ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar met with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in Davos, PM Kakar’s office said on Thursday, adding the two figures reviewed “regional developments” at the meeting.
The meeting between the Saudi foreign minister and PM Kakar took place on the sidelines of the 54th World Economic Forum (WEF) summit in Davos, according to PM Kakar’s office.
It occurred hours after Pakistan said it had targeted “terrorist hideouts” in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan province after Tehran this week conducted an airstrike against alleged militants in Pakistan’s southwest.
“The Prime Minister underlined the strategic importance of close brotherly relations between Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, rooted in common cultural heritage and shared interests. He emphasized that Pakistan’s desire to deepen bilateral engagement including through trade, investment and people-to-people exchanges,” PM Kakar’s office said in a statement.
“The two sides also reviewed regional developments. Prime Minister Kakar noted that close brotherly relations between the two countries were a factor of regional stability.”
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have deep cultural, defense and economic ties, deeply rooted in history and religion.
PM Kakar appreciated the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and underlined the highest esteem the people of Pakistan held for the leadership and the people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, his office said.
The Pakistan premier arrived in Switzerland on Sunday to attend the 54th WEF summit, where he was scheduled to attend three thematic events, including ‘Preventing An Era of Global Conflict,’ ‘Restoring Faith in the Global System,’ and ‘Preventing Economic Fracture.’
But, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said the prime minister had cut short his visit and would return to Islamabad by Thursday night.
“He has decided to cut short his visit in view of the ongoing developments,” foreign ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at a press briefing.
Nuclear-armed Pakistan and the neighboring Iran are both battling simmering insurgencies along their sparsely populated border regions.
The cross-border attacks add to multiple crises across the Middle East, with Israel waging a war against Hamas in Gaza and Houthi rebels in Yemen attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea.
Pakistan PM, Saudi FM review ‘regional developments’ at Davos meeting
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Pakistan PM, Saudi FM review ‘regional developments’ at Davos meeting
- The meeting comes hours after Pakistan airstrikes targeted ‘terrorist hideouts’ inside Iran
- The cross-border attacks by Iran, Pakistan this week add to multiple crises across Middle East
Shooting starts in UK for Pakistani superstar Fawad Khan’s Bollywood comeback ‘Abir Gulaal’
- After political disputes, there has been an unofficial ban since 2016 on Pakistani artists working in Indian films
- In 2023, Bombay High Court dismissed a petition seeking to officially ban Pakistani artists from working in India
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani superstar Fawad Khan and Bollywood’s Vaani Kapoor have started shooting their upcoming romantic comedy film “Abir Gulaal” at locations in and around London, Variety reported on Monday.
The film, which will be shot in the UK over October and November, is directed by Aarti S. Bagdi and produced by Indian Stories, A Richer Lens and Aarjay Pictures. Its producers include Vivek B. Agrawal, Avantika Hari and Rakesh Sippy.
“The film explores the journey of two individuals who unintentionally help each other heal, with love blossoming as an unexpected consequence,” Bagdi told Variety.
Khan enjoys heartthrob status in both Pakistan and India and has played the lead in Bollywood hits “Khoobsurat” (2014) and “Kapoor & Sons” (2016). He also starred in “Ms. Marvel” (2022) and “The Legend of Maula Jatt” (2022), Pakistan’s biggest hit of all time. The Indian release of “Maula Jatt” is currently on hold after a right-wing fringe group objected to it. Khan is also the lead of hit Zindagi series “Barzakh,” which debuted at Series Mania in 2023.
Kapoor, who won critical acclaim playing a transgender character in film “Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui” (2021), is also the lead in upcoming Netflix crime thriller series “Mandala Murders” and coming-of-age Bollywood drama-comedy “Badtameez Gill.”
The “Abir Gulaal” producers said:
“Fawad has a massive global fan base, and we anticipate that audiences and his fans will wholeheartedly embrace this film, as it showcases him in his most endearing role yet,” Abir Gulaal producers said in a statement. “The chemistry between Fawad and Vaani is expected to light up the screen with their captivating performances and undeniable charm.”
Since 2016, there has been an unofficial ban on Pakistani artists working in Indian films, following political disputes between the two countries. However, in 2023, the Bombay High Court dismissed a petition seeking to officially ban Pakistani artists from working in India.
“Arts, music, sports, culture, dance, and so on are the activities which rise above nationalities, cultures, and nations and truly bring about peace, tranquility, unity, and harmony in nation and between nations,” the court had said in its ruling.
