Saudi Arabia pledges $6bn package to Pakistan
October 24, 2018 | ISLAMABAD: The package includes $3bn balance of payments support and another $3bn in deferred payments on
oil imports. Agreements in this regard were signed on the sidelines of the second edition of the annual Future Investment Initiative (FII) Conference in Riyadh. It showcases economic and investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia as it pursues Vision 2030 for diversifying its economy. The Pakistani delegation was led by Prime Minister Imran Khan.
This was the prime minister’s second visit to Saudi Arabia in five weeks. The primary objective of both trips was to seek financial assistance to deal with impending balance of payments crisis.
The Foreign Office in a statement said: “A MoU was signed between the Finance Minister Asad Umar and the Saudi Finance Minister Muhammad Abdullah Al-Jadaan. It was agreed Saudi Arabia will place a deposit of USD 3 Billion for a period of one year as balance of payment support.”
It was further “agreed that a one year deferred payment facility for import of oil, up to USD 3 Billion, will be provided by Saudi Arabia. This arrangement will be in place for three years, which will be reviewed thereafter”.
Pakistan imports 110,000 barrels of crude per day from Saudi Arabia. Taken at the current price, the oil imports from the kingdom amount to around $3bn in a year.
Pakistan, which is facing the current account deficit of $18bn, had earlier this month sought assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to deal with the aggravating balance of payments problem. An IMF mission is scheduled to visit Islamabad on Nov 7 for talks on the size of the loan facility that Pakistan could be requiring.
Imran Khan had in an interaction with the media recently said that the country could immediately need around $12bn to address with the problem.
Saudi Arabia has in the past also helped rescue Pakistan’s economy from dire situations on a number of occasions. The Kingdom had last time in 2014 gifted Pakistan $1.5bn to beef up its foreign exchange reserves.
The Saudi package may provide breathing space to the government for dealing with economic challenges, but would not be enough to avoid the IMF facility. It is believed that improved foreign exchange reserves would strengthen Pakistan’s negotiating position in talks with the Fund.
The situation could further improve if China also makes some commitments to rescue its ‘all-weather friend’. PM Khan is scheduled to travel to China on Nov 3.
Speaking at the FII Conference, the prime minister while identifying lucrative investment opportunities in the tourism sector, minerals, coal and gas exploration, and Information Technology said Pakistan needed two oil refineries to meet demand.
Saudi officials and businessmen during their meetings with Mr Khan showed interest in mineral resources development. The prime minister pointed out the presence of vast reserves of untapped mineral wealth of Pakistan. He said the reserves could not be exploited in the past due to terrorism and corruption, but things were changing now.
A Saudi delegation would be invited to visit Pakistan for an exploratory trip after consultations between the federal and provincial government of Balochistan, the FO said.
Mr Khan held bilateral discussions with King Salman bin Abdul Aziz and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
The crown prince, the FO said, accepted Mr Khan’s suggestion for reduction of visa fee for Pakistani workers. It described the decision as “a significant step towards enhancing Pakistan’s workforce in Saudi Arabia, as well as facilitating travel of people from both countries”.
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Karachi : Oct 16, 2018
Moawin is the biggest warship ever constructed at Karachi Shipyard.
Pakistan Navy commissioned an indigenously built 17,000-tonne fleet tanker named PNS Moawin to its fleet during a ceremony held at Pakistan Navy Dockyard in Karachi, which was attended by President Dr. Arif Alvi, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and Naval Chief Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi.
The newly inducted ship is “capable of performing a variety of maritime operations including the provision of logistic support to other ships at sea by transferring fuel and other important military cargo”, read the statement.
“PNS Moawin can transport two helicopters. The ship is also equipped with state of the art medical facilities and can provide overseas support to friendly countries during any humanitarian assistance and disaster relief,” the navy’s media wing said. While addressing the ceremony, President Alvi said the development of the maritime sector will enhance the country’s exports, generate employment and increase foreign exchange.
“With the realisation of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the maritime trade and activity off our coast will increase manifold which calls for a strong navy to provide security and seaward defence,” the president was quoted as saying.
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Pakistan Army Wins Gold in World’s Toughest Cambrian Patrolling Competition
By : Ainy Siddiqui | October 20, 2018
An 11-member Pakistan Army team won gold medal in Cambrian Patrol competition being held in Wales. This is Pakistan Army’s fourth victory in as many years at the competition, dubbed as the world’s toughest. Members of the team are all brave soldiers of a battalion of Northern Light Infantry and hail from Gilgit-Baltistan, said a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). A total of 134 teams from 31 countries are participating in the two-week long competition, which started on October 8.
Cambrian Patrol competition is mission and task oriented patrolling exercise of 48 hours, during which participants cover 60 kilometres carrying 25 kilogramme weight. It is physically challenging and arduous exercise, which concentrates on teamwork for achieving the mission held in the most unforgiving mountainous terrain of mid-Wales, UK, amid tactical and technical challenges, testing leadership, self-discipline, courage and determination of the participants. The Cambrian patrol competition began in 1959, when a group of Welsh Territorial Army soldiers designed a weekend training event featuring long-distance marching over the Cambrian mountains and culminating in a shooting match on the Sennybridge training area.
