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Saudi Arabia may extend economic package to $8 billion after Pakistan PM visit — experts

A Pakistani currency dealer counts US dollars at a currency exchange shop in Karachi, Pakistan, on August 1, 2018. (AFP/File)
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Updated 01 May 2022
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Saudi Arabia may extend economic package to $8 billion after Pakistan PM visit — experts

  • Riyadh, Islamabad resolved to deepen investment cooperation, stimulate partnerships and integrate private sectors
  • Experts hope recent visit of PM Shehbaz Sharif would expedite progress on various investment projects in Pakistan
Updated 01 May 2022
KHURSHID AHMED   

KARACHI: Pakistan’s business community on Sunday welcomed Islamabad and Saudi Arabia's resolve to enhance bilateral economic cooperation, with experts saying Riyadh could extend its economic support package for Pakistan to $8 billion after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to the kingdom. 

Riyadh and Islamabad agreed to further deepen investment cooperation during the three-day maiden visit of PM Sharif to the kingdom this week. 

The two sides agreed to deepen the investment cooperation between the two countries, stimulate partnerships and enable investment integration opportunities between the private sector of the two countries, according to a joint statement issued at the end of the visit.   

They agreed to join efforts to develop the investment environment in the two countries and support a number of investment sectors of common interest. The two sides stressed the importance of strengthening and developing cooperation in the industrial and mining sectors to serve their strategic interests in accordance with the vision of the leaderships of the two countries. 

Pakistani analysts believe Saudi Arabia could extend the economic support package to as much as $8 billion after the recent visit.   

“Though technical details are awaited but I think the kingdom would give the additional $3 billion as cash deposit and extend the existing $1.2 billion oil facility to $2.4 billion,” Samiullah Tariq, research director at the Pakistan-Kuwait Investment Company, told Arab News.   

“As far as investment is concern, I think there were many projects at various stages and after this visit we expect further progress on these projects.” 

The kingdom had offered a package of $4.2 billion, including $3 billion deposits and $1.2 billion oil facility, for a year to the government of former prime minister Imran Khan, and had linked it with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.  

Saudi cash deposits will strengthen the position of Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves, which have declined by $328 million to $10.56 billion during the week ending on April 23 due to external debt and other payments, according to the official data. 

Pakistani industrialists say they welcome every initiative that opens avenues for business growth among the two brotherly countries. 

“We welcome the decision of the kingdom to increase investment in Pakistan. We want to see business flourishing,” Muhammad Suleman Chawla, senior vice-president of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), told Arab News on Sunday.   

“This investment and economic cooperation will ease off pressure for dollar needs. Major investment opportunities for Saudi Arabia are in the petrochemical sector of Pakistan and the oil refinery is a huge project that needs to be pushed forward.” 

The $10 billion oil refinery project was agreed between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan during the 2019 visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the South Asian country. 

Industrialists hope the project would be materialized after the visit of PM Sharif and the country would benefit from the Saudi expertise in the petrochemical sector.   

During the visit, both sides expressed their intention to hold meetings of investment forums in order to introduce opportunities to the business sectors of both sides, urge them to establish partnerships in various investment fields, and work jointly to meet challenges faced by the investors through the Saudi-Pakistan Business Council meetings. 

“At present, the most active trade body in the FPCCI is the Pak-Saudi Business Council. A number of Saudi delegations have visited Pakistan to explore investment opportunities,” Chawla said. “We are also planning to lead a delegation to Saudi Arabia in August and the bilateral trade is expected to substantially increase.”  

Pakistani business leaders believe Saudi investment in Pakistan would bring long-term benefits to Pakistan.  

“The Saudi investment I would say will be a big help for Pakistan and its impacts would be long-lasting as it will create employment for Pakistanis,” Zubair Motiwala, chairman of Businessmen Group (BMG) at the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), told Arab News.  

“Secondly, when the dollar will come into the country for investment it is very good for the country and there is no second opinion about it,” Motiwala said. “The promises must be translated into reality. I am also ready to invest in Saudi Arabia, provided the laws are made flexible.”  

During meetings between the Saudi-Pakistani leadership, the kingdom affirmed its continuous support to Pakistan and its economy, including discussions to augment $3 billion deposits with the Pakistani central bank through term extension or otherwise, exploring options to further enhance the financing of petroleum products, and supporting the economic structural reforms for the benefit of Pakistan and its people.  

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have also stressed the importance of cooperation between the two countries with regard to the opportunities through the economic transformation programs under the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and benefitting from distinguished Pakistani expertise and capabilities in a number of sectors in order to mutually benefit the two economies.

