Islamabad

UN agencies on Friday called on Pakistan to continue protecting children and families seeking safety amidst rising concerns over the Government’s new ‘Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan’.

According to news reports, Pakistani security forces began detaining and deporting dozens of Afghans under the new policy this week after a Government deadline for them to leave ran out.

The majority of undocumented refugees who have settled in Pakistan over decades are from neighboring Afghanistan, and following the Taliban takeover, thousands more fled seeking sanctuary.

The UN refugee agency UNHCR, migration agency IOM, together with children’s agency UNICEF, said they are “deeply concerned for the safety and well-being of children and families affected…and alarmed at the potential consequences of this plan’s implementation.”

Almost 30 million people require humanitarian assistance and 3.3 million are internally displaced inside Afghanistan amidst overlapping crisis.

Since 15 September an estimated 160,000 Afghans have left Pakistan, with 86 percent of families reported fear of arrest as the most common reason for leaving.

‘Generosity still needed’

“Pakistan has a proud tradition of hosting refugees, saving millions of lives. This generosity is still needed”, the agencies said.

Although the undocumented are designated for repatriation in phase one, there are reports of registered refugees, including Afghan Citizenship Card holders and Afghans scheduled for resettlement, being pressurized despite assurances they will be protected.”

“Any return needs to be voluntary and done in a safe and orderly manner, with full respect for rights and protection of those in need” stressed UNHCR’s Representative, Philippa Candler.

UNICEF Pakistan Representative, Abdullah Fadil, said: “A child is a child. Children everywhere must be protected at all times to live with dignity, so they can grow, learn and reach their full potential”.

UNHCR, IOM and UNICEF continue to appeal to the international community to increase support for hosting vulnerable children and families and refugees in Pakistan.

‘Our best bet for preventing the next pandemic’: New ‘One Health’ approach launched

UN health agency WHO called on world leaders on Friday to invest in a holistic approach to tackle major health threats including zoonotic diseases, focusing on the connections between the health of humans, animals, plants and the environment.

The “One Health” approach, as it’s known, “makes public health sense, economic sense and common sense”, said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“It’s obvious that we can only protect and promote the health of humans by protecting and promoting the health of animals, and the planet on which all life depends,” he insisted.

In support of the call, UN Environment Program head Inger Andersen wrote on social platform X on Friday that “a unified One Health approach is our best bet for preventing the next pandemic and building a more resilient future for all”.

She highlighted that human activities and stressed ecosystems make it easier for diseases to emerge and spread.

WHO estimates that air pollution leads to seven million deaths and $3 trillion losses every year, while antimicrobial resistance leads to five million deaths every year, with losses of up to $100 trillion by 2050.

WHO said that according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Bank, One Health efforts “could bring at least $37 billion per year back to the global community” while investing in One Health requires less than 10 per cent of this amount.

Protect radio frequencies from harmful interference, urges WMO chief

Having radio frequency bandwidth is a key requirement for all weather observation systems which must be protected from harmful interference, according to the head of the UN weather agency WMO

Secretary-General Petteri Taalas outlined WMO’s concerns on Friday writing in a publication of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) ahead of the forthcoming UN World Radiocommunication Conference.

“Access to the radio-frequency spectrum is critical to the meteorological and hydrological infrastructure that underpins weather and related environmental services worldwide”, said Mr. Talaas.

Underpinned by radio waves

“Satellites, weather radar, hydrological observing systems, and drifting buoys all operate based on radio or microwave transmissions,” he writes.

“The safety of life and property depends on weather and environmental forecasts. Extended warning times for severe events enable citizens, civil authorities and first responders to act.”

The World Radiocommunication Conference in Dubai later this month will update global Radio Regulations, the treaty governing radio spectrum and satellite orbits.

Ahead of the conference, ITU News published a dedicated edition on Science services – Earth observation at the World Radio Communication Conference.

“Radio networks are vital to making our world more sustainable, and WRC-23 can help us move forward together on all fronts,” said ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin.

“One of those fronts is climate monitoring, mitigation, and adaptation. ITU is a key partner in Early Warnings for All – the UN Secretary-General’s groundbreaking initiative to ensure everyone on Earth is protected from climate hazards and disasters through life-saving alerts by the end of 2027.”

