Pakistan, Saudi Arabia to sign agreements worth US$2 billion: PM Shehbaz

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif said that Pakistan is expected to sign Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and agreements worth US$2 billion with Saudi Arabia during the upcoming visit of the kingdom’s high-level delegation.

Addressing the federal cabinet meeting in Islamabad, PM Shehbaz said that the agreements are expected to be signed as a Saudi Arabia delegation will be visiting Pakistan in coming days.

He also thanked China, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for their support in obtaining the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programme.

PM Shehbaz also mentioned last week’s visit of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim when the two sides agreed that Pakistan would export Halal meat and rice to Malaysia.

He said consequent to the ‘finest level’ of teamwork, the IMF program has been approved, and inflation was reduced from 32 to 6.9 percent. He added that exports, remittances, and IT exports are on the surge and the stock exchange is skyrocketing.

He said sabotaging all these efforts for the sake of their politics would be the biggest conspiracy to the country, he remarked.

The prime minister mentioned the doubled number of tax return filers, the broadening tax base and the digitisation of FBR.

He said oil prices have been reduced for the fifth time, and a Rs50 billion relief package was announced for the power consumers of the protected category, apart from the Punjab government’s Rs55 billion package on top of that.

Thanking the IMF chief for her support in approving the the loan programme for Pakistan, the prime minister said that she was also appreciative of the reforms introduced by the incumbent and the caretaker governments.

He mentioned the martyrdom of a lieutenant colonel and other security personnel and said the government knew where the terrorists were being funded from.

‘KP CM leading saboteurs’

He said on one side, the government is making efforts to stabilise the economy and kick-start its home-grown economic program, while on the other, the KP chief minister is ‘leading the saboteur gathering consisting of Afghan nationals and also using government officials.

PM Shehbaz the protestors also carried out aerial firing and an official of Islamabad Police was martyred during the protest,. He  said that the peaceful and secure atmosphere is inevitable to attract investment.

‘Repeat of 2014’s gory tale won’t be allowed’

Referring to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) protest, the prime minister said that the allegations were hurled against the government and attempts were made to create chaos at a time when the Chinese Premier was about to pay a bilateral visit and a Saudi delegation.

PM Shehbaz while calling the recent protest of PTI a replica of the 2014 sit-in by the party said the repeat of  “gory tale” would not be allowed at any cost

“Such incidents are a replica of 2014-15 incidents when a sit-in was staged for months and was not called off despite the announcement of the Chinese president’s visit to Pakistan without bothering about its impact on the country’s image and national economy… We will not allow it to be repeated. We will not tolerate it at any rate, at any cost. This is my promise. I will not let it happen,” the prime minister vowed.

Karachi attack

The prime minister also drew cabinet members’ attention to an attack that took place near Karachi airport killing two Chinese engineers and injuring another, despite the government’s all-out efforts to ensure their security.

He apprised the meeting of his telephonic conversation with the Chinese ambassador in Islamabad and also visited the Chinese embassy where he reiterated his government’s assurance to leave no stone unturned to make the security of Chinese national ‘unreachable’.