Daily Times

Pakistan is scheduled to sign agreements worth around $2 billion with a visiting Saudi delegation later this month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday.

A delegation from Saudi Arabia is expected in the country before the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting that the country is hosting from Oct 15-16, he said.

The Saudi delegation, led by Minister for Investment Khalid Bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih, is set to visit Pakistan from Oct 9 to 11. It is expected to include representatives from both government agencies and the private sector, signalling a broadening of Pakistan-Saudi economic partnerships.

During the federal cabinet meeting, the prime minister listed several positive developments such as China, UAE and Saudi helping the country successfully clinch the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme by providing timely confirmation of necessary financing assurances.

Additionally, he said that the Malaysian prime minister “had a very successful visit” and that a Saudi delegation was about to visit the country.

Regarding PTI clashes with the police in Islamabad during the SCO moot, the prime minister stressed that this was being done to “stay relevant” because the economy was improving.

“This is the same steps being taken again as the IMF programme has been started successfully, inflation has decreased and exports are increasing,” he said, adding that their “homegrown growth programme is being sabotaged”.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed that he will not allow the Imran Khan-founded Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to repeat what it did through its 2014 sit-in.

The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has time and again blamed the PTI for compromising Pakistan’s economy as Chinese President Xi Jinping had cancelled his visit to Islamabad due to the 126-day-long dharna.

Currently, as the main opposition party’s protests take place in the federal capital, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) head of states’ summit is set to take place on October 15 and 16.

Top officials from China, Russia, India, and other nations who are part of the regional organisation will attend the conference – in Islamabad’s Red Zone – and if a protest is going on in the capital, it will pose a security threat.

“I will not allow the repeat of 2014 […] the conspiracy that took place. We will not allow this, we will not tolerate this at all. This is my promise to the nation,” the prime minister told his cabinet members on Tuesday.

The PTI has said that it is protesting for the “independence of the judiciary” and the release of its founder Imran Khan. The party leaders have said that they will not step back unless the former prime minister asks them.

PM Shehbaz, while slamming the opposition party, said that the PTI had done nothing except create chaos and divide the nation. He said neither did the party bring back money to the country while it was in power nor did it end corruption – claims that were part of its election manifesto.

Recalling 2014 once more, he said that the Chinese president’s dates for the visit were fixed, but the PTI went ahead with its sit-in, disregarding its economy and global image.

“The Government of Pakistan tried its best, but they [PTI] refused to postpone their sit-in. I was shocked to know about the delay of the Chinese president’s visit,” the prime minister said.

Moving on, he informed the cabinet that after meeting the Chinese ambassador in Pakistan a day earlier, he had assured him of foolproof security for Chinese nationals in Pakistan, following the deadly airport blast.

Two Chinese nationals were killed in an explosion near the international airport of Karachi on Sunday night, the responsibility of which has been accepted by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), the premier confirmed.

“Indeed, the Chinese [officials] are saddened. However, we have assured them that we have made complete security arrangements for the upcoming SCO summit.”

He stressed that the economy is moving towards the right direction. PM Shehbaz added that the army men are sacrificing their lives for the nation, and at the same time, Chinese nationals are being killed in Pakistan.

“Internal and external enemies united [to damage Pakistan]. We all know who finances them,” he said, adding: “God willing, Pakistan will move forward.”

He also called PTI’s plans “nefarious” and said that it has been established without a shadow of a doubt that Afghan nationals were involved in the party’s protests. “They [PTI] are worried that if the country excels, then there will be no one who supports them,” he stressed.