Pakistan PM says Islamabad keen to expand trade, security cooperation with Russia/node/2572032/pakistan
Pakistan PM says Islamabad keen to expand trade, security cooperation with Russia
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk (second left) calls on Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (right) in Islamabad, Pakistan on September 19, 2024. (Foreign Office)
Islamabad: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said Islamabad was keen to expand its trade, energy, connectivity and security cooperation with Moscow during his meeting with visiting Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk.
Overchuk arrived in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad on Wednesday on a two-day official visit with a high-level delegation. He has held talks with Deputy PM Ishaq Dar, Pakistan’s army chief and leading officials in Islamabad to bolster trade, investment, security and energy cooperation with Pakistan.
Islamabad has recently sought to strengthen ties with Moscow, including requests for discounted crude oil to address its balance of payments crisis and high energy import bill, as part of a broader strategy to diversify its international partnerships and economic dependencies.
“The Prime Minister stated that Pakistan is keen to expand trade, economic, energy, connectivity and security cooperation with Russia,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement.
Sharif told Overchuk that Pakistan considers strengthening relations with Russia as an important priority of Pakistan’s foreign policy, the PMO said.
Overchuk thanked the Pakistani premier for giving him a warm welcome and reiterated Moscow’s resolve to deepen relations with Islamabad, the PMO said.
“He characterized Pakistan-Russia relations as constructive and mutually beneficial,” it added.
Sharif also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two countries to further strengthen mutually advantageous cooperation in all areas of shared interest, especially trade, investment, energy, IT, agriculture, science & technology and education.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar is in Saudi Arabia to attend the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) meeting that will discuss Israel’s military campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon, state-run media reported on Sunday.
Saudi Arabia will host the extraordinary Arab–Islamic summit between the Arab League and the OIC on Nov. 11 to address Israel’s bombardment and ground offensives in Gaza and Lebanon.
Muslim countries have called on Israel to impose an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East after its military campaigns in Gaza have killed over 43,000 people in the strip and injured thousands more. Its military campaigns in Lebanon and attacks on Iran last month have heightened fears of a wider war in the Middle East.
“Deputy Prime Minister is in Saudi Arabia on an official visit to attend the meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Council of Foreign Ministers,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan said.
It said Dar visited the holy city of Madinah where he offered prayers at the Prophet’s Mosque and prayed for the peace, unity and prosperity of the Muslim Ummah.
Pakistan’s foreign office said this week that the CFM will be a preparatory session for the Nov. 11 summit on Monday, which will be attended by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The Nov. 11 summit will be a follow-up to the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit held in November 2023 in Riyadh, the foreign office said.
“At the Summit, the prime minister will reiterate Pakistan’s full support to the Palestinian cause,” it said. “He will call for an immediate end to the genocide in Gaza; an urgent and unconditional ceasefire; immediate cessation of the ongoing Israeli adventurism in the region that is endangering the security of the countries in the Middle East.”
On the sidelines of the summit, Sharif is expected to hold bilateral meetings with leaders from other Arab League and OIC Member States.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan won the toss and elected to field first against Australia on Sunday as the South Asian country eyes a much-awaited ODI series victory against the world champions today.
Pakistan lost the three-match series opener on Nov. 4 against Australia in a close contest before coming back strongly on Friday to demolish the hosts in Adelaide by nine wickets.
Australia have rested veteran cricketers Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith for Sunday’s third ODI ahead of Australia’s Test series against India beginning later this month.
“Our team for the series decider” unchanged playing XI,” the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) wrote on social media platform Instagram.
Pakistani pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah struck early to deal Australia quick blows, removing the hosts’ opener Jake Fraser-McGurk and Aaron Hardie in the first 10 overs of the match.
Pakistan last won an ODI series against Australia in Australia in 2002. Their win against the Australian cricket team on Friday made it the first time since 2017 that the green shirts had beaten the opposition in an ODI at their backyard. PLAYING XI:
Australia: 1 Matt Short, 2 Jake Fraser-McGurk, 3 Aaron Hardie, 4 Josh Inglis (capt, wk), 5 Cooper Connolly, 6 Marcus Stoinis, 7 Glenn Maxwell, 8 Sean Abbott, 9 Adam Zampa, 10 Spencer Johnson, 11 Lance Morris
Pakistan: 1 Saim Ayub, 2 Abdullah Shafique, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Mohammad Rizwan (capt, wk), 5 Kamran Ghulam, 6 Salman Agha, 7 Irfan Khan, 8 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Mohammad Hasnain
QUETTA: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi this week resolved to eliminate the fresh surge in “terrorism” in the country after a bomb blast claimed by a separatist outfit in the country’s southwest killed at least 26 people on Saturday.
Officials said at least 26 people were killed and 64 injured on Saturday when a bomb blast struck a railway station in Pakistan’s southwestern city of Quetta.
The outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) group, the most prominent of militant groups in Balochistan, took responsibility for the attack, the deadliest since a string of coordinated attacks on Aug. 25-26 in which more than 50 people, civilians and security officials, were killed.
