Kuwait | Pakistan

Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik on Sunday said plans were underway to launch a scheme with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar for oil storage to strengthen energy security. Pakistan has been planning to boost domestic storage for crude oil and refined products to increase its energy security, it emerged in May. With no strategic petroleum reserves, the country has been left exposed to oil supply shocks resulting from the US-Iran war that has choked supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. Addressing a press conference in Lahore today, Malik said: “I am grateful to the governments of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar that we will have a bonded scheme with them, under which these countries will store their oil on the secure territories of Pakistan at their own cost, and supply to the entire world from here.” He added that Pakistan will have the right that in the case of a conflict, it could “buy those resources from them by paying for them and fulfil our needs”. The minister said the “commercial bonded scheme draft...

Islamabad welcomes Kuwait’s recent ratification of 2023 pact to enhance defence cooperation Dar, Kuwaiti FM discuss regional, international developments In meeting with Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, PM Shehbaz condemns attacks on Kuwait.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday reaffirmed Pakistan’s full solidarity with Kuwait and strongly condemned recent attacks on Kuwait and other Gulf countries amid the ongoing regional conflict.

Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir and the visiting foreign minister of Kuwait discussed regional security and steps to boost bilateral cooperation on Wednesday, the military’s media wing said. Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, who landed in Pakistan last night on an official visit, called on the field marshal at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). “During the meeting, matters of mutual interest, regional security and steps to further strengthen bilateral cooperation were discussed,” the statement issued by the ISPR on social media said. It added that CDF Munir reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to Kuwait, emphasising that both countries shared a “common vision for regional peace and prosperity”. Meanwhile, Al-Sabah appreciated Pakistan’s “steadfast support”, its constructive contribution toward regional peace and stability, and the deep fraternal ties between the two nations, ...

The situation in the Middle East came under discussion as Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday met Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, who is on an official visit to the country. According to the Foreign Office (FO), the two held a “warm and productive” tête-à-tête at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “The two leaders reviewed the full spectrum of Pakistan–Kuwait bilateral relations and reaffirmed their shared commitment to further strengthening the longstanding brotherly partnership,” it said. “They also held in-depth discussions on regional and international developments, with particular focus on the evolving situation in the Middle East,” it added. Later, the two leaders co-chaired delegation-level talks, the FO posted on X, adding that both sides reviewed the entire spectrum of Pakistan-Kuwait bilateral relations and discussed ways to further strengthen cooperation in trade, investment, energy, labour, agriculture, information technology, health, mining and minerals, de...

The United States launched new strikes on Iran early on Sunday after the US military earlier announced that two US military personnel were killed in Jordan and another was missing following an Iranian attack. Later, Iran’s army said it had targeted two US bases in Kuwait with drones in response to American attacks on Iranian territory. The Islamic republic’s army said it carried out “large-scale attacks with kamikaze drones against the US military’s ammunition depot at Camp Udairi and the Patriot radar system and air surveillance radar at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait”, according to a statement carried by the state broadcaster. Before the US strikes, Iran’s supreme leader said Washington would pay for “seeking to escalate the conflict”. US Central Command said in a statement that the airstrikes began at 6pm ET (2200 GMT), at President Donald Trump’s direction. “The strikes are designed to further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and swiftly punish Islamic Revolu...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has been negotiating an expanded defence pact with Kuwait in exchange for energy cooperation and investment, the Reuters news agency reported on Friday, citing five sources with knowledge of the talks. The talks remain at an early stage, it said, and could still be complicated by heightened tensions between the United States and Iran. Kuwait has had a more limited defence deal with Pakistan for training and joint exercises since 2023. It is now seeking a show of force by Islamabad that would be similar to Pakistan’s pact with Saudi Arabia, including “thousands of Pakistani troops on the ground, fighter jets, drones, an air defence system, and other defence-related facilities”, said a Pakistani government official. It is unclear whether Pakistan is willing to go this far, given that its agreement with Saudi Arabia was the result of a decades-old close alliance with Riyadh. “Kuwait’s wish list includes everything,” said a Pakistani security official with knowledge of the talks. “But let me b...

The United States and Iran traded strikes on Thursday for the second day running as Washington and Tehran battled over the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The latest round of attacks, which the US said was carried out in response to Tuesday’s assault on three cargo ships transiting the strait, came hours after US President Donald Trump said he believed an interim ceasefire with Iran to be “over”. US forces said the latest attacks against Iran were aimed at “their ability to threaten the freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz”, citing recent strikes against commerical ships the waterway. “This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. The US strikes rattled several cities along Iran’s southern coast and left some areas without power. The US Central Command said later they had struck approximately 90 military targets. Iran responded with a second day of attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain, both home to US mili...

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said on Wednesday they had hit dozens of US military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait in response to American strikes, in a statement carried by state broadcaster IRIB. “In an initial response to this aggression, the IRGC Navy and Aerospace Force carried out a joint missile and drone operation, striking 85 key US military facilities” in the two countries, while also shooting down an MQ-9 drone, the statement said. The statement came after the US military unleashed a new wave of strikes against Iran on Tuesday and revoked a licence allowing the country to sell oil after three tankers were hit by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz, putting pressure on an already fragile ceasefire. After a day in which huge crowds mourned Iran’s assassinated supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the holy city of Qom, US Central Command (Centcom) said it hit over 80 targets in a series of strikes intended to impose what it called “heavy costs”. The military command said it struck more than 6...

WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain this week as the Trump administration has stepped up efforts to end the war with Iran while Gulf countries remain uneasy about a proposed deal.

