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KARACHI: Pakistan is expected to finalize the transaction structure for the privatization of the Roosevelt Hotel in New York at the next meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Privatization, the government said in a statement on Saturday.

Located in Midtown Manhattan, the hotel is owned by Pakistan International Airlines Investment Limited (PIAIL) and occupies a full city block on Madison Avenue and 45th Street. It has also remained one of Pakistan’s most high-profile yet politically sensitive overseas assets.

“The base price and expected proceeds from the privatization of the Roosevelt Hotel will depend on the transaction structure and final terms approved by the government,” the Privatization Commission said in an official handout. “The transaction structure is expected to be finalized at the next meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Privatization.”

The statement informed no base price had yet been set for the property, rebutting some local media reports that claimed the government had fixed a $100 million floor.

It also pointed out such a value could only be determined at the time of bidding, adding that the deal’s potential value would depend on the transaction structure and final terms approved by the cabinet committee.

Over the past two decades, successive Pakistani governments have floated plans to sell, lease or redevelop the property, but no proposal has advanced beyond early-stage planning.

Earlier this month, Muhammad Ali, the prime minister’s adviser on privatization, told Arab News that the government had completed the hotel’s baseline valuation and appointed US-based consultancy JLL to conduct market sounding.

“We just need to get approval from the cabinet committee on the structure, and we’ll move ahead,” he said.

KARACHI: Pakistani authorities have arrested two men accused of human smuggling after they defrauded citizens with false promises of jobs in ����ֱ�� and the United Kingdom, officials said on Saturday, as the country intensifies its crackdown on trafficking networks following a series of deadly migrant boat disasters.

The arrests, made by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Multan, come amid Pakistan’s broader campaign to curb human smuggling. The issue has drawn significant attention following recent tragedies in the Mediterranean, including shipwrecks off Greece, Libya and Morocco involving scores of Pakistani nationals.

“The accused, Muhammad Muzammil and Sher Khan, extorted large sums of money from citizens by falsely promising overseas employment opportunities,” the FIA said in a statement. “Muzammil took Rs852,000 [$2,982] from a victim under the pretense of securing a job in ����ֱ��, while Sher Khan collected Rs2 million [$7,000] by offering fake employment in the UK,” it continued. “Both failed to deliver and went into hiding after collecting the money.”

The statement noted that the suspects were also involved in visa fraud.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has vowed to crack down on the criminal networks exploiting vulnerable people with false hopes of better lives abroad. His administration began focusing on the issue after more than 200 Pakistanis were presumed dead in a shipwreck off Greece among hundreds of other illegal migrants trying to reach European shores.

Earlier this year, over 40 Pakistanis were feared drowned near Morocco’s coast, while the International Organization for Migration said at least 60 migrants, including Pakistanis, were feared dead after a pair of shipwrecks off the coast of Libya in June.

The FIA said on Saturday that both suspects were arrested from separate locations in Multan and have been taken into custody for further investigation. It added that its crackdown on human smugglers remains ongoing.