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  "path": "/news/1973689/pakistan-working-with-european-partners-to-jointly-ban-illegal-immigration-pm-shehbaz",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-16T12:13:30.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.dawn.com",
  "tags": [
    "Pakistan",
    "_statement_"
  ],
  "textContent": "Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday that Pakistan was working with European partners to “jointly ban” illegal immigration.\n\nThe premier made the remarks while addressing the Pakistan-Austria Business Forum in Vienna, where he arrived a day earlier for a two-day official visit.\n\nAddressing the forum, PM Shehbaz said Pakistan was “absolutely” against illegal immigration, and gave assurance that the government of Pakistan was “working with our European friends — Austria, France, and Germany — to jointly ban this illegal immigration [and bring it] to a grinding halt”.\n\nHe affirmed that Pakistan would fulfil Austria’s “demand for skilled labour” as per the international certification required by it.\n\nAt the outset of his address, the premier stressed that Pakistan and Austria shared “long-standing friendly relations”.\n\nThe premier outlined the areas in which the two countries remained “proactively engaged”, including mining and minerals and renewable energy.\n\nHe detailed that he held meetings with the leadership of Austria, stating that he aims “to take many of these discussions to their logical conclusion”.\n\nHe noted that 6o per cent of Pakistan’s population was young and “needed modern training in their hands, including laptops, AI, and IT-led initiatives”.\n\nPM Shehbaz further added that Pakistan held “huge potential” in the field of agriculture.\n\n“Here, Austria can be a great partner, providing Pakistan with experience and modern technology to have value-addition in the field of citrus root, and make marmalade, juices and export them to Austria, the Middle East and other parts of the world”, the premier added.\n\n# PM presented guard of honour at Austrian Chancellery\n\nPM Shehbaz began his two-day visit to Austria as he arrived at the Austrian Chancellery today, where he was presented with a guard of honour and welcomed by Austria’s Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker, the Prime Minister’s Office said.\n\n> \n\nThe statement said that the national anthems of both countries were played at the arrival, and both leaders “introduced their respective delegations to each other before proceeding for tête-à-tête and the delegation-level talks, wherein both sides will take stock of the entire gamut of bilateral relations”.\n\nPM Shehbaz also penned his remarks in the guest book at the Chancellery.\n\nThe premier is accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and one of his aides, Tariq Fatemi, during the two-day visit.\n\nThis visit marks 70 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.\n\nIn its _statement_ issued on Sunday, the Foreign Office (FO) noted that the trip marked “the first visit by a Pakistani prime minister to Austria in over three decades, the last having been undertaken by the then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif in 1992”.",
  "title": "Pakistan working with European partners to ‘jointly ban’ illegal immigration: PM Shehbaz"
}