Search form

You are here

  • Home
  • Saudi FM in Islamabad, expected to meet top Pakistani officials in investment push


Saudi FM in Islamabad, expected to meet top Pakistani officials in investment push

In this photo released by Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pakistani's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, right, greets his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan upon his arrival at a military airbase in Rawalpindi, Pakistan on April 15, 2024. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs via AP)
Short Url

https://arab.news/njsjn

Updated 16 April 2024
Follow

Saudi FM in Islamabad, expected to meet top Pakistani officials in investment push

  • Saudi foreign minister’s visit comes a little over a week after Saudi crown prince met Pakistani PM in Makkah
  • Crown prince has reaffirmed commitment to expedite investment worth $5 billion that was previously discussed
Updated 16 April 2024
Aamir Saeed

ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan is expected to meet the Pakistani prime minister and top investment officials today, Tuesday, after arriving in Islamabad a day earlier on a two-day visit aimed at enhancing bilateral economic cooperation and pushing forward previously agreed investment deals. 

The Saudi foreign minister’s visit comes a little over a week after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Makkah and reaffirmed the Kingdom’s commitment to expedite investments worth $5 billion that were previously discussed.

The Pakistani foreign office has said the Saudi foreign minister is expected to hold meetings with the Pakistani PM, president and members of the apex committee of Pakistan’s Special Investment Facilitation Council, set up last year to oversee all foreign funding.

The Pakistani and Saudi foreign ministers will also address a joint press conference after a bilateral meeting scheduled for 4pm. 

“A week after Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s visit to Saudi Arabia (April 6-8), a high-level delegation of Saudi Arabia is coming to Pakistan,” the Pakistan information ministry said in a statement shared with journalists ahead of the FM’s arrival at the Noor Khan air base in the garrison town of Rawalpindi.

“The Saudi delegation will consult on the next stages of investment and implementation issues,” the statement added, saying Saudi Arabia’s planned investment in the Reko Diq gold and copper mining project would also be discussed during the visit.

On Sunday, Pakistani state media reported Saudi Arabia was likely to invest $1 billion in the mine project in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, one of the world’s largest underdeveloped copper-gold areas.

Riyadh was also interested in investing in agriculture, trade, energy, minerals, IT, transport and other sectors in Pakistan, the statement said.

“As a result of this visit, Pakistan’s export capacity will increase, joint ventures will be launched and new opportunities will be paved.”

“WELCOMING STEP”

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong trade, defense and cultural ties. The Kingdom is home to over 2.7 million Pakistani expatriates and the top source of remittances to the cash-strapped South Asian country.

Former diplomats and analysts said the latest visit showed a deepening of relations between the two brotherly countries.

“This is a high-powered Saudi delegation led by the foreign minister and it is purely focused on investments in Pakistan,” Javed Hafeez, a former Pakistani diplomat, told Arab News, pointing to a recent indication by Saudi Arabia that it would expedite a $5 billion investment package for Pakistan.

“This delegation will also be exploring different fields and options during the visit to materialize the investment pledges as quickly as possible.”

Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Pakistan’s former foreign secretary, termed the visit “very significant,” saying the potential Saudi investment in Pakistan was a “welcoming step” in the Saudi-Pakistan friendship.

“The Saudi’s investments under the banner of the SIFC will be safe and secure, and this will help further deepen the ties between the two countries,” Chaudhry told Arab News.

Cash-strapped Pakistan desperately needs to shore up its foreign reserves and signal to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it can continue to meet requirements for foreign financing that has been a key demand in previous bailout packages. Pakistan’s finance minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, is currently in Washington to participate in spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank and discuss a new bailout program. The last loan deal expires this month.

Saudi Arabia has often come to cash-strapped Pakistan’s aid in the past, regularly providing it oil on deferred payments and offering direct financial support to help stabilize its economy and shore up its forex reserves.

Last year, however, Saudi Arabia’s finance minister said the Kingdom was changing the way it provides assistance to allies, shifting from previously giving direct grants and deposits unconditionally.

“We used to give direct grants and deposits without strings attached and we are changing that. We are working with multilateral institutions to actually say we need to see reforms,” Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said at the World Economic Forum in Davos last January.

“We are taxing our people, we are expecting also others to do the same, to do their efforts. We want to help but we want you also to do your part.”

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab states like the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have increasingly moved toward investing rather than extending direct financial aid.

