On August 14, Pakistan celebrates the 79th anniversary of its independence from the British Raj in 1947. A new state was born, led by Mohammed Ali Jinnah, known as Quaid-e-Azam (“Great Leader”), who is regarded as the founding father of Pakistan. Today, it is a country situated between India and Afghanistan that is once again becoming key to understanding Asia.

Trade relations between Pakistan and Spain have enormous potential. There is good cooperation in the fields of policing and migration. There is also a curious cultural connection: the cities of Córdoba and Lahore, the historic capital of Punjab, have been sister cities since 1968. This link is due to the Pakistani national poet Muhammad Iqbal, who greatly admired Al-Andalus.

Large Pakistani communities have settled among us: they are our neighbours, entrepreneurs, students… many of them are already Spanish citizens.

Pakistan is a country that seems quite far away from Spain, when in reality we are much closer than we think. Large Pakistani communities have settled in our country, particularly in Barcelona, Valencia and Logroño. More than 117,000 Pakistani citizens live in Spain and are well integrated, with many already belonging to the second generation (25,000 of them residing in Barcelona).

Spain and Pakistan are strengthening cooperation on migration, returns and the fight against human-trafficking networks. There is an Afghan route used by people attempting to reach Spain through Pakistan. Both countries can cooperate in preventing Islamist radicalisation and terrorism. Pakistan is a nation paying the price of the Afghan crisis five years after the Taliban returned to power. Islamabad is expelling Afghan citizens. Since 2023, more than 2.6 million Afghans have returned to Afghanistan. Islamabad accuses various armed groups, including the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), of using Afghan territory as a sanctuary for terrorists from which they launch attacks against Pakistan. The problem therefore has both a humanitarian and a military........

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