The recent LNG deal between Pakistan and Qatar will go a long way in helping the former revive its industry, badly hit by power crisis. The gas from Qatar will also provide a huge relief to domestic consumers in Pakistan. These views were expressed by Pakistan Federal Minister for Housing and Works Akram Khan Durrani while speaking to Community on his visit to Doha. Durrani was invited by a Pakistani community leader and social activist Haji Hazrat Gul. During his four-day stay, the minister intends to meet different representatives of the Pakistani community living in Qatar.
He said people from Pakistan have been coming to Doha since the ’50s and ’60s and see Qatar as a brotherly Muslim country. He urged the authorities to facilitate the interaction and contact between the peoples of the two countries. “We are thankful to Qatar for providing employment opportunities to so many Pakistanis here. A large number of people living and working here have been able to support their families back in Pakistan,” said Durrani. He said Pakistani people arrived here long time ago and they have played a key role in the development of Qatar from ground up. And the people of Qatar acknowledge it and Pakistanis are thankful to them for their love and friendship.
“We are thankful to HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani who paid a visit to Pakistan and then recently extended a warm welcome to our Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. We are also thankful to the Qatari government for giving a good LNG deal,” said the minister.  
The minister said the current government is keen on further strengthening Pakistan’s relations with Qatar in every field. “I will also try in my capacity to further strengthen the existing brotherly ties between Pakistan and Qatar,” said Durrani.
Currently, Pakistan presents huge investment and trade opportunities and the government is providing all possible incentives to foreign investors in particular. He said his ministry, which is housing and works, involves a lot of development work and he will try and meet his counterpart here in the Qatari government and would invite him to visit Pakistan and see the huge investment opportunities coming up in country in the development sector in particular.
The major development in terms of opening of investment opportunities, he added, has been the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in Pakistan. In another two to three years, endless investment and trade opportunities would sprout in Pakistan and this is the right time for foreign investment.
The minister said that the current government has also been able to largely control the problem of terrorism through military operations against militants. The number of such incidents has drastically gone down and the overall security situation in Pakistan has improved manifold.
“We also have to offer a lot of investment opportunities to overseas Pakistanis and I would encourage them to visit Pakistan. We would be happy to facilitate them in every way. I will personally show them areas where they can make their investments and I assure you there are huge profits waiting for investors,” said Durrani.
Through his ministry, he said they have already built thousands of housing units in Islamabad and have initiated a number of other housing projects which would benefit the middle- and low-income people in Pakistan.
The initial work on the project of ‘Apna Ghar’ (My Home) with which our prime minister aims to provide affordable housing to low-income groups of Pakistan has also been completed. Under the project, 5-marla (mid-size) houses for low-income people in both urban and rural areas will be constructed.
The houses are planned in a way that the ones being constructed in the rural areas are in line with the needs of the people there. These houses will be available for just over a million rupees once constructed. The government is giving 8% subsidy on these units and there will be an option for making the payments in easy instalments. “The entire nation, our government and military are on the same page in our fight against terrorism and that is why we have been able to crush it by more than 90% now, and we are committed and determined to completely eradicate the menace,” said the minister.
He urged foreign investors to come to Pakistan as this is the right time.