Current Final

Tag: Qatar

  • Qatar announces visa on arrival for Pakistanis

    Qatar has issued a new immigration policy directives to the concerned authorities in this regard. According to details, Pakistani citizens would be granted a 30-day tourist visa upon arrival at the airport for a fee of QAR 100 (4378.22 PKR) valid for a period of 30 days, which can be extended for a similar period.

    Following are the conditions to get a visa on arrival:

    Valid passport for at least six months.

    Confirmed return ticket.

    Polio vaccination certificate

    Confirmed hotel reservation in one of the country’s hotels during the visit period.

    Fully vaccinated with vaccines approved by the Ministry of Public Health and completing a period of 14 days after the last dose.

    Must have a certificate confirming negative PCR test completed during 48 hours from the time of arrival.

  • Not concerned by the contacts between India and Afghan Taliban, says Moeed Yusuf

    Not concerned by the contacts between India and Afghan Taliban, says Moeed Yusuf

    National Security Adviser Dr Moeed Yusuf while speaking on Dawn News programme ‘Live with Adil Shahzeb’ said that India should be ashamed of meeting the Afghan Taliban  after having supported operations against the insurgent group for a long time.

    Yusuf was responding to the Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar’s recent stopovers in Doha to meet with the Taliban leadership twice in the last three weeks.

    “I want to ask this: with what [moral] standing did this Indian high-level official meet [the Taliban] there? Did they not feel ashamed?” Yusuf said when asked how Pakistan viewed the India-Taliban meetings.

    “[The Indians] kept having the Taliban killed daily and kept giving funds for operations against them and today they have reached there to have talks,” he added.

    Yusuf said the meetings were “a matter of shame” and not a strategic move.

    He emphasised that the Taliban, whom the Indians had met, were also “not stupid”, saying he was not concerned by the contacts between India and the insurgent group amid the United States withdrawal from Afghanistan.

    “You should also ask what response the [Indians] got from the [Taliban],” he added.

    Speaking about Pakistan-India relations, the NSA said there were no backdoor talks or dialogue between the two countries for now.

    ‘’India contacted us [and said] that they wanted to fix [relations] and we told them we desired the restoration of pre-August 2019 status of Indian-occupied Kashmir; besides, our policy is based on the ease of life for Kashmiris,’’ he stated.

  • Norway takes back decision to boycott Qatar World Cup 2022

    Norway takes back decision to boycott Qatar World Cup 2022

    Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) on Sunday ruled out the decision of boycotting next year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar, amid the pressure from grassroots activists over accusations of the mistreatment of migrant workers.

    As per reports, a congress was called by the federation to make a final decision in which 368 delegates voted for a motion rejecting a boycott while 121 were in favour.

    In addition to this, Sandvik, spokesman of the Norwegian Supporters Alliance (NSA), said the matches in Qatar will “unfortunately be like playing on a cemetery”.

    The movement was highlighted when the Norwegian professional football club, Tromsø IL, spoke out against the Gulf State. This year in March, Norwegian National Football players wore t-shirts with the slogan ‘Human rights, on and off the pitch’, as they were warming up before FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualification match.

    Norway is currently fourth in its World Cup qualifying group and hasn’t qualified for a major international Football competition since Euro 2000.

    It is to be noted that not only Norway but other European countries such as Germany and Netherlands have protested against the Gulf State.

    The major reason behind the boycott is that a media report published earlier this month alleged that approximately 6,500 migrant workers from South Asia had died in Qatar since 2010 when the country was awarded hosting rights of the 2022 tournament. In the past, there were also a lot of protests against harsh working conditions, especially during the summer, they are forced to work under the scorching sun.

    There is a lack of rights for migrant workers, who comprise about 95 percent of Qatar’s population, reports Al Jazeera.

  • Senior journalist accuses close aide of PM of disrupting Pak-Qatar ties; Twitter is guessing who…

    Senior journalist accuses close aide of PM of disrupting Pak-Qatar ties; Twitter is guessing who…

    Senior journalist Arif Hameed Bhatti has accused a close aide of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan of disrupting Pakistan-Qatar business ties.

    Speaking during a talk show on Saturday, Bhatti claimed that a cabinet member, who is also an advisor of the premier, visited Qatar and snubbed the government by asking to start personal business ties.

    He went on to claim that the issue was also discussed in the recently-held cabinet meeting.

