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Pakistan calls for direct flights to Russia amid push for increased connectivity

Pakistan calls for direct flights to Russia amid push for increased connectivity
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, 2nd left, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, 3rd left, walk prior to their meeting on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of Governments Summit in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (Alexander Miridonov, Sputnik, Government Pool Photo via AP)
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Updated 16 October 2024
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Pakistan calls for direct flights to Russia amid push for increased connectivity

Pakistan calls for direct flights to Russia amid push for increased connectivity
  • Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif meets Russia counterpart at SCO summit’s sidelines in Pakistan’s capital 
  • Islamabad has been eyeing increased connectivity with Central Asian states, Russia for economic progress
Updated 16 October 2024
Arab News Pakistan
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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday expressed the need for direct flights between Pakistan and Russia to enhance connectivity between the two states, his office said, as Islamabad warms up to regional countries in a bid to improve its economic prospects. 

Pakistan has recently pushed for enhanced regional connectivity with Central Asian countries and Russia in its bid to unlock mutual economic opportunities, particularly in energy, trade and infrastructure. The South Asian country hopes it can tap into its tourism potential and use its strategic geographical location to improve trade and cooperation with Russia and other states as it fights to ward off a prolonged economic crisis. 

Sharif met Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit of the Heads of Government in Islamabad on Oct. 16. Both leaders discussed bilateral ties and economic prospects, Sharif’s office said. 

“He (Sharif) also emphasized the need for direct flights between Russia and Pakistan for enhanced connectivity between the two countries,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement. 

The two premiers noted the positive momentum in Pakistan-Russia ties over the past two decades. Sharif and Mishustin spoke about bilateral cooperation and agreed to pursue “robust dialogue” and cooperation in trade, industry, energy, connectivity, science, technology and education sectors, the PMO said. 

Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to strengthen political, economic, and defense ties with Russia. The two leaders also agreed to enhance cooperation at different international forums, including the United Nations and SCO. 

COLD WAR RIVALS

Pakistan and Russia, once Cold War rivals, have warmed up to each other in recent years through regular business and trade interactions. 

Islamabad’s ties with Russia also saw a significant improvement in 2023 after Pakistan started purchasing Russian crude oil at a discount rate. The development came after geopolitical tensions almost doubled the fuel prices in Pakistan, forcing the South Asian country to opt for cheaper sources of fuel.

Last week, Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari met Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of an international forum in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, where they pledged to further strengthen bilateral ties.

In September, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk visited Islamabad on a brief visit, seeking to expand trade and investment ties with Pakistan.

Topics: Pakistan Russia Ties

Pakistan says Modi’s ‘weaponizing’ of water against international norms, its own global ambitions

Pakistan says Modi’s ‘weaponizing’ of water against international norms, its own global ambitions
Updated 9 sec ago
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Pakistan says Modi’s ‘weaponizing’ of water against international norms, its own global ambitions

Pakistan says Modi’s ‘weaponizing’ of water against international norms, its own global ambitions
  • Modi has upped rhetoric in standoff over water access triggered by militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir 
  • Pakistan has said any attempt by India to stop or block the flow of its waters would be seen as an “act of war“
Updated 9 sec ago
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Office said on Thursday Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s most recent remarks “weaponizing” the waters of the Indus river were against international norms and exposed the “stark contrast” between India’s conduct in the region and its declared global ambitions.

Modi on Tuesday upped the rhetoric in a standoff over water access triggered by a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in April in which 26 tourists were killed. New Delhi said Islamabad was behind the attack — a charge it denies — and announced a raft of punitive measures including unilaterally suspending the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty. 

Any move to stop Pakistan accessing the water would have a devastating impact. The Indus treaty, negotiated by the World Bank in 1960, guarantees water for 80 percent of Pakistan’s farms from three rivers that flow from India.

The nuclear-armed neighbors have already clashed in their worst military fighting in nearly three decades before agreeing to a ceasefire on May 10.

“His [Modi] references to weaponizing water, a shared, treaty-bound resource, reflect a troubling departure from international norms and a stark contrast between India’s conduct in the region and its declared global ambitions,” the foreign office said in a statement. 

“Pakistan urges India to return to the core principles of international order including respect for sovereign rights of others and its treaty obligations, as well as restraint in both language and action.”

The foreign office said such “jingoism” by Modi would undermine long-term peace and stability. 

“India’s youth, often the first casualty of chauvinistic nationalism, would do well to reject the politics of fear and instead work toward a future defined by dignity, reason, and regional cooperation.” 

