Doha, 20 Nov 2022

First ever FIFA World Cup in Middle East and 2nd time in Asia took off with a style and spectacular opening ceremony by Hollywood super star, narator and director Morgan Freeman;  world renowned South Korean BTS star singer Jungkook; Qatari Singer Fahad AlKubaisi delivered a message of unity and inclusivity.

Opening ceremony will be followed by Tournament's first match between the host country Qatar, former Asian Champion with Ecuador.

32 teams will compete across 64 matches in the 22nd edition of the  FIFA World Cup between 20th Nov to 18 December 2022

 The Amir of State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad AlThani inaugurated the official ceremony of 22nd FIFA World Cup this evening at the AlBayt Stadium, AlKhor.

Present on the occasion were Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa AlThani; UN Secretary General Antonio Guterrres; FIFA President Givanni Vincenzo Infantino; Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan; Algerian President Adelmadjid Tabboune; Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi; Jordan King Abdullah 11 bin Hussein; Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia,  Prince Mohammed bin Salman AlSaud;  Indian Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar; Vice Predident, Prime Minister of UAE and ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid AlMaktoum; large number of dignitaries along with 60,000 fans.

In his opening remarks, Amir of Qatar welcomed everyone to the World Cup 2022 from Qatar, an Arab country.  HH said that 'we worked hard, along with many people, to make it one of the most successful tournaments. We have exerted all efforts and invested for the good of all humanity.

Doha,18 July 2021

Crucial discussions reaching to peaceful solution to the 20 long years of Afghan conflict between high profile Afghan government delegation led by Dr Abdullah Abdullah and Taleban has once again extended to resume at later evening here in Doha.

Speaking to www. asiantelegraphqatar.com, Dr Abdallah Abdallah leaving for short break told that they will be coming back for the concluding session.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of State of Qatar is facilitating stakeholders in Afghan conflict to sit together and find solution of their conflict through peacefull means.

US and Taleban signed peace accord in February 2020 facilitated by Qatar. The ceremony was also held in Hotel Shetaton Grand Doha.

Dialogue between high profile Afghan government delegation and Taleban took off on Saturday morning 17 July 2021 which continued till late evening and resumed again on 2nd day today morning.

A joint communique was expected at 0600pm, however, the concluding discussions are expected in short while.

Situation observed here from ongoing discussions between Afghan factions and their body language seems no tangable results to be expected from present discussions.

Moreover, it seems Afghan government demand for a ceasefire, and Taleban expectations of having any tangable trust building relaxation from Afghan government in terms of releasing of their 7,000 prisoners only way to move forward.

Suhail Shaheen, Taleban Spokesperson told www.asiantelegraph.com that Taleban are in position  get hold of  complete Afghanistan through fighting, however, for long peace and development of the country, they agree to sit with all the fellow Afghan factions to find ling term solution to the conflict.

He said they believe only solution to Afhgan conflict is through bilateral discussions.

 

 

 

 

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Islamabad, 30 June 2021 (Dawn)

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday strongly emphasised that Pakistan could be "partners with the United States in peace but never in conflict" and criticised past policies that had led to Pakistan joining the US war on terror in Afghanistan.

He made the comments during a wide-ranging speech in the National Assembly, a day after the budget for the new fiscal year was approved with a majority vote.

"When we gave so many services, did they (US) praise us or acknowledge our sacrifices? Instead, they called us a hypocrite and blamed us. Instead of appreciating us, Pakistan was bad-mouthed."

The prime minister said that as a Pakistani, he had never felt more "insulted" than when Pakistan decided to join the United States war on terror. "We decided to become a front line state for the American war on terror. I questioned repeatedly, what did we have to do with the war?"

He said he wanted the nation to remember that period forever and the "idiocy" of the policies at the time.

"Does any country get involved in another's [war] and lose 70,000 lives?" he asked. "What they (US) said, we kept doing. [Former president Pervez] Musharraf said in his book that he took money and sent people to Guantanamo [Bay jail].

"The matter did not stop there, they (US) ordered us to send our army to tribal areas. We sent our army to tribal areas. They were our people. What was the result of that?" he questioned. "I was called Taliban Khan when I said this was wrong."

The premier termed it the "darkest period of our history" when Pakistan did not know which was a friendly country and which was not. "Have you heard of a friendly country carrying out attacks and drone strikes in your country?" he asked.

"A terrorist is sitting in London since 30 years. Will they give us permission to attack him?" he questioned in an apparent reference to Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain.

"If they will not give permission then why did we? Are we subhuman or half human or do our lives not have enough value?" he thundered.

