Pakistan's government recently approved a 'reinvigorated and re-energised' national counter-terrorism campaign, called 'Operation Azm-i-Istehkam'
Ahead of Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif's China trip, officials in Islamabad had claimed that an upgraded version of CPEC would be formally launched in Beijing
According to Focus Taiwan, MOFA issued a press release Monday stating that resolution 2758 only addresses the issue of China's representation in the United Nations and does not mention Taiwan at all
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced sending as many as 1,000 students of the country to China for advanced training in the agriculture sector as it strives to increase output, according to a media report on Sunday. The premier, who concluded his five-day official visit to China, made the announcement during a visit to Yangling Agricultural Demonstration Base in Xi'an city on Saturday, Radio Pakistan reported. The 72-year-old also invited China's North West Agriculture and Forestry University to open a campus in Pakistan. He directed the Pakistan ambassador to China and relevant authorities to finalise the matters with the Chinese authorities in this regard, Geo News reported. The prime minister toured various parts of the facility and was shown Pakistani products at the Pakistan Pavilion, the report said. Sharif also visited the modern plant production factory where he oversaw a demonstration of the vertical method of agriculture, it said. Pakistan is striving to
Presenting the Budget is critical for Pakistan to finalise a fresh IMF deal
Pakistan and China on Friday vowed to protect the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) from its "detractors and adversaries", as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met his Chinese counterpart Li Qiang and assured Beijing of providing complete security to Chinese personnel working on the USD 65 billion project. Sharif is currently on a visit to China at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, seeking to upgrade cooperation under the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a key part of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative. In a statement, the Pakistan Prime Minister's Office said during the meeting, the two sides discussed the significance of Gwadar as an important pillar of the CPEC and agreed to expedite the timely completion of all related infrastructure projects to transform Gwadar in Balochistan province into a regional economic hub. "They also expressed their firm commitment to protect CPEC from its detractors and adversaries and to upgrade CPEC in the form of
An attack on a convoy in the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on March 26 led to the death of five Chinese engineers
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday congratulated Asif Ali Zardari on his election as the Pakistan President, saying that the iron-clad friendship between the two countries is a choice of history and the strategic significance of the ties has become more prominent in the light of current changes in the world. Zardari, the husband of late Pakistan Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto was overwhelmingly elected as the 14th President of Pakistan on Saturday, becoming the only civilian president of the coup-prone country for a second time. Zardari, the co-chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party, was the joint candidate of the ruling alliance of the PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). In his message to Zardari on Sunday, Xi said "China and Pakistan are good neighbours, good friends, good partners and good brothers, adding that the two countries' iron-clad friendship is a choice of history and a precious treasure of the two peoples." Xi said that "the two countries have in .
A major portion - $ 28.4 billion of China's loan to Pakistan was in the energy sector, according to the data found by AidData
As much as 98 per cent of China's development funding for its all-weather ally Pakistan came in the form of less-than-generous loans, with only two per cent coming in the form of grants between 2000 and 2021, according to a research report. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a global infrastructure and investment initiative by Beijing, was launched in 2013. It is thought to be the largest partnership of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It increased to over USD 62 billion over time, and at least USD 25 billion was invested in cash-strapped Pakistan. Out of the total Chinese development finance portfolio of USD 70.3 billion, committed between 2000 and 2021 in Pakistan, eight per cent was official development assistance (grants and highly concessional loans) and 89 per cent was other official sector loans, said a report in The News International, quoting AidData, a US-based research lab. With USD 14.0 billion in finance commitments, 2017 was the top year for Pakistan;
China and Pakistan will ink significant agreements regarding motorways and highways during caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar's four-day visit to Beijing starting Monday, according to a media report on Sunday. The agreements would be signed under the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) programme, Dawn newspaper reported. Kakar would travel to Beijing on October 16 to participate in the Third Belt and Road Forum (BRF) for International Cooperation' from October 17 to 18. The prime minister will attend the opening ceremony of the BRF and address the high-level forum entitled 'Connectivity in an Open Global Economy', the PM office said in a post on X on Saturday. A significant Memorandum of Understanding scheduled to be signed is related to the establishment of a modern Highway Research and Training Centre (HRTC) with China's assistance, the paper said. The project will prominently take centre stage during the prime minister's discussion with the Chinese .
