KARACHI: Zahid Saleem was a young boy when his family moved from the crooked shanty where they had always lived into a new house they were allocated in Saudabad in the teeming port city of Karachi.
It was the late fifties and the housing scheme had just been built with largess from Saudi Arabia’s King Shah Saud Bin Abdul Aziz.
“I was a child but I still remember that day,” Saleem, 70, told Arab News at the house where he has lived for over half a century.
Less than ten years after the partition of India, the new neighborhood with its 1,800 homes was a dream come true for thousands of Muslim migrants to Karachi, struggling to settle after leaving everything behind in India, Saleem said.
“Saudi Arabia has been our friend in need from day one,” he added.
King Saud laid the foundation stone of the housing project in April 1954 during a ten-day state visit, according to Pakistan Chronicle, a historical encyclopedia, “to express his resolve of friendship with Pakistan.”
This was not King Saud’s first visit to Karachi. As crown prince, he had visited the seaside metropolis in April 1940, seven years before Pakistan came into being, and was warmly welcomed by leaders of the All India Muslim League, the political party whose advocacy for a separate Muslim-majority nation-state led to the partition of British India in 1947.
It was there that the foundations of Pakistan-Saudi ties were first laid, as the then crown prince met with leaders of the Pakistan Movement, including MAH Ispahani, MA Maniar and Karim Bhai Ibrahim in Karachi.
On February 22, 1974, Pakistan hosted some of the most important leaders of the Muslim world at an Islamic Summit Conference at which King Shah Faisal was also present. Soon after the conference, the name of Drigh Road, the main boulevard that runs from the famed Hotel Metropole to Star Gate, was changed to Shahrah-e-Faisal.
“To recognize his remarkable services for the Muslim Ummah, especially Pakistan, the government of Pakistan named Shahrah-e-Faisal in the name of King Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz,” said Yahya Bin Zakria, a journalist who lives in Saudabad.
Another densely populated neighborhood called Drigh Colony, one of Karachi’s early settlements constructed for Muslim migrants in 1952, was also renamed Shah Faisal Town.
Mazhar Ahmed, a 68-year-old resident of Shah Faisal Town, said Shahrah-e-Faisal was initially a one-lane road that saw massive traffic snarls and was inconvenient for commuters.
“King Faisal extended financial help and the 18-kilometer long thoroughfare was reconstructed, making it good for two way traffic,” Ahmed said. “The air base at main Shahrah-e-Faisal was also named Faisal Airbase.”
“Names like Saudabad, Shah Faisal Town, Faisal Airbase and Shahrah-e-Faisal,” Ahmed said, “will keep reminding us of the Saudi Kings who helped the newly created Pakistan settle its homeless migrants and get good roads.”
In Pakistan’s Karachi, many neighborhoods and roads in Saudi Kingdom’s name
In Pakistan’s Karachi, many neighborhoods and roads in Saudi Kingdom’s name
- King Saud laid foundation stone for the Saudabad neighborhood in April 1954
- Karachi’s Drigh Road and Drigh Colony renamed Shahrah-e-Faisal and Shah Faisal Town after King Faisal attended Islamic Summit in Pakistan in 1974
Top US official eyes ‘critical’ mineral deals during Pakistan visit
- Eric Meyer, a senior official of the US Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, said he was thrilled to attend the minerals investment forum in Islamabad
- Pakistan is showcasing its mineral resources, worth an estimated $6 trillion, at the two-day show in Islamabad on Apr. 8-9, seeking to attract foreign investment
ISLAMABAD: A top United States (US) official on Tuesday said they were eyeing “critical” minerals deals with Pakistan as he visited Islamabad to attend the two-day Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum.
Pakistan is showcasing its mineral resources, worth an estimated $6 trillion, at the two-day show in Islamabad on Apr. 8-9, seeking to attract investment from the US, China, Saudi Arabia and the European Union (EU).
Eric Meyer, a senior official of the US Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs who is currently leading a US interagency delegation to Pakistan, said he was thrilled to be in Islamabad to attend the minerals investment forum and to strengthen Pakistan-US partnership.
“I commend Pakistan for convening the Minerals Investment Forum here in Islamabad and for taking steps to ensure a level playing field for investors,” he said at the forum.
