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Pakistan seeks Saudi investment in tech sector with over 100 local firms joining LEAP 2025 in Riyadh

Pakistan seeks Saudi investment in tech sector with over 100 local firms joining LEAP 2025 in Riyadh
Pakistan’s State Minister for Information Technology, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, addresses the Pakistan-Saudi Business Forum in Riyadh, on February 9, 2025. ( Pakistan's IT Ministry)
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Updated 09 February 2025

Pakistan seeks Saudi investment in tech sector with over 100 local firms joining LEAP 2025 in Riyadh

Pakistan seeks Saudi investment in tech sector with over 100 local firms joining LEAP 2025 in Riyadh
  • The fourth edition of the LEAP conference aims to expand business networking and investment opportunities in the global tech sector
  • IT minister says Pakistan, which recorded $348 million IT exports in Dec., offers ‘world-class’ digital services, investment opportunities
Updated 09 February 2025
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: State Minister for Information Technology (IT) Shaza Fatima Khawaja on Sunday invited Saudi businessmen to invest in Pakistan’s tech sector, highlighting the participation of over 100 Pakistani firms in the LEAP 2025 tech conference in Riyadh.

The minister expressed these views while addressing the Pakistan-Saudi Business Forum in Riyadh, a networking event jointly organized by the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) and the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), ahead of the four-day LEAP tech conference being held on Feb. 9-12.

This is the fourth edition of LEAP, recognized as ’s award-winning global technology event for which entrepreneurs, investors and startups have converged in Riyadh to present their products to an anticipated audience of over 170,000 visitors. The latest edition follows last year’s record-breaking LEAP 2024, which saw $13.4 billion in investments and project commitments. Under the theme “Into New Worlds,” LEAP 2025 aims to expand business networking and investment opportunities in the tech sector.

Pakistan recorded the highest-ever monthly IT exports of $348 million in Dec. 2024, up by 15 percent year-on-year and 12 percent month-on-month, according to official data. The LEAP event offers Pakistani firms a platform to collaborate with stakeholders, explore business opportunities and showcase Pakistan’s diverse IT exports, including software development, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, fintech, gaming and robotics.

“Pakistan seeks strong partnerships in advanced technology under Saudi Vision 2030 and we invite Saudi investors to invest in Pakistan’s fintech, cybersecurity, and cloud computing sectors,” Khawaja said.

“Pakistan is making its largest participation in LEAP 2025, with over 100 tech companies and more than 1,000 participants.”

LEAP 2025 will debut Tech Arena, a platform for emerging innovations, featuring a ‘Live TV’ stage hosted by BBC Click’s Lara Lewington and Spencer Kelly. It is one of two new segments at LEAP 2025, alongside the SportsTech stage, supporting ’s Vision 2030 for innovation and technological growth.

Visitors will explore AI, mixed reality, fashion tech, and brain-computer interfaces. Key highlights include Anouk Wipprecht’s Tech Couture exhibit, Adobe’s ‘Project Primrose’ digital dress technology, and Aramco-backed Terra Drone’s long-range medical delivery system. Saudi oil giant Aramco will also showcase SARA, an AI-driven assistant for decision-making. Engine VR will present its Golden Gloves VR boxing platform with live demos by UFC fighter Andrew Sanchez, while Alwaleed Philanthropies will showcase its Atlai AI program to support global deforestation monitoring. XPANCEO will introduce smart contact lenses with integrated computing.

Pakistan is providing world-class digital services and offering excellent opportunities for investors, according to Khawaja.

“We are not just participating [in LEAP 2025] but signing memorandums of understandings and making agreements for real economic growth through cooperation,” she said, adding that the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) was a key partner in the South Asian country’s digital growth.

The 16-member DCO, the world’s first standalone international intergovernmental organization, focuses on the acceleration of growth of an inclusive and sustainable digital economy. Pakistan is a key member of the organization.

Khawaja said the Digital Nation Act 2025 marked a new era in the Pakistani digital realm and provided a golden opportunity for digital investment and technological collaboration between Pakistan and . The act aims to align Pakistan’s economy, governance and services with global digital standards.

