ISLAMABAD: Pakistan confirmed late Saturday night the killings of eight of its nationals in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif emphasizing the need for all regional countries to come together to devise and enforce a coordinated counterterrorism strategy to eliminate militant violence.
The news of the killings first emerged in local media in the evening, though the country’s foreign ministry and federal authorities did not issue immediate statements.
However, the foreign office later confirmed the development in response to media queries.
“We are aware of this tragic incident and are in touch with Iranian authorities,” said spokesperson Ambassador Shafqat Ali Khan. “We will comment once facts are established and confirmed details are available.”
Khan added that Pakistan’s embassy in Tehran and consulate in Zahedan had been in constant contact with the relevant Iranian authorities over the incident.
In a separate statement, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief over the killing of the eight Pakistani nationals and voiced concern over the attack on Iranian soil.
“Terrorism is a scourge that is devastating for all countries in the region,” he said. “All regional states must implement a coordinated strategy to root out terrorism.”
Sharif urged the Iranian government to swiftly apprehend the perpetrators and ensure they are held accountable.
“The Iranian government must bring those responsible to justice and share the reasons behind this heinous act with the public,” he continued.
The prime minister also directed Pakistan’s foreign ministry to remain in contact with the victims’ families and instructed the embassy in Tehran to ensure the safe repatriation of the bodies.
Earlier in the day, Afghanistan’s Khaama Press News Agency reported the attack took place in the early hours of the day in a village in Mehrestan district, located near the Iran-Pakistan border. The outlet said the victims were auto mechanics.
However, the separatist Balochistan National Army (BNA) claimed responsibility for the attack later in the day, alleging that the slain workers were members of Pakistan’s premier spy agency.
Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, has faced a low-level insurgency for nearly two decades. Baloch separatist groups accuse the central government of exploiting the region’s natural resources, such as gold and copper, without benefiting the local population.
Islamabad denies the allegations, saying it is committed to improving the lives of Baloch residents through various development projects.
Thousands of Pakistanis, mostly from economically disadvantaged regions, frequently cross into Iran to take up informal work in sectors such as vehicle repair, construction and agriculture.
In January last year, nine Pakistani laborers were killed and three critically injured in a similar attack in Saravan city, also located in Iran’s southeastern border region.
The victims in that case had also been working at an auto repair shop.
Last year’s killings took place at a time when Pakistan and Iran were trying to mend diplomatic ties following tit-for-tat missile and drone strikes.
Pakistan confirms killing of eight nationals in Iran, urges regional counterterrorism strategy
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Pakistan confirms killing of eight nationals in Iran, urges regional counterterrorism strategy
- Baloch separatists have claimed responsibility for killing the victims, who reportedly worked as auto mechanics
- Pakistani authorities say they are aware of the incident and are in contact with relevant Iranian officials
Pakistan’s finance minister seeks faster disbursements under Saudi oil facility in talks with SFD chief
- Muhammad Aurangzeb calls for SFD’s support for the National Highway infrastructure project
- He says Pakistan’s macroeconomic outlook has improved, with its credit rating hitting B-minus
KARACHI: Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday requested expedited disbursements under the Saudi Oil Facility in a meeting with Sultan bin Abdulrahman Al-Murshid, the top official at the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington.
The facility, agreed earlier this year, enables Pakistan to defer up to $1.2 billion in oil import payments, offering critical support to its foreign reserves amid a fragile economic recovery.
The SFD, a state-owned Saudi institution, provides concessional loans and grants to developing countries and has been a long-time financier of infrastructure and energy projects in Pakistan.
“The Minister requested expedited disbursements under the Saudi Oil Facility and assured the provision of evidence of oil shipments,” the finance ministry said in a statement issued Wednesday.
Aurangzeb noted that Pakistan’s macroeconomic outlook had improved, pointing to Moody’s recent upgrade of the country’s credit rating to B- with a stable outlook.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed 27 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth $2.2 billion in early October 2024 during the Saudi investment minister’s visit to Islamabad.
The number and value of these deals increased later that month during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Riyadh, reaching 34 MoUs with a total projected investment of $2.8 billion.
By December, seven of these had been converted into agreements valued at $560 million, with several already under implementation at both the government-to-government (G2G) and business-to-business (B2B) levels.
During his meeting with the top SFD official, the Pakistani finance chief recalled his participation in the Al-Ula Conference on Emerging Markets held in Saudi Arabia in February, where he met with senior Saudi officials, including the kingdom’s finance minister, to expand economic cooperation.
During their conversation, Aurangzeb reviewed the SFD’s ongoing development portfolio in Pakistan and expressed satisfaction with the pace of implementation.
