Pakistan to host ‘first-ever’ Digital FDI Summit in Islamabad in April

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan accused India of employing militant groups as proxies to target Pakistan citizens and security forces at the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, as it said New Delhi was conducting “demographic engineering” in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir under its control.
The statement by Pakistani diplomat Asif Khan came amid a surge in militant violence within Pakistan, particularly in the western provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. These regions, bordering Afghanistan, have experienced increased attacks from groups such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and separatist factions like the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA).
Pakistan has frequently accused Afghanistan’s interim administration of sheltering these armed factions and facilitating their attacks, allegations that Kabul has consistently denied. However, the recent accusation against India was articulated by Khan during his right of reply, following remarks from an Indian delegate concerning Kashmir and militancy.
“We heard the Indian delegate raising the bogey of terrorism to divert attention and for diplomatic point-scoring,” the Pakistani diplomat said. “It is most ironic that India, which is committing the worst form of state terrorism in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, is portraying itself as the victim.”
“It is India which supports and finances terrorism against Pakistan by using its proxies such as Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Majeed Brigade and Baloch Liberation Army (BLA),” he added. “The country is insensitive to the tragic human dimension of terrorism.”
He accused India of insensitivity to the tragic human dimension of terrorism and described the country as running a “global terrorism syndicate,” saying it had gone from regional to global and even reached North American shores.
Addressing the Kashmir issue, Khan said India was undertaking demographic engineering since August 5, 2019, when it unilaterally revoked the region’s special constitutional status and decided to integrate it with the rest of the Indian union.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars, two of them over Kashmir, which they both claim in full but rule in part since their independence.
 

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Wednesday told a World Bank delegation that the country has enough financial assistance, stressing that it requires technical support and expertise to make the most of it. 
A delegation of nine executive directors of the World Bank arrived in Pakistan this week to discuss the country’s economic projects and investments, meeting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday.
The World Bank last month announced it would provide Pakistan with $20 billion in loans over the next decade. These loans are expected to be invested in nutrition, education and renewable energies in the hope of stimulating private-sector growth in the country. 
“We have enough financial support and assistance; what we truly need now is the expertise and technical support to make the most of them,” Aurangzeb was quoted by Pakistan’s Finance Division as saying in a statement. 
Aurangzeb appreciated the international institution’s support for Pakistan’s economic growth and development agenda. He outlined the government’s structural reforms, focusing on revenue mobilization, energy sector reforms, restructuring of state-owned enterprises and privatization efforts. 
“He emphasized the government’s focus on fiscal discipline through expenditure control and broadening the tax base, highlighting ongoing rightsizing efforts and projected revenue growth,” the Finance Division said. 
The minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to privatize loss-making public assets, saying that Islamabad was committed to ensuring a business-friendly environment where the private sector takes the lead in driving economic growth.
The Finance Division said that the delegation appreciated Pakistan’s reform agenda, noting that key economic measures were already yielding visible results. 
“Your government has been successful in touching every important aspect of the economy, and things seem to be achievable now if you stay the course,” the delegation said, as per the Finance Division.  
The World Bank officials also reaffirmed the institution’s commitment to continuing its collaboration with Pakistan, supporting priority sectors and providing the necessary technical expertise to help the country navigate economic challenges, the Finance Division said. 
Cash-strapped Pakistan has long suffered from a macroeconomic crisis, which caused it to come to the brink of a sovereign default in 2023. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) rescued Islamabad by agreeing to a last-gasp $3 billion bailout in 2023.
Last year, Islamabad secured a new $7 billion loan deal from the IMF. Since then, the country’s economy has started improving with weekly inflation coming down from 27 percent in 2023 to 1.8 percent in January year-on-year.