ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday became one of the founding members of an organization launched by a group of Muslim countries to enhance the growth of digital economy, said an official statement circulated by the foreign office in Islamabad on Thursday.
Envisaged by Saudi Arabia, the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) also includes other Middle Eastern nations like Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
The DCO was launched at a virtual event hosted by the kingdom’s communication minister, Abdullah Al-Swaha.
It was also attended by Pakistan’s foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who shared his thoughts with the forum through a video message.
Qureshi lauded the Saudi minister’s “farsighted initiative,” said the statement, and noted that the creation of the organization would cater to the growing need of international cooperation and collaboration in the digital domain.
The Pakistani minister pointed out that the global digital economy was estimated to be worth over $11 trillion and was set to expand due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“DCO would offer a platform to promote the global digital agenda in the scientific, health, educational, commercial, social, agricultural, investment and security spheres,” he said.
The foreign minister, who also chairs a dedicated digital diplomacy working group of leading IT experts in his country, added that information revolution presented a unique opportunity to deal with the development deficit in Pakistan through its skilled human resource that could also make significant contributions globally.
Pakistan becomes founding member of Saudi Digital Cooperation Organization
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Pakistan becomes founding member of Saudi Digital Cooperation Organization
- FM Qureshi praises the kingdom’s ‘farsighted initiative’ while calling for greater international collaboration in the digital domain
- The new organization has been launched to enhance the growth of digital economy that is currently estimated to be over $11 trillion
Bondi Beach suspect father arrived in Philippines as ‘Indian national’ — immigration
- Philippine authorities said the pair spent nearly a month in Mindanao, a region long plagued by militancy
- Australia’s PM Anthony Albanese said investigators believe the suspects were radicalized by Daesh ideology
MANILA: The father and son allegedly behind one of Australia’s deadliest mass shootings spent nearly the entire month of November in the Philippines, authorities in Manila confirmed Tuesday, with the father entering as an “Indian national.”
Sajid Akram and his son Naveed, who allegedly killed 15 people and wounded dozens of others at a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, entered the country on November 1 with the southern province of Davao listed as their final destination.
“Sajid Akram, 50, Indian national, and Naveed Akram, 24, Australian national, arrived in the Philippines together last November 1, 2025 from Sydney, Australia,” immigration spokeswoman Dana Sandoval told AFP.
“Both reported Davao as their final destination. They left the country on November 28, 2025 on a connecting flight from Davao to Manila, with Sydney as their final destination.”
Police and military sources had earlier told reporters they were still in the process of confirming the duo’s presence in the country.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Tuesday that the two men had likely been radicalized by “Islamic State ideology,” referring to the militant group also known as Daesh.
The Philippines’ southern island of Mindanao, home to Davao province, has a long history of Islamist insurgencies against central government rule.
Pro-Daesh Maute and Abu Sayyaf militants — including foreign and local fighters — held Mindanao’s Marawi under siege in 2017.
The Philippine military wrested back the ruined city after a five-month battle that claimed more than 1,000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
While insurgent activity in Mindanao has significantly abated in the years since, the Philippine army continues to hunt leaders of groups deemed to be “terrorists.”
