POLITICAL ISSUES
IRAN
1. Sanctions against Iran lifted by Pakistan
Islamabad, Friday, 19 February 2016   
In accordance with the UNSC Resolution 2231, Pakistan lifted the sanctions against Iran and an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed normalization of bilateral relations in all sectors including energy, finance, banking, investment and technology. 
Source: Dispatch News Desk, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Lahore; See also: Dawn, Karachi; The Express Tribune, Karachi; Daily Times, Lahore; The Nation, Lahore; The News International, Karachi

IRAQ
2. Pakistan concerned over ISIS-led violence in Iraq
Islamabad, Tuesday, 23 February 2016     
Tariq Fatemi, Special Assistant to Prime Minister met Iraq’s new ambassador to Pakistan Ali Yassin Karim and discussed rise of Daesh (ISIS) and deteriorating security situation in Iraq. Willingness to invest in reconstruction of war-torn Iraq was also expressed by Minister of Defence Production (MoDP) Tanveer Hussain.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan, Islamabad; See also: Daily Times, Lahore

SAUDI ARABIA
3. Pakistan urged by United Nations to resolve Saudi-Iran tensions
Islamabad, Friday, 12 February 2016   
In a telephonic conversation United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to mediate in resolving the tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan, Islamabad; See also: Dawn, Karachi; The Express Tribune, Karachi

TURKEY
4. Turkish Naval commander conferred with Nishan-e-Imtiaz by Pakistan President
Islamabad, Thursday, 18 February 2016   
Bulent Bostanoglu, Commander of Turkish Naval Forces was conferred with Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military), one of the highest Military Awards in recognition of his efforts to bolster bilateral naval cooperation. Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain presented the award during a special ceremony held in Islamabad.
Source: Pakistan News Index, Islamabad; See also: Daily Times, Lahore; The News International, Karachi; The Nation, Lahore; Business Recorder, Karachi

5. Terrorist attack in Turkey condemned by Pakistan
Islamabad, Thursday, 18 February 2016   
President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the suicide bombing in Ankara on 17 February, suspected to have been carried out by Kurdish Freedom Falcons, a militant group that left at least 28 people dead and over 60 wounded.
Source: Dawn, Karachi  

ECONOMIC ISSUES
IRAN
6. Second Developing-8 trade meeting hosted by Pakistan to discuss multilateral trade issues
Islamabad, Wednesday, 17 February 2016
Members of D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, including Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Nigeria, Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh, participated in the two-day Trade Ministers Council meeting in Islamabad. Issues pertaining trade, tariffs and foreign investment were discussed at length and it was decided that pending Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) between member nations would be passed in July this year. 
Source: Business Recorder, Karachi

7. Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project to be restarted
Islamabad, Friday, 26 February 2016
Minister for Petroleum Shahid Abbasi stated in the National Assembly that pending work on the Pak-Iran Gas Pipeline project is likely to restart in light of lifting of sanctions on Iran. While Iran completed its side in 2011, international sanctions and pressure from US and Saudi Arabia had disrupted Pakistan’s progress on the project.  
Source: Dispatch News Desk, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Lahore

SAUDI ARABIA
8. Saudi oil company; Aramco to invest in Pakistan’s power and petrochemical sector
Islamabad, Friday, 19 February 2016   
Saudi Arabian oil company Aramco’s Vice Chairperson Abdul Aziz Judaimi held delegation-level meeting with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabad and discussed prospects for investment in Pakistan’s petro-chemical and energy sector.
Source: Pakistan Observer, Islamabad

UAE
9. Beef export to U.A.E. to grow at 24 percent
Islamabad, Saturday, 13 February 2016
Official statistics revealed that Pakistan’s foreign exchange earnings from beef export to UAE stood at US$43.61 in 2015. And registered 24 percent rise during the last fiscal year.
Source: Pakistan Today, Lahore

SECURITY ISSUES
SAUDI ARABIA
10. Pakistan joined ‘Thunder of the North’ military exercise in Saudi Arabia
Islamabad, Monday, 15 February 2016   
Armed forces from around 20 countries including Pakistan, five GCC member nations, Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, gathered at King Khaled Military City in North Eastern Saudi Arabia to participate in the joint military exercise starting 14 February. This aims to share intelligence and combat violent ideology, and develop synchronization among forces for joint military missions in future.
Source: Dawn, Karachi; See also: The Express Tribune, Karachi; Pakistan Observer, Islamabad

MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES
IRAN
11. International cultural seminar held between Iran and Pakistan
Islamabad, Thursday, 18 February 2016   
National University of Modern Languages (NUML) and the Iranian embassy co-organized a two-day seminar on “Cultural and Linguistic Commonalities between Iran and Pakistan” on 17 and 18 February in Islamabad and it highlighted and celebrated cultural, lingual, traditional and religious affinity between the two.
Source: Dawn, Karachi; See also: The Express Tribune, Karachi; Dispatch News Desk, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Lahore; The Nation, Lahore; Pakistan Observer, Karachi; Daily Times, Lahore

SYRIA
12. Noble Laureate Malala Yousafzai to raise funds for Syrian children’s welfare
Islamabad, Tuesday, 2 February 2016   
'Supporting Syria and the region’ conference held in London on 4 February 2016 saw Malala Yousafzai, the Noble prize winner from Peshawar, stand up for rights of children in Syria. She highlighted the role of education in improving future of Syrian children and pledged to raise US$ 1.4 billion of donations this year to help educate children inside Syria and in refugee camps.
Source: Dawn, Karachi; See also: The Express Tribune, Karachi

TURKEY
13. Turkish firm Al-Baryak to launch cab service in Lahore
Islamabad, Wednesday, 17 February 2016   
An agreement was signed between Punjab government and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality on 16 February in Lahore to launch a Turkish modern radio cab service, A-Taxi. Mayor of Istanbul Kadir Topbas and Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif inaugurated the service offered by Turkish firm Al-Baryak.
Source: The News International, Karachi; See also: Dawn, Karachi

14. Pakistan-Turkey container train service to be resumed
Islamabad, Friday, 19 February 2016   
The container train service between (Quetta) Pakistan and (Istanbul) Turkey via (Zahidan) Iran, which was operational between 2009 and 2011, is likely to be restarted through tripartite agreement. Official sources at Pakistan Railways stated that in order to fix the dilapidated track falling within Pakistan’s territorial jurisdiction, private investors have been invited.
Source: The News International, Karachi

UAE
15. Pakistan rugby squad named for Sevens Asian Development Series
Lahore, Monday, 22 February 2016
Pakistan’s 15-member team participated in Asian Development Rugby Seven’s series held at Amblers Rugby Club in Al-Ain city in Abu Dhabi and lost both the matches against Lebanon and Thailand. The series featured 12 teams including six Middle Eastern nations of Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Lebanon, Qatar and Syria.
Source: The Express Tribune, Karachi; See also: Business Recorder, Karachi

COMPILED BY DIVYA MALHOTRA

Divya Malhotra is pursuing M. Phil., degree at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.  Email

As part of its editorial policy, the MEI@ND standardizes spelling and date formats to make the text uniformly accessible and stylistically consistent. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views/positions of the MEI@ND. Editor, MEI@ND: P R Kumaraswamy