Qatar | Pakistan

Snow unexpectedly blanketed several regions across Saudi Arabia and Qatar on Wednesday and Thursday, with cold weather and heavy rain hitting several cities and other parts of the Kingdom, Arab News and Khaleej Times reported on Thursday. According to Khaleej Times, a period of low-pressure systems in the Middle East has brought heavy rainfall over the last week. Conditions were forecast to intensify on Thursday, with thunderstorms expected to hit the region. The storm was then forecast to move eastwards towards the UAE and Qatar by night, it added, citing BBC Weather. Khaleej Times reported that large areas of Qatar had also been covered by snowfall already, sharing a video of the landscape. View this post on Instagram In Saudi Arabia, snow and light rainfall were experienced in Trojena, a mountain destination for hiking and skiing located on Jebel Al-Lawz in the province of Tabuk that reaches up to 2,600 metres, according to Arab News. Additionally, light to moderate rain was experienced in Bir Bin Hermas, ...

Federal Minister for Interior Mohsin Naqvi has extended warm congratulations to His Highness the Amir of the State of Qatar, the Royal Family, and the people of Qatar on the occasion of Qatar’s National Day, lauding the country’s remarkable progress and visionary leadership.

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif held a meeting with Qatar’s Military Attaché, Brigadier General Abdulhadi Mohammed Arhaib Al-Hajri, to discuss bilateral relations and issues of shared interest, with a particular focus on defence collaboration.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar on Monday signed a deal to construct a high-speed rail connecting the Gulf countries’ capitals, marking the latest sign of improved ties between the two nations that were once deeply at odds. According to a statement in the official Saudi press, the “high-speed electric passenger railway” would connect Riyadh and Doha. The Saudi cities of Al-Hofuf and Dammam are also expected to be on the network. The train would reach speeds exceeding 300 kilometres per hour and the trip would take roughly two hours between the two capitals. A direct flight between the cities clocks in at around 90 minutes. The project, set to be completed in six years, expects to serve 10 million passengers per year, the statement said. The agreement was signed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani during the latter’s visit to Riyadh. The deal is just the latest in a series of moves marking the dramatic improvement in ties between the Gulf countries in recent years....

The nearly two-month-old ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will not be complete until Israeli troops withdraw from the Palestinian territory under a peace plan backed by Washington and the United Nations, mediator Qatar’s prime minister said on Saturday. “Now we are at the critical moment … A ceasefire cannot be completed unless there is a full withdrawal of the Israeli forces, [and] there is stability back in Gaza,” Qatari premier Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told the Doha Forum, an annual diplomatic conference in the Gulf state’s capital. Qatar, alongside the United States and Egypt, helped secure the long-elusive truce in Gaza, which came into effect on October 10 and has mostly halted two years of fighting between Israel and Hamas. Under a second phase of the deal, which has yet to begin, Israel is to withdraw from its positions in the territory, an interim authority is to take over governance, and an international stabilisation force (ISF) is to be deployed. Arab and Muslim nations have been hesita...

Pakistan says it deeply appreciates the sincere efforts made by brotherly Turkiye and Qatar to mediate differences between Islamabad and Kabul on the core issue of terrorism.

President seeks boost in defence ties with Qatar

Pakistan seeks Qatar LNG deal review

ISLAMABAD - Minister of State for Federal Education and Professional Training, Wajiha Qamar met with Minister of Education, Learning and Higher Education of the State of Qatar, Lolwa bint Rashid Al-Khater on the sidelines of the 43rd Session of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) General.

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani blamed a “Palestinian party” for a ceasefire violation, referring to the reported killing of an Israeli soldier in southern Gaza’s Rafah on Tuesday. Speaking at the Council of Foreign Relations in New York yesterday, the PM told interviewer Ayman Mohyeldin that the attack on the Israeli soldiers was “basically a violation by the Palestinian party”, pointing out that while Hamas has put out a statement that they are not in communication with this group, there is no “verification if this is true or not”. View this post on Instagram It is important to note, however, that following the attack on the soldier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered “powerful” retaliatory strikes on Gaza. The attacks killed 104 people, mostly women and children, Al Jazeera reported, citing Gaza’s Health Ministry. Israel claimed its strikes targeted senior Hamas fighters, killing dozens, and then said it would start observing the ceasefire again mid...

President Asif Ali Zardari will visit Qatar in early November to attend the second Global Social Development Conference, taking place in Doha from November 4 to 6.

ISLAMABAD - Reacting to the Pak-Afghan ceasefire agreement in Doha, mediated by Qatar and Tur­kiye, to end hostilities and pro­mote regional peace, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has expressed gratitude to Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdo­gan for this.

ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development, Chaudhry Salik Hussain, held an important meeting in Doha with a 40-member delegation representing over 300,000 overseas Pakistani workers residing in Qatar.