He also sought the SFD’s financial support for the National Highway N-25 infrastructure project.
China to launch space mission Thursday as Pakistani astronaut selection begins for future flights
- Pakistani astronaut will visit a Chinese space station under a cooperation pact signed in February
- Shenzhou-20 crewed spaceflight will carry zebrafish and bacteria for life science experiments in orbit
BEIJING: China is set to launch its Shenzhou-20 mission that will carry three astronauts to the Chinese space station Tiangong at 5.17 p.m. on Thursday local time (0917 GMT), state media said on Wednesday.
The main purpose of the mission is to complete the in-orbit rotation with the Shenzhou-19 crew which is scheduled to return to the Dongfeng landing site on April 29, China Manned Space Agency officials said at a press conference broadcast on CCTV.
The Shenzhou-20 spaceflight from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China will carry astronauts Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, CCTV said.
The spaceflight will be Chen Dong’s third and the first for the other two — a space engineer and a former air force pilot.
They will conduct space science and application experiments, install a space debris protection device as well as extravehicular payload and equipment, and perform recovery tasks.
The mission will also bring with it zebrafish, planarians and streptomyces as research objects to carry out three life science experiments at the space station.
The crew, scheduled to return to Earth in late October, can expect a resupply mission via the unmanned Tianzhou-9 cargo spacecraft.
The country’s fourth batch of astronauts set to participate in Shenzhou spaceflights is currently in training, featuring for the first time astronauts from China’s special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau, as well as Pakistan.
The Hong Kong and Macau astronauts are likely to carry out their first mission as early as 2026, state media reported.
China said the selection of the Pakistani astronauts is underway. Both countries signed an agreement for space cooperation in February.
One of the two Pakistani astronauts that will join the Chinese missions is set to focus on payloads and scientific research aboard China’s space station.
Pakistan offers condolences after gunmen kill 26 tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir
- The incident happened in Pahalgam where unidentified assailants gunned down mostly domestic tourists
- Such attacks have historically strained ties between the two nuclear rivals, pushing them close to war
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday voiced concern over the killing of civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir, after at least 26 people were gunned down by unidentified assailants at a tourist site in the region’s deadliest attack on non-combatants in decades.
The shooting occurred Tuesday afternoon in Pahalgam, a popular resort town in the Anantnag district, when armed men emerged from forest cover and opened fire on crowds of mostly domestic tourists.
Indian officials said the attack bore the hallmarks of an organized militant assault, though no group claimed responsibility for it. Survivors described a calculated and prolonged attack, with gunmen selectively targeting men and sparing women.
“We are concerned at the loss of tourists’ lives in an attack in Anantnag district of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir,” the foreign office of Pakistan said in a statement.
“We extend our condolences to the near ones of the deceased and wish the injured a speedy recovery,” it added.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who cut short a state visit to Saudi Arabia in response, called the attack a “heinous act” and pledged that the perpetrators would be brought to justice.
Such attacks have historically strained ties between India and Pakistan, two nuclear-armed rivals with a long-standing dispute over Kashmir. In 2019, a suicide bombing in Pulwama killed 40 Indian paramilitary personnel and triggered cross-border air strikes, pushing the neighbors to the brink of war.
New Delhi has repeatedly blamed Islamabad for backing militant groups operating in the region, an allegation Pakistan denies, insisting it supports only the political aspirations of Kashmiris.
On Wednesday, India’s army also reported killing two gunmen in a separate incident near the Line of Control, the de facto border separating the Pakistani and Indian sides of Kashmir, in Baramulla district, describing it as a foiled infiltration attempt.
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since 1947, with both countries claiming it in full. A violent separatist insurgency has simmered in the Indian-administered part since the late 1980s, although militant violence had declined in recent years.
Tuesday’s attack has also promoted global reaction, with US President Donald Trump and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen condemning the violence and pledging support for India in pursuing the assailants.
Pakistan’s finance chief seeks deeper US trade ties, welcomes reform efforts at global lenders
- Muhammad Aurangzeb downplays US tariff concerns, says Pakistan sees greater opportunity in rebalancing trade
- IMF chief says the international lender is trying to determine how to design loan programs for countries like Pakistan
KARACHI: Pakistan’s finance minister said on Tuesday the country wants to broaden trade and investment ties with the United States, especially in minerals critical to the energy transition, while also joining other vulnerable economies in urging reforms at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb is currently in Washington to attend the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings, where policymakers are grappling with debt distress, climate vulnerabilities and growing calls from the Global South to reshape how multilateral institutions lend and design reforms.
The IMF has acknowledged the need to tailor programs more toward pro-growth reforms and private-sector led development, particularly for repeat borrowers like Pakistan.
