KARACHI: US Ambassador Donald Blome met Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday and said the South Asian nation’s prosperity and security remained a ‘top priority’ for Washington.
Blome’s comments come amid a spike in militant attacks in Pakistan and while its finance chief is in discussions with the International Monetary Fund in Washington on a potential follow-up program to its nine-month, $3 billion stand-by arrangement.
“US Ambassador Donald Blome met today with Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to discuss recent events in the region,” Acting US Mission Spokesperson Thomas Montgomery said.
“Ambassador Blome conveyed the United States’ commitment to working with the government and people of Pakistan, underscoring that prosperity and security for Pakistan remains a top priority for the United States.”
Pakistan went to the polls on February 8 in a vote marred by a mobile Internet shutdown on election day, arrests and violence in its build-up and unusually delayed results, leading to accusations that the vote was rigged.
However, the US has repeatedly said it will work with the new government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, though it has expressed concerns about reported election irregularities and urged a probe.
Although defense and key foreign policy decisions are largely influenced by Pakistan’s powerful military, Sharif will have to juggle relations with the US and China.
Islamabad has close economic ties to both the nations, which has put it in a tricky position as the two countries have embarked upon a costly trade war.
“From our perspective it has to be an and-and discussion,” finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said in an interview this week when asked how the Sharif government plans to conduct its trading relationships with the world’s two largest economies.
“US is our largest trading partner, and it has always supported us, always helped us in terms of the investments,” he said. “So that is always going to be a very, very critical relationship for Pakistan.”
“On the other side, a lot of investment, especially in infrastructure, came through CPEC,” he said, referring to the roughly 1,860-mile-long China-Pakistan Economic Corridor designed to give China access to the Arabian Sea.
Aurangzeb said there was a “very good opportunity” for Pakistan to play a similar role in the trade war as countries like Vietnam, which has been able to dramatically boost its exports to the US following the imposition of tariffs on some Chinese goods.
“We have already a few examples of that already working,” he said. “But what we need to do is to really scale it up.”
Militancy has also spiked in recent months, creating a major challenge for the new government, with religiously motivated groups like the Pakistani Taliban as well as ethnic separatists showing an enhanced ability to hit high-value targets.
In an attack last month that has so far been unclaimed, a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle into a convoy of Chinese engineers working on a hydropower project at Dasu in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver.
The Mar. 26 assault was the third major attack in little over a week on China’s interests in the South Asian nation, where Beijing has invested more than $65 billion in infrastructure projects as part of its wider Belt and Road initiative.
US says Pakistan’s prosperity and security remains a ‘top priority’
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US says Pakistan’s prosperity and security remains a ‘top priority’
- Blome’s comments come amid a spike in militant attacks in Pakistan
- Pakistani finance chief has launched negotiations for a new IMF bailout
Saudi crown prince sincerely wants Pakistan to progress— PM Sharif
- PM Sharif says Saudi business delegation’s upcoming visit to Pakistan will enhance its economic ties with Kingdom
- Sharif returned from Riyadh this week after holding extensive discussions on trade, investment with Saudi officials
ISLAMABAD: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sincerely wants Pakistan to progress and prosper, Prime Minister Shehbaz Shari said on Wednesday after returning from a trip to the Kingdom earlier this week.
Sharif was in Riyadh from Apr. 27-30 to attend a special two-day meeting of the World Economic Forum on global collaboration, growth and energy. The Pakistani prime minister met the Saudi crown prince and the Kingdom’s various ministers to discuss bilateral investment and economic partnership during his stay.
Sharif spoke about his recent visit to the Kingdom during a luncheon he hosted at his Lahore residence for laborers and their families on the occasion of Labor Day.
“I have just returned from Saudi Arabia and believe me, my honorable brother there, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, with all his heart, wants Pakistan to progress and wants to see prosperity in Pakistan,” Sharif said to loud applause.
The Pakistani prime minister said he held extensive meetings with Saudi ministers and their teams in Riyadh on the sidelines of the WEF meeting, describing them as “extremely satisfactory.”
“In a few days, [a delegation of] Saudi businesspersons will come to Pakistan and that will enhance our trade relations,” he said.
In February 2019, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia inked investment deals totaling $21 billion during the visit of the Saudi crown prince to Islamabad. The agreements included about $10 billion for an Aramco oil refinery and $1 billion for a petrochemical complex at the strategic Gwadar Port in Balochistan.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan visited Pakistan last month with a high-level delegation to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation and push forward previously agreed investment deals with the South Asian country.
