Latest news with #ImranHaider
News18
3 days ago
- Politics
- News18
'Free Kashmir' Proponent, India In His Past: Who's Imran Haider, Pakistan's New Envoy To Bangladesh?
In addition to his multiple international assignments, ambassador Haider previously served at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi Ambassador Imran Haider, a senior Pakistani diplomat who has recently been named as the new high commissioner to Bangladesh, carries a long-standing connection with India through his professional experiences and personal interests, and has been a proponent of 'Free Kashmir". In addition to his multiple international assignments, ambassador Haider previously served at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, holding a significant diplomatic position before being posted as a Pakistani ambassador to several countries in 2019. Over the past years, Haider served as part of Pakistan's mission in the United Nations, New York, and in the embassies of Iran, India, the UAE, and Spain, along with other assignments, said his profile document. In international diplomatic circles, Haider is known for his strong views on Kashmir, and he is seen as a vocal proponent of Pakistan's narrative on 'Free Kashmir". In fact, his display pictures on platforms like X and Instagram feature only a poster with the line 'Let Kashmir Speak", and his bio with his name says, 'career diplomat, posted in Tajikistan and Yangon (Myanmar)", signalling his continued alignment with that position. In fact, the same poster is also part of the interface of the official website of Pakistan's High Commission in New Delhi. These social media accounts often highlight Haider's past speeches and engagements during his reported ambassadorial postings in Myanmar between 2024 and 2025 and in Tajikistan between 2023 and 2024, along with photographs featuring senior Pakistani ministers and diplomats. While the accounts do not have the officially 'verified" tag like many senior diplomats and bureaucrats, Haider's social media activity offers a clear glimpse into his ideological leanings and the persona he projects as a career diplomat. According to a formal notification carried by the Global New Light of Myanmar (GNLM), known as the official mouthpiece of the junta government, he was appointed as Pakistan's ambassador to Myanmar in February 2024. Haider, who studied human rights at Curtin University, Perth, Australia, served briefly as assistant commissioner of income tax (1995-1996) in Pakistan before joining the ministry of foreign affairs in 1996, and since then he has held various diplomatic assignments in high-stakes postings across the globe, including in the UN and in countries like the UAE, Iran, India, and Spain. His official bio as submitted to the Myanmar government also stated that he served as ambassador of Pakistan to Tajikistan from 2019 to 2023, a period during which Islamabad is learnt to have actively expanded its strategic ties in central Asia. Post-April 2023, Haider served as director-general for the Central Asian Republics (CARs) and the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) at Pakistan's ministry of foreign affairs—an indication of his continued involvement in Pakistan's evolving regional strategy. His appointment to Myanmar was also seen as Islamabad's intent to maintain active diplomatic engagement with the junta regime amid a turbulent regional and global backdrop. A senior diplomat, who does not want to be named, said, 'Pakistan is sending a seasoned, calculated insider to Dhaka. Imran Haider carries more than just a diplomatic briefcase. He carries a deep understanding of the India-Bangladesh-Pakistan triangle that is forged by years in Islamabad's foreign service and a strategic stint in New Delhi." First Published: June 19, 2025, 07:30 IST
Arab News
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan hands over 35 tons of humanitarian aid to earthquake-hit Myanmar
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has handed over 35 tons of emergency relief aid to Myanmar for its earthquake-affected people, Pakistani state media reported on Sunday, as death toll from last week's massive earthquake in Myanmar neared to 3,500. The 7.7-magnitude quake hit a wide swath of the country, causing significant damage to six regions and states including the capital Naypyitaw. The earthquake left many areas without power, telephone or cell connections and damaged roads and bridges, making the full extent of the devastation hard to assess. It also worsened an already dire humanitarian crisis triggered by the country's civil war that has internally displaced more than 3 million people and left nearly 20 million in need, according to the United Nations. Pakistan had dispatched the second consignment of humanitarian aid through an air cargo flight from Islamabad to Yangon, Myanmar, according to Pakistan's Press Information Department (PID). 'Pakistan's Ambassador to Myanmar Imran Haider officially gave the consignment to Chief Minister of Yangon Region at Yangon International Airport,' the Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported. 'This shipment, comprising 35 tons of goods, brings the total relief assistance dispatched to Myanmar after the recent earthquake to 70 tons.' The development came as rain compounded misery and presented new hurdles for relief efforts in Myanmar on Sunday. With people either having lost their homes entirely or reluctant to spend time in cracked and unstable structures, many residents have been sleeping outside in tents. United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher said in a video filmed in Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city, that food, water, and power repairs were needed urgently. Many people in the area are still without shelter, he said, describing the scale of damage in the city as 'epic.' 'We need to get tents and hope to survivors as they rebuild their shattered lives,' Fletcher wrote on X.