Modi on Tuesday amplified the resolve to use water from the Indus river system for India, saying provisions of the “badly negotiated” Indus Waters Treaty were prejudicial to the interests of the country and did not even let it use the waters earmarked for it. 

Calling out “decades of silence” over the treaty, he said it had left Indian-administered Kashmir’s dams clogged and crippled. 

Pakistan’s Attorney General, Mansoor Usman Awan, said earlier this month India had written to Pakistan in recent weeks citing population growth and clean energy needs as reasons to modify the treaty. But he said any discussions would have to take place under the terms of the treaty.

Islamabad maintains the treaty is legally binding and no party can unilaterally suspend it, Awan said.

“As far as Pakistan is concerned, the treaty is very much operational, functional, and anything which India does, it does at its own cost and peril as far as the building of any hydroelectric power projects are concerned,” Awan told Reuters.

India and Pakistan have shared a troubled relationship since they were carved out of British India in 1947, and have fought three wars, two of them over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which they both claim in full but rule in part.

India accuses Islamabad of backing separatists in Kashmir, a claim it denies, in turn accusing New Delhi of backing separatist and other insurgents in Pakistan. 

Topics: Pakistan India Ties

Pakistan Council of Islamic Ideology declares bill to criminalize child marriages ‘un-Islamic’

Pakistan Council of Islamic Ideology declares bill to criminalize child marriages ‘un-Islamic’
Updated 28 May 2025
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Pakistan Council of Islamic Ideology declares bill to criminalize child marriages ‘un-Islamic’

Pakistan Council of Islamic Ideology declares bill to criminalize child marriages ‘un-Islamic’
  • Under new law, minimum age for marriage is 18 for both men and women in the federal capital 
  • Prison terms of up to seven years introduced for people who facilitate or coerce children into early marriages
Updated 28 May 2025
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: A constitutional council that advises the Pakistani government on the compatibility of laws with Islam has this week declared a landmark bill to criminalize child marriages in the federal capital of Islamabad as being “un-Islamic.”

The National Assembly on Friday unanimously passed the Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Bill to curb child marriages and protect girls from becoming mothers in their teens. The bill, tabled by MNA Sharmila Faruqui, will be signed into law by the president in the coming days and replace legislation introduced during British colonial rule.

Under the new law, the minimum age for marriage is 18 for both men and women in Islamabad where underage marriage will now be considered a criminal offense. Previously, the minimum age was 16 for girls and 18 for boys. Up to seven years in prison has been introduced among other punishments for people, including family members, clerics and registrars, who facilitate or coerce children into early marriage. Any sexual relations within a marriage involving a minor, with or without consent, will be deemed statutory rape, while an adult man found to have married a girl could face up to three years in prison.

“The bill introduced by Madam Sharmila Faruqi … has been declared un-Islamic,” the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) said in a statement issued by its media wing after the body held its 243rd session on May 27–28 at its headquarters in Islamabad.

Clauses of the bill, such as fixing the age limit for marriage and declaring marriage below the age of 18 as child abuse and punishable, do not conform with Islamic injunctions, the CII said.

In Pakistan, 29 percent of girls are married by 18 , according to a 2018 demographic survey, and 4 percent marry before the age of 15 compared with 5 percent for boys, according to Girls Not Brides, a global coalition aiming to end child marriage. The country is among the top 10 worldwide with the highest absolute number of women who were married or in a union before the age of 18.

Girls who marry are less likely to finish school and are more likely to face domestic violence, abuse and health problems. Pregnancies become higher risk for child brides, with a greater chance of fistulas, sexually transmitted infections or even death. Teenagers are more likely to die from complications during childbirth than women in their 20s.

Topics: Child Marriage Act

Builders say without tax cuts in budget, capital flight to Gulf, Western real estate to continue 

Builders say without tax cuts in budget, capital flight to Gulf, Western real estate to continue 
Updated 45 min 5 sec ago
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Builders say without tax cuts in budget, capital flight to Gulf, Western real estate to continue 

Builders say without tax cuts in budget, capital flight to Gulf, Western real estate to continue 
  • Association of Builders says capital flight to reach $30 billion by 2028 unless taxes on construction industry rationalized 
  • Capital flight driven by high transaction taxes, economic uncertainty, more favorable taxes, higher returns in foreign markets
Updated 45 min 5 sec ago
Ismail Dilawar

KARACHI: The flight of capital from Pakistan to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the UK and other investor-friendly nations could rise to $30 billion in the next five years if the government failed to rationalize taxes on the construction industry in the FY26 budget next month, builders and developers said this week.

