ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is scheduled to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his official visit to Saudi Arabia starting tomorrow, the foreign office in Islamabad said on Tuesday, to discuss ways to further enhance bilateral trade and strengthen collaboration in key economic sectors.
The two countries have enjoyed close defense, diplomatic, political and cultural relations, though they have consolidated their ties further in recent years as Islamabad grappled with a prolonged economic crisis and sought the kingdom’s help.
Pakistan has tried to strengthen business-to-business (B2B) ties with the Kingdom, with both sides announcing during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Riyadh last October they had signed 34 memorandums of understanding and agreements worth $2.8 billion to enhance private sector collaboration and commercial partnerships.
“Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will undertake an official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 19-22 March 2025,” the foreign office said. “The visit aims to strengthen bilateral ties, enhance economic cooperation and promote investment between the two countries.”
“During the visit, the Prime Minister is scheduled to meet Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman,” it added. “The leaders will discuss and deliberate upon ways to boost trade, enhance partnership in key sectors and facilitate greater economic collaboration.”
Sharif will be accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar, along with key federal ministers and senior officials. The delegation is expected to engage with Saudi counterparts to explore new avenues of investment and economic cooperation.
According to the foreign office statement, discussions will also cover regional and global developments, including the Gaza situation, evolving Middle East dynamics and broader issues concerning the Muslim Ummah.
Saudi Arabia presents a key export opportunity for Pakistani businesses, given its strong consumer demand and ambitious Vision 2030 economic reforms that emphasize diversification and foreign investments.
Pakistan has a 2.7 million-strong diaspora in Saudi Arabia, which accounts for the highest remittance inflow, a crucial lifeline for the country’s economy.
Last month, Pakistan’s commerce minister, Jam Kamal Khan, inaugurated the country’s first-ever solo “Made in Pakistan” exhibition in Jeddah, informing participants that over 1.7 million Pakistani workers had migrated to the Kingdom in the past five years, making it the top destination for Pakistani emigrants.
Pakistani PM in Saudi Arabia from Mar. 19-22 to discuss economic cooperation, investments
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Pakistani PM in Saudi Arabia from Mar. 19-22 to discuss economic cooperation, investments
- Pakistani foreign office says Sharif scheduled to meet Saudi crown prince
- Discussions will also cover global developments including Gaza war
Pakistan says 96% of children vaccinated in ongoing anti-polio drive
- Pakistan launched the campaign after 74 children were diagnosed with polio last year
- Balochistan offered swings and camel rides in Quetta to draw children for vaccination
KARACHI: Polio vaccinations continued across Pakistan for the sixth consecutive day on Saturday, with 96% of targeted children receiving doses during the first five days of the campaign, the country’s National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) said in a statement.
Pakistan remains one of only two countries in the world where polio is still endemic, alongside neighboring Afghanistan.
Efforts to eliminate the disease have been hampered by parental refusals, widespread misinformation and repeated attacks on polio workers by militant groups.
In remote and volatile areas, vaccination teams often operate under police protection, though security personnel themselves have also been targeted during these campaigns.
“During the first five days, 96% of children across the country have been administered polio drops,” the NEOC said at the start of the campaign’s sixth day.
“The vaccination campaign is underway simultaneously in Pakistan and Afghanistan,” it continued, adding this was to curb cross-border transmission of the virus, especially in frontier regions where mobility between the two countries remains high.
According to Pakistani officials, the current vaccination drive aims to reach more than 45 million children nationwide. It is part of Pakistan’s intensified response following a sharp uptick in cases last year, when 74 children were diagnosed with the crippling virus.
Ten cases have been reported so far in 2025, prompting authorities to step up outreach and door-to-door campaigns.
According to the NEOC, provincial breakdowns so far show 97% coverage in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 96% in both Punjab and Balochistan, 94% in Sindh, 98% in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 101% in Gilgit-Baltistan, where more children were reached than initially estimated.
Islamabad reported 97% coverage.
In Balochistan, the country’s most underdeveloped province that reported 27 cases last year, local authorities introduced recreational activities such as free swings and camel rides in Quetta to attract children and facilitate their vaccination.
