Pakistan Invites Iran's Negotiators to Islamabad; CDA Gets Rs37bn Bid for Convention Centre

Pakistan invited top Iranian negotiators to visit Islamabad at their earliest convenience to help advance stalled US-Iran diplomatic talks, with both the Foreign Minister and the National Assembly Speaker reaching out to separate Iranian counterparts simultaneously. The Capital Development Authority separately opened financial bids for the proposed New Islamabad Convention, Exhibition and Expo Centre, receiving a lowest offer of Rs37 billion — nearly double what had been estimated in the project's original planning documents.

🗳️ Pakistan Invites Iranian Negotiators to Islamabad for Diplomatic Engagement

Pakistan extended a formal invitation to top Iranian negotiators to visit Islamabad at their earliest convenience, signalling Islamabad's intent to play an active facilitating role in diplomatic efforts aimed at restarting stalled direct talks between Iran and the United States. Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar spoke with his Iranian counterpart, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in a call that covered regional and international developments, including the deteriorating situation in Occupied East Jerusalem, according to a statement issued by the Pakistani Foreign Ministry. In a parallel gesture, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq separately invited Bagher Ghalibaf — Tehran's chief negotiator in the ongoing effort to resume contact with Washington — to visit Pakistan. A government source familiar with the exchange confirmed the invitation to Anadolu Agency, speaking anonymously as they were not authorised to comment publicly on the matter. The dual-track approach, with both the Foreign Ministry and the National Assembly Speaker extending invitations to different Iranian counterparts simultaneously, reflects the weight Islamabad is placing on the diplomatic initiative. Pakistan's conversations with Tehran covered not only the US-Iran diplomatic situation but a broader range of regional and international matters, with the East Jerusalem situation cited explicitly in the Foreign Ministry's public statement as one of the substantive topics discussed. [5]

🏢 CDA Receives Rs37bn Bid for Islamabad Convention Centre, Nearly Double Original Estimate

The Capital Development Authority opened financial bids for the proposed New Islamabad Convention, Exhibition and Expo Centre, receiving a lowest offer of Rs37 billion — a figure nearly double the main project cost that had been set in the original planning documents. The lowest bid was submitted by a joint venture led by China Construction Third Engineering Bureau. Only two joint ventures participated in the bidding process, both of them led by Chinese companies. The project's original planning document, the PC-I, had placed the total estimated cost at Rs19.3 billion, a sum that encompassed contingency provisions, consultancy fees, utility costs, and landscaping expenses in addition to the core construction component. The core construction cost itself had been estimated at a level below even that total figure. The project as originally conceived was planned on a reinforced concrete structure. Given the scale of the gap between the Rs19.3 billion total estimate in the original documents and the Rs37 billion lowest bid received, the CDA announced it would commission a third-party evaluation before making any decision on whether and how to proceed with awarding the contract. The proposed convention and expo centre is intended to give Islamabad a large, modern facility for hosting major national and international conferences, exhibitions, and events. [7]

Sources: [5] The Express Tribune · [7] Pakistan Today