FARUKH SHEHZAD

GAZA CITY, MAY 16: Israel bombed the home of Hamas's chief in Gaza early on Sunday and sirens warning of rocket attacks sounded in Israeli border towns shortly after dawn as hostilities stretched into a seventh day with no sign of abating.

At least 153 people have been killed in Gaza since Monday, including 42 children, health officials said. Israel has reported 10 dead, including two children.

The United Nations Security Council was due to meet later on Sunday to discuss the worst outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian violence in years.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reminded all sides “that any indiscriminate targeting of civilian and media structures violates international law and must be avoided at all costs”, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement on Saturday.

Both Israel and Hamas, the Islamist group that runs the enclave, insisted they would continue their cross-border fire after Israel destroyed a 12-storey building in Gaza City that housed the US Associated Press and Qatar-based Al Jazeera media operations.

The Israel military said the al-Jala building was a legitimate military target, containing Hamas military offices, and that it had given advance warnings to civilians to get out of the building.

The AP condemned the attack, and asked Israel to put forward evidence. “We have had no indication Hamas was in the building or active in the building,” it said in a statement.

In what Hamas called a reprisal for Israel's destruction of the al-Jala building, Hamas fired 120 rockets overnight, the Israeli military said, with many intercepted and around a dozen falling short and landing in Gaza.

Israelis dashed for bomb shelters as sirens warning of incoming rocket fire blared in Tel Aviv and the southern city of Beersheba. Around 10 people were injured while running for shelters, medics said.

In a burst of air strikes early on Sunday, the Israeli military said it struck the home of Yehya Al-Sinwar in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. Sinwar, who was released from an Israeli prison in 2011, heads the political and military wings of Hamas in Gaza.

Another air strike killed a Gaza neurologist and wounded his wife and daughter, Palestinian medics and relatives said.

Israel's security cabinet was due to meet early Sunday to discuss the hostilities. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address late on Saturday that Israel was “still in the midst of this operation, it is still not over and this operation will continue as long as necessary”.

Al-Aqsa

Hamas began its rocket assault on Monday after weeks of tensions over a court case to evict several Palestinian families in East Jerusalem, and in retaliation for Israeli police's attacks on Palestinians near the city's Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third-holiest site, during the holy month of Ramazan.

Speaking to crowds of protesters in the Qatari capital of Doha, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said late on Saturday that the underlying cause of the hostilities was Jerusalem.

“The Zionists thought ... they could demolish Al-Aqsa Mosque. They thought they could displace our people in Sheikh Jarrah,” Haniyeh said.

“I say to Netanyahu: do not play with fire,” he continued, amid cheers from the crowd. “The title of this battle today, the title of the war, and the title of the intifada, is Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Jerusalem,” using the Arabic word for 'uprising'.

Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital, a status not generally recognised internationally.

Palestinians want East Jerusalem — captured by Israel in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war — as the capital of a future state.

Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other militant groups have fired more than 2,000 rockets from Gaza since Monday, the Israeli military said on Saturday.

Israel has launched more than 1,000 air and artillery strikes into the densely populated coastal strip, saying they were aimed at Hamas and other militant targets.

War crimes

Earlier this week, the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, told Reuters the court was “monitoring very closely” the latest hostilities, amid an investigation now underway into alleged war crimes in earlier bouts of the conflict.

Netanyahu accused Hamas of “committing a double war crime” by targeting civilians, and using Palestinian civilians as “human shields”.

There has been a flurry of US diplomacy in recent days to try to quell the violence.

President Joe Biden's envoy, Hady Amr, arrived in Israel on Friday for talks. Biden spoke with both Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas late on Saturday, the White House said.

But any mediation is complicated by the fact that the United States and most Western powers do not talk to Hamas, which they regard as a terrorist organisation.

In Israel, the conflict has been accompanied by violence among the country's mixed communities of Jews and Arabs, with synagogues attacked and Arab-owned shops vandalised.

There has also been an upsurge in deadly clashes in the occupied West Bank. At least 12 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops in the West Bank since Friday, most of them during clashes.

