Pakistan Army Chief Blasts Russia’s Aggression Against Ukraine

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s military chief Saturday slammed Russia’s military attack on Ukraine, calling for immediate cessation of what he described as a “huge tragedy” being inflicted on a smaller country.

General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s rare criticism of Moscow evidently was at variance with that of his country’s embattled prime minister, Imran Khan, who has advocated Islamabad’s neutrality in the conflict and refused to criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions.

“Sadly, the Russian invasion against Ukraine is very unfortunate as thousands of people have been killed, millions made refugees and half of Ukraine destroyed,” Bajwa told an international security dialogue in Islamabad.

“Despite legitimate security concerns of Russia, its aggression against a smaller country cannot be condoned. Pakistan has consistently called for an immediate cease-fire and cessation of hostilities,” Bajwa said.

The general advocated support for an urgent dialogue between all sides to resolve the conflict, praising the Ukrainians for effectively resisting the Russian aggression.

Bajwa used the example of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in his televised speech to caution Pakistan’s massive arch-rival India against launching another war with his country.

“This has given a heart to smaller countries that they can still defend their territory with smaller but agile forces against an aggression by a bigger country by carrying out selective modernization in equipment and adopting noble ideas,” the Pakistani military chief said.

Critics noted Bajwa’s comments have marked a significant departure from the policy Prime Minister Khan has been advocating on the Ukraine crisis.

Khan, who faces an opposition-launched parliamentary no-confidence vote Sunday, maintains Pakistan made a mistake by joining the West during the Cold War and wants to remain neutral in the Russia-Ukraine conflict to have good ties with both the countries.

The Pakistani leader has refused to condemn Putin and publicly criticized Western diplomats in Islamabad for urging his government in a rare joint letter last month to denounce Moscow’s aggression against Kyiv.

“Why would we condemn Russia? Are we your slaves that we would do whatever you say?” he asked in televised speeches to large recent public rallies organized by his ruling party.

Khan visited Putin on the day Russian forces attacked Ukraine. The Pakistani leader defended his visit, saying it was planned long before the conflict erupted.

He alleged this week in an address to the Pakistani nation that the no-confidence vote seeking his ouster from power was being orchestrated by the United States to punish him for visiting Russia, charges Washington vehemently rejected.

On Friday, Khan told local ARY television that his government had formally protested to the U.S. for meddling in Pakistani politics.

“It’s evident now that the conspiracy has been hatched from abroad! Everyone knows it. We have handed a demarche to the American Embassy, telling them that you have interfered in [the no-confidence vote],” asserted the Pakistani leader.

When asked whether the embassy had received the demarche, a State Department spokesperson told VOA that “as a standard practice, we don’t comment on diplomatic correspondence.”

“In terms of U.S. involvement in Pakistan’s internal affairs, there is no truth to these allegations,” the spokesperson said.

The political turmoil reportedly has strained Khan’s relationship with Bajwa, though both leaders deny any tensions.

In his Friday interview, Khan said Bajwa offered him the opportunity to resign, hold new elections or face the no-trust vote, and he decided to fight the vote in parliament.

Pakistan has suffered several military coups leading to long periods of dictatorial rule, and critics say the army continues to influence elected governments from behind, though Bajwa’s spokesman has rejected accusations they are behind the current turmoil. Khan recently lost his simple majority in parliament after dozens of his party’s lawmakers defected and key allies abandoned him to join the opposition.

In his Saturday speech, Bajwa apparently attempted to ease diplomatic tensions with Washington, saying his country wants to broaden and expand bilateral ties.

“We share a long history of excellent and strategic relationship with the United States, which remains our largest export market,” the army chief said. “Similarly, European Union, United Kingdom, the Gulf, Southeast Asia and Japan are also vital for our national development and progress,” he added.

However, Khan’s foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, while addressing the same security conference after Bajwa, reiterated his government’s neutral stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

“Pakistan has maintained a principled and nonpartisan position on the matter,” Qureshi said, but he did not question or criticize the Russian aggression.

“We have consistently emphasized the fundamental principles of the U.N. Charter, including non-use and threat of use of force; respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states; and pacific settlement of disputes,” the Pakistani foreign minister said.

“We believe that a diplomatic solution through dialogue and negotiations is indispensable – and must be pursued as a matter of priority,” Qureshi said.

Source: Voice of America

Conspiracy failed to show rift between civil, military leadership: Info Minister

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain says a conspiracy has failed to show rift between civil and military leadership.

