked for more recommendations on how to strengthen the judicial system.
In response, the prime minister pledged his complete cooperation in restoring the judiciary’s effectiveness and putting changes into place.
Along with reaffirming his commitment to tackling the missing persons issue, the Prime Minister gave the Chief Justice his word that he will step up efforts to expedite meaningful measures in this respect.

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