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Pakistan's FM condemns Houthi attack in Abu Dhabi

A picture shows a partial view of the Msaffah industrial district in the Emiarti capital Abu Dhabi, UAE, on January 17, 2022. (AFP)
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Updated 18 January 2022
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Pakistan's FM condemns Houthi attack in Abu Dhabi

  • Houthi rebels targeted an oil facility in the United Arab Emirates on Monday, killing three people including a Pakistani national
  • FM Qureshi says ‘such acts of terrorism are a violation of the sovereignty’ of the United Arab Emirates
Updated 18 January 2022
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday condemned an attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on an oil facility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), calling the act a violation of the principle of state sovereignty while demanding an end to such military strikes.
Qureshi issued the statement during a phone call with UAE foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan who shared details of the recent attack in Abu Dhabi in which three people, including a Pakistani, were killed while six others were wounded.
The UAE official also expressed grief over the death of the Pakistani citizen.




Pakistan's foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, holds a phone call with UAE foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan (not pictured) in Islamabad, Pakistan, on January 18, 2022. (Photo courtesy: Foreign Office of Pakistan)

The UAE is part of Arab Coalition in Yemen which has been fighting Houthi rebels, who have also repeatedly targeted Saudi Arabia with cross-border strikes.
A Pakistani and two Indians working for oil giant ADNOC died as three petrol tanks exploded near a storage facility, while a fire also ignited in a construction area at the Abu Dhabi airport.
The rebel group claimed responsibility of the attack, saying it had used missiles and drones to target the oil facility.
“Such acts of terrorism are a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the United Arab Emirates,” the Pakistani foreign minister said. “They also pose a serious threat to the overall peace and stability and must be stopped immediately.”

Earlier in the day, the Pakistan embassy in the UAE said in a Twitter post it was closely working “with the family of the victim of 17 January terrorist attack in Abu Dhabi to get his remains repatriated to Pakistan.”
It also confirmed that the injured Pakistanis were getting medical treatment and were in good health.


Pakistan’s foreign office issued a condemnation of the Houthi attack on Monday night, pointing out that it targeted civilian areas in Abu Dhabi while offering condolences to the families of the victims and wishing speedy recovery to the injured.
It maintained such attacks violated the sovereignty of the UAE and posed a grave threat to the regional peace and security while demanding their immediate cessation.
“Pakistan stands in solidarity with the brotherly people and government of the United Arab Emirates in the face of this wanton act of terrorism,” the statement said.




Men stand next to a tank at a storage facility of oil giant ADNOC in the Msaffah industrial district in the Emiarti capital Abu Dhabi on January 17, 2022. (AFP)

Pakistani political leaders also joined the chorus with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) condemning the “terrorist” attack.
“Pakistan condemns attacks in Abu Dhabi,” Prime Minister Imran Khan’s aide on the Middle East, Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi, said in a statement.
“Pakistan considers security and stability of UAE as security and defense of Pakistan. We assure the UAE of Pakistan’s full support and cooperation.”
Ashrafi said the security and peace of Saudi Arabia and the UAE was “very dear” to Pakistan. “[We] can’t tolerate any step against the security of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the UAE,” he said.
Raja Zafarul Haq, a senior figure of the opposition’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, demanded the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) take “swift action” over this unprovoked terrorist act.
“We condemn this unprovoked attack on the UAE and there should be a proper solution to growing aggression [by Houthis],” Haq told Arab News.
“The UNSC and the Arab League should immediately take up this matter to find a solution to this problem which is becoming a danger for the whole region.”
Former Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) senator Sehar Kamran said the “cowardly” attack was a conspiracy to derail peace in the Middle East and the extended region.
“We condemn this cowardly attack which is an act of terrorism resulting in the loss of innocent lives,” she told Arab News.
“This attack is a conspiracy to derail peace and harmony in the region at a time when relations between the Middle Eastern countries are getting better,” she said, urging the OIC to take strong action against the Yemeni militia.
Kamran warned if the world did not stop Houthis, then such attacks would not just remain limited to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. “They can spread and will affect peace and stability in the whole region and the world,” she said.




