Reporting snapshot · 8 October 2026 (Asia/Karachi). Pakistan and Bahrain signed the agreed minutes of the third session of their Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) in Islamabad on 8 October, with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Bahrain's Foreign Minister Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani announcing a bilateral trade target of $1bn within three years, the establishment of a joint working group on trade and investment, and Bahrain's commitment to use its Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) presidency to push the GCC-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement towards conclusion. The protocol of the session was signed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the next JMC will be held in Bahrain in 2027.
What was signed
Pakistan’s Foreign Office said on Thursday, 8 October 2026 that the third session of the Pakistan-Bahrain Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC), co-chaired by DPM/FM Ishaq Dar and Bahrain’s FM Al Zayani at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad, ended with both sides signing the agreed minutes covering more than fifteen areas of cooperation, Geo News and Radio Pakistan reported. The signed protocol was the outcome of a two-day visit that had begun with Al Zayani’s arrival in Islamabad on 7 October at DPM Dar’s invitation.
At a joint press briefing after the signing, FM Al Zayani said the two sides had agreed to “establish a joint working group on trade and investment, to convene the joint working group on energy next month on oil, gas, and minerals, and to take forward cooperation in food security, information technology, law enforcement, media, labour mobility, health, education, culture, and sport,” The Express Tribune and Geo News reported. The same briefing, carried live by Radio Pakistan, set out the trade target and the GCC-Pakistan FTA push.
A $1bn trade target and the GCC-Pakistan FTA push
The most concrete number to emerge was a bilateral trade target. According to Geo News, both ministers confirmed that Pakistan and Bahrain had agreed to set a target of doubling bilateral trade to $1bn within three years. DPM Dar said the target covered “doubling trade within three years, one of which had already elapsed,” and any delay in meeting it could be attributed to the “very turbulent” period, as relayed by The Nation. The Express Tribune quoted Al Zayani saying “we have to double the trade during the three years.”
The briefing tied the trade plan to a wider trade-policy vehicle. Al Zayani said Bahrain “would use its [GCC] presidency to speed up the signing or approval” of the GCC-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement, The Express Tribune reported, and DPM Dar told the briefing the GCC secretary general had informed him the agreement was “almost ripe,” with approval from one member state pending, The Nation added.
Working groups across more than fifteen areas
Beyond trade, the ministers operationalised joint working groups as the follow-through mechanism after a five-year gap between the second (Manama, 2021) and third (Islamabad, 2026) sessions. Geo News listed the strands as industrial collaboration, food security, skills development, higher education, IT, logistics, and maritime affairs, alongside trade and an energy strand scheduled for next month; the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry was represented in Manama’s delegation, Samaa TV reported. Labour mobility sat beside trade as a headline strand: DPM Dar said “approximately 134,000 Pakistanis reside in Bahrain,” asked Manama to recognise Pakistani qualifications and widen skilled-worker movement, Geo News and The Nation reported, while Al Zayani cited the King Hamad University of Nursing and Allied Medical Sciences as a people-to-people “bridge.”
The five-year gap and the next session
DPM Dar acknowledged the calendar problem: the second JMC was held in Manama in July 2021, and the gap between second and third sessions was five years. He said there should be no more than a one-year gap from now on; the next JMC will be held in Bahrain in 2027, Samaa TV and Radio Pakistan reported.
A wider diplomatic agenda
The briefing was not purely a trade-and-investment event. Al Zayani said Bahrain “strongly condemns the terrorist attacks on Abha International Airport and King Khalid International Airport, and the Houthi attacks on Saudi civilians and facilities, including the assaults on Mecca and Madina,” describing Bahrain’s posture as one of “full solidarity” with Saudi Arabia, The Express Tribune and Geo News reported. Both ministers stressed navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandeb, given their significance for regional and global food and energy security.