“The Digital Foreign Direct Investment (DFDI) Forum will soon be held in Islamabad, bringing together global investors, including from ,” she added.

Topics: Pakistan Saudi Ties LEAP 2025 Riyadh

Pakistan calls for alternative dispute resolution methods with 2.4 million cases pending

Pakistan calls for alternative dispute resolution methods with 2.4 million cases pending
Updated 21 September 2025

Pakistan calls for alternative dispute resolution methods with 2.4 million cases pending

Pakistan calls for alternative dispute resolution methods with 2.4 million cases pending
  • Law minister says some civil disputes often take up to 15 years to conclude, while alternative methods provide resolution in an average 75 days
  • Azam Nazeer Tarar emphasizes plans to scale up mediation centers nationwide and to strengthen Pakistan’s role as alternative dispute resolution hub
Updated 21 September 2025
Muhammad Ibrahim

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar on Sunday called for the adoption of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods to speed up settlement of disputes, with 2.4 million cases pending in courts across the country.

The statement came at a ceremony in Islamabad on the conclusion of a six-day internationally accredited Civil and Commercial Mediation Training Programme by the International Mediation & Arbitration Center (IMAC), established by the Pakistani law ministry.

The program, led by internationally renowned experts Mr. Rahim Shamji, Ms. Sarah Tarar, and Dr. Khalid Hamid Chowdhury, trained judges of the high courts, lawyers, government officers, academicians, and business professionals from across Pakistan.

Speaking at the ceremony, Tarar noted that there is a backlog of 2.4 million cases in Pakistan’s courts, including over 300,000 in the high courts and 1.8 million in district courts, where civil disputes often take up to 15 years to conclude.

“In contrast, ADR provides resolution in an average of just 75 days,” he was quoted as saying by Pakistan’s Press Information Department.

ADR refers to a method of resolving disputes outside of courts to help parties reach a voluntary, consensual agreement. Key ADR methods include mediation, where a mediator facilitates communication and settlement of disputes, and arbitration, where an arbitrator makes a binding or non-binding decision.

These methods offer advantages like lower costs, faster resolution and improved communication compared to traditional litigation.

Tarar emphasized plans to scale up mediation centers nationwide and strengthen Pakistan’s role as a credible ADR hub, according to the PID. The minister appreciated the IMAC team for not only creating widespread awareness but also training professionals across the country in mediation and arbitration.

Pakistan has introduced a number of judicial reforms in recent months and the country’s top judge, Yahya Afridi, this month said the Supreme Court was working to expand cooperation with judicial bodies in Muslim countries, including ’s Muslim World League, to strengthen its institutional capacity.

Speaking at the ceremony in Islamabad, Justice Shahid Waheed of Pakistan’s Supreme Court underscored mediation as a vital tool to reduce case backlogs, strengthen access to justice, and foster harmony.

He outlined Pakistan’s policy direction on ADR, including the preparation of a ‘Model Law, establishment of court-annexed mediation centers and awareness campaigns

“ADR must be institutionalized, expanded nationwide, and integrated with technology to transform Pakistan’s justice landscape,” the judge said, commending the IMAC’s role in capacity building through internationally accredited training.

Unidentified kidnappers kill senior government officer in Pakistan’s Balochistan province

Unidentified kidnappers kill senior government officer in Pakistan’s Balochistan province
Updated 21 September 2025

Unidentified kidnappers kill senior government officer in Pakistan’s Balochistan province

Unidentified kidnappers kill senior government officer in Pakistan’s Balochistan province
  • Gunmen kidnapped Ziarat Assistant Commissioner Muhammad Afzal and son on Aug. 10 while he was visiting a tourist spot
  • Authorities say the kidnappers dumped the official’s body in a remote area in Harnai district, no clue of Afzal’s son
Updated 21 September 2025
Saadullah Akhtar

QUETTA: Unidentified kidnappers have killed a senior government officer, who was abducted along with his son in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province more than a month ago, and dumped his body in a remote, mountainous region, provincial officials said on Sunday.

