ISLAMABAD: A United Arab Emirates-based multinational logistics company has decided to appoint a Pakistani celebrity, Fakhar-e-Alam, as vice chairman to spearhead a “multibillion-dollar investment strategy” in the South Asian state, said a statement circulated by the organization earlier this week.
It added that Alam, a longtime UAE resident, had been working closely with DP World since last year’s devastating floods in Pakistan, adding the company made a donation of $2.5 million to help the survivors of the natural calamity due to his efforts.
“I am deeply honored and most grateful to His Highness Sheikh Mohammad [bin Rashid Al Maktoum] the ruler of Dubai, His Excellency Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem and the leadership of DP World to give me this opportunity,” the statement quoted the Pakistani celebrity as saying.
“I look forward to building newer [and] stronger economic bridges between the UAE and Pakistan and beyond,” he continued. “The challenges that Pakistan is faced with require out of the box thinking and a much more progressive approach towards investors like DP World.”
Alam maintained it was possible to create great value and wealth that would ultimately benefit Pakistanis and help grow trade in the entire region.
DP World is said to be “the crown jewel enterprise of Dubai” which is currently valued at about $90 billion. The company’s core business has also facilitated global trade flow.
The statement said DP World’s “global dominance” was growing at a rapid pace as it had been winning bids, creating new partnerships, and adding greater value to its industry.
DP World appoints Pakistani vice chairman to spearhead 'multibillion-dollar investment strategy'
https://arab.news/97t7f
DP World appoints Pakistani vice chairman to spearhead 'multibillion-dollar investment strategy'
- Well-known celebrity Fakhar-e-Alam has been working with UAE firm since last year’s devastating floods
- Says looking forward to building stronger economic bridges between the "UAE and Pakistan and beyond"
IMF to wait for ‘findings’ of mission in Pakistan for further engagement with Islamabad — spokesperson
- An IMF team this week met top Pakistani officials in Islamabad to kickstart discussions on a fresh bailout
- The cash-strapped South Asian country is expected to seek around $7-8 billion bailout from the global lender
KARACHI: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday said it would wait for findings of its mission, currently holding talks in Islamabad, for further engagement with Pakistan, which seeks a fresh bailout from the global lender.
The South Asian country, which has been facing low foreign exchange reserves, currency devaluation and high inflation, last month completed a short-term $3 billion IMF program that helped stave off a sovereign default, but the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has stressed the need for a fresh, longer-term program.
While Islamabad has said it expects a staff-level agreement by July, both Pakistani and IMF officials have refrained from commenting on the size of the program. The South Asian country is expected to seek around $7-8 billion bailout from the global lender.
An IMF team, led by Mission Chief Nathan Porter, this week met Pakistan Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, central bank governor, chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue and other officials in Islamabad to kickstart discussions on the country’s further engagement with the lender.
“Right now, a mission team led by Nathan Porter, our Mission Chief, is meeting with the authorities this week to discuss the next phase of our engagement with Pakistan,” IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack said at a press briefing on Thursday, when asked about the status of talks with Pakistan.
“Given that there is a mission on the ground, we will wait for them to complete their work and we will communicate the findings of the mission in due course.”
Pakistan narrowly averted a default last summer and its $350 billion economy has slightly stabilized after the completion of the last IMF program, with inflation coming down to around 17 percent in April from a record high of 38 percent in May last year.
However, the South Asian country is still dealing with a high fiscal shortfall and while it has controlled its external account deficit through import control mechanisms, it has come at the expense of stagnating growth, which is expected to be around 2 percent this year, compared to negative growth last year.
Wall Street Bank Citi expects Pakistan to reach an agreement with the IMF of up to $8 billion program by end-July, and recommends going long on the country’s 2027 international bond.
“While longer-term challenges pertain, we see several positive catalysts supporting the Eurobonds,” Nikola Apostolov at Citi wrote in a note to clients.
“First, a larger and longer IMF EFF (Extended Fund Facility) program could be finalized by July – possibly a $7-8 billion 4-year program and secondly and a possible inflow of Saudi investments,” Apostolov said after a team from Citi visited Pakistan and met policymakers, including Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.
