Sri Lanka Affairs

[ghazi52]

Sri Lanka urges Pakistan to reconsider India game boycott​

AFP
February 6, 2026

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s cricket board on Thursday asked Pakistan to reconsider its decision to boycott their first-round encounter with arch-rival India in the T20 World Cup co-hosted by the island.

Pakistan decided not to play India on February 15 in Colombo to express solidarity with Bangladesh, who were excluded from the tournament after refusing to play their matches in India. Pakistan and India have not played bilateral cricket for more than a decade and meet only at global or regional tournament events.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) told the Pakistan Cricket Board that a boycott would result in a financial hit and also hurt the island’s tourism industry, which is still recovering from the 2022 economic meltdown.

“Any non-participation will have wide-ranging implications, including substantial financial exposure for SLC and the potential loss of anticipated tourism inflows,” the board said.It recalled that Sri Lanka had toured Pakistan to express solidarity and revive international matches there when other nations stayed away due to security concerns.

“We urge you to take into account the exceptional circumstances, the enduring relationship between our two boards, and the broader interests of the game of cricket,” Sri Lanka Cricket said pleading with Pakistan to play their scheduled match against India.

 

[ghazi52]

Pakistan, Sri Lanka to develop joint strategy against cybercrime, financial fraud mafias​

Iftikhar A. Khan
February 16, 2026



Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi meets his Sri Lankan counterpart, Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala, in Colombo on Monday. — Screenshot via Radio Pakistan/Instagram

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Sri Lanka on Monday agreed to develop a joint strategy against cybercrimes and financial fraud mafias.

The understanding was reached during a meeting of Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi with his Sri Lankan counterpart, Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala, in Colombo.

According to a handout released by the Interior Ministry’s media wing, the meeting focused on strengthening bilateral cooperation and matters of mutual interest.

Both Ministers also discussed ways to enhance cooperation in internal security and joint efforts in counterterrorism and anti-narcotics operations.

‎It was agreed to strengthen institutional collaboration between the interior ministries of Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The two sides also decided to improve coordination to curb illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

Matters relating to joint training programs for police and paramilitary forces were also discussed.

 

[ghazi52]

Naqvi offered training opportunities for Sri Lankan police officers at the National Police Academy of Pakistan. He stated that officer exchange programs would enhance the professional capacity of forces in both countries and open new avenues of cooperation between the two ministries.

He also emphasised the need to expand collaboration to effectively combat cybercrime and financial crimes. Naqvi also invited the Sri Lankan minister to visit Pakistan and expressed gratitude for the warm hospitality extended to him during his visit.

The Sri Lankan minister welcomed Naqvi, stating that it was a matter of great pleasure for Sri Lanka and affirmed their commitment to promoting cooperation with Pakistan in areas of mutual interest.

Separately, Naqvi also met with Sri Lanka’s Secretary of Defence Air Vice Marshal (Retd.) Sampatha Thuyacontha.

The meeting included discussions on Pakistan–Sri Lanka security cooperation and defence matters. Both sides reaffirmed their resolve to further enhance bilateral security cooperation.

 

[ghazi52]

Naqvi also met Sri Lankan Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Sunil Kumara Gamage, with discussions focusing on enhancing cooperation in sports, particularly cricket.

Both sides agreed to strengthen collaboration between the respective sports ministries and promote bilateral cooperation in cricket and other sports.

Naqvi stated that cricket and other sports would further strengthen bilateral relations. He also appreciated the excellent arrangements made during the T20 World Cup and thanked the Sri Lankan authorities for their hospitality.

He extended an invitation to the Sri Lankan sports minister to visit Pakistan.

 

[ghazi52]

Pakistan, Sri Lanka launch digital partnership​

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Sri Lanka on Wednesday established a Joint Working Group on IT and Digital Economy to collaborate in emerging technologies and digital transformation.

During the 13th Session of the Joint Economic Commission (JEC) held in Colombo, both countries reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral economic relations further and expanding cooperation across multiple sectors.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Haroon Akhtar Khan is leading the Pakistani delegation.

The two countries have a longstanding bilateral relationship in several fields, and the meeting on Wednesday noted that the need of the hour was to move ahead and develop collaborations in advanced and innovative technologies.