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COURTESY DAWN NEWS

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LAHORE, MAY 15: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is currently facing a difficult situation to organise the remaining matches of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2021.

The sixth edition of Pakistan’s premier T20 competition was postponed indefinitely in early March due to a coronavirus outbreak which left as many as seven players and staff members tested positive for the pathogen.

It was announced later the remaining matches will be organised in Karachi from the first to the 20th of June, 2021.

However, with the latest coronavirus surge in the country, the board agreed with the suggestion of the franchises to move the tournament to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

As per Cricket Pakistan, the PCB delegation is currently visiting the Middle Eastern country in order to get approval from the authorities to organise PSL 2021.

The report stated that if the board fail to get the approval by May 16, they will have no other option but to look for an alternative and Karachi might still host the remaining matches.

It is pertinent to mention here that the UAE has already placed Pakistan in the list of countries on their red list due to the Covid-19 situation and every person who travels from here will have to quarantine for 10 days.

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COURTESY SAMAA

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THIS VIDEO MELTED MILLIONS OF HEARTS: World must take notice of the injustice & atrocities that Palestinians are facing...!!!

A well known Research Analyst - Social Media Activist - Influencer - Digital Marketer, Huda Naveed has said this breaks my heart and The world must take notice Of the injustice & atrocities

That Palestinians are facing...!!!

#PalestineBleeding #PalestinianLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/dllYGKXjJa

Courtesy — Huda Naveed (@Huda_Nav) May 14, 2021 

ISLAMABAD, MAY 14: All Muslims countries must wake up and take serious and sincere steps to help the Muslims brothers and sisters in Palestine.

This is the responsibility of all the Muslims countries to stop Israel attacking people in Palestine.

People of all ages are in trouble and their lives are at risk, Living conditions are not comfortable in Palestine.

#Muslim#countries#must#do#something#now#to#save#Palestinians

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COURTESY Al-Jazeera

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MADRID, MAY 14: Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane believes that his team is very much in the title race after they managed to keep the pressure on Atletico Madrid by thrashing Granada 4-1 on Thursday to reduce the gap to two points at the top of La Liga, with two games left to play.

A draw or defeat for Real Madrid would have given Atletico the chance to win the title on Sunday by beating Osasuna but goals from Luka Modric, Rodrygo, Alvaro Odriozola and Karim Benzema secured a comfortable victory at Los Carmenes.

Atletico could still be crowned champions this weekend if they overcome Osasuna and Real Madrid fail to win away at Athletic Bilbao but the Spanish title race has been full of surprises and still nothing is guaranteed.

“We’re still in it,” said Real coach Zinedine Zidane. “There are two games left, we have to deliver and today we delivered.”

Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois agreed with the manager saying: “We can only keep putting pressure on Atletico and hope they don’t win both of their games. We are close, there is no margin for error.”

Even third-placed Barcelona are still in the running, even if Tuesday’s 3-3 draw away at Levante leaves them needing an incredible swing of results if they are to overturn a four-point deficit in two games.

The theme of Real Madrid’s challenge in recent weeks has been survival, their squad stretched to its limits by injuries and absentees but a particularly youthful team produced a vibrant display to see off a Granada side that earlier this month beat Barca at Camp Nou.

Zidane started three 20-year-olds and a 19-year-old in what was arguably, given the stakes, the club’s most important league game of the season and his youngsters delivered.

The 19-year-old Miguel Gutierrez started at right back and gave a spectacular assist for Modric’s opener while the 20-year-old Marvin Park played at left back and made the recovery that led to the 20-year-old Rodrygo adding a second.

Zidane has been as loyal as ever to his ageing core this season but necessity has forced him to turn to look elsewhere and it remains to be seen whether he shows more trust in the likes of Miguel and Marvin in future.

“They did well from the start,” said Zidane. “They want to play, they want to show their quality and that’s what they’ve done.”

The veterans delivered again too, the 35-year-old Modric adding a goal to another instrumental performance, in what was his 55th appearance of the season.

Benzema scored his 29th goal of the campaign and 22nd in La Liga, which leaves him two short of his record.