    When the host of the current affairs programme, Paras Jahanzaib, asked Bhatti to name the advisor who visited Qatar and told the authorities to end business ties with the Pakistan government, Hameed seemed reluctant to answer, but Twitterati have not been holding back their guesses.

    What do they owe their guesses to? Well, this clip from the show…

    WATCH VIDEO:

    What do you think of the claims? Let The Current know in the comments below…

  • Nawaz’s election campaign was funded by Gulf country, claims Sheikh Rasheed

    Nawaz’s election campaign was funded by Gulf country, claims Sheikh Rasheed

    Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed has claimed that a Gulf country funded former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s election campaign in the 1990s.

    In an interview with Samaa, the minister said that he was a minister in the cabinet of Nawaz Sharif at the time. Rasheed said he was accompanying Nawaz Sharif when it was revealed that the country, that is rich in oil and gas and also has an LNG deal with Pakistan, funded the former PM’s party as a “token of love”.

    According to the minister, the Arab country leader asked Nawaz: “Mr Prime Minister, we have given you a token of love on your election expenditure. Did you receive it?”

    At this, Nawaz responded that yes, he had received the money, said Rasheed, adding that he asked Nawaz to send them a ‘thank you note’ at least.

    It may be noted here that PM Imran Khan had alleged that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) received funds from foreign countries. The comments by the PM came in the wake of the hearings of a foreign funding case against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

    Last week, the PTI had said that its agents managing two limited liability companies (LLCs) in the US could be responsible for any illegal funding and PTI Chairman Imran Khan had nothing to do with it.

    In a response to the petition in the foreign funding case, the PTI, that had denied any links to the foreign funding, said that if the two LLC registered after the written instructions of party chief Imran Khan were involved in the illegal act, it would be due to its agents who were managing them in the US.

    The case was filed by PTI founding member Akbar S Babar in 2014. The Election Commission of Pakistan had started fresh scrutiny of the PTI accounts — a process going on since March 2018.

  • Pakistan, Qatar agree to enhance bilateral trade volume

    In order to enhance bilateral trade, Pakistan and Qatar have agreed in principle on a preferential trade agreement (PTA) and a free trade agreement (FTA), The Express Tribune has reported, adding that the agreements would soon be signed after necessary formalities.

    Pakistan has also offered to establish a plant in Qatar to manufacture footballs for the FIFA World Cup 2022 as well as subsequent football tournaments.

    Nebras Power, a major investment group in Qatar’s energy sector, has expressed an interest in investing directly in Pakistan’s power sector.

    The Nebras Power Consortium will take part in the privatisation of the Haveli Bahadur Shah and Balloki power plants in Pakistan.

    It has formally informed the Pakistani government about its interest and hoped that it would promote direct cooperation between the two governments in the fields of energy and power generation.

    According to a document, Pakistan’s commerce and energy ministries attended the 5th Pak Qatar Joint Ministerial Commission meeting in Qatar last month.

    A copy of the minutes issued by the signatories of the two countries was sent to the respective ministries for implementation of the decisions made by the two countries.

    Pakistan has expressed an interest in exporting sports goods for the FIFA World Cup 2022. Qatar has welcomed Pakistan’s interest and said it would consider its goods on the basis of price and quality for the mega event.

    The document also read that the Pakistani government had fully endorsed a report sent by the Qatar government to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to recognise its products, including Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and natural gas, as ecofriendly.

    Qatar has also requested additional traffic rights to enhance aviation links with Pakistan. The two countries will consider the matter on a commercial basis.

    The two countries have agreed on an air service agreement in the near future to enhance bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and Qatar in other areas of aviation and agreed to hold further meetings during the forthcoming air service talks scheduled to be held in Shi’ar Uqba, Jordan where further progress is expected in this regard.

    According to Qatar’s media, the two-way trade exchange between Qatar and Pakistan reached QR9.5 billion in 2018, witnessing an unprecedented 63pc growth as a result of better ties. The balance of trade is currently skewed in favour of Qatar due to the export of high-valued products to Pakistan. But the South Asian nation is also working aggressively to enhance collaboration in the field of manpower aiming to increase the flow of remittances, which will eventually make the economic relations more balanced.

  • Pakistan offers Qatar security for 2022 FIFA World Cup

    Pakistan offers Qatar security for 2022 FIFA World Cup

    President Arif Alvi has offered Qatar of providing security for the next FIFA World Cup being held in the Gulf country in 2022, stressing that Pakistan had vast experience in that domain, The Express Tribune reported.

