ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Tuesday responded to reports of a group of Pakistani journalists traveling to Israel, saying it was not “possible” under the existing rules.
Israel Hayom, a Hebrew-language Israeli newspaper, last week published a report that a 10-member Pakistani delegation of journalists, intellectuals and influencers had visited Israel for a week.
English-language Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post said this week these Pakistanis visited Israel to learn about the Holocaust and the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas.
Pakistan does not recognize Israel and has consistently called for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters” and pre-1967 borders.
“The Government of Pakistan has noted reports regarding Pakistani journalists traveling to Israel. In this regard, it is clarified that Pakistani passports explicitly state they are ‘not valid for travel to Israel’,” the Pakistani Foreign Office said in response to media queries.
“Therefore, no such visit is possible under existing regulations.”
The Hayom newspaper report said the ten Pakistani journalists and researchers, including two women, arrived in Israel this month and carried passports declaring their invalidity for travel to Israel.
“Despite this, they bravely accepted an invitation from Sharaka, an organization working to strengthen relations between Israel and South Asian countries,” the report said. “To protect the delegation members, their passports were not stamped, and publication of their visit was delayed until they returned safely home.”
However, the Foreign Office in Islamabad said Pakistan’s position on Israel “remains unchanged.”
“Pakistan does not recognize Israel and steadfastly supports the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders,” it said.
The South Asian country has consistently called for a cessation of Israeli military campaign in Gaza and strongly condemned the resumption of Israeli strikes in the territory last Tuesday, saying they could fully reignite the 17-month-old war that has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians.
Islamabad has also dispatched more than two dozen aid consignments for the Palestinian people since Israel began pounding Gaza in Oct. 2023.
“Pakistan reiterates its unwavering commitment to a just and peaceful resolution of the Palestinian issue in accordance with relevant UN resolutions and the aspirations of the Palestinian people,” the Pakistani Foreign Office added.
Pakistani journalists’ visit to Israel not ‘possible’ under existing rules, Islamabad says
https://arab.news/m6w64
Pakistani journalists’ visit to Israel not ‘possible’ under existing rules, Islamabad says
- Israeli media reported a 10-member Pakistani delegation this month visited Israel for a week
- Islamabad says its position on Israel ‘remain unchanged,’ reiterates its support for Palestine
Pakistan highlights economic reforms at Davos, eyes cooperation in AI, IT and minerals
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif speaks at breakfast event in Davos at sidelines of World Economic Forum summit
- Pakistan, rich in gold, copper reserves, has sought cooperation with China, US, Gulf countries in its mineral sector
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif highlighted Pakistan’s recent economic reforms during the sidelines of the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) summit in Davos on Wednesday, saying that his country was eyeing greater cooperation in mines and minerals, information technology, cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence with other states.
The Pakistani prime minister was speaking at the Pakistan Pavilion in Davos on the sidelines of the WEF summit at a breakfast event. Sharif arrived in Switzerland on Tuesday to attend the 56th annual meeting of the WEF, which brings together global business leaders, policymakers and politicians to speak on social, economic and political challenges.
Pakistan has recently undertaken several economic reforms, which include removing subsidies on energy and food, privatization of loss-making state-owned enterprises and expanding its tax base. Islamabad took the measures as part of reforms it agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in exchange for a financial bailout package.
“We are now into mines and minerals business in a big way,” Sharif said at the event. “We have signed agreements with American companies and Chinese companies.”
Islamabad has sought to attract foreign investment in its critical minerals sector in recent months. In April 2025, Pakistan hosted an international minerals summit where top companies and government officials from the US, Saudi Arabia, China, Türkiye, the UK, Azerbaijan, and other nations attended.
Pakistan is rich in gold, copper and lithium reserves as well as other minerals, yet its mineral sector contributes only 3.2 percent to the countrys GDP and 0.1 percent to global exports, according to official figures.
Sharif said Pakistan has been blessed with infinite natural resources which are buried in its mountains in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Kashmir and southwestern Balochistan regions.
“But we have now decided to go forward at lightning speed,” he said. “And we are also moving speedily in the field of crypto, AI, IT.”
He said the government’s fiscal and economic measures have reduced inflation from nearly 30 percent a few years ago to single-digit figures, adding that its tax-to-GDP ratio had also increased from 9 to 10.5 percent.
The prime minister admitted Pakistan’s exports face different kinds of challenges collectively, saying the country’s social indicators needed to improve.
“But the way forward is very clear: that Pakistan has to have an export-led growth,” he said.
SHARIF MEETS IMF MANAGING DIRECTOR
Separately, Sharif met IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on improvements in Pakistan’s macroeconomic indicators, efforts toward stability and progress on institutional reforms, a statement from Sharif’s office said.
He emphasized Pakistan’s commitment to fiscal discipline, revenue mobilization and sustainable development, it added.
The IMF managing director acknowledged and appreciated Pakistan’s reform efforts, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.
“Both sides exchanged views on the global economic outlook, challenges facing emerging economies, and the importance of multilateral cooperation in safeguarding economic stability,” the PMO said.
