You are here

  • Home
  • Russia calls Pakistan ‘natural ally’ in energy and economy, eyes August cargo rail link

Russia calls Pakistan ‘natural ally’ in energy and economy, eyes August cargo rail link

Russia calls Pakistan ‘natural ally’ in energy and economy, eyes August cargo rail link
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk (fourth from right) meets Pakistan's Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Foreign Affairs, Tariq Fatemi (fourth from left), and SAPM on Industries and Production, Haroon Akhtar Khan (third from left), in Moscow, Russia, on July 9, 2025. (@ForeignOfficePk/X)
Short Url

https://arab.news/j5fvv

Updated 10 July 2025
Follow

Russia calls Pakistan ‘natural ally’ in energy and economy, eyes August cargo rail link

Russia calls Pakistan ‘natural ally’ in energy and economy, eyes August cargo rail link
  • Pakistani delegation attends industrial fair, proposes regional rail corridor via Uzbekistan
  • Talks held on establishing new steel mill in Karachi as part of broader industrial cooperation
Updated 10 July 2025
Arab News Pakistan
Follow

ISLAMABAD: A top Russian official on Thursday described Pakistan as an “important partner” in the region’s economic and energy development and called the two countries “natural allies” during a meeting in Moscow, according to an official statement issued by the foreign office in Islamabad.

The remarks were made by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk during an interaction with Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Foreign Affairs, Tariq Fatemi, and SAPM on Industries and Production, Haroon Akhtar Khan.

The delegation is currently in Moscow it attend INNOPROM, Russia’s largest annual industrial trade fair, which brings together government delegations, business leaders and technology firms from over 30 countries to explore partnerships in manufacturing, engineering and high-tech industries.

During the meeting, the Pakistani official said relations with Russia remained a key foreign policy priority for Islamabad. Overchuk also recalled his visit to Pakistan last year to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit where he was hosted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

“Characterizing Pakistan and Russia as ‘natural allies’, he stressed that President [Vladimir] Putin considered Pakistan as an important partner in the growth and development of economy and energy in the region,” the foreign office said in a statement released after the meeting.

“He also highlighted the significance of important connectivity projects between two countries, such as the railway connectivity between Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Russia, and the launching of pilot cargo train between Pakistan and Russia in August 2025,” it added.

The two sides also discussed regional and international developments, including the situation in South Asia, Afghanistan and the Middle East. They reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation at multilateral forums.

Prime Minister Sharif’s adviser on industries and production highlighted the government’s investment-friendly policies and ongoing discussions on establishing a new steel mill in Karachi, describing it as a potential “leap forward” in Pakistan-Russia cooperation and a revival of a key legacy project.

Originally built in the 1970s with Soviet assistance, the Pakistan Steel Mills stood for national self-sufficiency for decades before becoming non-operational in 2015 due to prolonged financial mismanagement, political interference and mounting losses. Talks are now underway between the two countries to launch a new steel mill project in Karachi.

Welcoming the high-level visit, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk said President Putin remained committed to expanding cooperation with Islamabad across all major sectors.

He also conveyed that the Russian president looked forward to meeting the Pakistani prime minister on the sidelines of the upcoming SCO-Council of Heads of State summit in Tianjin, China, later this August.

Topics: Pakistan Russia Ties Innoprom International Trade Show Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk

Lahore tops global pollution charts as Pakistan’s smog crisis persists

Lahore tops global pollution charts as Pakistan’s smog crisis persists
Updated 03 November 2025
Follow

Lahore tops global pollution charts as Pakistan’s smog crisis persists

Lahore tops global pollution charts as Pakistan’s smog crisis persists
  • Punjab’s capital Lahore records Air Quality Index of 401, categorized as “hazardous” by Swiss monitoring group IQAir
  • Triggered by crop burning, vehicular emissions and industrial pollution, smog frequently envelopes Lahore during winters
Updated 03 November 2025
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Lahore once again topped global pollution charts on Monday, with toxic smog in the eastern Punjab province showing no signs of letting up.

Lahore and other plane areas of Pakistan’s Punjab province are prone to thick smog every winter as cold, heavy air traps construction dust, vehicle emissions and smoke. The smog crisis, which is spurred by crop burning, vehicle emissions and industrial pollution every winter, threatens public health and daily life.

According to Swiss monitoring group IQAir, Lahore topped the list of most polluted cities in the world on Monday around 10:00 am, with its Air Quality Index (AQI) measured at a “hazardous” level of 401. India’s capital Delhi followed behind at number two with an AQI of 262 while Pakistan’s commercial hub Karachi ranked at number four with an AQI of 165. 

