ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday Pakistan had made positive changes to its visa policy to enhance ease of doing business as the country strives to strengthen its economy by attracting foreign investment and exploring more trade opportunities.
Pakistan has faced a prolonged economic crisis that led the country to seek financial assistance from friendly nations and global lenders like the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Earlier this month, Pakistan secured a staff-level agreement with the IMF for a $7 billion bailout facility to strengthen macroeconomic gains made over the last year, during which the country bolstered its forex reserves and brought down inflation from 38 percent to a little over 12 percent.
However, the government has also actively pursued economic diplomacy in the region by seeking more investment and enhancing trade and regional connectivity.
Addressing the cabinet meeting, the prime minister mentioned consultations with his team about two weeks ago, during which the visa policy came up for discussion.
“We have brought a major change in the visa regime, taking the number of countries exempt from visa fees to 126,” he said. “Tourists, businessmen, and other travelers from these 126 countries will not be charged visa fees.”
He pointed out this would lead to a loss of few million dollars, but would be instrumental in promoting investment in the country.
“It was mutually agreed that we should take this quantum jump to ensure ease of doing business in Pakistan,” he added.
The prime minister expressed hope the new visa policy would make Pakistan an attractive destination for foreigners.
He announced that visas would be issued within 24 hours to visitors planning to come to Pakistan.
Sharif noted this step would lead to a significant increase in large-scale economic activities in the country and further boost Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves.
While acknowledging the security challenges faced by the country, he added the coalition government was making concerted efforts to address the situation.
Pakistan approves free visas for 126 countries to boost business, tourism
https://arab.news/yvus4
Pakistan approves free visas for 126 countries to boost business, tourism
- Shehbaz Sharif says the government has taken the number of countries exempt from visa fees to 126
- He says the decision will make Pakistan an attractive destination, further boost its forex reserves
Pakistan PM praises security forces for thwarting attack in northwest, killing four militants
- Attackers, all suicide bombers, targeted the Frontier Corps headquarters in Mohmand district
- Military’s media wing says a ‘sanitization operation’ is underway in the area following the attack
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday praised Pakistani security forces for thwarting a militant attack on the Frontier Corps headquarters in Mohmand district, following a statement released by the country’s military that four attackers had been killed in the clash.
Mohmand, a mountainous district in Pakistan’s northwest, shares a border with Afghanistan, where leaders of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are reportedly based.
Local media, citing police authorities, reported the militants tried to enter a paramilitary facility before being intercepted. Two of them detonated suicide vests, while others were killed in the firefight after the security forces responded to the attack.
“The soldiers of Pakistan security forces bravely and professionally sent four suicide bombers, who attempted to attack the [FC] camp, to hell,” the prime minister said. “The entire nation, including myself, pays tribute to the brave officers and soldiers of the security forces.”
“We will continue the war against terrorism until the complete eradication of this scourge from the country,” he added.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, these militants tried to attack the FC headquarters in the early hours of Friday.
“The attempt to enter the camp was effectively thwarted by the security forces personnel, and resultantly the Khwarij [militants], all four suicide bombers, were sent to hell before they could cause the intended damage,” the ISPR said in its statement.
“Sanitization operation is being conducted to eliminate any other Kharji found in the area,” it continued.
Mohmand and other tribal districts in Pakistan’s northwest became hotbeds of militancy while US-led international forces were fighting in Afghanistan.
Pakistani security forces conducted several military operations to reestablish the state’s writ in the region.
However, militant activity resurged in the area since the fragile ceasefire between the government and the TTP ended in November 2022, leading to a renewed wave of attacks.
Karachi police suspend 19 cops this week for ‘inappropriate’ social media videos
- Suspended police personnel have been directed to report to the Zonal Headquarters to face departmental action
- Karachi police have taken action against the cops on the instructions of Sindh Inspector General Ghulam Memon
KARACHI: Twelve more police constables including three women in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi have been suspended for posting “inappropriate” viral videos on social media, police said on Friday, days after the suspension of their seven colleagues for the same reason.
On Tuesday, a female cop, Maria Gill, was suspended after posting a TikTok video in which she could be seen inviting viewers to meet her at a location where she and her colleagues had been deployed on duty. She was suspended for “unnecessarily endangering the privacy and lives” of her teammates.
On Thursday, Karachi police said six police constables, including two women, had been suspended over videos posted on different social media platforms, calling on them to “report to their respective Zonal Headquarters, where they will be attending daily roll call and parade.”