In a statement shared with the media, the BLA said its suicide unit, the Majeed Brigade, had carried out the bombing to target a “Pakistani army unit” returning via train after completing a course at an infantry school. The claim has not yet been confirmed by the Pakistani military.
“We must battle this terrorism together. Apart from the Balochistan government and the federation, the people of Pakistan have to fight against it too,” Naqvi told reporters in Quetta at a news conference with Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti by his side.
“And you will see, god willing as the chief minister said, we will eliminate this wave of terrorism.”
Passengers’ belongings are seen scattered on the platform after an explosion at a railway station in Quetta, in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, on November 9, 2024. (AFP)
The Pakistani minister reiterated that the federal government is standing by the Balochistan government and was providing full support to battle militancy in the country.
Later Pakistan Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir, Naqvi, Bugti and the governor of Balochistan attended funeral prayers for those who were killed in the Quetta Railway Station attack, the military’s media wing said.
Senior provincial ministers and a large number of military and civilian officials also took part in the funeral prayers at the Quetta Garrison before the deceased were laid to rest, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
People mourn the death of their relatives outside a hospital following a bomb blast at a railway station in Quetta, in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, on November 9, 2024. (AFP)
“COAS [chief of army staff] highlighted that terrorism will never be tolerated and reaffirmed the nation’s resolve and commitment toward eradicating the menace,” the ISPR said.
“COAS emphasized that this mission will be pursued with full national resolve and collective determination.”
Munir stressed that the fight against “terrorism” requires the support of all Pakistanis, along with the efforts of the military and civil institutions, to secure a peaceful and prosperous future for the country, the ISPR said. MILITANCY IN BALOCHISTAN
Balochistan is a resource-rich but impoverished province where separatist militants have been fighting a decades-long insurgency to win secession of the region. Insurgents say they are fighting what they see as the unfair exploitation of the province’s mineral and gas wealth by the federation at the center.
Blast victims get treatment in a hospital following an explosion at a railway station in Quetta, in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, on November 9, 2024. (AFP)
The Pakistani government and military deny they are exploiting Balochistan and have long maintained that neighbors such as India, Afghanistan and Iran foment trouble in the remote province and support and fund the insurgency there to impede its development potential. Balochistan is home to major China-led investment projects such as a strategic port and a gold and copper mine.
The rise of separatist attacks in Balochistan poses a major challenge for the weak coalition government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, which is battling an economic crisis and political instability as well as a rise in militant violence by both religiously motivated and separatist groups across the country.
People mourn the death of their relatives in a hospital following a bomb blast at a railway station in Quetta, in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, on November 9, 2024. (AFP)
Balochistan is also in the grips of civil rights protests by young ethnic Baloch who are calling for an end to what they describe as a pattern of enforced disappearances and other human rights abuses by security forces, who deny the charge.
ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Pakistan has inaugurated the Kingdom’s pavilion at a 10-day cultural show in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, which aims to promote national unity, folk heritage, and the culture and traditions of Pakistan’s various provinces and regions.
The annual Lok Mela festival began on November 8 and will continue till November 17, according to the Pakistan National Museum director and focal person of the 2024 fest, Anwaar-ul-Haq.
More than 500 artisans from across Pakistan are showcasing their skills at the festival, while many diplomatic missions, including those of Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Turkiye and Indonesia, are also presenting their cultures and arts at Lok Mela.
“The embassy also inaugurated its pavilion at the fair, which will highlight the special culture of the Kingdom during the fair,” the Saudi embassy said on Twitter.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong trade, defense and cultural ties. The Kingdom is home to over 2 million Pakistani expatriates and serves as a top source of remittances to the cash-strapped South Asian country.
Saudi Arabia has also often come to 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 forex reserves.
KARACHI: United Arab Emirates (UAE) Consul-General Dr. Bakheet Ateeq Al-Remeithi on Friday released green turtle hatchlings into the Arabian Sea off the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi, in a bid to spread awareness about their preservation
The endangered green turtles come to shore to lay eggs on beaches in Karachi and on uninhabited islands in the neighboring Balochistan province, however, increasing construction, noise and pollution and exhaust fumes in the port city have greatly threatened the species.
The provincial wildlife department of the Sindh province, which Karachi is a part of, on Friday arranged a ceremony to release these endangered hatchlings into the Arabian Sea, which was attended by the UAE consul-general and young school students.
“The departure of green turtle babies into the sea was a sight to behold. Pakistan’s beaches are rich in natural beauty, but some steps are necessary,” he told reporters.
“Visitors coming for recreation here must dispose of plastic shopping bags responsibly instead of throwing them away. These shopping bags are destroying the environment of green turtles.”
Female green turtles visit the coastal areas of Karachi for breeding from mid-August till mid-February every year, according to the Sindh wildlife department.
So far, 450 green turtles, up to one or two days old, have been released into the sea this season.