Citi said it expected Pakistan’s international 2027 bond to offer a sweet spot to investors with sufficient liquidity and large upside as risks of default dissipate further.
A look at high-profile political assassinations and attempts this century
- An apparent assassination attempt on Slovakia’s prime minister Robert Fico rocked the small country and the rest of Europe on Thursday
- In 2007, Pakistan lost its first female prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, in a gun and bomb attack at a rally in the garrison city of Rawalpindi
Slovakia’s prime minister Robert Fico was gravely injured in an apparent assassination attempt that rocked the small country and the rest of Europe just weeks before an election.
Here’s a global look at other notable political assassinations and attempts during the 21st century:
— Sept. 1, 2022: Argentina’s then-Vice President Cristina Fernández is targeted by a man who reportedly aimed a handgun at point-blank range toward the politician in what government ministers characterize as an assassination attempt.
— July 8, 2022: Japanese former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is assassinated by a gunman who opened fire on him as he delivered a campaign speech on a street in western Japan.
— Nov. 6, 2021: Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi survives an assassination attempt when two armed drones target his residence in Baghdad’s Green Zone area. While Al-Kadhimi is uninjured, seven of his security guards are injured in the attack.
— Oct. 15, 2021: British lawmaker David Amess is stabbed to death by a Daesh supporter while meeting with voters.
— July 7, 2021: Haitian President Jovenel Moïse is assassinated by gunmen in an overnight raid on his Port-au-Prince home. His widow, Martine, ex-prime minister Claude Joseph and the former chief of Haiti’s National Police, Léon Charles, among others, are indicted in his killing in February 2024.
— April 20, 2021: Chad President Idriss Deby Itno is killed while battling rebels in the north. Hours earlier he had been declared the winner of an election that would have given him another six years in power.
— Aug. 4, 2018: Drones armed with explosives detonate near Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in an apparent assassination attempt while he is delivering a speech to hundreds of soldiers being broadcast live on television. Six people are later arrested in connection with the attack.
— Dec. 19, 2016: Russia’s ambassador to Turkiye Andrei Karlov is shot dead by a Turkish policeman shouting condemnation of Russia’s military role in Syria, in front of a shocked gathering at a photo exhibit. The gunman was later killed in a shootout with police.
— July 15, 2016: A group of Turkish soldiers using tanks, warplanes and helicopters launch a plot to overthrow Turkiye’s president and government. The coup attempt fails. One year later, 40 people are sentenced to life in prison after being convicted on charges that include attempting to kill President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
— June 16, 2016: British lawmaker Jo Cox is shot and stabbed to death by a far-right supporter in the English village of Birstall, part of her constituency.
— Feb. 6, 2013: Tunisian left-wing opposition leader Chokri Belaid is fatally shot outside his Tunis home. His killing — followed six months later by that of another left-wing leader, Mohammed Brahmi — plunged Tunisia into political chaos. Four people are sentenced to death and two others to life in prison in March 2024 for their roles in his death.
— Oct. 20, 2011: Longtime Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi is hunted and summarily killed by insurgents after being toppled in a NATO-backed uprising.
— Jan. 8, 2011: US Rep. Gabrielle Giffords survives an assassination attempt after being shot by a man in an Arizona grocery store parking lot while meeting with constituents. Giffords’ injuries are so significant that she has to re-learn how to walk and talk. The attack kills six other people and wounds 11 more.
— March 2, 2009: Guinea-Bissau President Joao Bernardo Vieira is killed by renegade soldiers in his palace, hours after a bomb blast killed his rival in the West African nation.
— December 27, 2007: Benazir Bhutto, the first female prime minister in a Muslim-majority country as well as Pakistan’s second nationally elected prime minister, is shot at and then fatally attacked by a suicide bomber at a political rally in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
— Feb. 14, 2005: Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is killed by a suicide truck bomb on a seaside boulevard in Beirut. Another 21 people die and 226 are wounded in the attack, which is seen by many in Lebanon as the work of neighboring Syria.
— March 12, 2003: Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic is shot dead in front of the Serbian government headquarters in Belgrade. He was a key leader of the revolt that toppled former President Slobodan Milosevic in October 2000. Twelve people were later convicted in connection with the killing, which was carried out to halt his pro-Western reforms, according to a Serbian court ruling.
