ISLAMABAD: PM’s Special Representative on Religious Harmony and Middle East Hafiz Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi said economic cooperation between Pakistan and Arab countries is being reinforced in next three months in trade, tourism and industry.
“Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are time-tested friends,” he said on his return to Pakistan after a visit abroad. He said the government was taking initiatives on emergency basis for addressing issues of Pakistanis living in Middle East.
While condemning Houthi rebels missiles strikes on different cities of Saudi Arabia, Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi said OIC and UN should take action on these attacks. He also urged the officials serving in Pakistan’s embassies in Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates to strive further to address the issues of Pakistanis residing in these countries. He said Saudi Crown Prince Ameer Muhammad bin Salman’s Vision 2030 Programme has been devised to ensure economic stability not only in Saudi Arabia but in the entire Muslim world. On instructions of Saudi leadership, economic cooperation between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is being strengthened in different areas,” he added. He said Pakistan does not seek loans and assistance but economic cooperation. “The previous regimes focused on foreign loans and assistance while the PTI’s government has prioritised economic cooperation,” he further added. He said visa issue with Kuwait has been resolved and Pakistan is also enhancing its economic ties with Kuwait. “Opportunities for Pakistanis are being made in Middle East in different cadres of labour and skills,” he said. Commenting on torture issue on a Christian nurse in a Karachi hospital, Ashrafi said it is condemnable and sorrowful. Blasphemy laws are available in the country and no one will be allowed to take laws into their own hands. He said this issue will be probed and investigations will be made public in the coming week.
