Army officers among seven soldiers killed in northwest Pakistan attack — military

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has agreed to expand its cooperation with Belarus in industry, media, tourism and other vital economic sectors, state-run media reported this week, as Islamabad pushes for foreign investment from allies to shore up its $350 billion economy.

The decision was taken on Monday at the Eighth Session of the Pakistan-Belarus Joint Ministerial Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation held in Minsk during a meeting between Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan and Belarusian Energy Minister Aleksey Kushnarenko.

“Both sides agreed to expand industrial cooperation, particularly in agricultural machinery, transportation and industrial equipment,” Radio Pakistan said. “They also pledged to work together on health care and pharmaceuticals sector, seed production, livestock, veterinary medicine and fisheries to boost food security and trade between the two nations and many other sectors.”

The meeting focused on strengthening the two countries’ economic, commercial, and technical ties, the state broadcaster said. Both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation on labor migration issues, promote tourism, and renew the agreement between the National State Television and Radio Company of Belarus and Pakistan Television Corporation, it added. 

Pakistan and Belarus marked 30 years of diplomatic ties in 2024. Earlier this year, Belarus’s prime minister visited Islamabad to meet key civilian and military officials including the prime minister and army chief.

In November 2024, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko witnessed the signing of 15 memorandums of agreements in Islamabad for cooperation in disaster management, environmental protection, science and technology and halal trade.

In September 2024, Pakistan and Belarus explored joint ventures in agricultural machinery including a tractor plant and a foot-and-mouth disease vaccine for cattle. They also agreed to collaborate on agricultural mechanization, livestock, seeds and veterinary medicine. 

The two countries have a history of cooperation, having held the first Joint Economic Commission in 2015 focusing on textile, pharmaceutical and lighting industries.

Pakistan’s efforts to increase trade and investment ties with regional allies and other countries stems from its desire to pursue sustainable growth amid a prolonged economic crisis. Pakistan last year came to the brink of a sovereign default before it clinched a last-gasp $3 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). 

ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has made it mandatory for Umrah pilgrims from Pakistan to receive polio vaccination before traveling to the Kingdom for the spiritual pilgrimage, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported this week. 

The development takes place amid a surge in poliovirus cases in Pakistan in recent months, with the South Asian country reporting 73 cases last year and only one this year. Polio is a paralyzing disease with no cure and to ensure immunity, health experts say it is crucial that all children under five complete the oral polio vaccine series.

According to Radio Pakistan, GACA has issued a letter directing Umrah pilgrims from Pakistan to receive polio vaccination at least four weeks before their departure and to carry the vaccination certificate with them. 

“The vaccination should not be more than six months old at the time of departure,” the state broadcaster said. 

The Pakistani state media said Umrah pilgrims and relevant institutions have been asked to “strictly implement” this condition to avoid offloading of pilgrims from the plane.

Pakistan has said it vaccinated over 45 million children in its first anti-polio vaccination campaign of the year conducted last week from Feb. 3-9. 

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the last two countries where polio remains endemic. In the early 1990s, Pakistan reported around 20,000 cases annually but in 2018 the number dropped to eight cases.

Pakistan’s polio program began in 1994, but efforts to eradicate the virus have been hampered by vaccine misinformation, opposition from some religious hard-liners who view immunization as a foreign plot, and frequent attacks on polio vaccination teams by militant groups.