“On the orders of Sindh Inspector General Ghulam Nabi Memon, Additional IG Karachi suspended 12 more TikTokers,” the Karachi police said in a post on social media site X.
The suspended police personnel included Majid Ali, Kamran Ghulab, Noman Khan, Noman, Waqas, Muhammad Sohail, Irfan Shahbaz, Ahmed Ali, Huzaifa, Sonia, Mehak Khan and Woronika. They were also directed to report to the Zonal Headquarters to face departmental action.
This is not the first time police employees in Pakistan have faced disciplinary action for social media activity deemed inappropriate by high-ups.
In August 2024, Lady Constable Maryam Bhatti was dismissed from Rawalpindi police for similar reasons.
On July 31, 2024, Constable Muqaddas from Islamabad was dismissed from the Federal Police’s Counter-Terrorism Department for making a TikTok video while using an official vehicle.
On July 29, 2024, Assistant Sub-Inspector Inayatullah Niazi was suspended in Chiniot for allowing a transgender person to film a video in the SHO’s office, which was deemed “disrespectful” to the police uniform.
On February 27, 2024, Constable Bahawal Sher was suspended in Faisalabad for sharing a video on social media where he was seen smoking while in uniform and displaying pistols.
Lady Constable Sumbul from Sindh faced an investigation on October 14, 2023, for posting a controversial video supporting Israel while Lady Constable Mehwish Khan was suspended on May 16, 2022, in Muzaffargarh for uploading videos in police uniform.
On July 24, 2020, Constable Wafa Tauqeer was also suspended in Lahore after a TikTok video of her in uniform went viral.
‘Great feeling’ to win for Pakistan, says chocolatier who bagged prestigious French pastry award
- Lals Pâtisserie, a luxury chocolate shop that opened in Karachi in 2006, won the ‘Pastry Discovery Gem Award 2024’
- Award is given by Paris-based La Liste, world’s most selective global guide of restaurants, pastry shops and hotels
KARACHI: Lal Majid, whose Lals Pâtisserie won the prestigious La Liste ‘Pastry Discovery Gem Award’ 2024, said this week it was a “great feeling” to be the only winner from Pakistan, able to be in a room full of world-renowned chefs in Paris wearing a Pakistan pin and traditional salwar kameez.
La Liste, the world’s most selective global guide of restaurants, pastry shops and hotels, puts out the awards annually, celebrating the “diversity of talents, the creativity and audacity, education, and the commitment to values such as seasonality and biodiversity.”
This year, the platform announced a total of 25 winners from 14 countries across the world in 10 categories. The Canadian Farine & Cacao pastry shop, which has been named one of the top pâtisseries in the world in the past, Chez Dodo, a charming pastry shop near St. Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest, and Alanya, a pastry shop in Lima’s bohemian Barranco district, also won in the same category as Lals.
Majid got her award at a ceremony held on June 17, 2024, in Paris. She runs the business with her daughter Madiha Sultan Tai, who serves as CEO.
“Till now, I am the first one [from Pakistan to feature on La Liste],” Majid, a florist turned chocolatier, told Arab News in an interview. “We researched if any Pakistani has won this award previously and we learnt that I was the first one to get this award.”
When Majid first started getting email inquiries from La Liste, she thought they were fake.
“I didn’t realize [it was happening] till the time I entered that area,” Majid said, describing the ceremony in Paris where she stood shoulder to shoulder with some of the world’s best chefs and chocolatiers, many of whose creations she had been admiring for years from a distance and whose books she had read and reread.
“I was lucky to get the award. It was all about my pastry [and] my chocolate,” Majid said.
“When it was announced that I was [from] Pakistan, and I was the only one from this area, it was a great feeling, of course. I was wearing my flag. I was wearing my Pakistani shalwar kameez.”
“HANSEL AND GRETEL”
Born and raised in Peshawar, Majid was not very good at studies and got married while she was still in college.
“[As a child,] I loved chocolates. I don’t know why but I was very much inspired by the story of Hansel and Gretel,” Majid said, referring to a German fairy tale in which siblings Hansel and Gretel are abandoned in a forest and fall into the hands of a witch who lives in a bread, cake, and sugar house.
“I always used to dream that I could have a chocolate, biscuit and candy house and I could break [off a piece] and have it myself. But I never thought I’d be able to make a chocolate factory,” the chocolatier said.
Majid was initially importing chocolate but then started taking classes on how to make it herself.
