Pakistan finance chief calls for stronger emerging market voice during Saudi conference

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb speaks with Arab News at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies in Saudi Arabia on February 9, 2026. (Alulaeme.com)
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Updated 12 February 2026
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Pakistan finance chief calls for stronger emerging market voice during Saudi conference

  • Aurangzeb tells Saudi state media developing economies must assume larger global role
  • Minister says AlUla conference can strengthen coordination among emerging economies

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Thursday called for developing economies to play a greater role in shaping global economic governance in an interview on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies in Saudi Arabia.

The conference, hosted by the Kingdom’s Finance Ministry, brings together top government functionaries, central bank governors and policymakers from emerging markets to discuss debt sustainability, macroeconomic coordination and structural reforms amid global economic uncertainty.

In a conversation with the Saudi Press Agency, Aurangzeb described the conference as a timely platform for dialogue at a moment of heightened geopolitical tensions, trade fragmentation and rapid technological change, including advances in artificial intelligence.

“It is not merely about discussions but about translating deliberations into concrete policy actions and execution over the course of the year,” he said, according to a statement circulated by the Finance Division in Islamabad.

The minister said emerging markets’ growing share of global output and growth should be matched by greater influence in international decision-making.

He noted these economies must strengthen collective dialogue and coordinated policy responses to address shared challenges, adding that the global landscape had evolved significantly since the inaugural edition of the conference.

Aurangzeb expressed confidence that the outcomes of the AlUla Conference would contribute to strengthening coordination among emerging economies and reinforcing their collective voice in shaping a more inclusive and resilient global economic order, the statement added.

 


Pakistan says Afghanistan operation targeting only militants

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Pakistan says Afghanistan operation targeting only militants

  • Both countries claim to have inflicted heavy battlefield losses on the other since the clashes began on Feb. 26
  • Islamabad has been bombing areas it says harbor ‘militant targets’ in Afghanistan, an allegation Kabul has denied

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Information Minister Ataullah Tarar has said that no civilian areas were targeted in the ongoing Afghanistan operation and Pakistani strikes were solely aimed at militant infrastructure and support networks, his office said on Monday.

The statement came after the Afghan Taliban government and the United Nations mission in Kabul accused Pakistan of targeting civilian areas during the ongoing operation, “Ghazab Lil Haq,” or the “Wrath for Truth.”

Clashes between the countries began on Feb. 26, when Afghan forces launched an attack on Pakistani military along their shared border in retaliation for Pakistan’s earlier airstrikes on what Islamabad said were militant camps inside Afghanistan.
In a conversation with foreign media correspondents, Tarar said that Pakistan was taking action inside Afghanistan based on “accurate” intelligence information.

“Pakistan has not targeted any civilian area in Afghanistan,” he was quoted as saying by his ministry. “Pakistan is only targeting the infrastructure of terrorists and their support system.”

The minister denied reports of civilian deaths, saying the UN agency was “completely dependent on the Taliban government” for information. The UN rights chief said Friday that 56 Afghan civilians had been killed, nearly half of them children, since the hostilities began.

Tarar also dismissed as “just propaganda” the claims made by an Afghan defense ministry spokesperson about inflicting battlefield losses on Pakistan. Tarar said on Sunday that 583 Afghan Taliban fighters had so far been killed in Pakistani strikes, a claim difficult to verify independently.

Islamabad has long accused Kabul of sheltering militant groups, including the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, and facilitating attacks against Pakistan. Afghanistan denies the allegations and says Islamabad’s security challenges are an internal matter.

Afghanistan has called for dialogue to resolve the conflict. Pakistan, however, has rejected talks, saying the operation will continue until its objectives are met.

“There is a nexus between the Afghan Taliban government and several terrorist organizations operating from Afghan soil,” Tarar added.