Madrid were excellent in the first half and took the lead in the 17th minute when Miguel cut in the from left and scooped a superb pass into the path of Modric, who held off Domingos Duarte and fired in at the near post.

Rodrygo added a second just before half-time, profiting after Marvin had freed him with a sliding challenge near the half-way line. Rodrygo advanced into the penalty area and drove into the far corner.

Madrid’s dominance faded after the break and Granada briefly threatened a comeback, a long ball forward not dealt with by Eder Militao, giving Luis Suarez the chance to shoot and Jorge Molina to tap in the rebound.

But the tension was never really allowed to build because four minutes later, Madrid made it three.

Eden Hazard, on off the bench, miscontrolled Modric’s pass but recovered with an impressive pull-back for the arriving Odriozola to finish.

Thirty seconds after Granada kicked off, they conceded a fourth, their goalkeeper Rui Silva making a mess of Casemiro’s launched pass forward, with the ball spilling out to Benzema, who had an open net.

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COURTESY samaa.tv

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RAWALPINDI, MAY 13: Airport authorities have agreed to use sniffer dogs to identify Covid-19-infected inbound travelers at Islamabad International Airport.

A senior airport official told Dawn that well-trained sniffer dogs will detect the virus among the travellers smelling the odors generated by infected people.

Sniffer dogs can be used as a secondary screening tool for detecting Covid-19 infection, he said.

A team of experts have already visited the airport and selected the site to deploy the sniffer dogs.

Earlier, the health authorities in collaboration with the Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) has been using thermal scanners and Rapid Antigen tests to detect the infected travelers at the airport to contain the covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority has allowed the airlines to operate 30pc of their flights for travelers.

The additional 30pc operations will be with incoming flights ferry/cargo and outgoing persons only.

However, the existing 20pc is for both arrival and departure. The airline’s operations with 20 per cent flights had been from May 5 to 20, 2021.

The CAA has sought flight schedules from all airlines of extra flights which are effective tentatively from May 18.

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GAZA, MAY 14: Israel bombarded Gaza with artillery and air strikes on Friday in response to a new barrage of rocket fire from the Hamas-run enclave, in an intensification of a conflict that has now claimed more than 100 Palestinian lives.

Days of deadly violence have seen Israeli soldiers massing on the edge of the territory, although the army stressed there had been no ground incursion despite an earlier statement that troops were carrying out an attack “in the Gaza Strip”.

Israeli security forces have also been scrambled to contain deadly riots between Jews and Arabs, and projectiles have been fired from Lebanon.

Images early Friday showed large balls of flame turning the night sky orange in densely packed Gaza, while rockets were seen tracing through the air towards Israel.

The United Nations said the Security Council would meet on Sunday to address the conflict as the world body's Secretary General called for “an immediate de-escalation and cessation of hostilities”. “Too many innocent civilians have already died,” Antonio Guterres tweeted.

“This conflict can only increase radicalisation and extremism in the whole region.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington was “deeply concerned about the violence in the streets of Israel”, and the State Department urged citizens to “reconsider travel to Israel”.

Several international airlines — including KLM, British Airways, Virgin, Lufthansa and Iberia — cancelled flights amid the aerial onslaught.

'Massive reinforcement'

Dozens of rockets were fired from Gaza towards the southern Israeli coastal cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon, and in the vicinity of Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport.

Israeli army spokesman John Conricus said the country was “prepared ... for various scenarios”, describing a ground offensive as “one scenario”.

In Gaza, AFP photographers said people were evacuating their homes in the northeastern part of the enclave ahead of possible Israeli attacks, with Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, warning of a “heavy response” to any ground incursion.

The Israeli army clarified early Friday that its troops had not entered the Gaza Strip as it had earlier indicated, blaming an “internal communication” problem for the confusion.

With the conflict showing no signs of easing, Israel has been rocked by an unprecedented wave of mob violence, in which both Arabs and Jews have been savagely beaten and police stations attacked.

Defence Minister Benny Gantz ordered a “massive reinforcement” to suppress the internal unrest.