“Critical minerals are the raw materials for our most important technologies, and President [Donald] Trump has underscored the importance of securing America’s minerals future.”
Although Meyer has been visiting Islamabad to focus on minerals, he highlighted recent successes in economic partnership between the two countries.
“We recently celebrated the return of US soybean exports to Pakistan. Four vessels carrying more than 260,000 tons of soybeans have arrived over the last few weeks,” he said.
“It’s a win-win for US exporters and for Pakistanis alike, and we look forward to more such wins in the future.”
The US’s goods trade with Pakistan was at an estimated $7.3 billion in 2024, according to the US Trade Representative, a federal agency responsible for developing and promoting foreign trade policies.
US goods exports to Pakistan in 2024 were $2.1 billion, up 4.4 percent ($90.9 million) from 2023, while US goods imports from Pakistan totaled $5.1 billion in 2024, up 4.9 percent ($238.7 million) from 2023.
“What makes me most optimistic about the US-Pakistan partnership is that our cooperation is based on the close and enduring ties between our peoples,” Meyer said.
“Many of you have studied in the United States, participated in our exchange programs, have family, friends and business partners in the US. I’m looking forward to working with each of you as we work together to lead the charge in deepening the partnership between the US and Pakistan.”
US discontinues its undergraduate exchange program for Pakistani students amid Trump aid cuts
- Launched in 2010, the program gave Pakistani students opportunity to study in US for one semester
- Fulbright Program for foreign graduate students remains available and continues to offer scholarships
ISLAMABAD: The United States (US) Department of State has discontinued its Global Undergraduate (Global UGRAD) exchange program for Pakistani students after 15 years, the US Educational Foundation in Pakistan (USEFP) said on Tuesday.
The move is part of President Donald Trump’s broader aid cuts that are aimed at pressuring governments to align with the US foreign policy. These have cuts affected various food, education, medical and cultural exchange programs.
Global UGRAD, launched by the US in 2010, provided Pakistani undergraduate students with the opportunity to study in the US for one semester. The program aimed to foster mutual understanding between Pakistan and the US through cultural and academic exchange.
Over the last 15 years, the undergraduate exchange program benefited more than 2,500 Pakistani students, enhancing their leadership skills, academic knowledge and cultural awareness, according to the USEFP.
“We regret to inform you that after 15 incredible years, the Global UGRAD has come to an end,” the USEFP said on X. “The US Department of State informed USEFP that the global UGRAD-Pakistan program will no longer be offered.”
https://x.com/usefp/status/1909552532566712697?
The USEFP, which offers a range of educational and cultural exchange programs for Pakistanis, termed the news as “disappointing” for students who applied this year, highlighting the life-changing experiences and the program’s significant impact over the years.
However, the US Fulbright Program for foreign graduate students remains available and continues to offer fully funded scholarships. Mid-career professionals can apply for the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship, while young English teachers may join the Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) Program, according to the USEFP.
The Community College Initiative Program (CCIP) provides technical skills through one-year certificates at US community colleges. Additionally, the Teaching Excellence and Achievement (TEA) Program supports government school teachers in enhancing their classroom techniques.
US sanctions 19 Pakistani firms over ‘unsafeguarded’ nuclear, ballistic missile program activities
- Washington says actions of these Pakistani companies were ‘contrary to its national security’
- Pakistan has termed the move biased and counterproductive to global export controls objectives
KARACHI: The Bureau of Industry and Security of the United States (US) Department of Commerce has added more than a dozen Pakistani firms to its entity list for their contributions to “unsafeguarded” nuclear activities and seven others for contributing to the South Asian nation’s ballistic missile program.
Late last month, the US authorities changed their Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and added 70 entities from China, Pakistan, Iran, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates to the list that identifies entities which have been involved or pose a significant risk to national security or foreign policy interests of the US, according to the US federal register website.
Pakistani companies that have been restricted for their alleged involvement in unsafeguarded nuclear activities include Britlite Engineering Company, Indentech International, IntraLink Incorporated, Proc-Master, Rehman Engineering and Services, The Sadidians, Sine Technologies, Supply Source Co., Ariston Trade Links, Professional Systems (Pvt) Ltd., RASTEK Technologies and NA Enterprises.
