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Pakistani finance minister, Saudi Fund for Development discuss funding for dam, highway

Pakistani finance minister, Saudi Fund for Development discuss funding for dam, highway
Pakistan Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb (right) meets with Sultan Abdulrahman Al-Marshad (left), CEO Saudi Fund for Development, on the sidelines of IMF and World Bank Spring meetings in Washington on April 18, 2024. (Photo courtesy: Finance Ministry)
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Updated 19 April 2024
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Pakistani finance minister, Saudi Fund for Development discuss funding for dam, highway

Pakistani finance minister, Saudi Fund for Development discuss funding for dam, highway
  • Aurangzeb is in Washington for IMF and World Bank spring meetings
  • Saudi FM was recently in Pakistan to discuss investment projects
Updated 19 April 2024
Aamir Saeed
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ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb met with Sultan Abdulrahman Al-Marshad, CEO Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), in Washington on Thursday and discussed investable projects, including a dam and a major national highway. 
Aurangzeb is in Washington for IMF and World Bank spring meetings. As he launches negotiations for a new three-year multi-billion-dollar bailout deal from the IMF, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud was in Islamabad earlier this week where he said Riyadh would be “moving ahead significantly” to invest in projects in the South Asian nation. 
The Saudi official’s visit followed a meeting in Makkah between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in which the Kingdom had pledged to expedite $5 billion in investments.
“Briefed him [SFD CEO] about his recent visit to Saudi Arabia and that of Saudi delegation to Pakistan during this week,” the finance ministry said about the meeting between the Pakistani finance minister and the Saudi official in Washington. 
“Expressed satisfaction with the progress of ongoing projects. Discussed the funding of Diamer Bhasha dam and N-25 from Karachi to Chaman. Informed that Pakistan would pitch bankable and investable projects to Saudi investors.”
Diamer-Bhasha Dam is a concrete-filled gravity dam, in the preliminary stages of construction, on the River Indus between Kohistan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Diamer district in Gilgit Baltistan. Upon completion, the dam dam would produce 4800 megawatts of electricity through hydro-power generation, store an extra 10.5 cubic kilometers of water for Pakistan that would be used for irrigation and drinking, extend the life of Tarbela Dam located downstream by 35 years, and control flood damage by the River Indus downstream during high floods.
The N-25 or National Highway 25 is an 813 km national highway in Pakistan which extends along from Karachi, Pakistan’s commercial hub, in Sindh province to the Chaman border via Quetta in the Balochistan province of Pakistan.
During the Saudi FM’s visit this week, investments in the Pakistani sectors of mining and minerals, agriculture, energy, information technology and infrastructure development were discussed. Speaking to journalists on Thursday, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said Pakistan had pitched an “epic menu” of investment projects worth $30 billion to Riyadh during Prince Faisal’s visit. 
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.

Topics: Pakistan Saudi Ties

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Washington says hopes to continue ‘constructive’ engagement with Pakistan on nuclear issues

Washington says hopes to continue ‘constructive’ engagement with Pakistan on nuclear issues
Updated 4 sec ago
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Washington says hopes to continue ‘constructive’ engagement with Pakistan on nuclear issues

Washington says hopes to continue ‘constructive’ engagement with Pakistan on nuclear issues
  • The US said this week it was imposing new sanctions related to nuclear-armed Pakistan’s long-range ballistic-missile program
  • State Department spokesman says latest designations based on concerns on missile program, didn’t affect other areas of cooperation
Updated 4 sec ago
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: Vedant Patel, a spokesman for the US Department of State, said on Thursday Washington hoped to continue to engage “constructively” with the Pakistani government on nuclear issues, including its concerns with the South Asian nation’s long-range ballistic missile program.

On Wednesday, the US said it was imposing new sanctions related to Pakistan’s long-range ballistic-missile program, including on the state-owned defense agency that oversees the program, the National Development Complex. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the measures slapped on the NDC and three firms were imposed under an executive order that “targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery.” The sanctions freeze any US property belonging to the targeted entities and bars Americans from doing business with them.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry has called the US actions “unfortunate and biased” and said they would harm regional stability by “aiming to accentuate military asymmetries,” an apparent reference to the country’s rivalry with nuclear-armed India.

“The US is committed to maintaining the global nonproliferation regime, and Pakistan is an important partner in that. However, we have been clear and consistent about our concerns with Pakistan’s long-range ballistic missile program,” Patel told reporters at a press briefing, adding that it was a longstanding policy by Washington to deny support to Pakistan’s long-range ballistic missile program.

“The Department of State will continue to use sanctions and other tools to protect our national security and ensure that US exporters and US financial systems cannot be abused by proliferators. And it’s our hope to continue to engage constructively with the Pakistani Government on these issues,” the spokesman added. 

