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PM Shehbaz Sharif touches down in Saudi Arabia on three-day visit

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  • Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif starts maiden three-day visit to Saudi Arabia.
  • Pakistan to request KSA to increase deposits amount by $2 billion: sources.
  • Bilawal Bhutto, Khawaja Asif, Miftah Ismail, other officials accompanied PM.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Thursday arrived in Saudi Arabia — for his three-day visit — at the invitation of Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Shahzain Bugti, Mohsin Dawar, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqi, Chaudhry Salik, and four members of PM Shehbaz Sharif’s personal staff are accompanying the prime minister on his visit.

Governor Madinah Faisal bin Salman Al Saud and high-level Saudi officials received the prime minister after he touched down in the Kingdom.

The prime minister held a brief meeting with Madinah’s governor, where both the leaders exchanged views on bilateral relations.

Taking to Twitter before leaving for Saudi Arabia, PM Shehbaz said that his visit will “renew and reaffirm” ties between the two countries. He added that he will hold wide-ranging discussions with the Saudi leadership.

Briefing on the visit, Foreign Office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar, in a statement, had said that the prime minister will be in the Kingdom from April 28-30.

During the visit, the prime minister will have bilateral interaction with the Saudi leadership, with a particular focus on advancing economic, trade and investment ties, and creating greater opportunities for the Pakistani workforce in Saudi Arabia, the spokesperson said.

“The two sides will also exchange views on a range of regional and international issues of mutual interest,” the spokesperson said.

Iftikhar said Pakistan and KSA are bound by fraternal relationships marked by mutual trust and understanding, close cooperation, and an abiding tradition of supporting each other.

The people of Pakistan hold the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in the highest esteem, the spokesperson added.

“The bilateral relationship is complemented by close mutual collaboration at regional and international fora. Saudi Arabia is a member of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

Iftikhar said Saudi Arabia is home to more than two million Pakistanis, contributing to the progress, prosperity and economic development of the two brotherly countries.

The spokesperson further noted that regular high-level visits are a key feature of this special relationship.

Iftikhar added that the prime minister’s visit to Saudi Arabia would impart a strong impetus to deepening bilateral cooperation in diverse fields and further reinforce the growing partnership between the two countries.

Pakistan to ask for additional $3.2b from Saudi Arabia 

Pakistan has decided to seek an additional package of $3.2 billion from Saudi Arabia to jack up the total facility to $7.4 billion from the existing $4.2 billion during the current visit of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in order to avert further depletion of foreign currency reserves.

Top official sources confirmed while talking to The News on Wednesday: “We are going to request the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to increase the amount of the deposit from $3 billion to $5 billion and double the Saudi Oil Facility (SOF) from $1.2 billion to $2.4 billion, so the total package could be increased up to $7.4 billion during the visit of premier Shehbaz Sharif.” 

When one of the top officials of the Finance Division was contacted and inquired about the proposed package from Saudi Arabia, he replied: “We are requesting for deferred payment facility and enhancing the credit extended for forex support.” 

However, the top official showed reluctance to share further information about the exact details to be requested by PM Shehbaz Sharif before the KSA authorities, especially in his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman and other top dignitaries.

Pakistan will also make a request to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for rollover of the existing package of $4.2 billion for one year till June 2023 in order to align it with the IMF programme as Islamabad has already asked the Fund to extend the existing Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for nine months till June 2023 coupled with increasing the size of the programme from $6 billion to $8 billion.

Saudi Arabia had already given $3 billion deposits to the State Bank of Pakistan and an oil facility on deferred payment worth $1.2 billion during the tenure of the last PTI-led regime. The deposits were given in December 2021, while the Saudi Oil Facility (SOF) started in March 2022 and so far, $100 million have been disbursed.

Saudi Arabia had placed stringent conditions on the last package amount of $4.2 billion and linked it to the IMF programme.

