KARACHI: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Thursday expressed Islamabad’s interest in importing more crude oil from Russia to fulfill its energy requirements and seeking Moscow’s collaboration to build a new steel mill in Pakistan, the finance ministry said. 

Aurangzeb met Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Conference 2025, currently underway in China, to discuss bilateral ties, trade and investment between the two countries. 

“The bilateral talks focused on strengthening energy cooperation, with Pakistan expressing interest in expanding the procurement of crude oil and investments in oil and gas exploration,” the finance ministry said. 

Pakistan and Russia, once Cold War rivals, have strengthened ties in recent years through increased dialogue and trade. In 2023, Islamabad began purchasing discounted Russian crude oil banned from European markets due to Russia’s war in Ukraine and also received its first shipment of liquefied petroleum gas from Moscow.

In December last year, Russia and Pakistan held intergovernmental meetings in Moscow and discussed cooperation on oil and gas offshore exploration and refining, according to a Reuters news agency report.

Cash-strapped Pakistan has long planned to import crude oil from Moscow at discounted rates. Its first shipment of Russian crude oil in June 2023 consisted of 45,000 tons of oil. Russia welcomed Pakistan’s decision to buy oil from it as it increased the search for new buyers in the wake of European sanctions. 

Islamabad is trying to secure discounted oil from Russia in hopes it will cut down its sizable import bill, which comprises expensive energy imports. 

Pakistan is also trying to strengthen its debt-ridden economy with the help of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) financial bailout packages. The lender wants Islamabad to increase its depleting foreign exchange reserves to a level that could finance three months of imports.

Pakistan currently holds $10.6 billion in foreign exchange reserves that cover about two months of imports.

Separately, the finance minister also discussed collaborating with Russia on building a new steel mill in Pakistan. 

“Pakistan’s keen interest in establishing a new steel mill with Russian collaboration was also highlighted,” the finance ministry said. “The minister stressed the importance of feasibility studies and cost assessments to move the project forward.”

A team of technical experts from Russia arrived in Pakistan in January to assess Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM), one of several firms Islamabad wants to sell to revive loss-making entities, as it strives to deliver reforms under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund bailout.

Russian Ambassador to Pakistan Albert P. Khorev this year announced cooperation with Pakistan in the energy and industrial sectors, including the modernization of a state-owned steel mill.

Aurangzeb reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening its economic and trade relations with Russia, saying he was excited about expanding bilateral cooperation in key areas of mutual interest, the ministry said. 

QUETTA: Three civilians were killed and 21 injured on Thursday after a police van was targeted with a powerful improvised explosive device (IED) blast at a busy street in the southwestern Pakistan city of Quetta, a police official said. 

Footage seen by Arab News showed a damaged police mobile van standing on a crowned double road in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan province, as residents attempted to remove a burning motorbike parked close to the vehicle. The blast happened near a crowded market where people were busy with shopping ahead of the religious festival of Eid Al-Fitr, which begins next week. 

“An improvised explosive device (IED) fitted inside a motorbike exploded when a police van was passing through the double road area in Quetta,” Muhammad Baloch, senior superintendent of police (SSP) operations in Quetta, told Arab News. 

“Three civilians were killed in the latest attack on the police force and 21, including three policemen, were injured,” he added. 

Baloch said as per initial investigations, the explosion was caused by a remotely controlled IED fitted inside a motorcycle. 

He said that the bomb disposal squad is assessing the quantity of the explosive material used in the attack.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the latest attack in Balochistan, but suspicion is likely to fall on the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), the largest and strongest of several ethnic Baloch insurgent groups which have been fighting for decades to win independence for the mineral-rich province, home to major China-led projects including a port and gold and copper mines.

The attack on the police van comes a day after gunmen killed at least six people in “coordinated” attacks in Balochistan that largely targeted bus passengers based on their ethnicity, police said on Thursday.

“We have received two dead bodies of civilians and 22 injured, including four policemen,” Waseem Baig, the spokesman for the Civil Hospital in Quetta, told Arab News. “Five injured are in critical condition and being treated at the trauma center of the hospital.”

Earlier this month, ethnic Baloch separatists attacked a train with 450 passengers on board, sparking a two-day siege during which dozens of people were killed. 

Days later, at least five paramilitaries were killed in a vehicle-borne suicide attack. Both assaults were claimed by the separatist BLA.

The group also launched coordinated attacks last year that included taking control of a major highway and shooting dead travelers from other ethnic groups, stunning the country.

The militants have additionally targeted energy projects with foreign financing, most notably from China, accusing outsiders of exploiting the resource-rich region while excluding residents in the poorest part of Pakistan.

Last year was the deadliest year in a decade in Pakistan, following a trend of rising militancy since the Taliban took control in Afghanistan in 2021.

With inputs from AFP