ISLAMABAD - Following the deadly cross-border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan, regional powers including Iran, Saudi Arabia and Qatar yesterday urged both Islamabad and Kabul to exercise restraint and resolve their escalating border dispute through dialogue.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Friday that Qatar will be allowed to build an air force facility at Mountain Home Air Base in Idaho that will house F-15 fighter jets and pilots. The announcement comes soon after President Donald Trump signed an executive order vowing to defend the Gulf Arab state against attacks, following Israeli air strikes targeting Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital Doha. “We’re signing a letter of acceptance to build a Qatari Emiri Air Force facility at the Mountain Home Air Base in Idaho,” Hegseth said at the Pentagon, with Qatari Defence Minister Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani at his side. “The location will host a contingent of Qatari F-15s and pilots to enhance our combined training” as well as “increase lethality, interoperability,” he said. “It’s just another example of our partnership. And I hope you know, your excellency, that you can count on us.” The Idaho base currently also hosts a fighter jet squadron from Singapore, according to its website. Hegseth a...

The United States will regard “any armed attack” on Qatari territory as a threat to Washington and will provide the Gulf Arab state with security guarantees, the White House said, after an Israeli strike on the country last month. “In light of the continuing threats to the State of Qatar posed by foreign aggression, it is the policy of the United States to guarantee the security and territorial integrity of the State of Qatar against external attack,” said an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump on Monday. In the event of an attack on Qatar, the United States will “take all lawful and appropriate measures — including diplomatic, economic, and, if necessary, military — to defend the interests of the United States and of the State of Qatar and to restore peace and stability,” the order said. The agreement comes after an Israeli strike on the key US regional ally on September 9, targeting officials from Hamas who were discussing a US peace proposal to end the conflict in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minist...

• US vetoes resolution calling for immediate Gaza ceasefire, Democrats table resolution for recognition of Palestine • Focus on Middle East may affect scheduled Trump-Shehbaz meeting • PM heads to London, will attend UN moot on two-state solution WASHINGTON: With world leaders expected to converge on New York for the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, the escalating crises in Gaza and Qatar are reshaping global diplomatic priorities, with significant implications for Pakistan’s engagement with the United States. In addition to his address at the General Assembly, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is also expected to take part in the high-level international conference for the ‘Peaceful Sett­lement of the Question of Pales­tine and the Imple­men­tation of the Two-State Solution’. The conference, which will take place on Monday, would require the Pakistani delegation to hold close consultations with Arab and Muslim leaders during the UNGA. At a news briefing this week, UN Secretary General Antonio...

Pakistan warned of “dangerous escalation” as the United Nations and a long line of countries on Tuesday denounced Israel’s attack on Qatar last week, demanding “accountability”. Israel’s strikes on the Qatari capital on September 9 targeted Hamas leaders gathered to discuss a new US ceasefire proposal for Gaza. Five Hamas members and a Qatari security officer were killed. That strike “was a shocking breach of international law”, UN rights chief Volker Turk said during an urgent debate at the UN Human Rights Council about the strike. Denouncing the attack as “an assault on regional peace and stability”, he urged “accountability for unlawful killings”. His words were echoed by Qatar and dozens of country representatives who took the floor during the three-hour debate. Qatari International Cooperation Minister Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser Al-Misnad slammed Israel’s “treacherous attack” and demanded that the international community “take practical steps to hold the aggressors accountable and prevent their impunity”...

Arab and Muslim leaders called for a review of ties with Israel after emergency talks in Doha on Monday following last week’s deadly strike on Hamas members in the Qatari capital. The Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) joint session, which brought together nearly 60 countries, sought to take firm action after Israel’s attack on Qatar-hosted Hamas officials as they discussed a Gaza ceasefire proposal. It was co-sponsored by Pakistan. A joint statement from the summit urged “all states to take all possible legal and effective measures to prevent Israel from continuing its actions against the Palestinian people”, including “reviewing diplomatic and economic relations with it, and initiating legal proceedings against it”. Qatar’s fellow Gulf nations, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, along with Egypt, Jordan and Morocco, were among those present that recognise Israel. The leaders of the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco, which signed the Abraham Accords recognising Israel five years ago to the d...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was confirmed on Saturday to attend a summit of Arab and Muslim leaders in Qatar to denounce Israel’s attack on Hamas officials in Doha and to show solidarity with the Gulf state. Qatar said earlier today it would hold the emergency moot in light of the recent developments in the region. Foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said Monday’s meeting would consider “a draft resolution on the Israeli attack on the state of Qatar” to be drafted on Sunday at a ministerial meeting. Israel targeted Hamas leaders on Tuesday in strikes on the Qatari capital, killing five Hamas members and a Qatari security officer. The attack drew widespread international condemnation, including from Gulf monarchies allied with the United States, Israel’s main backer. Al-Ansari was quoted as saying by the official QNA news agency that the summit reflected “broad Arab and Islamic solidarity with the State of Qatar in the face of Israel’s cowardly aggression … and the categorical rejection of Israel’s st...