He said the latest designations were based on US concerns regarding Pakistan’s long-range ballistic missile program, but didn’t affect other areas of US-Pakistan cooperation.

A State Department factsheet said the Islamabad-based NDC had sought to obtain components for the country’s long-range ballistic-missile program and missile-testing equipment. It said the NDC “is responsible for the development of Pakistan’s ballistic missiles,” including the Shaheen family of missiles. 

The other entities slapped with sanctions were Affiliates International, Akhtar and Sons Private Limited and Rockside Enterprise, all located in Karachi, the factsheet said. It said the companies worked with the NDC to acquire equipment.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists research organization says the Shaheen series of missiles is nuclear-capable.

Pakistan conducted its first nuclear-weapons test in 1998, becoming the seventh country to do so. The Bulletin estimates Pakistan’s arsenal at about 170 warheads.

Separately, US Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer on Thursday said Pakistan was developing long-range ballistic missile capabilities that eventually could allow it to strike targets well beyond South Asia, making it an “emerging threat” to the United States.

The senior White House official’s surprise revelation underscored how far the once-close ties between Washington and Islamabad have deteriorated since the 2021 US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. It also raised questions about whether Pakistan has shifted the objectives of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs long intended to counter those of India, with which it has fought three major wars since 1947.

Speaking to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Finer said Pakistan has pursued “increasingly sophisticated missile technology, from long-range ballistic missile systems to equipment, that would enable the testing of significantly larger rocket motors.”

If those trends continue, Finer said, “Pakistan will have the capability to strike targets well beyond South Asia, including in the United States.”

The number of nuclear-armed states with missiles that can reach the US homeland “is very small and they tend to be adversarial,” he continued, naming Russia, North Korea and China.

“So, candidly, it’s hard for us to see Pakistan’s actions as anything other than an emerging threat to the United States,” Finer said.


With inputs from Reuters

Topics: Pakistan US Ties Pakistan missile program US

Pakistan court orders arrest of senior police officers accused of staging blasphemy suspect’s murder

Pakistan court orders arrest of senior police officers accused of staging blasphemy suspect’s murder
Updated 17 min 59 sec ago
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Pakistan court orders arrest of senior police officers accused of staging blasphemy suspect’s murder

Pakistan court orders arrest of senior police officers accused of staging blasphemy suspect’s murder
  • Shahnawaz Kunbhar, a medical doctor accused of online blasphemy, was killed by police in an encounter in September
  • Government inquiry later said officers, including a deputy inspector general of police, had staged the encounter
Updated 17 min 59 sec ago
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Pakistan’s Sindh province this week issued arrest warrants for six police officers, including a deputy inspector general of police, over accusations they had staged the murder of a doctor accused of blasphemy, but the suspects had not yet been arrested, his family said on Friday.

Dr. Shahnawaz Kunbhar, accused of sharing blasphemous content online, was arrested in Karachi and killed by police in Mirpurkhas on Sept. 18, 2024. Police said the killing was unintentional and happened when officers attempted to stop two men on a motorcycle, and one of them started shoooting, prompting them to return fire. Authorities said it was only after the shooting that they realized the man they had killed was the doctor they had been seeking in a blasphemy case. 

Mass protests in Sindh province and widespread social media outrage followed the doctor’s killing, leading to the formation of a government committee that concluded that Kunbhar was killed in a “staged encounter.” The Sindh provincial government subsequently suspended 10 officers, including a deputy inspector general, and filed charges against 34 suspects. It is rare in Pakistan for government action over violence against people accused of blasphemy. 

Ibrahim Kunbhar, the cousin of the deceased, confirmed to Arab News that the ATC had issued non-bailable arrest warrants for six officers, including former DIG Javed Jiskani, on Thursday. 

“But why do they need non-bailable arrest warrants to apprehend them? They should have been arrested long ago as their guilt has been proven in the official inquiry,” Ibrahim said in a telephone interview on Friday. “We demand that they be immediately apprehended and tried for the murder of Shahnawaz.”

The court also ordered the Federal Investigation Agency to present the accused officers before the court by January 8, 2025. Ibrahim said the FIA had recorded statements from five medical board members who exhumed Kunbhar’s body. One of them, Professor Dr. Waheed, confirmed signs of “torture,” including five broken ribs.

Accusations of blasphemy, sometimes even just rumors, can spark riots and mob rampages in Pakistan. Although killings of suspects by mobs are common, extra-judicial killings by police are rare, as is action against perpetrators of violence in blasphemy cases. 

Human rights groups and civil society organizations have urged the Pakistani government to repeal the country’s blasphemy laws, which they argue contribute to discrimination and violence. They have also called for a comprehensive review of law enforcers’ response to blasphemy accusations.
 