— July 2, 2002: French President Jacques Chirac survives an assassination attempt by a far-right right supporter who shoots at him and misses during Bastille Day celebrations on Paris’ Champs-Elysees. Chirac is uninjured.
— May 6, 2002: Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn is gunned down in a northern Netherlands city, days before a general election in which he was a candidate, by an animal rights activist.
— June 1, 2001: Nepal’s King Birendra is killed when his son, Crown Prince Dipendra, opens fire on his family in the royal palace. The dead include Queen Aiswarya, a prince and five others. Officials said the shooting followed a dispute over the prince’s marriage.
— Jan. 18, 2001: Congo President Laurent Kabila is assassinated in the presidential palace in the capital, Kinshasa, by one of his bodyguards, who is killed minutes later by security forces.
Pakistan establishes two hospitals, ten dispensaries in Makkah and Madinah for Hajj pilgrims
- Pakistan Hajj official says over 400 doctors and paramedics will serve pilgrims during Hajj 2024
- Over 16,000 Hajj pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia weeks before Islamic pilgrimage starts
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has established two hospitals and 10 dispensaries in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah to provide health care for Hajj pilgrims, the head of the country’s medical mission in Saudi Arabia confirmed on Thursday, as hundreds of pilgrims arrive daily in the Kingdom ahead of the annual Islamic pilgrimage.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) has confirmed that more than 16,000 pilgrims from the country have arrived in Saudi Arabia weeks before Hajj 2024 begins.
This year, 179,210 Pakistanis will perform Hajj under government and private schemes. Pakistan kicked off a month-long flight operation last week, with five airlines— PIA, Saudi Airlines, Airblue, Serene Air, and Air Sial— operating 259 flights from eight major Pakistani cities to Jeddah and Madinah until June 9.
“We have established two main hospitals and ten dispensaries in Makkah and Madinah,” Brig. Jamil Lakhiar, the director of Pakistan’s Hajj Medical Mission, told Arab News from Madinah.
“One main hospital and eight dispensaries are in Makkah, while one hospital and two dispensaries are in Madinah,” he shared.
He said Pakistani pilgrims’ residences in Makkah have been divided into nine zones. One zone has the main hospital in it while each of the remaining eight zones have a dispensary each.
Lakhiar said around 400 doctors and paramedics have been selected this year for the Hajj Medical Mission, who were gradually arriving in Saudi Arabia with pilgrims to perform their duties.
The Pakistani official said members of the medical mission were selected by the religion ministry on a pre-defined formula based on merit. He said the mission comprised 70 percent of civilians while 30 percent were selected from the armed forces.
“At the hospitals, we have specialists including cardiologists, gynecologists, pediatricians, pulmonologists, dentists, and others,” Lakhiar said. He said both hospitals were equipped with X-ray, ultrasound, and lab testing facilities where minor procedures could be performed.
He said patients suffering from serious ailments are referred to Saudi hospitals for further treatment.
“In every dispensary, one doctor, two paramedics and one pharmacist will be present round the clock in different shifts,” Lakhiar said, adding that each dispensary has an ambulance as well.
“So far in Madinah, we have treated more than 500 Pakistani pilgrims for various minor issues,” he disclosed.
The official said all treatments, tests and medicines were provided free of cost to pilgrims.
“Every doctor and paramedic has to return after 45 days, that is why their arrival is staggered so that when one leaves, there will always be others available to replace them until the last flight,” Lakhiar said.
Deputy PM Dar invites Chinese entrepreneurs to set up labor-intensive industries in Pakistan
- Deputy PM Dar delivers keynote address at Pakistan-China Roundtable Conference in Beijing
- Dar says Pakistan offers “attractive incentives” in exchange for setting up industrial units in country
ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday invited Chinese entrepreneurs to establish labor-intensive industries in Pakistan, state-run Radio Pakistan reported, as Islamabad seeks foreign investment to bolster its fragile $350 billion economy.
Dar arrived in Beijing on May 13 to co-chair the fifth round of the China-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue with his counterpart Wang Yi.
