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ISLAMABAD: The inaugural Inter-Parliamentary Speakers&rsquo; Conference (ISC) opened in Islamabad on Tuesday, bringing together parliamentary representatives from more than 40 countries to discuss peace, security and sustainable development.&nbsp;The two-day forum aims to foster dialogue and cooperation among global parliamentary leaders on shared economic, political and security challenges.&nbsp;Founding Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani, opening the session, emphasized that peace, security and development are inseparable pillars of progress. &ldquo;Without peace, nations cannot build. Without development, peace remains fragile,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;Gilani noted that the ISC is designed to provide a platform for lawmakers to exchange ideas, strengthen cooperation and address emerging global issues.&nbsp;The agenda for this year focuses on advancing sustainable development, enhancing cooperation on peace and security, and tackling economic and health challenges.&nbsp;Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif delivered the keynote address, urging collective global action amid rising geopolitical tensions and widening economic disparities. &ldquo;We must rise above divisions and collaborate for a more secure and stable world,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;Sharing Pakistan&rsquo;s recent security experiences, the prime minister referred to what he described as &ldquo;unprovoked aggression&rdquo; from India in May, saying the country&rsquo;s armed forces &ldquo;demonstrated Pakistan&rsquo;s resolve to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.&rdquo;&nbsp;He stressed that while the conflict was deterred, &ldquo;having won the war, we need to win peace through sincere and honest efforts.&rdquo;&nbsp;Sharif highlighted the importance of stability in Afghanistan for regional connectivity and growth.&nbsp;He said Pakistan responded &ldquo;firmly and decisively&rdquo; to recent attacks on its border posts, while reaffirming Islamabad&rsquo;s continued commitment to a peaceful neighbourhood. Sharif also noted ongoing mediation efforts by T&uuml;rkiye&nbsp;and Qatar, adding that lasting peace in Afghanistan requires curbing militant groups operating from its territory.&nbsp;Discussing economic cooperation, the prime minister pointed to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor&rsquo;s second phase and Pakistan&rsquo;s commitment to multilateral partnerships with the European Union, United States, Japan, Saudi Arabia and others. Parliaments, he said, remain &ldquo;custodians of the people&rsquo;s will&rdquo; and must strive to improve lives through collective action.&nbsp;&ldquo;My ultimate hope is that the peoples of all nations will stand united in promoting peace, advancing sustainable development and strengthening collective security,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;Addressing the conference via video link, Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Secretary-General Martin Chungong said meaningful progress on peace and development &ldquo;cannot be achieved without the collective action of all nations,&rdquo; urging parliaments to lead these efforts.&nbsp;ISC Ambassador Misbha Khar described the gathering as a crucial step toward prioritizing dialogue over division, while ISC Secretary-General E.K. Nath Dhakal underscored the necessity of global cooperation to address climate change and food insecurity.&nbsp;Gilani also referenced ongoing global conflicts, including in Gaza, Sudan and Kashmir, stressing the vital role of parliamentary diplomacy. He called for an expanded concept of security, one that incorporates economic stability, food and environmental resilience, and digital integrity.&nbsp;Highlighting Pakistan&rsquo;s contributions to UN peacekeeping and its counterterrorism efforts, Gilani urged delegates to move beyond rhetoric. &ldquo;Leadership is about the strength of one&rsquo;s convictions, the ability to endure the punches, and the energy to promote an idea,&rdquo; he said, quoting former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.&nbsp;The conference continues Wednesday with thematic sessions and multilateral discussions.

Foreign Affairs

At the inaugural Inter-Parliamentary Speakers’ Conference, global parliamentary leaders emphasize cooperation on peace, security and sustainable development, as Pakistan’s leadership calls for collective action, regional stability, counterterrorism efforts, and practical dialogue to address shared global challenges and promote prosperity.