The heavy bombardments coincided with the start of Eidul Fitr, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramazan, and saw the faithful pray at mosques and amid the rubble of Gaza's collapsed buildings.

Israel's air force launched multiple air strikes, targeting locations linked to Hamas, with the air force saying jets had struck a “military compound” of the group's “intelligence headquarters”.

At least 103 people have been killed since Monday, including 27 children, and more than 580 wounded, the health ministry in Gaza said.

Heavy bombardments have brought down entire tower blocks.

Inside Israel, seven people have been killed since Monday, including one six-year-old, after a rocket struck a family home.

'Preventing pogroms'

The Israeli military said it had hit targets in Gaza more than 600 times while 1,750 rockets were fired from the enclave.

Hundreds of rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defence system.

Three rockets were also fired from southern Lebanon towards Israel, landing in the Mediterranean Sea, Israel's army said.

A source close to Israel's arch-enemy Hezbollah said the Lebanese Shia group had no link to the incident.

The military escalation was triggered by weekend unrest at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound, which is sacred to both Muslims and Jews.

The disturbances, in which Israeli riot police had repeatedly targeted Palestinians, have been driven by anger over the looming evictions of Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of east Jerusalem.

The surging tensions sparked clashes in many of Israel's mixed towns where Jews live alongside Arabs, who make up about 20 per cent of the country's population.

Nearly 1,000 border police were called in to quell the violence, and more than 400 people were arrested.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said inter-communal violence in multiple towns was at a level not seen for decades, and that police were “literally preventing pogroms”.

'Two-front battle'

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said police were increasing their use of force, warning of the “option” of deploying soldiers in towns.

Israeli far-right groups have clashed with security forces and Arab Israelis, with television footage on Wednesday showing a far-right mob beating a man they considered an Arab in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv, leaving him with serious injuries.

In Lod, which has become a flashpoint of Arab-Jewish clashes this week with an Arab resident shot dead and a synagogue torched, a gunman opened fire on Thursday at a group of Jews, wounding one. Netanyahu said the violence was “unacceptable”.

“Nothing justifies the lynching of Arabs by Jews, and nothing justifies the lynching of Jews by Arabs,” he said, adding Israel was fighting a battle “on two fronts”.

Amid the rocket fire, Israel's civil aviation authority said it had diverted all incoming passenger flights headed for Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport to Ramon airport in the south.

Hamas announced it had also fired a rocket at Ramon in a bid to stop air traffic to Israel.

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Zamir Ahmed Awan

The situation in the Middle East is changing rapidly. The recent unrest in Israel is growing like fire and entering into a dangerous zone. The clashes between armed police and helpless Palestinians are witnessed everywhere. Here are signs of full-scale war, which may engulf some of the neighboring or regional countries.

Iran-Israel tension has reached a full-fledged war-like situation. It has crossed the limit of verbal threats and warnings, but practical attacks were also seen in recent days. Looking at the magnitude of their weapons and intensity of rivalry, one can predict a disastrous conflict.

However, the US has shown flexibility toward Iran for the nuclear deal but with strict conditions. It is still appreciated that the President Joe Biden Administration has considered the settlement of disputes with Iran. Iran is also willing to reach such a nuclear deal where sanctions would be removed, and its frozen assets may be returned back to Iran immediately, and trade sanctions may be removed. Itan’s ailing economy is under immense pressure due to irrational sanctions. There is a ray of hope.

Houthis in Yemen are getting stubborn and refused to attend the UN meeting, Which might complicate the Saudi-Yeman conflict further. The UN was trying to find a solution to end the ongoing war.

The situation in Lebanon is also not good; especially, the economic crisis seems more dangerous. On the political front, the power struggle and French interference are worsening the situation further. Lebanon might be a small country, but its geostrategic location is vital for peace in the whole region.

The direct contact between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Iran was a big surprise, and promptly opening up of diplomatic missions is encouraging. In fact, both are Muslim nations and sharing many things in common; It was the interest of the US to sell expensive weapons to the Oil-Rich Arab States, that is why they used Wester bais media to create tension between Arabs and Iran. President Trump was openly admitting that his friendship with Saudi Arabia was for selling more arms and weapons to support the rapidly falling economy of the US.

