ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday evening met the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s Shura council and reiterated that Islamabad’s longstanding ties with Riyadh were a “vital pillar” of its foreign policy as it sought to expand economic cooperation.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are longtime allies, and Islamabad has been seeking ever closer economic, defense and security ties with the Kingdom, which is home to approximately 2.5 million Pakistani expatriates and the second largest source of remittances for the cash-strapped South Asian nation. Saudi Arabia has come to the rescue of Pakistan’s ailing economy multiple times in the past through loans, debt rollovers, oil on deferred payments and investment deals. This year, the two countries signed several memorandums of understanding and agreements worth $2.8 billion in multiple sectors.

“Our enduring ties with Saudi Arabia are a vital pillar of our foreign policy,” Sharif said during a meeting in Islamabad with Dr. Abdullah Muhammad Ibrahim Al-Sheikh, who heads the Saudi legislative body that advises the king and his regulatory authority.

“We are actively working to expand our economic and financial relations with the Kingdom.”

The Pakistani PM congratulated Saudi Arabia for securing the hosting rights of the FIFA World Cup 2034 and praised Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for his leadership in amplifying demands for peace in Gaza and Lebanon.

“Pakistan will continue to fully support all efforts to address the suffering of the people of Gaza and Lebanon and to combat human rights violations,” Sharif added.

KARACHI: An Indian woman trafficked to Pakistan over two decades ago returned to her homeland via the Wagah Border in eastern Punjab province to reunite with her family after 22 years, a local cleric who located her family across the border and facilitated her return confirmed Tuesday.
Hammida Banu Shaik was trafficked in 2002 after an employment agency offered her a job in Dubai. Having spent nine years working in Doha during the 1990s, Shaik did not suspect the job offer was part of a plot to kidnap and traffic her.
She was eventually taken to Pakistan, where she was kept in illegal confinement in the southern city of Hyderabad. After three months, she managed to escape through a window and fled to Karachi, where she spent the remainder of her time in the country.
Arab News reviewed proof of Shaik’s employment in the Middle East and her Indian nationality while covering her story two years ago.
“Shaik was handed over to Indian government officials at the Wagah Border, who processed her immigration, and she entered India,” the local cleric, Waliullah Maroof, told Arab News.
“She was given protocol by the foreign ministry at the Karachi and Lahore airports, and she was transported to the Wagah Border like a VIP [very important personality],” he added.
Maroof recalled receiving a call from an Indian embassy official on Nov. 25, confirming Shaik’s Indian nationality and instructing her to arrive at the Wagah Border on Dec. 16 to ensure her safe return.
The Indian woman expressed her joy upon returning home, where she was reunited with her family amid emotional scenes.
“I’m very happy to go [to my country],” she said in a video recorded before her departure from Karachi and later posted by Maroof on YouTube. “Tomorrow I will travel on an airplane to the border.”
However, Shaik also expressed concern for a friend, Shehnaz, who she said was trafficked to Pakistan alongside her and whose whereabouts remain unknown.
“I appeal to the Pakistani and Indian governments to help my friend just like they have helped me,” she said.
In 2022, Shaik saw her children for the first time in two decades when Maroof managed to locate them through social media and arranged a video call with her family.
During her years in Pakistan, Shaik married a Pakistani man who, she said, cared for her until his death.
She recounted that he had agreed to help her search for her family and send her to India on the condition that she promised to return to Pakistan.