Lahore recorded a PM2.5 of 276 µg/m³. The PM2.5 refers to floating particulate matter in the air measuring 2.5 micrometers in diameter or less that can be absorbed into the bloodstream upon inhalation.

“PM2.5 concentration is currently 55.2 times the World Health Organization annual PM2.5 guideline value,” IQAir said regarding the air quality in Lahore. 

Smog season begins in late October and peaks from November to January, lasting through February.

Earlier in October, the Punjab government conducted its first anti-smog gun operation, which helped lower the city’s unhealthy air quality levels. Anti-smog trucks sprayed fine water mist across the city to help settle dust and pollutants.

Smog can cause sore throats, eye irritation and respiratory illnesses, while long-term exposure increases the risk of stroke, heart disease and lung cancer. In the past, it has triggered lockdowns, hampered economic activities and resulted in the closures of schools and offices in Lahore and Punjab. 

Topics: Lahore smog WHO

Four-day international maritime expo kicks off in Pakistan’s Karachi

Four-day international maritime expo kicks off in Pakistan’s Karachi
Updated 40 min 44 sec ago
Follow

Four-day international maritime expo kicks off in Pakistan’s Karachi

Four-day international maritime expo kicks off in Pakistan’s Karachi
  • The Nov. 3-6 event will feature 178 exhibitors, delegates from Europe, Asia, Middle East, North and South America
  • Exhibition will provide opportunities to public and private sector to display products and develop business relationships
Updated 40 min 44 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The four-day Pakistan International Maritime Expo and Conference (PIMEC) 2025 kicked off in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi on Monday, with over 133 delegates from 44 countries attending as Islamabad aims to attract international investment in its maritime sector. 

The global exhibition’s second edition will run from Nov. 3 to 6 and will feature 178 exhibitors — including 28 international firms and 150 local organizations — as well as 133 delegates from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, North and South America. 

“The event will feature business-to-business and business-to-government meetings, MoU signing and an International Maritime Conference on ‘Harnessing Blue Economy Potential for Sustainable Development’,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported. 

Pakistan Navy’s Vice Admiral Muhammad Faisal Abbasi said on Saturday that PIMEC aimed to advance Pakistan’s blue economy roadmap. He added that officials and representatives from 44 countries, including the UK, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Türkiye, Egypt, China and Australia will also attend.

Pakistan’s state media said these high-level engagements among foreign delegates, senior government officials and maritime stakeholders are aimed at fostering collaboration and building partnerships across key maritime sectors including ports, shipping, fisheries and coastal development.

According to its website, PIMEC will provide opportunities to the maritime industry, both in the public and private sectors, to display products and develop business relationships. 

PIMEC says it intends to provide a platform to bring together stakeholders from diverse maritime industries of hydrocarbon extraction, coastal development and shipping port, infrastructure, fisheries, marine tourism, offshore renewable energy, aquaculture, seabed mining, marine biotechnology and others to exploit the ocean’s untapped resources. 

Topics: PIMEC 2025 Karachi Pakistan International Maritime Expo and Conference

Pakistan to demand Gaza truce implementation, Israeli troops withdrawal in Arab-Islamic moot today

Pakistan to demand Gaza truce implementation, Israeli troops withdrawal in Arab-Islamic moot today
Updated 03 November 2025
Follow

Pakistan to demand Gaza truce implementation, Israeli troops withdrawal in Arab-Islamic moot today

Pakistan to demand Gaza truce implementation, Israeli troops withdrawal in Arab-Islamic moot today
  • Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to represent Pakistan at summit in Istanbul
  • Meeting takes place over concerns of fragile ceasefire as Israel continues its strikes targeting Gaza
Updated 03 November 2025
Shahjahan Khurram

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will demand full implementation of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian territories as he undertakes a visit to Istanbul today, Monday, for the Coordination Meeting of Arab-Islamic Foreign Ministers, state media said. 

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Friday that the foreign ministers of some Muslim countries will meet in Istanbul on Monday to discuss the Gaza ceasefire and next steps in the territory. Fidan said the gathering would include foreign ministers of countries represented at a meeting with US President Donald Trump in New York in September to discuss the Gaza ceasefire. 