In this satellite image provided by Planet Labs PBC, an Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. fuel depot in the Mussafah neighborhood of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, is seen Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022, before being targeted in an attack days later. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

Kamran warned if the world did not stop Houthis, then such attacks would not just remain limited to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. “They can spread and will affect peace and stability in the whole region and the world,” she said.   

The UAE has vowed reprisals after the attack on the oil facility.   

“We condemn the Houthi terrorist militia’s targeting of civilian areas and facilities on UAE soil today... this sinful targeting will not go unpunished,” UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan said in a statement, as his ministry described the attack as a “heinous criminal escalation.”  

The incident follows a surge in fighting in Yemen, including advances by UAE-trained troops. The rebels also seized a UAE-flagged ship and its international crew earlier this month.

Topics: Houthis UAE ADNOC Abu Dhabi

UK may restrict students from countries, including Pakistan, with high asylum claims

Updated 13 sec ago
Reuters
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UK may restrict students from countries, including Pakistan, with high asylum claims

  • The move follows the ruling Labour Party’s poor performance in last week’s local elections
  • Of 108,000 asylum claims in Britain last year, 16,000 were from people with student visas
Updated 13 sec ago
Reuters

LONDON: The British government may restrict visa applications from students living in countries that are considered most likely to claim asylum in a move designed to bring down annual net migration, a government official said.
The move comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party was punished in local elections in England last week by voters angry over issues, including illegal immigration.
The government is expected next week to publish a policy document, known as a white paper, which will set out how the government plans to reduce net migration, which reached 728,000 people in the year to June last year.
“Our upcoming Immigration White Paper will set out a comprehensive plan to restore order to our broken immigration system,” the Home Office said in a statement.
High levels of legal migration have long dominated Britain’s political conversation and were one of the major drivers for the Brexit referendum in 2016.
Out of the 108,000 people who claimed asylum in Britain last year, 16,000 had student visas, government data shows. The government does not provide a breakdown of the nationalities of those who had student visas, who went on to claim asylum.
But the government said people from Pakistan, Nigeria and Sri Lanka were the most likely to claim asylum in Britain after arriving on a work, student, or a visitor visa.
In the aftermath of the party’s poor local election results last week, some Labour members of parliament urged the government to do more to take a more decisive approach on issues such as bringing down net migration.
Jo White, who represents a group of lawmakers in previously Labour heartlands known as the “Red Wall,” said the government should stop “pussyfooting around.”

Pakistan inaugurates national intelligence, threat assessment center amid India tensions

Updated 21 min 16 sec ago
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Pakistan inaugurates national intelligence, threat assessment center amid India tensions

  • Pakistan has already been battling twin insurgencies and ties between Islamabad and New Delhi have recently plummeted to new lows over an attack in Kashmir
  • The new platform will coordinate Pakistan’s counterterrorism strategy by leveraging the “full spectrum” of institutional capabilities, PM Sharif office says
Updated 21 min 16 sec ago
KASHIF IMRAN