Discussions were held on expanding industrial collaboration and increasing bilateral trade, with Sri Lanka inviting Pakistani pharmaceutical companies to explore investment opportunities.

Both countries expressed consensus on strengthening cooperation in the SME sector, recognising its vital role in economic growth and employment generation.

 

[ghazi52]

Sri Lanka removes Pakistan from negative visa lists after Naqvi meeting​

Lankan president announces that his country’s prime minister would soon visit Pakistan

Web Desk
February 17, 2026

Sri Lanka hails Pakistan’s support during difficult times [Photo: X]

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has ordered the immediate removal of Pakistan from all “negative” visa lists after a meeting with Federal Interior Minister and PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi.

The development is being viewed as a significant step towards easing travel concerns for Pakistani citizens and strengthening bilateral ties.

During the meeting, Naqvi raised the issue of visa difficulties faced by Pakistani nationals. Taking prompt notice, President Dissanayake directed authorities to remove Pakistan from all negative visa categories, providing relief to Pakistani travellers and the business community.

 

[ghazi52]

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[ghazi52]

President Dissanayake expressed appreciation for Pakistan’s support to Sri Lanka during difficult times and thanked Islamabad for agreeing to play a T20 World Cup match against India in Colombo, terming it a gesture of goodwill.

In a post on his X handle, he said he met Naqvi and Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Chaudhry Salik Hussain, adding that both sides reaffirmed their enduring friendship. Naqvi praised the Sri Lankan president’s role in promoting Pakistan–Sri Lanka relations and conveyed an invitation from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to visit Pakistan.

He also thanked the Sri Lankan leadership for the arrangements and hospitality extended to the Pakistani delegation during the T20 World Cup.

 

[ghazi52]

Sri Lanka says it is trying to safeguard lives on second Iranian ship after US sinks frigate​

• We are doing our utmost to safeguard lives

Reuters
March 5, 2026



An injured Iranian sailor rescued from their frigate IRIS Dena after a US submarine torpedoed it off Sri Lanka’s coast amid the Middle East war, receives treatment at the Karapitiya hospital in Galle on March 5, 2026. Photo: AFP

GALLE: Sri Lanka said it was trying to “safeguard lives” on a second Iranian ship off its coast on Thursday, a day after 87 people were killed in a U.S. submarine strike on an Iranian warship in the same region.

Sri Lanka’s cabinet spokesman told parliament that various authorities were responding to the presence of an Iranian ship in Sri Lanka’s exclusive economic zone outside its maritime boundary near the port of Colombo.

“The President, defence officials, and all other relevant officials are aware and we are addressing the situation,” spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa said in response to questions from an opposition leader.

“We are doing our utmost to safeguard lives,” he said, without saying how, or whether the ship was a military vessel.

Jayatissa said the IRIS Dena was sunk on Wednesday 19 nautical miles off Sri Lanka’s southern port city of Galle and that two freezers had been dispatched from Colombo to store the 87 bodies recovered from the sea.

 

[ghazi52]

Tehran has asked Colombo to help repatriate the bodies, Sri Lanka’s deputy minister for health and mass media, Hansaka Wijemuni, told Reuters, adding that a timeframe had not yet been determined.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the warship was struck in international waters without warning thousands of miles from the Gulf, where U.S. and Israeli forces are striking Iran and Tehran is retaliating with missile and drone attacks.

“The U.S. will bitterly regret the precedent it has set,” Araqchi said in a post on X, adding that the warship was a guest of India’s navy and was carrying almost 130 sailors.

Sri Lankan military rescuers responded to an early-morning distress call from the IRIS Dena on Wednesday and found 32 survivors. Authorities said they would be released from hospital on Thursday after being treated for minor injuries.

