ISLAMABAD: Acknowledging the fact that Pakistan was going through a severe economic crisis, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday invited attendees at a key investment conference in Riyadh to invest in the country and reap benefits.
Highlighting investment opportunities — specifically in the tourism and mining sectors — PM Khan, along with his key cabinet ministers, talked about the issues plaguing his government at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference, also known as “Davos in the desert”.
According to Pakistan’s state-run radio, PM Khan said that his government had inherited a huge burden of current account and fiscal deficits and was working on different fronts to resolve the financial crunch.
He told the conference that his government was approaching the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and friendly countries to seek loans and plug the financial gap.
“The government is also endeavoring to reform our institutions to check the menace of corruption in mega development projects and white collar crimes,” Radio Pakistan said quoting the prime minister.
He also assured participants at the conference that his government would create an environment that was conducive for doing business in the country, to attract foreign entities — particularly overseas Pakistanis — to invest in various projects in the country.
Earlier on Tuesday, Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Information Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, who is part of the delegation accompanying PM Khan on his visit, tweeted that the amount of respect that is accorded to PM Khan by the Kingdom shows how much importance is being given to the premier by the Muslim community.
As part of his two-day visit to Saudi Arabia, PM Khan began his trip from Madinah, following which he traveled to Riyadh to participate in the FII conference.
PM Khan and his coterie of officials arrived in Madinah on Monday night where they were received by Governor Faisal bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. The group prayed together at the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah before heading to Riyadh to attend the conference.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Finance Minister Asad Umar, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce Abdur Razak Dawood and several other officials are part of the delegation accompanying the prime minister.
As part of his visit, PM Khan is also expected to call upon King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman.
PM Khan seeks investment at ‘Davos in the desert’
PM Khan seeks investment at ‘Davos in the desert’
- Promises to create a conducive environment for doing business in Pakistan
- Addresses Islamabad’s economic issues at key conference in Riyadh
Pakistan Supreme Court halts trial of prominent lawyer over alleged anti-military tweets
- Top court orders lower court to pause proceedings after lawyers allege due-process breaches
- Mazari-Hazir, husband face charges under cybercrime law that carry up to 14 years in prison
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday halted the cybercrime trial of prominent human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, after their lawyers argued that a lower court had recorded witness testimony in their absence, violating due-process rules.
Mazari-Hazir, one of Pakistan’s most outspoken civil liberties lawyers, and Chattha are being prosecuted under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) over posts on X that authorities say incited ethnic divisions and portrayed the military as involved in “terrorism.” Both reject the allegations. If convicted under the relevant PECA provision, they face a prison term of up to 14 years.
The case has drawn broad attention in Pakistan’s legal community because Mazari-Hazir, who has been repeatedly detained over her criticism of the security establishment, argues that the trial court ignored basic procedural guarantees despite her medical leave request. The case also comes as Pakistan faces sustained scrutiny over the use of PECA against activists, journalists and political dissenters, with lawyers arguing that lower courts often move ahead without meeting minimum fair-trial standards.
The couple’s lawyer, Riasat Ali Azad, said his clients filed a petition in the Supreme Court because the lower court had moved ahead improperly.
“Today, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has stayed the lower court proceedings, the trial court proceedings and has said that the [Islamabad] High Court should decide our pending revision petition for which a date has already been fixed,” he told reporters.
Azad said the violation was clear under Pakistan’s Code of Criminal Procedure, which requires evidence to be recorded in the presence of the accused.
“Yet, on that very day, evidence of four witnesses was recorded in their absence, and a state counsel was appointed to conduct cross-examination on their behalf,” he said. “All these things are against the right to a fair trial under Articles 10 and 10-A.”
A three-judge bench led by Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar ordered the trial court to pause proceedings and instructed the Islamabad High Court to hear the couple’s pending criminal revision petition first.
The trial had been scheduled to resume on Dec.15, but the Supreme Court’s stay now freezes proceedings before both the additional sessions judge and the special PECA court.
The Islamabad High Court is expected to hear the criminal revision petition next week.
Chattha, who is also a lawyer, said the SC ruling underscored the need for procedural safeguards.
“It is a victory for the constitution and the law,” he said, arguing that the trial court had ignored their request to re-record witness statements in their presence.
