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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar will attend a meeting of foreign ministers from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul this weekend and call for an immediate Israel-Iran ceasefire to help restore peace in the Middle East, the foreign office said on Thursday.

The 51st session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers is expected to focus on coordinated efforts to de-escalate tensions between the two regional rivals, along with the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The meeting comes at a time of heightened volatility for the bloc, following Pakistan’s brief but intense military standoff with India last month and Iran’s escalating confrontation with Israel amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

"During the plenary session, the DPM/FM will share Pakistan’s perspective on the developments in South Asia following the ceasefire arrangement between Pakistan and India and the situation in the Middle East after Israel’s recent aggression against Iran and other regional states," the foreign office spokesperson, Shafqat Ali Khan, said in a statement.

He added that Dar would advocate for peace in the Middle East and highlight the need for humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza during the meeting on June 21 and 22.

Beyond the Middle East, Dar is also expected to address broader issues of concern to the Muslim world, urging the international community to "combat the escalating tide of Islamophobia" by addressing rising extremism and militancy, as well as the growing threat of climate change.

He will also reaffirm Pakistan's commitment to the principles and objectives of the OIC in addressing challenges faced by Muslim nations globally.

Dar, who also holds the portfolio of foreign minister, is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from other OIC member states on the sidelines of the conference.

According to the foreign office, he will participate in an award ceremony honoring Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with the “OIC Youth Forum Grand Youth Award.”

The high-level meeting is taking place amid media reports that the United States is weighing options, including potentially joining Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

Iran launched retaliatory missile attacks last week after Israeli forces bombed sites linked to its nuclear and military infrastructure on June 13.

Tehran says more than 224 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the strikes. Israel has also reported over two dozen civilian deaths.

ISLAMABAD: The government on Thursday unveiled Pakistan’s new Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy 2025-30, announcing a five-year subsidy of over Rs100 billion ($353 million) for electric bikes and rickshaws.

The move comes amid a steady rise in electric vehicle adoption in a market traditionally dominated by Japanese automakers. Pakistan’s urban areas exhibit some of the world’s highest levels of air pollution, with road transport being a major contributor.

Chinese and Korean EV brands are increasingly entering the local market, making these vehicles a more frequent sight in cities such as Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.

“Total subsidy over five years will be over Rs100 billion and it will basically be focused on the two-and-three wheelers,” Haroon Akhtar Khan, a close aide to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, told a news conference. “We will have subsidized financing for 116,053 electric bikes, 3,171 rickshaws.”

“A Rs9 billion [$31 million] subsidy will be allocated, and it is already there in the 2025-26 budget,” he continued.

Khan added the government also allocated a 25 percent quota for women to increase their mobility.

He projected the initiative will help with the annual savings of Rs283 billion ($1 billion) in fuel costs and a reduction of 4.5 million tons of carbon emissions.

Khan said Pakistan’s new EV policy was aimed at disincentivizing internal combustion engine vehicles and promoting electric mobility to help cut greenhouse gas emissions that damage the earth’s ozone layer.

He informed Pakistan has around 70,000 electric motorcycles, 5,200 electric cars and 450 electric buses, adding the government issued 61 manufacturing licenses for electric two- and three-wheelers including motorcycles and rickshaws.

Khan also acknowledged the country lacks adequate EV charging infrastructure and faces challenges related to the absence of safety and quality standards.

He said the government aims for 30 percent of all new vehicles produced over the next five years to be electric.

“So, we are establishing new electric vehicle testing rules, safety and emission standards,” he said.

“We have to make sure that if anybody is manufacturing an electric vehicle there are no emissions,” he continued. “Another thing is battery disposal. We don’t want to create any environmental problem that the battery is not disposed properly.”

The country previously approved an ambitious National Electric Vehicles Policy (NEVP) in 2019, aiming for electric vehicles to make up 30 percent of all passenger car and heavy-duty truck sales by 2030.

The policy set an even more ambitious target of making 90 percent of all vehicle sales electric by 2040.