 

[ghazi52]

Sri Lanka moving 208 rescued Iranian ship crew to naval camp, sources say​

• The Sri Lankan Navy identified the second Iranian ship as naval auxiliary vessel IRIS Booshehr

Reuters



A police vehicle carrying Sri Lanka’s Scene of Crime Officers (SOCO) enters the Karapitiya hospital, where the rescued Iranian sailors are being treated, in Galle on March 5, 2026. Photo: AFP

GALLE: Sri Lankan authorities said on Friday they were escorting a second Iranian naval vessel to harbour and moving 208 of its crew to a camp, two days after a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship in the same area.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said his island nation had a “humanitarian responsibility” to take in the crew, as the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran raged, wreaking havoc on global markets and disrupting trade and travel.

The Sri Lankan Navy identified the second Iranian ship as naval auxiliary vessel IRIS Booshehr.

 

[ghazi52]

Second Iran ship had engine problems

Iranian sailors were seen dragging suitcases and carrying bags as they disembarked in Sri Lanka, in pictures shared by the Presidential Media Division.

Other images showed Sri Lankan navy tug boats and naval vessels approaching the Booshehr, which Dissanayake earlier said would be moved to the Trincomalee harbour on the eastern coast.

“About 15 crewmen are still aboard the Iranian ship to help with navigation,” a Sri Lankan government source said.

The ship was experiencing engine problems, that source and another government official said. Both asked not to be named given the sensitivity of the issue.

The crew was brought to the port in Sri Lanka’s commercial capital Colombo where they had medical check-ups and were then moved in groups to a navy camp in Welisara, about 18 km (10 miles) away, the officials added.

The defence ministry declined to comment and the navy spokesman’s office could not be reached.

 

[ghazi52]

Iran thanks Sri Lanka

The ship Booshehr, which had found itself stranded in Sri Lanka’s exclusive economic zone outside its maritime boundary, reached the area a day after the Iranian warship IRIS Dena was sunk while returning from India after a naval exercise.

Dena was hit by a torpedo from a U.S. submarine in the Indian Ocean, about 19 nautical miles off Sri Lanka’s coast, killing 87 people on board and dramatically widening the scope of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

Iran’s foreign minister thanked Sri Lanka for helping rescue survivors from the warship.

“That vessel … was ceremonial, unloaded, unarmed,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters in New Delhi, where he is attending a conference.

 

[ghazi52]

Sri Lanka to treat Iranian sailors according to ‘international law’​

• Iranian frigate was sunk by a US submarine on Wednesday just off Sri Lanka’s southern coast

AFP
March 7, 2026



A Sri Lanka Navy vessel approaches an Iranian vessel during a rescue operation, a day after the crew of a distressed Iranian military ship, IRIS Dena were assisted in waters south of Sri Lanka, off the coast of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Navy/Handout via Reuters

Sri Lanka will treat Iranian sailors rescued from a torpedoed frigate according to international law, a minister said Saturday, following reports Washington was pressuring Colombo to not repatriate them.

Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told a conference in New Delhi that Sri Lanka was caring for 32 sailors from the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena under Colombo’s international treaty obligations.

The frigate was sunk by a US submarine on Wednesday just off Sri Lanka’s southern coast.

Sri Lanka sent its navy to rescue survivors and recover 84 bodies.

Asked if Colombo was under pressure from the US to not repatriate the Iranians, Herath did not answer directly.

“We have taken all the steps according to international laws,” Herath said.

 

[ghazi52]

Sri Lanka also provided safe haven to a second Iranian warship, the IRIS Bushehr, and evacuated its 219 crew a day after the Dena was torpedoed.

The ship was taken to Trincomalee on Sri Lanka’s northeast coast after reporting engine problems.

India, meanwhile, said Saturday it had allowed a third Iranian warship, the IRIS Lavan, to dock in one of its ports on “humane” grounds after it too reported operational problems.

The three ships were part of a multi-national fleet review held by India before the war in the Middle East started last Saturday.

“I think it was the humane thing to do and I think we were guided by that principle,” Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishkar said.

The Lavan docked in the southwest Indian port of Kochi on Wednesday.

“A lot of the people on board were young cadets. They have disembarked and are in a nearby facility,” said Jaishkar.

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said this week that Colombo would follow the Hague Convention, which requires a neutral state to hold combatants of a warring state until hostilities end.

A senior administration official said Colombo was in talks with the International Committee of the Red Cross to deal with the survivors of the torpedoed ship.