The effort drew large crowds, allowing teams to immunize children while they took part in the festivities.
“This initiative is critically important as we enter the high-transmission season,” said Ziaur Rehman, spokesperson for Pakistan’s Polio Program. “It will play a key role in timely containment of the virus.”
He urged parents to ensure that all children under five receive polio drops to protect them from lifelong disability.
PM Sharif announces 25% federal development share for insurgency-hit Balochistan
- The prime minister calls for efforts to bring back ‘misguided’ individuals who have joined militant groups
- He recognizes Balochistan’s history of economic deprivations but says ‘terrorists’ know nothing but brutality
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said Pakistan’s restive southwestern province of Balochistan will receive 25% share from the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) in the upcoming budget, as the government continues to grapple with a decades-long separatist insurgency that has surged in recent years.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but least populated province, is strategically significant as the centerpiece of the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a major infrastructure development and regional connectivity initiative linking western China to the Arabian Sea.
While the state touts CPEC as a game-changer for the region’s development, Baloch separatist groups accuse the government of exploiting the province’s vast mineral resources without benefiting the local population. Officials reject the narrative, pointing to ongoing investments in various sectors aimed at improving livelihoods.
Sharif announced the allocation while addressing a grand jirga, an assembly of provincial elders and influential figures alongside top military leadership, in Quetta, where he reaffirmed the government’s commitment to Balochistan’s development.
“I think that PSDP will be of Rs1,000 billion [in the next budget],” he told the gathering. “So, out of this [amount], a fund of approximately Rs250 billion is for Balochistan alone. That is, 25% of the total federal PSDP for Balochistan.”
The PSDP is Pakistan’s central development program used to fund infrastructure, energy, education and other long-term public investment projects across the country.
It includes both federal initiatives and financial support for provincial projects, particularly in underdeveloped regions like Balochistan.
The prime minister said the allocation was the province’s “right.”
“Along with this,” he continued, “these resources should be used transparently, whether it is Gwadar, whether it is Pasni, whether it is Chaman, whether it is Killa Saifullah, whether it is Quetta, whether it is Jhal Magsi or any other areas,” he continued. “Every single penny there should be used honestly for the development and prosperity of the people.”
Addressing the challenge of militancy in the province, Sharif said efforts must continue to bring back “misguided” individuals who had joined militant groups.
He acknowledged Balochistan’s history of economic deprivation, while reiterating that those engaged in violence offer no solutions.
“Terrorists do not know anything but brutality,” he said.
Calling for national unity, Sharif maintained: “Let’s sit together and talk. It is only by sitting together that a family becomes strong and prosperous. No evil eye can harm a united household.”
Pakistan to set up maritime chamber to boost blue economy, promote greener ports
- Maritime minister says new chamber will unite industry to drive sustainable growth and long-term economic resilience
- Pakistan aims to grow its blue economy through sustainable use of ocean resources for jobs and ecosystem health
KARACHI: The Pakistan government on Saturday announced the creation of a new Maritime Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) to promote sustainable development in the country’s coastal and marine sectors, saying the initiative would help strengthen the country’s blue economy while addressing rising climate risks at its ports.
Addressing the Pakistan Business Council Forum, Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Junaid Anwar Chaudhry said Pakistan’s coastal zones were increasingly exposed to environmental challenges such as rising sea levels, extreme weather events and marine degradation.
The new chamber, he noted, would serve as a specialized platform for uniting stakeholders from across the maritime spectrum to pursue greener policies and long-term economic resilience.
“This chamber will not only support investment and innovation in the maritime sector but also prioritize sustainability at ports, promote green technologies and foster carbon reduction strategies,” he told the participants of the forum.
Pakistan is striving to strengthen blue economy by ensuring the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, jobs and ecosystem health.
This requires the authorities to enhance the potential of its ports, fisheries, logistics and marine services while reducing environmental harm.
The new chamber is expected to provide a unified institutional voice for sectors ranging from shipping to coastal tourism, helping to align business incentives with climate adaptation goals.
Pakistan has been pushing to modernize its port infrastructure and expand its role in regional trade by improving cargo handling, digitalizing port operations and encouraging public-private partnerships.