In a tweet today (Saturday), he said that those who say that Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has opposed Russia by opposing war should go through the communique issued after meeting between Prime Minister Imran Khan and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Minister for Information said Army Chief’s statement is same what was said in the communique.

Source: Radio Pakistan

Govt legislating for a single official moon-sighting committee: Qadri

Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith harmony Pir Noor-ul-Haq Qadri says the government is legislating for a single official moon-sighting committee to ensure observance of fasting and celebration of Eid on same day across the country.

Talking to media in Peshawar today [Saturday], he said the government has introduced ‘Ruet-e-Hilal’ bill in both houses of the parliament for observance of fasting and Eid on same across the country.

The Minister said the government has proposed fines and punishments for violators under the bill.

Source: Radio Pakistan

Twitter Pranks Millions on April Fools’ Day

On its official account, Twitter said that it is working on an edit button. Many assumed it to be a false alarm for April Fools’ Day, drawing laughter from users.

Twitter was later asked to confirm if the tweet was a joke to which they replied:

We cannot confirm or deny but we may edit our statement later.

Only time will tell if Twitter is planning on rolling out an ‘edit’ option or was simply playing with the sentiments of its users.

Source: Pro Pakistan

Railway Ticket Office Ramadan Timings Announced

The Railways Ministry has announced the revised timings for its reservation offices during Ramadan. The reduced timings remain effective till 19 Ramadan.

The operating time of reservation offices will revert back to normal timings in order to facilitate citizens as train is one of the most preferred modes of inter-city and inter-provincial travel.

According to details, the reservation offices all over the country will open at 8 AM and close at 6 PM till 19 Ramadan. On Fridays till 19 Ramadan, the reservation offices will remain closed from 12:30 PM to 2 PM on account of the weekly congregational prayer.

In order to facilitate the staff of reservation offices, the Railways Ministry has decided to operate the reservation offices open in two shifts; morning and evening.

Note here that the staff at the reservation offices will have to work more than the employees of the rest of the ministries during Ramadan. Earlier this week, the federal government had revised the timings for all ministries and divisions for Ramadan.

For offices operating five days a week, they will open at 10 AM and close at 4 PM from Monday to Thursday while they will open at 10 AM and close at 1 PM on Friday. For offices operating six days a week, they will open at 10 AM and close at 3 PM from Monday to Thursday and Saturday while they will open at 10 AM and close at 1 PM on Friday.

Source: Pro Pakistan

Microsoft Officially Partners With Phone Maker Honor

Microsoft’s Your Phone app lets you sync your Android phone to Windows without any third-party apps or services. The service is getting updated now that it’s moving to Windows 11.

Microsoft’s Your Phone app lets you sync your Android phone to Windows without any third-party apps or services. The service is getting updated now that it’s moving to Windows 11.

Microsoft is renaming it to Phone Link and it will bring a brand new UI that will bring notifications upfront. The service will also be officially available in China from now on following a partnership with Honor, which will bring support to some of the Chinese brand’s smartphones.

Windows 11 will make it easier to connect to Phone Link through QR codes, which will automatically download the pairing app on your phone. Up until now, you had to download the app manually from the Microsoft Store. The actual application will be called Link to Windows instead of Your Phone Companion.

There are a few design updates as well that match the app’s theme with Windows 11. There are more color palette options to choose from and the whole app looks and feels more like Windows 11.

The official partnership with Honor will make it easier to launch and navigate the app on PC for Honor phones. This will include the company’s foldable phone Honor Magic V and numerous others such as Magic 4, Magic 4 Pro, Magic 4 Ultimate, and Magic 3 series.

Source: Pro Pakistan

WhatsApp is Introducing a New Way to Interact With Phone Numbers

WhatsApp has been constantly introducing new updates for its beta program. Earlier this week, the platform introduced new emojis and updated its voice messaging feature. Beta users are now seeing a new feature to interact with phone numbers sent in messages.

A popular website for news related to WhatsApp, WABetaInfo, shared the latest update.

Beta users can now tap on a number shared in a chat bubble that prompts a dialog box. The box gives the users an option to directly dial the number and call, add it to contacts, or in case the number is associated with a WhatsApp account, start a chat with them.

In previous versions, when a phone number was tapped the app would take the user straight to the default dialer app.

WABetaInfo reports that the update first started showing for Android beta 2.22.8.11, which is currently rolling out, and more activations are planned for the future.

Source: Pro Pakistan