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  • Reports of Pakistanis meeting Israeli officials ‘load of rubbish’ — Pakistani foreign minister 


Reports of Pakistanis meeting Israeli officials ‘load of rubbish’ — Pakistani foreign minister 

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi speaks during a press conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Friday, December 18, 2020. (AN photo)
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Updated 18 December 2020
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Reports of Pakistanis meeting Israeli officials ‘load of rubbish’ — Pakistani foreign minister 

  • Shah Mahmood Qureshi is in the UAE to discuss bilateral cooperation and welfare of the Pakistani diaspora
  • Says hopeful for a “resolution soon” to a work visa “issue” with the UAE 
Updated 18 December 2020
ASMA ALI ZAIN

ABU DHABI: Pakistan’s stance on not recognizing Israel is unchanged, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said in Abu Dhabi on Friday, adding that media reports that Pakistani officials had held secret meetings in Israel recently were “rubbish.”
The Israel Hayom and other Israeli media outlets reported this week in a veiled reference to Pakistan that a senior adviser to the leader of a large Muslim majority country in Asia that had no diplomatic ties with Israel had visited the Jewish state two weeks ago with a delegation of senior officials to discuss the potential normalization of relations. 
Pakistan currently does not recognize the state of Israel over its thwarting of Palestinians’ aspirations for a state of their own. Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the Sinai peninsula and the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights in the 1967 Middle East war. Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future free state, a demand Pakistan has supported for decades. 
“Pakistan’s position vis-a-vis Israel has not changed,” Qureshi told reporters during a press conference in Abu Dhabi. The foreign minister is in the United Arab Emirates on a two-day visit. 
In response to a question about recent media reports of covert meetings of a Pakistani delegation with top Israeli officials, Qureshi said the reports were “a load of rubbish.”

“This issue keeps popping up ... We have already clarified this earlier and issued a statement on this that we have had no meetings with Israeli officials,” he said.
The foreign minister’s visit to the UAE comes at a time when international media has reported that the UAE had stopped issuing new visas to citizens of 13 mostly Muslim-majority countries, including Pakistan. 
“This issue came under discussion and I gave my point of view and understood their point of view,” Qureshi said. “I also discussed this with the foreign minister and also with the prime minister [of the UAE].” 
I am “hoping for a resolution soon,” the foreign minister added.


The UAE is home to 1.2 million Pakistanis and the second largest host to overseas Pakistani workers and source of foreign remittances, after Saudi Arabia.
The foreign minister also said he had just received intelligence information that India was planning surgical strikes against Pakistan.
“This is a serious development and I have also learnt that they have tried to seek tacit approval from who they consider to be their partners,” Qureshi said. 
Pakistan and India have long had tense relations and fought two wars over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, which they both rule in part but claim in full. 
On Thursday, Qureshi met Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates and discussed the “welfare” of Pakistanis living in the UAE and agreed to enhance trade and investment ties.
“Praising the hard work and dedication of Pakistani professionals and workers in the UAE, Foreign Minister Qureshi acknowledged their positive contribution toward progress and development of the UAE as well as Pakistan,” the foreign office said in a statement. “He discussed with his counterpart matters pertaining to Pakistani diaspora’s welfare and stressed the need to further strengthen people to people linkages between the two brotherly countries.”

Topics: Pakistan-UAE Israel Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi

Pakistan’s PIA enters into cargo deal with Air France-KLM to boost exports

Updated 4 sec ago
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Pakistan’s PIA enters into cargo deal with Air France-KLM to boost exports

  • As per agreement, PIA’s freight division will gain access to Air France-KLM’s network of European, American cities
  • Exporters will be able to use both PIA, Air France–KLM’s networks under a single air waybill, says Pakistani airline
Updated 4 sec ago
Ismail Dilawar

KARACHI: The recently privatized Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) announced on Wednesday that it has entered into a cargo agreement with global aviation group Air France-KLM to expand its global outreach and push Pakistani exports to more international markets.

The PIA said its agreement with Air France-KLM came into force on Jan. 15. Air France-KLM operates in 320 destinations and is a global aviation player in passenger, cargo and maintenance businesses. 

As per the agreement, PIA Cargo, the airline’s freight division, will gain access to Air France–KLM’s global network. Through the deal, PIA Cargo will gain access to Air France–KLM’s global network via Dubai, Riyadh and Dammam. 

Air France-KLM’s network includes major European cities such as Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Düsseldorf, and New York, Atlanta and Los Angeles, the PIA said. 

“Significant improvement is expected in the exports of Pakistani products and access to global markets,” the PIA said in a statement. 

Exporters will be able to use both the PIA’s and Air France–KLM’s networks under a single air waybill, the airline said. 

An air waybill is a document used in international air shipping that serves as a legal, non-negotiable contract between the shipper and the airline. 

In November 2025, PIA and Biman Bangladesh Airlines signed a Cargo Interline Special Agreement to expand cargo business and augment bilateral trade. The partnership aims to minimize logistical complexities in transporting commodities.

The PIA was Pakistan’s national flag carrier until a Pakistani consortium, led by the Arif Habib Group, secured a 75 percent stake in the airline in December for Rs135 billion ($482 million). Pakistan had previously attempted to reform the debt-ridden airline, which had accumulated more than $2.8 billion in financial losses over the years. 

PIA’s new owner Arif Habib announced last week that the airline is in talks with aerospace manufacturers Boeing and Airbus as it plans to revamp service and expand its current fleet. 

The PIA has said it plans to increase the airline’s fleet to 64 aircraft from the current figure of 19 over the next eight years.

Topics: PIA PIA deal with Air France-KLM Pakistan's Exports

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