Topics: blasphemy suspect Shahnawaz Kunbhar

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Pakistan joins world leaders in condemnation of Israel on D-8 summit sidelines

Pakistan joins world leaders in condemnation of Israel on D-8 summit sidelines
Updated 37 min 17 sec ago
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Pakistan joins world leaders in condemnation of Israel on D-8 summit sidelines

Pakistan joins world leaders in condemnation of Israel on D-8 summit sidelines
  • Pakistani PM Sharif, Turkish President Erdogan and Iranian President Pezeshkian discuss Gaza in separate meetings
  • More than 46,000 people including women and children have been killed during the 14-month war in Palestine
Updated 37 min 17 sec ago
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has joined world leaders in condemning Israel’s ongoing military offensives in the Middle East as he attended a summit of D-98 developing nations in Cairo this week, his office said. 

On the sidelines of the forum, Sharif separately met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian after a special session was held on the conflict in the Middle East, where over 46,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, have been killed since Israel launched its war against Hamas in Gaza in October last year. Israel has since carried out attacks on Lebanon as well, killing over 3,000 after accusing Hezbollah of targeting its military. This month, it took control of Syria’s buffer zone and bombed key military and strategic assets after the overthrow of the Bashar Assad regime by opposition forces.

“While condemning the Israeli genocidal actions against the innocent Palestinians, particularly the worsening situation since Oct. 7, 2023, the two leaders reaffirmed their unwavering support for the Palestinian people and their legitimate aspirations for a promised homeland,” Sharif’s office said in a statement after he held a bilateral meeting with Erdogan.

Sharif also separately met with Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the D-8 summit.

“Both leaders showed grave concern at the genocide of innocent Palestinians by Israel and agreed to continue raising their voice for the oppressed Palestinians,” the PM Office said in another press release. “The PM reiterated that Pakistan stands in complete solidarity with their brothers and sisters from Palestine, Lebanon and Syria.”

Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, Pakistan has repeatedly raised the issue at the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and other multilateral platforms and demanded international powers and bodies stop Israeli military actions. 

Islamabad does not have diplomatic relations with Israel and has for decades called for an independent Palestinian state with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

Topics: Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif Gaza Palestine Israel D-8 summit

Pakistan in good shape for Champions Trophy after winning ODI series in South Africa

Pakistan in good shape for Champions Trophy after winning ODI series in South Africa
Updated 46 min 11 sec ago
AP
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Pakistan in good shape for Champions Trophy after winning ODI series in South Africa

Pakistan in good shape for Champions Trophy after winning ODI series in South Africa
  • Rizwan and Azam’s half-centuries along with Afridi’s 4-wicket haul sealed Pakistan’s 81-run victory
  • Pakistan will play their last match of the ODI series against South Africa on Sunday in Johannesburg
Updated 46 min 11 sec ago
AP

CAPE TOWN: Pakistan won a second straight major one-day international series away from home when it beat South Africa by 81 runs at Newlands on Thursday.

After beating Australia 2-1 last month, Pakistan has taken the Proteas 2-0 with a game to spare. Half-centuries by Babar Azam, captain Mohammad Rizwan and allrounder Kamran Ghulam staked Pakistan to 329 all out.

Heinrich Klaasen hit 97 but South Africa’s chase was strangled by Pakistan, and fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi ended the last meaningful resistance with three wickets in three overs. Klaasen was the last man out on 248 in the 44th over.

Pakistan’s fifth successive bilateral ODI series win puts it in good stead for the Champions Trophy it will host in February.

South African wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen, left, watches as Pakistans Babar Aam plays a shot during the second ODI International cricket match between South Africa and Pakistan in Cape Town, South Africa, on December 19, 2024. (AP)

It was unchanged from the three-wicket win on Tuesday in Paarl, made to bat first, and minus both openers in the first 10 overs.

Rizwan was smashed on the back of his helmet by debutant pacer Kwena Maphaka but gathered his senses with Azam in a steady but safe stand of 115.

The partnership was broken when Azam was caught at midwicket for 73 off 95 balls, his first half-century in any format for Pakistan since May, and his first in ODIs in 13 months.

When Rizwan followed three overs later for 80 off 82, caught and bowled by Maphaka when he was accelerating, Pakistan was forced to reset at 192-4 with 14 overs to go.

Amid four dropped catches by South Africa, Ghulam piled more misery on the host by smashing a 25-ball half-century on his fifth six. Ghulam was the last batter out for 63 off 32, the main plunderer as Pakistan scored 105 runs off the last 10 overs.

“Kamran Ghulam’s innings was absolutely fantastic,” Rizwan said. “We were looking for 300 but we got 300-plus, must give credit to him. I had trust in him but not like that ... that was something different.”

Pakistan wicketkeeper Muhammad Rizwan watches as South African batsman Heinrich Klaasen plays a shot during the second one day International cricket match between South Africa and Pakistan in Cape Town, South Africa, on December 19, 2024. (AP)

Set 330 to win, openers Temba Bavuma and Tony de Zorzi gave South Africa a promising start in the first 12 overs.

