PM Shehbaz receives Iranian President at PM House
Upon his arrival, a guard of honour was presented by a contingent of the Pakistan armed forces, while the national anthems of both countries were played.
The Iranian president was introduced to members of the federal cabinet, and Prime Minister Shehbaz also held a brief interaction with the accompanying Iranian delegation.
As part of the ceremonial proceedings, President Pezeshkian planted a sapling in the lawn of the PM House.
Iran seeks to boost trade to $10bn level
According to diplomatic sources, today's meeting at the Prime Minister's House will involve delegation-level talks between the two leaders, in which agreements and memorandums of understanding will be signed to enhance cooperation in various sectors, Aaj News reported.
Important issues such as trade, energy, border cooperation, and regional peace and security will be discussed in the meeting.
A luncheon in honour of the Iranian President has also been arranged at the Prime Minister's House, which will be attended by senior government officials and diplomats.
Sources say that the Iranian president will also hold separate meetings with Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani and National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, in which the two sides will discuss promoting cooperation at the parliamentary level.
Later this evening, President Pezeshkian is scheduled to meet President Asif Ali Zardari, where the two presidents will discuss expanding bilateral relations.
President Zardari is also expected to host a state dinner in honour of Dr Masoud Pezeshkian.
According to diplomatic sources, the Iranian president's visit is being seen as the beginning of a new chapter in Pak-Iran relations, aimed at further strengthening economic and diplomatic ties between the two neighbours.
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Express Tribune
4 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Pakistan — between Beijing and Washington
The writer is a retired major general and has an interest in International Relations and Political Sociology. He can be reached at tayyarinam@ and tweets @20_Inam Listen to article Something unexpected happened after Indian Operation Sindoor and Pakistan's agile response through Operation Bunyan Marsus. The four-day skirmish left India red-faced despite its massive media onslaught, projecting the outcome as victory. President Trump took credit for the ceasefire, duly acknowledged by Pakistan, while an egotistic India still refuses to accept foreign interlocution. Then, on August 1, 2025, President Trump slapped a punitive 25% tariffs on India, letting Pakistan off with a relatively benign 19%. Earlier Trump had feted out Field Marshal Asim in the White House. He announced a massive trade deal with Pakistan on July 30. Cumulatively, the cited developments bring Pakistan back into relevance, and business with the West Plus, re-hyphenate it with India, debunk the massive Indian propaganda to paint Pakistan as 'Terroristan', and open new vistas for Islamabad. However, this closeness with the US again, to some analysts, is at the cost of Pak-China friendship. First Islamabad and Beijing. Two statements on August 1 — one from Foreign Office and the other from ISPR — clearly articulated the special nature of Pak-China friendship in context. Foreign Office spokesperson emphatically highlighted the decades-old strategic partnership with Beijing, notwithstanding Islamabad's relations with other countries. And perhaps for the first time, GHQ celebrated the 98th founding anniversary of China's People's Liberation Army on August 1 with a dignified ceremony attended by high-ranking Chinese officials. Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong was the chief guest. The Middle Kingdom conducts its foreign relations in a very matured, measured and deliberate manner. One remembers being part of a delegation led by the Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee, wherein bilateral exercise between both air forces was being discussed. When Pakistan had to remove the US-supplied F-16s from the planned manoeuvres at some later hours, the Chinese Defence Minister, Mr Lee Quang Li was extremely conciliatory to address the embarrassment. Chinese relations do not come with geo-strategic caveats. They ostensibly believe in 'harmony' and are sensitive to other nations' imperatives and compulsions. So, any closeness with the US is not, will not and should not come at the cost of Pak-China bilateralism, brotherhood and benevolence. Second, the conduct of the Pak-US relations. Since partnership against