Canada arrests three Indians over killing of Sikh activist

Updated 04 May 2024
AFP
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Canada arrests three Indians over killing of Sikh activist

  • The murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar plunged Canada, India into a serious diplomatic crisis last fall
  • Nijjar, who immigrated to Canada in 1997, advocated for a separate Sikh state, known as Khalistan
Updated 04 May 2024
AFP

VANCOUVER: Canadian police on Friday arrested three men over the killing last year in Vancouver of a Sikh separatist, whose death has been linked to the Indian government.

The murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar plunged Canada and India into a serious diplomatic crisis last fall after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested Indian government involvement in the homicide.

India dismissed the allegations as “absurd” and responded furiously, briefly curbing visas for Canadians and forcing Ottawa to withdraw diplomats.

Three Indian nationals, two aged 22 and one aged 28, were arrested Friday and charged with first degree murder and conspiracy charges. They are accused of being the shooter, driver and lookout on the day Nijjar was killed.

They were arrested by police in Edmonton, in the neighboring province of Alberta, where they reside, and are being held pending further proceedings.

All had been in Canada for between three and five years, police said at a news conference.

“This investigation does not end here. We are aware that others may have played a role in this homicide,” said Mandeep Mooker of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s homicide investigations team.

Nijjar — who immigrated to Canada in 1997 and became a citizen in 2015 — advocated for a separate Sikh state, known as Khalistan, carved out of India.

He was wanted by Indian authorities for alleged terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder.

On June 18, 2023, he was shot dead by masked assailants in the parking lot of the Sikh temple he led in suburban Vancouver.

Trudeau announced several months later that Canada had “credible allegations” linking Indian intelligence to the killing and expelled an Indian official, spurring the diplomatic tit-for-tat with New Delhi.

Mooker said Canadian police are still investigating the ties of the suspects, “if any, to the Indian government.”

“It is a bit of a sigh of relief that the investigation is moving forward,” Moninder Singh, a close friend of Nijjar, told AFP.

“It is ultimately India who is responsible and hiring individuals to assassinate Sikh leaders in foreign countries,” said Singh, spokesperson for the British Columbia Council of Gurdwaras.

In November, the US Justice Department charged an Indian citizen living in the Czech Republic with allegedly plotting a similar assassination attempt on American soil.

Prosecutors said in unsealed court documents that an Indian government official was also involved in the planning.

The shock allegations came after US President Joe Biden hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a rare state visit, as Washington seeks closer ties with India against China’s growing influence.

US intelligence agencies have assessed that the plot on American soil was approved by India’s top spy official at the time, Samant Goel, The Washington Post reported this week.

Canada is home to some 770,000 Sikhs, who make up about two percent of the country’s population, with a vocal minority calling for an independent state of Khalistan.

Topics: Hardeep Singh Nijjar Sikh activist

Saleem Haider Khan, Faisal Kundi named governors of Pakistan’s Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces

Updated 30 min 14 sec ago
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Saleem Haider Khan, Faisal Kundi named governors of Pakistan’s Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces

  • Nominations come as part of power-sharing deal between PM Sharif’s party and ex-FM Bhutto-Zardari-led faction
  • According to the deal, the PPP backed Sharif for the prime minister’s office in return for constitutional positions
Updated 30 min 14 sec ago
Aamir Saeed

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), a coalition partner in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government, has nominated Saleem Haider Khan and Faisal Karim Kundi as governors of Pakistan’s eastern Punjab and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, the PPP chairman announced on Friday.

The PPP forged an alliance with PM Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party after Pakistan’s national election on February 8 failed to present a clear winner.

According to the power-sharing deal, the PPP backed Sharif for the prime minister’s office in return for the presidency, chairman of Senate and other important constitutional positions.

In a post on X, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari congratulated Khan and Kundi, and extended his good wishes to them

“I am confident they [Khan and Kundi] will perform their duties with the dignity their new office demands,” he said on X.

In Pakistan, a governor is a representative of the state to a province, who is appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister.

Such positions may seem ceremonial and symbolic, but they do hold significant constitutional importance.

At present, PML-N’s Balighur Rehman has been serving as the Punjab governor, while JUI-F’s Hajji Ghulam Ali holds the post in KP.

Bhutto-Zardari also called on PM Sharif in Islamabad, following the nominations, Pakistani state media reported.

“During the meeting, views were exchanged on overall political situation in the country and matters of national interest,” the Radio Pakistan broadcaster said.

