Pakistan praises Saudi Arabia for holding successful G20 summit

Media watches Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz's virtual speech live at the media centre during an opening session of the 15th annual G20 Leaders' Summit in Riyadh on Nov. 21, 2020. (REUTERS)
Short Url
Updated 27 November 2020
Follow

Pakistan praises Saudi Arabia for holding successful G20 summit

  • Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi meets his Saudi counterpart on the sidelines of the OIC foreign ministers’ conference
  • The two officials agree to enhance bilateral cooperation in the fields of energy, economy and commerce

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi congratulated Saudi Arabia on Friday for holding a successful G20 summit earlier this month while interacting with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, on the sidelines of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Niger.
They discussed the bilateral relations between the two countries and the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Qureshi said that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoyed historic and brotherly relations. He also praised the kingdom’s principled stance on Kashmir and expressed his gratitude for its unstinting support to Pakistan over the issue.
The Pakistani foreign minister also discussed the current situation in Indian-administered Kashmir and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s role in the Muslim world.
According to an official statement released by Pakistan’s foreign office, Prince Faisal bin Farhan praised Pakistan’s role in regional security.
The two officials also agreed to increase bilateral cooperation in the fields of energy, economy and commerce.
It was decided that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia would exchange official delegations for greater collaboration in the coming days.


Security forces kill four militants in Pakistan’s volatile southwest, military says

Updated 13 January 2026
Follow

Security forces kill four militants in Pakistan’s volatile southwest, military says

  • Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by land area bordering Iran and Afghanistan, has long been the site of a low-level insurgency
  • The Balochistan government has recently established a threat assessment center to strengthen early warning, prevent ‘terrorism’ incidents

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces gunned down four militants in an intelligence-based operation in the southwestern Balochistan province, the military said on Tuesday.

The operation was conducted in Balochistan’s Kalat district on reports about the presence of militants, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing.

The “Indian-sponsored militants” were killed in an exchange of fire during the operation, while weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the deceased, who remained actively involved in numerous militant activities.

“Sanitization operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian-sponsored terrorist found in the area,” the ISPR said in a statement.

There was no immediate response from New Delhi to the statement.

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by land area bordering Iran and Afghanistan, has long been the site of a low-level insurgency involving Baloch separatist groups, including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF).

Pakistan accuses India of supporting these separatist militant groups and describes them as “Fitna Al-Hindustan.” New Delhi denies the allegation.

The government in Balochistan has also established a state-of-the-art threat assessment center to strengthen early warning and prevention against “terrorism” incidents, a senior official said this week.

“Information that was once scattered is now shared and acted upon in time, allowing the state to move from reacting after incidents to preventing them before they occur,” Balochistan Additional Chief Secretary Hamza Shafqaat wrote on X.

The development follows a steep rise in militancy-related deaths in Pakistan in 2025. According to statistics released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) last month, combat-related deaths in 2025 rose 73 percent to 3,387.

These included 2,115 militants, 664 security forces personnel, 580 civilians and 28 members of pro-government peace committees, the think tank said.