Qatar | Pakistan

Islamabad - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif undertook a day-long visit to Doha on Monday to personally convey condolences on behalf of the people and government of Pakistan to the leadership and people of Qatar on the passing away of the Father Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif departed from Islamabad on a one-day visit to Qatar, where he will meet Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and offer condolences on the passing of former Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday headed to Qatar on a one-day visit to offer condolences at the passing of former emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. In a post on the social media platform X, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said PML-N President Nawaz Sharif was also accompanying the premier. “The prime minister will meet with the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and express condolences at the passing of former emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani,” the PMO said. The PMO said the prime minister’s visit to Qatar reflected the decades-long, enduring fraternal relations between the Qatari royal family, the Qatari people, and the government and people of Pakistan. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar and Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar are also accompanying the prime minister. Qatar on Sunday had announced the death of its former emir, who led the country from 1995 to 2013. He was 74, according to an official government statement. She...

Qatar’s government on Sunday announced the death of former leader Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who led the country from 1995 to 2013. He was 74, according to a government website. “With hearts steadfast in faith in God’s decree and destiny, the Bureau of the Emir mourns the great loss to the nation of the late — may God have mercy on him — His Highness the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani,” read a statement published by the emir’s office on social media. Qatari officials said funeral prayers would be held on Sunday evening along with several days of public mourning across the country, which would see government offices and public institutions closed and flags flown at half mast. The former leader was seen as one of the key architects of modern Qatar and led the country during a period of rapid economic growth. Sheikh Hamad took power in June 1995, overthrowing his father in a bloodless coup while the latter was abroad. He inherited a small, largely marginal emirate with nearly empty coffers...

Three tankers including a Qatari LNG vessel were struck within hours in the Strait of Hormuz, maritime monitors and Qatar said on Tuesday, with peace mediator Doha denouncing an “unacceptable” Iranian attack. An “unknown projectile” hit a tanker overnight, causing a fire, before two more were hit, at least one by a drone, British maritime security agency UKMTO said. The string of attacks after more than a week of respite revived concerns about freedom of navigation after Iran lifted its blockade of the vital waterway following a fragile ceasefire with the United States. All three vessels were struck close to Oman. Oman had proposed a temporary transit corridor hugging its coastline in an initiative opposed by Iran, which wants to charge ships using the narrow waterway. Qatar, which helped broker the truce, blamed Iran for the attack on its tanker and urged Tehran to “cease all practices that undermine regional security or threaten the safety of international maritime navigation”. “The targeting of the Qatari ...

US envoys were meeting with Qatari mediators on Tuesday in Doha to discuss negotiations with Iran, the Gulf state said, after Tehran and Washington agreed to a memorandum of understanding this month to halt the Middle East war. Iran said a team would head to Doha this week but contradicted US President Donald Trump’s claim that direct talks will take place. Qatar also said no high-level meetings or direct talks between the longtime foes were planned in Doha. Here is what we know about the discussions: Who and when Trump posted on Monday that Iran had requested fresh talks in Qatar the following day. “IT WILL TAKE PLACE TOMORROW IN DOHA!” he wrote. After his social media post, his spokeswoman told Fox News that US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner “will be flying to Doha for high-level meetings this week”. Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari confirmed on Tuesday that Witkoff and Kushner were in Doha, but said “they are not here for their negotiations with the I...

Pakistani and Indian nationals were among 13 killed after an explosion at Qatar’s massive Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas (LNG) complex, attributed to a “technical malfunction”, Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Saad al-Kaabi said on Monday. Authorities are investigating the cause of the explosion, which Saad al-Kaabi said was “an accident and not sabotage or hostile in nature”. He announced “the tragic loss of 13 lives of our people who hold Indian and Pakistani nationalities”. The state minister said that 66 people were reported injured and were receiving medical treatment, none of whom were in life-threatening condition. They hold Qatari, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Kenyan, Ghanian, Tanzanian, Nigerian and Nepalese nationalities, he added. India’s embassy in Qatar said local authorities had confirmed “that 12 Indian nationals have unfortunately passed away in the Ras Laffan incident”. The embassy said it was working in close contact with the Qatari authorities to extend “all possible help to the In...

Qatar’s interior ministry said an explosion resulting from a “technical accident” occurred on Sunday at a factory in Ras Laffan, an industrial city north of the capital Doha and site of the country’s core LNG processing operations. It said several injuries were reported but no leak that “threatens safety”. The ministry did not give the exact location of the explosion. But, QatarEnergy confirmed that the operational incident during the start-up of operations at Ras Laffan Industrial City, saying it resulted in an explosion at its Barzan gas supply facility. QatarEnergy said fire at the factory was under control after the deployment of emergency response teams to contain the blaze. From 20 kilometres south of Ras Laffan on Qatar’s north coast, an AFP journalist saw flames illuminating the night sky and a plume of smoke rising from the area, home to the world’s largest liquefied natural gas hub. Pakistan’s embassy in Qatar expressed concern over the incident, saying it “stands in solidarity with Qatar”.