Turkey and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have also come close to each other and trying to overcome differences amicably. Turkey has huge potential to stabilize the whole region and promote developments. There exist historical, cultural, religious, and political relations between the two Muslim countries. There are more things in common than differences.

Egypt and Turkey are also in contact, which will smooth the ways of peace and stability in Libya too. Both countries are important states in the region, and cooperation among them will positively impact the region.

Qatar may be a small state but politically very active in the region. Qatar is a state, who hosted the Afghan Peace talks between Taliba and the US directly. Qatar’s balanced foreign policies are playing a significant role in bringing the regional countries closer.

Pakistan is the only nuclear power in the Muslim world with a powerful army. Pakistan’s visionary leadership is very active for peace and stability in the whole region and globally. Pakistan is playing a pivotal role in the peace process in Afghanistan. Earlier, the Pakistani Prime Minister visited Riyadh and Tehran to bring two Muslim brothers closer.

Pakistan was silently playing diplomacy to defuse tension among the Muslim world and regional countries. It is a well-stated policy of Pakistan that we are partner with anyone anywhere any time for “Peace,” and we are not partner with anyone, anywhere or any time in the wars, aggressions, destructions, killings, etc. Pakistan is a peace-loving nation genetically and wanted to promote peace globally.

It is the first time when Prime Minister of Israel Netanyahu contacted President Putin, after desperate from the cold response from President Joe Biden. He might be facing severe challenges domestically and may not be able to keep his position within his own party or among the masses.

With this scenario, Russia has space to play a leading role in bringing peace, stability, and developments in the whole region. The Muslim world was victimized by the Western World (The US, NATO, and Allies) for almost a couple of decades. Millions of Muslims were killed, millions were made homeless, millions were forced to move into refugee camps either in their own countries or migrate to other countries.

The Infrastructure was damaged, agriculture & crops were destroyed, Business was ruined, the economy was damaged, civic life was damaged, the social structure was damaged, and etc. There exist anti-America solid sentiments all over the Muslim world. At the same time, many of them are looking toward Russia, including the State of Israel. Let Russia avail of this opportunity and extend its leadership role.

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COURTESY geopolitica.ru

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ISLAMABAD, MAY 13: Federal Minister for Information & Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry called on Ahmed Rabaie, Palestinian Ambassador to Pakistan on Thursday.

Ambassador Ahmed Rabaie received the Federal Minister for Information & Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry upon his arrival at the Palestine Embassy.

During the meeting the Federal Minister Fawad Chaudhry expressed solidarity whit the Palestinian people against the heinous actions of the Israeli occupation against the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and the inhumane actions.

The GoP will continue to support the people of Palestine at all political and diplomatic fora. The entire Pakistani nation stands by its Muslim brethren in Palestine.

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CAIRO, MAY 13: Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov agreed Thursday that Israel needs to stop attacks on the Gaza Strip.

In a phone call, the two top diplomats reiterated that Israel should stop the bloodshed, according to a statement issued by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.

Ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed 83 Palestinians and injured 487 others, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

Tensions have been running high since an Israeli court last week ordered the eviction of Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and annexed the entire city in 1980, in a move that has never been recognized by the international community.

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COURTESY Anews

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ISLAMABAD, MAY 13: The first shipment under the Convention on International Transport of Goods for traffic-in-transit of goods across the border reached Pakistan from Uzbekistan via Afghanistan in 48 hours, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce Razak Dawood announced on Wednesday.

Islamabad signed the Convention on International Transport of Goods Under Cover of TIR Carnets in August 2015, which is a multilateral treaty that entails no payment of customs duties and taxes. Pakistan ratified the convention in January 2016.

Under the convention, the first cargo from Pakistan to Uzbekistan reached its destination last week.

“The MOC (Ministry of Commerce) is pleased to inform that a new milestone has been achieved with the first-ever truck from Uzbekistan reaching Pakistan under the TIR Convention,” the adviser said.