communism in the US-led SEATO, CENTO, GWOT, Islamabad has traditionally remained closer to the US, providing back-channel support to the 1971 Sino-US détente. Pakistan's military benefited particularly from the US hardware, doctrine and training. Our cantonments in Kharian, Multan and Gujranwala got infrastructure support from Washington. However, from geo-strategic partnership, Pakistan was later relegated to relative obscurity by Trump 1.0 and Biden Administrations, thanks partly to the pervasive Indian influence traditionally on the US policy apparatus. Trump 2.0 is more transactional, upending the traditional US geo-strategic construct and hence the punitive tariffs on India, and favour with Pakistan. Pakistan has, reportedly, the fourth largest hydrocarbon reserves along its coast. It must have been the size of these reserves that sparked President Trump's comment on X/Truth Social — "We are in the process of choosing the oil company that will lead this Partnership. Who knows, maybe they'll [Pakistan] be selling Oil to India one day." This is an unsettling discovery for Pakistan/region and good business for the US energy giant ExxonMobil that 'might' bid for and undertake offshore drilling. Any US company doing exploration would automatically ensure security of the operation. The growing Pak-US counterterrorism cooperation and mutual alignment over Afghanistan are also likely to cement bilateral ties, with China benefitting from a secure regional environment. Under the last PTI government, ExxonMobil, then undertaking offshore exploration, was not allowed access to an additional area in Kekra field. Pakistan 'expects' ExxonMobil to come back as negotiations move forward. More recently, Pakistan also inked an agreement to import US crude with first shipment expected in October. While earlier, Washington had refused to export LNG to Pakistan, given joint ventures between the US and Indian companies, implying Islamabad to go through New Delhi. Today the US Exim Bank is interested in providing capital to the stalled Reko Diq copper and gold mining project. American companies are mulling joint ventures with Pakistani firms to tap Pakistan's mineral sector, with an estimated potential of $ 8trillion. And GB, KP and Balochistan have substantial deposits of rare earths. Additionally, Pakistan's bitcoin policy also interests Trump personally. All this fits his economic outlook. Third, Pakistan's delicate diplomatic balancing. In a meeting with the Afghan acting Ambassador in Islamabad last year, Ambassador Sardar Ahmed Shakeeb mentioned that IEA leadership was very impressed with the way Pakistan handled its relations with America. As per an Indian analyst, Biswanath Bhattacharya, Islamabad has perfected 'balancing contradictions so deftly that even gravity seems to look on in admiration'. Despite being tethered economically and strategically to China, Islamabad is able to carve an advantage from a transactional, mercurial and unpredictable Trump White House, under the overall environment of Sino-US hostility. From being a vanguard nation in the Chinese BRI through CPEC, Pakistan not only secured a deal for American oil investment, but it also earned public endorsement from President Trump. In the last fiscal year, Pakistan's exports to the US stood at $6 billion, against $2.4 billion worth of imports. The ensuing surplus of $3.7 billion was worrying for President Trump. However, Pakistan under the new 19% tariff is still at relative advantage, compared to India's 25%, Bangladesh's 20%, Iraq's 35%, Vietnam's 20% and 19% for Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Pakistan, in trade negotiations, secured duty-free access to over 4,100 American products. Avoiding bloc politics, Pakistan's diplomatic work endears it today to the world powers — China, the US and Russia — increasingly through its geo-strategic relevance, and gutsy and matured dealings with a bellicose and arrogant India. Islamabad's foreign service understands that 'survival and prosperity depend on cultivating relationships with all major players'. It has been able to balance the dictates of BRI/CPEC through increasing cooperation with the US on Afghanistan, counterterrorism, and now, potentially on minerals, oil and gas. The oil deal marks a watershed in exploiting Pakistan's untapped hydrocarbons with American money and technology. These "fourth largest" reserves would catapult Pakistan from energy import to export, rewriting the region's geo-economics. Mr Bhattacharya admires "Pakistan's astonishing ability to dance on the diplomatic tightrope — undaunted, unbowed, and, for now, undefeated".
