ISLAMABAD: Saudi Interior Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif will arrive in Islamabad on February 7, with repatriation of Pakistani prisoners among other affairs on the agenda, the Pakistani interior minister said on Tuesday.
Last month, Saudi Arabia ratified agreements that help both countries streamline the repatriation of prisoners and measures to counter human and drug trafficking.
The treaties were signed during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to the kingdom in May last year.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said his country was trying to bring back Pakistani prisoners from wherever they were.
“Tomorrow, Saudi Interior Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif is arriving on the invitation of the interior ministry. And this for interior ministry, this country and repatriation of our prisoners in Saudi Arabia will be a good decision,” Ahmed said at a press conference in Islamabad.
“We are inviting interior ministers of different countries where our people are in prisons. It is as per instructions of the prime minister.”
The minister said the government was making efforts to bring back Pakistanis languishing in prisons of brotherly Muslim countries for not being able to pay fines imposed for minor offenses.
“We are taking this to the cabinet that people who are languishing in our brotherly Islamic countries due to fines, their release should be managed by paying their fines,” he said.
Ahmed said Pakistan had already secured release of many prisoners from Turkey, adding that officials from Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait would also be visiting the country soon.
Saudi interior minister expected in Islamabad Monday with Pakistani prisoners on talks agenda
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Saudi interior minister expected in Islamabad Monday with Pakistani prisoners on talks agenda
- Pakistani interior minister says they are trying to secure release of Pakistanis languishing in Muslim countries
- Officials from Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait will also be visiting Pakistan soon to discuss release of prisoners
Bangladesh approves new rice imports from Pakistan amid price pressures
- The deal follows Bangladesh’s resumption of direct rice trade with Pakistan earlier this year for the first time since independence in 1971
- Diplomatic ties between the two nations have improved since the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina after mass protests last year
DHAKA: Bangladesh has approved the import of 50,000 metric tons of white rice from Pakistan under a government-to-government deal as part of efforts to stabilize domestic prices, officials said on Tuesday.
The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase cleared the deal at $395 per ton, reinforcing Dhaka’s renewed trade engagement with Islamabad.
Rice prices in Bangladesh have jumped by between 15 percent and 20 percent over the past year, with medium-quality rice selling at about 80 taka ($0.66) per kilogram. Despite increased imports and the removal of duties to ease supply constraints, prices for the staple grain remain stubbornly high.
The deal follows Bangladesh’s resumption of direct rice trade with Pakistan earlier this year for the first time since independence in 1971. In February, it imported 50,000 tons of rice from Pakistan at $499 per ton under a similar agreement.
Diplomatic ties between the two South Asian nations have improved since an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took office after mass protests forced then prime minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to neighboring India last year.
Formerly East Pakistan, Bangladesh gained independence after a nine-month war in 1971, and relations with Pakistan have remained fraught in the decades since the conflict.
Separately, the government approved another 50,000 tons of parboiled rice through an international tender, part of a series of recent purchases aimed at cooling local prices. India’s Pattabhi Agro Foods secured the contract with the lowest bid of $355.77 per ton.
