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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is seeking investment from �������� and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to modernize its aging railway network, with officials estimating that $2.5 billion is needed for an upgrade of the key Multan–Lahore section, Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi told Arab News this week.

The South Asian nation’s railway system, much of it dating back to the 19th-century British colonial era, has long awaited large-scale modernization. Successive governments have looked to foreign partners to finance improvements, with projects promised under the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) still largely stalled.

An overhaul of more than 1,800 kilometers of track has been billed as the centerpiece of a $60 billion CPEC package first announced in 2015, but no financing deal has materialized. Meanwhile, the Asian Development Bank has separately signaled interest in funding rail upgrades, including a $2 billion Karachi–Rohri project, according to recent reports.

“I am going to �������� for two days on October 19-20. I am going to the UAE from September 30 to October 2, and I am going to France on October 24. All these things are related to railways,” Abbasi said. “So, we will meet the Saudis there and try to have Saudi investment, because this is the right time for every country, for every investor to invest in Pakistan Railways.”

Asked what proposals Pakistan would extend to ��������, Abbasi said:

 “I think that if they come to Multan–Lahore [route], or Lahore–Rawalpindi, it is an offer from us.”

He said Pakistan would present a build–operate–transfer model to potential Gulf investors.

“We have a model: built–operate transfer. We will give them that place for 25 years. We will give them that section. They will come and talk to us.”

Abbasi said similar proposals had been offered to the UAE.

“We have offered them to invest in Multan and Lahore. We need around $2.5 billion for Multan and Lahore,” he said.

The minister also confirmed meetings with officials of Mashreq Bank, a Dubai-based institution that recently launched Shariah-compliant digital services in Pakistan. While Mashreq’s immediate focus has been on digital banking, Abbasi said discussions had included possible rail sector opportunities.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s envoy to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Ambassador Bilal Ahmad, on Tuesday described Israel’s strike on Qatar this month as an attack on the mediation process the Gulf state has been facilitating to secure a Gaza ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

Speaking during an urgent debate of the Council on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Ahmad said Israel’s Sept. 9 airstrike on a residential neighborhood in Doha, where Hamas leaders were discussing a US-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal, amounted to a blatant assault on international efforts to broker peace.

Qatar has played a pivotal role as a mediator in ceasefire and hostage negotiations between Israel and Hamas and hosts the Palestinian group’s political bureau to facilitate the process. However, Israel said it had targeted Hamas “terrorists” as the United States did when it killed Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in May 2011.

“The OIC Group condemns in the strongest terms the Israeli aggression against Qatar on 9 September 2025 in blatant violation of international law and the UN Charter,” the Pakistani diplomat said. “We strongly denounce this attack on the mediation process that Qatar has hosted commendably alongside regional and international countries to address the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in the OPT [Occupied Palestinian Territory], particularly Gaza.”

“This unjustifiable and unprovoked attack constitutes a dangerous escalation threatening the very foundation for the enjoyment of all human rights by all peoples in the region, as well as an attack on the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of the State of Qatar under the pretext of countering terrorism,” he added.

Ahmad expressed solidarity with Qatar and supported all steps it may take to protect its security and sovereignty in accordance with the UN Charter.

His statement urged the international community to compel Israel to halt its “dangerous and ongoing attacks” in the region and called on the Council and its mechanisms to ensure accountability for what it described as serial violations of international law.

It said mediation efforts by Qatar and other countries offered “a starting point toward a just and lasting regional peace with equal rights and dignity for all peoples in the region, especially the people under occupation in Palestine.”

Ahmad’s statement came as a UN inquiry commission concluded on Tuesday Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza after Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing nearly 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. Hamas said the assault was a response to the plight of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation.

Israel’s retaliation has since killed about 65,000 residents of Gaza and flattened civilian neighborhoods, while senior Israeli officials have spoken publicly about “erasing” Palestine and displacing its people to other Arab countries.