It took the truck 48 hours to reach Torkham via Afghanistan

Mr Dawood went on to say that this was the result of collaboration between the transport companies of the two sides. “This is the beginning of a new era where trucks from both sides will take trade cargo to and from Karachi and Gwadar ports,” he further said.

On May 11, 2021 a cargo truck with Uzbek licence plate safely crossed the Afghan transit route in two days and reached the Torkham checkpoint near Peshawar. After the completion of customs clearance, the truck will reach the importer in Faisalabad.

The vehicle transports from Uzbekistan processed leather products (wet blue) for Pakistani leather factories. More Uzbek export goods like coal, mineral fertilisers and textiles have been planned for regular direct delivery to Lahore, Karachi, Taxila and Faisalabad.

An official announcement said that the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Pakistan together with Pakistani transport company Best Trans Pvt Ltd and Uzbek freight forwarding company Asad Trans for the first time implemented a pilot trans-Afghan logistics project for direct delivery of Uzbek export goods to Pakistan through the territory of Afghanistan.

As the joint action of the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Islamabad and the Ministry of Commerce of Pakistan, the partners of Asad Trans and Best Trans Pvt Ltd since January this year began working on the project for direct delivery of Uzbek goods to Pakistani cities through Afghanistan according to the “supplier’s warehouse — importer’s warehouse” scheme.

The specified transit transportation of Uzbek goods is the implementation of trans-Afghan transport and logistics project initiated by the president of Uzbekistan.

The successful implementation of the project significantly reduces cost of transportation of Uzbek goods, including shipping at Uzbek-Afghan border and subsequently at Afghan-Pakistani border, in accordance with TIR Carnet Convention dated 1975, members of which are Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Partners of Best Trans Pvt. Ltd and Asad Trans are planning to increase the number of freight vehicles up to 50 units by the end of the year to ensure smooth circulation of goods by Uzbek trucks.

According to chairman of Best Trans Pvt Ltd Ramiz Rabbani, the entry of the first Uzbek truck into the territory of Pakistan is a historical event, since before that in the Uzbek-Pakistani economic relations, the delivery of Uzbek export goods directly to Pakistan through the freight transport of Uzbekistan was not implemented.

According to him, the expected signing between Uzbekistan and Pakistan of intergovernmental agreements on preferential and transit trade will give an impetus for development of interregional freight circulation through the trans-Afghan route.

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No Eid table or trolley is complete without a bowl of delicious saviyaan, fine vermicelli cooked in sweetened milk.

In fact, saviyaan is the official traditional sweet dish of Eidul Fitr also known as meethi (sweet) Eid, served as breakfast in every home first thing in the morning of the first day of Eid, to mark the commencement of festivities after Eid prayers.

There are many varieties of saviyaan, such as sheer khorma, qiwami, zafrani, saviyaan kheer and badami kewra saviyaan. At the end of the three days of Eid, guests manage to sample almost all varieties at the several homes they visit.

The magic of saviyaan is that most of the different versions have almost the same ingredients: vermicelli, milk, ghee (clarified butter), cardamom, dry fruit and sugar as staples, and condensed milk, khoya, rose water and saffron as optional.

Sheer khorma

Sheer khorma is a decadent version of saviyaan loaded with thick, creamy milk and khoya; rich with dried fruits and nuts such as dates, raisins, coconut, pistachios, and almonds; and delicately flavored with cardamom, saffron and rose water.

The thickness, sweetness, and serving temperature of sheer khorma — chilled or hot, thick or not — is a personal preference.

Ingredients:

1 cup vermicelli, crushed

1 litre full cream milk

1 can condensed milk

1/2 cup khoya, crumbled

1-2 pods green cardamom, crushed

1 pinch saffron strands, soaked

1 teaspoon rose water

½ cup almonds, soaked, skinned, and slivered

½ cup pistachios, soaked, skinned, and slivered

¼ cup golden raisins

1 cup dried coconut flakes

6-7 dried dates, deseeded, soaked and slivered

4 tablespoons sugar, or to taste

Desi ghee as needed

Method:

In a sauce pan, put one crushed cardamom into milk and bring to boil, then lower the flame and let it keep cooking for another 10 to 20 minutes while the rest of the procedure is underway. In a frying pan, lightly toast the nuts, raisins, coconut and dates separately till they release their fragrance and their oils. Add the toasted dates to the boiling milk to soften them further.