Ex-PM Imran Khan’s party tells supporters to continue protests in Pakistani capital
- Protesters from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf arrived in Islamabad and tried to congregate at D-Chowk square on Friday
- They are pressing for Khan’s release and agitating against ruling coalition’s plans to pass constitutional amendments
ISLAMABAD: The party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan told supporters on Monday to continue a protest in the federal capital, Islamabad, in which one policeman has been killed and over 30 injured since last week.
Defying a government ban on congregations, supporters of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) arrived in Islamabad and tried to congregate at the D-Chowk square on Friday to press for Khan’s release and agitate against the ruling coalition, which the party says is planning to pass constitutional amendments to curtail the independence of the judiciary. The government denies it aims to suppress the judiciary.
The capital has been in near lockdown since Friday, with heavy deployment of police and paramilitary forces, entry and exit points to the city shut down and main roads blocked off with shipping containers. On Sunday, the city began to return to some normalcy, though some roads and areas that house government and diplomatic buildings remain sealed.
“Join the protest in groups as per instructions of Founder Chairman Imran Khan,” the PTI said in an advisory on X, calling on supporters to keep the protests going. “Be wary of suspicious persons in your ranks and remain calm despite provocations.”
The call to continue protests comes despite strict warnings from the government and police.
“No one will be allowed to take any illegal course for causing instability in the country,” PM Shehbaz Sharif said after a meeting with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Sunday.
In a press conference earlier that day, the head of Islamabad police said 31 policemen had been injured in the protests, while police had arrested nearly 900 “miscreants.” Local media widely reported that Lahore police had registered cases against PTI founder Imran Khan and 200 other party leaders, supporters and lawyers on charges of sedition, terrorism, among others. Three additional cases were lodged against hundreds of PTI leaders and supporters for violating the Section 144 provision against public gatherings imposed by the Punjab government last week.
The government had previously called on the PTI to delay any gathering until after diplomatic engagements in the city, including a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting on Oct. 15-16 which will be attended by delegations, including from China, Russia and India. Pakistan is also expecting a delegation from Saudi Arabia later this month and preparing for a visit by the Chinese premier.
Pakistani authorities announced they would deploy the army in the capital starting Saturday to secure the SCO meeting. India’s foreign ministry confirmed Friday that its external affairs minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, will attend.
Khan, the main rival of the coalition government led by PM Sharif, has been in prison for more than a year in connection with over 150 criminal cases. He remains a popular figure despite the cases, which critics and his party say are politically motivated. He was ousted in 2022 through a no-confidence vote in parliament and arrested in 2023 after a court handed him a three-year jail sentence in a graft case. Sharif came into power for his second term after the Feb. 8 vote which Khan says was rigged.
Sharif’s government says Khan’s party wants to weaken the country’s economy by staging violent protests despite the threat posed by the Pakistani Taliban and other militants, who have stepped up attacks in recent years. On Sunday, two Chinese nationals were killed in a separatist attack in the southern port city of Karachi.
Pakistan, which recently received a $7 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, has also been struggling to overcome an economic crisis.
Two Chinese nationals among three killed in attack near airport in Pakistan’s Karachi
- Convoy carrying Chinese staff of Port Qasim Electric Power Company targeted, Beijing confirms
- Separatist BLA says used vehicle-borne improvised explosive device to target Chinese nationals
KARACHI: Two Chinese nationals were among three people killed and 10 injured late on Sunday night in a “terrorist attack” near the airport in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi, the Chinese embassy and local officials said on Monday.
The separatist militant group, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), claimed the attack in a statement sent to media, saying a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device had targeted the Chinese nationals.
China is a major ally and investor in Pakistan, having pledged over $65 billion in road, infrastructure and development projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.
“We have received the dead body of two Chinese nationals and the mutilated remains of an unidentified body,” chief surgeon for Karachi police, Dr. Sumaiyya Syed, told Arab News. “We have performed the autopsy of all three.”
Syed said 10 people were being treated for injuries at the Jinnah Hospital in Karachi, which included one child.
The Chinese Embassy in Pakistan said in a statement a convoy of the Port Qasim Electric Power Company was targeted in an attack near the Karachi airport around 11:00pm on Sunday night. Two Chinese nationals were killed and one was injured, the statement said, adding that the Chinese side was working with Pakistani authorities in the aftermath.
“The Chinese Embassy and Consulates General in Pakistan remind Chinese citizens, enterprises and projects in Pakistan to be vigilant, pay close attention to the security situation, strengthen security measures, and make every effort to take safety precautions,” the statement concluded.
