ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar will leave on an official five-day visit to the UK today, Wednesday, where he will meet top British officials as well as members of the Pakistani expat community, the foreign office said.
Pakistan and the UK, which is home to a large Pakistani diaspora, have trade, defense and education ties, among engagement in other areas.
“Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, will undertake an official visit to the United Kingdom from 4-8 September 2024,” the foreign office said in a statement.
In the UK, Dar will meet his counterpart UK Deputy PM Angela Rayner and hold talks with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Affairs, David Lammy.
He will also engage with UK parliamentarians and representatives of the British-Pakistani community.
Pakistan is currently trying to engage with foreign governments and lenders to draw foreign investment as well as seek loan rollovers as the South Asian country struggles to meet external financial needs to get approval for a $7 billion IMF bailout loan.
Pakistan and the IMF reached an agreement for the 37-month loan program in July. The IMF has said the program is subject to approval from its executive board and obtaining “timely confirmation of necessary financing assurances from Pakistan’s development and bilateral partners.”
Pakistani deputy PM to leave on five-day visit to UK today
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Pakistani deputy PM to leave on five-day visit to UK today
- Ishaq Dar to meet British counterpart, UK parliamentarians, Pakistani diaspora community
- Pakistan and Britain, a former colonial power, share trade, education and defense ties
Pakistan’s Balochistan announces Ramadan relief package for 328,000 families
- Balochistan government to distribute ration packs across all districts of the province among deserving families, says state media
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last week launched $136 million Ramadan relief package for low-income families across the nation
ISLAMABAD: The government in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province has announced a Ramadan relief package comprising ration supplies for 328,000 deserving families across the province, state media reported this week.
Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Director General Jahanzaib Khan said the ration packs will be distributed across all districts of the province through eight-member coordination committees.
“Jahanzaib Khan added that ration supplies for the Ramazan package have already been dispatched to twenty districts, while remaining districts will receive their share in coming days,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Monday.
Khan vowed to ensure transparency “at all costs” and that the government would not compromise on the quality of the ration packages.
The announcement comes after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif launched a Rs38 billion ($136 million) Ramadan relief package on Saturday, pledging direct digital cash transfers of Rs13,000 ($47) each to 12.1 million low-income families across Pakistan.
The government had scrapped the Utility Store-based Ramadan subsidy system last year, arguing that it led to quality concerns, long queues and administrative inefficiencies.
Pakistan’s government announces Ramadan relief packages before the holy month commences every year, when Muslims across the world fast from dawn till sunset. During Ramadan, household expenses surge as families spend on essential items such as flour, sugar, ghee and others.
Pakistan’s national space agency announced last week that the Ramadan crescent would likely be visible in the country on Feb. 18, with the first fast expected to fall on Feb. 19, subject to official confirmation.