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Pakistan navy quits anti-piracy task force amid worsening US ties
By: Osama Bin Javaid – 10 Oct 2018|Source: Al Jazeera
Pakistan’s navy is no longer part of the counterpiracy Combined Task Force (CTF) that operates in the western Indian Ocean, officials told Al Jazeera. The decision to leave the task force was taken after the US-led operation refused to pay for fuel for the patrolling warships as part of a previous agreement, two highly-placed military officials told Al Jazeera on the condition of anonymity. Military officials believe that CTF nations will feel Pakistan’s absence because of its counter-piracy expertise and the Pakistani vessels’ access to waters that are not friendly to Western flag-bearing ships. Pakistan has taken command of the task force several times since 2013 and participated in operations with two warships that patrolled the Arabian Gulf, Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden, Red Sea and the Suez Canal. In a statement to Al Jazeera, the Bahrain-based Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) – the over-arching organisation of which the CTF is a part – confirmed that Pakistan is no longer participating with ships in the task force.
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Pakistan claims of having countering capabilities
Pakistan appears fully alert to latest ambitious purchases by archrival India of S-400 ballistic missile defense (BMD) system from Russia besides claiming capabilities to render any BMD as ineffective and unreliable.
“We reiterate our commitment towards ensuring national defence in line with the policy of maintaining credible minimum deterrence and maintaining strategic balance in the region in the future as well,” reads a Foreign Office statement regarding Indo-Russian pact on nuclear missiles’ purchases.
The Indian purchase of S-400 missile system is a part of their efforts to acquire a Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) System through multiple sources, it adds. According to the Foreign Office Spokesman Dr Muhammad Faisal, India acquiring BMD system would further destabilize strategic stability in South Asia, besides leading to a renewed arms race.
The spokesman reminds, following the May 1998 nuclear tests by both sides, Pakistan had proposed a Strategic Restraint Regime in the region, advocating against the acquisition of BMD systems due to their destabilizing effect.
Indian rejection of this proposal forced Pakistan to develop capabilities which render any BMD system ineffective and unreliable. The spokesman underlines once again that Pakistan remains fully confident of its ability to address threats from any kind of destabilizing weapon system. Pakistan’s befitting response to the latest defense deal was timely as India has been rather raising hue and cry on stepping up of Pak-Russia defense as well as trade ties. Same trick India already played in winning a muclear reactor contract from USA a decade ago when it has been vehemently opposing Coalition Support Fund and F-16 releases to Pakistan. It goes exactly like the common Hindi language proverb “Bagal Mein Churi, Muh Mein Ram” that means “A sweet tongue, but a hand ready to stab in the back.”
That shows traditional Indian clergy style of diplomacy in the modern days. Similarly, India alleges Pakistan of sporting terrorists while its own spy is caught and confessed terrorist actions and designs officially assigned to him. Indian parliamentarians and ministers have spoken unequivocally about their designs to carry out terrorism inside Pakistan. There are also reports that Indian spy agencies are fully active in creating terror scenes in Afghanistan in a bid to get blames hurled on Pakistan.
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China, Pakistan to jointly manufacture Chinese aerial drones: report
By Liu Xuanzun Source:Global
Pakistan will reportedly import 48 Chinese drones in what a Chinese military observer said must be the largest such arms deal of its kind. Announcing the deal on its official Facebook account, the Pakistan Air Force’s Sherdils Aerobatic Team did not reveal how much it was worth, when it was struck or when the Wing Loong IIs will be delivered. But the air force academy aerobatics team announced that in the future the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex Kamra and the Aviation Industry Corporation of China’s Chengdu Aircraft Industrial (Group) Company will jointly manufacture the drones.
Wing Loong II, made by Chengdu Aircraft Industrial (Group) Company, is a high-end reconnaissance and strike multi-role endurance unmanned aircraft system. The largest overseas order for Wing Loong IIs was obtained even before the maiden flight, Xinhua reported. The report did not specify the buyer.
The deal is trustworthy given the close military ties between the two countries and Pakistan’s need for drones, Song said.
US drones like the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper are technologically more advanced, but Washington limits their export, Song said. Chinese drones will enjoy more success in the international market in the future, he said, as they perform similarly at a lower cost. “Chinese UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) like Caihong series also has clients from countries like Iraq and Saudi Arabia,” Song said.
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Mulla Baradar released from Pak jail
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar is the former deputy commander of the Taliban
DUBAI: Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, co-founder of the Afghan Taliban, popularly known as “Mulla Baradar” has been finally released from jail in Pakistan. Reliable sources confirmed ‘The News’ that Mullah Baradar was released on the solicitation of Qatar’s government. Recently, high level delegation of Qatar visited Islamabad and met senior leadership of Pakistan.
Mullah Baradar was captured by security agencies in Karachi in 2010. It was reported that a few times Mulla Baradar have been released in Pakistan to negotiate with Afghan Taliban but he couldn’t be freed due to unacceptable conditions imposed by Afghanistan government.
Mulla Baradar is one of the four men who founded the Taliban movement in Afghanistan back in 1994. Mulla Baradar held several senior positions in the Taliban government before its fall in 2001. He then fled to Pakistan but was arrested during an operation in 2010. It is believed that Mulla Baradar’s release would help persuade Afghan Taliban to lay down arms and negotiate in new peace talks.
(Mullah Baradar is one of ‘founding fathers’ of Taliban movement who had apparently favored reconciliation (a la Hekmatyar) with Hamid Karzai, incurred Pakistani wrath and got locked up 8 years ago. Timing of his release suggests that peace talks are expected to gain traction, finally, and Pakistan is confident of its control over navigating the peace process. This highlights growing US-Pakistani concord. (Taliban claimed recently that US is now open to discuss withdrawal from Afghanistan.) INTERIM GOVT IN KABUL???)
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