Now heat some ghee and stir-fry a crushed cardamom in it. Add the vermicelli and stir-fry on medium flame till it darkens slightly. Add this carefully into the hot milk, avoiding any splatters.

Add the sugar and condensed milk and stir it into the cooking milk till it dissolves. Add the rose water, saffron strands and khoya, stir, and turn off the flame. Stir in the toasted nuts, cover the lid for a few minutes to let these ingredients emulsify in the steam, and then serve piping hot or chilled as desired.

Qiwami saviyaan      

Qiwami saviyaan is a classic Lucknavi recipe, and since keeping recipes and flavours authentic to uphold culinary traditions is an integral part of the rich Lucknavi heritage, you can be sure these saviyaan will become one of your favourites.

This recipe uses saffron, khoya and condensed milk for a delicately rich and creamy flavour. The saviyaan are kept dry and cooked with a minimum amount of milk and syrup.

Again, the sweetness of qiwami (sheera or syrupy) saviyaan should be adjusted according to personal preference.

Ingredients:

2 cups vermicelli, crushed

3 cups full cream milk

1 cup condensed milk

½ cup khoya, crumbled

3 pods green cardamom, crushed

1 pinch saffron strands, soaked

1 teaspoon rose water

¼ teaspoon orange food colouring (zardai rang)

¼ cup almonds, soaked, skinned, and slivered

¼ cup pistachios, soaked, skinned, and slivered

Desi ghee as needed

For the sugar syrup

1 ½ cup water

2 cups sugar

1 pod green cardamom, crushed

Method:

In a pan, heat two cups of water, add sugar and green cardamom and boil until a thick syrup forms. Set aside. In another pan, heat ghee and stir-fry the green cardamom till it becomes aromatic. Add vermicelli and stir-fry till it darkens slightly. Set aside.

Heat the milk in a pan. Add the condensed milk and khoya and cook till the mixture thickens. Add this thickened milk to the prepared sugar syrup, with saffron, food colouring and rose water.

Pour in enough of this mixture into the fried saviyaan so that the saviyaan can cook through to a dry texture, without becoming too gooey. Start with a high flame to bring it to boil, and when it starts to bubble, turn the flame to low and cover with a lid, until the saviyaan are cooked completely and no liquid remains. The saviyaan should become dry, not soggy or mushy.

Garnish with the nuts and serve warm.

Meethi saviyaan

Meethi saviyaan are sugar-syrup based and don’t use use milk. The beauty of meethi saviyaan is in its simplicity: crispy fried vermicelli, sweet syrup and a generous amount of khoya for a delicious treat.

Ingredients:

2 cups vermicelli, crushed

1 ½ cup khoya, crumbled

1 pinch saffron strands, soaked

¼ cup almonds, soaked, skinned, and slivered

¼ cup pistachios, soaked, skinned, and slivered

desi ghee as needed

For the sugar syrup:

1 ½ cup water

2 cups sugar

1 pod green cardamom, crushed

Method:

Prepare sugar syrup by cooking sugar (and green cardamom for fragrance) in water till the sugar dissolves completely and becomes a thick syrup. While it is still warm, sprinkle the crumbled khoya in the syrup, add a few strands of pre-soaked saffron, and stir. Pour into a serving bowl and set aside.

Heat ghee in a wok and deep fry the saviyaan till they become crispy. Drain excess ghee. Add the crispy fried saviyaan into the khoya-syrup, folding in some and leaving some atop, for a soft-crispy texture.

Garnish with more khoya and nuts. Serve hot or cold. While eating these saviyaan piping hot is a delight, waking up the next morning in anticipation of eating chilled left over saviyaan is a pleasure of its own kind.

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