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ISLAMABAD: Pakistani business leaders, traders and investors explored opportunities in trade, tourism, IT and other sectors this week at the Pak-USA Joint Business Conference and Expo 2025 organized in Virginia, as Islamabad eyes greater economic collaboration with Washington. 

The event was organized by Brain Designer Pakistan, an organization that promotes Pakistan’s bilateral trade with other countries, and the Rawalpindi Chamber of Small Traders & Small Industries, in collaboration with US Pakistan International Chamber of Commerce (USPICC).

The conference brought together business leaders, traders, and investors from Pakistan to explore trade, investment, and commercial opportunities in the US, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Saturday. 

“The day-long event brought together a good number of Pakistani companies from diverse sectors, including tourism, real estate, textiles, furniture, leather goods, pharmaceuticals & IT, to explore business opportunities and strengthen economic ties between Pakistan and the United States,” Radio Pakistan reported. 

The conference was inaugurated by Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, who spoke of the potential the US market held for Pakistani businesspersons and investors. 

“He praised the efforts of the Pakistani community and local associations, noting the event as a pivotal ‘seed-sowing exercise’ to cultivate enduring bilateral relations,” the state media said. 

Sheikh reaffirmed the Pakistan embassy’s commitment to supporting participants and refining their business models tailored to the US market. 

Pakistan has sought stronger trade and investment ties with the US in recent months as it cozies up to President Donald Trump. 

Islamabad also seeks closer economic, trade and investment ties with Washington as it seeks to escape a prolonged economic crisis that has triggered a balance of payments crisis and drained Pakistan’s financial resources.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has repatriated over 1.5 million Afghan citizens since November 2023, state-run media reported this week, since the country launched a nationwide drive to expel what it said were foreigners. 

Pakistan launched a repatriation drive of foreign citizens that began in November 2023, with hundreds of thousands of Afghan nationals expelled since. The government initially said it was first focusing on expelling foreigners with no legal documentation and other categories, such as Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) — a document launched in 2017 to grant temporary legal status to Afghan refugees — would be included later.

Earlier this year, the country’s interior ministry asked all “illegal foreigners” and ACC holders to leave the country before Mar. 31, warning that they would otherwise be deported from April 1. Authorities subsequently started deporting thousands of Afghan nationals from all parts of the country.

“Repatriation of Afghan refugees to their homeland continues in a dignified manner,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Saturday.

“As per the official statistics, about 15 lakh sixty thousand Afghan refugees have returned to their homeland so far.”

The state broadcaster said Islamabad had reopened its key northwestern Torkham border pass on Saturday to allow Afghan refugees to return to their country. 

The border pass was closed last month as tensions spiked between Pakistan and Afghanistan following fierce border clashes that left dozens dead and even more injured. 

Islamabad has stressed that Afghan nationals who wish to enter Pakistan for medical treatment, education, or business purposes are welcome to do so provided they obtain a Pakistani visa and carry valid documentation with them.

In total, Pakistan has hosted over 2.8 million Afghan refugees who crossed the border during 40 years of conflict in their homeland.

The deportation drive was launched in November 2023 after Islamabad witnessed a surge in suicide attacks and militancy that it blamed on Afghan nationals, without providing evidence.

Local and international rights organizations have accused Pakistani authorities of harassing Afghan nationals while forcefully repatriating them. The same has been accused by the Afghan Taliban, who have called on Islamabad to allow its nationals to return to their homeland with dignity. Islamabad denies the harassment allegations.

“The repatriation process is being carried out under proper legal procedures,” Radio Pakistan said. “Permission to cross the border is being given only after verification of each person’s documents.”

It added that the paramilitary Frontier Corps and civil administration have arranged food and accommodation for the returning Afghan refugees.