Express Tribune
a day ago
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Direct flights from Quetta approved to facilitate Arbaeen pilgrims: Khawaja Asif
Listen to article The federal government has authorized the Balochistan government to operate direct flights from Quetta to facilitate Shia pilgrims traveling to Iran and Iraq for Arbaeen, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told the National Assembly on Tuesday. 'To mitigate these risks, the federal government authorized the Balochistan government to operate direct flights from Quetta,' he said, 'allowing pilgrims to travel safely by air to their destinations'. 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Chartered flights have also been approved to maximize safe travel capacity. Read: Six MPAs arrested in Punjab as PTI launches 'nationwide' protest 'These measures are aimed at offering maximum facilities while avoiding the security hazards of road travel,' he said, urging potential operators and the market to take full advantage of the permissions granted. He said the matter had also been discussed during the recent visit of the Iranian president to Pakistan, after which Iran had allowed an additional flight to support the movement of Pakistani pilgrims. 'I want to assure the House and the people across Pakistan that the government is fully committed to ensuring safe, comfortable, and timely transportation for all Arbaeen pilgrims,' he added. Resolution on Youm-e-Istehsal The National Assembly unanimously passed a resolution to mark Youm-e-Istehsal-e-Kashmir (Kashmir Exploitation Day), condemning India's actions in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), amid heated protests and sloganeering by opposition members. During the session, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, on a point of order, said, 'today is being observed as Youm-e-Istehsal-e-Kashmir, but you are observing Youm-e-Istehsal-e-Imran (Imran Exploitation Day).' قومی اسمبلی کے اجلاس کے دوران وفاقی وزیر برائے امور کشمیر، گلگت بلتستان اینڈ سٹیٹس اینڈ فرنٹیئر ریجنز انجینیئر امیر مقام نے یوم استحصال کشمیر کے موقع پر اظہار خیال کرتے ہوئے قرارداد یوم استحصال کشمیر پیش کی جو ایوان نے متفقہ طور پر منظور کی#NASession @AmirMuqamAM… — National Assembly 🇵🇰 (@NAofPakistan) August 5, 2025 He added that the latter 'could have been observed on another day.' 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'India unilaterally and illegally abrogated Articles 370 and 35A,' he said, adding that thousands of youth had been martyred, children orphaned, and women widowed. Read more: Six MPAs arrested in Punjab as PTI launches 'nationwide' protest 'Despite these atrocities, the love for Pakistan in the hearts of Kashmiris has not diminished,' he said. The resolution, moved by Muqam, condemned India's actions of August 5, 2019, termed them a violation of the Geneva Conventions, and denounced Indian statements regarding Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. It called for the implementation of UN resolutions and demanded access for UN observers to IIOJK. Later in the session, PTI MNA Aamir Dogar criticized the government, saying, 'You have sentenced our members to ten years each.' He added, 'if everyone is thrown out, what kind of House is this?' and claimed that ten MNAs were 'lifted' from the House without any action from the Speaker. Speaker Ayaz Sadiq responded by asking, 'Did I not issue production orders?' Dogar claimed that Sheikh Waqas Akram's applications had been submitted to the Speaker's office. 'You subjected MNAs to political victimization,' he said. 'The PTI founder is in jail because he refused to bow down. Had he bowed, he would've been in this House,' he said. 'If all of this is to be done, then lock down the House.'
Business Recorder
a day ago
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India's Adani Ports posts quarterly profit rise on cargo volume growth
India's Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone logged a quarterly profit rise on Tuesday, boosted by growing cargo volumes and said its Israeli port of Haifa 'operated unhindered' in a quarter which saw the Israel-Iran conflict. India's biggest private port operator is seen as a proxy for long-term infrastructure prospects in the world's fastest growing major economy. The company operates 15 domestic ports and terminals, and four international ones - including one in Haifa, a major port city in Israel. The Haifa port clocked highest quarterly revenue and operating core profits since the group acquired and privatized it in 2022, Adani Ports said. A 12-day-long conflict between Iran and Israel in June had many ships avoiding West Asia and rerouting through a longer route around the southern tip of Africa, lifting volumes at major Indian ports by 6%, ElaraCapital said. Cargo volumes for Adani Ports grew 11% on-year during April-June, faster than 8% in the preceding quarter and 7.5% year-ago. That lifted its revenues by 31% to 91.26 billion rupees ($1.04 billion). Adani Enterprises posts first-quarter profit fall on weak coal demand The port operator's consolidated net profit rose 6.5% on-year to 33.15 billion rupees for the quarter. Adani Ports maintained its fiscal year 2026 forecast of cargo volumes at 505 million metric tonnes to 515 million metric tonnes. The company said Executive Chairman Gautam Adani will now be its non-executive chairman. The Indian billionaire would cease to be key managerial personnel of the company, it added.