The Pakistani foreign office condemned the attack and said the country’s security and law enforcement agencies would make every effort to arrest the perpetrators and their facilitators.
“This barbaric act will not go unpunished,” the foreign office warned.
Sunday night’s attack is the latest by the BLA, the most prominent of a number of separatist groups fighting for independence for Pakistan’s gas-and-mineral-rich Balochistan province, where a low-lying insurgency has been ongoing for the past two decades. Baloch militants blame Pakistan’s state for exploiting the province’s resources, a charge the Pakistani state denies.
The BLA also accuses Beijing of helping Islamabad exploit the province and has attacked Chinese interests and projects in the past, in particular the strategic port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea. It has previously killed Chinese citizens working in the region and attacked Beijing’s consulate in Karachi.
In March this year, a suicide bombing killed five Chinese engineers and a Pakistani driver in northwestern Pakistan as they headed to the Dasu Dam, the biggest hydropower project in the country. In 2022, three Chinese educators and their Pakistani driver were killed when an explosion ripped through a van at the University of Karachi.
Sunday’s airport attack followed a deadly day of coordinated attacks in August, most claimed by the BLA, that killed more than 50 people in Balochistan and which Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other leaders had said sought to harm Chinese-funded investment and development projects.
KSrelief launches relief drive for 4,000 flood-affected families in Pakistan's northwest
- Relief items distributed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan, Mansehra, Kohistan and Chitral districts
- Heavy rains from July to September killed 347 in Pakistan, out of which 99 casualties were reported in KP
ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) has started distributing relief items among four thousand flood-affected families in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, state-run media reported on Sunday.
Heavy monsoon rains from July to September killed at least 347 people in Pakistan and damaged thousands of homes in the South Asian country. At least 99 people were killed and 147 injured in KP province alone.
Pakistan is recognized as one of the world’s most vulnerable countries due to climate change effects where floods in 2022 killed over 1,700 people, damaged critical infrastructure and washed away large swathes of crops.
“King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center has started distribution of shelters and relief items among four thousand flood affected families in five districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” Radio Pakistan reported.
The state media said relief items include solar panels, plastic mats, blankets, water coolers, kitchen sets and anti-bacterial soaps, adding that these are being distributed in KP’s Dera Ismail Khan, Mansehra, Kohistan, Upper and Lower Chitral districts.
KSrelief has one of the largest humanitarian budgets available to any aid agency across the world, which has allowed its officials to undertake a wide variety of projects in more than 80 countries.
Pakistan is the fifth largest beneficiary of its aid and humanitarian activities and has greatly benefited from its assistance since last year’s monsoon floods.
Demoralized Pakistan look to reverse fortunes in first Test against England today
- Pakistan have not won the last 10 Test matches at home, with their last victory taking place in February 2021
- Green shirts have included Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Aamer Jamal and Abrar Ahmed in playing XI
ISLAMABAD: A demoralized Pakistan cricket team that has not won a single Test match on home soil since February 2021 will look to reverse its cricket fortunes when it locks horns with a strong England side during the first of the three-match series in Multan today, Monday.
The last three-and-a-half years for Test cricket have been brutal for Pakistan, with the green shirts remaining winless in their last 10 home Tests. To add insult to injury, Shan Masood’s side suffered a humiliating 2-0 home defeat to Bangladesh last month.
England skipper Ben Stokes, who led his team to an emphatic 3-0 Test series victory during the team’s last tour in 2022, has been ruled out of the first Test match due to injury.
“The first test match between Pakistan and England will begin at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Monday,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
On the eve of the first Test, Masood warned that even without Stokes, England were a dangerous side.
“England’s strength will not lessen with one individual (missing),” he warned. “They are still very competitive.
“If you look at their playing eleven then it’s very balanced with all-rounders, and they have two spinners and three fast bowlers with deep batting, so their loss is that of an individual.”
England’s stand-in skipper Ollie Pope said though Pakistan had remained winless at home for quite a while, the visitors will be wary of them.
“They’ve obviously not had their strongest run recently, but we still see them as a highly skilled side,” he said at a press conference on Sunday. “They are a team we don’t take lightly.”
Pakistan named their team with a bowling attack of two fast bowlers in Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah, medium-pacer Aamer Jamal and frontline spinner Abrar Ahmed.
The second match is also in Multan, from Oct. 15, with the final Test in Rawalpindi beginning Oct. 24.
Squads
Pakistan: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel, Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmad
England: Ollie Pope (captain), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jack Leach, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes