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday inaugurated the National Intelligence Fusion and Threat Assessment Center (NIFTAC) Headquarters, Sharif’s office said, amid heightened tensions with India.
Relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors have plummeted after India accused Pakistan of backing an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 tourists on April 22. Islamabad has rejected the charge and both countries have since exchanged gunfire in Kashmir, taken diplomatic measures against each other, expelled citizens and ordered the border shut.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to pursue the attackers “to the ends of the earth” and there have been fears that India may carry out limited airstrikes or special forces raids near the border with Pakistan. The Pakistan military has conducted two missile tests since the standoff, with Islamabad saying it had “credible intelligence” that India was planning to attack Pakistan.
NIFTAC integrates over 50 federal and provincial departments and agencies into a unified intelligence and threat management architecture supported by a centralized national database. At the sub-national level, it is linked to six provincial intelligence and threat assessment hubs, including those in Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, to ensure seamless coordination between the federation and provinces.
“This integrated framework is designed to harmonize intelligence gathering, analysis, and operational responses across multiple domains,” Sharif’s office said. “By leveraging the full spectrum of institutional capabilities, NIFTAC will enhance national preparedness, optimize resource utilization, and enable a coherent and timely counterterrorism response.”
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militancy in its northwest by religiously motivated militant groups like the Pakistani Taliban. The South Asian country has also been faced with a decades-long insurgency by Baloch separatists in its southwest, which has intensified in recent months.
On Tuesday, seven Pakistani army soldiers were killed when their vehicle was targeted by an improvised explosive device in the southwestern Balochistan province, Pakistan’s military said in a statement.
Sharif was accompanied by federal ministers and services chiefs at Tuesday’s inauguration of the NIFTAC headquarters, which will coordinate Pakistan’s national counterterrorism strategy. He commended all stakeholders involved in operationalizing this vital capability and described NIFTAC as a quintessential national platform for collaborative threat assessment and response.
“Dismantling the nexus between terrorism, illicit networks, and external sponsorship requires robust and efficient institutional mechanisms,” Sharif was quoted as saying by his office.
“[NIFTAC] will play a pivotal role in uprooting terrorism and its support structures from the country.”

Topics: Pakistan Army ISPR National Intelligence Fusion and Threat Assessment Center Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Pakistan India Ties Pahalgam attack

Bears dominate Pakistan stocks as risk-averse investors wary of India standoff fallout

Updated 8 min 34 sec ago
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Bears dominate Pakistan stocks as risk-averse investors wary of India standoff fallout

  • Benchmark index surged to intraday high of 990 point but later succumbed to selling pressure, hitting an intraday low of 683 points
  • Moody’s on Monday warned that India-Pakistan standoff could set back Islamabad’s economic reforms as world powers called for calm
Updated 8 min 34 sec ago
Ismail Dilawar

KARACHI: Pakistan’s stocks lost more than 500 points on Tuesday after early morning gains as risk-averse investors remained wary of the country’s ongoing tensions with nuclear-armed neighbor India, analysts said. 

The benchmark KSE-100 Index rose as much as one percent or 900 points after trading kicked off at the bourse in the morning, following a surprise move by the central bank on Monday to slash the key policy rate by 100 basis points 11 percent to spur growth amid challenges posed by US trade tariffs and geopolitical tensions with archrival India.

However, as the day progressed, profit-taking emerged across key sectors, gradually eroding the morning gains. The index ultimately succumbed to selling pressure, hitting an intraday low of 683 points and closing the session at 113,568 level, down by 533 points or 0.47 percent.

“Index remained bullish in intraday trade following the State Bank of Pakistan’s 100 basis points policy rate cut [on Monday],” Najeeb Ahmed Khan Warsi, head of online trading at Foundation Securities Ltd., told Arab News in Karachi, adding that the rate cut had lifted investor sentiment and triggered buying across key sectors such as oil, cement, and energy. 

Market participants were optimistic about lower financing costs and improved earnings potential under a more accommodative monetary policy stance, Warsi added.

At 11 percent, the interest rate is at its lowest since December 2021, creating further room for the economy to expand amid easing inflation.

Shankar Talreja, director of research at brokerage firm Topline Securities Ltd., said the market was positive in the morning primarily on the back of reports that banks would release payments to settle energy sector debt, also called circular debt.

Energy scrips like Pakistan State Oil, Oil & Gas Development Company Ltd. and Pakistan Petroleum Ltd. rallied more than two percent in daily trade “on the hope of payment disbursement from the banking sector to settle the Rs1.2 trillion circular debt,” said Muhammad Rizwan, director brokerage at Chase Securities Pakistan, in a note to clients.

Talreja said there was a solid ground for the central bank to cut borrowing costs. 

“However, the market was uncertain earlier on the timings just due to geopolitical tensions,” he said in a text message to Arab News.