Global speakers’ conference in Islamabad calls for peace, unity and development

Port Sudan: Sudan&#39;s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces said they had arrested several fighters accused of abuses during the capture of El-Fasher, with the United Nations demanding an investigation on Friday into the &quot;horrendous accounts&quot; of atrocities emerging from the city.&nbsp;At war with the army since April 2023, the RSF seized El-Fasher on Sunday, dislodging the army&#39;s last stronghold in the western Darfur region after an 18-month siege marked by bombardment and starvation.&nbsp;Survivors who reached the nearby town of Tawila told AFP of mass killings, children shot before their parents, and civilians beaten and robbed as they fled.&nbsp;The RSF said late on Thursday it had detained several men accused of &quot;violations... during the liberation&quot; of El-Fasher, including one known as Abu Lulu who appeared in multiple TikTok videos committing summary executions.&nbsp;In one clip verified by AFP, he is seen shooting unarmed men at close range. Another shows him standing among fighters celebrating near dozens of bodies and burnt vehicles.&nbsp;The RSF released footage appearing to show Abu Lulu behind bars in what they claimed to be a North Darfur prison.&nbsp;It pledged to ensure &quot;military discipline during wartime,&quot; and promised a fair trial for those detained.&nbsp;Since El-Fasher&#39;s fall, videos circulating online have purportedly shown men in RSF uniforms carrying out summary executions around the city, which has been cut off from all communications.&nbsp;Emtithal Mahmoud, a US-based Sudanese poet from El-Fasher, told AFP she recognized her cousin, Nadifa, in a video shared by RSF accounts, lying dead on the ground.&nbsp;The UN said the death toll could reach the hundreds, while army allies have accused the RSF of killing over 2,000 civilians.&nbsp;&nbsp;&#39;Horror is continuing&#39;On Friday, the United Nations voiced alarm at emerging details of executions, gang rapes and abductions in El-Fasher.&nbsp;&quot;We have received horrendous accounts of summary executions, mass killings, rapes, attacks against humanitarian workers, looting, abductions and forced displacement,&quot; said UN rights office spokesperson Seif Magango.&nbsp;Magango called for &quot;independent, prompt, transparent and thorough investigations&quot; into all alleged breaches of international law.&nbsp;The World Health Organization, meanwhile, said it had verified that at least 460 patients and others were killed on Tuesday in attacks on the Saudi Maternity Hospital &mdash; one of the last still functioning in El-Fasher.&nbsp;On Thursday, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher told the Security Council that &quot;the horror is continuing&quot; in El-Fasher, and questioned the RSF&#39;s commitment to investigating violations amid the &quot;appalling news&quot; from North Darfur.&nbsp;RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo had earlier vowed accountability for &quot;anyone who has made a mistake&quot;, while an RSF-led coalition maintained many incriminating videos were &quot;fabricated&quot; by the army.&nbsp;Satellite imagery analyzed by Yale&#39;s Humanitarian Research Lab showed clusters in the city &quot;consistent with adult human bodies,&quot; and discoloration that may indicate &quot;pools of blood,&quot; its director told AFP.&nbsp;Sudanese analyst Kholood Khair said she was skeptical that the purported arrests would bring an end to the violence.&nbsp;&quot;We expect these atrocities to continue, particularly against non-Arab groups,&quot; she told AFP, citing communities such as the Zaghawa, Fur, Berti and Masalit in Darfur.&nbsp;In 2023, the RSF &mdash; descended from the Janjaweed Arab militias accused of genocide in Darfur two decades ago &mdash; was blamed for massacres against the Masalit tribe in West Darfur capital El-Geneina, killing up to 15,000 people.&nbsp;&quot;Overall, these patterns reflect a disturbing repetition of ethnic tensions from 20 years ago, now compounded by disputes over resource control and political power in the country,&quot; Khair said.&nbsp;More than 62,000 people have fled El-Fasher between Sunday and Wednesday, according to the UN&#39;s migration agency, while the fate of tens of thousands of civilians still trapped in the city remains unknown.&nbsp;Bloodshed in KordofanFletcher warned that the bloodshed was spreading beyond Darfur, with atrocities reported in the neighboring Kordofan region.&nbsp;According to UN figures, between Sunday and Wednesday, more than 35,000 people fled five localities in North Kordofan state, including Bara, which lies north of state capital El-Obeid on a key route to Darfur and which was overrun by paramilitaries on Saturday.&nbsp;Martha Pobee, the assistant UN secretary-general for Africa, highlighted &quot;reports of large-scale atrocities perpetrated&quot; by the RSF in Bara, including &quot;ethnically motivated&quot; reprisals.&nbsp;At least 50 civilians were killed there in recent days, both in fighting and executions, including five Red Crescent volunteers, according to the UN.&nbsp;Kordofan is &quot;clearly going to be the next area of military escalation&quot;, analyst Khair said.&nbsp;The RSF on Thursday accused the army of launching a drone attack on a school in eastern North Kordofan, claiming dozens of students and teachers were killed or injured &mdash; an allegation the army denied.&nbsp;AFP could not independently verify the attack.&nbsp;Both the army and the RSF have faced war crimes accusations over the course of the conflict.&nbsp;According to UN reports, the RSF has received weapons and drones from the UAE. Abu Dhabi has denied giving any support to the paramilitary group.&nbsp;Meanwhile, the army has drawn on support from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Turkey.&nbsp;The US has previously determined that the RSF committed genocide in Darfur.&nbsp;El-Fasher&#39;s fall to the RSF gave it full control over all five state capitals in Darfur, effectively splitting Sudan along an east-west axis. The paramilitaries have established a self-declared rival government in Darfur.&nbsp;The army holds Sudan&#39;s north, east, and center.