The IMF programme is expected to be revived by end of June 2022 if all things are settled, as Islamabad requires a breathing space for three months period.

According to the estimates calculated by Dr Hafiz A Pasha, Pakistan requires a $12 billion injection in order to avert the balance of payment crisis and further depletion of the foreign currency reserves. Pakistan will have to seek a rollover of $4.3 billion from China, including $2.3 billion in commercial loans and the remaining $2 billion in deposits. PM Shehbaz Sharif is also expected to visit China next month to muster the required support from the friendly country.

Pakistan’s foreign currency reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan depleted rapidly by $5.5 billion in the last six weeks period and stand at $10.8 billion now. 

Any further depletion of the foreign reserves could put the country into a crisis mode, so the government was making all-out efforts to get bridge financing from the friendly country to avoid a decrease in the foreign currency reserves till the time of reviving the stalled IMF programme.

Pakistan and the IMF had already kick-started number-crunching by sharing data and now the IMF review mission was expected to start parleys from the mid of May 2022 to accomplish the pending Seventh Review and release of the next tranche of $960 million.

Education

Students from Balochistani start their academic adventure in China.

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China is the destination of ten Gwadar Institute of Technology (GIT) students who are going there for school. They will be pursuing Associate Engineering Diplomas at Hebei Jiaotong Vocational and Technical College after being chosen for the Sino-Pak Dual Diploma Program.

These students had the privilege of seeing the Chinese Consul General in Karachi prior to their departure, where they were greeted with warmth and given support for their future ambitions.

These ten people, who are from Pasni, Turbat, Kech, Panjgur, Gwadar, and Surab, among other places, exemplify the talent and diversity of Balochistan.

The Government of Balochistan and the well-known Chinese corporation Tang are supporting this opportunity, which gives these youngsters a grant to help with their study overseas.

The children would want to express their sincere gratitude to the Pakistan Army and the Government of Balochistan for making this opportunity possible.

They are excited to take advantage of this opportunity to continue their studies and support Balochstan’s growth, especially through initiatives like the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

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Amid controversy surrounding judges’ letters, PM Sharif will meet with CJP Isa today.

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Today’s key meeting between Pakistan’s Chief Justice, Qazi Faez Isa, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is planned in the midst of ongoing discussions regarding a letter sent by six justices of the Islamabad High Court regarding outside meddling in court cases.

Azam Nazir Tarar, the minister of law, and Mansoor Usman Awan, the attorney general for Pakistan, are expected to accompany Prime Minister Sharif to the CJP meeting.

The meeting follows a full court session that CJP Isa called on Wednesday, with the express purpose of addressing issues brought up in a letter signed by six judges of the Islamabad High Court.

All of the participating judges carefully examined the letter’s contents during the session, analyzing both its constitutional and legal consequences. Discussions about the letter’s publication’s legal and constitutional ramifications were also included in the session.

All of the judges actively participated in the lengthy two hours and twelve minute discussion, offering their thoughts on the subject at hand.

According to sources, the top judge of Pakistan is expected to chair another full court meeting today. It is anticipated that this session would examine the letter’s contents in greater detail, with additional evaluation and discussion among the SC judges.

On Wednesday, the bar associations of the High Courts of Islamabad, Lahore, Sindh, and Balochistan urged that the CJP conduct a “transparent inquiry” into the matter and that those responsible for it face legal repercussions.

Its cabinet “strongly condemned the interference of one institution into the matters of another institution,” according to a press release from the IHCBA.

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Jordan and Pakistan emphasize how vital a ceasefire in Gaza is.

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Jordan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Ayman Safadi, called Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Dar said on his X timeline that during the discussion, they talked about the state of affairs in Gaza and denounced the actions of Israel.

The two leaders demanded that help be sent to Gaza without hindrance.

“I am excited to collaborate closely with the foreign minister of Jordan to develop our bilateral relations into a multi-level partnership,” he said.

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