Pakistan eyes Chinese investment for desalination plants in Karachi

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar this week reiterated the government’s commitment to ensure foreign investment from friendly countries translates into “tangible outcomes,” state-run media reported amid Islamabad’s attempts to achieve sustainable economic progress. 

Pakistan has looked toward regional partners and friendly nations, particularly Gulf states, in the past few months to increasingly attract foreign trade and investment.

At the heart of Islamabad’s efforts lies a prolonged macroeconomic crisis that has drained the country’s revenues, triggered a balance of payment crisis and battered its economy. 

“Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has reiterated the government’s commitment to provide all necessary facilitation to translate foreign investments into tangible outcomes for economic growth and prosperity,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Saturday. 

Dar was chairing a high-level meeting in Islamabad on Saturday to review progress related to investment initiatives by friendly countries across infrastructure, energy, petroleum and economic development sectors. 

“The deputy prime minister emphasized streamlined processes, enhanced institutional coordination, and fast-tracked implementation of investment projects,” the report said. 

To fast-track decisions related to international investment, Pakistan formed the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) in June 2023. 

The SIFC is a hybrid civil-government body formed to attract international investment in priority sectors of the economy such as energy, tourism, agriculture, livestock, mines and minerals, and others. 

Since it was formed, the government says the SIFC has helped it sign memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with several countries worth billions of dollars. 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s information minister and military spokesperson will hold an important national security briefing today, Sunday, for representatives of various political parties amid Islamabad’s surging tensions with Delhi, according to state-run media. 

Pakistan has been preparing for the possibility of a military confrontation with India ever since its tensions with its nuclear-armed neighbor skyrocketed last month. Delhi blamed Islamabad for being involved in a militant attack on Apr. 22 at a tourist resort in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 tourists. 

Pakistan denied involvement and as India vowed to go after backers of the Kashmir attack, Islamabad vowed it would give a “strong” response to any military action by India. 

“Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar and Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry will hold an important background briefing on the national security for representatives of all political parties on Sunday,” the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported on Saturday.

It said the briefing would primarily focus on the prevailing national security landscape, particularly concerning relations between Pakistan and India, and its broader implications. 

Political parties will be informed about the preparedness of Pakistan’s armed forces while information about ongoing diplomatic initiatives and Islamabad’s official stance on the situation will also be shared, it added. 

“The statement said that the briefing, in the current situation, is a prime example of national unity and consensus among all the parties,” APP said. 

As tensions surge between the two neighbors, their forces have traded fire over the Line of Control frontier in Kashmir while diplomats have exchanged barbs, expelled citizens and ordered their land border shut.

Pakistani opposition parties have in recent times become more openly critical of the military, which has been accused of being heavily involved in politics and the economy. The military denies the allegations. 

However, recent tensions with India have turned bitter political foes into temporary allies. 

When the Senate voted on an anti-India resolution last month, jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party voted in favor, ensuring it passed unanimously.