Africa

UN says death toll can reach the hundreds, army allies have accused the RSF of killing over 2,000 civilians.

Sudan's RSF claims arrests as UN warns of 'horrendous' atrocities in Darfur

EL-FASHER: A drone strike by Sudan&#39;s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces killed eight people in a maternity ward in the besieged city of El-Fasher, a medical source told AFP on Wednesday. The RSF is currently waging its fiercest assault ever on El-Fasher in an attempt to wrest control of the city away from their rivals, the regular army. Since April 2023, the war between the two forces has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and pushed nearly 25 million people into acute hunger. Activists say El-Fasher, the last state capital in the vast western Darfur region to elude the paramilitary&#39;s grasp, has become &quot;an open-air morgue&quot; for starved civilians.&nbsp;Tuesday&#39;s deadly strike on El-Fasher Hospital also injured seven people and &quot;damaged buildings and equipment&quot;, the health worker said on condition of anonymity out of fear for their safety. The hospital is one of the last functioning health facilities in the city, with most repeatedly bombed and forced to shut. Nearly 80 percent of households in need of medical care in El-Fasher are unable to access it, according to the United Nations. Exhausted medical teams are already scrambling to treat the injured from the daily attacks on the city. Doctors, using satellite internet connections to circumvent a communications blackout, say they have taken to using bits of mosquito netting as a substitute for gauze. Nearly 18 months into the RSF&#39;s siege, the city -- home to 400,000 trapped civilians -- has run out of nearly everything. The animal feed families have survived on for months has grown scarce and now costs hundreds of dollars a sack.&nbsp;The majority of the city&#39;s soup kitchens have been forced shut for lack of food, according to local resistance committees, volunteer groups coordinating aid. One million have fled According to UN figures released Tuesday, more than 1 million people have fled El-Fasher since the war began, accounting for 10 per cent of all internally displaced people in the country. The population of the city, once the region&#39;s largest, has decreased by around 62 per cent, the UN&#39;s migration agency said.&nbsp;Civilians say the daily strikes force them to spend most of their time underground, in small makeshift bunkers families have dug in their back yards. Satellite imagery shows the RSF has built dozens of kilometres of walls around the city, leaving only a small exit where they are reportedly extorting civilians for safe passage.&nbsp;The UN has repeatedly warned of &quot;large-scale, ethnically driven attacks and atrocities&quot; in the city, where the RSF has overrun multiple famine-hit displacement camps, killing hundreds. &quot;After over 500 days of unremitting siege by the RSF and incessant fighting, El-Fasher is on the precipice of an even greater catastrophe if urgent measures are not taken (to) loosen the armed vice upon the city and to protect civilians,&quot; UN rights chief Volker Turk said Thursday.

A drone strike by Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces on a maternity ward in El-Fasher killed eight, intensifying an 18-month siege marked by famine, displacement, and medical shortages.

Articles tagged with "sudan civil war"

Global speakers’ conference in Islamabad calls for peace, unity and development

Sudan's RSF claims arrests as UN warns of 'horrendous' atrocities in Darfur

Paramilitary attack on maternity ward kills 8 in Sudan's El-Fasher