Assistant Commissioner (AC) Muhammad Afzal, who was posted in Balochistan’s Ziarat resort town, was kidnapped while he was visiting a tourist spot called Zizri with his family on Aug. 10, according to police.

No group claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. In a video, which emerged last week, the kidnapped official was seen urging the government to fulfil the demands of his kidnappers without specifying those demands.

Provincial government officials said on Sunday the kidnappers had killed AC Afzal and dumped his body in the remote, mountainous area of Khost in Harnai district. They did not say whether his son had also been killed.

“There were reports of [the body being dumped at] three locations in north, south and east of the mountainous range of Khost and Zardalu,” Harnai Additional Deputy Commissioner Saleem Tareen told Arab News, adding the paramilitary Levies force and law enforcement agencies were searching for the body with the help of drone cameras.

“We have checked north and south but due to the dark, we will resume our search operation to the east in the morning.”

Balochistan, Pakistan’s southwestern province is the site of a decades-long insurgency waged by Baloch separatist groups, who often attack security forces and foreigners, and kidnap government officials.

In a statement, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti condemned the killing of AC Afzal and extended sympathies to his family.

“The blood of Muhammad Afzal will not go in vain,” Bugti said. “The killers of innocent lives and enemies of peace will not be able to escape their fate.”

Earlier this year, gunmen kidnapped Tump Assistant Commissioner Muhammad Hanif Noorzai while he was en route to the provincial capital of Quetta from Tump, according to officials. The outlawed Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) group claimed his kidnapping and released the official on Sept. 17.

Pakistan police find bodies of three transgender women

Pakistan police find bodies of three transgender women
Updated 21 September 2025
AFP

Pakistan police find bodies of three transgender women

Pakistan police find bodies of three transgender women
  • The bodies were discovered shortly after midnight on Sunday in Memon Goth area of Karachi
  • Rights groups say there has been a concerning rise in violence against trans people in Pakistan
Updated 21 September 2025
AFP

KARACHI: The bodies of three transgender women were found Sunday on a roadside in Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, police said, in the latest violence against the community.

Although exact figures are not available due to severe underreporting, human rights groups such as Amnesty International say there has been a concerning rise in violence against trans people in Pakistan.

“The bullet-riddled bodies of three transgender women were found on a highway,” city police official Javed Ahmed Abro told AFP.

“We are still in the process of confirming their identities,” he said, adding that they had yet to determine a motive.

The bodies were discovered shortly after midnight on Sunday in the Memon Goth area of Karachi.

“Transgender persons are a vulnerable segment of society, and we must all give them dignity and respect,” said Sindh’s provincial chief minister Syed Murad Ali Shah in a statement.

Transgender women in Pakistan have faced a highly organized digital hate campaign in recent years, threatening their legal rights as well as their safety.

“When hate speech and campaigns are carried out so openly, outcomes like this are inevitable,” Shahzadi Rai, a trans activist and government-appointed local councillor in Karachi, told AFP.

“Even though the state and police are on our side, killings are still occurring, which indicates that deep-rooted hatred against transgender people persists in our society.”

Activists say there is a pattern of violence against transgender women who refuse advances of men.

“We have already pointed it out to the government that this is a coordinated assault on the lives of transgender people,” Mehrub Moiz, a trans activist, told AFP.

The landmark passing of a Transgender Rights Act in 2018 was regarded as highly progressive, lauded around the world for the protections it granted the community.

But religious groups said it was against Islamic law and “a conspiracy to destroy our family system,” and key sections were later revoked by a Sharia court.

Pakistan army says Afghans among seven suspected militants killed in northwest operation

Pakistan army says Afghans among seven suspected militants killed in northwest operation
Updated 21 September 2025

Pakistan army says Afghans among seven suspected militants killed in northwest operation

Pakistan army says Afghans among seven suspected militants killed in northwest operation
  • Three Afghan nationals and two suicide bombers were among those killed in Dera Ismail Khan operation
  • Military calls on Afghanistan to deny use of its soil for attacks against Pakistan, no comment from Kabul 
Updated 21 September 2025
KASHIF IMRAN

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces have killed seven Pakistani Taliban militants in the country's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the military said on Sunday, amid a surge in militancy in the region.