Al Zayani also thanked Pakistan for its support for UN Security Council Resolution 2817 and Bahrain “appreciate[s] Pakistan’s efforts with partners to facilitate the dialogue between the United States and Iran, including hosting the talks in Islamabad,” The Express Tribune reported. DPM Dar used the briefing to put the Indus Waters Treaty on the record, calling India’s decision to keep the treaty in abeyance “a material breach of international law” that threatened 250 million Pakistanis’ water, food and energy security, The Express Tribune and The Nation reported. The ministers also reviewed Palestine and Afghanistan, with Dar reaffirming support for Palestinian rights and humanitarian assistance to Gaza, and the two sides agreeing that foreign territory must not be used against Pakistan, The Express Tribune added.
What the JMC agreed on calendar dates
The protocol of the third JMC session was signed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 8 October 2026 with both foreign ministers present, Samaa TV and Radio Pakistan reported; Dar described it as “highly successful” and confirmed the next JMC in Bahrain in 2027. Al Zayani’s visit was set to end later on 8 October, with calls on President Zardari, PM Shehbaz and Field Marshal Asim Munir still expected before the delegation’s departure, The Express Tribune reported.
What is still uncertain
The mechanics behind the $1bn target. The FO readout and the press briefing restated the bilateral $1bn goal without identifying which sectors or products would drive the doubling, the financing or currency-settlement instruments, or the base year for measuring progress, Geo News, The Nation, Samaa TV and Radio Pakistan reported.
The pending GCC member. Both sides described the GCC-Pakistan FTA as close to completion, but DPM Dar’s reference to “approval from one member state” still pending leaves that member, the substance of its reservation, and the expected timeline unconfirmed, The Nation and The Express Tribune reported.
Working-group timelines. The newly announced joint working group on trade and investment, the energy group scheduled for next month, and the labour-mobility strand are new structures on paper; no deadlines, work-plan outputs, or quota allocations have been publicly identified, and the Bahraini readout stops short of naming which Pakistani professional categories will move fastest.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a synthesis of the published readouts and same-day reporting, not eyewitness reporting. Sources were reviewed on 2026-10-08.
- Radio Pakistan — "Pakistan, Bahrain review bilateral cooperation at Joint Ministerial Commission," 8 October 2026Primary record · Pakistan's state broadcaster carries the FO readout of the third JMC session: the co-chairing, the dossier areas (trade, energy, agriculture, food security, IT, health, education and labour), and the participation of senior Pakistani and Bahraini delegations including the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
- Geo News — "Pakistan, Bahrain aim to double bilateral trade in three years," 8 October 2026Independent reporting · Carries the joint press briefing in detail: the $1bn trade target, the signed protocol of the third JMC, the operationalisation of joint working groups, the participation of Bahrain's Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and DPM Dar's appeal for recognition of Pakistani qualifications.
- The Express Tribune — "Pakistan, Bahrain agree to form joint trade group, push GCC free trade deal," 8 October 2026Independent reporting · Carries the joint press stakeout in full: Al Zayani's list of more than fifteen areas of cooperation, the Bahraini GCC-presidency commitment on the GCC-Pakistan FTA, the Indus Waters remarks, the Bahraini statement on the Houthis and Saudi airports, and the Palestine and Afghanistan tracks of the wider JMC readout.
- Samaa TV — "Pakistan, Bahrain set $1bn trade target in joint commission meeting," 8 October 2026Independent reporting · Adds the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry representation, the Pakistan-Bahrain diplomatic history (the 55-year relationship, the anniversary of which falls on 14 October), the IWT and Palestine strands of the briefing, and confirmation of the protocol signing ceremony and the next JMC venue in Bahrain in 2027.
- The Nation — "Pakistan, Bahrain vows to boost bilateral cooperation on trade," 8 October 2026Independent reporting · Adds DPM Dar's reference to the one-year gap already absorbed in the three-year window, the GCC secretary general's "almost ripe" assessment, Bahrain's pending one-member reservation on the GCC-Pakistan FTA, and the labour-mobility strand on the recognition of Pakistani degrees.