Topics: Pakistan Saudi Ties Prince Faisal bin Farhan

Pakistan using dual approach of diplomacy, military action against Afghan-based militants — analysts

Updated 6 sec ago
Follow

Pakistan using dual approach of diplomacy, military action against Afghan-based militants — analysts

  • PM Sharif says cross-border attacks from against civilians, security forces ‘unacceptable’ for Pakistan
  • An Afghan analyst believes Pakistani airstrikes in his country can create sympathy for groups like TTP
Updated 6 sec ago
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: Pakistan is using both political engagement and military action to counter militant groups operating from Afghanistan, analysts said on Friday, after Afghan authorities reported airstrikes conducted by Pakistani forces this week that killed 46 people.
The strikes, which targeted alleged hideouts of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), came amid allegations by Pakistani officials of cross-border militant attacks, as extremist violence targeting civilians and security forces has surged more recently.
Afghan authorities claimed the victims included residents from Pakistan’s border regions, who were uprooted during military operations against TTP fighters in recent years, as the United Nations expressed concern over civilian casualties and urged an investigation.

Residents gather near a damaged house two days after air strikes by Pakistan in the Barmal district of eastern Paktika province on December 26, 2024. (AFP)

While Pakistan has not officially confirmed the airstrikes, with both the foreign office and the military’s media wing declining to comment, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the TTP cross-border attacks constituted a “red line” for his government, asking Afghan authorities to take action against militants using their soil.


The reported airstrikes coincided with a visit to Kabul by Mohammad Sadiq, Pakistan’s special representative for Afghanistan, to discuss trade and regional ties.
“It seems that Pakistan wants to continue to talk to the Taliban while also flexing its military muscle, just as the Taliban did once they engaged in talks with the US,” Husain Haqqani, a former Pakistani ambassador, told Arab News.
He maintained that Pakistan’s military leadership believed its past support for the Afghan Taliban, when the US-led international forces were still operating in Kabul, would shield it from violent attacks, adding these armed groups did not consider any Muslim country “exempt from imposition of their extreme ideology.”
However, Sami Yousufzai, an Afghan political analyst, highlighted the delicate nature of Pakistan-Afghanistan ties, saying such strikes were viewed as a direct affront by Kabul.

A Taliban security personnel stands guard at the site two days after airstrikes by Pakistan in the Barmal district of eastern Paktika province on December 26, 2024. (AFP)

“Afghanistan is particularly sensitive to invasions or attacks within its borders,” he told Arab News, acknowledging that the airstrikes resulted from growing pressure on Pakistan due to the surge in TTP attacks.
However, he maintained Pakistan had made errors of judgment relating to the timings of the attack, as one of its senior diplomats, Ambassador Sadiq, was in Afghanistan, and the number of civilian casualties.
Yousufzai informed that Afghan authorities had recently taken confidence-building measures at Pakistan’s request by relocating 200 TTP families from border areas to central Afghanistan, adding that the move had been undermined by the airstrikes.
“Afghanistan has little to lose, but as a more stable nation, Pakistan should avoid irresponsible actions,” he continued. “Such attacks will not eliminate the TTP. Instead, it will likely increase their support.”
He maintained the real issue was the TTP presence in Pakistan, adding that its fighters were even residing in districts like Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan, which do not share border with Afghanistan, though they have experienced several deadly attacks.

A Taliban security personnel keeps watch from a helicopter two days after air strikes by Pakistan in the Barmal district of eastern Paktika province on December 26, 2024. (AFP)

Mehmood Jan Babar, a Peshawar-based journalist specializing in Afghan and tribal affairs, argued the strikes did not derail diplomacy, as evidenced by continued meetings between Sadiq and Afghan officials, including Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
Asked about Afghan warning of consequences to Pakistan, he said: “Such speeches and statements are often for public consumption.”
Syed Khalid Muhammad, a security expert in Islamabad, dismissed the claims of civilian casualties, arguing that militants deliberately use civilian populations as shields.
“The key thing to understand about the Pakistani airstrikes on the TTP is that the militants have hidden themselves among the civilian population, much like every terror group globally, which serves a greater purpose for them,” he added. “It allows them to manufacture an alternative narrative to gain sympathy.”

Residents gather near a damaged house two days after air strikes by Pakistan in the Barmal district of eastern Paktika province on December 26, 2024. (AFP)

Meanwhile, Pakistani military’s spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said his country had repeatedly pointed out to the Afghan government on state level that the TTP and other militants had been launching cross-border attacks in Pakistan in a news conference earlier today.
“Pakistan will leave no stone unturned in dismantling terrorist networks and safeguarding its citizens against terrorism,” he told the media without confirming the airstrikes.