The deputy prime minister undertook the visit to bolster relations with China, assure Beijing that Pakistan would enhance the security of Chinese nationals and hold key meetings with business officials and entrepreneurs there.
“Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has invited Chinese entrepreneurs to take advantage of the investment-friendly policies and set up labor-intensive industry in Pakistan,” Radio Pakistan reported.
Dar made these comments during his keynote address at the Pakistan-China Roundtable Conference in Beijing. The deputy prime minister said Islamabad had expedited the construction of special economic zones in the country and offers “attractive incentives” to establish different industrial units in the country.
“He said the government has worked out 13 key areas having great potential for Chinese and Pakistani entrepreneurs to establish industry on ownership basis or through joint venture with Pakistani business people,” the state-run media said.
Separately, the minister met Wu Fulin, chairman of China’s EXIM bank to discuss its long-standing cooperation with Pakistan and the bank’s interest in conducting future investments in the South Asian country.
“Ishaq Dar particularly noted the stellar performance of the Pakistan Stock Exchange and renewed confidence of international investors in Pakistan’s economy,” Radio Pakistan said.
Dar invited the bank to explore new financing projects in Pakistan in renewable energy, agriculture, industrialization, and industrial sectors.
Beijing has been one of Islamabad’s most reliable foreign partners in recent years, readily providing financial assistance to bail out its often-struggling neighbor. In July last year, China granted Pakistan a two-year rollover on a $2.4 billion loan, giving the debt-saddled nation much-needed breathing space as it tackled a balance-of-payments crisis.
China has invested over $65 billion in energy and infrastructure projects as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The project is part of President Xi Jinping’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative. CPEC is designed to provide China with a shorter and safer trading route to the Middle East and beyond through Pakistan.
Dar’s visit comes amid Pakistan’s recent push for foreign investment, with Islamabad seeing a flurry of high-level exchanges from diplomats and business delegations in recent weeks from Saudi Arabia, Japan, Azerbaijan, Qatar and other countries.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has vowed to rid the country of its chronic macroeconomic crisis through foreign investment and efficient handling of the economy.
Islamabad court puts spotlight on ‘abduction’ of poet critical of army amid Azad Kashmir protests
- Ahmed Farhad Shah, poet and journalist from Azad Kashmir, went missing from his Islamabad residence on Tuesday night
- Shah’s recent social media posts were highly critical of Pakistan’s powerful military and government in backdrop of Azad Kashmir protests
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday asked the defense secretary to present a report on the “abduction” of a poet and journalist from Azad Kashmir Ahmed Farhad Shah allegedly by Pakistan’s intelligence agencies, local media widely reported.
Shah, who had taken to social media in recent days to criticize Pakistan’s powerful military for the recent inflation protests in Azad Kashmir in which three people were killed, went missing from his Islamabad residence on Tuesday night.
Shah’s wife Ain Naqvi filed a petition at the IHC on Tuesday against her husband’s alleged abduction, requesting for his recovery. She urged the IHC to identify, investigate and prosecute those responsible for his disappearance.
Shah’s wife was represented in court on Thursday by lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari and Hadi Ali Chatha while Senior Superintendent of Police Jameel Zafar, Assistant Attorney General Usman Rasool Ghuman and other officials were also present, Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported.
“At this stage, learned counsel for petitioner contends that petitioner has specifically nominated Inter-Services Intelligence in abduction,” Dawn reported, quoting a copy of the order issued by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani.
“Therefore, secretary Ministry of Defense is directed to submit a concize report after seeking report from relevant quarters of Inter-Services Intelligence, as well as from Military Intelligence, with an explanation as to how and under what circumstances the detenu has been kidnapped and abducted from Islamabad Capital Territory, on the next date of hearing,” the order read.
The hearing was then adjourned till Monday.
Rights organizations have accused Pakistan’s military and intelligence agencies of illegally detaining and torturing dissenters without any explanation. Pakistan’s military and intelligence agencies deny they carry out enforced disappearances.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) politician Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar appreciated the court for “thundering” for Shah’s recovery and summoning the defense secretary to the next hearing.
“Glad to see the court taking a categorical position and wishing @ImaanZHazir & his family the best,” Khokhar wrote on social media platform X.