The militants were killed during an intelligence-based operation in Dera Ismail Khan district, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military's media wing. Three Afghan nationals and two suicide bombers were among the deceased.

The Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups have frequently targeted security forces convoys and check-posts in KP, besides targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers and government officials in recent months.

The ISPR said a sanitization operation was being conducted to eliminate any other "Indian-sponsored" militant in the area, adding that Pakistani security forces are determined to wipe out the menace militancy from the country.

"Pakistan expects the interim Afghan government to uphold its responsibilities and deny its soil for terrorists activities against Pakistan," it said in a statement.

There was no immediate comment from Afghanistan or India in response to the Pakistani military's statement.

It came days after 12 Pakistani soldiers and over 60 militants were killed in separate engagements in the restive region that borders Afghanistan, according to the ISPR.

Pakistan has struggled to contain a surge in militancy in KP since a fragile truce between the Pakistani Taliban and Islamabad broke down in November 2022.

Islamabad has frequently accused Afghanistan of allowing the use of its soil and India of backing militant groups for attacks against Pakistan. Kabul and New Delhi deny the allegation.

Topics: Pakistan Army

Pakistan eyeing $30-40 billion annual revenue through tourism— official

Pakistan eyeing $30-40 billion annual revenue through tourism— official
Updated 21 September 2025

Pakistan eyeing $30-40 billion annual revenue through tourism— official

Pakistan eyeing $30-40 billion annual revenue through tourism— official
  • Pakistan to host first “Tourism Road Expo” in November to showcase its attractions, cuisine and culture
  • Pakistan to provide more facilities to Sikh pilgrims, while Buddhist heritage sites will be restored, says official
Updated 21 September 2025
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government has the capacity to generate an annual revenue of $30-40 billion via tourism through its diverse landscape and various offerings, the Prime Minister’s Coordinator for Tourism Sardar Yasir Ilyas said on Sunday. 

Pakistan is home to some of the tallest mountains in the world, picturesque valleys, historical monuments built by ancient civilizations and religious sites that attract thousands of tourists every year. 

However, surging militancy and poor infrastructure have hampered Islamabad’s attempts to tap into its tourism potential and generate revenue enough to boost its economy. 

In an exclusive interview with the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), Ilyas said Pakistan will host its first international “Tourism Road Expo” in November to showcase the country’s local attractions, traditional cuisine and cultural diversity. 

“Prime Minister’s Coordinator for Tourism, Sardar Yasir Ilyas has said that Pakistan, with its natural beauty, historic monuments, rare cultural heritage, ancient festivals, and diverse religious sites, is a paradise for travelers and has the capacity to generate $30–40 billion annually through tourism,” APP reported. 

He said the Tourism Road Expo will feature cooking competitions with international chefs, adding that similar expos were planned for London, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and . 

Ilyas said tourism had long been neglected in Pakistan, especially after the 18th constitutional amendment, which granted autonomy to provinces on matters such as education, health, tourism and others. 

“To ensure national-level coordination, the government is reviving and restructuring the National Tourism Coordination Board,” APP said. 

Speaking about the government’s measures to attract investment, Ilyas revealed that “unused government properties” will be leased to local and foreign investors for 50–60 years. This would be done to establish modern tourist facilities. 

He said digital e-portals are being developed to provide tourists with details of destinations, hotel bookings, weather updates and travel guidance.

However, the official cautioned that deforestation and climate change are major threats to tourism. 

“Large-scale plantation drives and removal of encroachments along rivers and lakes are necessary to preserve our environment and protect tourism,” the official stressed. 

On religious tourism, Ilyas said Pakistan is committed to providing more facilities for Sikh pilgrims, while gurdwaras and Buddhist heritage sites will be restored and handed over to the respective communities for their care and upkeep.

He regretted that Pakistan had never marketed its tourism potential effectively, pointing out that Central Asian states such as Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan attract millions of visitors annually despite offering less diversity. 

“Pakistan, with its four seasons and greater geographical variety, has far more to offer,” he said.

Topics: tourism in Pakistan

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