ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Thursday it aims to send its first astronaut into space by 2022 and will begin selecting candidates next year.
Neighbor and long-time rival India put its first astronaut into space in 1984 as part of a Soviet-led mission. It launched a rocket into space on Monday in an attempt to safely land a rover on the moon, its most ambitious mission yet.
Pakistan’s program, announced 50 years after the US Apollo 11 mission put the first man on the moon, marks a new departure after focusing on developing communication satellites.
“This will be the biggest space event of our history,” Science and Technology Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said in a tweet.
A selection committee would begin choosing candidates in February, he said.
Pakistan’s National Space Agency SUPARCO (Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission) was set up in 1961. It launched its first communication satellite 50 years later with help from a subsidiary of China Aerospace and Technology Corporation.
Pakistan aims to send first astronaut into space by 2022
Pakistan aims to send first astronaut into space by 2022
- The country’s minister for science and technology says “this will be the biggest space event of our history”
- Pakistan has previously developed communication satellites and sent them in outer space
Customs seize narcotics, smuggled goods, vehicles worth $4.9 million in southwest Pakistan
- Customs seize 22.14 kg narcotics, consignments of smuggled betel nuts, Hino trucks, auto parts, says FBR
- Smuggled goods enter Pakistan’s Balochistan province from neighboring countries Iran and Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Customs seized narcotics, smuggled goods and vehicles worth a total of Rs1.38 billion [$4.92 million] in the southwestern Balochistan province on Tuesday, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) said in a statement.
Customs Enforcement Quetta seized and recovered 22.14 kilograms of narcotics and consignments of smuggled goods comprising betel nuts, Indian medicines, Chinese salt, auto parts, a ROCO vehicle and three Hino trucks in two separate operations, the FBR said. All items cost an estimated Rs1.38 billion, it added.
Smuggled items make their way into Pakistan through southwestern Balochistan province, which borders Iran and Afghanistan.
“These operations are part of the collectorate’s intensified enforcement drive aimed at curbing smuggling and dismantling illegal trade networks,” the FBR said.
“All the seized narcotics, goods and vehicles have been taken into custody, and legal proceedings under the Customs Act 1969 have been formally initiated.”
In the first operation, customs officials intercepted three containers during routine checking at FEU Zariat Cross (ZC) area. The containers were being transported from Quetta to Pakistan’s Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, the FBR said.
The vehicles intercepted included three Hino trucks. Their detailed examination led to the recovery of the smuggled goods which were concealed in the containers.
In the second operation, the staff of the Collectorate of Enforcement Customs, Quetta, intercepted a ROCO vehicle at Zariat Cross area with the local police’s assistance.
The driver was interrogated while the vehicle was searched, the FBR said.
“During interrogation, it was disclosed that drugs were concealed inside the spare wheel at the bottom side of the vehicle,” it said.
“Upon thorough checking, suspected narcotics believed to be heroin was recovered which was packed in 41 packets, each weighing 0.54 kilograms.”
The narcotics weighed a total of 22.14 kilograms, with an estimated value of Rs1.23 billion in the international market, the FBR concluded.
“The Federal Board of Revenue has commended the Customs Enforcement Quetta team for their effective action and reiterated its firm resolve to combat smuggling, illicit trade and illegal economic activities across the country,” it said.