Topics: Pakistan Afghanistan border Pakistan Afghanistan clashes Pakistan Taliban Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)

Pakistani investigation agency says has arrested human smuggler with India links

Updated 27 December 2024
Follow

Pakistani investigation agency says has arrested human smuggler with India links

  • Five Pakistani illegal migrants were killed this month when their boat capsized near a Greek island
  • FIA says suspected human smuggler worked with an Indian in Azerbaijan to send people to Poland
Updated 27 December 2024
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: Pakistani authorities on Friday announced the arrest of a human smuggler from Karachi, accusing him of working with an Indian agent to illegally send people to Europe, as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stressed the need to eradicate the practice while presiding over a meeting in the federal capital.
The arrest follows a renewed government drive against human smuggling after five Pakistani nationals died in a boat tragedy near the Greek island of Gavdos earlier this month.
Last year, the issue of illegal migration to Europe drew national attention when hundreds of people, including 262 Pakistanis, drowned after their overcrowded vessel capsized off the southwestern Greek coastal town of Pylos during a voyage from Libya.
The Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) announcement of the arrest of Abdul Shakoor, the suspected human smuggler, has brought yet another illegal migration route to Europe under the spotlight, as it said the accused collaborated with an Indian national based in Central Asia.
“An Indian agent named Gautam Sharma, residing in Azerbaijan, was coordinating the illegal transportation of the suspects from Azerbaijan to Poland,” the FIA informed, adding three other suspects, Hasib Ahmed, Qaiser Ahmed and Usman Ali, hailing from different areas of Punjab province, were also arrested.
“Human smuggler Abdul Shakoor had made agreements to send the other suspects to Poland, charging $5,028.89 per person,” the statement added. “The suspects paid the agent an advance of $898.02 per person.”
The FIA also named the organizations that helped the suspects obtain visas.
Separately, the prime minister chaired a review meeting on measures to curb human smuggling, wherein he reviewed the report of a committee formed to investigate the latest migrant boat tragedy near Greece and present its findings.
Sharif instructed the formation of a committee, led by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, to develop sustainable solutions for tackling human smuggling.
“The Prime Minister directed that all individuals involved in the heinous human smuggling trade be arrested within a week and legal action be taken against them,” said an official statement circulated by his office after the meeting.
The prime minister questioned why no disciplinary action had been taken so far against complicit government officials facilitating smugglers and directed authorities to ensure stricter visa checks and compliance with travel regulations for all outbound migrants.
The meeting was also provided an update on the identification of Pakistani nationals involved in the boat capsize near Greece this month and the progress of repatriating their bodies.

Topics: Federal Investigation Agency human smugglers

Pakistan rescues nine crew members from Indian cargo vessel after distress alert

Updated 27 December 2024
Follow

Pakistan rescues nine crew members from Indian cargo vessel after distress alert

  • The rescue followed another operation this month in which 12 Indian crew members were saved
  • Incident reflects sporadic cooperation between the two nuclear rivals amid continuing tensions
Updated 27 December 2024
Arab News Pakistan

KARACHI: The Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) successfully rescued nine crew members from an Indian cargo vessel, according to an official statement, after receiving a distress alert from Mumbai.
The incident marks the second such rescue operation by the PMSA within a month, highlighting sporadic cooperation between the two nuclear-armed rivals amid continued tensions.
Diplomatic ties between India and Pakistan remain strained. Both sides also detain each other’s fishermen who inadvertently cross maritime boundaries, often leaving them to languish in prison for extended periods.
The distressed Indian vessel, Tajdare Haram, reportedly experienced water ingress approximately 120 nautical miles south of Karachi, forcing the crew to abandon ship and take refuge in a life raft.
“Upon receiving the distress alert from the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) Mumbai, PMSA immediately launched a coordinated rescue effort,” the Pakistani agency announced in a statement Thursday.
“PMSA deployed an aircraft and directed nearby merchant vessels and PMSA ships to the scene of the incident,” it added. “The PMSA aircraft successfully located the survivors and facilitated the Indian Coast Guard vessel operating in nearby Indian waters for subsequent recovery.”
The rescue followed another operation earlier this month when the PMSA saved 12 Indian crew members from MSV Peeran-e-Peer in a similar situation.
The PMSA said it remained steadfast in its commitment to ensuring maritime safety and upholding international obligations under the Safety of Life at Sea Convention.

