Saudi Arabia | Pakistan

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Saturday signed a formal agreement finalising the arrangements and facilities for Hajj 2026, marking the start of preparations for next year’s pilgrimage.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia formally signed an agreement for Haj 2026, state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Sunday. According to the report, “Saudi Deputy Minister for Haj and Umrah Dr Abdulfattah Bin Sulaiman Mashat and Secretary Ministry of Religious Affairs of Pakistan Dr Syed Ata-ur-Rehman signed the agreement in Jeddah on Saturday.” Haj, one of the fundamental pillars of Islam, is performed each year by millions of Muslims worldwide. Pakistan receives one of the highest Haj quotas from Saudi Arabia. Dr Syed Ata-ur-Rehman expressed gratitude for the Saudi government’s excellent efforts in hosting and providing facilities to the guests of Allah, the report added. “Like last year, Pakistani pilgrims will be provided with high-quality services this year,” the report quoted Dr Rehman as saying. The secretary further expressed the determination of the Ministry of Religious Affairs to complete arrangements for both government and private Haj schemes in a timely and effective manner, in accordance with the guideli...

The Trump administration is considering a Saudi Arabian request to buy as many as 48 F-35 fighter jets, a potential multi-billion-dollar deal that has cleared a key Pentagon hurdle ahead of a visit by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, two sources familiar with the matter said. A sale would mark a significant policy shift, potentially altering the military balance in the Middle East and testing Washington’s definition of maintaining Israel’s “qualitative military edge.” Saudi Arabia made a direct appeal earlier this year to US President Donald Trump and has long been interested in Lockheed Martin’s fighter, one of the people and a US official said. The Pentagon is now weighing a potential sale of 48 of the advanced aircraft, the US official and the person familiar with the talks told Reuters. The size of the request and its status have not been previously reported. The US official and a second US official, who acknowledged the weapons deal was moving through the system, said no final decision has been made and...

The inaugural Esports Olympics scheduled to be held in 2027 will no longer be hosted by Saudi Arabia, the International Olympic Committee announced on Thursday. The IOC and the Saudi National Olympic Committee “mutually agreed that they will end their cooperation on the Olympic Esports Games”, a statement said. The first Esports Games was originally slated to be held this year in Riyadh but were postponed in February. The Saudis were guaranteed the hosting of the Games for 12 years from 2025, when the agreement was first announced by the IOC in July last year. Then-IOC president Thomas Bach had been influential in the creation of the event but has since been replaced at the helm by Kirsty Coventry. Olympic Esports Series competitions, smaller virtual sports events run by the IOC, were held in 2021 and 2023. They were widely panned by gaming critics over the lack of traditional esports titles. “Recently, the two parties and the Esports World Cup Foundation sat down again and reviewed this initiative,” the IOC ...

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has returned to Islamabad following his official visit to Saudi Arabia, where he met with top Saudi leadership and attended the 9th Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday launched the Economic Cooperation Framework, which is based on their shared economic interests and reaffirms their desire to strengthen trade and investment relations. The decision to launch the framework was taken during a Monday meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the Ninth Edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII9) in Riyadh, according to a statement from the Foreign Office (FO). The FII9 convened global leaders, investors, policymakers, and innovators to explore the theme, ‘The Key to Prosperity: Unlocking New Frontiers of Growth’ and discuss key topics such as innovation, sustainability, economic inclusion, and geopolitical shifts. “As part of the framework, several strategic and high-impact projects will be discussed in the economic, trade, investment and development fields that will contribute to strengthening cooperation between the two governments, enhancing the pivotal role of the pr...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has departed for Saudi Arabia to participate in the Ninth Edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII9) being held in Riyadh from October 27 to 29, 2025, at the invitation of Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will undertake an official visit to Saudi Arabia from October 27 to 29, the Foreign Office confirmed on Sunday.

Saudi Arabia has banned employers from charging any fees to their domestic workers, including for recruitment and work permits, setting maximum penalties of a fine worth 20,000 riyals (SR) and a three-year ban on hiring, according to Saudi Gazette. The Saudi outlet reported on Monday that employers were banned from “charging any fees from their domestic workers”, including those “related to recruitment, change of professions, transfer of services, residency permit (iqama) and work permits”. Saudi Gazette said the provisions were included in the “Guide to the Rights and Obligations of Domestic Workers”, issued by the Saudi human resources ministry. It added that the new regulations “include a package of rights that guarantee the domestic worker a decent life and a stable work environment”. According to a guide available on the Saudi human resources ministry’s website, professions/jobs permitted by law in the domestic worker sector include “domestic worker, private driver, educator, home nurse, home cook, home ...

