Islamabad: A delegation of the Pakistan Business Council (PBC) Dubai on Friday held a meeting with Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Faisal Niaz Tirmizi and shared their plans to enhance business to business (B2B) ties between the two countries, the Pakistani embassy said.
The UAE is Pakistan’s third-largest trading partner after China and the United States, and a major source of foreign investment valued at over $10 billion in the last 20 years, according to the UAE foreign ministry.
It is also home to more than a million Pakistani expatriates. Policymakers in Pakistan consider the UAE an optimal export destination due to its geographical proximity, which minimizes transportation and freight costs while facilitating commercial transactions.
The PBC delegation, which comprised its newly elected Board of Directors and was led by Shabbir Merchant, met Ambassador Tirmizi at the Embassy of Pakistan in Abu Dhabi.
“The delegation of Pakistan Business Council presented their vision and strategy in enhancing the business-to-business relationship between Pakistan and the UAE,” the Pakistani embassy said in a statement. “They also sought embassy’s support in materializing their vision.”
The PBC assists Pakistan-related companies and professionals in establishing businesses or working in the UAE through business networking and connections, and information exchange.
The Pakistani ambassador assured the delegates of the embassy’s support in strengthening economic and trade relations between Pakistan and the UAE, according to the Pakistani embassy.
This week, Pakistan’s consul general, Hussain Muhammad, met the PBC officials in Dubai, where Merchant shared with him the council’s strategic roadmap for 2025-2026.
Muhammad appreciated PBC’s efforts in promoting Pakistan’s economic potential in the UAE and stressed the need for business leaders to explore opportunities in Pakistan’s diverse sectors, including information technology, manufacturing, agriculture and tourism.
Pakistan and UAE have stepped up efforts in recent years to strengthen their business and investment relations. In January last year, Pakistan and the UAE signed multiple agreements worth more than $3 billion for cooperation in railways, economic zones and infrastructure, a Pakistani official said, amid Pakistani caretaker prime minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar’s visit to Davos for the World Economic Forum’s summit.
Pakistan Business Council officials meet Islamabad’s envoy in UAE in bid to enhance bilateral B2B ties
https://arab.news/2esra
Pakistan Business Council officials meet Islamabad’s envoy in UAE in bid to enhance bilateral B2B ties
- The United Arab Emirates is Pakistan’s third-largest trading partner after China and US, and a major source of foreign investment
- The PBC assists Pakistan-related companies and professionals in the UAE through business networking and exchange of information
Sindh assembly passes resolution rejecting move to separate Karachi
- Chief Minister Shah cites constitutional safeguards against altering provincial boundaries
- Calls to separate Karachi intensified amid governance concerns after a mall fire last month
ISLAMABAD: The provincial assembly of Pakistan’s southern Sindh province on Saturday passed a resolution rejecting any move to separate Karachi, declaring its territorial integrity “non-negotiable” amid political calls to carve the city out as a separate administrative unit.
The resolution comes after fresh demands by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and other voices to grant Karachi provincial or federal status following governance challenges highlighted by the deadly Gul Plaza fire earlier this year that killed 80 people.
Karachi, Pakistan’s largest and most densely populated city, is the country’s main commercial hub and contributes a significant share to the national economy.
Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah tabled the resolution in the assembly, condemning what he described as “divisive statements” about breaking up Sindh or detaching Karachi.
“The province that played a foundational role in the creation of Pakistan cannot allow the fragmentation of its own historic homeland,” Shah told lawmakers, adding that any attempt to divide Sindh or separate Karachi was contrary to the constitution and democratic norms.
Citing Article 239 of Pakistan’s 1973 Constitution, which requires the consent of not less than two-thirds of a provincial assembly to alter provincial boundaries, Shah said any such move could not proceed without the assembly’s approval.
“If any such move is attempted, it is this Assembly — by a two-thirds majority — that will decide,” he said.
The resolution reaffirmed that Karachi would “forever remain” an integral part of Sindh and directed the provincial government to forward the motion to the president, prime minister and parliamentary leadership for record.
Shah said the resolution was not aimed at anyone but referred to the shifting stance of MQM in the debate while warning that opposing the resolution would amount to supporting the division of Sindh.
The party has been a major political force in Karachi with a significant vote bank in the city and has frequently criticized Shah’s provincial administration over its governance of Pakistan’s largest metropolis.
Taha Ahmed Khan, a senior MQM leader, acknowledged that his party had “presented its demand openly on television channels with clear and logical arguments” to separate Karachi from Sindh.
“It is a purely constitutional debate,” he told Arab News by phone. “We are aware that the Pakistan Peoples Party, which rules the province, holds a two-thirds majority and that a new province cannot be created at this stage. But that does not mean new provinces can never be formed.”
Calls to alter Karachi’s status have periodically surfaced amid longstanding complaints over governance, infrastructure and administrative control in the megacity, though no formal proposal to redraw provincial boundaries has been introduced at the federal level.
