Saudi-based English-language daily Arab News, is now launching its Pakistan edition, as part of the newspaper’s ongoing global and digital expansion.

The service — available in English at www.arabnews.pk — covers news and views from Pakistan and the wider region, with a focus on Islamabad’s ties with Saudi Arabia and the Arab world.

It is updated daily by a multimedia news-gathering team led by the award-winning journalist Baker Atyani, head of Arab News’ Southeast Asia bureau. Its Pakistan offices will be based in Islamabad.

www.arabnews.pk site is the first of a series of country-specific online editions that the newspaper is planning to launch, and is part of the brand’s “more digital, more global” strategy which was announced last year.

Faisal J. Abbas, editor-in-chief of Arab News, said that the new service aims to develop “a two-way conversation with an extremely important target market for us,” citing the strategic significance of Pakistan and the historic ties it shares with Saudi Arabia and the Middle East in general.

“Arab News is already a recognizable brand among many Pakistanis, given its deeply-rooted relationship with the huge expat community in Saudi Arabia, where our newspaper was founded in 1975,” he says.

“There are numerous shared ambitions, opportunities and areas of common interest between Pakistan and Arab countries – from religion and culture, to defence and trade ties. All of these areas will be covered extensively by our new dedicated digital service,” adds Abbas.

Atyani says that www.arabnews.pk would help throw light on a part of Asia which is not always well understood by English-speaking audiences.

“It is an honor and a big responsibility to be handling this exciting project for Arab News,” says Atyani. “It is a natural extension for an already influential brand into a geographic area which is extremely important and badly misunderstood.”