ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Caretaker Commerce Minister Dr. Gohar Ejaz on Wednesday discussed enhancing bilateral trade and investment with Saudi Arabia in various sectors such as construction, infrastructure and digital economy, the commerce ministry said.
Ejaz met Saudi Arabia’s commerce minister, Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi, as he led a delegation of prominent Pakistani businesspersons in the kingdom on Wednesday. Members of the delegation included notable Pakistani businessperson Arif Habib and the president of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, (FPCCI) Atif Ikram.
“Pakistan and Saudi Arabia agreed on enhancing bilateral trade,” Pakistan’s commerce ministry said. “The two sides agreed to enhance investment in the fields of construction, digital economy and infrastructure.”
In a message on social media platform X, Al-Qasabi said he and Ejaz discussed developing bilateral trade relations and “investing in promising opportunities” in the two countries.
Last year a delegation of 15 top Pakistani IT companies led by IT Minister Dr. Umar Saif visited Saudi Arabia and signed deals to accelerate digital transformation, foster innovation and advance digital infrastructure.
The agreements will also boost the ecosystems for small and medium-sized enterprises and startups and encourage the transfer of businesses and the exchange of information on accelerators and incubators.
Both countries have also decided to establish a special task force to promote Saudi-Pakistan digital cooperation.
Pakistan enjoys strong economic and trade relations with Saudi Arabia. The kingdom is home to over 2.7 million Pakistani expatriates, serving as the top source of remittances for the cash-strapped South Asian country.
Saudi Arabia has also frequently bailed Pakistan out of its economic crisis over the years, serving as an important strategic partner for the South Asian country.
Pakistani, Saudi commerce ministers agree to enhance bilateral trade, investment
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Pakistani, Saudi commerce ministers agree to enhance bilateral trade, investment
- Commerce Minister Dr. Gohar Ejaz is leading a delegation of prominent Pakistani businesspersons in Saudi Arabia
- Both sides agreed to increase investment in construction, digital economy sectors, says Pakistani commerce ministry
Pakistani pleads not guilty in alleged Iran plot to kill US official
- Asif Merchant is accused of assassination plot in retaliation for killing of Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleiman
- Soleimani, the head of Iran’s foreign military operations, was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020
New York: A Pakistani man with alleged ties to Iran pleaded not guilty Monday to plotting to assassinate a US official in retaliation for the American military killing of Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Asif Raza Merchant, 46, allegedly sought to hire a hitman to assassinate a politician or a government official in the United States, the Justice Department and prosecutors said in a statement.
A court document showed that Merchant pleaded not guilty to all counts, with a next hearing scheduled for November 6, 2024.
Soleimani, the head of Iran’s foreign military operations, was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020. Iranian officials have repeatedly vowed to avenge his killing.
“As these terrorism and murder for hire charges against Asif Merchant demonstrate, we will continue to hold accountable those who would seek to carry out Iran’s lethal plotting against Americans,” US Attorney General Merrick Garland said previously.
The intended victim was not identified but Garland has previously said no evidence has emerged to link Merchant with the July 13 assassination attempt against former president Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.
FBI Director Christopher Wray has said the Pakistani national had “close ties to Iran” and that the alleged murder-for-hire plot was “straight out of the Iranian playbook.”
Another FBI official said the assassins Merchant allegedly tried to hire were in fact undercover FBI agents.
“After spending time in Iran, Merchant arrived in the United States from Pakistan and contacted a person he believed could assist him with the scheme to kill a politician or government official,” the Justice Department said in a statement.
“That person reported Merchant’s conduct to law enforcement and became a confidential source.”
Merchant was arrested on July 12 as he planned to leave the country.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations said in August it had “not received any report on this from the American government.”
“But it is clear that this method is contrary to the Iranian government’s policy of pursuing Soleimani’s killer,” the mission said in a statement carried by Iran’s official IRNA news agency.
National Seerat Conference to be held in Islamabad today for Eid Milad-un-Nabi
- Birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is celebrated on 12th of the Islamic month of Rabi Al-Awwal
- Day dawned with a 31-gun salute in the federal capital of Islamabad and 21-gun salutes in all provincial capitals
ISLAMABAD: A National Seerat Conference organized by the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony is being held today, Tuesday, in Islamabad on the occasion of Eid Milad-un-Nabi, Radio Pakistan reported.
The eid to mark the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) is celebrated on the 12th of the Islamic month of Rabi Al-Awwal.
The day dawned with a 31-gun salute in the Pakistani federal capital of Islamabad and a 21-gun salute in all provincial capitals.
“President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have urged the nation and the Muslim Ummah to follow teachings of Holy Prophet (pbuh) as a guiding light to overcome prevailing challenges,” Radio Pakistan reported.
