ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office said on Sunday that the emirs of Qatar and Kuwait have accepted his invitation to visit Pakistan, as Islamabad looks to increase foreign trade and investment from allies to escape a macroeconomic crisis. 

Sharif separately met the ambassadors of Qatar and Kuwait to Pakistan on Sunday during which matters relating to bilateral relations, trade and cooperation were discussed. 

During the meetings, the ambassadors of both countries presented letters from their emirs addressed to Sharif which conveyed they had accepted his invitation to visit Pakistan. 

“Visits by the emirs of Kuwait and Qatar to Pakistan will prove effective in increasing investment and cooperation further with Qatar and Kuwait,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.

In his meeting with Kuwait’s Ambassador to Pakistan Abdulrahman Jasser Al-Mutairi, Sharif recalled his recent meeting with Kuwait’s emir at the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh in April. 

“The prime minister expressed satisfaction that the next meeting of the Pakistan-Kuwait Joint Ministerial Commission will be held from May 28-30 in Kuwait,” the PMO said. 

Sharif also met Qatar’s envoy Mubarak Ali Essa Al-Khater in which he said Islamabad values its “historic brotherly relations” with Doha and reiterated Pakistan’s determination to increase mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries, the PMO said. 

The Pakistani premier said both countries should start preparing for the Qatari emir’s visit by exchanging delegations to ensure the visit becomes a productive and successful one. 

This development takes place amid a flurry of foreign visits in recent weeks to Pakistan. These included visits by the now deceased Iranian president, the Saudi foreign minister, a delegation of top Saudi companies as well as officials from Qatar, China, Japan, Turkiye and Central Asian countries, among others.

Reeling from high inflation, low forex reserves, and an unstable currency, Sharif has vowed to steer Pakistan out of its prolonged economic crisis by enhancing bilateral trade with allies and attracting more international investments. This week, Sharif met UAE’s President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan who committed to investing $10 billion in multiple sectors of Pakistan. 

Islamabad is also currently in talks with the IMF to secure a new, longer-term bailout package of at least $6 billion to stave off a chronic balance of payment crisis. 

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistan Army captain, soldier and five militants were killed in a shootout with militants in the northwestern Peshawar District on Sunday, the army’s media wing said in a statement. 

The gunbattle took place when security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in Hassan Khel area in Peshawar District on the reported presence of “terrorists,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army’s media wing, said. 

It said five “terrorists” were killed while three others were injured during the exchange of fire. 

“However, during an intense exchange of fire, leading his troops from the front, Captain Hussain Jahangir (age: 25 years, resident of Rahim Yar Khan District) along with another brave son of soil, Havildar Shafiq Ullah (age: 36 years, resident of District Karak), having fought gallantly, made the ultimate sacrifice and embraced Shahadat,” the ISPR said. 

The army said a sanitization operation was being carried out to eliminate any militants found in the area. 

“Security forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,” the army said. 

Pakistan’s security forces have suffered a surge in attacks from the Pakistani Taliban or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in the country’s western regions bordering Afghanistan ever since a fragile truce between the state and the banned outfit broke down in November 2022. 

The TTP, which seeks to impose its strict version of Islam in the South Asian country, has carried out some of the deadliest attacks against Pakistani civilians and security forces since 2007 before the army conducted multiple operations to drive them out of the tribal areas. 

Repeated attacks from the TTP against Pakistan’s security forces have soured relations between Islamabad and Kabul. Pakistan has accused the Taliban of providing shelter to TTP militants to attack Pakistan. Kabul has denied the allegations and insisted it does not allow any group to launch attacks on other countries from its soil.