    According to the details, talking to Commander of the Qatar Emiri Guard, Maj-Gen Hazzaa Bin Khalil Bin Mansour Al-Shahwani, President Alvi said that a lot of scope existed between the two countries to include defence export and joint production ventures.

    Dr Alvi underscored that having vast experience in the domain of security and the professionalism of its armed forces, “Pakistan can provide Qatar security for Football World Cup 2022″.

    He also emphasised on the need for enhancing the training collaboration and professional interaction between defence forces of the two countries, appreciating the agreement for sale of eight Super Mushak aircraft to Qatar worth $57.74 million in 2016.

    The president urged Qatar to support Pakistan in its endeavours to highlight Indian human rights violations in Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) before the world, and stressed the need for the international community to persuade India to resolve the long withstanding dispute in accordance with United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions.

    “The fascist Indian regime is flagrantly violating the human rights of Kashmiris by revoking the special status of occupied Kashmir and by suspending their civil liberties. The Indian government has adopted a hostile attitude towards all its minorities,” the report quoted Alvi as saying.

    Maj-Gen Al-Shahwani said, “Qatar considered it a religious duty to support Pakistan at all levels”.

    Separately, the Qatari commander also called on army chief General Qamar Bajwa at the GHQ in Rawalpindi, and discussed matters of mutual and professional interest and regional security situation.

  • Former PM Nawaz spotted in his air ambulance

    Former PM Nawaz spotted in his air ambulance

    Ailing former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif, who is currently travelling from Lahore to London for medical treatment, was on Tuesday evening spotted in his air ambulance along with his younger brother Shehbaz Sharif and personal physician Dr Adnan Khan.

    Seven people are travelling with Nawaz, who was granted special permission by the court to seek medical treatment abroad despite his conviction in the Al-Azizia reference case and subsequent jail term. He had earlier been granted bail on humanitarian grounds while he sought treatment at Lahore’s Services Hospital.

    He had been shifted to the hospital from Kot Lakhpat jail after a precarious drop in his platelet count last month and later diagnosed with acute immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), an immune disorder that leads to an abrupt and sharp drop in blood platelet.

    The air ambulance that arrived at 8:45am at Lahore Airport on Tuesday, had Qatar as its first destination, from where it will continue its journey towards London. At least 21 senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders saw off their party supremo from the Hajj Terminal of the Lahore Airport earlier in the day.

    Since Nawaz’s name remains on the Exit Control List (ECL) even after the court allowed him to go abroad for medical treatment, he produced the court order to get past immigration officials. According to reports, his name will remain on the no-fly list as per the law, but his exemption according to the court order was mentioned in the computerised record.

    LHC VERDICT:

    The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Saturday permitted to remove Nawaz’s name from the ECL without any conditions for a time period of four weeks.

    On Friday, the LHC called the plea admissible regarding the removal of former premier’s name from the ECL on a conditional basis — the government had said it would allow a “one-time permission”, provided Nawaz deposited surety bonds worth Rs7-7.5 billion.

    In its decision, the LHC said that in case Nawaz’s health doesn’t improve then the time-period can be extended, adding that the government officials will be able to contact Nawaz through the Pakistani Embassy.

  • ‘Qatari emir brokering deal for Nawaz, Maryam to leave Pakistan’

    ‘Qatari emir brokering deal for Nawaz, Maryam to leave Pakistan’

    Senior journalist and analyst Arif Nizami has said that Qatar is reportedly brokering a deal between the government and former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif to secure the latter’s release.

    Speaking to a private media outlet, Nizami said that Qatar was an old friend of Pakistan and previously involved in securing Nawaz’s release when former military dictator General (r) Pervez Musharraf had arrested him after the 1999 coup.

    “When Musharraf came into power and detained Nawaz, the emir of Qatar was the first person to initiate the process for his release,” he said.

    Nizami added that up to 90 per cent of the deal had been processed to let the former PM and his daughter Maryam live in London, while sources had informed him that the “recent visit of the emir of Qatar was also linked to this task”.

    Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani had arrived in Pakistan earlier this week and announced $3 billion worth of new investments in the country. He had also announced that Qatar may invest another $12 billion later on.

    “Sources have claimed that Nawaz’s health is not stable and according to his daughter Maryam, he has already suffered a stroke thrice,” Nizami said further.

    He claimed that under the deal, Nawaz will be allowed to pay the fine to secure his release so that he and his daughter can go and live in England. “Shehbaz and Hamza will stay here to run the party affairs and face cases leveled against them,” Nizami added.