Pakistan has said it pitched investment projects worth $30 billion to Riyadh during Prince Faisal’s visit.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong trade, defense and cultural ties. The Kingdom is home to over 2.7 million Pakistani expatriates and serves as the top source of remittances to the cash-strapped South Asian country.
Both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have been closely working to increase bilateral trade and investment deals, and the Kingdom recently reaffirmed its commitment to expedite an investment package worth $5 billion.
Cash-strapped Pakistan desperately needs to shore up its foreign reserves and signal to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it can continue to meet requirements for foreign financing which has been a key demand in previous bailout packages.
Saudi Arabia has often come to Pakistan’s aid in the past, regularly providing it oil on deferred payments and offering direct financial support to help stabilize its economy and shore up its forex reserves.
President Zardari directs Sindh to launch ‘large-scale operation’ against criminals in Karachi
- President Zardari chairs high-level meeting attended by interior minister, provincial ministers in Karachi
- Zardari asks chief ministers to provide security to foreign nationals in Sindh, curb street crimes in Karachi
KARACHI: President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday directed Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to launch a “large-scale operation” against criminals in Karachi and Sindh, amid a surge in street crimes and incidences of kidnapping in Pakistan’s southern province.
The president issued these directions while he chaired a meeting on the deteriorating law-and-order situation in Sindh. The meeting was also attended by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Minister of Science and Technology Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui. Provincial ministers Sharjeel Inam Memon, Nasir Shah and Ziaul Hasan Linjar, Inspector General Police Sindh Ghulam Nabi Memon and others also participated in the huddle.
Karachi, a metropolis of 20 million that hosts the stock exchange and central bank, has for decades been beset by armed violence. While an armed campaign by the military, with help from police, paramilitary Rangers and intelligence agencies, against armed gangs and suspected militants in the city brought down murder rates after 2013, street crimes have been on the rise again since last year, with shooting deaths in muggings and robberies once again becoming a daily headline.
Street crimes saw an increase during the first four months of 2024, particularly during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, driving fear into the hearts of the city’s citizens.
“President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari presiding over a special law & order meeting at CM House directed the Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to launch a large-scale operation against street criminals in Karachi,” the Chief Minister’s House said.
It added that the president ordered strict action be taken against dacoits in Sindh and drug traffickers throughout the province in close coordination with other provinces.
Zardari urged the chief minister to provide a posting tenure to police officers, monitor their performance, and remove them when they fail to deliver, the statement added. The president asked Shah to ensure foreign nationals living and working in Sindh were guaranteed security.
“He emphasized the need to particularly look after the Chinese nationals working on CPEC-related projects,” the CM House said.
Memon briefed the president that in total 5,357 crimes were reported in Sindh during the first four months of the year, corresponding with 5,259 incidents in the corresponding period last year.
Zardari was told that in January, 252.32 street crime cases were reported in Karachi while in February the number decreased to 251.96.
“The trend of street crime decreased in March and April when 243.35 and 166.2 cases were reported respectively,” the statement said.
The Sindh IG disclosed that 49 people were killed in 48 street crimes in Karachi this year, adding that in these cases 43 accused have been arrested while 13 were killed in encounters.
President Zardari directed the chief minister to control street crimes in the province by launching a result-oriented special operation.
“The operation must deliver results so that confidence of the citizens could be developed,” Zardari was quoted as saying by the CM House.
President Zardari lamented that stolen/snatched vehicles and mobile phones were sold in the city’s market in parts, adding that this was known to police and others.
“Why the police were not taking operations against the markets and people involved in the business of stolen/snatched vehicles and mobile sets,” he asked.
The president directed Shah to ensure the Karachi Safe City Project, an initiative to install surveillance cameras in key parts of the city to monitor crime, was completed on a “war footing.”
Pakistan’s Babar Azam closes in on India’s Yadav for top T20I batter spot
- Babar Azam climbs one place to secure number four spot on T20I Batter Rankings
- Azam scored 125 runs from four innings in recent home series against New Zealand
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan captain Babar Azam has improved one spot on the ICC Men’s T20I Batter Rankings, closing in on India’s top-ranked batter Suryakumar Yadav, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Wednesday.
