Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and defence minister Mohammed bin Salman receiving Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif who arrived in Riyadh on March 9, 2016 to attend the Northern Thunder joint military exercises. Saudi Press Agency via AFP
Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and defence minister Mohammed bin Salman receiving Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif who arrived in Riyadh on March 9, 2016 to attend the Northern Thunder joint military Show more

How Pakistan’s military offers the Gulf much more than boots on the ground



Abu Dhabi // The deployment of Pakistani troops to Saudi Arabia would cap a diplomatic push by Islamabad’s army chief and prime minister, who have visited the kingdom, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE in recent months. ​

A number of economic and security interests have aligned to underscore the strategic importance of the relationship for both sides.

The GCC is the world’s largest importer of arms, but as budgets are set to remain tightened in an era of low oil prices, its members are also looking for cheaper alternatives. This imperative comes in parallel to a longer-term goal of diversifying strategic relationships away from a dependence on the United States.

“You can’t afford having these very expensive contracts with western companies and contractors, so what [the GCC] will do is go toward cheaper contractors, so that’s why they are looking towards China, towards Pakistan, towards Turkey – it’s just the natural move,” said Andreas Krieg, a professor at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom’s Joint Command and Staff College.

“Over the last two years the Qataris have really turned their backs towards the West and looked toward the East, as all the Gulf countries are doing right now”

The UAE has the most advanced Arab military and defence sector, but Qatar and Saudi Arabia have further to go in terms of the capacity of their forces and their domestic defence industries – both areas where Pakistan can play an important role.

Qatar in particular is working closely with Pakistan and Turkey in this field, and the three countries are in the early stages of talks aimed at joint production of new defence systems. Qatar has also expressed interest in the fifth generation JF-17 fighter jet which Pakistan developed with China.

“In the past Pakistan was just seen as a supply of manpower but now I think the Qataris have realised there’s a lot more to get out of Pakistan than just manpower,” Mr Krieg said.

A demonstration by Pakistani pilots of the JF-17 last year in Qatar was intended by Islamabad to show Qatari officials that “‘Yes we have a lot of manpower but we’re not a backwards country, we have great technology and we have a military-industrial complex that you can use’,” Mr Krieg added.

Pakistanis provide training to GCC armed forces and thousands serve in Gulf uniforms in most of the GCC’s militaries, including entire battalions of Pakistanis in the Saudi military. “So there is a very intimate relationship already that goes beyond any relationship ... with western countries”, Mr Krieg said. “There is a dependency on Pakistan anyway.”

For Pakistan, the expansion of the export-orientated aspects of its defence industry is an important part of its economic growth, with the government setting a target of expanding the trade to US$1billion (Dh3.67bn) in the next two years, defence production minister Rana Tanveer Hussain told Bloomberg News last week.

Islamabad sees the GCC as a key market for this expansion. The Pakistan Ordnance Factory recently opened an office in Dubai, which covers the entire Middle East.

During Gen Qamar Bajwa’s talks in Doha earlier this month, the Pakistani military said it agreed to provide troops to help Qatar secure the 2022 World Cup. Qatar’s armed forces are too small, and also do not have the counter-terrorism and infrastructure security capacity that is crucial for any country hosting the world’s largest sporting event.

While the Pakistani troops may not provide the same quality service as western private contractors, they are cheaper and never overcharge the Qataris, Mr Krieg said.

After prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit last week, Kuwait has reportedly agreed to build a refinery in Balochistan as well as a pipeline that would take energy products from Karachi to industrial hubs in Punjab province.

Last summer Pakistan also signed a US$22 billion (Dh80.8bn) deal for Qatar to supply it with liquefied natural gas (LNG) for two decades. And officials in Doha have been in discussion with Islamabad to at some point build an LNG pipeline connecting Karachi – where Qatar has already agreed to build a new LNG terminal – to western China.

“All the GCC countries are looking towards China, and Pakistan is a great gateway,” Mr Krieg said.

At the same time, Pakistan is also looking to increase economic and political ties with Iran, however, to pursue shared interests and to maintain its policy of balancing Riyadh and its rival Tehran.

“That is more to do with ... Iran’s potential role in Afghanistan and Pakistan’s effort to develop a regional consensus involving Iran, Russia, China, the Central Asian states to seek a solution” to the conflict and stymie the rise of ISIL there, Mr Hussain said.