The outflow of capital from Pakistan is driven by factors like high transaction taxes, economic uncertainty, and the perception of a more favorable tax environment and higher returns in international markets. This trend is particularly pronounced in the UAE, where Pakistani investors have made significant investments in real estate. 

Pakistan’s tax policy on real estate has been criticized for being high compared to regional and international benchmarks while countries like the UAE offer lower tax rates and more attractive returns on real estate investments. Political and economic instability in Pakistan have also discouraged investment and led to capital flight as investors seek safer, more stable markets. 

Pakistan’s construction industry, with its 10 million skilled and unskilled employees, is the second biggest employer after agriculture but its contribution to the gross domestic product has declined more than six percent to 2.6 percent in the last four years.

“Unfortunately, due to the prevailing economic conditions in Pakistan, a lot of builders and developers have already transferred their money out of Pakistan and are constructing projects in UAE, Saudi Arabia and other countries,” Mohammad Hassan Bakhshi, chairman Association of Builders and Developers of Pakistan (ABAD), told Arab News in an interview in Karachi.

In Pakistan, housing is a heavily-taxed industry, with taxes ranging from as much as 40 percent property transfer tax to 60 percent levy on builders and developers earning more than Rs 150 billion ($532 million).

These taxes are “too high,” the ABAD chairman said, suggesting that the property transfer tax be reduced to five or six percent.

By 2022, Pakistanis had invested $12 billion in the UAE, which was expected to increase to $25 billion this year and $30 billion by 2030, said Bakhshi, citing data from the Federal Board of Revenue, the state tax collector.

“Big builders and developers of Pakistan have already shifted or are in process of shifting their capital, their investment,” and entrepreneurship skills to Saudi Arabia, Dubai, the US and UK, the ABAD chief added. 

Pakistan’s construction industry has Rs 90 trillion ($319 billion) cash capitalization, 10 times bigger than Pakistan Stock Exchange’s Rs 10 trillion ($35 billion). The size of Pakistan’s total budget for FY26 is expected to be Rs 17 trillion, according to local media reports.

“OPTIMISTIC”

Pakistan, the world’s fifth most populous nation, is facing a 12 million housing shortage that industry stakeholders say can be turned into an opportunity by the government to create economic activity and spur growth.

Arshad Mehmood Awan, an Islamabad-based real estate professional and CEO of Homy Properties, said the government could reduce the shortage of residential units by launching affordable housing projects and making bank loans accessible online in the new budget.

“Regarding housing finance, we are expecting the government to devise a strategy, a plan that would enable the common man to easily avail housing finance from banks,” Awan told Arab News.

Arif Habib, the chairman of Arif Habib Group, said he was “optimistic” about the new budget, saying premier Shehbaz Sharif had formed a task force to develop proposals for the housing market.

The government, he said, had decided to withdraw excise duty and was considering reducing some advanced taxes as well.

“Then the most important aspect of this real estate market is the mortgage financing availability,” Habib told Arab News in an interview, saying the government’s task force was recommending proposals to encourage mortgage financing given that inflation had eased to a record low.

“In the past, because of the high inflation, people didn’t have enough disposable income to buy real estate,” Habib said. 

“But now I believe, with the positive sentiment in the country, the Pakistani diaspora would also be attracted to the Pakistani market because they prefer to buy houses here for their families and for their future. So I believe after the budget, this [real estate] sector will also be active.”

More than half of the 10 million overseas Pakistanis who are expected to remit a record $38 billion this year wanted to invest in the country’s real estate sector, ABAD’s Bakhshi added. 

Topics: real estate Budget 2025

PM Sharif to attend Pakistan-Turkiye-Azerbaijan trilateral summit today

PM Sharif to attend Pakistan-Turkiye-Azerbaijan trilateral summit today
Updated 28 May 2025
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PM Sharif to attend Pakistan-Turkiye-Azerbaijan trilateral summit today

PM Sharif to attend Pakistan-Turkiye-Azerbaijan trilateral summit today
  • Pakistani PM is on regional diplomacy tour to Iran, Turkiye, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan 
  • Turkiye, Azerbaijan openly pledged support for Pakistan during latest India conflict 
Updated 28 May 2025
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is in Azerbaijan on the third stopover of a five-day regional diplomacy tour that also saw him visit Iran and Turkiye, and will today, Wednesday, attend a Pakistan-Turkiye-Azerbaijan trilateral summit, the foreign office said. 