But Tuesday’s early morning rally proved short-lived as investors started selling their shareholdings to book profits, dragging the benchmark index 0.5 percent to close at 113,568 points.

Cement stocks bore the brunt of profit-taking and dropped as much as three percent.

“Indo-Pak issues (are) clouding the gains actually,” Talreja said. 

“Despite an unexpected cut in the monetary policy statement, investors preferred to book gains in PSX as border tensions are still at a high level,” said Rizwan of Chase Securities.

Warsi said profit-taking, regional uncertainty with India and caution ahead of the new federal budget for FY26 were weighing on investor sentiment despite a supportive monetary stance.

Pakistan is expected to announce its budget for 2025-26 next month. 

On Monday, Moody’s said the standoff with India could hurt Pakistan’s $350 billion economy, which is on a path to recovery after securing a $7 billion bailout program from the International Monetary Fund last year and staving off a default threat.

“Sustained escalation in tensions with India would likely weigh on Pakistan’s growth and hamper the government’s ongoing fiscal consolidation, setting back Pakistan’s progress in achieving macroeconomic stability,” Moody’s said.

“A persistent increase in tensions could also impair Pakistan’s access to external financing and pressure its foreign-exchange reserves,” it added.

The report comes two days after Reuters reported that India has asked the IMF to review its loans to Pakistan.

India’s economy is not expected to see major disruptions since it has “minimal economic relations” with Pakistan — although higher defense spending could weigh on New Delhi’s fiscal strength and slow fiscal consolidation, Moody’s added.

Pakistan on Tuesday also accused India of altering the flow of the Chenab River, one of three rivers placed under Pakistan’s control according to the now suspended Indus Waters Treaty of 1960. 

The stoppage of water is likely to negatively impact Pakistan’s agriculture, which contributes more than 20 percent to gross domestic product.

Topics: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) Pakistan Stock Market Pakistan India Ties

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia agree to deepen anti-narcotics cooperation amid growing drug seizures

Updated 06 May 2025
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Pakistan, Saudi Arabia agree to deepen anti-narcotics cooperation amid growing drug seizures

  • Pakistan’s state minister for interior meets Saudi director general of narcotics control in the federal capital
  • He says Pakistan has a ‘zero-tolerance policy’ on narcotics while calling drug trafficking an international issue
Updated 06 May 2025
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia agreed to increase bilateral cooperation on anti-narcotics efforts, according to an official statement on Tuesday, as Islamabad described the drug trade as a global problem requiring collaboration among friendly nations.
The issue came up for discussion during a meeting in Islamabad between Pakistan’s Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry and Saudi Arabia’s Director General of Narcotics Control, Major General Mohammed bin Saeed Al-Qarni, who was accompanied by a high-level delegation.
Pakistan has faced a significantly intense drug problem, with Chaudhry saying the government seized narcotics worth $21 billion last year.
“Pakistan has a zero-tolerance policy on narcotics,” the interior ministry statement quoted him as saying during the meeting. “Drug trafficking is an international issue, and only through mutual cooperation between friendly countries can this menace be effectively addressed.”
The meeting was also attended by Saudi envoy to Pakistan Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki and senior Saudi military and narcotics officials.
The Pakistani minister pointed out that over 40 percent of the world’s drug production originates from neighboring Afghanistan.
He also praised his country’s Anti-Narcotics Force for effectively dealing with the challenge despite its limited resources.
Chaudhry linked recent crackdowns on undocumented migrants to broader concerns about drug trafficking and militancy.
Major General Al-Qarni described the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan as exemplary and called for joint work to address the “scourge” of narcotics, according to the statement.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Chaudhry presented honorary shields to the Saudi delegation and conveyed his best wishes.