The prime minister said that in a meeting of the US Senate, an American commander had claimed that the Pakistan government did "not tell the truth" to its citizens. "We disrespected ourselves, the world did not disrespect us."

He said that overseas Pakistanis hid their faces after the raid by US Navy Seals in Abbottabad in which Osama Bin Laden was killed because "our ally did not trust us enough to carry out the attack."

 

Doha                                                                                                                                                                                                     14 August 2018

Harsh hot weather and working day were  not obstacles to large number of Pak expatriates rather witnessed overwhelming participation of expatriate Pakistanis celebrating their 71st Independence Day in Qatar.

Community forums arranged various colorful events across Qatar.

The morning started with official flag hoisting by Charge d'Affaires Murad Baseer at the Pakistan embassy premises where record number of Pakistanis from all walks of life gathered to celebrate their independence day.  A number of people and children participated in their national flag green colour attire.

Sarwar Hussain, Third Secretary read out messages from President of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain and interim Prime Minister Nasirul-Mulk for the Independence Day.

Murad Baseer in his speech said that he has witnessed great love and loyalty among expatriate Pakistanis for their country.  While extending his greetings to the community members, he stressed on the countrymen to keep remember those sacrificed their lives during struggle for independence.

A cake cutting ceremony took place after the speeches joined by Pakistan embassy officials followed by national songs sang by children.  Traditional Pakistani breakfast was served at the end of the colorful program.

Later in afternoon, renowned Pakistanis Riaz Bakali, Ashraf Siddiqui, Syed Ali Naqvi and Chaudhary Taher Mahmood celebrated Pakistan Independence Day along with various communities leaders at the Headquarters of Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy. A cake cutting ceremony was held supported by Community Outreaching Department of the Supreme Community. On this occasion, Ms Samantha Sifah, Head of Community Outreaching extended her greetings to the Pakistani community and she joined in cake cutting ceremony.

In the evening, a gala colourful event was organised by Pakistani forum 'All Pakistanis Overseas Organization Int'l ' in AlBanoush Club, Meisaeed. Hafiz Junaid Sial, Community Attache, Pakistan embassy was Chief Guest on the occasion. A separate report of the event please see separately.

 

 

MANILA, 26 Dec. 2016
Philippines News Agency

Due to typhoon "Nina" that is currently in the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) has implemented the "Oplan Nina".

Together with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), MIAA is closely monitoring the movement of the typhoon, and vowed to implement actions as needed.

MIAA General Manager Ed Monreal has also instructed airport authorities and staff to employ all means possible to cushion the impact of the typhoon as part of the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) guidance.

"We have anticipated all possible scenarios given the strength of the typhoon," Monreal said.

As of Monday afternoon, Monreal said the closing down of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) is not likely to happen as Nina had made its landfall in Batangas.

It may be recalled that last Friday, MIAA said the NAIA runway shall be closed to flight operations once the typhoon’s wind speed reaches 50 knots.

The challenge now is how airport authorities will be able to bring back the different aircraft as hundreds of flights have been cancelled and/ rescheduled since Sunday due to Nina.

Monreal said his guidance was those flights that should operate Monday at 4 p.m. onwards should stick to their schedule.

As MIAA considers air traffic congestion, Monreal cited that NAIA is currently working to accommodate rescheduled flights. "Flights that have slots from 4 p.m. onwards were allowed to depart and to arrive," he said.

Another consideration is the facility of the airports, he added. "We want to have better schedules to avoid diversion of flights," Monreal noted.

"The only concern now is there is no movement because domestic airlines are in the outlying stations," he said. Majority of the cancelled flights were domestic flights.

The MIAA GM said authorities have to ensure that the airway is clear of the typhoon and should look for different routes to avoid the typhoon.

"We will coordinate with CAAP to see how many flights we could accommodate tonight," he added.

Appeal to passengers

Thousands of passengers have been affected due to the typhoon and Monreal asked the public not to come to the airport if their flights are not in the schedule.

He also urged passengers to regularly check the MIAA Facebook page and Twitter account for travel advisories from airlines.

Passengers may call the NAIA hotline at 877-1111, or send a text message to 0917-8396242.

For flight information, passengers may also dial the following numbers:

Terminal 1 -- 877-1109 local 2851 or 765

Terminal 2 -- 877-1109 local 2880 or 2882

Terminal 3 -- 877-7888 local 8144 or 8173 or 8174

Terminal 4 – 877-1109 local 4226

Additional hotlines are 8771-3660 and 8771-3661. (PNA)