“These entities have been determined by the US Government to be acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States,” the US federal register website said.
“[The EAR impose] additional license requirements on, and limit the availability of, most license exceptions for exports, re-exports, and [in-country] transfers when a listed entity is a party to the transaction.”
Pakistani firms put under additional restrictions for allegedly contributing to Pakistan’s ballistic missile program include Allied Business Concerns (Pvt) Ltd, Global Traders, Linkers Automation (Pvt) Ltd, Otto Manufacturing, Potohar Industrial & Trading Concern, Rachna Supplies (Pvt) Ltd. and Resource Enterprises.
Most of the above-mentioned companies are based in Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad and Wah Cantonment, but they could not be immediately reached for comments.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry said last month the US “unfairly targeted” Pakistan’s commercial entities without any evidence whatsoever.
“Such biased and politically motivated actions are counterproductive to the objectives of global export controls and obstruct the legitimate access to technology for socio-economic development,” Shafqat Ali Khan, a foreign ministry spokesperson, said during a weekly media briefing in Islamabad on March 27.
Pakistan’s relations with the US, its largest export destination, have mostly been patchy since Washington’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.
Last week, President Donald Trump’s administration imposed a 29 percent reciprocal tariffs on imports from Pakistan, which analysts believe may hurt the South Asian nation’s textiles industry that fetched $17 billion for the cash-strapped country in the last fiscal year that ended in June.
Pakistan, which enjoys a trade surplus with the US, plans to send a high-level delegation to Washington for discussions on the new tariffs that Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has said could be turned into an opportunity for the benefit of the two trading partners.
In December, the US government also sanctioned Pakistan’s National Development Complex and three Karachi-based commercial entities, including Akhtar and Sons Private Limited, Affiliates International and Rockside Enterprise.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry called the sanctions as “unfortunate and biased” and said the country’s strategic capabilities are meant to defend its sovereignty and preserve peace and stability in South Asia.
Regretting the sanctioning of private commercial entities, the ministry said similar listings of commercial entities in the past were based on mere doubts and suspicion without any evidence.
Barrick’s Reko Diq project in Pakistan aims for $2 billion international financing
- Funding will support the development of the Reko Diq mine, one of the world’s largest underdeveloped copper-gold deposits
- Mines, owned by Pakistan and Barrick’s jointly, is expected to generate $70 billion in free cash flow, $90 billion in operating cash flow
KARACHI: Barrick Gold’s Reko Diq copper and gold project in Pakistan intends to lock in upwards of $2 billion in financing from international lenders, with term sheets signed by early Q3, its project director for the mine told Reuters on Tuesday.
The funding will support the development of the Reko Diq mine, one of the world’s largest underdeveloped copper-gold deposits, which is hoped to generate $70 billion in free cash flow and $90 billion in operating cash flow.
Barrick Gold and the governments of Pakistan and Balochistan own the project jointly.
The financing for phase one of the project, which is expected to start production in 2028, is being discussed with multiple lenders.
In an interview with Reuters at the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum 2025, the Reko Diq’s Project Director, Tim Cribb, said the mine is looking at $650 million from the International Finance Corporation and International Development Association.
Cribb added that the mine is also in talks with the US Export-Import Bank for $500 million to $1 billion in financing, as well as $500 million from development finance institutions including the Asian Development Bank, Export Development Canada, and Japan Bank for International Cooperation.
“We expect to close the term sheet in either late Q2 or early Q3,” said Cribb.
He said railway financing talks are underway with the IFC and other lenders, with infrastructure costs estimated at $500-800 million, with roughly be $350 million as initial cost.
A recent feasibility study has upgraded the project’s scope, with phase one throughput increasing to 45 million tons per annum from 40 million, and phase two throughput rising to 90 million tons per annum from 80 million.
The mine life has been revised to from 42 years to 37 years due to the rising throughput, although the company believes unaccounted-for minerals could extend the life to 80 years. The cost of phase one has also been revised upwards to $5.6 billion from $4 billion.
The World Bank plans to invest $2 billion annually in Pakistan’s infrastructure over the next decade.