Turkiye and Azerbaijan had openly pledged support for Pakistan during its latest military confrontation with archrival India earlier this month while Iran had urged restraint and also offered to mediate. 

“Sharif will attend the Pakistan-Turkiye-Azerbaijan Trilateral Meeting,” the foreign office said, releasing the PM’s schedule. 

“The Prime Minister, along with the Presidents of Turkiye and Azerbaijan, will also attend a ceremony to mark Azerbaijan’s Independence Day, which the Prime Minister will also address.”

Pakistan and Azerbaijan have strengthened ties in recent years through defense and energy cooperation and Baku has supported Islamabad’s position on the Kashmir dispute with India at international forums.

Islamabad has also offered Azerbaijan access to its seaports to facilitate trade with global markets and promoted regional connectivity initiatives linking Central Asia to South Asia.

On Tuesday, Sharif met the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and thanked his country for its “steadfast support” during the standoff with India, the worst conflict in decades between the nuclear-armed neighbors.

The four-day military escalation saw Pakistan and India launch missiles and drones deep into each other’s territories and exchange gunfire on their de facto border, the Line of Control, until a ceasefire was announced on May 10. Nearly 70 people combined were killed on both sides of the border. 

Before Azerbaijan, Sharif went to Iran where he held meetings with President Masoud Pezeshkian and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 

At a joint press stakeout with the Iranian president, Sharif made a peace offer to India, saying Pakistan was ready for talks on contentious issues including Kashmir, water-sharing and countering terrorism.

At the start of his regional visit, Sharif met Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul and thanked him for Ankara’s strong backing during the conflict with India. 

The two leaders also discussed expanding cooperation in defense production, energy, IT, agriculture and infrastructure and agreed to pursue a bilateral trade target of $5 billion, building on commitments made during the 7th High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council held in Islamabad earlier this year.

Topics: pakistan azerbaijan ties Pakistan Turkiye ties

Pakistan and Bangladesh begin T20I series today

Pakistan and Bangladesh begin T20I series today
Updated 28 May 2025
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Pakistan and Bangladesh begin T20I series today

Pakistan and Bangladesh begin T20I series today
  • 2009 world champions Pakistan have endured significant downturn in last 12 months, crashed out in first round of World Cup in 2024
  • Bangladesh, ranked ninth, have won just four of last 12 T20Is, lost series against lower-ranked US last year and UAE earlier this month
Updated 28 May 2025
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan are all set to take on Bangladesh in a three-match T20I series commencing from today, Wednesday, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a statement. 

The second T20I will be held on Friday, May 30, while the third and final T20I of the series is scheduled on June 1.

Salman Ali Agha will lead Pakistan, while Litton Das will captain Bangladesh. All three T20Is will be played at Lahore’s Qaddafi Stadium, which will host its first T20I series after going through a complete renovation earlier this year.

“The boys are doing well as a unit. A lot of our players are coming off strong performances in the HBL PSL X, which is one of the most competitive T20 tournaments in the world. That form and momentum are something we are hoping to carry into this series,” Agha was quoted as saying in a PCB statement. 

“Bangladesh are a quality side with talented players and we are expecting a good challenge from them. I believe fans are in for some thrilling cricket over the next few days.”

Das, the Bangladesh captain, said his team was “focused and understands the challenge Pakistan poses, especially in their home conditions.”

“This series is a great opportunity for every player to step up. We are trying a few combinations in the build-up to the T20 World Cup next year and this tour is a valuable part of that process,” the PCB statement quoted Das as saying. 

The 2009 world champions Pakistan have endured a significant downturn in the last 12 months and crashed out in the first round of the World Cup in 2024.

They have won only three of their last 13 T20Is, two against minnows Zimbabwe, and slumped to eighth in the T20I rankings.

With a new head coach in New Zealand’s Mike Hesson they are looking to younger players with the World Cup in India and Sri Lanka just eight months away.

Star batsmen Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, and pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi, have all been axed.

Salman Agha will lead the side, having lost a series in New Zealand 4-1 two months ago.

Bangladesh, ranked ninth, are in the same boat.

They have won just four of their last 12 T20Is and lost series against lower-ranked United States (2024) and United Arab Emirates earlier this month.

They also have a new coach in West Indian Phil Simmons, who will be missing senior players including Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim, all either fully retired or from the T20Is.

Frontline fast bowlers Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman are nursing injuries while new pace sensation Nahid Rana withdrew from the tour over security fears following the cross-border conflict between India and Pakistan.

With inputs from AFP

Topics: Pakistan v Bangladesh

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