Pakistan to hold five-day anti-polio drive in its northwest starting Apr. 21

ISLAMABAD: A top United States (US) official on Tuesday said they were eyeing “critical” minerals deals with Pakistan as he visited Islamabad to attend the two-day Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum.
Pakistan is showcasing its mineral resources, worth an estimated $6 trillion, at the two-day show in Islamabad on Apr. 8-9, seeking to attract investment from the US, China, Saudi Arabia and the European Union (EU).
Eric Meyer, a senior official of the US Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs who is currently leading a US interagency delegation to Pakistan, said he was thrilled to be in Islamabad to attend the minerals investment forum and to strengthen Pakistan-US partnership.
“I commend Pakistan for convening the Minerals Investment Forum here in Islamabad and for taking steps to ensure a level playing field for investors,” he said at the forum. 
“Critical minerals are the raw materials for our most important technologies, and President [Donald] Trump has underscored the importance of securing America’s minerals future.”
Although Meyer has been visiting Islamabad to focus on minerals, he highlighted recent successes in economic partnership between the two countries.
“We recently celebrated the return of US soybean exports to Pakistan. Four vessels carrying more than 260,000 tons of soybeans have arrived over the last few weeks,” he said. 
“It’s a win-win for US exporters and for Pakistanis alike, and we look forward to more such wins in the future.”
The US’s goods trade with Pakistan was at an estimated $7.3 billion in 2024, according to the US Trade Representative, a federal agency responsible for developing and promoting foreign trade policies.
US goods exports to Pakistan in 2024 were $2.1 billion, up 4.4 percent ($90.9 million) from 2023, while US goods imports from Pakistan totaled $5.1 billion in 2024, up 4.9 percent ($238.7 million) from 2023.
“What makes me most optimistic about the US-Pakistan partnership is that our cooperation is based on the close and enduring ties between our peoples,” Meyer said. 
“Many of you have studied in the United States, participated in our exchange programs, have family, friends and business partners in the US. I’m looking forward to working with each of you as we work together to lead the charge in deepening the partnership between the US and Pakistan.”

KARACHI: The Bureau of Industry and Security of the United States (US) Department of Commerce has added more than a dozen Pakistani firms to its entity list for their contributions to “unsafeguarded” nuclear activities and seven others for contributing to the South Asian nation’s ballistic missile program.
Late last month, the US authorities changed their Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and added 70 entities from China, Pakistan, Iran, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates to the list that identifies entities which have been involved or pose a significant risk to national security or foreign policy interests of the US, according to the US federal register website.
Pakistani companies that have been restricted for their alleged involvement in unsafeguarded nuclear activities include Britlite Engineering Company, Indentech International, IntraLink Incorporated, Proc-Master, Rehman Engineering and Services, The Sadidians, Sine Technologies, Supply Source Co., Ariston Trade Links, Professional Systems (Pvt) Ltd., RASTEK Technologies and NA Enterprises.
“These entities have been determined by the US Government to be acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States,” the US federal register website said.
“[The EAR impose] additional license requirements on, and limit the availability of, most license exceptions for exports, re-exports, and [in-country] transfers when a listed entity is a party to the transaction.”
Pakistani firms put under additional restrictions for allegedly contributing to Pakistan’s ballistic missile program include Allied Business Concerns (Pvt) Ltd, Global Traders, Linkers Automation (Pvt) Ltd, Otto Manufacturing, Potohar Industrial & Trading Concern, Rachna Supplies (Pvt) Ltd. and Resource Enterprises.
Most of the above-mentioned companies are based in Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad and Wah Cantonment, but they could not be immediately reached for comments.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry said last month the US “unfairly targeted” Pakistan’s commercial entities without any evidence whatsoever.
“Such biased and politically motivated actions are counterproductive to the objectives of global export controls and obstruct the legitimate access to technology for socio-economic development,” Shafqat Ali Khan, a foreign ministry spokesperson, said during a weekly media briefing in Islamabad on March 27.
Pakistan’s relations with the US, its largest export destination, have mostly been patchy since Washington’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.
Last week, President Donald Trump’s administration imposed a 29 percent reciprocal tariffs on imports from Pakistan, which analysts believe may hurt the South Asian nation’s textiles industry that fetched $17 billion for the cash-strapped country in the last fiscal year that ended in June.
 
Pakistan, which enjoys a trade surplus with the US, plans to send a high-level delegation to Washington for discussions on the new tariffs that Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has said could be turned into an opportunity for the benefit of the two trading partners.
In December, the US government also sanctioned Pakistan’s National Development Complex and three Karachi-based commercial entities, including Akhtar and Sons Private Limited, Affiliates International and Rockside Enterprise.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry called the sanctions as “unfortunate and biased” and said the country’s strategic capabilities are meant to defend its sovereignty and preserve peace and stability in South Asia.
Regretting the sanctioning of private commercial entities, the ministry said similar listings of commercial entities in the past were based on mere doubts and suspicion without any evidence.