ISLAMABAD: Kuwait agreed on Tuesday to “explore new opportunities” around building strategic storage in Pakistan’s petroleum sector, a statement by the Petroleum Division said, adding that the initiative could result in mutual benefit for both sides. The assurance came during a meeting between petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik and Kuwait’s ambassador to Pakistan, Nassar Abdulrahman Jasser Almutairi, in Islamabad. “Both sides discussed prospects for enhanced cooperation in the petroleum and energy sectors, especially refining, and agreed to explore new opportunities around building strategic storages in Pakistan that could bring mutual benefit to Pakistan and Kuwait”, the statement said. It added that the meeting focused on regional developments and energy cooperation. The two sides also agreed to further strengthen bilateral relations and expand collaboration in areas of common interest, it said. For his part, the petroleum minister expressed gratitude to Kuwait’s government for its “timely facilitation an...

TOBA TEK SINGH: Relatives of a Pakistan-origin man residing in Kuwait, who has been missing along with his family, have sought the authorities’ assistance to confirm whether the family had been killed in an incident involving missile debris after interception. Muhammad Saleem, a brother-in-law of the missing person, Waqas Ahmed, shared a copy of a letter with Dawn that he said he had sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The letter states: “I am writing to seek your urgent assistance regarding my brother-in-law, Mr Waqas Ahmad, who, along with his family, is currently untraceable in Kuwait under extremely concerning circumstances.” Saleem said in the letter that Waqas was residing in Kuwait with his family. “The household consisted of five members: four Australian nationals, including Mr Waqas Ahmad, and his wife, who is an Egyptian national.” He further stated that recently, “we received a WhatsApp call from an individual identifying himself as Zeeshan … who claimed to be their neighbour in Kuwait. He inf...

Pakistan on Wednesday expressed concern at the storming and vandalism of Kuwait’s consulate in Iraq’s Basra, saying the act was “inconsistent with established diplomatic norms and international law”. In a statement issued by the Foreign Office (FO) on X, Pakistan called for a thorough investigation into the incident and bringing those responsible to justice. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has noted with deep concern the reported storming and vandalism of the Consulate General of the State of Kuwait in Basra, and the violation of the sanctity of the consular premises yesterday,” the statement said. “Pakistan strongly condemns such acts, which are inconsistent with established diplomatic norms and international law, particularly the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations,” it added. Pakistan emphasised the importance of ensuring the security and inviolability of diplomatic and consular missions, the FO said, adding the country called for a “thorough investigation into the incident, as well as bringing those ...

ISLAMABAD: Kuwait has assured full facilitation in the supply of diesel and jet fuel to Pakistan, which has been stalled due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran. The assurance for the revival of oil exports to Pakistan came after Tehran allowed 20 cargoes with Pakistani flags to pass the Strait of Hormuz, as announced by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday. Pakistan imports more than 60 per cent of its diesel from Kuwait under a long-term contract between state-run oil giants of the two countries — Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and Pakistan State Oil. Alternative routes, following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, have resulted in additional freight costs for Pakistan. On Monday, Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik held a meeting with Kuwait’s Ambassador to Pakistan Nassar Abdulrahman Jasser Almutairi to discuss bilateral relations, energy cooperation, and regional developments. According to an official statement, Malik exp...

In a phone call with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday, Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al Khaled Al Hamad Al Sabah “fully endorsed” Pakistan’s efforts for mediation between Iran and the US, according to a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The statement said that PM Shehbaz held a phone call with the crown prince and “apprised the Kuwaiti leadership of Pakistan’s sincere diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the war in the Middle East”. During the conversation, PM Shehbaz reiterated “strong condemnation” of the attacks on Kuwait and expressed solidarity and support for the people of the Gulf country in these challenging times, the statement said. PM Shehbaz also offered condolences on the loss of precious lives and prayed for the recovery of the injured, it added. “While expressing deep appreciation of the prime minister’s leadership, the crown prince of Kuwait fully endorsed Pakistan’s efforts for mediation between Iran and the US,” the statement said. The crown prince thanked the prim...

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif received a telephone call from the Crown Prince of the State of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al Khaled Al Hamad Al Sabah, on Friday, and assured him that Pakistan would continue to play a constructive role in bringing peace and stability in the region.

Kuwait has implemented a precautionary reduction in crude oil production and refining throughput after the ongoing attacks by Iran against the country and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said on Saturday. The cuts are another disruption for the global energy industry because of the US-Israeli war on Iran, as oil and gas storage at facilities in the Middle East Gulf rapidly fill. Oil fields in Iraq have already cut production and Qatar declared force majeure on its huge volumes of gas exports, while the United Arab Emirates is most likely to cut next. “In light of the ongoing aggression by the Islamic Republic of Iran against the State of Kuwait, including Iranian threats against safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, KPC has implemented a precautionary reduction in crude oil production and refining throughput as part of its risk management and business continuity strategy,” it said, adding that it would be “reviewed as the situation develops”. The...

Kuwait’s air defences mistakenly shot down three US F-15 fighter jets during active combat on Monday, US Central Command (Centcom) said on Monday, describing it as an apparent friendly-fire incident during the conflict with Iran. All six crew members ejected from the aircraft safely were recovered and are in stable condition, Centcom said. “During active combat - that included attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones — the US Air Force fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defences,” Centcom said. It said that Kuwait had acknowledged the incident and that an investigation was underway. Video images showed a US warplane falling out of the sky over Kuwait early on Monday, while a person could be seen parachuting. The location was verified by Reuters as filmed in the Al Jahra area of Kuwait. In a separate incident, smoke was seen rising from the vicinity of the US Embassy compound in Kuwait City, and fire trucks and ambulances were in the area, a witness told Reuters. There w...

ISLAMABAD - Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkiye and Kuwait on Saturday expressed deep sorrow over loss of lives caused by devastating floods in Pakistan.

The Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC), under the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development, has announced new job openings in Kuwait following the Gulf nation’s decision to restore its visa policy for Pakistan.