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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar spoke to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday to discuss bilateral matters and regional issues, the foreign ministry said amid improving ties between Islamabad and Washington. 

Pakistan and the US have moved closer since American President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire between Islamabad and New Delhi after a four-day military conflict in May that left over 70 dead on both sides of the border. In June, Trump hosted Pakistan’s army chief for an unprecedented lunch at the White House where both sides discussed the then Iran-Israel conflict and other matters. 

Pakistan announced last week it had finalized a “landmark” trade deal with the US, saying it would pave the way for reduced tariffs and deeper economic ties while Trump separately announced a partnership to develop Pakistan’s oil reserves. 

“The two leaders discussed a range of bilateral matters and exchanged views on current regional & international issues,” the Pakistani foreign ministry said about the Dar-Rubio call. “Both sides agreed to remain in contact and continue cooperation on areas of mutual interest.”

Islamabad’s increasing engagement with Washington is being seen by analysts as a sign of a diplomatic reset after years of estrangement between the two countries. High-level bilateral exchanges between Pakistan and the US gradually faded as American forces withdrew from Afghanistan.

Pakistan considers the US an important trade partner and its top export destination. Pakistan’s exports to the US totaled $5.44 billion in fiscal year 2023-2024, according to official data. From July 2024 to February 2025, exports rose 10 percent from a year earlier.

Pakistan’s government has pushed for trade and economic ties with regional countries and international allies, such as the US, in recent months. The main motivation behind Islamabad’s decision to pursue foreign investment and economic ties is a prolonged macroeconomic crisis that has drained Pakistan’s resources.

While the South Asian country has made certain economic gains over the past two years, which includes a reduced inflation rate, Pakistan hopes to achieve a sustained economic growth driven by exports and long-term financial reforms.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Pakistan’s northern Gilgit city on Monday to review the flood situation in the region and damages caused during the monsoon season, his office said as the death toll from rains in the country surged to 300.

Pakistani authorities last week declared 37 villages in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) region “calamity-affected” after cloud burst-induced floods disrupted life there. Ten people have lost their lives and five have been injured due to torrential monsoon rains in GB since June 26, as per the National Disaster Management Authority’s (NDMA) latest situation report. 

GB’s Diamer, Skardu, Gilgit and Ghizer were among the districts hit worst by rains and floods last week. The situation prompted authorities to launch immediate relief activities in these areas.

“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has arrived on a one-day tour to Gilgit,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement. 

GB Chief Minister Gulbar Khan and the region’s Governor Syed Mehdi Shah received Sharif upon his arrival to the city. The Pakistani prime minister is accompanied by senior ministers and officials, the PMO said. 

The prime minister will meet victims of the rains and floods in Gilgit and distribute relief funds during his day-long trip, his office said. It added that Sharif will chair a meeting to review the damages caused by the recent rains and meet GB’s governor and chief minister.

Pakistan, which ranks among the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations, has witnessed increasingly erratic weather events in recent years.

In May, at least 32 people were killed in severe storms, while a third of the country was submerged by devastating floods in 2022 that killed more than 1,700 people, affected over 30 million and caused an estimated $35 billion in damages.

Of the 300 killed since June 26 from rain-related incidents in Pakistan, 140 are children, 103 are men while 57 are females, as per the NDMA’s data. Punjab has reported the highest number of deaths, 162, followed by northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province with 70 casualties, Sindh with 28 deaths, Balochistan with 20 casualties, GB with 10, Islamabad with eight and Azad Kashmir with five deaths. 

The Meteorological Department has warned of more rains in the country from Monday, saying that monsoon currents penetrating the country are expected to intensify from Aug. 4. The PMD had warned that heavy rains may generate flash floods in local nullahs/streams of Chitral, Dir, Swat, Shangla, Mansehra, Kohistan, Abbottabad, Buner, Charsadda, Nowshera, Swabi, Mardan, Murree, Galliyat, Islamabad/Rawalpindi, northeast Punjab and Kashmir from Aug. 5-7. 

“Landslides/mudslides may cause roads’ closure in the vulnerable hilly areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Murree, Galliyat and Kashmir during the forecast period,” the PMD’s report said.