Bengalis born in Pakistan to get citizenship

Pakistan's new Prime Minister Imran Khan pledged to grant citizenship to Pakistan-born children of Afghan and Bengali refugees who have been living in the country for decades.

Khan is accompanied by the foreign minister, the finance minister and his commerce adviser, the Foreign Ministry added.

But Umar recently said an International Monetary Fund rescue was a "fallback option" and that the government was exploring other avenues for assistance, which was broadly interpreted as Islamabad seeking help from China and Saudi Arabia, both of which have provided vast loans in the past. "If anything comes about we will let you know", he said.

The prime minister will be visiting the kingdom on the invitation of King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman. He also talked about dialogue with Pakistan which is in the pipeline for a while now.

"Pakistan has been host to one of the largest refugee population in the world and granting citizenship to those eligible seems to be a logical next step both legally and morally", Saroop Ijaz, a representative for Human Rights Watch said.

An official statement issued after Qureshi's daylong trip to Kabul said that in his meetings with Afghan leaders, the foreign minister "underlined the need for dignified, sustainable repatriation of Afghan refugees to their homeland through a gradual and time-bound plan".

"Pakistan has said they are not going to send troops to Yemen, but Pakistani troops are on the Yemen border, so they might want some logistical support at least from Pakistan, given that the Saudis are stuck in Yemen with no way out".

He said the message would be repeated when Mr Khan visits Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

Since taking power he has also promised an austerity drive against government waste.

As reported earlier, the Federal government organized the auction of ultra-luxury PM vehicles.