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday received a telephone call from Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the State of Qatar, during which the two leaders discussed ongoing regional peace efforts and bilateral cooperation.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday said he and his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani reaffirmed their “shared commitment” to support “constructive dialogue” in the Middle East. In a post on X, PM Shehbaz said he was “delighted to receive a telephone call from my brother […] earlier today”. “We exchanged views on the evolving regional situation and reaffirmed our shared commitment to support all ongoing efforts aimed at promoting lasting peace, stability, and constructive dialogue across the region,” the premier added. The prime minister said he conveyed his “sincere appreciation to my dear brother”, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, “for his wise leadership and for Qatar’s continued support for Pakistan’s sincere efforts to advance regional peace and stability through dialogue and diplomacy”. PM Shehbaz further said he looked forward to the Qatari emir’s visit to “Pakistan very soon”. In its statement on the phone call, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) sa...

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday received a telephone call from Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the State of Qatar.

The Taliban government said on Saturday that Afghans who fled to Qatar, fearing reprisals over their collaboration with US forces, may return home “with full confidence”. The administration of US President Donald Trump, which has made a sweeping crackdown on immigration a signature policy, had given a March 31 deadline to close a camp where more than 1,100 Afghans were staying at a former US base in Qatar. Afghans have been going through the base for processing while seeking to move to the United States, fearing persecution by Taliban authorities for having worked with US forces before they withdrew and the Western-backed government collapsed in 2021. “According to media reports, a number of Afghan nationals who had been awaiting US visas in the State of Qatar have been asked to choose between the repatriation to Afghanistan or resettlement in a third country,” foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said in a statement posted on X. “Afghanistan constitutes the shared homeland of all Afghans and it invi...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Qatar are in an advanced stage of discussions for the supply of at least four cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which could pass through the Strait of Hormuz, sources told Dawn on Sunday. They also said that after facing criticism over loadshedding even before the start of summer, the Power Division had already placed an order to the Petroleum Division for arranging around 400 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for power generation. LNG imports to Pakistan were disrupted early last month after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid a war in the Middle East, which began with US-Israel attacks on Iran. In retaliatory action, Iran targeted fuel installations in some of the Gulf countries that had US assets and bases. It was against this backdrop that Qatar declared force majeure early last month in all its global LNG contracts, including those with Pakistan. Sources told Dawn that due to the resultant fuel and electricity shortfall, the Power Divisio...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday attended a trilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatar’s Amir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Türkiye on Thursday following the completion of his visit to Qatar, as he begins a new leg of his regional engagements.

Shehbaz Sharif is set to embark on a four-day official visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey from Wednesday, as Pakistan intensifies diplomatic engagement ahead of a possible second round of US-Iran peace talks.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar held separate discussions on Wednesday with Minister of State of Qatar, Dr.

Qatar and Ukraine signed a defence agreement on Saturday, which includes cooperation on countering threats from missiles and drones, the Gulf state’s government said, as Iran presses an aerial campaign against its neighbours. Earlier on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — during a previously unannounced flurry of visits to Gulf nations — said his country and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have agreed to cooperate on defence amid drones Iran launches in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes. Ukraine also signed an air defence agreement with Saudi Arabia during Zelensky’s visit to the kingdom, two senior officials told AFP on Friday. Kyiv has sought to leverage its expertise in downing Russian drones to help Gulf nations and has deployed anti-drone experts to all three countries Zelensky has visited during his diplomatic tour. “The agreement includes collaboration in technological fields, development of joint investments and the exchange of expertise in countering missiles and unmanned aerial system...

Qatar expects all Gulf energy producers to shut down exports within weeks if the Iran conflict continues and drives oil to $150 a barrel, the country’s Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi told the Financial Times in an interview published on Friday. Qatar halted its production of liquefied natural gas on Monday, as Iran continued to strike Gulf countries in retaliation for Israeli and US attacks. The country’s LNG production is equivalent to about 20 per cent of global supply and plays a major role in balancing both Asian and European markets’ demand for the fuel. “Everybody who has not called for force majeure we expect will do so in the next few days if this continues. All exporters in the Gulf region will have to call a force majeure,” Kaabi told the FT. “If this war continues for a few weeks, GDP growth around the world will be impacted,” he said. “Everybody’s energy price is going to go higher. There will be shortages of some products and there will be a chain reaction of factories that cannot supply,” Kaabi s...

PM discusses bilateral cooperation with the emir of Qatar