Saudi Arabia joined other nations on Monday in welcoming the ceasefire agreed between Pakistan and Afghanistan after days of border hostilities, affirming its support for efforts aimed at promoting peace and stability between the two countries. The ceasefire was agreed early yesterday morning during talks between Afghan and Pakistani delegations in Doha with the mediation of Qatar and Turkiye. A next round of negotiations between the two sides is scheduled to be held in Istanbul on October 25. A statement posted on the Saudi foreign ministry’s X account said it “expresses the kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s welcome of the signing by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Afghanistan of an immediate ceasefire and the establishment of mechanisms to consolidate lasting peace and stability between the two countries, during the round of negotiations held in Doha.” “The kingdom affirms its support for all regional and international efforts aimed at promoting peace and stability, and its continued commitment to ensuring sec...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will undertake a three-day official visit to Saudi Arabia next week, in a move aimed at strengthening Pakistan’s diplomatic and economic ties with the Kingdom.

Saudi Arabia is discussing a defence deal with the United States which it hopes to seal when Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visits the White House next month, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. A senior Trump administration official told the Financial Times there were discussions about signing something when the crown prince comes, but the details are in flux. The FT said the deal in discussion was similar to the recent US-Qatar pact that pledged to treat any armed attack on Qatar as a threat to the United States. The US deal with Qatar came after Israel last month attempted to kill leaders of Hamas with an air strike on Doha. The US State Department told the FT that defence co-operation with the kingdom was a “strong bedrock of our regional strategy,” but declined to comment on details of the potential deal. The US State Department, the White House and the Saudi government did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on the FT report. Last month, Pakis­tan a...

Pakistan is expanding its trade and investment footprint in Saudi Arabia, with over 100 Pakistani information technology (IT) firms now formally registered to operate in the Kingdom.

KARACHI: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) aimed at promoting collaboration in information technology and sports, marking a step forward in bilateral engagement focused on youth development and technological cooperation. The Letters of Intent (LoIs) were signed at a ceremony held at the Governor House late Friday night in the presence of Saudi-Pakistan Joint Business Council (SPJBC) Chairman Prince Mansour bin Mohammad bin Saad Al Saud and Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori. Saudi Ambassador Nawaf Saeed Al-Malki, Consul General Mohammed Abdullah Al-Subaie and Pakistan’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ahmed Farooq also attended the event. Under the MoUs, both countries agreed to collaborate on IT education, youth exchange programmes, joint training initiatives and sporting events to promote skills development and people-to-people connections. KCCI urges Saudi investment in petrochemicals and agriculture Speaking at the ceremony, Governor Tessori described Pak-Saudi relat...

Pakistan has constituted an 18-member committee to carry out bilateral economic engagements and negotiations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), a notification issued on Sunday by the Prime Minister’s Office said. According to the notification, made available to Dawn.com today, the committee will be co-chaired by Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik and the national coordinator for Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ahmad. The notification, dated October 5, said that the co-chairs “shall constitute core/negotiation teams for negotiations with the Saudi counterparts”. These teams, per the notification, shall be responsible for implementing and executing the assigned tasks on a fast-track basis. “The prime minister has directed that the SIFC shall submit proposals for the travel of members of the committee from Pakistan to KSA and back, and the PMO will ensure that these are processed/approved within one hour of the same working day,” the notification further said. P...

SIALKOT - Federal Minister for Defense Khawaja Asif said that the defense agreement between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is due to the victory of the battle of truth.

ISLAMABAD - President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday expressed deep sorrow and grief over the demise of Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Sheikh, calling it a great loss for the entire Muslim Ummah.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz extended heartfelt congratulations to the leadership and people of Saudi Arabia on their National Day.

Saudi Arabia on Tuesday announced the death of Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al al-Sheikh, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. “The Royal Court announced today the passing of Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Al-Sheikh, who also served as the head of the Council of Senior Scholars, the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta, and the Supreme Council of the Muslim World League,” SPA reported, adding that the funeral prayers would be him at Riyadh’s Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque today. The report said King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud also ordered that funeral prayers in absentia also be performed at Makkah’s Grand Mosque, Madina’s Masjid-i-Nabvi and in all mosques across the kingdom. The Saudi Gazette said in a post on X that he was 82. “The Royal Court stated that with his passing, the kingdom and the Islamic world have lost a distinguished scholar who made significant contributions to the service of Islam and Muslims,” SPA said. It added that King Salman a...

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said that Saudi Arabia will stand alongside Pakistan in the event of any future aggression from India.