The country has also invited landlocked Central Asian states to use its ports to access global markets, aiming to position itself as a regional trade hub.
The Pakistan Business Council welcomed the announcement, calling the new chamber a critical step toward building a climate-resilient and economically vibrant maritime economy.
Pakistan PM says Indian bid to set ‘new norm’ thwarted, vows focus on economy and governance
- Shehbaz Sharif tells military officials in Quetta India suffered setbacks on battlefield and in diplomatic realm
- He reiterates that New Delhi will not be allowed to ‘weaponize water,’ calling IWT suspension a ‘red line’
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday highlighted a range of security threats facing Pakistan days after a military standoff with India, saying New Delhi’s attempt to establish a “new norm” by targeting his country at will had been thwarted, though Pakistan must now focus on strengthening economy and governance.
The remarks came during a televised address to senior military officers at the Command and Staff College in Quetta, where the premier recounted the recent escalation between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
The flare-up followed an April attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir, which New Delhi blamed on a Pakistan. Islamabad denied the allegation and called for an impartial probe, but tensions rapidly escalated into four days of cross-border hostilities, ending after a US-brokered ceasefire on May 10.
“The threats we face are no longer limited to conventional battlefields,” Sharif said during his address. “They are multifaceted, ranging from kinetic warfare to cyberattacks, economic coercion to disinformation campaigns and hybrid threats that challenge both our borders and our ideological frontiers.”
“The recent Indian aggression against Pakistan, violating our territorial integrity and targeting our innocent civilians, was not merely countered successfully, but instead we succeeded in turning the tables on those who were dreaming of establishing a new norm,” he said.
Sharif added that Pakistan accepted the ceasefire offer “in the interest of peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia,” asserting that India’s claim of a new strategic precedent “was buried for all times to come by our brave armed forces.”
“In fact, it was Pakistan that established the new norm in its relations with India,” he said. “Henceforth, we will not allow her to behave in an arrogant and haughty manner.”
The prime minister said India had suffered “serious setbacks in both warfare and finest diplomacy” during the episode.
Turning to domestic matters, Sharif said while the military had fulfilled its responsibility, Pakistan still faced “major challenges in the field of economy and governance.”
He cited the dire financial situation when his administration took office, saying it compelled Pakistan to seek external assistance from lenders such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
However, he maintained the economy had since stabilized and was now on a positive trajectory.
The prime minister also criticized India’s recent move to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), a World Bank-brokered water-sharing agreement signed in 1960, reiterating it was unacceptable to his country.
“We will not allow India to weaponize water by holding the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance,” he said. “This is an absolute red line for us.”
Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem reigns supreme with javelin gold at Asian Athletics Championships
- India’s Sachin Yadav won silver with an 85.16m throw, while Japan’s Yuta Sakiyama took bronze by throwing 83.75m
- Nadeem made history at 2024 Paris Olympics by winning Pakistan’s first athletics gold with a record throw of 92.97m
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem on Saturday won gold with a massive 86.4-meter throw in the men’s javelin final at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea, Pakistani state media reported.
Nadeem is the first Pakistani in over 50 years to win a gold medal at the Asian Athletics Championships. Pakistan’s Allah Daad last topped the podium in javelin throw and Muhammad Younis won the 800-meter event in 1973.
“Arshad Nadeem has once again made the nation proud by making a massive 86.40 meter throw and led the field in the men’s Javelin final at the Asian Athletics Championship in Gumi,” the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
In Saturday’s event, India’s Sachin Yadav won silver with an 85.16m throw, while Japan’s Yuta Sakiyama took bronze with an 83.75m throw. Both threw their personal best.
Nadeem advanced to the final with a powerful throw of 86.34 meters on his first and only attempt in the A qualification round on Friday.
He made history at the 2024 Paris Olympics by winning Pakistan’s first-ever athletics gold with a record-breaking javelin throw of 92.97 meters. His throw not only set a new Olympic and Asian record but also ended Pakistan’s 32-year Olympic medal drought.
Nadeem has since become a national hero, inspiring millions with his journey from humble beginnings in smalltown Mian Channu to the top of the Olympic podium.