The meeting takes place amid renewed tensions in Gaza and concerns over whether the fragile ceasefire would persist. Palestinian health authorities say Israeli forces have killed 236 people in strikes on Gaza since the truce, which came into effect Oct. 10, nearly half of them in a single day last week when Israel retaliated for an attack on its troops. Israel says three of its soldiers have been killed and it has targeted scores of Hamas fighters.

“Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar will undertake a one-day visit to Istanbul today to attend the Coordination Meeting of Arab-Islamic Foreign Ministers,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported. 

“During the Istanbul meeting, Pakistan will emphasize the need for the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement, the complete Israeli withdrawal from the Occupied Palestinian Territory, especially Gaza, as well as the provision of unfettered humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians and the reconstruction of Gaza,” the statement added. 

The state media said Dar will also reiterate the need for collective efforts aimed at achieving “an independent, viable, and contiguous State of Palestine with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital” based on pre-1967 borders. 

“Pakistan has been, and will continue to be, committed to efforts to restore peace, justice, and dignity to the Palestinian people, as well as to ensure the realization of their right to self-determination,” it added. 

The US-backed ceasefire agreement halted two years of war in which Israel killed over 67,000 Palestinians, a lot of them women and children, since October 2023. Israel’s military operations in the narrow coastal strip have devastated it almost entirely, frequently targeting schools, hospitals and other civilian spaces in Gaza. 

Topics: Gaza Israel Pakistan Arab-Islamic moot

Afghanistan, Pakistan have been hit by a spate of quakes in recent years

Afghanistan, Pakistan have been hit by a spate of quakes in recent years
Updated 03 November 2025
Reuters
Follow

Afghanistan, Pakistan have been hit by a spate of quakes in recent years

Afghanistan, Pakistan have been hit by a spate of quakes in recent years
  • A 6.3-magnitude earthquake strikes near Mazar-e-Sharif city in Afghanistan, killing 7 and injuring about 150 people 
  • Afghanistan-Pakistan region, which experiences frequent quakes, lies at intersection of Indian, Eurasian tectonic plates
Updated 03 November 2025
Reuters

A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck near the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif early on Monday, killing at least seven people and injuring about 150, just months after a quake and strong aftershocks killed more than 2,200 people at the end of August.

Here are some recent quakes in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region which lies at the intersection of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.

2025

A magnitude 6.2 quake struck southeastern Afghanistan just before midnight on August 31. It was followed by a series of strong aftershocks over the next week, killing more than 2,200 people and injuring thousands.

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck central Pakistan on June 29.

A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck Pakistan on May 10, the European Mediterranean Seismological Center said.

Quakes of magnitude 5.6 and 5.8 hit the Hindu Kush and Afghanistan-Tajikistan border regions on April 16 and 19, respectively.

A magnitude 5 earthquake struck Pakistan on April 12.

Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi was hit by several moderate or minor tremors in March and June.

2024

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake hit the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan on October 17.

An earthquake of magnitude 5.75 struck Pakistan on September 11.

Earthquakes of magnitude 5.5 and 5.8 struck Pakistan between March 19 and March 20.

An earthquake of magnitude 5.5 hit northwestern Kashmir on February 19.

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan on January 11.

A magnitude 5 earthquake hit the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border region on January 5.

2023

An earthquake of magnitude 5.3 hit the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border region on November 15.

Around 1,000 people died as multiple earthquakes rattled Afghanistan in October.

On August 6, an earthquake of magnitude 5.1 hit the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border.

Earthquakes of magnitude 5.6 and 5.7 hit the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan on May 3 and on August 5, respectively.

An earthquake of magnitude 6.5 hit northern Afghanistan in late March, killing at least 13.

A magnitude 5.8 earthquake hit the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan on January 5.

2022

An earthquake of magnitude 4.3 hit southeastern Afghanistan on December 16.

Over September 5 and 6, at least two earthquakes struck Afghanistan, killing at least eight people.

A magnitude 5.6 quake struck Pakistan’s southwestern region on August 1.

A magnitude 6 earthquake in Afghanistan killed more than 1,000 people in June.

A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan on February 5.

An earthquake of magnitude 5.6 hit western Afghanistan on January 17.

2021

At least 15 people were killed after an earthquake struck southern Pakistan on October 7.

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake shook Afghanistan on May 19.

