Pak politics, world issues discussed at Qatari reception

ISLAMABAD: The reception hosted by Saqr bin Mubarak Al-Mansouri, Ambassador of Qatar, to commemorate anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Jassim bin Muhammad bin Thani as National Day of his country turned up to be an event where Pakistan’s political developments and international issues were discussed by the guests candidly.

Handsome turnout of the guests and cozy ambiance of the reception made the event fascinating. The guests kept discussing resignation of federal minister Azam Khan Swati and increasing judicial activism in the country frankly. The economic situation of Pakistan was cause of worry for a number of guests who were apprehensive that the style of governance of the incumbent rulers becomes increasingly sources of concern since “U-Turn” has been made part of the official policy of the government and lack of seriousness is quite evident.

Most of the guests were inquisitive about the fate of cases against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. They were of the view that trend in the cases apparently is similar since the prosecution has failed in establishing any wrongdoing on the part of the most popular leader of the country.

Federal minister Khusro Bakhtiar was the chief guest who spoke on the occasion in impressive manner and said that the two countries are bound to enhance their ties further in all walks of life as he will be visiting Doha next month.

Ambassador Saqr bin Mubarak Al-Mansouri in his welcoming address said that Pakistan and Qatar share very unique historical ties and enjoying cooperative relations based on solid foundations. “Our relation has seen remarkable development in the recent years, especially in the economic and energy sectors.” The ambassador said that the trade exchange between the two countries has reached $1.6 billion, and there are about 800 Qatari-Pakistani joint companies operating in Qatar. Ambassador Mubarak Al-Mansouri reminded that his country has established a direct commercial shipping line between the ports of Doha and Karachi, to promote trade between the two countries. “We have about 140 thousand Pakistani working in Qatar. They are participating in development of Qatar and we appreciate their role in this regard. In addition to that we are going to recruit 100 thousand Pakistanis for work in Qatar. In this respect ‘Qatari Visa Centers in Pakistan’ would be launched soon to deal with the recruitment process,” the Qatari envoy announced amid thunder of applause. He recalled that Qatar Foundation under its ‘Educate a Child programme’ has signed an agreement with the federal ministry of education to educate one million out of school children in Pakistan. “I wish that the bilateral relations will see further development and progress,” he concluded.

Islamabad Mayor Sheikh Ansar Aziz, State Minister for Interior Shehryar Khan Afridi, SAPM Zulfi Bukhari, Senators Sitara Ayaz and Senator Meer Kabeer Ahmad Muhammad Shahi and officers from the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) were conspicuous with their presence in the reception. Pakistan and Qatar cooperation in the field of defence is also enhancing and Minister Khusro Bakhtiar referred to this aspect of the ties in his address as special reference.