CHINA INTRODUCES DIRECT FLIGHT BETWEEN GUANGZHOU AND ISLAMABAD TO ENHANCE CONNECTIVITY
BEIJING, August 27, 2024 (LPP, LPC): China Southern Airlines has inaugurated a new direct flight route between Guangzhou and Islamabad, marking a significant milestone in enhancing connectivity between the two nations.
Flight CZ8069 departed from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN) on August 25, carrying 163 passengers to Islamabad International Airport (ISB). This successful departure signifies the official launch of the direct route between the two cities.
The launch follows Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s announcement on August 1 that the country will offer visa-free entry to Chinese citizens starting August 14, to boost economic and industrial collaboration between the two countries.
Operated by a Boeing 787, the Guangzhou-Islamabad route will run three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. The scheduled departure time from Guangzhou is 15:40 Beijing time, with an estimated arrival in Islamabad at 19:35 local time (22:35 Beijing time).
The total flight duration is approximately six hours and 55 minutes, according to CEN. The new direct route is expected to significantly reduce travel time and costs, further enhancing exchanges between the two countries and the entire region. Among the inaugural flight’s passengers were tour groups, business travelers, and returning expatriates.
“This route is the latest addition to our growing network of flights between China and Pakistan, including routes from Urumqi to Islamabad, Urumqi to Lahore, Urumqi to Islamabad via Kashgar, and Guangzhou to Lahore,” noted a source from China Southern Airlines, adding that the airline is committed to accelerating the development of routes under the Belt and Road Initiative.
UN CRITICIZES TALIBAN’S MORALITY LAW AFFECTING AFGHAN WOMEN
United Nations, August 27, 2024 (LPP, LPC): The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) has condemned a new morality law enacted by the Taliban in Afghanistan, stating that it “completely erases” women’s presence in public and calling for its immediate revocation.
The “Law on the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice” restricts women’s voices and autonomy, effectively rendering them “faceless, voiceless shadows,” according to Ravina Shamdasani, OHCHR’s Chief Spokesperson, in Geneva. She described the law as “utterly intolerable” and urged the de facto authorities to repeal it, as it violates Afghanistan’s international human rights obligations.
Adopted last week, the law imposes numerous repressive measures on women, including mandates for full-body coverings, bans on their voices being heard in public, and restrictions on their movement without a male relative. Even the sound of a female voice outside the home is considered a moral violation.
The law also requires men to grow beards, bans drivers from playing music, and restricts media from publishing images of people. State agents are given broad powers to detain individuals and impose punishments. Ms. Shamdasani emphasized that disempowering Afghan women and girls will only worsen the country’s human rights and humanitarian crisis. She called for unity among all Afghans, regardless of gender, religion, or ethnicity, to address the country’s challenges.
Roza Otunbayeva, the UN’s top envoy to Afghanistan, also denounced the new law, describing it as a “distressing vision” for the country’s future. She stated that the Afghan people deserve better than being threatened or jailed for minor infractions and emphasized the need for constructive engagement with the Taliban to achieve peace and prosperity for all Afghans.
