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 to launch AI screening in January to target fake visas, agent networks
- New system to flag forged-document travelers before boarding and pre-verify eligibility
- Move comes amid increasing concern over fake visas, fraudulent agents, forged papers
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will roll out an AI-based immigration screening system in Islamabad from January to detect forged documents and prevent illegal overseas travel, the government said on Thursday.
The move comes amid increasing concern over fake visas, fraudulent agents and forged papers, with officials warning that such activity has contributed to deportations, human smuggling and reputational damage abroad. Pakistan has also faced scrutiny over irregular migration flows and labor-market vulnerability, particularly in the Gulf region, prompting calls for more reliable pre-departure checks and digital verification.
The reforms include plans to make the protector-stamp system — the clearance required for Pakistani citizens seeking overseas employment — “foolproof”, tighten labor-visa documentation, and cancel the passports of deportees to prevent them from securing visas again. The government has sought final recommendations within seven days, signalling a rapid enforcement timeline.
“To stop illegal immigration, an AI-based app pilot project is being launched in Islamabad from January,” Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said following a high-level meeting chaired by him and Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Chaudhry Salik Hussain.
Naqvi said the new screening technology is intended to determine travelers’ eligibility in advance, reducing airport off-loads and closing loopholes exploited by traffickers and unregistered agents.
The interior minister added that Pakistan remains in contact with foreign governments to improve the global perception and ranking of the green passport, while a uniform international driving license will be issued through the National Police Bureau.
The meeting also approved zero-tolerance measures against fraudulent visa brokers, while the Overseas Pakistanis Ministry pledged full cooperation to streamline the emigration workflow. Minister Hussain said transparency in the protector process has become a “basic requirement,” particularly for labor-migration cases.
Pakistan’s current immigration system has long struggled with document fraud, with repeated cases of passengers grounded at airports due to forged papers or agent-facilitated travel. The launch of an AI screening layer, if implemented effectively, could shift the burden from manual counters to pre-flight verification, allowing authorities to identify risk profiles before departure rather than after arrival abroad.
The reforms also come at a moment when labor mobility is tightening globally. Gulf states have begun demanding greater documentation assurance for imported labor, while European and Asian destinations have increased scrutiny following trafficking arrests and irregular-entry routes from South Asia. For Pakistan, preventing fraudulent departures is increasingly linked to protecting genuine workers, reducing deportation cycles and stabilizing the country’s overseas employment footprint.
