ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s plans to send its first astronaut into space by 2022 have been placed on temporary hold, Science and Technology Minister, Fawad Chaudhry, told Arab News on Saturday.
Currently, Pakistan has four remote sensing and communications satellites in total– two ground stations and two in orbit. In July 2018, Pakistan launched two satellites with the help of China, and the same year, Chaudhry announced Pakistan was planning on sending its first astronaut on a manned mission by 2022. A contract was subsequently inked between Pakistan’s Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) and a Chinese company.
“I think we will not be able to pursue the schedule [of sending astronaut to space] due to COVID-19 and it may be delayed by a year,” Chaudhry told Arab News in an exclusive interview, and added the candidate selection process in collaboration with China had also been delayed.
“The selection process of [choosing a suitable] astronaut was scheduled to begin this year but unfortunately due to the pandemic, the selection process has to be postponed... it was to be initiated with the partnership with China which itself has been badly affected by the coronavirus,” he said.
The science minister’s revelation came just hours before the US attempts to make history with the launch of a newly designed spacecraft by SpaceX and NASA on Saturday.
In March 2019, Suparco disclosed to Arab News that it was exploring options to collaborate with the UAE. The spokesman of Pakistan’s national space agency said huge funds and special skills were required to lift off Pakistan’s ambitious space program and that collaborating would help both the Emirates and Pakistan in space-related activities.
But no such agreement has yet been reached between military-run Suparco and the UAE.
“No agreement has been signed yet with the UAE,” Chaudhry conceded but said Pakistan wanted to work closely with the country on its space program.
“I have requested the Prime Minister’s office to bring Suparco under the fold of the ministry of science and technology so we can pursue that diligently. I hope that decision of bringing it back to the civil side will help improve the collaboration in this direction much more effectively,” Chaudhry added.
Detailing his foreign outreach plans to address Pakistan’s space challenges, he said: “We have already very close cooperation with China in the space program and I think we would like to strengthen this relationship further. But we would also like to strengthen our relationship with NASA, UAE, and other countries including private companies.”
Chaudhry stressed: “I would also like to encourage Pakistan’s private sector to come and invest in satellites because the private sector can contribute a lot, especially in the field of various types of space satellite monitoring applications which have a huge opportunity.”
“It’s a very expensive game, I would say,” he continued. “It needs loads of funding but right now we are focusing on sending solar satellites and the funding for necessary projects is available.”
He said Pakistan was not in a space race when asked whether he was concerned India would beat Pakistan in reaching the stars. Neighboring rival India is aiming to consign its own astronauts in 2022 for the country’s first human mission to space.
“We are not competing with anyone in the space program,” Chaudhry said.
Pakistan deferring plans to send astronaut to space by 2022 — Fawad Chaudhry
https://arab.news/n4tzq
Pakistan deferring plans to send astronaut to space by 2022 — Fawad Chaudhry
- Journey to space plans on hold due to coronavirus fallout and lack of funding
- No agreement signed with UAE but collaboration on the cards for space program
Security forces kill four militants in Pakistan’s volatile southwest, military says
- Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by land area bordering Iran and Afghanistan, has long been the site of a low-level insurgency
- The Balochistan government has recently established a threat assessment center to strengthen early warning, prevent ‘terrorism’ incidents
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces gunned down four militants in an intelligence-based operation in the southwestern Balochistan province, the military said on Tuesday.
The operation was conducted in Balochistan’s Kalat district on reports about the presence of militants, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing.
The “Indian-sponsored militants” were killed in an exchange of fire during the operation, while weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the deceased, who remained actively involved in numerous militant activities.
“Sanitization operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian-sponsored terrorist found in the area,” the ISPR said in a statement.
There was no immediate response from New Delhi to the statement.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by land area bordering Iran and Afghanistan, has long been the site of a low-level insurgency involving Baloch separatist groups, including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF).
Pakistan accuses India of supporting these separatist militant groups and describes them as “Fitna Al-Hindustan.” New Delhi denies the allegation.
The government in Balochistan has also established a state-of-the-art threat assessment center to strengthen early warning and prevention against “terrorism” incidents, a senior official said this week.
“Information that was once scattered is now shared and acted upon in time, allowing the state to move from reacting after incidents to preventing them before they occur,” Balochistan Additional Chief Secretary Hamza Shafqaat wrote on X.
The development follows a steep rise in militancy-related deaths in Pakistan in 2025. According to statistics released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) last month, combat-related deaths in 2025 rose 73 percent to 3,387.
These included 2,115 militants, 664 security forces personnel, 580 civilians and 28 members of pro-government peace committees, the think tank said.