Topics: Pakistan India

Pakistan PM orders uninterrupted gas supply amid complaints from domestic consumers

Updated 27 December 2024
Follow

Pakistan PM orders uninterrupted gas supply amid complaints from domestic consumers

  • Prime Minister Sharif orders reforms to the gas distribution system to resolve the issue permanently
  • Officials claim improvement in gas load management, say power sector also getting sufficient supply
Updated 27 December 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday called for reforms to the gas distribution system after complaints from domestic consumers about shortages, as he was briefed in a meeting that surplus regasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) was available in the system.
Pakistan has long struggled with gas shortages, particularly during the winter months, as declining domestic production and increasing reliance on imports widen the supply-demand gap.
“Uninterrupted gas supply to domestic consumers during the winter must be ensured immediately,” the prime minister directed during the meeting. “Reforms should be introduced in the system’s structure to resolve this issue permanently.”
He maintained that ensuring gas supply to domestic consumers was the government’s top priority.
Officials briefed Sharif that, compared to the previous year, there has been an improvement in gas load management, resulting in reduced load shedding durations, adding that domestic consumers were currently receiving gas from 5 AM to 10 PM.
“The power sector is also being provided gas according to its demand,” the briefing noted. “Additionally, all gas fields in the country remain operational.
The officials also said the Sui Norther Gas Pipelines Limited had resolved 93 percent of consumer complaints, while Sui Souther Gas Company Limited’s resolution rate stood at 79 percent.
Pakistan’s restive southwestern Balochistan province accounts for much of the country’s domestic gas production, though separatist violence in the region often leads to attacks on pipelines, disrupting supply.
Earlier this week, unidentified assailants near Quetta blew up a pipeline, cutting off supply to several areas in Balochistan.
Repairs commenced after the area was secured, but the incident caused significant inconvenience to residents of the province.

Topics: gas supply fluctuations

Nearly 400 Pakistani soldiers killed in counter-terrorism operations in 2024, military says

Updated 27 December 2024
Follow

Nearly 400 Pakistani soldiers killed in counter-terrorism operations in 2024, military says

  • Pakistani security forces conducted 59,775 intelligence-based operations this year, killing 925 militants, army says
  • Pakistan is battling a resurgence of militant violence particularly in its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces
Updated 27 December 2024
KASHIF IMRAN

ISLAMABAD: Nearly 400 Pakistani soldiers and over 900 militants have been killed in counter-terrorism operations this year, the Pakistan army said on Friday, as the South Asian nation battles a resurgence of militant violence.
Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces have seen a surge in terror attacks in recent months, with groups like the Pakistani Taliban and other militant and separatist groups attacking security forces’ convoys and check posts and carrying out daily targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers and government officials.
Addressing a press conference on Friday, military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said security forces have conducted 59,775 intelligence-based operations this year, during which 925 militants had been killed and hundreds of others arrested. 
“Over the last five years, this is the highest number of terrorists killed in a single year,” Chaudhry said at a media briefing, saying 73 of the militants killed were “high value targets.”
“During these counter-terrorism operations in year 2024, 383 brave officers and jawans embraced martyrdom.”
The Pakistani Taliban group, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has increased attacks against Pakistani security forces mainly in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, particularly since November 2022 when a fragile truce between the Pakistani Taliban and the state broke down.
The southwestern Balochistan province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran and is home to key Chinese Belt and Road Initiative projects, has also seen a surge in strikes by separatist ethnic militants, who say they are fighting an unfair distribution of the remote, impoverished province’s mineral wealth. The Pakistani state denies the allegation and says it is working for the uplift of local communities.
The attacks in KP have soured Pakistan’s ties with Kabul, with Islamabad frequently accusing the Taliban administration of sheltering and supporting militant groups. Afghan officials deny state complicity, insisting Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter.
On Wednesday, the Afghan Taliban said at least 46 people had been killed in Pakistani airstrikes in the eastern border province of Paktika. The Pakistan army and government have not officially confirmed the strikes. 
“Despite all of Pakistan’s efforts and repeatedly pointing out to the Afghan interim government on the state level, Fitna Al-Khwarij [TTP] and other terrorists have been carrying out terrorist activities in Pakistan using Afghanistan’s soil,” Chaudhry said.
“Pakistan will leave no stone unturned in dismantling terrorist networks and safeguarding its citizens against terrorism.”

Topics: Pakistan Army ISPR

Latest updates

UN worker seriously hurt in Israeli Yemen strike moved to Jordan, WHO says
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus with a colleague injured in an Israeli airstrike on Sanaa airport. (Twitter)
Pakistan using dual approach of diplomacy, military action against Afghan-based militants — analysts
Pakistani investigation agency says has arrested human smuggler with India links
Ukrainian drone attack underway before Azerbaijani plane crash, Russian aviation chief says
A passenger of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau, is transported into an ambulance after
Iran FM warns against ‘destructive interference’ in Syria’s future

Search form

Print Edition
Read pdf version Subscribe now
© 2024 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.