“I studied and did a lot of courses,” she said. “Then we started making gelatos. We made this [Shahbaz Commercial] outlet. And now, we are making our own chocolate. And the interesting thing is that now our chocolates, except the cocoa mass and cocoa beans which we don’t grow in Pakistan, every ingredient is local and Pakistani.”
Lals has multiple outlets in Karachi and Lahore and in March this year launched an online shop in Dubai, with a small kiosk in a physical outlet also.
“Dubai is a very tough market. It’s very initial so I can’t say anything about the response yet but inshaAllah, soon,” Majid said.
“We are expanding to Islamabad and opening one more outlet in Lahore [soon]. I hope [to launch an outlet] in Peshawar. That’s my hometown. I live in Karachi but my heart is in Peshawar.”
Pakistan deputy PM praises UAE for reviving Joint Ministerial Commission after a decade
- Ishaq Dar discusses trade and investment in a phone call with UAE state minister for foreign affairs
- The two sides are expected to hold the JMC meeting on October 1, strengthen business-to-business ties
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday praised the United Arab Emirates for agreeing to hold the Pak-UAE Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) meeting next month after more than 10 years during a phone call with UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed bin Ali Al Sayegh.
Dar is currently on a five-day visit to the United Kingdom where he has met top British officials and interacted with members of the Pakistani diaspora.
The Pakistani deputy PM, who also holds the foreign minister’s portfolio, took the UAE minister’s phone call in which they discussed other issues of mutual interest.
“UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ahmed bin Ali Al Sayegh, spoke with Deputy Prime Minister/ Foreign Minister @MIshaqDar50 who is currently visiting the UK,” the Pakistan foreign office said in a social media post. “They discussed OIC [Organization of Islamic Cooperation] related issues and key areas of bilateral cooperation in the field of trade and investment.”
“[Dar] welcomed the holding of 12th session of Pak-UAE Joint Ministerial Commission in the UAE next month after a hiatus of 13 years,” the post added.
Pakistani media reported earlier last week the Pak-UAE JMC was scheduled to take place on October 1, adding it would focus on different economic and financial fields.
The two countries are expected to hold a joint business council meeting on the sidelines of the JMC and work toward the establishment on greater business-to-business relations.
The UAE is Pakistan’s third largest trading partner after China and the United States. Policymakers in Pakistan consider the Emirates an optimal export destination due to geographical proximity, which minimizes transportation and freight costs while facilitating commercial transactions.
The UAE is also home to more than a million Pakistani expatriates and the second-largest source of remittances to the South Asian country after Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan’s counterterrorism force kills five militants in shootout in southwest
- CTD says it carried out operation against TTP ‘sharpshooters’ planning militant attacks in Balochistan
- Official statement says these militants were based in a compound of an Afghan refugee camp in Pishin
QUETTA: The Counterterrorism Department (CTD) of the police in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province announced in a statement on Friday night it had killed five militants of the proscribed militant network Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in the Surkhab area of Pishin district after a shootout.
Balochistan, a strategic region bordering Iran and Afghanistan, hosts key China-led infrastructure projects, including a port and a gold-copper mine. The province has long grappled with a separatist insurgency, with Baloch militants accusing the central government of exploiting its mineral and gas resources. The Pakistani state denies these allegations, asserting it is working to uplift the region through development initiatives.
Last month, over 50 people were killed in coordinated attacks claimed by one of these militant groups. While the TTP, which emerged from the northwestern tribal areas with Al Qaeda-inspired ideology, does not share the Baloch separatists’ objectives, it has a deadly history of targeting civilians and security forces. Pakistani officials suggest it has also forged ties with Baloch militants, intensifying activities in the southwest.
“Five terrorists belonging the banned TTP were killed during an exchange of fire between the CTD personnel and the terrorists,” a CTD spokesperson, who did not want to be named, told Arab News. “A cache of arms and explosives, including hand grenades, improvised explosive devices and a motorbike were seized from their compound.”
He further, said one of the militants belonged to Spin Boldak, a bordering town in Afghanistan and close to Pakistan’s southwestern bordering city of Chaman.
“The CTD has lodged a first information report of the incident and started looking for other group members in the nearby areas,” he added.
According to the department’s official statement, it received information that five sharpshooters belonging to the TTP were residing in a compound of an Afghan refugee camp in Surkhab and planning militant activities.
The Pakistani security forces have intensified intelligence-based operations in the area since the deadly Balochistan attacks last month.
The federal government on Friday also granted special powers to the army, civilian armed forces and the provincial authorities to combat militants in the region after amending the Anti-Terrorist Act of Pakistan to deal with the uptick in militant violence.
