Pakistan Viral Series

  Pakistan will be sold Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) by United States defence group Raytheon following a modification in the firm’s contract that included the country in the list of buyers, it emerged on Tuesday. The US missiles are equipped on F-16 Falcons flown by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). A September 30  press release  on the contracts issued by the US Department of War for the US Air Force said Raytheon was awarded a $41.6 million firm-fixed-price modification to a previously awarded contract for the enhanced C8 and D3 AMRAAM variants and their production. It added that the modification brought the total cumulative face value of the contract to $2.5 billion from $2.47bn. “Work will be performed at Tucson, Arizona, and is expected to be completed by May 30, 2030. This contract involves foreign military sales to United Kingdom, Poland, Pakistan, Germany, Finland, Australia, Romania, Qatar, Oman, Korea, Greece, Switzerland, Portugal, Singapore, ...

  ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is planning to double its manpower exports to Saudi Arabia after the signing of a landmark defense deal between the two countries last month, officials told Arab News on Monday. The country’s human resource exports to Saudi Arabia have already witnessed a steady rise over the past five years, according to the Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment. Pakistan sent 1.88 million workers to Saudi Arabia between 2020 and 2024, up 21 percent from 1.56 million in 2015–2019.  Remittances from the Kingdom rose from $7.39 billion in 2020 to $8.59 billion in 2024, reflecting steady demand for Pakistani labor. In contrast, inflows from the United Arab Emirates fluctuated between $5.8 billion and $6.8 billion during the same period, while those from Qatar remained below $1 billion annually, according to the State Bank of Pakistan. In September, both countries signed a landmark defense pact that is meant to enhance joint deterrence and deepen decades of military...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif termed on Monday his Malaysian counterpart’s announcement of the import of Halal meat worth $200 million from Pakistan a “welcome step”, which he said would further augment engagement in this sector between the countries. The PM’s remarks came in a post on X after he addressed a joint press conference alongside Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in Putrajaya following bilateral talks between the two leaders. PM Shehbaz had also mentioned during the press conference that the Malaysian premier had indicated interest in meat exports from Pakistan. Shehbaz, who reached Malaysia yesterday on a state visit, further shared in his post that he had a “most productive exchange of views with my dear brother Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in Putrajaya today”. “We held wide-ranging discussions on ways to further strengthen our historic partnership — focusing on trade and investment, climate, defence, education, and tourism.” The prime minister added that the two lead...

  Gold prices in both global and local markets remained stable on Friday, although per tola rates continued to hover at record highs. In the international bullion market, the price of gold per ounce held steady at $3,865 with no change. Similarly, in local bullion markets, the price of gold per tola stayed unchanged at Rs407,778. In line with the global movement, domestic prices followed suit, with gold per 10 grams remaining stable at Rs349,603. Meanwhile, spot gold inched up 0.03% to $3,857.25 per ounce after hitting a record high of $3,896.49 on Thursday. The bullion has gained 2.6% so far this week. Among other precious metals, spot silver climbed 0.6% to $47.24 per ounce, platinum rose 0.5% to $1,576.25, and palladium gained 1.4% to $1,258. 25.

  Pakistan and several other  countries  on Thursday condemned Israel’s “dastardly attack” on the  Global Sumud Flotilla  (GSF) after its forces intercepted the flotilla heading to break Israel’s siege of Gaza and deliver aid. Israeli forces  began intercepting  the flotilla’s latest bid to reach Gaza late last night, the fleet said. Israel has so far intercepted 39 boats with foreign activists on board to Gaza, leaving only one vessel still sailing towards the Palestinian enclave, the flotilla organisers said today. The 45-vessel flotilla, with activists and politicians including  Greta Thunberg  on board, left Spain last month to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza, where the United Nations has warned of famine. Former Pakistani senator  Mushtaq Ahmad Khan  was also on board. Hours after Tel Aviv’s move drew global condemnation, Israeli foreign ministry posted on X that all on board the flotilla were safe would be “deported to Europe”...

  ISLAMABAD:  Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that Indonesia has offered to send troops to Palestine, but Pakistan has not yet decided. He added that Pakistan's leadership will make a decision on deploying peacekeeping forces in Gaza. "We are committed to ensuring the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Palestine. Under the proposed plan, a peacekeeping force will be deployed in Palestine, with a majority of Palestinian officials on the peace board. Indonesia has offered to send 20,000 troops to Palestine for the Gaza Special Force, and we hope that Pakistan will also decide to deploy military personnel to the region," said Dar while addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Tuesday. Dar stated that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif led the country’s delegation at the United Nations General Assembly, where he engaged with leaders from Australia, Kuwait, Arab countries, Islamic nations, and the United States. He highlighted Pakistan's s...