Topics: Pakistan Saudi Arabia ties

Pakistan envoy stresses continued engagement with Afghanistan to secure border with India

Updated 06 May 2025
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Pakistan envoy stresses continued engagement with Afghanistan to secure border with India

  • Pakistan has been battling twin insurgencies in its western regions that border Afghanistan, while Islamabad’s tensions with Indian have also flared up recently
  • Analysts’ term simultaneous pressure on both eastern and western borders a ‘serious challenge’ for Pakistan, warning it could dilute Islamabad’s focus on militancy
Updated 06 May 2025
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s special representative to Afghanistan, Ambassador Muhammad Sadiq, said on Tuesday it was important for Islamabad to continue engagement with Afghanistan to better manage the country’s western border with India, amid friction between the neighbors over a surge in militancy in Pakistan.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant violence since the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), called off their months-long ceasefire with the government in late 2022. Islamabad has frequently accused that militant groups use Afghan soil to launch cross-border attacks in Pakistan, an allegation the Afghan Taliban deny, maintaining there are no militant groups operating in their territory.
Late last month, Pakistan’s army said it had killed over 70 militants who were attempting to cross into Pakistan from Afghanistan. The development came amid Pakistan’s tensions with another neighbor to the east, India, following an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 tourists on April 22. Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tatar has said that New Delhi blamed the attack on Islamabad to divert Pakistan’s security focus from its western border.
“The important thing [for Pakistan] to do, particularly with Afghanistan, is to continuously remain engaged with them, to act when it’s required and act in a required way,” Sadiq said, addressing a regional conference in Islamabad on ‘Pathways to Peace and Prosperity in Turbulent Times.’
“The sooner we act on something, the sooner we engage with Afghanistan and the government and people of Afghanistan, the sooner we will get results and whenever we delay, we actually get into trouble, more and more trouble.”
Pakistan’s focus should be prevention of smuggling and promotion of trade with Afghanistan, according to the envoy. The “one-document regime” should regulate travel between the two countries and not “hinder people-to-people contact.”
“Anybody who’s going to Afghanistan or coming from Afghanistan should take a passport and get a visa, so that we can have a proper record of entry and exits,” he added.
Pakistan implemented the one-document regime with Afghanistan on January 1, 2023, which requires Afghan nationals to present a valid passport and visa for entry into Pakistan, ending the previous practice of cross-border movement showing local identity documents. The regime aims to regulate travel, enhance border security, and maintain a proper record of entry and exit.
Speaking at the event, Faisal Karim Kundi, governor of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province that borders Afghanistan, said Islamabad seeks peace not for political gains, but to unlock the true potential of the region.
“Pakistan always believes in dialogues, but dialogues are not our weakness as we are ready for any adventure from India,” he said, adding that Pakistan’s defense was in “safe hands” which was portrayed in the past as well.
Defense analysts and security expert term simultaneous pressure on both eastern and western borders a “serious strategic challenge” for Pakistan, warning it could dilute the country’s focus in its fight against militancy.
Besides a surge in militancy in the northwest, Pakistan is also facing an intensifying separatist insurgency in the southwestern Balochistan province, where separatist militants have mounted their attacks on security forces, police and foreign nationals in recent months.
Dr. Qamar Cheema, a defense analyst, said if India engaged Pakistan through “kinetic means,” it could undermine Pakistan’s ability to effectively combat militancy.
“Any direct attack on Pakistan at the eastern border will definitely challenge [Pakistan’s] capabilities because it will stretch the armed forces,” he told Arab News on the sidelines of the conference.
Muhammad Ali, a security expert, agreed with Cheema.
“It seems that India seeks to divert Pakistan’s attention, resources and force posture to provide relief to TTP and BLA (Baloch Liberation Army) in KP and Balochistan,” he said, adding that Islamabad was “well aware of the challenges” in simultaneously facing rising militancy and an escalation on the Pakistan-India border.
Cheema said Pakistan did not want to be stretched further, which was why it was telling the international community that the transnational militant threat was more important.
“I think this is where the West needs to jump in so that Pakistan’s efforts against the war against terrorism and militant organizations do not get compromised,” he added.

Topics: Pakistan Afghanistan Ties

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