In his message, Zardari called on Pakistanis to use the life of the prophet as a “source of guidance” and spread his message of love and compassion for all mankind. In a separate message, the PM said the “blessed life, noble character, and exemplary conduct of Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) serves as a beacon of light for entire humanity.”
Streets, roads, buildings, mosques, and houses around the country were decorated with colorful lights on Monday night and milad processions will be taken out in all cities today, Tuesday.
Mehfil-e-Milad are also being organized in all small and major cities to highlight the life and teachings of the last prophet.
Pakistan and Indonesia conclude week-long, joint military exercise to counter militancy
- Pakistan routinely holds joint air, ground and sea exercises with friendly nations
- These military exercises help foster interoperability and joint deployment concepts
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Indonesia have concluded a week-long, joint military exercise, Elang Strike-II, to counter militancy, the Pakistani military said on Monday.
This was the second exercise between the two countries in the counter-terrorism domain, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing.
It began on September 8 and continued for a week at the National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC) in Pabbi town of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.
“The exercise was aimed at mutually beneficial sharing of experience and training methodology between the two armies which have strong brotherly relations,” the ISPR said in a statement.
Senior officials of Pakistan Army and Col. Budi Wirman, defense attaché of Indonesia, attended the closing ceremony.
Pakistan routinely holds joint air, ground and sea exercises with friendly nations. These drills help foster interoperability and joint deployment concepts to counter threats to regional and global peace.
The South Asian country, which has fought back militancy for decades, also hosts cadets from these brotherly nations each year to undergo specialized military training.
Pakistani man to appear in US court on assassination plot charges
- Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn say Asif Merchant, 46, spent time in Iran before traveling to the United States to recruit people for the plot
- Merchant told a confidential informant he also planned to steal documents from one target and organize protests in the US, prosecutors said
NEW YORK: A Pakistani man with alleged ties to Iran is set to appear in US court on Monday on charges of scheming to assassinate an American politician in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards top commander Qassem Soleimani.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn say Asif Merchant, 46, spent time in Iran before traveling to the United States to recruit people for the plot.
Merchant told a confidential informant he also planned to steal documents from one target and organize protests in the United States, prosecutors said.
The defendant named Donald Trump as a potential target but had not conceived the scheme as a plan to assassinate the former president, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Court papers do not name the alleged targets, and no attacks were made. As president, Trump had in 2020 approved the drone strike on Soleimani.
There are no suggestions that Merchant was tied to an apparent assassination attempt on Trump at his Florida golf course on Sunday, or a separate shooting of the Republican presidential candidate at a rally in Pennsylvania in July.
Merchant faces one count of attempting to commit terrorism across national boundaries and one count of murder for hire.
He is expected to enter a plea before US Magistrate Judge Robert Levy in Brooklyn at 12 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT). Merchant was arrested in Texas on July 15.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations said in August that the “modus operandi” described in Merchant’s court papers ran contrary to Tehran’s policy of “legally prosecuting the murder of General Soleimani.”
Pakistan says global commodities trader Gunvor Group ‘keen’ to invest in petroleum sector
- Last month, Gunvor Group signed an agreement to acquire 50 percent shares of Pakistan’s Total Parco oil marketing company
- PM Shehbaz Sharif informs Gunvor Group chairman of reforms undertaken to increase foreign investment in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Global commodities trader Gunvor Group has expressed its “keen” interest in investing in Pakistan’s petroleum sector, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office said on Monday.
The statement came after Sharif’s meeting with Gunvor Group Chairman Torbjorn Tornqvist and Total Energies Vice President Oceania & Southeast Asia Mehmet Celepoglu
During the meeting, the prime minister highlighted the rapid reforms that were underway to increase investment and business activities in Pakistan, according to PM Sharif’s office.
“Chairman Torbjorn Tornqvist expressed the Gunvor Group’s keen interest in investment in the petroleum sector of Pakistan,” it said in a statement.
The prime minister was informed that the Gunvor Group had signed an agreement in August to acquire 50 percent shares of Total Parco Pakistan Limited, a subsidiary of French oil giant Total Energies.
A joint venture between Total Energies and Pak-Arab Refinery Limited in Pakistan, Total PARCO Pakistan Limited has a retail network of more than 800 service stations and is involved in fuel logistics and lubricants.
“The prime minister directed the relevant authorities to provide all possible facilities to the Gunvor Group,” Sharif’s office said.
Since avoiding a default last year, Islamabad has been making attempts to boost foreign investment and trade to drive economic growth in the South Asian country.
In recent months, Pakistan has reached multiple investment deals with a number of countries, mainly the Gulf states, in infrastructure, energy, maritime, ports and other sectors.