__________________

Courtesy: UN News (Posted on Nov 3, 2023)

The post Aliens’ Deportation: UN Agencies urge Pakistan for protecting children, families first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Jungshahi, Sindh

The mammoth gathering on June 7, 2023 at the fifth death anniversary of Rasool Bux Palijo, a veteran politician, at his native village near Jungshahi town of district Thatta, rejected the results of recently conducted Digital Census.

The gathering passed the resolutions rejecting the digital census results and demanded deporting all the illegal foreigners including millions of Afghans.

Another resolution categorically stated that no dam on the Indus River will be allowed to build.

Thousands of workers including women activists of Awami Tehreek and Qaumi Awami Tahreek visited the last resting place of their leader Rasool Bux Palijo and laid floral wreaths over his grave.

Rasool Bux Palijo was the Marxist leader, scholar, and human rights defender, author of over forty books, lawyer and founder of Awami Tehreek.

Leaders of various political organizations addressed the public meeting and paid homage to late leader.

President, Awami Tehreek, Lal Jarwar and others addressing the gathering said that Rasool Bux Palijo was the continuation of the great revolutionary genius of the world.

They said that under the leadership of Late Rasool Bux Palijo the brave women of Sindh fought against oppression, barbarism and martial-Laws from the platform of the Sindhyani Tahareek and courted arrests.

“Palijo brought the scientific knowledge of the revolutionary leaders to the villages in a simple and easy language. He was the wise leader of Sindh and Pakistan who spent his whole life fighting for the oppressed classes and nations of the world,” they said.

“Rasool Bux Palijo’s thoughts were a light for third world countries”, they said.

They said that the only solution to the economic and political crisis that Pakistan is facing today is to follow Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s secular principles and the 1940 resolution, and with this the country can move towards prosperity.

They said that the people of Sindh have rejected the digital census from the first day. “This census is completely aimed to turn Sindhi nation in to minority and is against the existence of Sindh.”

“The people of Sindh, Balochistan, Kashmir, Gilgit and Siraiki have rejected the digital census as an attack on national integrity, therefore, the results of this population census have no constitutional and legal status.”

They said that jobs in federal institutions should be given to all nationalities on an equal basis as the Senate seats are equal for all nations, instead of establishing a monopoly of one province.

They said that the Sindh High Court has imposed a ban on Jirgas and declared Jirgas as an insult to the country’s constitution, but the Sindh government is reluctant to follow the orders of the Sindh High Court. The Sindh Apex Committee has attacked the judiciary by empowering the Jirgai system and the tribal chiefs to settle tribal disputes.

The country has become isolated in the world due to the corruption and worst policies of the rulers, the lamented.

The leaders said that Pakistan’s foreign policy has never been made keeping in mind the welfare of the People of country.

The leaders also criticized People’s Party saying that it has sold all the resources of Sindh to the federal government for the sake of power. “The current famine, unemployment, unrest and lawlessness have left Sindh at the mercy of the bandits and feudal lords who have established their own state within the state.”

“At present, life has become hell for women due to the incompetence of the Sindh government, as the women of Sindh have been left at the mercy of the tribal people,” they said.

Khushal Khan Kakar, the son of Shaheed Usman Kakar and the central president of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party said that Rasool Bux Palijo dedicated his whole life for democracy, constitution and the oppressed class. He said that now no one can occupy the land of Sindh.

Central General Secretary of Awami Workers Party Bakhshal Thalho spoke about the problems of Sindh like poverty, unemployment and other problems.

Lal Shah, Central President of Awami Jamhuri Party and intellectual Jami Chandio said that Palijo was a unique and versatile person, a writer, a scholar and a great person. Palijo was primarily a thinker and a great politician.

Alia Bakhshal, the Central Secretary of the Women’s Jamhori Mahaz, said that at this time, there is a need for a joint struggle.

Many other Leaders of different parties also addressed the event and urged that feudalism should be abolished by bringing agricultural reforms in the country, and the lands of Sindh should be distributed among the landless farmers.

They said that soon after the creation of Pakistan, the real power was taken over by the military generals employed by the British, civil bureaucracy and the feudal lords, tribal chiefs, Khans and Nawabs supported by the British imperialism.

They said that there are no labor laws of any kind in Pakistan. The workers have no rights, the higher educational institutions of Sindh have been made the center of corruption.

They said that the universities of Sindh have been made killing places for girls. They said that incidents of child abuse are increasing day by day in Sindh but the government of Sindh has become a silent spectator.

___________

The post Death Anniversary of Rasool Bux Palijo: Awami Tehreek rejects Digital Census Results first appeared on Sindh Courier.