“We genuinely believe that there’s a win-win situation,” Aurangzeb said at the Atlantic Council, pointing to high-level US interest in Pakistan’s copper and rare earth potential. “Reko Diq is only the first one... the value addition and downstream stuff is going to be really game-changing for Pakistan.”
Aurangzeb downplayed concerns over US tariffs, saying the country saw greater opportunity in rebalancing trade and attracting strategic investment.
He reiterated a high-level delegation from Islamabad would visit Washington in the coming weeks to explore broader cooperation beyond tariffs, citing minerals, agriculture and green technology as key areas.
On multilateral reform, Aurangzeb welcomed the willingness of IMF and World Bank leaders to reassess their lending frameworks, especially in light of liquidity strains across the Global South.
“These institutions also need to have ownership and accountability at their end to really drive impact,” he said, calling for a system that allows countries like Pakistan to access flexible financing and avoid perpetual debt cycles.
He praised recent efforts to unify public and private sector arms within the World Bank and to coordinate better with other lenders like the ADB and AIIB.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Tuesday the international lending agency was not just telling countries to get their own houses in order, but was also looking at the way it does business, including conducting a review of how it designs loan programs, and determines their length and conditions.
She said the IMF was also looking at countries that have had repeated programs, such as Pakistan, Argentina and Egypt, to ensure loan programs were designed the right way.
Pakistan has been in over 20 IMF programs, including a $7 billion Extended Fund Facility finalized last year to stabilize its economy.
Aurangzeb said the government was pursuing structural reform, with a focus on climate, population, and fiscal sustainability, including efforts to broaden the tax base and digitize enforcement.
– With input from Reuters
Pakistan’s foreign investment dropped 19% during first nine months of FY25— central bank
- Foreign portfolio investment dropped by 514% in July-March FY25 period, says state bank
- Pakistani financial analysts attribute decline to political uncertainty, lack of ease of doing business
KARACHI: Pakistan’s foreign investment declined by 19% to $1.3 billion during the first nine months of this fiscal year through March, recent data from Pakistan’s central bank said, with analysts attributing the slump to political uncertainty and lack of ease of doing business.
As per the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) latest data, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Pakistan rose by 14% to $1.64 billion in the same period, compared to $1.44 billion the country attracted a year ago.
However, the total foreign investment also includes foreign portfolio investment (FPI), which are foreign investments in a country’s stocks, bonds and other securities. The SBP said FPI dropped by a staggering 514% as foreigners sold $269 million of the country’s equity and debt during July-March this fiscal year. Last year, foreign investors were holding $65 million in Pakistan’s stocks and bonds during the same period.
Pakistan’s government has said the country is on its path to economic progress. Pakistan formed the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) in 2023 after coming to the brink of a sovereign default. The SIFC is a civil-military body that aims to attract foreign investment in minerals, agriculture, livestock, tourism, defense and other important sectors.
“Although the SIFC has been instrumental in generating leads for foreign investment, the actual materialization of flows has been weak due to hurdles in executing these,” Shankar Talreja, director of research at brokerage firm Topline Securities Limited, told Arab News on Friday.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has tasked his government to increase exports to $60 billion in the next five years, seeking to boost its foreign exchange reserves.
However, the country’s foreign reserves have declined to $10.6 billion during the week ended Apr. 11, as per the SBP’s figures. The amount is hardly enough to cover two months of imports whereas the International Monetary Fund (IMF) wants Pakistan to increase its reserves to support three months of imports.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and the finance ministry’s spokesperson Qamar Sarwar Abbasi did not respond to Arab News’ request for comments.
While Sharif’s government has signed various memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with several countries over the past year, it has not been able to attract even $3 billion in investment since the last two decades, since FY09, as per the central bank’s data.
Talreja said some foreign companies wanted to make major investments in Pakistan’s refinery sector but frequent changes in the country’s tax structure led to a “hue and cry” from them.
“The ease of doing business is quite low in Pakistan due to higher taxes and frequent bubbles in the economy led by inconsistent macro policies,” Talreja explained.
‘ZERO GROWTH IN PER CAPITA INCOME’
Financial analyst Sana Tawfik said besides political uncertainty and a high cost of doing business, Pakistan’s fragile balance of payment position has been a permanent concern for risk-averse investors.
These investors have seen Islamabad approach the IMF for frequent financial bailouts whenever it has tried to achieve an import-driven 5-6 percent growth, she said.
“Pakistan’s macroeconomic situation is no doubt improving but then we have to see how sustainable this improvement is,” Tawfik, the head of research at Arif Habib Limited, told Arab News.