But spinners Abrar Ahmed and part-timer Salman Agha chipped out three top-order wickets and slowed the scoring so the run rate required gradually climbed.

Klaasen and the fit-again David Miller were reviving the chase and starting to charge when Miller was caught behind off Shaheen for 29, ending a stand of 72 runs in 12 overs with Klaasen.

Klaasen soldiered on, out three runs short of a fifth ODI century, as Shaheen grabbed 4-47 and fellow pacer Naseem Shah took 3-37.

The last ODI is on Sunday in Johannesburg.

Topics: Pakistan Babar Azam Champions Trophy 2025 ODI series Arab News Pakistan

Fire-grilled fish sajji is a sensation in Pakistan’s Sanghar city and beyond

Fire-grilled fish sajji is a sensation in Pakistan’s Sanghar city and beyond
Updated 50 min 39 sec ago
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Fire-grilled fish sajji is a sensation in Pakistan’s Sanghar city and beyond

Fire-grilled fish sajji is a sensation in Pakistan’s Sanghar city and beyond
  • Lamb or chicken sajji is popular in Sindh, Balochistan provinces but humble food stall has reimaged recipe with rohu fish 
  • Social media influencers and word of mouth popularity have helped put shop’s unique fish sajji on culinary map of Pakistan
Updated 50 min 39 sec ago
NAIMAT KHAN

SANGHAR: The glow of a crackling fire flickered from the humble food stall as dusk fell earlier this month over the small town of Sanghar in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province.

With no proper structure to speak of, the shop of Abdul Jabbar Mallah has little more than skewers, some chairs and the expertise of chefs who have honed their craft over decades, popularizing a type of slow-cooked fish sajji that draws customers from Sanghar and beyond. 

Sajji is usually made of lamb or chicken marinated in simple spices and slow roasted over an open flame to preserve natural flavors. Here in Sanghar, the classic recipe has been reimagined with rohu fish, a freshwater carp prized for its tender meat.

“It has been more than 20 to 25 years since I’ve been doing this work,” Mallah told Arab News last week as he skewered fish on wooden rods which he stuck into the ground in a circle around a fire to roast for two hours.

“The specialty of this sajji is that it is made from freshwater [fish]. Second thing is that no oil is used, it is dry, it is made without water, without oil. So, when people sit down to eat, even a two-kilogram piece of fish can be eaten by one person.”

The spices, a harmonious mix of coriander, white cumin and black pepper, add to the dish’s distinct flavor, with Mallah saying he avoided using city-bought spices when preparing the fish, which retails for $4.5 a kilogram. The smallest order is 2kg.

“This is why its taste is unique. People love eating local fish in local spices,” he said.

Mallah humbly acknowledged it was not him who invented the dish but his mentors, Ata Muhammad and Rajab Ali.

“My masters used to make it, and I learned from them,” he said, recounting famous clients like Pir Pagaro, an influential spiritual leader of the region whose forces fought against the British and who later played a role in Pakistani politics. Jam Sadiq Ali, a former Sindh chief minister in the early 1990s, was another top client who also ordered Mallah’s fish sajji for his son’s wedding.

Today, the popularity of Mallah’s innovatio has spread beyond the confines of Sanghar. Though the chef has been cooking fish for over two decades, visits by food and travel vloggers in recent years have made his sajji a culinary magnet for customers from around the country. 

That’s why an out-of-town guest had requested to try the fish, said Imran Khan Khilji, a local trader visiting Mallah’s stall.

“We came here especially because of this guest,” he said, pointing to a friend sitting next to him. “He has come to attend a wedding, and we said, ‘Let’s treat you to a delicacy of Sanghar’.”

Shehzad Jatt, a teacher, said he had been waiting nearly two hours to enjoy the sajji.

“This is Sanghar’s special dish, and they make it excellently,” Jatt said as he sat with a group of friends at Mallah’s shop, watching rows of sajji roasting in the chilly December night. 

“I’ve had fish at many places, but the fish from Sanghar is something else. The way the sajji fish is made here, I’ve never seen such a sajji anywhere else. Once you try it, you’ll know that the taste is unique.”

And Mallah is committed to preserving the flavors and the legacy of his mentors.

“The fish sajji that is prepared here in Sanghar, no one else makes it. Whoever tries to make it, it lasts only a few days, but after that, their shop doesn’t run because, by the grace of god, we have such a unique taste,” the chef said as he skewered a fresh batch of fish onto rods with his bony fingers.

“Allah has blessed our hands with flavor and people eat it and keep coming back.”
 

Topics: Sajji fish Sanghar Food Pakistan Sindh Arab News Pakistan

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