Pakistan and China have agreed to invite third parties to participate in the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which is a key part of Beijing's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, a top Pakistani diplomat has said. Pakistan's state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported that the country's ambassador to China Moinul Haque told China's official CCTV on Sunday that the two countries are now working to extend CPEC to Afghanistan. India firmly opposes the CPEC, which will link Xinjiang in China and the Gwadar port in Pakistan, because it passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The CPEC, which connects Gwadar Port in Pakistan's Balochistan with China's Xinjiang province, is the flagship project of China's ambitious multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI is seen as an attempt by China to further its influence abroad with infrastructure projects funded by Chinese investments all over the world. In his comments, the Pakistani envoy said the CP
Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Wednesday invited Turkey to join the ambitious China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), turning it into a trilateral arrangement so that all three friendly nations could benefit from its potential. Sharif made the remarks at the launch ceremony of a fourth MILGEM class corvette warship PNS Tariq, which was inducted into the Pakistan Navy fleet at a ceremony at the Karachi Shipyard. Initiated in 2018, the MILGEM project envisaged the construction of four corvettes for the Pakistan Navy - two in Pakistan and two in Turkey. Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz was also present at the ceremony. Renewing his last year's invitation to Turkey to join the CPEC, Shehbaz said turning the multi-billion dollar infrastructure project into a trilateral arrangement would bring regional prosperity and empower people through the best facilities, including education and health. I think all three nations can benefit from the potential of the CPEC which has be
China has rolled over a USD 2.4 billion loan to its all-weather ally Pakistan for two years to help the cash-strapped country shore up its foreign exchange reserves, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Thursday. Dar said in a Twitter post that Pakistan was supposed to pay the loan in the next two fiscal years. "Chinese EXIM Bank has rolled over for 2 years principal amounts of following loans totalling US$ 2.4 billion which are due in next 2 fiscal years: FY2023-24: US$1.2 billion FY2024-25: US$ 1.2 billion," he said. "Pakistan will make interest payments only in both years," he added. The development comes a little over a week after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that China had rolled over a USD 600 million loan to Pakistan to help its ailing economy. This was in addition to over USD 5 billion in loans that China had rolled over for Pakistan in the last three months to help its key ally avert a default as negotiations to secure the IMF bailout dragged on. China has time
China has delivered two more naval frigates to the Pakistan Navy in addition to the two delivered earlier, completing the order for four ships, the official media here reported on Wednesday. Two Type 054A/P frigates to Pakistan were delivered by China, indicating that all four warships of this class have been commissioned into the Pakistan Navy, state-run Global Times reported. A joint delivery and commissioning ceremony for the two frigates namely the PNS Tippu Sultan and the PNS Shahjahan was held in the Hudong Zhonghua Shipyard in Shanghai on Wednesday, the daily reported. Chief of the Naval Staff of the Pakistan Navy Admiral M Amjad Khan Niazi, who is on a visit to China, attended the ceremony and boarded the vessels. Speaking on the occasion, Admiral Niazi highlighted that the commissioning of the two frigates ushers a new chapter in the Pak-China friendship that has matured and rests firmly on the pillars of trust, respect and mutual support. The same is manifested in our ..
Chinese-funded projects were being targeted by militants that resulted in increased attacks on China nationals across Pakistan
The global airline industry body has warned that debt-ridden Pakistan has become very challenging for foreign air carriers as USD 290 million of funds were stuck in the country as of January, a media report has said. Pakistan, currently in the throes of a major economic crisis, is grappling with high external debt, a weak local currency and dwindling foreign exchange reserves. Analysts believe the country is at risk of default. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said USD 290 million of funds were stuck in the country as of January this year, up nearly a third since December last year, according to the Financial Times newspaper report on Thursday. Pakistan is holding the second-largest amount of foreign currency from airlines globally, after only Nigeria. Airlines are facing long delays before they are able to repatriate their funds, Philip Goh, the IATA's Asia-Pacific head was quoted as saying in the report. Some airlines still have funds stuck in Pakistan from sa
Cash-Strapped Pakistan sees a ray of hope as the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) approved the rollover of USD 1.3 billion facilities.
Pakistan's external debts, which were at $65 billion in 2015, have now touched $130 billion
The cumulative loan that Pakistan has sought from China amounts to $8.8 billion