Interview with Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, Chief Whip of the Treasury Benches and Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue
PAGE: Tell me something about yourself, please:
Saleem Mandviwalla: I am a Senator from Sindh since November 2012 and a member of the Pakistan Peoples Party, whose philosophy I proudly carry forward from Quaid-e-Awam Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and President Asif Ali Zardari. I am currently Chief Whip of the Treasury Benches and Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue. I have served as Deputy Chairman of the Senate, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Minister of State for Finance, and Chairman of the Board of Investment, and I represented Sindh on the National Finance Commission. I come from the business community, having been President of the Lasbela Chamber of Commerce and Industry and a member of the management committee of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry. I studied aeronautics in Texas, and I am a certified pilot and a keen cyclist.
PAGE: What is your perspective about Pakistan and Saudi Arabia trade relations?
Saleem Mandviwalla: The foundations of Pakistan’s partnership with the Kingdom were laid by Quaid-e-Awam Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, whose close friendship with King Faisal made the historic Islamic Summit of 1974 in Lahore possible. Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto carried the same vision of close ties with the Muslim world through both her terms as Prime Minister, and President Zardari is now steering it toward a trade and investment led partnership. Our relationship has long rested on remittances, energy imports and the Kingdom’s generous support, and I want it to become a genuine two-way trade partnership. Pakistani rice, textiles, food products, pharmaceuticals and IT services deserve a much larger place in the Saudi market. As Chairman of the Finance Committee, I stress export promotion, digitalised and transparent tax and customs systems, and predictable policy. These are the same priorities my committee set out in its review of the Finance Bill 2026-27.
PAGE: Pakistan fully stands with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, both diplomatically and physically. How would you comment on it?
Saleem Mandviwalla: This is the sentiment of every Pakistani, and it is a legacy that the Peoples Party has always honoured. Shaheed Bhutto stood firmly with the Arab world and, with King Faisal’s backing, brought the leaders of the Muslim world together in Lahore in 1974. When devastating floods struck Pakistan in 2010, under the government of President Zardari, Saudi Arabia became the second-largest donor to the flood victims, and President Zardari visited the Kingdom in 2011 to meet King Abdullah. When I attended President Zardari’s meeting with the Saudi Investment Minister in October 2024, he reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering solidarity with the Kingdom, and I fully endorse that position. The Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement of September 2025 treats aggression against either country as aggression against both.
PAGE: What is your take on Saudi Arabia’s investment in energy, petroleum, agriculture and infrastructural development in Pakistan?
Saleem Mandviwalla: I welcome it, because this is where the partnership becomes durable. In October 2024, I was present when President Zardari received the Saudi Minister for Investment, Khalid Al-Falih, who spoke of 25 agreements across different sectors. The President expressed Pakistan’s desire to elevate the relationship into a long-term strategic and economic partnership, with agriculture and information technology also on the agenda. The June 2026 talks between the Special Investment Facilitation Council and the Saudi delegation went further, covering motorways, ports, airports, power transmission and mining. Aramco has taken a 40% stake in Gas & Oil Pakistan Ltd (GO), and a Saudi-partnered refinery and petroleum storage project has been under discussion. Having chaired the Board of Investment, I know what investors need from us: merit-based, transparent processes, sanctity of contracts and regulatory stability. Parliament, through its committees, will support the legislative frameworks that deliver these.
PAGE: What is your take on the recent development between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in terms of diplomacy, trade and security?
Saleem Mandviwalla: The relationship is now moving on three tracks, and the Peoples Party’s leadership, from Shaheed Bhutto and Shaheed Benazir to President Zardari and Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, has always treated it as a national priority. In diplomacy, leadership contact is frequent. In trade, both sides are shifting from financial support toward investment, and Saudi business delegations, most recently in August, have held talks on power, petroleum, privatisation and industry. In security, Pakistan has reaffirmed its commitment to the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement and the trilateral Makkah defence arrangement. Economic strength and security reinforce each other, so I see all three as one strategic partnership, and it is one that we in parliament will continue to nurture.