Pakistan Cricket Board confirms details of national side’s South Africa tour

Updated 04 May 2024
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Pakistan Cricket Board confirms details of national side’s South Africa tour

  • The side will depart for Durban on December 2 after returning from Australia in Nov.
  • The ODIs will be played from December 17-22 in Paarl, Cape Town, and Johannesburg
Updated 04 May 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday announced details of the Pakistan men’s cricket team’s tour of South Africa for three Twenty20, three one-day international and two Test matches in the second half of 2024.

Durban, Centurion, and Johannesburg will host the T20Is from December 10-14, according to the PCB. The ODIs will be played from December 17-22 in Paarl, Cape Town, and Johannesburg, while the two ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 matches will be held at Centurion (December 26-30) and Cape Town (January 3-7).

The side will depart for Durban on December 2 after returning from Australia on November 19, having featured in a series of three ODIs and three T20Is from November 4-18. After completing their African safari on January 8, Pakistan will take on New Zealand and South Africa in a three-nation ODI tournament on home turf, which will be followed by the eight-team ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan.

“Prior to the tours of Australia and South Africa, Pakistan will host Bangladesh and England for two and three Tests, respectively,” the PCB said in a statement. “This means they will play seven Tests, minimum of 10 ODIs, and six T20Is in the six-month period from August 2024 to January 2025.”

This will be Pakistan’s seventh Test tour of South Africa since 1994-95. Their two Test wins were in the 1997-98 and 2006-2007 series.

In the Durban Test in 1997-98, Pakistan won by 29 runs at the back of centuries from Azhar Mahmood (132) and Saeed Anwar (118), match figures of nine for 149 by Mushtaq Ahmed and a first innings five-fer by Shoaib Akhtar. In the 2006-2007 Port Elizabeth Test, Pakistan won by five wickets with Inzamam-ul-Haq being named as Player of the Match for his 92 in the first innings.

In ODIs, Pakistan has won two of the last three series in 2013-2014 and 2020-21, while South Africa triumphed in 2002-2003 (4-1), 2006-2007 (3-1), 2012-2013 (3-2), and 2018-2019 (3-2).

In 12 T20Is to date, Pakistan leads 6-5 in head-to-head encounters, with one match ending in no-result.

Tour schedule:

10 Dec – 1st T20I, Durban

13 Dec – 2nd T20I, Centurion

14 Dec – 3rd T20I, Johannesburg

17 Dec – 1st ODI, Paarl

19 Dec – 2nd ODI, Cape Town

22 Dec – 3rd ODI, Johannesburg

26-30 Dec – 1st Test, Centurion

3-7 Jan – 2nd Test, Cape Town

Topics: Pakistan Cricket Board

Pakistani brothers inspire new volunteers after rescuing over 200 in UAE floods

Updated 1 min 1 sec ago
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Pakistani brothers inspire new volunteers after rescuing over 200 in UAE floods

  • Affan and Suleiman Tanvir pulled families to safety during the cloudburst and provided them with food
  • Their team has been rescuing tourists, adventure-seekers stranded in the desert over the past four years
Updated 1 min 1 sec ago
Aamir Saeed

ISLAMABAD: Since their move to the United Arab Emirates in 2008, Pakistani brothers Affan and Suleiman Tanvir have passionately devoted themselves to rescuing stranded travelers in different parts of the desert. But last month, their mission took an unexpected turn when the region experienced its heaviest rainfall in 75 years.
The brothers were suddenly thrust into a critical role, rescuing hundreds from waterlogged roads and submerged vehicles, as unprecedented floods transformed the streets into rivers. Alongside their team, they not only provided food and water but also pulled numerous cars to safety, navigating the chaotic aftermath of the storm in Dubai.
“We are proud of our work and glad to be recognized by the people for our rescue mission,” Affan told Arab News on Friday from Dubai over the phone. “We are honored and delighted to help people stranded on the roads during the torrential rains.”
Affan and his team rescued over 200 people and pulled out some 80 vehicles, including cars and minivans, during the rescue operation in Dubai and Sharjah that started in the morning on April 16 and continued for about two days.
Besides his brother Suleiman, the three other members of his rescue team included Alay Zaidi, Shahid Ibrahim Gul and Muhammad Owais.
Currently settled in Al-Hoshi in Sharjah, Affan brothers were born in Saudi Arabia while their parents belong to Karachi, Pakistan. In the UAE, they have set up a company for import and export of steel and transport.
The two brothers and their team were mentioned by several media houses for their heroic work, and the Pakistani consulate in Dubai acknowledged them by awarding certificates of appreciation.
“This rescue mission was not a new thing for us as we have been helping people stranded in the deserts for the last four years,” Affan said while narrating their extensive experience of saving people stuck in the desert terrain.
Affan said that they would receive frequent calls from adventure-seekers stuck in Ras Al-Khaimah desert for the rescue and relief as this was some 50-minute drive from their residence.
“We have a purpose-built vehicle along with all the accessories to pull out stuck cars, change their tires or toe them to main roads,” he said, adding that they had linked themselves to a local app, Rescue UAE, for people in need to get in touch with them.
“We use walkie-talkie to speak with the stranded people as there are no mobile phone signals in the desert,” he said, adding that they sometimes receive two or three rescue requests in a day from people stuck in the desert, especially during the winter season.
Talking about his team, he said that he started the rescue and relief work in 2020 along with his brother, but gradually his team started to grow with more people joining them.
“We are a 15-member team now and more people are joining us after getting inspired by our recent rescue work during the rains,” he added.
His team member Alay Zaidi told that two of their team members got shards in their feet during the rescue work, but they continued their mission to alleviate the sufferings of the families stuck on the roads along with children and women.
“It is a passion for us to help people in need, and we will continue doing our work with the same zeal and zest,” he continued. “We have received appreciation from the UAE people and officials for our work, and this is nothing less than a medal for us.”

