ISLAMABAD: Chinese companies are ready to invest $15 billion in Pakistan’s petrochemical industry at the port of Gwadar, the investment promotion agency of Pakistan said on Sunday.
China has in recent years played a key role in developing the deepwater port on the Arabian Sea. Located in the southwestern province of Balochistan, Gwadar is at the heart of multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) infrastructure projects that began in 2013.
“Chinese companies would invest in the petrochemical sector in Gwadar, including the project of energy pipeline from Gwadar to China,” Board of Investment (BOI) secretary Fareena Mazhar told the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan.
She added that talks related to the projects were underway, as BOI is working on 50 reforms to create a conducive investment environment and improve the ease of doing business in Pakistan.
Chinese business leaders met Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad last week and reposed their confidence in Pakistan’s “policy support and security,” months after a blast killed nine Chinese nationals working on a CPEC project in northwestern Pakistan.
In a statement after the meeting, Khan’s office said he would hold monthly meetings to “review progress regarding issues faced by Chinese investors.”
Last month, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed announced Pakistan was formulating a strategy to improve the security of Chinese nationals and companies operating in the country.
CPEC has seen Beijing’s pledge over $60 billion for energy and infrastructure projects in Pakistan, central to China’s wider Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to develop land and sea trade routes in Asia and beyond.
China to invest $15 billion in petrochemical industry at Pakistan's Arabian Sea port
https://arab.news/63p2h
China to invest $15 billion in petrochemical industry at Pakistan's Arabian Sea port
- Investment would include a power pipeline project from Gwadar port to western China
- Pakistan said last month it is formulating a strategy to improve the security of Chinese companies operating in the country
Pakistan accuses India of manipulating Chenab flows, seeks clarification under Indus Waters Treaty
- Foreign office spokesperson says sudden variations in river flows threaten agriculture, food security and livelihoods downstream
- He also condemns a hijab-removal incident in India, calling it part of a broader pattern of religious intolerance and Islamophobia
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Thursday it had observed abrupt variations in the flow of the River Chenab during the ongoing month, accusing India of manipulating river flows at a critical point in the agricultural cycle and saying it had written to New Delhi seeking clarification.
Local media reported quoted Pakistani officials as saying India released about 58,000 cusecs of water at Head Marala on Dec. 7–8 before sharply reducing flows to roughly 870–1,000 cusecs through Dec. 17, far below the 10-year historical average of 4,000–10,000 cusecs for this period.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesman Tahir Andrabi told a weekly media briefing in Islamabad India had failed to share prior information or operational data on the Chenab flows, a practice he said New Delhi had previously followed under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty. New Delhi said earlier this year it had put the treaty “in abeyance” following a gun attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that it blamed on Pakistan, a charge Islamabad denied, calling instead for an impartial and transparent international investigation.
Pakistan also described India’s unilateral suspension of the treaty as a violation of international law and an “act of war.”
“Pakistan would like to reiterate that the Indus Waters Treaty is a binding international agreement, which has been an instrument of peace and security and stability in the region,” Andrabi said. “Its breach or violation, on one hand, threatens the inviolability of international treaties in compliance with international law, and on the other hand, it poses serious threats to regional peace, principles of good neighborliness, and norms governing interstate relations.”
Andrabi said Pakistan viewed the sudden variations in the Chenab’s flow with “extreme concern and seriousness,” saying the country’s Indus Waters Commissioner had written to his Indian counterpart seeking clarification in line with procedures outlined in the treaty.
“Any manipulation of river flow by India, especially at a critical time of our agricultural cycle, directly threatens the lives and livelihoods, as well as food and economic security of our citizens,” he continued. “We call upon India to respond to the queries raised by Pakistan.”
He said Pakistan had fulfilled its obligations under the Indus Waters Treaty and urged the international community to take note of India’s “continued disregard” of a bilateral treaty and to counsel New Delhi to act responsibly under international law.
Andrabi maintained Pakistan remained committed to peaceful resolution of disputes with India but would not compromise on its water rights.
In the same briefing, he also condemned an incident in which the chief minister of the Indian state of Bihar was seen in a video forcibly removing the hijab of a Muslim woman during a public interaction, followed by remarks by a minister in Uttar Pradesh who mocked the episode, saying it reflected a broader pattern of religious intolerance and Islamophobia and warranted strong condemnation.