Azam was Pakistan’s leading run-scorer during the recently concluded home series against New Zealand. The right-handed batter scored a half-century to lead his team to victory in the fifth and final T20I of the series. He scored 125 runs from four innings at the top of his side’s batting order.
“Good signs for the Pakistan captain just weeks out from the start of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup as he closes in on the No.1 T20I batter ranking,” a post by the ICC on its website read.
Azam’s performance helped him improve one spot to number four on the updated list of T20I rankings for batters. It boosted his rating by a total of 10 points, helping him reach 763 points with Yadav now just 98 rating points ahead of the Pakistan skipper.
Azam is one number behind teammate Muhammad Rizwan, who occupies the number three spot in the rankings with 784 points behind England’s Phil Salt, who has 802 points.
Pakistani pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi also jumped three places to equal 14th spot following his eight wickets across four matches against the Kiwis.
Pakistan will next head to Ireland and England to play three T20Is against the former from May 10-14 and four T20Is against the latter from May 22-30.
The 2009 World Cup champions will then head to the USA and West Indies to take part in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 scheduled to be held in June.
Barrick Gold in talks with IFC, other agencies to raise $2 billion for Pakistan’s Reko Diq
- Reko Diq in southwestern Pakistan is one of world’s biggest under-developed copper mines
- Barrick Gold CEO says mining company needs $2 billion for first phase of Reko Diq project
TORONTO: Barrick Gold is not interested in bidding for Anglo American, which last week received a $39 billion takeover offer from BHP, and is building its own copper portfolio, the Canadian miner’s CEO Mark Bristow said on Wednesday.
If BHP’s proposed acquisition of Anglo is successful, it would create one of the world’s biggest copper miners.
Analysts and investors expect rival bids to emerge after BHP’s offer was rejected last week by Anglo, which said it was opportunistic, significantly undervaluing the company and its future prospects.
“We are not interested in bidding for Anglo American, as we are building (copper assets) of our own,” Bristow told Reuters.
Bristow is betting on developing the Reko Diq copper project in Pakistan in which it holds a 50 percent stake, the first phase of which is expected to cost $5.5 billion.
Barrick is in talks with the International Finance Corporation and other agencies to raise at least $2 billion for the first phase of the project, Bristow added.
Reko Diq, one of the biggest yet-to-be-developed copper mines in the world, is also 50 percent owned by the government of Pakistan. Saudi Arabia is in talks to buy part of the stake from the Pakistan government.
In Mali, where Barrick has a gold mine, the military-led government was last year in talks with miners over a change to its mining law that could see it boost state and private Malian interests in new projects to 35 percent from up to 20 percent previously.
However, Bristow said that the company has received written assurances from the junta that there was no threat of its assets being nationalized.
Pakistan strongly condemns ‘heinous’ Afghanistan mosque attack that killed six
- Gunman stormed mosque in Afghanistan’s Herat province on Monday, killing six and injuring one
- Pakistan says it condemns “terrorism” in all its forms, including attacks on places of worship
Islamabad: Pakistan’s foreign office on Wednesday strongly condemned a “heinous terrorist attack” that left six people dead in Afghanistan’s Herat province this week, reiterating Islamabad’s stance that it condemns violence in all its forms.
A gunman stormed a mosque in Herat province’s Guzara district on Monday, killing six worshippers and injuring one. Locals said the attackers had targeted the minority Shia community in the country.
Militant group Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack in a post on social media platform Telegram. Its regional chapter is the largest security threat in Afghanistan and has frequently targeted Shia Muslims.
“Pakistan condemns in the strongest terms yesterday’s heinous terrorist attack at a mosque in Herat, Afghanistan, resulting in loss of life and injuries,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said in a press release.
The foreign office said the people and government of Pakistan stand with the people of Afghanistan and express their heartfelt condolences over the loss of lives in the incident.
“Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including despicable attacks on places of worship,” it added.
Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have deteriorated after militant attacks in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces bordering Afghanistan surged. The attacks increased after a fragile truce between Islamabad and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a banned outfit that pledges allegiance to the Afghan Taliban but is a separate group from it, broke down in Nov. 2022.
Islamabad says the attacks are launched mostly by TTP members who operate from safe havens in Afghanistan. Kabul denies this and blames Islamabad for not being able to handle its security challenges.
Tensions escalated in March when Pakistan conducted two airstrikes in Afghanistan against what it said were militant targets. Afghan officials said the airstrikes killed eight civilians, including five women and three children.