Topics: UAE rains

Young Pakistani innovator dreams big with ‘self-driving’ car innovation

Updated 04 May 2024
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Young Pakistani innovator dreams big with ‘self-driving’ car innovation

  • Ehsan Zafar Abbasi belongs to a remote village in Abbottabad where he is known for his passion for science
  • The 20-year-old drives his family car using computer keyboard, wants to set up automobile company like Tesla
Updated 04 May 2024
Yusra Jabeen

ABBOTTABAD: Under the harsh glow of a fluorescent light, 20-year-old Ehsan Zafar Abbasi is busy examining the components of an obsolete printer he has just dismantled. A pre-engineering student from the remote village of Bagh in Pakistan’s Abbottabad district, he is known for his passion for taking electronics apart, often leading to innovative but sometimes unsuccessful repairs.
Abbasi recently captured the attention of his neighborhood by configuring his family car to mimic a self-driven vehicle. With the driver’s seat empty and the headrest removed, onlookers were captivated by the sight of an automobile that seemed to be driving itself.
Speaking to Arab News earlier this week, the young student said he first thought of driving a car through a keyboard while playing video games as a child.

Ehsan Zafar Abbasi drives his car using a computer keyboard in Abbotabad, Pakistan on April 1, 2024. (AN Photo)

“At that time, power supply was hardly ever available,” he recalled. “So, whenever we got electricity, it was another kind of happiness. We would immediately sit in front of the computer and play those games on CDs such as GTA: Vice City or Need for Speed.”
“So, I was inspired after playing those games, realizing if a car could be driven through a keyboard in a game, it could also be driven like that in real life,” he continued.
With limited Internet accessibility in his village, Abbasi understood the workings of electronics and mechanical items by conducting his own experiments in a tiny room under the stairs in his house.
“I have built a lab where I perform my experiments,” he said. “My brothers and uncles support my ambitions. They bring me scrap electronics from the second-hand market. I have dismantled many mobile phones, tablets, printers, scanners, computers, projectors, juicer machines and other things.”

Ehsan Zafar Abbasi drives his car using a computer keyboard in Abbotabad, Pakistan on April 1, 2024. (AN Photo)

After spending over seven months perfecting his new project, Abbasi said he wanted to further refine the car by adding more features to it.
“I want to add sensors and modern technology to the car so that people with disabilities can also fulfill their wish [to drive] and become independent,” he added.
However, the keyboard-driven vehicle is not his only invention.
“A year ago, I made another device for cars in which cellphone technology was integrated,” he said. “It had a SIM. If someone decided to steal your car, you could simply make a call on the [installed] device and your car stopped working.”
The vehicle’s brakes, he explained, could be activated by using one’s cellphone. Not only that, but the installed device also relayed any conversation among the carjackers in real-time.
Asked about his future ambitions, Abbasi said he wanted to build a multinational automotive company like Tesla in Pakistan. He also shared his desire to go to a top-notch university abroad like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States.
“Obviously, I cannot afford it, nor do I possess adequate English-language skills,” he continued. “I studied in ill-equipped public schools where we did not have electricity, Internet and other modern facilities. We used to walk for two hours to go to school and two hours on our way back.”
By the time he reached home, he felt tired and usually discovered that there was no electricity.
“I could not study the way I wanted to,” he said with a deep yearning in his eyes. “I request the Pakistani government, our prime minister and the president, to support me in getting quality higher education so I can add to the prestige of my country.”

Topics: self driven car Automobiles

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Saleem Haider Khan, Faisal Kundi named governors of Pakistan’s Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces

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