The lenders are expected to secure offtake agreements, with potential clients including countries in Asia such as Japan and Korea, as well as European nations like Sweden and Germany, which are looking to secure copper supplies for their industries, Cribb said.
Pakistan’s cybercrime law being used as ‘tool’ against freedom of expression, journalists — watchdog
Pakistan’s cybercrime law being used as ‘tool’ against freedom of expression, journalists — watchdog
- Freedom Network releases data analysis for March 2025 documenting eight instances of threats against journalists
- Pakistani officials say amended Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act is not being used to censor the press
KARACHI: The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) is being used as a “tool” by state authorities to suppress freedom of expression and target journalists, the Freedom Network, a Pakistani media and development sector watchdog, said on Tuesday.
The body released a data analysis for March 2025 documenting eight instances of threats against journalists, with three cases directly involving the contentious PECA legislation, according to the report compiled by the watchdog.
Enacted in 2016 and further tightened with amendments this January, PECA was drafted with the stated aim to combat cybercrimes such as hacking, online harassment, and data breaches. However, journalists, human rights advocates and media bodies have widely voiced concerns that state authorities are using the law’s broad provisions to silence dissenting voices and control digital platforms. Government officials have variously denied PECA is a censorship tool.
The Freedom Network’s report, based on data from its Pakistan Press Club Safety Hubs Network, which collaborates with major press clubs nationwide, highlights what it described as a “worrying” trend of legal actions, arrests, enforced disappearances, censorship, attacks on journalists’ residences, and physical assaults.
“The amended PECA law is proving as harmful for freedom of expression and journalism as the coronavirus was for human beings,” Iqbal Khattak, Executive Director of the Freedom Network, told Arab News. “It is a tool given in the hands of state authorities to question any post, any report and any expression.”
Among the highlighted cases registered under PECA is the arrest of Karachi-based journalist Farhan Malik, the founder of the Raftar online news channel. Malik was arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cyber Crime Wing on Mar. 20 after being summoned for an inquiry and was subsequently charged under multiple sections of PECA and the Pakistan Penal Code for allegedly running programs and publishing content deemed to be “against state institutions.”
Malik was released on bail on Monday.
Another case involves Zahid Sharif, the administrator of the ZSR Digital Facebook page in Bhakkar, Punjab province. Sharif was charged under PECA and other laws after he posted a statement and images of a woman accusing local police of assault.
The Freedom Network report also details other forms of threats against journalists in March 2025 including the alleged enforced disappearance of journalist Asif Karim Khetran in the southwestern Balochistan province, the censorship of an interview critical of the military on The Centrum Media (TCM) platform, and anchorperson Paras Jehanzeb’s current affairs news show being put off air. The report also highlights the alleged abduction of investigative journalist Ahmad Noorani’s brothers in Islamabad after he published a controversial report about the Pakistan army chief’s family.
Information Minister Ataullah Tarar has defended the PECA bill, saying it would “not harm but protect working journalists.”
“This is the first time the government has defined what social media is,” he told reporters after the amended law was passed earlier this year.
“There is already a system in place for print and electronic media and complaints can be registered against them.”
Tarar said “working journalists” should not feel threatened by the bill, which had to be passed because the Federal Investigation Agency, previously responsible for handling cybercrime, “does not have the capacity to handle child pornography or AI deep fake cases.”
Tarar said the government was also aiming to bring social media journalists, including those operating YouTube accounts, under the tax framework.
The operative part of the new bill outlines that a newly established Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority would have the power to issue directions to a social media platform for the removal or blocking of online content if it was against the ideology of Pakistan, incited the public to violate the law or take the law in own hands with a view to coerce, intimidate or terrorize the public, individuals, groups, communities, government officials and institutions, incited the public to cause damage to governmental or private property or coerced or intimidated the public and thereby prevented them from carrying on their lawful trade and disrupted civic life.
The authority can also crack down on anyone inciting hatred and contempt on a religious, sectarian or ethnic basis as well as against obscene or pornographic content and deep fakes.
Rights activists say the new bill is part of a widespread digital crackdown that includes a ban on X since February last year, restrictions on VPN use and the implementation of a national firewall.
The government says the measures are not aimed at censorship.