Topics: earthquake Pakistan Afghanistan

Pakistan eyes 2026 launch for first Chinese submarine in $5 billion arms deal

Pakistan eyes 2026 launch for first Chinese submarine in $5 billion arms deal
Updated 03 November 2025
Reuters
Follow

Pakistan eyes 2026 launch for first Chinese submarine in $5 billion arms deal

Pakistan eyes 2026 launch for first Chinese submarine in $5 billion arms deal
  • Under terms of $5 billion arms deal, first four attack submarines will be built in China while others will be assembled in Pakistan
  • Pakistan has already launched three of the submarines into China’s Yangtze River from a shipyard in the central province of Hube
Updated 03 November 2025
Reuters

BEIJING: The Pakistan Navy expects its first Chinese-designed submarine to enter active service next year, the country’s top admiral told Chinese state media, bolstering Beijing’s bid to counter regional rival India and project power toward the Middle East.

A deal under which Islamabad will take delivery of eight Hangor-class submarines by 2028 is “progressing smoothly,” Admiral Naveed Ashraf told the Global Times in an interview published on Sunday, adding the submarines would boost Pakistan’s ability to patrol the North Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean.

The update on the Chinese submarine deal follows Pakistan’s air force using Chinese-made J-10 fighter jets in May to shoot down an Indian Air Force Rafale aircraft, made by France.

The altercation between the nuclear-armed neighbors surprised many in the military community and raised questions over the superiority of Western hardware over Chinese alternatives.

Under the terms of the submarine agreement — reportedly worth up to $5 billion — the first four diesel-electric attack submarines will be built in China, with the remaining vessels assembled in Pakistan to improve the South Asian nation’s technical capabilities.

Pakistan has already launched three of the submarines into China’s Yangtze River from a shipyard in the central province of Hubei.

“Chinese-origin platforms and equipment have been reliable, technologically advanced and well-suited to Pakistan Navy’s operational requirements,” Ashraf told the tabloid, which is published by the ruling Communist Party’s People’s Daily.

“As modern warfare evolves, emerging technologies such as unmanned systems, AI and advanced electronic warfare systems are becoming increasingly important. The Pakistan Navy is focusing on these technologies and exploring collaboration with China,” Ashraf was also quoted as saying.

Islamabad has long been Beijing’s top arms customer, and over the 2020-2024 period bought over 60 percent of China’s weapons exports, data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute shows.

BILLION-DOLLAR BUILD UP

Along with billions in arms sales, Beijing has heavily invested in building out its connections to the Arabian Sea through a 3,000 km (1864.11 miles) economic corridor stretching from China’s Xinjiang to Pakistan’s deep-water port of Gwadar.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, part of President Xi Jinping’s flagship ‘Belt and Road’ infrastructure initiative, aims to secure a route for the world’s largest energy importer to bring in supplies from the Middle East, bypassing the Straits of Malacca — a strategic chokepoint between Malaysia and Indonesia that could be blocked in wartime.

The initiative also extends China’s sphere of influence toward Afghanistan and Iran and onto Central Asia, and effectively encircles India, given Beijing’s ties to the junta in Myanmar and good relations with Bangladesh.

India currently operates three indigenously developed nuclear-powered submarines, along with three classes of diesel-electric attack submarines acquired or developed over decades with France, Germany, and Russia.

“This cooperation (with China) goes beyond hardware; it reflects a shared strategic outlook, mutual trust, and a long-standing partnership,” Ashraf said.

“In the coming decade, we expect this relationship to grow, encompassing not only shipbuilding and training, but also enhanced interoperability, research, technology sharing and industrial collaboration.” 

Topics: Pakistan China Ties Chinese submarine arms deal Pakistan Navy Hangor-class submarine

Latest updates

Thousands evacuated as typhoon bears down on Philippines

Thousands evacuated as typhoon bears down on Philippines

Saudi stars join film masterclass in Jeddah

Saudi stars join film masterclass in Jeddah

Xi Jinping jokes about spying with Chinese phone gift for South Korea’s Lee Jae Myung

Xi Jinping jokes about spying with Chinese phone gift for South Korea’s Lee Jae Myung

Thunder roll over Pelicans to remain NBA’s lone unbeaten team

Thunder roll over Pelicans to remain NBA’s lone unbeaten team

Trump administration faces deadline to tell judges whether it will use contingency funds for SNAP

Trump administration faces deadline to tell judges whether it will use contingency funds for SNAP

Search form

Print Edition
Read pdf version Subscribe now
© 2025 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.

Change Preferred Languages

Select Your Preferred Languages

Tap to add languages one at a time (Maximum 5)

Selected: 0/5
Tap to add languages...

We are now in 50 languages

Please login or register with your email to select your preferred languages