Pakistan also does not want Iran to ally more closely with its arch-rival India, whose ties with Tehran are growing, he added.

tkhan@thenational.ae

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Iraq Hussein 28’

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand

UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final

The%20end%20of%20Summer
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Salha%20Al%20Busaidy%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPages%3A%20316%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPublisher%3A%20The%20Dreamwork%20Collective%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Motori Profile

Date started: March 2020

Co-founder/CEO: Ahmed Eissa

Based: UAE, Abu Dhabi

Sector: Insurance Sector

Size: 50 full-time employees (Inside and Outside UAE)

Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing 

Investors: Safe City Group

Day 1, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance

Moment of the day Dimuth Karunaratne had batted with plenty of pluck, and no little skill, in getting to within seven runs of a first-day century. Then, while he ran what he thought was a comfortable single to mid-on, his batting partner Dinesh Chandimal opted to stay at home. The opener was run out by the length of the pitch.

Stat of the day - 1 One six was hit on Day 1. The boundary was only breached 18 times in total over the course of the 90 overs. When it did arrive, the lone six was a thing of beauty, as Niroshan Dickwella effortlessly clipped Mohammed Amir over the square-leg boundary.

The verdict Three wickets down at lunch, on a featherbed wicket having won the toss, and Sri Lanka’s fragile confidence must have been waning. Then Karunaratne and Chandimal's alliance of precisely 100 gave them a foothold in the match. Dickwella’s free-spirited strokeplay meant the Sri Lankans were handily placed at 227 for four at the close.

Champion%20v%20Champion%20(PFL%20v%20Bellator)
%3Cp%3EHeavyweight%3A%20Renan%20Ferreira%20v%20Ryan%20Bader%20%3Cbr%3EMiddleweight%3A%20Impa%20Kasanganay%20v%20Johnny%20Eblen%3Cbr%3EFeatherweight%3A%20Jesus%20Pinedo%20v%20Patricio%20Pitbull%3Cbr%3ECatchweight%3A%20Ray%20Cooper%20III%20v%20Jason%20Jackson%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EShowcase%20Bouts%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EHeavyweight%3A%20Bruno%20Cappelozza%20(former%20PFL%20World%20champ)%20v%20Vadim%20Nemkov%20(former%20Bellator%20champ)%3Cbr%3ELight%20Heavyweight%3A%20Thiago%20Santos%20(PFL%20title%20contender)%20v%20Yoel%20Romero%20(Bellator%20title%20contender)%3Cbr%3ELightweight%3A%20Clay%20Collard%20(PFL%20title%20contender)%20v%20AJ%20McKee%20(former%20Bellator%20champ)%3Cbr%3EFeatherweight%3A%20Gabriel%20Braga%20(PFL%20title%20contender)%20v%20Aaron%20Pico%20(Bellator%20title%20contender)%3Cbr%3ELightweight%3A%20Biaggio%20Ali%20Walsh%20(pro%20debut)%20v%20Emmanuel%20Palacios%20(pro%20debut)%3Cbr%3EWomen%E2%80%99s%20Lightweight%3A%20Claressa%20Shields%20v%20Kelsey%20DeSantis%3Cbr%3EFeatherweight%3A%20Abdullah%20Al%20Qahtani%20v%20Edukondal%20Rao%3Cbr%3EAmateur%20Flyweight%3A%20Malik%20Basahel%20v%20Vinicius%20Pereira%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO

Aston Villa 1 (Konsa 63')

Sheffield United 0

Red card: Jon Egan (Sheffield United)

 

Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

Tips for newlyweds to better manage finances

All couples are unique and have to create a financial blueprint that is most suitable for their relationship, says Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer at Century Financial. He offers his top five tips for couples to better manage their finances.

Discuss your assets and debts: When married, it’s important to understand each other’s personal financial situation. It’s necessary to know upfront what each party brings to the table, as debts and assets affect spending habits and joint loan qualifications. Discussing all aspects of their finances as a couple prevents anyone from being blindsided later.

Decide on the financial/saving goals: Spouses should independently list their top goals and share their lists with one another to shape a joint plan. Writing down clear goals will help them determine how much to save each month, how much to put aside for short-term goals, and how they will reach their long-term financial goals.

Set a budget: A budget can keep the couple be mindful of their income and expenses. With a monthly budget, couples will know exactly how much they can spend in a category each month, how much they have to work with and what spending areas need to be evaluated.

Decide who manages what: When it comes to handling finances, it’s a good idea to decide who manages what. For example, one person might take on the day-to-day bills, while the other tackles long-term investments and retirement plans.

Money date nights: Talking about money should be a healthy, ongoing conversation and couples should not wait for something to go wrong. They should set time aside every month to talk about future financial decisions and see the progress they’ve made together towards accomplishing their goals.

Where can I submit a sample?

Volunteers can now submit DNA samples at a number of centres across Abu Dhabi. The programme is open to all ages.

Collection centres in Abu Dhabi include:

  • Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC)
  • Biogenix Labs in Masdar City
  • Al Towayya in Al Ain
  • NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City
  • Bareen International Hospital
  • NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
  • NMC Royal Medical Centre - Abu Dhabi
  • NMC Royal Women’s Hospital.
The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK 

Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV

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