ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Qatar have pledged to strengthen bilateral cooperation, with a key focus on securing the release of Pakistani prisoners in Qatar and intensifying efforts against drug trafficking.
During a meeting in Islamabad on Thursday, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Qatari Ambassador Ali Mubarak Ali Essa Al-Khater discussed mutual concerns, including legal assistance for detained Pakistanis and strategies to combat narcotics smuggling in the region.
Naqvi highlighted Pakistan’s initiative to host a Gulf-wide conference on narcotics control in April, inviting Qatari officials to participate. He stressed the importance of collaboration between friendly nations in tackling transnational drug networks.
Qatar is home to nearly 300,000 Pakistani expatriates working across diverse sectors, making it a key regional partner. The Gulf nation is also a significant LNG supplier to Pakistan and has committed to investing $3 billion in various sectors following Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Doha last year.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry estimates that over 23,000 Pakistanis are imprisoned abroad, with 338 in Qatar. Efforts to facilitate the release and repatriation of detainees have been ongoing, particularly with Gulf countries, where the majority of Pakistani prisoners are held.
The meeting underscored the growing diplomatic engagement between Pakistan and Qatar, focusing on both humanitarian and security cooperation to strengthen ties between the two nations.
